Country Wives Read online

  Between tight lips she answered, “His heart’s in the right place.”

  “Well, he certainly wasn’t in the right place when good looks were given out.”

  A general chortle broke out.

  “Bring back Scott, I say,” another client contributed to the debate.

  “All these bleeding hearts he’s left behind, nothing short of criminal.”

  “It was ’is ’ands I liked, sensitive they were.”

  “Did you ever see him in his shorts?” The client rolled her eyes in appreciation.

  “Oops! Steady, Bridget, you’ll be spinning out of control!”

  They all laughed and then resettled to discussing their animals’ symptoms.

  Joy silently agreed with them. Despite the broken hearts among her own staff, Scott had brought laughter and delight with him to the practice every day and that couldn’t be bad; added to which, the farm clients loved him for his expertise. She’d an idea they would appreciate Dan’s knowledge too, but they’d never appreciate the man. And neither would she.

  BY a quarter to one Dan was eating his homemade sandwiches outside on the old bench by the back door. There was a powerful wind coming down from Beulah Bank Top, which seemed to slice through any clothing you chose to be wearing, but Dan preferred the peace and quiet to the banter in the staff room where most of the staff ate their lunch. Social chitchat had never appealed to him and still less now with so much on his mind. Though when he’d visited Tattersall’s Cop, his own problems had been momentarily forgotten. What a beautiful, neat little farm it was, loving care in every inch of hedging, in every ditch, in every farm building but … it seemed to Dan that Callum Tattersall dabbled first in this and then in that, never sticking at anything long enough to get real returns on his investment. He hadn’t enough acres, not enough guts and, to be honest, not enough commitment. Bad luck had played a big part in his life too, or so Callum had said as they shared a mounting block while they drank their coffee. A sick wife needing a lot of care, a one-in-a-thousand chance of disease decimating his entire turkey flock, his scheme for producing fresh farm yogurt failing, to say nothing of the race horse he had bought a share in which, after falling at the first fence, was never fit for racing again. But you dratted well couldn’t help but like the man. A shadow fell across his legs, and he looked up to find Mungo standing beside him. Dan put the apple he was about to sink his teeth into in his pocket and shifted farther along the bench to make room for him.

  Mungo broke the silence with, “Well?”

  “I was polite, controlled and well mannered, and absolutely right. Like you, I abhor animals having to suffer because their owners are too mean to get treatment for them; and that’s what it is: absolute, sod-awful meanness that makes that huge well-fed lord of the manor refuse to allow the stockman to call for help when the chap knows it’s needed. I shall go tomorrow to attend the cow, in spite of being forbidden to do so, because my professional integrity is being challenged and neither you nor I can allow that. I shall, however, apologize.” Dan looked at Mungo and waited for his reply.

  “The big mistake was examining the horse.”

  “I didn’t. Just watching him trot across the yard I knew his problem, without doubt.” Dan grinned. “You should have seen old Askew’s face when I commented on his limp. You’d have enjoyed it.”

  “Would I? You’re not wet behind the ears—I’m well aware of that—you know what you’re doing, but I’ve spent twenty years of my life building up this practice and I don’t want to lose it all because of someone …”

  “Yes?”

  “ … someone who thinks he’s a clever beggar.”

  Dan grunted and held back on an angry reply.

  Mungo, sensing his anger, tried a more conciliatory approach. “Horses. I didn’t realize.”

  “Worked for an Arab sheikh for a while. Learned a lot.”

  “Interesting work.”

  Dan nodded. “You’d do well to take horses on. Just that bit more money into the coffers. You see plenty hereabouts when you’re driving around.”

  “Never had the inclination.”

  “Worth thinking about. There’s money in it.”

  “Got to speak frankly, Dan. To be honest, I’m not in it for the money. Yes, I have wages to pay and drugs to buy and a building to keep up, but my main reason for being a vet is the animals; and their needs are paramount in my mind. Do well by them and you and I will get on famously; have money as your prime motivation and we won’t, and you can leave.”

