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    The Two Mrs. Abbotts
    The Two Mrs. Abbotts
    The Two Mrs. Abbotts
    Ebook304 pages4 hours

    The Two Mrs. Abbotts

    By D.E. Stevenson

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    From beloved English author D.E. Stevenson who has sold more than 7 million books worldwide!

    The final charming installment in the life of nosy writer, Miss Buncle. Nothing goes unnoticed around Miss Buncle, even if she has to recruit more eyes.

    Much as changed in Wandlebury since Barbara Buncle (now Barbara Abbott) first moved to the charming English village. If nothing else, World War II is keeping things interesting. But as the mistress of her own home with two small children to look after, Barbara finds that she has distressingly little time to keep up with the goings-on of her friends and neighbors.

    Luckily, Barbara's niece, Jerry Abbott, is more than willing to keep tabs on the news in Wandlebury. And with juicy tidbits of gossip about everything from inconvenient romantic entanglements to German spies hiding in the woods, there is plenty to keep the two Mrs. Abbotts busy in this hilarious account of life in World War II England.

    With the wit and charm of a Jane Austen novel and the gossipy, small-town delight of the Flavia de Luce series, D.E. Stevenson delivers another cozy gem with The Two Mrs. Abbotts, the third and final book of the beloved Miss Buncle series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateJan 7, 2014
    ISBN9781402274664
    Author

    D.E. Stevenson

    D.E. Stevenson (1892-1973) had an enormously successful writing career; between 1923 and 1970, four million copies of her books were sold in Britain and three million in the United States.

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    Reviews for The Two Mrs. Abbotts

