Meg managed a laugh and watched him walk out of the front door.
There was a faint whistle from David. ‘You look as if you are a proper solid couple now.’
‘Well, I think we are.’ Meg hesitated. Should she tell David about Ambrosine giving her a third of the hotel? She decided not. It wouldn’t happen for a while, anyway, and would take so much explaining.
‘I’ll help you in the kitchen when I can,’ said David.
‘That’s so kind of you, but you’re here for the play, and it’s not for long.’ She paused. ‘I’ll go and see how Vanessa is.’
Before she could, Cherry emerged from the office, almost as pleased to see David as Meg had been. ‘Did you hear that Dame Miriam wants to be put in a cottage instead of the main hotel?’ Cherry said when they had greeted each other.
‘Russell told me,’ said David. ‘Apparently she’s convinced she wants a sweet little cottage in a wood.’
Meg nodded. ‘We’ve made the head groom’s cottage as nice as we possibly can. Mum has worked her home-making magic, but we’re fully prepared for Dame Miriam to change her mind when she sees it. Our good rooms are lovely now but there aren’t many of them.’ She paused, then added, sotto voce, ‘Should I ring Lizzie and tell her Nessa is here safe?’
David nodded. ‘But I’ll do it if you like. You’re so busy. Then Hugo can deal with his parents.’
Meg shuddered at the thought of dealing with Lady Lennox-Stanley and her tyrannical husband. No wonder Vanessa had run away from home!
‘Cherry? If Vanessa’s sister-in-law, Lizzie, comes to stay – and I promise she is lovely! She’s married to Vanessa’s brother, who is such a nice man. They are neither of them like their parents, who are truly awful. Well, you know Lady Lennox-Stanley—’
‘Yes?’ Cherry interrupted, possibly keen for Meg to get to the point.
‘Would we have room for them? I expect it’ll only be Lizzie and her little girl. Lizzie will be here to support Vanessa.’
Cherry considered. ‘There are the attics. I thought your friend from France could go there if she managed to come—’
‘Perfect!’ said Meg. ‘Lizzie and Alexandra – the Countess – were both my housemates in London.’ She paused, mentally counting guest numbers. ‘So there’ll be room for everyone?’
‘Alexandra’s older stepchildren are teenagers,’ said David. ‘They could camp with the stage crew in the scout tent in the field. They’ll love it!’ he added. ‘Don’t you worry about a thing, Meggy. It’s all going to be fine!’
Cherry smiled. ‘There are four bedrooms in the attic, near to a bathroom and with a lovely view out of the window. When it’s not raining, of course.’
‘The rain is due to clear up later,’ said Meg, wishing she felt more confident about this. ‘Bob told me. Some old countryman’s lore.’ She turned to David. ‘Do you know when Russell is likely to arrive? We’ve spoken on the phone several times but I’ve never managed to pin him down. Also, Dame Miriam?’
David shook his head. ‘They won’t arrive together and it won’t be until mid-afternoon, I believe.’
‘We’ve got a cold collation planned for lunch,’ said Meg. ‘So it can be served at any time.’
David nodded. ‘I’m going to say hello to Susan.’
Cherry looked at Meg. ‘That David: he turns up out of the blue but the moment he’s through the door, we’re depending on him!’
Meg laughed. ‘And he always comes up trumps!’
‘Meg!’ said Louise, while they were slicing hard-boiled eggs in half for the collation. ‘Why don’t you take Nessa over to your flat so she can make herself tidy?’
‘Her case is in my car,’ said David, who’d just come into the kitchen. ‘Although it’s not very big.’
Meg interpreted this as him saying Vanessa didn’t have enough clothes. As Meg didn’t have many clothes herself, Louise’s wardrobe might have to be raided.
Vanessa’s luggage collected (basically, a vanity case), they set off for Meg’s little flat. ‘It’s a perfectly nice flat,’ she said as they walked through the mizzle. ‘But not exactly luxurious. It has a shower but you have to run around under it to catch the drops of water.’
‘Don’t worry,’ said Vanessa, who seemed to be cheering up. ‘At boarding school we had to have strip washes except for once a week when we were allowed a bath. And coming from the gentry, I’m used to spartan living.’
Meg laughed. When she had first met Vanessa at the little cookery school in London, she had thoughtshe was like many of the other girls, posh and a bit stuck-up. She soon discovered that, actually, Vanessa was huge fun and had just been shy when they first met.
When Meg’s abode had been examined and declared ‘Absolutely fine!’ by Vanessa, Meg said, ‘Do you want to tell me about calling off your wedding? Or have you had enough of that?’
