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Annie went to the hob now, a teapot in her hand tdted the spout of the siling kettle over it, this"

be it back to (he table, put its lid on and then it with a tea cosy. And what she then said

"'iiTiir. to do with love or emotions: 'I've made Histo recipe, a kind of currant bun. I had a go at B D'you want to try one?"'

. was breathing quickly. She didn't answer but bement the table at the elderly woman; then of aLike she burst out laughing, spluttering as she to re the runniest person I know, Mrs Annie."

3Like so far you don't know very many, unny." f bar andi yes, I do. But they never say anything funny." r her head now thoughtfully to one side, she "l 'Come to think about it, the people around are dull. They just talk about the weather, or . or deaths. All, that is, except Doctor FalcomI like him; he made me laugh the other day: jEL "You know, last night I dreamt I was a

,ni," And I said, "What on earth made you dream

,y were a worm?" "Well," he said "I was up to The Hall, and it was the way the butler at me. They call him Lemas, so I made a "

rhyme up about him."" She started to laugh i'n,

'I can't remember it now, but it was fimny. I like the doctor." As she took the cup of tea was Mrs Annie's hand, she added, "I'll meet a dif n class of person altogether when I'm married." bar bar 822 well," said Mrs Annie quickly, 'I hope they bar , you. But let me tell you, girl" comnow she wagged a" nnger at Rosie- "you've got a lot to leam, and what you're saying now it'll be painful. I myself

" say' fancy talk and highbrow conversation IS: make for happiness: it often hides meanness TS many other things. And you haven't got to go very far to find people like that." As she now stamped be around the table Rosie got to her feet and laid her i cup down, and, her head bowed she said, 'I wasn't I meaning anything nasty, Mrs Annie.

I'm just...oh, I bar don't know..." 1

When her voice broke with the tears, Mrs Annie was around te table again and holding her in her arms, saying, here now. There now, I understand You have a pretty gloomy time next door you always have had, as your mother did before you."

What?"' Rosie's head came up from Mrs Annie's shoulder and she blinked and swallowed, and said again "What? What do you mean, as my mother before me? My... my mother was very happy."

Your mother, girl, let me tell you, appeared to be happy in order to keep you girls happy.

She wasn't a happy woman. Now that's all I'm going to say. There'll come a time when you'll know more about your mother."

Well, who's to tell me if you don't?"'

"Well, I'm not saying any more, so there. I've said too much already. But it was your attitude made me do so. I can tell you this much though: your sisters can't enlighten you either. So it's no use asking them.

Now drink up your tea because I'm off for the outside again: Mary Ann's not like her mother with her litter; she's not letting tem suckle properly.

Let's go and talk to her; she likes to be talked to. Wrap up again." She now lifted her hand and said "I can see by your face you're going to ask questions. Well, girl, it's no good. I'm not going to say anything more. I'm sorry now for what 've said. But I'll add this: your mother, as you know, paid me many visits when your grand-bar rwas alive, and we talked And some day I may Hbu what we talked about. But not today, or to

w" or e next dav' so colne alog'

Hpe followed the bustling little body out of the d dow the garden and into the animal enHave, where ie sow, with her twelve of a itter,

abbing herself uneasily on the frozen ground as mgsters tried to find her teats.

that' now, Mary Ann." said Mrs Annie.

Lie still M bar that ihem have their feed. Now be a good giri." Bp her arm over the low wall but could not reach gs head so, without removing her arm, she

"You try, Rosie." And Roie pushed up her

l leant over the wall and quite easily laid her bi on the sow and began to talk to her, saying, B

bar so the matter, Mary Ann? Got a pai in your um? Be a good girl now and let them have their hen the pig grunted, Mrs Annie smiled and said ggSo at it girl, she's answering. You might do more jjin the vet man can do, because I was thinkig of j bar ng him the day, although I hate paying him good jSoey for what I used to do myself, but seemingly lost roe touch latey. But she's talking to yo jj[*reg] she goes again. Ob and look they've all got j8e. That's good. Is yor

back reaking?"' posie muttered No, no. ril stay like this until they bar their feed."