    3.5/5

    113 ratings12 reviews

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    • 4/5
      "What a splendid person Markie was! Jane felt glad to have known Markie, for Markie's example had shown her that you could do humble things splendidly and be happy doing them—and make others happy."The Two Mrs. Abbotts is book three of the Miss Buncle series and it's just as enjoyable as the first two. Set in World War II England in the small village of Wandlebury, it follows Barbara Abbott and her niece Jerry (Jeronina) Abbott who are doing their part to aid the war effort. This story reminded me forcibly of Rilla of Ingleside by L. M. Montgomery, though that is set during World War I. Both are sequels in a series unconcerned, to that point, with anything much beyond the borders of a small village and its ever-interesting society. There is an undeniable charm about a story of people carrying on with life and their little affairs against the bigger backdrop of world war. Stevenson again tackles the challenges of authors, though this time it's not Barbara who is struggling with the personal and public problems of a successful writing career. I also enjoyed the character of Wilhelmina who escapes her parents' slovenly way of life to learn a better way under Markie's guidance. Stevenson is just wryly funny. Cases in point: Pearl Besserton ("I don't know why I'm so unlucky, I'm shore"); Sarah Walker and the strong action she takes against the hideous vases pressed upon Barbara at the rummage sale; little Fay's hilariously incisive commentary on whatever is happening at the moment. And Markie and her calm, firm belief in encephalic features that determine a person's personality and character. Her capture of the German spy is the stuff of legend!If, like me, you had never heard of D.E. Stevenson (who happens to have been a cousin of Robert Louis Stevenson, interestingly enough), you're missing out. How lovely to think how many more of her books await me!
    • 4/5
      What a lovely, cozy quick weekend read! This is the third and final book in the Miss Buncle series. Miss Buncle's Book is by far the most magical, but the two subsequent novels are each delightful in their own way. In The Two Mrs Abbotts, Barbara Abbott and her husband's niece Jerry (yes, niece, it's a nickname) are the eponymous protagonists and, despite a considerable age difference they are very good friends. Despite the title of this book, it is less about the two women than about other people in their lives, and the way the two Mrs Abbotts bring them together. Published in 1943, the war is all around them: food is rationed, goods are scarce, and military brigades are billeted in grand estates, including Jerry's family home. But all of that is just a backdrop for daily village concerns like gossip, comings and goings, and romance. From the beginning, you know all will end well, it's just a question of who ends up with whom, and there's a bit of meddling to keep the reader wondering nearly to the end.With the help of a rainy Saturday and a weekend generally devoid of obligations, I devoured this book in two days. It went very well with a cat in my lap and a cup of tea.
    • 4/5
      Wow! How is it possible that I hadn't read this before?! What a wonderful feeling to start a D.E. Stevenson book that you haven't read! That being said, it wasn't my favorite, but it was still very fun and uplifting. It is technically the 3rd book after Miss Buncle's Book and Miss Buncle Married . I do like my Miss Buncle, but she doesn't have quite the hold on my heart that Mrs. Tim does. It is interesting to be in Wandlebury again, because that actually ties you in to the last in the Mrs. Tim series. You find a lot of those little connections in D.E. Stevenson books. I really can't express how happy I am that they are re-releasing so many of these wonderful books. Happy, happy, happy!
    • 3/5
      The final entry in the Miss Buncle trilogy is a wisp of a book set during WWII. Stevenson's readers catch up with Barbara Buncle Abbot and her niece-in-law Jerry Abbott. More a series of events rather than plotted novel, the book is sweet and lacks the satiric nip of the previous books. One problem for me is that Barbara Buncle Abbott is barely in the book and when she is, she seems to spend most of her time with a tedious young man who is pining for an inappropriate young woman. The scenes are set mainly at Jerry Abbott's estate where she is trying to hook her brother up with an limp noddle of a girl while he is more interested in her "mysterious" paying guest. Most of the adventures happen to Jerry's former governess and housekeeper Markie. The war is hardly present, which is odd because rationing is mentioned, soldiers are billeted at Jerry's estate and Jerry has to deal with a family of London evacuees. They seem too much like trotted-out props. There is a curious chapter set in the African desert where Jerry's husband Sam is leading his tanks into battle which has nothing to do with the book except to remind the reader that this is 1943.All in all, it was nice to see Barbara again and to meet her very precocious children. Characters from the two previous novels drift in and then disappear. Stevenson gives her readers what they must have requested, charming images of life after Silverstream.
    • 3/5
      A sequel to Miss Buncle's Book and Miss Buncle Married. It was published during the early 1940s and is a gentle story, albeit slightly less insightful and believable than predecessors. Also, it is not quite what I expected from a book set during WWII.I suspect that's because now we can form opinions about WWII in hindsight. However, Stevenson was living through WWII and she was writing for people who were doing the same. She did not have the benefit of hindsight, she didn't need to explain the harsher realities of war to her readers and she probably didn't want to dwell on those realities.And so she focuses more on the everyday interactions of people in a community, rather than worrying about those who have gone to war.I enjoyed it - but, yeah, not what I was expecting.
