Hannah hung up his coat, noticing at once that it was moth-eaten and thinning at the elbows, and led him into the sitting room where Eddie was playing with Harvey and Rita was sitting in front of the fire reading the papers. ‘These are two of my daughters,’ she said, her voice thick with pride. ‘Eddie and her bat Harvey, I’m afraid they’re inseparable, and Rita, whose fiancé is in the Argentine. He was in the RAF, you know.’
Harry shook their hands, smiling diffidently. Rita warmed to him immediately. He had that quality so often found in men who have been through life’s mangle that made women want to mother him.
‘Ah, a Microbat,’ he said, extending his hand and stroking the animal’s furry black head with his forefinger. ‘Shouldn’t he be hibernating?’
Eddie’s eyes sparkled. No one had ever taken such an interest in Harvey. ‘He doesn’t hibernate.’
‘Well, most bats hibernate during the winter months. I suppose your sleeve is so nice and snug he wants to be awake to enjoy it. What do you feed him?’
‘In the summertime he flies about and catches his own insects. But there aren’t any now so I give him berries and bread.’
‘Try a little fish,’ Harry suggested. ‘They love fish.’
‘Oh, I will,’ she enthused, her face extending into a wide smile. Harry sat down on the sofa and chuckled as Eddie placed herself beside him, so close they were pressed together, leaving half the sofa unoccupied.
‘Don’t suffocate our poor guest,’ said Humphrey in amusement. ‘I’m afraid you’ve made a new friend,’ he added to Harry. ‘Or should I say two new friends!’
‘Bats are fascinating creatures. They’re the only mammals that fly and are more closely related to humans than mice. Look at their hands, they have four fingers and a thumb, forearms, elbows and upper arms.’ He turned to Eddie. ‘Their scientific name is in fact Chiroptera which means “hand wing”. It’s thanks to bats that night-blooming flowers are pollinated and they’re nature’s best insect control. I’ve always enjoyed bats.’
Eddie sat gazing up at him with eyes full of love. ‘My Aunt Antoinette hates Harvey. He was so hurt when she said she would throw him in the pond,’ she said, blinking up at him. He put his arm around her and patted her gently.
‘You must forgive her, she was just frightened of him. She doesn’t know him like you do.’
At that moment a horn tooted outside. Hannah looked at her watch. About time too! she thought. They all looked at the door in anticipation.
‘That will be our other daughter, Maddie,’ she said to Harry. ‘She’s been out all morning with a friend.’
Humphrey raised his eyebrows at his wife, for he didn’t much like Bertie either, although the boy and Maddie had an awful lot in common.
Maddie strode into the sitting room. She’d much prefer to be lunching in Exeter. Already scowling, she hovered by the door with her arms crossed defensively in front of her. ‘Sorry I’m so late,’ she said.
‘That’s all right, my dear. Come and meet Harry Weaver. Harry is an expert on bats.’
‘Not an expert. Just curious,’ he replied, standing up to greet Maddie.
He was tall and lean like Trees but hunched a little as if uncomfortable with his stature. Maddie stared at him in wonder. To her embarrassment she felt her face burn and her heart accelerate. She shook his hand, which was soft and warm like dough, and was aware that an uncharacteristic grin, which she was quite unable to control, tickled the corners of her mouth. His gentle eyes settled on her, took in her immaculately painted face and sunset-coloured hair and felt, as she did, the invisible force of attraction vibrate between them like the quivering strings of a violin. He smiled back and shook his head slowly, awed by the unexpected allure of this young woman. Maddie blinked out of her daze and hastened to a chair where she was relieved to be able to rest her trembling legs. Everyone could feel the change in the air, subconsciously hearing the music of love that danced about the room, but no one was more surprised than Maddie. She lifted her eyes to look at him again and noticed, to her embarrassment, that he was still watching her, as if she were a rare and lovely bird.
Chapter 14
George rode out across the plains, squinting in the sunlight and blinking away the mist of dust kicked up from Jose Antonio’s horse galloping furiously in front of him. But all he could think about was Susan. What strange coincidence was at play? Could some fortuitous twist of fortune have made their paths cross once again? Her face surfaced in his mind and this time he didn’t will it away but allowed his inner vision to dwell on it, hoping with all his heart that he had understood his uncle correctly, that the ‘token’ his aunt had brought back from Buenos Aires was Susan.