Four Days in October

Chapter Three: Day Two (Sunday)

Mirabelle pealed with laughter and the cook smiled apologetically. 'Well, perhaps I'm exaggerating,' she said, 'but you must admit, she's a troublemaker. After all, you've been standing out in the rain all morning because of her.' 

'Yes,' agreed Mirabelle, 'and now Mr Digby is standing in my place. I know, I'm not very happy about it, but Maria seems to attract villains like bees to a honeypot.' 

'Well, at least you got a good night's sleep last night,' the cook added. 

'Yes, for a change! Even Leon was so tired that he slept all night. Mr Dennis and Dick Jones stood guard in the mews, but no one came to trouble us. Perhaps she's worn the villains out as well as us.' 

'Let's hope so.' Mrs Dorran drained her tea and rose to her feet. 'Well, it's time for me to serve lunch, so if you can call those two young flipperty-gibbets who call themselves housemaids and tell them to lay the table, I'll get lunch ready for them to take up.' 

Mirabelle went up the stairs to the ground floor of the house, where she found Megs and Emily already laying the table in the little dining room. 'Oh, there you are,' cried Megs, 'we were looking for you!' 

'I was in the mews, guarding Mrs Maria's window,' replied Mirabelle, a little annoyed. Clearly the maids hadn't looked very far. 

'We thought we'd get some flowers for Mrs Maria,' said Emily. 'To cheer her up.' 

'That would be kind,' agreed Mirabelle, feeling guilty at once for her annoyance. 

The two maids brightened at her approval. 'What do you think she'd like?' asked Megs. 'I said white roses, and Emily said lilies.' 

Mirabelle thought. 'She's already white enough as it is,' she said. 'How about red roses? Something romantic? We should go out to the florist's by the park and see what flowers they have.' Chrysanthemums, she thought, as it's the end of October; or possibly Michaelmas daisies? 

'We'll go this afternoon,' decided Megs. She started to lay out the cutlery on the table. 'And we'll find a nice vase for them - there's a nice one in the cabinet in the drawing room.' 

Mirabelle suspected that the vase was priceless Venetian glass, and wondered how much money she had in her purse upstairs: it would be better to buy a cheaper vase that could be broken without heartache. 'We can have a look this afternoon,' she said. 

Over lunch, it stopped raining and the sun came out. Mirabelle lamented the fact that she had stood for two hours in the rain and seen no one, but Leon simply said, 'They knew that you were watching, carina.' 

'Well, I'll go out with Megs and Emily this afternoon and buy some colourful flowers to cheer up Maria's room,' continued Mirabelle. 'We'll make the most of the sunshine.' When George gave her a surprised glance, she added: 'It was Emily and Megs's idea. I thought some flowers might cheer Maria up.' 

'Yes,' answered George. 'In fact I was going to ask you to go and sit with her this afternoon. She can only talk a little, but she would like to see you. Perhaps you could read to her for a while.' 

Mirabelle's conscience smote her - of course, she thought, it must be very depressing for Maria to be shut up in her bedroom, with only George and Nurse O'Leary for company. 'Of course I will,' she said, smiling warmly at George, and he returned her smile. 

'Maria was admiring the Venetian glass vase in the drawing room cabinet,' he went on. 'I think that would be suitable for flowers.' 

Mirabelle felt her face grow pink. 'Yes, Megs suggested it,' she remarked. 

She saw the corners of Raymond's mouth twitch, and Leon laughed, but George simply nodded. 'She is a very sensible girl when she concentrates on what she is doing,' he observed.