    • 3/5
      Much different from her other books. Bored with the new Mrs Abbott to start with until the plot got going halfway through. The second half is much better than the first half. Yet D E Stevenson is such a spectacular and witty author that I was disappointed somewhat by this particular book compared to her others.
    • 3/5
      This final Miss Buncle book doesn't quite stand up to the other two -- it reads more like a series of short stories set in the original world -- a little too episodic for my taste. They've moved into wartime here, and the villagers are carrying on, even with soldiers stationed nearby, many men gone off to fight and unpleasant tenants fleeing the blitz. I so love being back in Miss Buncle Land, that I don't really mind it, but it just doesn't have a long single plot line to hold it all together.
    • 5/5
      The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson; (5*)I adore D.E. Stevenson and wish that I had come to her work earlier in my life. This, the third of her Buncle series, is my runaway favorite thus far. And I loved the first two: Miss Buncle's Book and Miss Buncle Married.In The Two Mrs. Abbotts, our protagonist, Barbara Buncle, is now Mrs. Abbott and has two small children. It is World War II and everyone is struggling with rationing and trying to make ends meet. Barbara’s old friend from their Silverstream days, Sarah Walker, who is the doctor’s wife, is visiting the community to give a talk on behalf of the Red Cross. The two friends take up their friendship where they left off and Sarah rapidly becomes part of the local community for the length of her visit.The second Mrs. Abbott is Jerry Abbott, who is married to a cousin of Barbara’s husband. The novel recreates a forgotten era. A time of make-do, mend, trying to live up to certain standards, doing the right thing and supporting the armed forces. Jerry takes in paying guests and struggles with an evacuee family as well as soldiers billeted in her big old house. There are no earth shattering events, just ordinary every day interactions between friends and neighbors. But they are portrayed in such a way that you want to keep reading to see how it will all work out. There is plenty of humor, irony and marvelously written dialogue along with believable characters which keep the reader interested.If you want to read a book which entertains you lightheartedly, try D.E. Stevenson. She was justifiably popular in her era when people had enough of real life and wanted an alternative world in which to escape. Even though it is set in war time, no one dies or is missing in action and somehow everyone gets enough to eat. The book will leave you with the feeling that all is right with the world.
    • 4/5
      In this third book in the Miss Buncle series we have moved forward in time to England during World War II. Miss Buncle, now Abbott, is a mother with two typical tykes but remains the same delightfully confused individual from the past. However, in The Two Mrs. Abbotts we get to know her niece Jerry much better, and we follow the trials they all face due to the military conflict. This is a welcome addition to the other two Buncle stories as it is full of subtle, dry humor, and plenty of character development. Recommended.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      The first two books in this series were set in 1930s England – The Two Mrs. Abbotts fast forwards us to 1942, during the Second World War. Barbara Abbott and her husband Arthur now have two young children, Simon and Fay. They’re energetic children, no surprise there. Jerry Abbott is the wife of Sam Abbott, Arthur’s nephew. Sam is in the desert somewhere in service of his country. Jerry’s brother Archie remains on the home front, a farmer critical to the war effort. The two Mrs. Abbotts live in the village of Wandlebury and are next-door neighbors, trying to make the best of the war-time depravations and uncertainty. Like the two earlier books, The Two Mrs. Abbotts doesn’t have a traditional main plot, it has a series of subplots radiating from the center like spokes from a wheel. The center, of course, being our two heroines.Subplots involve a romance writer whose creative well has gone dry; a young girl who wants to stay in Wandlebury instead of returning to London with her family; a German spy lurking about; Jerry’s paying guest; soldiers on maneuvers … and more. The Two Mrs. Abbotts isn’t my favorite of the three Miss Buncle Books (Buncle was Barbara’s maiden name), but it’s charming nonetheless. Nothing can compare to the first, Miss Buncle’s Book, which was such a wonderful surprise. Still, I’m glad I read all three and wish there were more. They've resurrected Rex Stout, Agatha Christie and Robert Parker, why not D E Stevenson?
    • 3/5
      Am growing to love Dorothy Stevenson's work and looking forward to reading more of her titles. The Two Mrs.Abbotts is the third book featuring Barbara Buncle, who was first introduced in the much loved 'Miss Buncle's Book'. This final tale is much further down the line in her life, married and surrounded by her family, living in country in a time of war. Dorothy Stevenson again introduces some loveable characters and her engaging style of writing creates an enjoyable read. I am glad to have read it to complete the series, but I don't think this book quite lives up to the original Miss Buncle tale, as the end seemed to be rather abrupt, and i was left feeling slightly dissatified.
    • 2/5
      third book in a series- Miss Buncle's Book, Miss Buncle Married are the first two. This doesn't reach the quality of the others.

