Flora brought up a dish of cat food, which Imeldafell on as if starving, and another ofwater.
‘Should I get some milk for her, do you think?'
‘I wouldn't have thought so. Adult animals don't usually drink milk, youknow.'
‘No, and it does upset her, rather.Oh, I'll fetch the litter tray.’
When at last Imelda and her family were settled, Geoffrey said, 'I'd better be going.'
‘Wouldn't you like a cup of tea orsomething?' Flora's socialresponsibilities came flooding back to her. 'You've been so kind.'
‘I think I'll be getting back, but youhave some hot chocolate or somethingbefore you go to bed. Help you sleep.’
Flora resisted the temptation to hug Geoffrey. He might not be used to being embraced by young women who were missing their dads.
Tired,but not sleepy, Flora ran a bath. At least the cottage seemedto have an efficient immersion heater, which wassomething. She found some scented candles in one of hercarrier bags and arranged them in the bathroom. Then shepoured herself a glass of wine from the bottle thatCharles had brought, switched on her radio, and gotundressed. Country life was going to be all right.
Chapter Four
The following morning, Flora slept late. She'd beenwoken up three timesby animals she hoped were foxes but soundedlike the ghouls made of latex that were extras in the film The Lord of the Rings. The little suckings and breathingsfrom Imelda and her brood had been soothing. Imelda was an extremely competent mother, even if in human termsshe should be wearing a gym-slip.
After she'd fed Imelda and let her out for a few moments she went into the bathroom. Once she'd wrestled with theshower and the shower curtain and emergedmore or less victorious, she went downstairs for breakfast.
That all done, she felt at a loose end. Of course,Imelda needed quite alot of stroking, feeding and letting out, but apart from that, not all of which was trulywelcome, there wasnothing much for Flora to do. So she decided to clean the cottage and make it more homely. Thenif Annabelle came to do a spotcheck, she would be ready for her.
Once she'd got into it, she quite enjoyed it; evenif the hoover was heavy,inefficient and heaved out asthmaticsighs of dust with every pass, she felt pleasantly domestic, nudging the furniture out of the way and cleaning underneath it. She found polish and aduster and did quite alot of spraying and wiping, but the smell of wood smoke still persisted. She didn't reallyobject to it, she justwondered why the smell lingered so. Once everywhere shone as much as it could shine, givenits nature, sherearranged the furniture. When she'd had a sandwich for her lunch and gone for a short walk,she moved it again,until she realised she'd put it back exactly as it had been when she'd arrived.
Rather than slump into a huge depression, which,she was aware,would have been only too easy to do, she went into the garden and hacked off some quite largebranches of rambling roses,which she put in a chipped butattractive stone storage jar she found in the back of a cupboard. This she set in the fireplace.
‘So I can make some sort ofimpression, a few changes,' sheexplained to Imelda later. 'Even if they are just cosmetic, they do haveimpact.’
She went to bed wondering if she would ever convinceCharles and Annabelle that shecould be remotely useful. Nowthat the kittens were born, it would be even harder to move back to London. She'd have to stay untilthey were a bitolder, at least. As she lay awake in the moonlight, she came to the uncomfortable realisationthat she was trapped.
The following morning, Geoffrey and Edie were on her doorstep before she'd cleared away her toastand Marmite.
‘I couldn't keep her away, I'msorry,' said Geoffrey, as Edie camein and went up the stairs, hardly pausing to say hello or ask the way.
Florawas delighted to have company, especially when the cottage was looking pretty
‘1 won't disturb her,'said Edie, tweaking open the door to Imelda's cupboard.
Imelda, purring mightily, allowed Edie to inspecther brood, who wereall well attached, pumping their little paws into their mother's body.
‘Ireckon they've grown already,' said Geoffrey.
‘They definitely have,'Flora agreed. 'They were quite tubularyesterday. Today they're rounder, more like balloons.'
‘We wondered if you needed to go shopping or anything,' said Edie. 'It's hard for you, stuck out here without a car. That Annabelle should be ashamed ofherself.'
‘Oh she is, very,' Flora assured her.'And although I don't need much inthe way of shopping - I stocked up the other day - I'd love to go out. Imelda'sgetting quite fed up with me asking how she is all the time.'
‘We'll give you a little tour of thetown, and you can see the abbey,' said Geoffrey.
‘Thatwould be lovely! I love old churches.'
‘We're very proud ofour abbey in Bishopsbridge,' said Edie, pleased with Flora's enthusiasm.
‘Oh, and is there somewhere I couldbuy a book? I've nearly finished mycurrent one, and there's nothing much to read in the cottage.'
‘We have everything you need inBishopsbridge,' said Edie proudly. 'Even a bookshop.’
The abbey was beautiful, and sited as it was, nearlyin the middle of town, it seemedpart of Bishopsbridge, ratherthan separate. Edie and Geoffrey showed her the tombs, the massive pillars, and the carvedwoodwork. Then she agreedto meet them in the shop and wandered round on her own, soaking up the mystery of beingin a place where people had come toworship for nearly two thousand years.
She had just found the shop and had spotted Edie over by the cards when someone knocked into her. Shemoved out of the way with amurmured, 'Sorry,' when shesaw it was the man who had run over her foot in the supermarket.
‘Oh my goodness,' he said. 'I seem tobe making a habit of this. Are you all right?'
‘Of course.' Flora smiled back at him,pleased to see a familiar, handsomeface. 'Unlike most of the contents of this shop, I'm not breakable.’
—Lovely to look at,delightful to hold, but if you break me,consider me sold"?' he quoted, his head on one side.
Flora found herself blushing. 'I'm not like that,'she reiterated.
‘Oh, I'm sure you're
