At Odds With Love

The professor wasted no time in idle chat; his good-morning was brisk and beyond a matter-of-fact question as to whether the gas and electricity had been turned off and the windows and doors closed he saved his breath, stowed the animals in the back with Bessy, held the door for Jane to get in beside him and without a backward glance drove away. Jane, who had been dreading the last few minutes when they left, was thankful for the abruptness of their departure, but she couldn’t resist a last look over her shoulder as they turned into the lane, suddenly annoyed with him because he had hurried them away; it would have been nice to have had a last quick walk through her home, a last stroll in the garden.

Without looking at her he said quietly, ‘This is the best way, you know. Lingering goodbyes are much better avoided.’ He was suddenly brisk. ‘We’ll take Bessy to the train first and see her on to it—there’s time enough for that.’

At the last moment Bessy broke down. The professor had bought her ticket for her, put her cases on the train and stood with Jane on the platform. There were still a couple of minutes before the train was due to leave and Bessy appeared at the door, leaning out precariously. ‘Oh, Miss Jane, you will write? I’ll miss the ‘ouse and you and the animals. Wasn’t there no other way?’

Jane went and took her hand. ‘Bessy, dear, it’ll be all right, I promise you. Look, if I get a good job and can find somewhere to live, if you’re not quite settled with your sister you can come and live with me then we’ll be all together again.’

‘Promise?’

‘I promise, Bessy. I’ll write to you in a day or two—we still have each other and I’m sure Granny would have approved of what we’re doing.’

‘That nasty old Basil.’ Bessy wiped her eyes and managed a small smile and a moment later the train pulled out of the station. Jane waved until Bessy was nothing but a blur in the distance and then walked out of the station beside the professor. She wanted to have a good cry herself but that would have to wait.

She was distracted from her unhappy thoughts by the anxious mutterings and growls from the back of the car. The professor waited patiently while she soothed the animals, his face inscrutable, but she had no doubt that he was anxious to hand her over and be on his way. He had been kind in an impersonal way and after all, she reflected, he had got his own way, hadn’t he? She had saved him the bother of finding someone to take Miss Smithers’s place. All the same, she didn’t like to try his patience too far.

She was surprised when he stopped outside an inn a mile or so out of the town. ‘Coffee?’ he suggested. ‘I doubt if you will get it once you get to Lady Grimstone’s.’

‘Is there time?’

‘Ample. I dare say Bruno would like to stretch his legs too.’

They didn’t stay long but the coffee was hot and well made and the pub’s bar cheerful and warm. Back in the car she asked diffidently, ‘Have we upset your day? I do hope not. We—Bessy and I—are very grateful.’

‘I did tell you that I had another visit to pay close by, did I not?’

He spoke coldly, so that she observed with a snap, ‘Indeed you did, but one likes to express one’s gratitude.’

‘I stand corrected.’ He spoke carelessly and with impatience. Really, she thought, he had done so much for them and she should like him enormously for that but now she wasn’t sure if she liked him at all. But it was hard not to when they arrived, to find a decidedly bad-tempered Lady Grimstone waiting for them in the drawing-room.

‘I expected you sooner than this, Miss Fox,’ she snapped without bothering with a greeting.

‘My fault,’ said Professor van der Vollenhove. ‘I was detained and had no way of letting Miss Fox know that I would be later than we had arranged.’ He added blandly, ‘Indeed, I am very sorry to have caused you and her so much worry.’

Lady Grimstone’s high colour paled to a more normal shade. ‘Oh, well, I must forgive you, I suppose. Will you stay for lunch? I should like to hear how your dear mother is—we have had so little time to talk.’

‘I have an appointment in half an hour’s time in Salisbury, much as I should have enjoyed staying. I shall be coming this way again in the near future; perhaps you will invite me then. I must tell my mother how well you are looking.’

‘I should so like to see her again.’ Her eye lighted on Jane, standing quietly by the door. ‘You can go, Miss Fox, find Miss Smithers—I expect you to take over from her without any inconvenience to myself.’

‘Very well, Lady Grimstone.’ Jane made her voice colourless. ‘Goodbye, Professor van der Vollenhove.’

He went to open the door for her but he didn’t say anything. Why should he? she thought dispiritedly; his plans had worked out very well and he could forget her. She went downstairs and found Miss Smithers waiting for her. ‘I’ve put the cats and your dog in my room. Come and see them.’

‘What about yours?’

‘They’re in the kitchen. I hope you don’t mind but I’m going this afternoon—a friend with a car is coming to fetch me—it’s too good a chance to miss.’ She opened the door into her room. ‘I’ve shut the outer door so they’ll be quite safe here. There’s everything they need in the conservatory and I thought it might be a good idea if I fetched Bill and we went into the garden together with the two dogs.’

‘You’re going today?’ Jane suppressed panic. ‘I haven’t the least idea what to do …’

‘Not to worry, I’ve written everything down for you. The staff will help you—they’ve been here for years—Lady Grimstone is no fun to work for but they’re used to her and she pays them well.’