    Book preview

    The Two Mrs. Abbotts - D.E. Stevenson

    Copyright © 1943 by the Estate of D. E. Stevenson

    Cover and internal design © 2014 by Sourcebooks, Inc.

    Cover design by Eileen Carey

    Cover images © Vald’es/Advertising Archive; © Francis Frith, Crickhowell, High Street 1898/Masterfile; © avian/Shutterstock.com; © Tairy Greene/Shutterstock.com

    Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.

    The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

    Published by Sourcebooks Landmark, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.

    P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410

    (630) 961-3900

    Fax: (630) 961-2168

    www.sourcebooks.com

    First published in 1943. This edition created from the 1973 printing by Collins Clear-Type Press, London.

    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

    Stevenson, D. E. (Dorothy Emily)

    The two Mrs. Abbotts / D.E. Stevenson.

    pages cm

    First published in 1943. This edition created from the 1973 printing by Collins Clear-Type Press, London.

    (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Miss Buncle (Fictitious character)--Fiction. 2. Women authors, English--Fiction. 3. City and town life--England--Fiction. I. Title.

    PR6037.T458T8 2014

    823’.912--dc23

    2013031051

    Contents

    Front Cover

    Title Page

    Copyright

    Chapter One: The Lady in the Drawing Room

    Chapter Two: Old Friends

    Chapter Three: Letters from Egypt

    Chapter Four: Shopping in Wandlebury

    Chapter Five: The Bazaar

    Chapter Six: Miss Janetta Walters

    Chapter Seven: Archie Chevis-Cobbe

    Chapter Eight: Sophonisba Marks

    Chapter Nine: Troubles

    Chapter Ten: Janetta Is Indisposed

    Chapter Eleven: Conversation of Various Descriptions

    Chapter Twelve: Exit the Boles Family

    Chapter Thirteen: Wilhelmina

    Chapter Fourteen: Enter Miss Watt

    Chapter Fifteen: New Tenants for the Cottage

    Chapter Sixteen: Darling Sam

    Chapter Seventeen: Five Riders on the Moor

    Chapter Eighteen: The Trees Are Felled

    Chapter Nineteen: Tea in the Nursery

    Chapter Twenty: Jerry’s Tea Party

    Chapter Twenty-One: Colonel Melton’s Problems

    Chapter Twenty-Two: Where Did You See Your Father?

    Chapter Twenty-Three: Miss Marks Goes for a Walk

    Chapter Twenty-Four: The Route March

    Chapter Twenty-Five: The Doctor’s Diagnosis

    Chapter Twenty-Six: Queen Elizabeth’s Room

    Chapter Twenty-Seven: Barbara’s Busy Day

    Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Dentist’s Waiting Room

    An excerpt from Miss Buncle’s Book

    About the Author

    Back Cover

    Chapter One

    The Lady in the Drawing Room

    Grrh, I’m a bear! Grrh, grrh, I’m a bear, Dorkie!

    Oh, dear, so you are! Wotever shalladoo!

    Grrh—I’m going to eat you up.

    Dorcas raised her eyes and saw, peering through the lacework of the wrought-iron banisters, the small eager face of her beloved. She thought—as she had often thought before—that Simon was the most beautiful thing in the world. His clear skin was pale gold, warmed by the sun; his hair, thick and straight and shiny, was a deeper, richer gold, and his eyes beneath his arching golden eyebrows were true hazel. Dorcas was devoted to little Fay of course—she was the baby and babies are very close to one’s heart—but Simon came first. If it would have saved Simon a moment’s pain Dorcas would have lain down in the road and allowed a steam roller to pass over her recumbent body…

    Silly old fool! thought Dorcas to herself.

    Go on, urged Simon. Go on, Dorkie.

    Oh dear, wotever shalladoo, said Dorcas again, trying hard to simulate terror but not succeeding very well.

    Be frightened, cried Simon eagerly. Say, ‘I’ll have to get my gun.’ Go on, Dorkie.

    Dorcas went through the usual formula. She should have been good at the game if practice makes perfect, for she and Simon played it every afternoon of their lives when they returned from their walk. Sometimes Simon was a lion or a tiger and sometimes he was a bear but Dorkie’s role was always the same. Today Dorcas was less convincing than usual for her thoughts were not in her part. She was thinking how odd it was that children grew up so quickly and grown-up people remained much the same. It was only yesterday (or so it seemed to Dorcas) that she had carried Simon upstairs in her arms. Now he could run up the stairs much faster than she could. Tomorrow, or soon after, he would have grown too big to play bears—he would not need her anymore.

