Unaffected by the chastening, Mrs Felix patted Alwyn’s cheek before carrying his coat off to hang it up.
“Let’s get to the table before she starts cutting your victuals into little pieces for you.” The doctor led him into the dining room where a gasolier cast a warm glow over the golden, wooden walls. On the table, three places were set with Mrs Felix’s beloved porcelain plates, a homey lidded crock at their center.
“Sit down, do,” Mrs Felix urged the men. “I’ve got everything ready at the same time for once.”
When grace had been said, she lifted the lid off of the pot.
“Ah!” Alwyn sighed as the scent of mutton, carrots and rosemary filled the air. Taking a bap from the bread basket, he admired its soft, golden crust so verbosely that his hostess giggled as she ladled out the stew.
Buttering a roll himself, Dr Felix said, “I started to tell Aggie about your unfortunate foray into forestry, but she shushed me, saying she wanted to hear it straight from you.”
“Not much to tell.” Alwyn shrugged, but the woman had already fastened her eyes on him expectantly. Hoping this window into his childhood wouldn’t unleash a barrage of questions, he said, “When I was not yet twelve years old, I watched a woodsman stock my family’s woodpiles for the winter. Thinking that splitting wood looked easy enough, when he had gone, I put a round of oak between my feet, and swung the axe down upon it.”
Mrs Felix waited breathlessly.
“As you may have guessed, it glanced off of the wood and sank deeply into my shoe.”
“Oh! And how did your poor foot fare?” She was perched on her chair as if she were about to wrestle the appendage out from underneath the table to assess the damage for herself.
“I only nicked my largest toe! It bled like a stuck pig, though.” Alwyn laughed. “Later that night, I threw my crusty stocking into the fire and felt like a murderer burning evidence.”
Through his laughter, Felix wheezed, “And that was when Alwyn knew he was meant to be a doctor, not a forester.”
This was not accurate, but the doctor was enjoying making his supposition, so Alwyn did not correct him.
“And quite right, too!” Mrs Felix exclaimed, breathing again. “Leave the axes to the rough-and-readies. Your hands are meant for more precise work, Mr Alwyn – the lifesaving sort!”
“And did you ever confess to your parents what you had done?” Felix asked, still grinning.
“My father, yes, but he agreed with me that my mother would be better left unaware.” Alwyn filled his mouth with stew.
“Where is it you hail from?” Mrs Felix asked. “I seem to have forgotten.”
Ever the ferret,Alwyn thought, chewing and swallowing. It relieved him that no one else in London besides these two seemed to find him interesting. When he paid the fee to ensure he might ‘walk the halls’, the hospital treasurer would hardly look up from his desk. Neither did the course instructors ask him a single question when he bought tickets to their lectures.
“An obscure place, hardly worth marking on the map,” he replied, reaching for a second roll. “But tell me, Mrs Felix, how do you get these so incredibly light?”
“Ha ha! Such a crafty diverter!” Felix said. “A great effort on your part, Aggie, but you’ll never wheedle his secrets out of him! I’ve tried!”
With a smile of surrender, Mrs Felix asked nothing more about Alwyn’s birthplace. The dinner conversation progressed in another direction, amiably so, until the doctor pushed his empty bowl away.
“I’ve invited you here tonight, Alwyn, as I’ve something to discuss with you.”
Standing, he stepped over to the window curtain which hung to the floor, lifting it to reveal a box tied with a purple ribbon.
For me?Alwyn thought.Because I’m nearly done with school?
“Oh Dr Felix, presents are quite unnecessary,” he said. “Your tutelage over the years has been more than gift enou–”
“This? It’s not for you. You’ll understand your part in all of this in just a moment.” The older man set the box on the table right in front of his wife. “Here you are, Agnes.”
He kissed her on the cheek, then settled back into his chair, his bristly face smug.
“What’s this?” Mrs Felix touched the ribbon tentatively.
“You’ll know once you open it, won’t you? Go on.”
The tie fell away, and she took off the lid. Gasping, she stood and lifted a soup tureen out of the box, setting it on the table with the utmost reverence. It had the same purple glaze as the crockery they had just used for dinner.