They released Percy and Simpkin, who began to prowl cautiously while Bruno sat watching them.

‘Has Professor van der Vollenhove gone?’ asked Miss Smithers.

‘He was still in the drawing-room but he said that he had to go almost at once.’

‘I’ll get Bill from the kitchen and we’ll have a quick run in the garden before Lady Grimstone rings. There’s food for the cats already put out. I’ll let you out of the garden door and meet you outside.’

Bill was elderly, good-natured and slow-moving; he stood patiently while Bruno circled him and decided to be friends and then wandered away in a ponderous fashion while Bruno made rings round him, pleased with his new friend.

‘Oh, good, you’ll not have any trouble with them, and I don’t see why the cats shouldn’t settle down too. When she rings I’ll tell Lady Grimstone that you’re unpacking—that will give you time to read through the notes I’ve written for you.’ Miss Smithers smiled kindly. ‘I’m sure you’ll do and bless you for coming—this job suits me—not many people will accept pets—but I really need a break. I’m off to Scotland to my married sister.’

‘I hope you have a lovely holiday—you’ll let me know when you’ll be back? If I get a job I’ll need to give the date when I’ll be free …’

‘I’ll let you know in good time. If everything goes to plan it should be in four weeks’ time.’ She whistled to Bill and went away with him and Jane followed her presently, to sit down on the one easy-chair in the room and study Miss Smithers’s instructions. They were concise and she would have been an idiot not to understand them; life, she could see, was going to be busy for the next four weeks—there was no menial work involved but any number of small chores: letter-writing, reading aloud, making conversation, accompanying Lady Grimstone if and when she chose to go out, walking Bill, making sure that she was settled each night and getting up in the small hours if Lady Grimstone chose to send for her—and at the bottom of the list Miss Smithers had written in her neat hand, ‘Sorting wool, unpicking embroidery, unpicking knitting, finding specs, acting as go-between with various local charities. A half-day a week free but you will need to remind her.’ This last sentence cheered her up; she could find out about buses to Blandford or Salisbury and if the buses didn’t fit with her off-duty the village shop would see to her small wants.

Four weeks wasn’t long, she told herself, making sure that she looked as much like a companion as possible. The bell went then and she went back upstairs and presented herself to Lady Grimstone.

Miss Smithers was there too, sitting quietly saying nothing while her employer reiterated Jane’s duties and then ordered Jane to ring the bell. ‘Since Miss Smithers is going on holiday I think we might drink to that,’ and when a boot-faced elderly man came into the room she said, ‘Blake, fetch the sherry—we wish to toast Miss Smithers, who is in the happy position of going on holiday.’ Lady Grimstone fixed a beady eye on Jane. ‘I only wish that my health allowed me to indulge in such extravagance.’

Miss Smithers said nothing; probably she had heard it all before, reflected Jane. ‘I think that one is entitled to a holiday if one works hard for one’s living.’

Lady Grimstone’s complexion took on a dangerous hue. ‘I’m sure you are entitled to your opinion, Miss Fox; you are, of course, talking of menial workers. Smithers has a pleasant, easy life here, as no doubt you will discover for yourself while she is away.’

They drank their thimblefuls of sherry and went downstairs to the dining-room, which was exactly as Jane had expected it to be—heavy with red chenille curtains and massive furniture, the table set with great elegance. She wondered why someone had gone to all that trouble when they were served a soup so thin that it might have been, and probably was, an Oxo cube dissolved in a pint of water, followed by very small lamb chops, each lost with its sprig of parsley on the splendid porcelain plate and accompanied by a side-plate on which were arranged very prettily one small potato, a sliver of carrot and a morsel of broccoli. Jane, who had a splendid appetite and pleasantly Junoesque proportions to sustain, made hers last as long as possible and hoped for a substantial pudding.

Blancmange—something she hadn’t eaten and had hated since early childhood. She rose from the table still hungry, and resolved to stock up with biscuits as soon as she could get to the village shop.

Lady Grimstone, leading the way majestically from the dining-room, said over her shoulder, ‘Miss Smithers, let us say au revoir now. Miss Fox, you are free until four o’clock after you have settled me for my nap. You will take Bill for a walk and take any telephone calls and open the afternoon post which you will bring with you at precisely the hour.’

She bade Miss Smithers goodbye and ascended the staircase with Jane on her heels. Lady Grimstone took her nap in the drawing-room, lying on a chaise-longue before a splendid fire, but before she could compose herself there was ten minutes’ hard work for Jane. A shawl to be wrapped just so around the lady’s well covered shoulders, a fine rug to be spread over the rest of her person, a small table fetched and a glass of water, smelling salts, a fan and a clean handkerchief with a small bottle of lavender water arranged upon it—and not anyhow; each item had its appointed place. Jane, finished at last to her employer’s satisfaction, thought that she looked like someone in a Regency novel.

‘You may now go and enjoy your afternoon,’ said Lady Grimstone graciously.