    The game of bears had taken a little longer than usual this afternoon, and Fay, who took no interest in it, began to climb up the stairs by herself. The steps were broad and shallow, for the Archway House had been built in spacious times, and Fay went up on all-fours like a very fat monkey. Her skirt stuck up in the air and showed her behind, which was clad in frilly drawers; her legs had delicious fat creases at the knee…

    Now they were all at the top and had crossed the landing and were clattering down the passage to the nursery.

    Hush! cried Dorcas. Not so much noise, Simon. The lady will think there’s a regiment of soldiers in the house.

    What lady? asked Simon, stopping so suddenly that little Fay bumped into him.

    The lady in the drawing room, Dorcas replied.

    Who is she, Dorkie?

    Come along, do, said Dorcas. We want our tea. We’re late as it is…and I shouldn’t wonder if the ’vacuees won’t be coming up to play with you when they’ve done their lessons, added Dorcas guilefully.

    Grice an’ ’ilda’! cried Simon, hopping about. We’ll play at going to the Zoo and…

    Simon, I’ve told you not to call them that!

    It’s what they call themselves, Dorkie, declared Simon with an impish grin. Grice an’ ’ilda’ ’ill from Edgewire.

    Not now they don’t. They’ve learnt better. Say it properly, Simon.

    Grace and Hilda Hill from Hedgeware.

    Vack-wees, added Fay in her precise little voice.

    That’s right, agreed Dorcas.

    But who’s the lady? asked Simon who was of a persistent nature.

    She’s a vack-wee, suggested Fay.

    She’s a Mrs. Walker—that’s who, replied Dorcas, who was busily engaged in laying the nursery tea. She’s sitting in the drawing room waiting for your mummy to come home.

    Why?

    Oh dear, you are a curiosity! She’s coming to give a lecture about the Red Cross and she’s going to stay the night.

    Why is she going to?

    Because it’s too far for her to go home—in the dark and all.

    She should have a torch, said Fay.

    And that’s all I know about her, said Dorcas firmly. So you needn’t ask any more questions.

    I want to see her, Dorkie, Simon declared.

    Well, you can’t then.

    "But Dorkie, I want to see her."

    That’s enough, Simon. You go and change your shoes like a good boy and then we’ll ’ave our tea…we’ll have our tea, she amended, sotto voce, as Simon left the room.

    It was not often that Dorkie’s aitches came adrift—only sometimes when she was bothered or when such well-worn phrases as we’ll ’ave our tea rolled off her tongue unawares—but sometimes was too often, thought Dorcas. She wasn’t going to have Simon and Fay dropping their aitches because of her. Dorcas was elderly. She had been nurse to the children’s mother, and, as a matter of fact, it did not seem very long ago. Then, when her small charge grew up she had stayed on as cook and general factotum. That stage in her career had lasted for years; it had been ended by her mistress’s marriage when the faithful Dorcas had blossomed into a personal maid. Now she had reverted to her first job, and reverted with delight, for she adored children and was an excellent nurse. She possessed a calm and placid nature that was rarely ruffled—never ruffled by the children—and, although she was just a trifle too lenient with Simon, she had a certain amount of control over him and the children were moderately good and extremely well and happy under her care.

    Simon went into the night nursery and removed his shoes (he tugged them off quickly without undoing the laces) and put on his slippers and ran downstairs. He wanted to see the lady in the drawing room. He wanted to see her—that was all.