  “You’re not questioning my integrity too, are you?”

  “No, I am not. I’m just … telling you. Putting it on the line, so we both know where we stand.” Mungo stood up and faced him. “Watch yourself tomorrow. I dislike Lord Askew as much as you do; there’s nothing gracious or pleasing about him, but he is a client, his bills are always paid on the dot and we owe him a duty of care, and also he has a lot of influence.”

  “Exactly, a duty of care and that’s just what I shall be doing when I go in the morning: caring.”

  “Good, then you and I understand each other. Dinner with us tomorrow night in the flat, Miriam says, if you’ve nothing better to do.”

  “Thanks. Yes.”

  “Seven-thirty.”

  “Fine. I look forward to it.”

  DAN arrived at Mungo and Miriam’s at seven-twenty-nine precisely after a long, arduous day. He was the last to arrive. Waiting to greet him were Joy and her husband, Duncan; Colin and his wife, Letty; and a heavily pregnant Zoe with no husband. Something about the tension in the air made him wonder if this was to become a third-degree interrogation, because here he was, faced with all three partners.

  Miriam came out of the kitchen and broke into smiles on seeing him. “Dan! How lovely!”

  She gave him a great big hug as naturally as if they’d known each other for years and he responded gladly, “Miriam! Nice to see you again.”

  When she released him, she asked what he would like to drink. Briefly he studied her face, saw how genuine her greeting was and felt grateful. “A whiskey and water, please.”

  “Mungo, a whiskey and water for Dan. The food is almost ready.” She crossed her fingers and laughed.

  Colin introduced his wife, Letty. She was short and round and pale and blond, and had the misfortune to have chosen to wear a cream wool suit and Vaseline on her lips instead of lipstick, so she appeared to have no substance at all, but her tongue belied her appearance. “Got the practice into deep trouble and you’ve only been here a week.”

  “Letty!” Colin protested.

  “Deep trouble?”

  “Hadn’t you heard? Lord Askew has canceled his account with us.”

  “No, I hadn’t heard. More fool him.”

  “After your rudeness …”

  Colin interrupted, “Letty! It’s none of your business. Leave it.”

  Looking Colin directly in the face, she said, “Our income is my business. It cost an arm and a leg to set up this place. If the practice fails, so too do we.” In profile Dan saw that Letty’s nose was longer and sharper than any he’d seen in a long time. Unfulfilled, that was her trouble. Then he smiled inwardly at his assumption, or thought he had.

  “It’s amusing, is it?”

  Insulted by Letty’s thinking he was not taking the matter seriously enough, Dan answered her sharply, “No, it is not.”

  “Wait till Mungo’s taken in what’s happened. You’ll be out on your ear in no time at all.”

  Dan, growing angrier by the minute, asked her, “Shall I indeed?”

  She nodded her head vigorously. “If I have my way you will.”

  Exasperated by her rudeness, Colin said, “Please! Leave it, leave it.” By his tone it was obvious he knew she would ignore his protest.

  “I hadn’t realized you owned the practice.”

  Slightly taken aback by his directness, she paused a moment and then answered him, “I do have a large say in the matter but then money talks, doesn�
��t it?”

  “Are you always so unpleasant to people you don’t know?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “I said are you always so unpleasant to people you’ve never met before?”

  “Unpleasant? I believe in calling a spade a spade and so do you, judging by what you said to Lord Askew yesterday morning.”

  “I hadn’t realized you were there?”

  “I wasn’t. Colin told me.”

  “Ah!”

  Miriam called out for help in the kitchen from Mungo and asked Joy to seat everybody.

  In the general mêlée of Joy’s organizing everyone, Dan deftly separated himself from Letty and managed to find a seat next to Zoe. “Hello, Zoe, how are you?”

  “More to the point, how are you?” Lowering her voice, she added, “She really is the absolute limit. I don’t know how Colin puts up with her.”

  “He seems well laid back.”

  “One day the worm will turn, believe me. One can put up with so much and then …”

  “Water?”

