Free Intrigue in the Village (Turnham Malpas 10) by Rebecca Shaw

there’ll be no more gossiping like old fishwives.’
    ‘Well, that’ll make a refreshing change.’
    Angie said through her tears, ‘Not before time. I’m sorry.’
    Kate patted her arm. ‘Nothing to be sorry about, Mrs Turner. It was very hurtful. I fear she wasn’t thinking what she was saying. Must be off. I left my desk covered in paperwork. Teaching would be all right if I didn’t have so many forms to fill in. They arrive by the vanload sometimes, well, at least it feels like that. Oh for the good old days when all they kept was the register and the school log book.’
    Back at school, Kate opened up the secure cupboard though how safe it would be if someone was determined to get in it was debatable, and took out the very first volume of the school log book with the intention of reading it after she and Craddock had eaten their evening meal. The sweetest smile came over her face when she thought about Craddock and she revelled in her thoughts about him for a while, only pulling herself together when she heard Mrs Dobbs whizzing round the hall with her sweeping brush. If she didn’t keep a guard on herself she’d be drooling over him like a teenage schoolgirl, but why not? They’d only been married weeks and she acknowledged already they were the best weeks of her life so far.Because they were having fun, the two of them, which she’d promised him they would.
    Mrs Dobbs thrust her head round the door. ‘Going yet? I’ve got your office to do next. Got to keep to my working plan, or I’ll lose the thread of what I’ve done and not done, if you get my meaning.’
    ‘Five minutes.’
    ‘OK! I’ll water the plants while I wait.’
    Kate smiled at the fact that Mrs Dobbs couldn’t help but mention her working plan. It was a methodical way of cleaning the school, which Kate had set up a fortnight after Mrs Dobbs had started the job, mainly because she left some jobs entirely undone and cleaned other things every day, which really only needed attention once a week. But it was a thorn in Mrs Dobbs’s flesh, and she never ceased letting her know it.
    When Kate emerged from her office, Mrs Dobbs was leaning on her brush handle looking injured. ‘About time. I’ve something better to do than stand here waiting for you. School’s finished and I expect to be able to get on with my work straight away. I’ve done the classrooms and, according to your list, the hall and your office are next.’
    Kate smiled graciously and said, ‘And a very good job you do too, Mrs Dobbs. When Bel Tutt left I thought we’d be in a real mess but, lo and behold, you move into the village and come to our rescue. I’ve nothing but praise for your standards. Goodnight. See you tomorrow.’
    Ashamed of her very obvious bootlicking, Kate started up her car, realized she’d left the school log book behind and decided to go back to get it, rather than leave it out all night. Walking lightly back down the corridor in her flat shoes, Kate saw the office door was ajar; Mrs Dobbs wasobviously still in there. With her back to the door, Maggie was blithely flicking through a file, which Kate knew had been in the filing cabinet when she left. Kate tiptoed back a few paces and then coughed, paused and then walked into the office. ‘I’ve left a school log book out somewhere. Ah! There it is! Goodnight!’
    Mrs Dobbs had been starting to clean the washbasin when she’d walked in, but Kate knew differently. Good cleaners, like good teachers, were hard to come by and she’d no intention of losing Mrs Dobbs, because, despite her faults, she did clean well and was reliable. She’d just have to remember to lock the filing cabinet as well as her secure cupboard, every single night.
    That evening she became so engrossed in the log book she quite forgot Craddock until he surprised her by asking, ‘What’s so interesting in that old book?’
    Kate looked up at him. ‘It’s fascinating,’ she said. ‘Listen to this: “
Five strokes of the