    Meanwhile the lady in the drawing room had been amusing herself quite happily; she had been provided with tea and left to enjoy it in peace. She did not mind having tea alone; in fact she welcomed the rest and solitude after her somewhat trying cross-country journey. The trains were hot and stuffy and crawled along stopping at every station—she had been obliged to change three times. At first Sarah Walker had been amused, for she was interested in people and had a sharp eye for anything funny or unusual, but after a bit her sense of humor had become blunted by exhaustion. If Sarah had known the journey was going to be so awful she would have hesitated before accepting the invitation to lecture at this meeting, but she had not known (from Silverstream to Wandlebury did not look far on the map). It was only when John came home and she asked him to look out her trains that she discovered what she had let herself in for.

    If you had asked me, first, I could have told you, said John, looking at her with his grave smile.

    I know, agreed Sarah, "but they wanted an answer and it looked quite near."

    It’s fifty miles as the crow flies but it will take you three hours. Need you go, Sally?

    I must, it’s all arranged. I’m to stay the night with a Mrs. Abbott. I hope she’ll be nice.

    She won’t be nice, said John with conviction. They never are…but as long as she doesn’t put you into a damp bed—

    I’ll sleep in my dressing gown, darling.

    Did she ask you to stay? asked John anxiously.

    It was the committee, replied Sarah. "They just said they would find a room for me and then they rang up again and told me the address. Mrs. Abbott, The Archway House, Wandlebury."

    I wish you wouldn’t gad about the country like this, said John with a sigh.

    But I’m quite strong now!

    Stronger than you were, amended John.

    It’s my war work, Sarah pointed out. I don’t enjoy tearing around the country giving Red Cross lectures—but I don’t suppose soldiers enjoy fighting or munitions workers enjoy standing all day long, filing nuts and screws.

    John had made no further objections, but had looked up her trains for her and written them out clearly on the pad he used for his patients’ prescriptions…and Sarah had followed the directions faithfully, changing from one train to another, and arriving safely—as she had known she would arrive—at Wandlebury Station. Now here she was in Mrs. Abbott’s drawing room, eating Mrs. Abbott’s buns and drinking Mrs. Abbott’s tea out of a nice deep, well-shaped cup.

    It was pleasantly quiet and cool in the shady room and Sarah felt comfortably relaxed. She had a feeling that it would be very nice if Mrs. Abbott did not come home at all—she did not feel inclined to make polite conversation with a complete stranger. What would Mrs. Abbott be like? One ought to be able to tell what she was like from the room, thought Sarah, looking around with a sudden accession of interest. The room was exceedingly pleasant, large and well-proportioned, with tall windows that looked out on to a terrace and a rose garden. Mrs. Abbott would be a pleasant hostess if she was like her drawing room, if she had made it herself and had not inherited it or got it decorated by someone else. It was a dignified room, yet it was comfortable too, with good solid furniture and restful colorings…and what a lovely Adam mantelpiece! Sarah was so pleased with the mantelpiece that she rose from her chair and crossed the room to examine it and to run her fingers over the moldings, and, as she did so, her eyes fell on a miniature hanging on the wall…

    Sarah stared at the miniature. She had seen it before.

    Barbara Buncle! she exclaimed aloud.

    Yes, there was no doubt about it. She had seen that queer little picture of Barbara Buncle as a fat rosy child hanging upon the wall in the sitting room at Tanglewood Cottage! Dear Barbara, thought Sarah, and she looked at the little picture with affection—for she and Barbara had been friends, very great friends indeed until they had lost sight of each other. Barbara had left Tanglewood Cottage suddenly, she had vanished in the night and nobody in Silverstream had heard of her again. She had been obliged to go, of course, because she had written two very amusing books all about her neighbors and their little peculiarities, and her neighbors had not appreciated their portraits—quite the reverse. Sarah’s lips curved into a smile as she thought of the tremendous upheaval those two books had caused in the village of Silverstream.