  Zoe nodded. Dan poured her a glass of water, and wishing not to become involved too deeply in practice politics, he asked, “Are you hoping to come back to work after the baby?”

  “Of course.”

  “How will you manage?”

  “My mother lives with me. Between us we shall cope.”

  Dan hesitated. “I hadn’t … I didn’t know…”

  “There’s no need to tiptoe delicately around the matter, I’m unmarried and intend staying so, this”—she waved vaguely in the direction of her bump—“is a momentary blip.”

  “I see. That’s a new word for a baby. Blip.”

  “I hear a hint of disapproval. You can disapprove as much as you like. I don’t really care.”

  “I’m old-fashioned enough to believe that two are better than one where babies are concerned.”

  “There will be two. My mother and I.”

  They were interrupted by the soup arriving.

  Miriam came to sit down and put herself out to make him feel comfortable. She was an astute and caring hostess and a thoughtful conversationalist, and after a few minutes of her company, Dan dismissed his clashes with Zoe and Letty as more a misfortune on their part than his.

  “Where were you working before you came here, Dan?”

  “Here and there. In the the Gulf, the Caribbean, in the States. But now I’m home for good.”

  “You mean in England for good.”

  Dan nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Good, I’m glad. There comes a time when gadding about all over the place is just not enough anymore, and one longs to put down one’s roots. Is that how you feel?”

  There was a slight hesitation, then Dan answered firmly, “It is.”

  “That’s lovely. I am pleased. Is the flat all right? I paid a company to clean it and everything; they’re usually very good. If there is anything you’re short of let me know. The flat is my particular charge, you see, so any problems, see Miriam.”

  Dan, who had been about to reply, got beaten to it by Letty. “He won’t be here long enough to know if anything’s missing.”

  Colin touched her arm and said, “Now, Letty; now, Letty.”

  Miriam flushed. Dan saw her agitation and felt concerned. She was too sweet to have to suffer this kind of unpleasantness. Visibly angry, Miriam said, “Letty, I expect my guests to put themselves out to be charming while they are in my home, even if they’re … not charming.” She stood up and began to collect the soup plates.

  Dan said loudly, “That soup was delicious, Miriam, if I might say so, some of the best I’ve had.”

  “Thank you. I shan’t be long with the main course. It’s all ready.”

  Joy bounced up to give her a hand and they both disappeared into the kitchen.

  A long silence fell because those still sitting at the table had been surprised by the sharpness of Miriam’s retort to Letty.

  It was Duncan who saved the day. “My cat, Tiger, shall I have her spayed when the time comes? Do you advise it, Mungo?”

  “Question is, do you want kittens?”

  “No.”

  “Then have it done; it’s the only way.”

  “Have I the right?”

  “Right to what?”

  “Have I the right to have her snipped? I wouldn’t want to have the snipping job done, so have I the right to have the cat done. It’s not as if I can ask her permission, is it?”

  A wave of laughter went round the table, except for Letty, who pulled a disapproving face. What else could the woman expect when sitting at a table dominated by members of the veterinary profession, thought Dan.

  Mungo stopped laughing long enough to say, “Look here, Duncan, it isn’t very long since you mocked me at this very table for loving my Perkins and here you are treating Tiger as if she were a human being. She isn’t; she has no soul, no aspirations for the future, no knowledge of what she’s having done, no thinking ‘God! Now I shall never be a mother; why is he doing this to me?’ So blessed well get it done for her sake. Come on, man. There’s no debate.”

  “Isn’t there?”

  Duncan asked Zoe and she agreed with Mungo. He asked Dan and he said, “Having litter after litter of kittens is cruelty in the extreme, and finding homes for them all even more cruel for yourself. There’s no debate, like Mungo said.”

  “I’m not too sure.”

  Dan replied emphatically, “Well, I am. In fact, come to think of it, there are plenty of human beings who could do to be snipped, never mind the odd cat.”

  “She isn’t an odd cat, she’s my cat,” Duncan protested.

