‘Good idea, thank you.’ Selina added with a shy smile, ‘But you’ll come back and join us for tea, won’t you? Joan has baked us some cakes.’
‘Sounds perfect.’
An hour later, Selina and Joan were sitting in the sunny cottage garden, catching up with all the latest gossip while baby Felix had a nap in his cot indoors. Jemima read her paperback on the grass and Faith played games with snapdragons, popping the bright flowers over her fingers to make little creatures that growled at each other. From the lane beside the cottage came the sound of male voices and spanners as Arthur and Peter tinkered with the sidecar. From the few words Selina caught, it was clear that Arthur was also talking to the boy about the nature of grief and how it could change people.
Her heart ached for her nephew, who was still coping with the early death of his beloved mother. But he’d improved inrecent months, perhaps with William a more frequent visitor to the hall. She rather thought it was a father figure he lacked, but he would surely never admit it.
William returned to join them, and just as Joan was bringing out more tea and cake, Caroline and Tilly came bounding towards them, with Grace sauntering into the garden in a more dignified manner. Selina jumped up to embrace her dear friend Caroline, and to kiss Tilly on the cheek. She shook hands with Grace, who didn’t look like the hugging sort. Or not until one knew her better, at least.
‘How are you all?’ she demanded of the Land Girls with a grin, and was being regaled with their news when a car horn sounded outside in the lane, and more new arrivals soon crowded into the garden.
Selina gasped. ‘Alice!’ she cried, rushing over to greet Violet’s youngest niece, who was wearing a smart linen dress smoothed over a slightly rounded belly. ‘Oh my goodness … Joan’s just had a baby, and now I hear your aunt Violet is also expecting. Not you too?’
‘Blame Patrick,’ Alice grinned.
‘Eh?’ Her husband looked wide-eyed. ‘I seem to recall, my darling, that it was six of one and half a dozen of the other.’ He shook Selina’s hand. ‘Good to see you again. You’re looking very smart.’ His gaze flicked to William, hovering nearby, and he added in a murmur, ‘And that must be the solicitor. Alice has been gossiping on the telephone to Caroline, you understand.’
Blushing, Selina shook her head at them both. ‘Stop it … Anyway, congratulations. Everyone,but everyone, seems to be producing babies at the moment. What on earth is going on?’
‘Britain’s repopulation programme, of course,’ William said calmly, leaning in to shake Alice’s and Patrick’s hands. ‘It’s not unexpected, only nature redressing a balance. Hello, I’m William MacGregor, pleased to meet you both.’
Selina turned gratefully to accept a fresh cup of tea from Joan, and saw that Lily had followed her sister into the garden, tall and smart in a green frock with matching heels. Her husband Tristan was on her arm, young Morris toddling after them excitedly, his wild ginger curls catching the sunlight brilliantly. Though Selina realised he could hardly be a toddler anymore, especially when he made a beeline for Faith. The two young children stared at each other for a moment before Faith handed him one of her snapdragons and pulled him down onto the grass to play with her, chattering in a lively fashion.
‘How do you do?’ William was saying in a friendly manner, introducing himself to Lily and Tristan. No, Selina thought, watching her prospective husband with secret amusement, he would have no trouble fitting in with her friends …
‘No Demelza and Robert?’ she asked Lily after they’d hugged.
‘Robert was needed to mind the farm, and Demelza’s got baby Petunia to care for now, as well as little Teresa … Oh yes,’ she added, laughing as Selina’s eyes widened, ‘Dem had her second back in May, didn’t you hear? The number of nappies and baby clothes we’ve been washing … The farmhouse has been like a veritable laundry all summer!’ She turned to make a quip to Alice about how her own hands would soon be pruny from washing nappies too, and the two sisters were soon joking and giggling as though they’d never been apart.
Selina stood drinking tea and smiling while she listened to everyone chattering at once. It was as though a flock of noisy starlings had descended on Joan and Arthur’s idyllic cottage garden. She caught Caroline’s eye, who rose discreetly to join her. ‘I meant to say I got your letter,’ Selina whispered in her ear. ‘I perfectly understand why you didn’t want to say any of that on the telephone. So your parents turned up at the farm to take you home? How dreadful of them … But at least they went away empty-handed.’
‘Yes, Grace terrified them into giving up. Gran quite liked the farm. I told her I’d stay in touch. But only Christmas cards for the foreseeable future.’
‘That’s a shame. Family is so important. But in your case …’ Selina studied Caroline’s girlfriend with interest. ‘Grace seems awfully brave. And a good friend to have on your side.’ She paused, spotting a secret smile on Caroline’s face. Something had changed since her last visit, she felt sure. ‘In your letter, you also said Joe had told you he couldn’t keep any Land Girls on after harvest time. That made me rather furious. After all our hard work too … But I suppose it was inevitable. Things are gradually getting back to the way they were before the war.’
‘Women back in the kitchen, men back in the workplace, you mean?’ Caroline sounded bitter.
‘Awful, isn’t it?’ Finishing her tea, Selina put the cup and saucer aside. ‘You know, we badly need skilled groundsmen at Thornton Hall, but it’s so isolated, it’s hard to recruit them. Our current man is planning to retire next year and move upcountry with his son. It strikes me that if you and maybe Grace are both looking for work on the land … Well,groundswomenare as good as groundsmen in mybook, and there’d be a cottage you could share that goes with the job.’
‘Oh, Selina …’ Tears sprang to Caroline’s eyes as she realised what Selina was proposing. ‘I don’t know what to say.’
‘Discuss it with Grace and let me know. Though it was William who suggested it in the first place, so all thanks should go to him.’
Caroline’s eyes widened. ‘William? Does … Does he know that …?’
‘That you and Grace area couple?’ Selina mouthed the last words rather than speaking them out loud. ‘Yes, of course. I hope you don’t mind me telling him. But he and I … We’re going to be married this autumn and will live at Thornton Hall with the children.’
‘Oh, congratulations!’ To her relief, Caroline seemed genuinely pleased.
‘We’re just waiting until they can rig up a suitable office at the hall, so William doesn’t need to drive into Bodmin every day. He’ll be taking on a lower caseload too, to make life easier, given that we’ll have Bella’s children to care for together.’ She blushed rosily. ‘And maybe one or two of our own.’
‘Goodness. Kids too?’ Caroline hugged her. ‘I wish you both very happy.’
‘Thank you.’ Selina grinned, adding with a rush, ‘He’s even bringing his mother to live with us too, as she’s partially invalided these days and he doesn’t want her to be alone. She’s a lovely woman and I’ve been madly busy adapting a downstairs room for her. I hope she likes what I’ve done with it.’
‘I’m sure she’ll be thrilled, Selly. But listen, do you reallywant me and Grace on your doorstep every day? Two young women living together? Won’t people talk?’
‘Frankly, I don’t give a stuff.’ Selina was feeling defiant. ‘I’m sick of people telling women how to behave. Women did men’s work all through that blasted war … Yes, and often better than the men themselves. We deserve to live our lives however we damn well choose!’
