complete with a vase of lilies of the valley, and a selection of reading matter on the bedside table.
She and Harold went to check the room during the afternoon. The two friends were due at four o'clock, and Isobel still had the cucumber sandwiches to prepare.
'It all looks splendid,' said Harold heartily, surveying the twin beds, smooth and glossy in their matching bedspreads.
'I think they would enjoy Ellis Peters' latest, and Dick Francis's, wouldn't you?' asked Isobel anxiously.
'Be mad if they didn't,' Harold assured her. 'And what about a magazine or two?'
Isobel nodded agreement, tweaked a lily of the valley into place, and decided it really all looked extremely peaceful.
They made their way downstairs, and Isobel set off to the kitchen. There was a cheerful hooting from the front of the house, and there was the well-polished Metro on the drive, with hands fluttering from its windows.
'They're here! They're here!' cried Isobel, and hurried out to greet them in the greatest excitement.
3. News of Old Friends
NATURALLY, the arrival of the two ladies had been noticed by most of the Thrush Green residents long before the last of Isobel's cucumber sandwiches had been eaten.
The first to see the car draw up was Muriel Fuller, who lived at Rectory Cottages and immediately had taken up a strategic position on one of the seats on Thrush Green. It had an excellent view of the Shoosmiths' house, and as Muriel wore dark glasses and held a newspaper, the casual passerby would assume that she was simply enjoying the sunshine.
For most of her working life Muriel had been head-teacher at the little school at Nidden, a mile or two north along the road from Thrush Green. When the school had closed, she was fortunate enough to be allotted one of the seven homes under the care of Bill and Jane Cartwright.
She had continued to give part-time teaching help with Miss Watson and Miss Fogerty, and so looked forward more keenly than most to seeing her friends again. She also intended to tell them how disappointed she was by the new headmaster's attitude: he had not required her part-time services, and Miss Fuller was indignant.
A close second in the race to see the visitors was Ella Bembridge. She was clipping a few early shoots from the front hedge and had forgotten about the Shoosmiths' visitors, her mind still busy on the Lovelock sisters' odd ways, as she snipped away.
Mr Jones at the public house saw them through the window of the bar, as they drew up at Harold's. Across the green Winnie Bailey, widow of Doctor Donald Bailey who had attended to Thrush Green's illnesses for many years, noticed the Metro standing in Harold's drive as she washed her hands before tea. By five o'clock, eighty per cent of the local residents were happy in the knowledge that the two respected ladies had arrived safely.
But it was Ella who stumped across the green as soon as the six o'clock news had finished. Genuinely anxious to see her old friends and having no qualms about the possibility of being de trop, she put her head into the open front door, and gave a cheerful shout.
'Anyone home? Welcome back!'
Albert Piggott, who expected to be one of the first to see anything of note occurring at Thrush Green, was rather annoyed to miss the arrival of the retired schoolteachers. He had spent an hour or two weeding Dotty Harmer's garden and, as usual, had been held up by Dotty's scatter-brained suggestions.
'What about a bird-box in that walnut tree?' was one of her proposals. 'I'm quite sure I saw a green woodpecker there the other evening.'
As the walnut tree was about forty feet in height, and Albert suffered from vertigo, he quashed this suggestion.
'Come and see my rhubarb,' urged Dotty. 'A splendid second crop coming. Do help yourself.'
With such things had Albert been delayed, but he arrived back at the cottage a few minutes before Nelly and had exerted himself enough to put on the kettle.
'Them teachers come?' enquired Nelly, flinging a
She and Harold went to check the room during the afternoon. The two friends were due at four o'clock, and Isobel still had the cucumber sandwiches to prepare.
'It all looks splendid,' said Harold heartily, surveying the twin beds, smooth and glossy in their matching bedspreads.
'I think they would enjoy Ellis Peters' latest, and Dick Francis's, wouldn't you?' asked Isobel anxiously.
'Be mad if they didn't,' Harold assured her. 'And what about a magazine or two?'
Isobel nodded agreement, tweaked a lily of the valley into place, and decided it really all looked extremely peaceful.
They made their way downstairs, and Isobel set off to the kitchen. There was a cheerful hooting from the front of the house, and there was the well-polished Metro on the drive, with hands fluttering from its windows.
'They're here! They're here!' cried Isobel, and hurried out to greet them in the greatest excitement.
3. News of Old Friends
NATURALLY, the arrival of the two ladies had been noticed by most of the Thrush Green residents long before the last of Isobel's cucumber sandwiches had been eaten.
The first to see the car draw up was Muriel Fuller, who lived at Rectory Cottages and immediately had taken up a strategic position on one of the seats on Thrush Green. It had an excellent view of the Shoosmiths' house, and as Muriel wore dark glasses and held a newspaper, the casual passerby would assume that she was simply enjoying the sunshine.
For most of her working life Muriel had been head-teacher at the little school at Nidden, a mile or two north along the road from Thrush Green. When the school had closed, she was fortunate enough to be allotted one of the seven homes under the care of Bill and Jane Cartwright.
She had continued to give part-time teaching help with Miss Watson and Miss Fogerty, and so looked forward more keenly than most to seeing her friends again. She also intended to tell them how disappointed she was by the new headmaster's attitude: he had not required her part-time services, and Miss Fuller was indignant.
A close second in the race to see the visitors was Ella Bembridge. She was clipping a few early shoots from the front hedge and had forgotten about the Shoosmiths' visitors, her mind still busy on the Lovelock sisters' odd ways, as she snipped away.
Mr Jones at the public house saw them through the window of the bar, as they drew up at Harold's. Across the green Winnie Bailey, widow of Doctor Donald Bailey who had attended to Thrush Green's illnesses for many years, noticed the Metro standing in Harold's drive as she washed her hands before tea. By five o'clock, eighty per cent of the local residents were happy in the knowledge that the two respected ladies had arrived safely.
But it was Ella who stumped across the green as soon as the six o'clock news had finished. Genuinely anxious to see her old friends and having no qualms about the possibility of being de trop, she put her head into the open front door, and gave a cheerful shout.
'Anyone home? Welcome back!'
Albert Piggott, who expected to be one of the first to see anything of note occurring at Thrush Green, was rather annoyed to miss the arrival of the retired schoolteachers. He had spent an hour or two weeding Dotty Harmer's garden and, as usual, had been held up by Dotty's scatter-brained suggestions.
'What about a bird-box in that walnut tree?' was one of her proposals. 'I'm quite sure I saw a green woodpecker there the other evening.'
As the walnut tree was about forty feet in height, and Albert suffered from vertigo, he quashed this suggestion.
'Come and see my rhubarb,' urged Dotty. 'A splendid second crop coming. Do help yourself.'
With such things had Albert been delayed, but he arrived back at the cottage a few minutes before Nelly and had exerted himself enough to put on the kettle.
'Them teachers come?' enquired Nelly, flinging a
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