The Village Show (Tales from Turnham Malpas) (17 page)

‘You should have had a bigger marquee for the competitions. I did say so at the time, but I was overruled. If it had been bigger there would have been room for eggs.’

‘’Ere, just a minute. What’s happened to the cake competitions? There’s none for adults, they’re all for children. My mum’ll have something to say about this – she’s a miracle with a Victoria sponge.’ Barry glared at
Sheila. She swallowed hard. There seemed to be no end to the unpleasant discoveries tonight.

Pat looked down the schedule Barry was holding. ‘Shortbread’s my thing and there’s no classes! There’s always shortbread classes. Look ’ere, Sheila, you’ve overstepped the mark.’

Jeremy, who’d had to come to the meeting before he could have his supper, swore under his breath; hunger always made him short-tempered. ‘I’ve something better to do than sit here listening to arguments about shortbread and eggs. Let’s get on with it. Mr Fitch has suggested that I take charge of the money and lodge it in the office safe until we have time to count it. He’ll make sure he’s here to open the Show and he wants room on the dais for three guests; he suggests we choose three of us to represent the committee. So that’ll be seven in all – quite enough. Two of his guests will be ladies and he would like them to be presented with bouquets. Large ones.’

Michael proposed that Caroline, Louise and Pat should sit on the dais.

Caroline declined. Louise agreed and Pat agreed and then realised she’d be too busy at that juncture and she’d look a fool in her waitress uniform anyway. She’d have to propose someone fast, anyone to stop Sheila preening herself up there in front of everybody. ‘I can’t accept as I shall be too busy then in the food marquee. Don’t you think we should have a man on the platform, otherwise Mr Fitch will be the only one. What about Louise, Bryn and Mr Palmer?’

Bryn nodded his agreement. ‘That’s settled then. Louise, write down me, you and Michael.’

Sheila protested at the unfairness of this. ‘But what about me? I’ve done a lot for this Show! It’s not right. I ought to be on the platform.’

A deathly hush fell. Faint hearts looked at their shoes, stronger ones at a point somewhere west of Sheila’s shoulders. As no one backed her up she said, ‘Oh right. That’s how it is, is it? You can organise your blasted Show as best you can. I’m having nothing more to do with it.’ She picked up her bag and began stuffing her papers into it.

Jeremy said, ‘Now see here, Sheila, we never meant to upset you.’

Pat muttered, ‘Didn’t we?’

‘This little contretemps can soon be resolved, can’t it?’ Jeremy looked meaningfully round the circle of members. Michael took it upon himself to volunteer not to be on the platform.

‘Seeing as the fancy-dress parade is the first in the arena I shall really be too busy supervising the children to have time to sit on the platform, so please, Lady Bissett, have my place. I’m sure you’ll grace the platform far more decoratively than I shall.’

Wryly Pat whispered to Barry, ‘He’s right there. Her outfit will be Buckingham-Palace-Garden-Party-here-I-come standard, you’ll see.’

Sheila, with her back to everyone as she zipped up her bag, stopped midway, beamed triumphantly and then, changing her face into an excellent impression of a woebegone spaniel, sat down again and said, ‘Well, all right then. Seeing as you’ve asked me so nicely, I will sit on the platform – though how I shall find the time I really don’t know, I shall be so busy.’

Pat jumped in quickly at this hint of doubt. ‘In that case then we’ll ask Dr Harris again, shall we? You’d do it, wouldn’t you?’

‘No, thank you.’

Louise said, ‘That’s settled then. Bryn, me and Mother
on the platform. I’ve made a note about the bouquets, Jeremy – I’ll order those. Now, shall we continue? Who’s going to be on the gate?’

Jeremy solved that by offering two estate-workers who’d been pressganged by Mr Fitch into giving a hand. ‘They’re both big and beefy so you’ll have no trouble with gatecrashers trying to get in for nothing.’

After they’d cleared up several more points Louise was just arranging the date of the next meeting when Barry said, ‘Before the meeting closes I think we should sort out this question of the classes which have been scrubbed. No good sweeping it under the carpet. Can we have an extra sheet printed, or something, so that the egg classes and that are back in?’