  “Your cat or not, I would have her snipped. She’ll never know the difference, and the world will be dozens of unwanted cats the fewer. Two-minute job. Bring her in tomorrow and I’ll do it for her.”

  Panicking, Duncan said quickly, “No, no, she’s too young yet.”

  “Well, when she’s old enough I’ll do it and …”

  Zoe forcefully interrupted him. “Was ‘plenty of human beings’ a reference to me?”

  Dan laughed. “About human beings having the snip? Come to think of it, there can’t be that much difference between doing a cat and a human being. If you want snipping, Zoe, after your blip has arrived, just say the word. It could be a first. You wouldn’t need to wait for months; we could slip you in between ops.” He pretended to look at the operations diary, using his hands as though flicking through the pages. “Let’s see. Valentine has a castration at eleven-thirty a spay at twelve, would twelve-thirty suit you? How about it, Mungo? Neutering human beings could open up a whole new world for us humble vets.”

  Mungo, enjoying his joke, didn’t get a chance to answer because Zoe got there first. “Did you say that to illustrate yet again your disapproval of me being a single mother?”

  “The manner in which you conduct your life is none of my business, though I do have a right to my opinion.”

  Zoe, losing her temper with him, demanded, “Well, let’s hear it, then.”

  “I don’t think it a subject for the dinner table.”

  “I do.”

  Dan looked at her, saying quietly, “Very well, I’ll state my case. I think it is the height of selfishness for young women to want a baby purely for their own satisfaction, and that, unfortunately, is very often the case. I understand that some single mothers don’t even tell the man they have made use of about the birth. That is appalling. Babies are not a fashion accessory, nor are they there to be born simply because their mothers need someone to love. They do not ask to be born; but when they do come, they deserve the very best from two parents. I do not know the circumstances of the conception of your blip; so I cannot judge, can I?”

  By the end of his statement Dan was speaking loudly and the others couldn’t help but hear. It seemed odd to everyone that he should have such strong views on the matter, and more than one seated at the table intuitively surmised that there was more to Dan’s views than j
ust an opinion aired.

  They were all embarrassed into silence by his outburst. Only Zoe was distressed by it, because he had so accurately put his finger on her own feelings about becoming pregnant.

  Miriam broke the spell they were under by bringing in the main course: a huge dish of beautifully presented crown of lamb surrounded by roasted vegetables, which Mungo took from her and placed at his end of the table. Joy followed with a couple of tureens and the two of them sat down. Miriam said, “I’ve just had a thought; you’re not vegetarian, are you, Dan? I never thought to ask.”

  “No, I’m not and that lamb looks delicious.” He watched the admirable, almost elegant way in which Mungo carved and served the lamb, and thought how much he liked the man—he was so honest and straightforward and compassionate. It hardly seemed fair that so many enviable qualities should be concentrated in one person. Dan caught Letty watching him, and he met her ice-cold gaze boldly. He smiled and raised his glass to her, but her eyes slid away from him as she completely ignored his gesture. He realized he’d made more than one enemy tonight.

  The dinner party never quite recovered after the argument between Zoe and Dan, and he wasn’t the only one glad when people began to leave.

  Mungo called him over to his side of the room as he was about to go. “A word, please, before you disappear, Dan.” He led the way back into the dining room and closed the door. “Askew has rung me to say he is not requiring our services anymore. He’s going to the practice in the High Street. He claims you trespassed this morning, and he is threatening you with police action. He also says that there is nothing wrong with the horse and that what you said, you said out of malice.”

  Dan raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Do you believe him?”

  “I don’t know what to believe. You tell me.”

  “OK, in his opinion I did trespass, but like I said, the cow merited further attention; and in all conscience I gave it that attention this morning, nothing more, nothing less. I wasn’t able to apologize because his lordship hadn’t got back from his ride when I was ready to leave, but I shall do it in writing tomorrow. As for the horse, I know I am right and his vet is wrong.” Dan shrugged his shoulders. “But there we are. There is the possibility of doing something about it if it is treated immediately. To ignore it will cut short its career quick smart.”