    But what did it mean? wondered Sarah. Why should this particular miniature be here, hanging on Mrs. Abbott’s wall? Sarah looked around the room again, with even more interest than before, for she wanted to see whether there was anything else in it that had belonged to Barbara. The furniture was not from Tanglewood Cottage—definitely not—it was much too large; but there were one or two odds and ends that seemed familiar to Sarah…a couple of china vases, a bronze cowbell, a sandalwood box…

    The door opened and Simon walked in. He shut the door firmly and then turned and looked at the lady. He had wanted to see her and he was seeing her now. She was worth seeing, Simon thought: not young, but slim and pretty with big gray smiling eyes. He looked at her and she looked at him. Then she laughed.

    Are you the Golden Boy? she inquired.

    I’m Simon Abbott, he replied solemnly.

    A very good name, she remarked. She was calculating rapidly as she spoke…how many years was it since Barbara had fled from the fury of Silverstream?

    I count on my fingers, too, Simon told her. Daddy says you shouldn’t, but it’s the easiest way.

    Much the easiest, agreed Sarah. I always do. How old are you, Simon?

    Four years older than the war, replied Simon promptly. I can remember when there wasn’t any war at all. I can even remember bananas—and cream.

    They were good, weren’t they, said Sarah reminiscently.

    "Do you know Mummy?" asked Simon, who was anxious to obtain as much information as possible before some tiresome person interrupted this pleasant tête-à-tête.

    I think so, said Sarah.

    I wondered, he admitted. I mean I wondered if you were a friend of Mummy’s or if you were just a Red Cross person.

    I’m both, replied Sarah, for she was practically certain that she was. I’m a Red Cross person and I used to know Mummy before she was married.

    You don’t look old.

    Age is relative, said Sarah gravely. Which really means that, although you might think me old, a person of ninety would think me quite young.

    Compared to them, agreed Simon, nodding to show that he understood.

    Exactly.

    Have you got any children?

    Two. They’re twins, which is rather fun.

    Simon digested this. He said, I’d rather just be me.

    Some people feel like that, allowed Sarah.

    Where do you live? Simon wanted to know.

    At Silverstream.

    Is it far from here?

    Not far as the crow flies, replied Sarah with a sigh.

    Simon’s questionnaire continued, "What are you?—besides being a Mummy, I mean."

    A doctor’s wife, replied Sarah without a moment’s hesitation.

    Do you help him? Simon asked.

    I try to, she declared, smiling to herself. I run his house and answer his telephone and amuse him when he has time to be amused. Yes, Simon, I think I’m a fairly useful wife.

    Simon nodded. Then he said, Who is the Golden Boy? You thought I was him, didn’t you?

    I thought you might be, she replied. You see I was thinking about the Golden Boy and then the door opened and you came in.

    Is it a story?

    Yes.

    "An interesting story?"

    Very interesting. Even people who didn’t like the story were deeply interested in it.

    Sarah had resumed her seat at the table and was pouring out another cup of tea. She was enjoying her chat with Simon; his questions did not worry her at all for she was used to her own children. They were a good deal older than Simon now, but they still asked questions—children could not learn unless you answered them sensibly, or so Sarah thought. Simon had perched himself on the end of the sofa with one leg tucked beneath him; he looked more than ever like Sarah’s conception of the Golden Boy. All gold, he was. His hair and skin were different tones of gold, and his eyes were flecked with the same precious color. His face had a slightly impish look and his small flat ears were just a trifle pointed. How odd that Barbara should have produced a real live Golden Boy!

    Tell me about it, said Simon eagerly. Tell me the story.

    It’s a grown-up story, said Sarah after a pause. This was true, of course, but not entirely true, for, as a matter of fact, it was a story her own children had always adored and Sarah had told it so often in simple language that she could have told it to Simon very easily. It was the story of how the Golden Boy came dancing into Silverstream, playing on his pipe and stirring up trouble, bringing life and movement into the sleepy place…so that even the buns on the baker’s counter began to hop about. Of course Simon would like it—Sarah had no doubt of that—but she felt she had no right to tell Simon Abbott this particular story. Only one person had that right.

    I think it’s just a little too grown-up, said Sarah firmly. I’ll tell you about Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp.

