‘Where’s Mum?’ Ella asked.
‘She’s just popped next door to see Marion. She’ll be back in a minute.’
‘I wanted to know if I could borrow the framed Cuthbert pictures you’ve got on the stairs.’ She’d given all the illustrations from her very first book to her parents. ‘I’m giving a talk to the WI.’
‘Of course, love, but make sure you bring them all back. You’re mother’s very proud of them.’ He winked. ‘And I think they’re pretty good, too.’
Once the tea was made, he came to sit down next to her at the long walnut wood bench in the centre of the kitchen and Tess, having made a thorough exploration of the room, decided that her work was done and flopped at Ella’s feet.
‘So how’s village life?’
‘Better than I thought it would be.’ And completely different. How on earth had she thought she could hide herself away and keep herself to herself? ‘I’ve got to know a few people. Even have a bit of a social life. It’s been easier to get to know people than I thought it would be.’
‘Oh, that’s having a dog for you. Ah, Shirley.’
Ella’s mother returned and hurried over to kiss her cheek. ‘Ella, darling, sorry I wasn’t here. You look wonderful. Yes, Howard, I’d love a cup of tea.’
With long suffering grace, Ella’s dad stood up to make tea and her mother promptly appropriated the high wooden stool he’djust vacated. ‘I’ll make you one, then,’ he said, with a teasing wink.
Ella watched them. Married for thirty years, they still held hands when they went out for walks, teased each other about who was the best cook and laughed a lot. A good team. An image of Devon bending over George came into her head. Holding her hand at the top of the Beacon. Standing over her drawing board admiring her mice.
There was a lot to be said for teamwork.
And there was no doubt that her mother and father had been in cahoots. Ella sat up straighter, she was going to enjoy this.
‘So, Mum, how long has Magda had Tess. Since she was a puppy?’
Her parents answered simultaneously, her dad saying, ‘Yes. From a litter in Leighton Buzzard,’ while her mother said, ‘No, she was from Chiltern Dogs, the rescue people.’
Her mother’s cheeks turned fiery red. ‘Maybe I got that wrong. I didn’t really pay attention. How is living in the cottage? Is it warm enough for you?’ she asked.
‘It’s fine. I’ve had a couple of fires in the evening. Tess is a real hearth dog, she loves to lie on the rug right in front of the tiles. Of course she’s chewed it quite a lot but then I’m sure she did that before, so Magda is used to it. And the furniture.’ Ella was on a roll now. ‘The kitchen table is a bit of a mess, especially the leg by the French doors. That one seems to be her particular favourite.’
Her mother paled under her make-up. ‘That’s not good,’ she said faintly, with an imploring look at her husband.
‘She’s also scratched some of the wallpaper off the wall in the downstairs toilet. Bit naughty, especially as Magda spent a fortune on it.’
‘Did she?’ Her father swallowed hard.
‘Yes. It’s lovely. Osborne and Little. It took her ages to track it down. It was over a hundred pounds a roll. You all right, Mum?’ Ella asked, as her mother spluttered, turning slightly pink in the face.
It was hard to keep her own face straight and she very nearly relented, but seriously, who dumped a dog on their daughter? They deserved a bit of payback for those early few sleepless nights with Tess howling the place down, for the awful morning when she’d been terrorrised by the local fisherman and for bingate. They should try cleaning up a pot of coleslaw spread across every corner of a kitchen.
Her mother’s hands flapped at Dad, in a desperate say-something signal while his face contorted through a variety of ill at ease expressions.
‘The thing is, darling . . . ’ her mother started desperately looking towards her father for back-up. ‘Howard . . . ’
‘Don’t look at me, it wasn’t my idea,’ he said, holding up his arms in a gesture absolving all responsibility.
‘Well, you were the one that suggested we gave Tess to Ella,’ her mother pointed out almost apologetically.
‘Yes, but I wasn’t being serious. And you were the one that offered to have the dog in the first place.’ Dad’s eyes twinkled. ‘And you said you were sure Magda wouldn’t mind.’
Her mother dropped her head. ‘Well, poor Mrs Bosworth couldn’t afford kennels and it’s just as well we did take Tess in, I had no idea she was going to be in hospital for so long or that it was going to take all this time for her to recuperate. And I’m sorry she’s been so much bother. I . . . ’ she shrugged helplessly, ‘didn’t realise she’d cause so many problems.’
‘Yes. Well.’ Ella gave her mother a stern look as she tried to bite back another smile. ‘It’s not been easy.’
‘Really. Now I feel bad, but Mrs Bosworth really needed the help.’
