September

'Good night, Hamish.'

She did not attempt to kiss him and Hamish was torn between relief and disappointment.

'Will I find Archie in his workshop? I'll just pop down and have a word.' She stooped and kissed Isobel. 'And good night to you, darling. Heaven to be here. Delicious dinner. See you all in the morning.'

In the basement, Archie, absorbed and concentrated, worked by a strong bulb with a wide shade that threw a bright circle onto his work-bench. Painting the carving of Katy and her dog was both tricky and fiddly. The muted check of the skirt, the texture of the sweater, the subtle, varying streaks of colour in the hair, each presented a challenge and took all his dexterity to accomplish.

He laid down one sable brush and took up another, then heard Pandora approach. Her step was unmistakable, descending the stone stair that led down from the kitchens, as was the sharp tap of her high heels down the ill- lighted stone-flagged passage. He paused in his work to look up and saw the door open and Pandora's head come around the edge of it.

'Am I interrupting?'

'No.

'Goodness, it's gloomy. I couldn't find the light switch. Like a dungeon. But I must say, you're quite cosy in here.' She found a chair and sat beside him. 'What are you doing?'

'Painting.'

'I can see that. What a charming little statue. Where did you get it?'

He told her, not without pride. 'I made it.'

'You made it? Archie, you are brilliant. I never knew you were so handy.'

'It's for Katy's birthday. It's her. With her dog.'

'What a lovely idea. You didn't used to be able to make things. It was always Pa who glued our toys together and mended broken china. Did you go to classes or something?'

'I suppose I did. After I was wounded…' He corrected himself. 'After my leg was shot off and when I was finally discharged from hospital, I got sent to Headley Court. That's the Forces rehabilitation centre for chaps who've been disabled. Dismembered in some way.

That's where they fit the artificial limbs. Legs, arms, hands, feet. Anything that you are missing is supplied for you. Within, of course, reason. And then they give you months of bloody hell until you've learned to use it properly.'

'It doesn't sound very nice.'

'It was all right. And there was always some poor bugger worse off than yourself.'

'But you were alive. You weren't dead.'

'True.'

'Is it very horrible, having a tin leg?'

'Better than none at all, which seems to be the alternative.'

'I never heard how it happened.'

'Better not.'

'Was it a nightmare?'

'All violence is a nightmare.'

Forbidden ground. She backed off. 'I'm sorry… go on telling me.'

'Well… once I…' He had lost the thread of what he had been saying. He took off his spectacles, rubbed his eyes with his fingers. 'Once… I was more or less ambulant, they taught me how to use a treadle jigsaw. Occupational therapy and good exercise for the leg. And from that, it sort of snowballed…'

It was all right. The dangerous moment was safely over. If Archie did not want to talk about Northern Ireland, then Pandora did not want to hear.

'Do you mend things, like Pa used to?'

'Yes.'

'And that dear little figure. How do you start to make something like that? Where do you begin?'

'You start with a block of wood.'

'What kind of wood?'

'For this one, I used beech. Beech from Croy, a windblown branch from years back. I squared it off into a block with the chainsaw. Then I made two drawings from the photograph, a front view and a side view. Then I transferred the front elevation onto the face of the block, and the side elevation onto the side of the block. Are you with me?'

'All the way.'

'Then I cut it out on the band-saw.'

'What's a band-saw?'

He pointed. 'That's the band-saw. It's electrically operated and lethally sharp, so don't start fiddling.'

'I wasn't going to. What do you do then?'

'Start carving. Whittling.'

'What with?'

'Wood-carver's chisels. A penknife.'

'I'm amazed. Is this the first you've done?'

'By no means, but this was more difficult because of the composition. The girl sitting and the dog. That was quite difficult. Before, they've been standing figures. Soldiers mostly, in various regimental uniforms. I get the details of the uniforms from a book of plates 1 found up in Pa's library. It was that book that gave me the idea. They make quite good wedding presents if the bridegroom happens to be in the Army.'

'Have you got any to show me?'

'Yes. There's one here.' He pulled himself out of his chair, went to a cupboard, took out a box. 'I didn't actually give this one away because I wasn't quite satisfied with it, so I made another. But it'll give you an idea…'

Pandora took the figure of the soldier from him and turned it in her hands. It was a replica of an officer in the Black Watch, every detail perfect-from brogues, to kilt, to the red hackle in his khaki bonnet. She thought it perfect and was filled with wordless admiration for Archie's unsuspected talent, his precision, his undeniable artistry.

Also incredulous. 'Do you mean to say you give these away? Archie, you're dotty. They're beautiful. Unique. Visitors from overseas would snap up just such a souvenir. Have you ever tried selling them?'

'No.' He seemed quite surprised at the idea.

'Have you ever thought of it?'

'No.'

She knew a burst of sisterly irritation. 'You are hopeless. You always were a laid-back old stick, but this is ridiculous. There's Isobel slaving away, trying to keep everything going by having strings of

Americans to stay, and you could be churning these things out and making a fortune.'

'I doubt that. Anyway, it's not a case of churning. They take a lot of time.'

'Well, get someone to help you. Get two people to help you. Start a little home industry.'

'I haven't the space down here.'

'What about the stables? They're empty. Or one of the barns?'

'It would mean reconstruction, equipping, electricity laid on, safety regulations, fire precautions.'

'So?'

'So it would cost money. Which is a commodity pretty thin on the ground.'

'Could you get a grant?'

'Grants, as well, are thin on the ground just now.'

'You could try for one. Oh, don't be so hopeless, Archie. Be a bit more enterprising. I think it's the most wonderful idea.'

'Pandora, you were always full of wonderful ideas.' He took the soldier from her and laid him back in his box. 'But you're right about Isobel. I do what I can to help, but I know she's got far too much on her plate. Before Northern Ireland, I thought about trying to get some sort of a job… as a factor, or something. I don't know who'd have employed me but I didn't want to leave Croy, and it seemed the only sort of work I could do…' His voice, ruminating, trailed to silence.

'But now you've learned a new trade. All this. Hidden talents have sprung to life. All you need is a little