Kitty’s War. Terri Nixon

was on her feet now, too, and had moved to Will’s side. She slipped her hand through his arm, and turned to face Mr Beresford, plainly furious. ‘Why didn’t you tell me who you were?’

      ‘I didn’t know what he’d told you about me,’ he said, and his voice shook. All his previous confidence, and slightly sardonic coolness, had vanished. ‘I thought you might send me away, and I couldn’t blame you if you did. But…Will, I had to see you.’

      Will gently extricated himself from Evie’s grasp, and squeezed her hand before crossing to stand before Mr Beresford. His voice was quiet, but tight-sounding, as if it was an effort for him to say anything at all. ‘You ruined me.’

      ‘I know.’ Mr Beresford lowered his gaze, unable to look up into Will’s face. ‘I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do… I had to leave.’

      ‘No letters?’ Will’s voice hardened now, and I saw a flicker of relief on Evie’s face that he wasn’t just going to brush whatever this man had done aside and welcome him back into his life.

      ‘I wrote, Will! That’s the truth. You must have already moved on.’

      ‘I had no choice, thanks to you!’

      ‘I know, and I’m sorry,’ Mr Beresford said again. ‘I hadn’t planned to stay away so long, but by the time I realised I couldn’t come back it was too late.’

      Frances chose that moment to bring in a tray of warm drinks, and looked from Evie, to Will and Mr Beresford, and back again. ‘Not again! What’s happening tonight? Will, are you all right, lad?’

      ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Thank you, Frances, I’m fine.’ But he didn’t sound it.

      Mr Beresford ignored everyone else and gripped Will’s arm. ‘I wrote to you, I swear. And to your family. They must have ignored my letters, or not been able to find you to pass them on. Look, let’s talk, just you and me. Like we used to. What do you say?’

      Will studied him for a moment, then nodded. ‘Tomorrow.’ He was standing awkwardly, slightly hunched, and I guessed he’d been overdoing things again.

      Evie noticed it too, and laid a gentle hand on his back. ‘Now Nathan’s here, he can do some of those jobs you keep pretending you’re not doing,’ she said, trying to make him smile.

      Will didn’t take his eyes off Mr Beresford. ‘Oh, I think he owes me at least that much,’ he said softly. ‘Tomorrow,’ he repeated, and Mr Beresford nodded.

      ‘I’ll explain everything.’

      ‘Yes.’ Then, to everyone’s surprise, not least of all Mr Beresford’s, Will pulled the man into a rough hug. Slowly, Mr Beresford’s arms came up to return it, taking great care not to grasp Will too tightly.

      ‘I’m so sorry,’ he said again, and he sounded as if he were fighting tears. I glanced at Evie, who was observing her husband with a mixture of exasperation and deep, almost painful affection, and she gave me a watery smile and shrugged. When Will and Mr Beresford broke apart, I looked again at the visitor’s face. Nothing about his sudden emotional response seemed forced. His eyes were reddened, but they followed Will and Evie as they left the room, and his breath was shaky as he raised a hand to bid them goodnight. He coughed again, and I wondered how long he had been on the road to have caught a chill like that in the summer.

      ‘How do you know Will, Mr Beresford?’ I asked, to break the silence that followed their departure.

      ‘We’re old friends,’ he said, still looking at the closed door. Then he turned away and looked at both of us in turn. ‘I should think you ought to call me Nathan now, don’t you?’ He bestowed his warm smile on Belinda, who straightened in her seat, and his voice returned to its previous lightness, his manner once more the charming, well-bred young man—it was as if someone somewhere had thrown a switch. ‘Such extraordinary luck to have bumped into you. You must allow me to buy you something pretty when I get my money.’

      ‘Oh, there’s no need,’ she said, although her smile made it clear a gift would not be rebuffed. ‘How long is it since you’ve seen Will?’

      But Nathan shook his head. ‘I want to talk to him first; it’s not fair that I should discuss it with anyone else until I have.’

      ‘You really didn’t know he was here?’ I asked.

      Nathan looked at me shrewdly, his lips pursed. ‘Tomorrow,’ he said, echoing Will. And he would say no more on the subject.

      The following morning, neither Belinda nor I wanted to leave the house; we were both desperate to hear the story behind this stranger and his connection with our Will. It was clearly a complicated friendship they shared, but one deep enough to allow the unlikely gesture of a warm embrace and tears, amidst the shock and suspicion of their reacquaintance. Especially in a room full of women. But Frances quickly tired of us finding excuses to remain in the kitchen and, knowing full well the reason behind it, gave us a job to do safely away from the farmhouse.

      ‘Jane’s replacement arrives today, and will need collecting from the station.’

      Belinda saw a chance to stall further. ‘What’s she called? And is she nice?’

      ‘She’s called Jessie. Well, Frances Jessica, but she likes to be known by Jessie. And yes, of course she’s nice. She’s the daughter of an old friend of mine.’

      ‘Another Frances? Where’s she coming from?’

      ‘Stop chattering! I know you’re only trying to fill time. Anyway, Jessie’s finished her training, and arrives in Princetown on the mid-morning train. You’re to take the trap and fetch her.’

      ‘Which one of us?’ I asked, hoping it would be Belinda. She was hoping it would be me.

      ‘Both of you,’ Frances said firmly. ‘I want young Will and his friend to have time to talk things over, without the likes of you silly girls poking your noses in. I’m sure Evie will tell you all she feels you need to know, later on.’

      ‘But we don’t both need to go!’ Belinda protested, and Frances shrugged.

      ‘All right then. Kitty can take the trap, and you can finish out in the barn since I notice you’ve still got two corners to clear.’

      I saw Bel weighing up the options of a ride out to Princetown, fresh air, and a first glimpse at the new girl, against the gloom of an old barn, spiders, and the smell of damp hessian and droppings.

      ‘Perhaps her bags will be heavy,’ I said helpfully. ‘I’m not sure I could manage alone.’

      ‘Oh all right,’ Belinda agreed. ‘I’ll come and help.’

      Frances gave one of her rare chuckles. ‘Speaking of bags, don’t forget to take something to tie them down with. You don’t want them flying off in the road. If you get the trap ready now you’ll be in plenty of time to meet the train.’

      Belinda and I escaped with sighs of relief, and later, as we drove up to Princetown, I speculated on the new arrival. ‘She’s had some training then. Did you have any?’

      ‘I did, yes, but it’s only four weeks in any case,’ Belinda pointed out. ‘You can’t learn a lot in that time, and you don’t really know what you’re doing until you’ve seen a full year on a farm. Then again, if she already knows Mrs Adams she won’t have to worry about getting into bother over mistakes.’

      Her slightly gloomy tone told me she was thinking of her own numerous instances of bother, and I smiled in sympathy and changed the subject. ‘Was Jane sad to leave?’

      She nodded. ‘She did like it here, but one of us had to take care of Mother, and Jane’s got far more about her than I have. More patience too. I wonder if this new girl really wanted to do this, or if she’d rather have been off nursing or something.’

      ‘Like you would?’

      Belinda