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By Root 623 0

bus. And naturally, the whole thing being an event as you might say, I was looking out as they passed, and I saw a coloured label blow off from one of the trunks and dive down on to one of my borders. Now, if there is one thing I hate more than another it is a litter of paper or mess of any kind, so I sent Ronnie out to pick it up, and I was going to throw it away when it struck me it was a bright, pretty thing, and I might as well keep it for the scrapbooks I make for the children’s hospital. Well, I wouldn’t have thought about it again except for Mrs Willett deliberately mentioning on two or three occasions that Violet had never been out of South Africa and that she herself had only been to South Africa, England, and the Riviera.’

‘Yes?’ said Emily.

‘Exactly. Now—look at this.’

Miss Percehouse thrust a luggage label into Emily’s hand. It bore the inscription, Mendle’s Hotel, Melbourne.

‘Australia,’ said Miss Percehouse, ‘isn’t South Africa—or it wasn’t in my young days. I daresay it isn’t important, but there it is for what it is worth. And I’ll tell you another thing. I have heard Mrs Willett calling to her daughter, and she called Cooee, and that again is more typical of Australia than South Africa. And what I say is, it is queer. Why shouldn’t you wish to admit that you come from Australia if you do?’

‘It’s certainly curious,’ said Emily. ‘And it’s curious that they should come to live here in winter time as they have.’

‘That leaps to the eye,’ said Miss Percehouse. ‘Have you met them yet?’

‘No. I thought of going there this morning. Only I didn’t know quite what to say.’

‘I’ll provide you with an excuse,’ said Miss Percehouse briskly. ‘Fetch me my fountain pen and some notepaper and an envelope. That’s right. Now, let me see.’ She paused deliberately, then without the least warning raised her voice in a hideous scream.

‘Ronnie, Ronnie, Ronnie! Is the boy deaf? Why can’t he come when he’s called? Ronnie! Ronnie!’

Ronnie arrived at a brisk trot, paint brush in hand.

‘Is there anything the matter, Aunt Caroline?’

‘What should be the matter? I was calling you, that was all. Did you have any particular cake for tea when you were at the Willetts’ yesterday?’

‘Cake?’

‘Cake, sandwiches—anything. How slow you are, boy. What did you have to eat for tea?’

‘There was coffee cake,’ said Ronnie very much puzzled, ‘and some pâté sandwiches—’

‘Coffee cake,’ said Miss Percehouse. ‘That’ll do.’ She began to write briskly. ‘You can go back to your painting, Ronnie. Don’t hang about, and don’t stand there with your mouth open. You had your adenoids out when you were eight years old, so there is no excuse for it.’

She continued to write:

Dear Mrs Willett,—I hear you had the most delicious coffee cake for tea yesterday afternoon. Will you be so very kind as to give me the recipe for it? I know you’ll not mind my asking you this—an invalid has so little variety except in her diet. Miss Trefusis has kindly promised to take this note for me as Ronnie is busy this morning. Is not this news about the convict too dreadful?

Yours very sincerely,

Caroline Percehouse.

She put it in an envelope, sealed it down and addressed it.

‘There you are, young woman. You will probably find the doorstep littered with reporters. A lot of them passed along the lane in Forder’s charabanc. I saw them. But you ask for Mrs Willett and say you have brought a note from me and you’ll sail in. I needn’t tell you to keep your eyes open and make the most you can of your visit. You will do that anyway.’

‘You are kind,’ said Emily. ‘You really are.’

‘I help those who can help themselves,’ said Miss Percehouse. ‘By the way, you haven’t asked me what I think of Ronnie yet. I presume he is on your list of the village. He is a good lad in his way, but pitifully weak. I am sorry to say he would do almost anything for money. Look at what he stands from me! And he hasn’t got the brains to see that I would like him just ten times better if he stood up to me now and again, and told me to go to the devil.

‘The only other person in the village is Captain