Free Holding On by Marcia Willett Page A

brighter,’ said Fox hopefully, when Ellen was out of earshot. ‘Found out what’s wrong?’
    â€˜Not really.’ Caroline gathered the waste from the beans neatly into a sheet of newspaper. ‘It could simply be that there’s another change ahead. Susanna off to Bristol and Fliss off to Hong Kong. She’s not a one for change, Ellen.’
    â€˜Says she’s got a pain in her chest.’ Fox sounded studiedly casual. ‘Indigestion, I told her, hoping to calm her down. Proper bit my head off, she did. Couldn’t be anything more serious, perhaps?’
    â€˜I don’t think it’s physical,’ Caroline assured him. ‘She’s just low in spirits and worrying about Fliss. It’s odd, really. Before the children came there were just the three of you here. She didn’t mind about that, I imagine?’
    â€˜It was different somehow.’ Fox tried to cast his mind back to those days. ‘We’d had the boys growing up, Peter and John, that is. Lots of coming and going then, especially when they went to Dartmouth and began bringing friends home. Then there was the war. Well, that was different again. Everyone in the same boat and trying to keep going. After the war Prue and the twins came down often and so did Peter and Alison, with Jamie and Fliss as little ones. Quite a houseful we had then. There was a bit of a gap when Peter went off to Kenya but Prue still came often with Hal and Kit so there wasn’t an absolute break, if you take my meaning. Once the twins started school the visits got a bit less and we began to settle into a routine down here. What a shock it was when we heard the news and hardly had time to take it in when we had three small children to look after. Shook us all up, it did.’ He laughed a little. ‘Funny, really, I remember we felt a right set of old fogeys when they small ones arrived. Didn’t know how we’d manage. Looking back, we were still young ’uns. Though I have to say, maid, it was a great relief when you turned up.’
    Caroline smiled at him. ‘It was a good day for me, too. I still think that Ellen’s problem is that she doesn’t like change. And the children are growing up, of course. It’s a great pity that Fliss will be abroad when she has the baby. A new baby would have been just what was needed to cheer Ellen up and take her mind off things.’
    â€˜Keeps saying she won’t live to see it,’ mumbled Fox. He shot a glance at Caroline and looked away. ‘Told her it’s morbid. No reason to think such a thing.’
    Caroline felt a tiny stab of fear pierce her heart and pushed it resolutely away.
    â€˜Susanna will cheer her up,’ she said hopefully. ‘Suppose we get everyone together for a weekend? Fliss can come over and we’ll get Kit down from London. Hal and Maria will be here in a week or so anyway. A big family party, that’s what we need. It’ll take Ellen’s mind off things. What d’you think?’
    â€˜That young man’s asking for a thick ear,’ said Ellen, reappearing before Fox could answer. ‘Making games of me, cheeky monkey. Never shall I get this new money sorted out. “Can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” I told him and he said it was a good thing my bark was worse than my bite. Now, where’s that sieve?’
    â€˜I’ll put the kettle on and give Josh a call,’ said Caroline. ‘He’s in the orchard scything the grass. He’ll be glad of a break.’
    â€˜I’ll go,’ said Fox with alacrity. ‘Hot work that is. The boy’ll be ready for a cuppa.’
    Ellen opened her mouth – and closed it again, biting her lip as Fox hobbled out. She’d been about to observe that Josh’s tea would be cold long before Fox reached the orchard and that Caroline should go instead but she was becoming more and more sensitive to Fox’s need still to