Sheila took a deep breath intending to enter the fray before things got out of hand but she felt a sharp dig in her ribs from Louise, so she kept quiet.

Michael answered him. ‘I think that would be a very good idea. After all, we are doing this for the sake of the village, profit is not our prime motive, and if that’s what the village expects then that’s what they must have. A few eggs are not the stuff of crises, are they? Nor indeed are some more cake classes. Can we ask Lady Bissett to amend her lists please, before it causes trouble? We can blame it on a printing error.’

Linda agreed with him. ‘I second that.’

‘So do I. I’ve done two lots of shortbread to make sure I get me hand in before the day, and I think I’m on a winning streak. What do you say, Louise?’ Pat looked hard at Louise as she said this. ‘Well?’

‘OK then. I’ll type an amendment, photocopy it and slip it in each programme. Won’t bother the printer – he’ll only charge the earth.’

Michael stood up. ‘May I offer a word of thanks to Louise for all this unpaid work she is doing for us? We all go away with a few jobs to complete but she has to keep her hands on everything that’s going on. We’re really most grateful to you for your wonderful organisation. All your lists and meticulous attention to detail, we’re very lucky to have your services. You’re doing an excellent job. Thank you.’ He looked round the circle and putting his hands together, waited for the others to do the same. They all began clapping. Louise looked embarrassed.

Pat muttered, ‘If only she’d stick to her lists we’d all do better.’

‘What did you say, Pat?’ Sheila broke off from clapping. She’d heard what had been said, and still smarting from Pat’s victory over the cake classes was determined to show Pat up for what she was.

‘I said it’s good she sticks to her lists, that way nothing gets missed, does it?’

‘That’s not what you said.’

‘If you knew what I said, why did you ask me to repeat it?’

‘It was a nasty remark you made. It’s not fair, she’s working really hard.’

‘All depends what she’s working
at
, doesn’t it?’

Caroline stood up and said, ‘We’ve arranged the date for the next meeting, so shall we all go? Willie will be wanting to lock up.’

Ignoring Caroline’s calming remark, Sheila stood up and said with a threatening look on her face, ‘And what do you mean by that?’

‘She knows what I mean only too well.’

Caroline said, ‘Pat, please,’ in a pleading tone.

‘It has to be said, Dr Harris.’ Pat looked directly at
Louise. ‘We each of us know what you’ve been up to – well, you’d better put a stop to it right now, ’cos we won’t stand for it.’

Louise stood up and looking directly at Pat said, ‘
I
have done nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing.’

Pat stood up and hands on hips said belligerently: ‘You’re not suggesting the rector
encouraged you?’

Barry took her arm. ‘Now Pat, be careful.’

‘Careful? It needs saying. She’s doing an excellent job with the Show, but heaven help us! She’s causing trouble and it’s got to stop.’

While Pat had been speaking, Sheila had been saying, ‘What does she mean? I don’t understand.’

Linda, seeing an opportunity to get back at Sheila, and indirectly at Louise for her condescending treatment of her at the post office counter, jumped in with support. ‘No good trying to kid us that you’ve had
encouragement
at the rectory. That’s enough to make a cat laugh.’

‘Encouragement? What
are
you women talking about?’ Jeremy had now finally run out of patience. ‘If there are no more committee matters to discuss, then I for one am going home. I want my supper. Good night.’ He marched for the door. Michael and Bryn wanted to do the same but both felt they should stay, just in case.

Caroline, normally so in control of herself and of events, tonight found herself quite unable to take command of the situation.

Barry said quietly to Pat, ‘Leave it, leave it, there’s going to be too much said that should be left unsaid.’

Pat ignored him and drove home her attack. ‘Dressing like Dr Harris indeed! We all noticed. Think we’re blind or something? Stick to what yer know best, lists and computers and things.’

