A Crowded Coffin(81)

‘You might not all know,’ Sam began, ‘but I’ve been thinking of a change of direction for some time now. My office job is coming to an end; I’ve been co-ordinating a three-year project, and it seems a good time to reassess my options. I don’t feel called to take on another parish so I’m going to continue as a kind of trouble-shooter, parachuted into parishes short-term, where the incumbent is ill or incapacitated; I also like being on call to conduct funerals at the crematorium. Not everyone’s cup of tea but I enjoy the human contact.

‘So, while I’m not ready to hang up my dog collar yet, I’ve been looking for a challenge to replace the office, something where I can be of use. Walter has now suggested I help him out with the admin, and so forth, attached to these new developments. I can deal with the tax ramifications regarding the potential sale of the portrait, look into grants that might be available and co-ordinate the investigations into the Roman ruins, among other things.’

‘As you know,’ put in Walter, ‘they had to call in an archaeologist from the university when they pulled that poor young American out from the hypocaust and Sam’s going to oversee their further efforts down there, which will be a load off my mind. I gather there’ll be a great influx of experts descending on us anytime now.’

‘Then they’ll have to compete for space with the reporters already swarming round the front door,’ commented Mrs Attlin in a dry voice. ‘Dear Sam.’ She turned to him with a warm smile. ‘It will be quite wonderful to have you take charge of all these developments, and living on our doorstep too. I’m so glad.’

After lunch Sam went into a huddle with Walter and started sketching out ideas, until his host held up his hands.

‘I’m pooped, Sam,’ he confessed. ‘Penny’s got her eagle eye on me and I have to admit I can’t get through the day without a nap these days, specially after a feast like the one Karen just served up. I’ll be happy to go along with pretty much everything you’ve come up with so far. Why don’t you get it all down on paper, then I can go over it in my own time. Meanwhile I’m off to have a snooze.’

Edith and Rory wandered out into the garden.

‘What do you think?’ She sounded diffident. ‘This plan of theirs?’

‘It’s a great idea from their point of view,’ he nodded. ‘No stairs for them and much easier for Karen to manage. But what about you? If you’re worried about me, I can always go back to plan A and look for somewhere in town.’

‘I’m not, not worried, exactly.’ She was looking shy. ‘I think it could work out okay, provided we don’t—’

‘Don’t take things too fast?’ His voice was gentle and she nodded. ‘Fine by me. I’m not really in a fit state yet for romantic moments, so let’s just be friends and family? To start with?’

He dawdled along the gravel path and stopped to look up at the roof. ‘I promised myself I’d come here one day,’ he remarked. ‘The day before my dad was killed he was telling me about the family, or at least as much as he knew, which wasn’t a lot. Just that they lived near Winchester in a very old farmhouse and that there’d been a quarrel. He said we’d have a trip in the school holidays and introduce ourselves. Trouble was,’ his voice was sad, ‘he never came home again. There was a motorway pile-up, some moron driving like a maniac in fog, and Dad’s car caught fire.’

Edith reached out and clasped his hand in silent sympathy.

‘It wasn’t till Mum died too that I thought about mending fences with the only family I had left, but … other things got in the way.’

‘That’ll be why Gran’s been looking sad,’ Edith realized. ‘Both of them, your dad and mine, dying so horribly. That, combined with the family likeness, would have brought it all back to her. Still,’ she tucked a friendly hand in his and grinned at him, ‘things can only get better.’

Harriet and Penelope Attlin sauntered out into the sunshine.

‘Come and admire my roses,’ offered Penelope. ‘We can compare notes and later perhaps we’ll go and look at the old greenhouses. Elveece has very shyly suggested that we look into hydroponics – you know, growing salad plants in water. Apparently he has a friend who knows all about it and wants to get him here to check it out. Can you manage that tray with your stiff shoulder?’

The sun was beating down but Harriet set the coffee cups down on the garden table and pulled a couple of chairs into the shade of a parasol.