    Chapter Two

    Old Friends

    Sarah was enjoying her tea and forging ahead with Aladdin when the door opened again and her hostess appeared. She came into the room uttering apologies in a conventional manner and then, with her hand of welcome still extended, she suddenly stopped. Sarah! she exclaimed.

    The voice was so surprised, the expression was one of such utter amazement that Sarah could not help laughing.

    Sarah! said Barbara Abbott again.

    Yes, it’s me, nodded Sarah (who, although aware that one should say it is I, could never bring herself to utter the words because for some reason or other it sounded as if one were God).

    Oh, Sarah! cried Barbara. "This is a lovely surprise! It’s ages since I saw you—simply ages. How nice of you to come! You’ll stay to dinner, won’t you? I mean supper, of course—we don’t have a proper dinner now, because—"

    I think you are expecting me to stay the night, said Sarah somewhat uncomfortably.

    Of course, agreed Barbara hospitably. "Of course you must stay the night…Oh dear, what a pity I’ve got that tiresome woman coming! We could have had such a nice chat about old times. It’s most unfortunate."

    I’m the woman, said Sarah, her voice shaking with laughter. Somehow this misunderstanding was so like Barbara.

    Isn’t it unfortunate, repeated Barbara, wrinkling her brow. "I’m afraid I can only give you a very small room—just a dressing room with a bed in it—because of this Red Cross woman, you see. Or perhaps I could put the Red Cross woman in the dressing room…or perhaps the Marvells would have her. No, that won’t do because she’s arrived. There’s a frightful shabby old suitcase in the hall—I saw it when I came in—so I shall have to put her somewhere. I wonder where she can have gone," added Barbara, gazing around as if she expected the Red Cross woman to be hiding behind the sofa.

    Barbara…it’s me… gasped Sarah, between her spasms of laughter.

    It’s you? asked Barbara in bewilderment.

    I am the Red Cross woman, declared Sarah.

    You are? Do you mean you’re going to give the lecture?

    Yes, said Sarah, taking out her handkerchief and mopping her eyes. Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.

    Goodness! exclaimed Barbara. "But of course you always were clever…"

    There’s nothing clever about giving a lecture on bandaging. It’s much more clever to write books.

    Barbara made no reply to this. She turned to Simon and told him to go to the nursery and have his tea.

    But Mummy—

    It’s tea time, darling, said Barbara firmly.

    Sarah’s first impression of her old friend was that she had changed a good deal, but after a few minutes she had decided that changed was not the word. Barbara had developed, that was all. She was still the same natural creature, interested in other people and unconscious of herself. She was still humble-minded and sincere. She had filled out a little, of course, and she was better dressed and more assured in her manner—but these were merely surface changes. Sarah had time to notice these things while Barbara argued with her son and finally bribed him with a chocolate biscuit to depart in peace.

    I suppose I shouldn’t, said Barbara, sitting down.

    We all do, replied Sarah comfortingly. It’s so much the easiest way.

    But it isn’t the right way, said Barbara. I know it isn’t but I do it all the same. I do it and then I’m sorry…and the next time it’s even harder.

    Why didn’t you write to me, Barbara? asked Sarah, who thought the subject unlikely to bear fruit. Why on earth didn’t you write and tell me where you were? It was really very naughty of you. You could have trusted me not to give you away.

    Oh yes, I knew that. I knew I could trust you, Sarah.

    Why didn’t you write?

    Barbara smiled affectionately. I meant to write but all sorts of things happened. I got married for one thing.

    You married your publisher?

    Yes, agreed Barbara, blushing. Yes, I married Arthur. He had been so kind to me about the books.

    When everyone else was unkind.

    But it wasn’t only that, said Barbara hastily. She hesitated and then continued, Really and truly I meant to write and tell you all about it, but I thought I’d wait for a little…and then I waited too long and that made it difficult. It wasn’t that I didn’t think about you, explained Barbara. "I thought of you a lot, and

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