Punny if I had to call on you every time they lated a suck" Mrs Anie said, then added on a gigFrom I would have to go to the back door though, dn't I? and say, please tell Miss Rosie to hurry

up, Mary Ann's refusing to give her baims their dinner."

Rosie's body shook and she muttered,

'Don't make me laugh, these bricks are sticking in me; in another minute I'll be down there beside her."

Wel, take your hand away now and see what she does."

Slowly Rosie removed her hand and painfully straightened up. Then they both stared down at the sow who remained passive and allowed her litter to get on wih the job. And Mrs Annie smiled and said

'I'll tell Robbie. He'll be pleased, because he's bee worried about her. He tried all ways yesterday to let her give them a full belly, but she was no sooner down than she was up. Thanks, lass."

"You're welcome, madam. That'll be two and sixpence."

"Will you have it now or will you wait till you get it?"'

They tamed from the sty and went over to the cowshed where the two cows were peacefully chewing their cud.

"I haven't let them out the day, the grass is so stiff it would cut their throats."

In the yard once more Mrs Annie pointed to this chickens trying to scratch the earth and said, "Oh, I had to laugh, the young ones couldn't understand why they couldn't mount he bank, they were sliding down on their backsides. Some of them were persistent, and it was funny. Robbie brought me out to see them. He cleared the steps, but they won't take the steps, they've been used to the grass."

Rosie looked towards the mound. It wasn't very SyEither from the top of it, there was an amazing Sthe surrounding country. lih. seemed to have sensed her thoughts, for be saying now: hings will be standing out SW-II up there, this morning. I can't under"...ity people say that frost flattens everything; to be"ff it brings things to life. It gives the land "tii different again from when the snow's j bar not go and take a look" Rosie said.

* His:. on he uneven top, she shouted down, ,bar and it is different. It's beautiful.

I've never seen this before. And away to the right the countrybbccless-than less-than pink not white; must be the sun slanting

i wav"

turned about then cried, "Good gracious! I can Mount the chimneys and the roofs. That must IIS-YOU mree miles away." bei of that,"

Mrs Annie called back to her. "Tis (uy hard and bright frost. Frosts are not all l you know. Nature's got her moods through sun,

tSo rain. Oh yes, yes, she has." A?

gracious! I can see Wallace's farm as if it almost next door. Good Lord! We never see it down below. I suppose the wood cuts it off."

Have)!- kept her eyes on the farm. There was some she should remember about it. She could now Lliir.

movement over there. Someone coming into iIddi"...fSo, She was puzzled for a moment. That field 5ff"...S their property hi fact if she wasn't misiLike it led to me wood. She shook her head, then beea(31 carefully down the cleared steps, and Mrs An-vie said, 'Come on back to the house and get warmed. Robbie should be here any minute."

She had been about to follow Mrs Anie, but the mention of Robbie halted her. In some way he was associated with the earlier conversation of her wanting to leave this place and get married. And he had a habit of probing and questioning, and getting things out of her.

He always had. She could hear him saying, "Come on you, Rosie Steel; I don't want any painted lies, varnished truth is what I deal with." And she could hear herself responding, "You think you are clever, Robbie Macintosh, because you read books.

ell, anybody with any sense can pinch words and sayings out of books."

No, she didn't want to meet Robbie this morning. She couldn't explain why. Yet, she had explained why he'd get to the bottom of what was worrying her. But what was worrying her? Oh, she answered herself, just living by herself next door now the girls ere gone. But she shouldn't say that: there was Beatrice and her father. Oh, let her get away.

She'd go for a walk. And so she said, "No, I've got to get bac I think Beatrice wants some help... in fact, I don't think it I know it. She's house mad you know. Tere's the two girls working like slaves, polishing polishing, and she would have me going round wit a duster. Can you believe it?"'

"Oh yes, I can, dear, of Mistress Beatrice. Fro what I gather, she takes a great pride in ruling the roost. I think Cook has her belly full of her at ties."

osie laughed at this and said "We all have o bellies full of her at times, I can tell you.

