For a moment, nobody moved or made a sound.Then Edith started to laugh, and it set everyone off.
Uncle George took pity on poor Mr Anderson, who was looking round the table in perplexity.
“Please forgive our odd behaviour this evening—my niece has just been telling us something very interesting,” Uncle George explained.“She has been making a study of—“
“The expanding opportunities for female employment in the modern age?”Edith suggested, and now it was Simon’s turn to cough into his napkin.
“Precisely.”Sir George turned to Violet.“Now, about those dancing bears—I sense that Ignatius is still very eager to hear about them.”
It took Violet a moment to collect her wits enough to realise what he was asking.
“Doyouwant to hear about the dancing bears, Una?“ Violet asked doubtfully, still not looking at her.
Una’s hands loosened.
“Who wouldn’t?”she said simply.“Do tell us about that time you ran away to the circus, Violet.”
Violet sorted through complicated emotions.This wasn’t how she’d imagined telling Una—though, to be fair, none of the ways she’d imagined had turned out well.But there was no turning back now, and everyone was looking at her expectantly, so she plunged ahead.
“Well!”Violet said.“There was this time when the chap who did the act with the bears fell ill, and I offered to do it, but they didn’t really know me—the bears, that is—so I worehisclothes.Hoping that his smell would calm them down, you know!They were far too large for me, so I was tripping over the trousers the whole time.I managed to get through the routine without being mauled, but I fell flat on my face as I was leading the bears out of the ring.There was a great roar from the audience and I heard children wailing.They were shouting that they wanted the clown to come back.”
Violet risked a glance round the table to see how this story was being received.Dolly and Iggy were delighted.Edith was transfixed.Simon still had his napkin covering most of his face.Uncle George looked perplexed.Mr Anderson took notes.She did hope they were about the dragons, and not about her brief career as a circus clown.
She couldn’t look at Una.
“That’s—that’s the end of the story,” Violet said.
Una picked up her glass.
“I propose a toast,” Una said brightly.“To Violet’s safe return home to Ormdale.”
Now it was Violet’s turn to stare at Una.To her amazement, Una smiled back at her.It was possibly the first real smile Una had given her since she came home.
“To Violet’s return!”everyone chorused, lifting their glasses.
There was a little silence as everyone drank.Mr Anderson looked around the table, puzzled.
“Violet?”echoed Mr Anderson.
After Mr Anderson had gone away at last to a bed he’d obtained previously in the village, and while the Drake-Forresters remained, waiting for their carriage to be brought round, and they were all gathered in the sitting room together, Violet went up to Uncle George and put her hand on his arm.
“Uncle George, I can’t pretend you would have approved of everything that went on at the circus.Things were pretty fast and loose.But I—well, I never broke any commandments.I want you to know that.Aunt Emily hammered them in, and thankfully, there’s only ten of them.Except the sabbath one—I’m never feel sure whether I’ve kept it or not.I don’t suppose that one matters as much as the others.”
Uncle George looked very kindly at Violet.“If it suited you there, why did you leave it, Violet?”
Violet swallowed.“I came back because I didn’t have a future in the circus.It wasn’t the right place for me, in the end.”This wasn’t the whole story, but it was true.“It was the same reason I left the dale, really.But I hoped—I hoped that if I came back, Edith and Simon would let me train Elfed, now I’d got older.But that’s all over.So I’m at a loose end, you see.There’s not really anything for me anywhere now.”
She tried to say it lightly, but it didn’t work.
“You will always have a future here, Violet,” said Uncle George kindly, grasping the hand she’d laid on his arm.
“But what did you mean, Violet?”asked Edith, sidling in, quick as always.“What was your plan for Elfed?”
Violet’s eyes went round the room.
“I wanted to take him to Blackpool,” she said.
Una looked up in surprise from stroking Oolong.