It would be a short afternoon, reflected Jane, it was already two o’clock and Bill had to have his walk; and how was she to answer the phone if she was walking him? She didn’t ask; time was too precious.

She found Miss Smithers in her room. ‘I forgot to tell you that Lady Grimstone doesn’t like big meals. There’s a tin of digestive biscuits in the top drawer of the dressing-table, you can stock up on your half-day—you don’t have to be in until ten o’clock and there’s a quiet little pub in the village where you can get a good meal. Just tell them you’re taking over from me for a week or two and they’ll look after you. If you wanted to go to Blandford or Salisbury I’m afraid you can’t—the buses don’t fit and, even if they did, by the time you got there it would be time to come back.’ She smiled. ‘It’s only for a month and the village shop has all the basics, newspapers and magazines and so on. The postman, Ted, will take your letters and bring anything you may want. You’ll be all right?’

A bit late to ask, thought Jane, and said that yes, everything was fine. ‘Then I’m off; the car’s outside for me. I’ve put the cats in.’

They shook hands and Miss Smithers went away and presently Jane heard the car as it was driven away.

It was a clear chilly afternoon and she went along to the kitchen and collected Bill, exchanged the time of day with Mrs Gibb the cook and Petts, the grim-faced woman who had let them in. There was another woman there too, small and round. ‘Sarah,’ said Mrs Gibb, ‘gives a hand round the house—comes each day.’ She smiled at Jane. ‘New to this kind of job, are you? Thought so—well, we’ll all give you a helping hand if you need it.’

Jane thanked her, collected Bill and went back to her room, opened the door and let out Percy and Simpkin, also Bruno, and set off to explore the grounds. The garden around the house gave way presently to a shrubbery and a wide expanse of grass planted with ornamental trees and circled and criss-crossed by narrow paths—ideal for the animals since there was a twelve-foot wall surrounding them. She walked briskly, feeling the first chill of autumn, and as she walked she made plans. She would get the postman to take a note to the post office in the village; once she could get one of the nursing magazines delivered she could start to apply for a job. It might have to be temporary again but she had to have somewhere to go when she left Lady Grimstone, somewhere where the dog and cats would be welcome; she had better order the Lady too; failing a nursing post she could go as a companion at least for the time being while she found exactly what she wanted. She might have to go back to London …

She took her companions indoors, unpacked and then explored her room. It was comfortable enough and had its own small bathroom as well as the conservatory. She had been lucky to get the job, she reflected, a thought which led naturally enough to Professor van der Vollenhove. Did he work in London, she wondered, or did he live in Holland and travel around? Probably the latter, she thought, if he was sufficiently well known. During her years in hospital she had met several medical men who travelled widely, famous not only in their own country but in half the world as well. Her thoughts lingered on him and she wondered if she would see him again. It seemed unlikely. She was puzzling over her feeling of regret at the thought when she glanced at her watch; time to see if there was any post and tidy herself ready for what she hoped would be tea and cake.

Bill had stayed in her room, perfectly happy with his new friends, and, not sure if Lady Grimstone wanted him or not, she left him there and went along to the kitchen. Mrs Gibbs was at the table, cutting wafer-thin bread and butter.

‘The post?’ asked Jane. ‘I was told to collect it—do I come here for it?’

‘The hall, miss, on the table under the tiger head. If you want to see the postman he’s here every morning at half-past seven, having a cuppa with us. He’ll take your letters and bring you anything from the shop. Been doing it for years for Miss Smithers.’

She glanced at the old-fashioned clock on the wall. ‘Tea in ten minutes, miss; time you got that post and had it ready for her ladyship.’

Jane thanked her and fetched the few letters on the tray. She slit the envelopes and carried them upstairs just as the long case clock in the hall chimed the hour.

She went into the drawing-room quietly and paused. Lady Grimstone was snoring with tremendous gusto but Jane supposed that she wouldn’t want the servants to see her like that, lying anyhow, when they brought the tea-tray. She opened the curtains and let in the early dusk and her employer woke with a snort and sat up.

‘I must have dozed off after lunch—it was rather a heavy meal.’ A remark Jane felt unable to answer as she unwound the shawl and rug and helped Lady Grimstone to her feet, eased her into her chair and handed the post. Just in nice time; the tea-tray, borne by Blake, arrived then—Earl Grey tea, milkless of course, bread and butter she could see through and very small fairy cakes. Lady Grimstone ate all but one of the cakes.

In bed at last, Jane reflected on her day. It hadn’t been too bad; although dinner, for which she had been told to dress, had been as meagre as lunch and she had eaten half the biscuits as she got ready for bed and was still hungry; the roast pigeon and straw potatoes followed by semolina shape had done little to fill her. ‘But it’s only for a month,’ she told Percy and Simpkin, curled up at the end of the bed, and Bruno from his basket growled gently. ‘At least we’re all together, thanks to Professor van der Vollenhove.’

She fell asleep thinking about him.

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