They came like children, laughing and scampering; they had been running
till they were out of breath, and both were wet to the skin. The rain
gleamed on their flushed cheeks and shining eyes, and in that small
lamp-lit room they looked like wild animals brought to bay. They hardly
saw us at first.
Then Helen suddenly cried "Look!"--and pointed to us.
Somehow I felt that it was June or I who ought rather to have cried
"Look!" I broke the awkward silence by saying that we had arrived by car
not long before.
And Helen said: "Really? Did you come over the Hog's Back or through
Godalming?"
"Over the Hog's Back," I answered; and she went on: "I think I prefer
the other route. Godalming is such a quaint little town."
The rain was dripping off the brim of her hat and she remarked
laughingly that if Mrs. Taplow could lend her some clothes she thought
she had better change. She smiled at Terry as she went out of the room.
"_You're_ wet through, too," I said, when she had gone, but he merely
shrugged his shoulders and answered: "Oh, yes, I'll go up and change in
a minute. I must talk to you first, though. I'm ever so glad you've
come, but why on earth didn't you send me a card as you usually do?"
I explained the circumstances, but he still seemed inclined to protest.
"If only Helen and I had known," he said, "we could have made up a party
with the car and had a picnic somewhere."
"Perhaps it will do another time," I said conventionally.
He nodded with eagerness. Then he dragged a chair in front of the two of
us. "D'you know," he went on, leaning forward and talking rather more to
June than to me, "I've been having a great time to-day. Your mother and
I have been looking all round the district for houses--or else for a
good site to build a house on. We haven't quite made our choice, but
we've got several ideas...." He added, with shy gentleness: "Perhaps
you're surprised that I call her 'Helen?' You see, she and I are very
old friends."
June spoke then for the first time since he had come in. "_That_ doesn't
surprise me," she said quietly. "But the house business does. Do you
mean that my mother's thinking of coming to live out here?"
"Yes.... That's it.... Isn't it splendid?"
He went on to explain. Apparently, in the beginning, it had been one of
my ideas, though I had no recollection of it. Briefly, the suggestion
had been that since it was no longer necessary for Severn to live within
easy reach of town, the Hampstead house might be exchanged for one
further out. As Terry summed it up: "It's really absurd to live near a
Tube station when you have the chance of being in the heart of the
loveliest county in England."
"Is that Helen's opinion?" I asked.
He smiled. "She's still rather a devotee of the town, but she sees the
advantages of living out here. As a matter of fact, I think to-day has
converted her. It's been her first day in the country for years."
He went on to tell us, with careful and slightly boring accuracy,
exactly where they had been. Then he described several houses that were
more than suitable except for their initial disadvantage of being
occupied by somebody else. There were one or two good sites, however,
and perhaps in the long run it would be more satisfactory to plan and
build a house according to taste. "It's great fun," he said, "climbing
lots of hills and wondering what houses would be like on the top."
Then Helen came in attired in the rather scarecrow clothes that Mrs.
Taplow had lent her. Terry laughed heartily at her appearance, and then
left to change out of his own drenched clothes. We were left with Helen.
I'm setting down all this as simply and accurately as I can. I'm
reporting rather than describing what happened. It's easier, especially
when I come to Helen, for she was very puzzling that night. She seemed
younger, happier, triumphant, even; and yet, in some odd way, terrified.
She talked copiously and irrelevantly until Terry joined us, and then
was suddenly silent. We had supper, and during the meal it was suggested
that she should return with June in the car, and that I should stay at
the hotel overnight. The plan suited me, and I was glad to agree to it.
By this time the rain had stopped and the sky become clear. Indeed, it
was bright moonlight when Terry and I stood in the roadway to give a
final wave to the disappearing car. Then we strolled up the cool
rain-scented lane and talked.