Yet, at t

11"" do know' feel y for her, and in tii fbndofher'

p!- you are, dear. Of course you are. But fc tf yo're going to have that walk through i get yourself away now. If you look up,

- the sky is changing. I shouldn't be a bit to see snow, although we generally have a were frost like this, and then the snow. But of she laughed since I've stopped running you' ate's got out of hand."

al1 ner gently on the shoulder and she,

*** too, said Til go out the top way, because way I'm going to climb that wall this momip off those stepping stones that Robbie's " give very precarious footholds as they are. be such a good climber I would have been . before now."

you. Likely," said Mrs Annie as she accompato the field gate leading to the road.

Rosie on the cheek, she stood for a pi22 her until she disappeared through a , disr wood. And as she did so she thought less-than - a lovely woman, and she's jumping out i. If only...oh, if only...

1 beautiful in the wood. The path stretched n

"less-than a silver river for some distance, but then 32Like it was cut off by a great barrier of frozen

*c

was a silence all about her. It was deep and ayiPR-LSo Even the sound of her footsteps ti ground did not intrude.

now passing a section of the wood where tined out a ide, with low scrub between w

them, and under which, surprisingly, the earth wa bare of frost. be

She was brought to a sudden stop by a sight that widened her mouth and brought a gleam to her eyes, and she uttered two words, "Oh, lovely!" as she turned swiftly to the object that had attracted her. It was an? unusually tall fungus that could have been eight

inches high. She bent over it; then, as she had seen

Robbie do, she sat back on her hunkers and looked

at part of nature's bewildering beauty. It was a faiy bar house. She hadn't seen one for some years. Toad bar stools, oh yes, big ones, fairies' umbrellas, they called bar them, but not a fairy house. Her hand wavered to wards it, then stopped. It was so delicate that likel bar the slightest touch would push it over. She thought it j was the biggest and the most beautiful fungus she had bar ever seen.

From its round base there rose striped columns sup porting its circular roof an enormous deep pink um breUa all of six inches across. The ridged supporting bar columns were either dark green or cream in colou and the whole was surrounded by a spiked fence of j

silver grass an inch or so high. bar As a child she had always imagined such a house j to be full of fairies and she used to talk to the j telling them not to be afraid and that she wouldn tell any of the others where their house was in case j they should come and knock it down. She had a vagii memory of a sister kicking one down and of hers screaming at her and of her mother having to put I to bed with hot milk and cinnamon. bar Reluctantly she rose and stepped back from it, ing herself that once she got home she would dra j

pTonight it. She would never forget this morning fc beautiful, beautiful fairy house. It had lifted his:, It was a delightful morning, oh such a de'IT morning.

about her; then bendig over her fairy with the very last trace of childhood that, nLike was to be torn from her, a moment she y"...TlTfflbbi for the rest of her life, she said, "a dear people, until next year," and straight: "JJ into what was to be the full realisation was made up of bitter reality, and with no

'ib *"" oto the rooted pathway, and from ?"'

the distance, could make out a boy who . be acting strangely. He had emerged from on the opposite side and he was looking ,"gg'jt"...a", just a few yards ahead, the path again

JE-LIKE away out of sight. He had his head to

: as if listening.

Wt still; she was curious. Then her eyes disless-than when the boy jumped from the path and into were of the wood again and, at the same moment, A striding round the bend. Her mouth now Ito a gape: it... it was her father.

T couldnt be; he'd said he was going into "

As she had stood on the landing she had heard S eatrice. But this was definitely her father.

another man like him.

on the point of going forward and hailing 'ii she stiffened as the sound of snapping timthe silence. Then she let out a scream as she isi" branch fall across her father's path. The T sight had caused her to screw up her face

and to close her and" and when she opened them shcl became aware of two things: the boy whom she kne bar to be the Walla y was fast disappearing round bar the bend with song trailing behind him, and than the branch hadn" ross her father's path bt bar directly onto hin bar She was now ing while crying out wods

whic wee unintgble, but all bordering on,

"Help

When she reac T father she was unable to see his face for blood she looked along the length of the bar branch: it was this" ore like a tree itself. Oh, dear bar God! What was h oing to do? She looked about j her. And that boy. he might have gone for help. No! bar no' What was s Udng? That was a piece of rope j dragging behind m He had been on the look-out bar for her father. Ob dear Lord!