‘I don’t have to put up with this kind of attack. All this malicious gossip, it’s so unfair and quite unwarranted. Here,’ she handed Pat her file and when Pat didn’t take hold of it she dropped it on the floor, ‘take that and you can be secretary seeing as you know so much. We’ll see what kind of a good job you can make of it.’ Louise picked up her bag and left, very close to tears because of Pat’s attack. Wherever she went, whatever she did it always came back to the same theme. All she was fit for in other people’s eyes was administration and organisation. Nothing else. Surely to God there was more to her than that … wasn’t there?

Sir Ronald was at home watching the football in the sitting room. When the front door banged open he leapt guilty out of his chair. He called out, ‘Kettle’s boiled, the tea won’t be a minute.’ As he crossed the hall to the kitchen he realised Sheila was crying.

‘Now then, old girl, what’s the matter?’

‘I don’t know. Ask her.’ She jerked her thumb at Louise and then burst into fresh storms of weeping.

‘What have you been saying to her, eh?’

‘Nothing, Dad, nothing. It’s me who’s been hurt, not Mother. There’s nothing to blame me for.’ Louise flung down her bag and made to go up the stairs.

‘Just a minute, madam. You may be an adult but while you’re under our roof you owe me an explanation of why yer mother’s so upset.’

Sheila stopped crying long enough to blurt out, ‘She’s resigned from the Show committee.’

‘Well, you nearly did too,’ Louise sniffed.

‘But that was because of the classes. I don’t know why
you
nearly resigned. What was it Pat was meaning? And
Linda? She said about the “rectory” and “encouragement”. What did she mean?’

Louise pressed her lips tightly together. Her father saw the child in her and remembered the fierce arguments they’d had when she was young. Give him their Brendan any day. He barked at her, ‘I’m still waiting for an explanation and I don’t care if it takes all night. What have you been doing?’

‘I’ve been doing nothing. It’s other people who’ve been “doing”, not me.’

Sheila remembered. ‘Is it something to do with Caroline? She was very white-faced. Was it her? Have you been arguing with her?’

‘We don’t like each other, but it’s not her.’

Sheila wiped her nose again and then asked, ‘Sylvia then?’

‘It’s not Sylvia.’

Sir Ronald groaned inwardly. ‘That only leaves the rector.’

Louise, with eyes downcast said, ‘Don’t blame me, I’ve done nothing.’

Sir Ronald persisted with his quest for the truth. ‘Then if
you’ve
done nothing, what’s all the fuss about?’

Louise took a deep breath to control her tears. The truth. She couldn’t tell them the truth no matter what. She couldn’t admit to rejection once again, not again. ‘They all … well, Pat Duckett seems to think I’ve been making overtures to the rector. I haven’t, of course not, for heaven’s sake, but that’s what they think.’

His eyes widened. ‘You don’t mean the rector’s been … Lovely chap though he is, and I wouldn’t have a wrong word said against him, he does have a certain reputation which probably you don’t know about. I can understand he’s very attractive to women. Oh yes.’

‘I refuse to say anything which might damage his reputation. Now can I go to bed? I’ll have my tea in bed, Mother, and I’ll have one of those plain biscuits as well … please.’ Her parents watched her walk up the stairs and when they heard her bedroom door close they looked at each other.

‘Ron, I ought to believe her, I am her mother after all, but I don’t.’

‘You don’t?’

‘No. I think she’s been making all the running and he’s been backing off as fast as he can, but she won’t let go. There’s something strange happened at the bank which she won’t tell me about.’

‘But she got made redundant, she said so.’

‘I know she did, but there’s more to it than that.’

‘She doesn’t usually lie. What do you think happened, then?’

‘I don’t honestly know anything, it’s just a feeling I have.’

‘Woman’s intuition, eh?’ He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her an understanding hug.

Sheila wiped her eyes, dropped the tissue in the metal waste-basket she’d decorated with flowered fabric and trimmed with gold fringe, and whispered, ‘Oh Ron, whatever are we going to do? What she really needs is to meet a nice man.’ Sheila’s eyes glowed. ‘That’s it! I bet that was it! There was a man involved at the bank.’

‘The sooner she gets a job and moves away the better.’

‘Amen to that!’