He added briskly, "Caesar is very fit, I thought you might like to see him and Mabel, of course."

"Well, yes, I would thank you. I'll come..."

"You'll enjoy the drive," said Charity, 'and you'll both come back here for dinner seven o'clock, be cause Cressida wants to be back by ten o'clock. " She added, " And bring the dogs, Aldrik; Samson hasn't seen them for a time, and they can have a romp together Her husband gazed at her fondly.

"Darling, we will all do exactly as you ask, but if I find you haven't curled up for at least two hours I shall beat you when I get home."

They all laughed and then Aldrik said, "Get your coat, Cressida, and we'll be off." He gave Charity a quick kiss.

"Thanks for the lunch, my dear," and he bent to kiss the little girls' cheeks. Whatever it was he said to them sent them running into the hall to search the pockets of his heavy jacket and find the chocolates he had brought with him.

Cressida, tying a scarf over her tidy head, thought how happy every one was. I'm happy too, she reflected, I suppose it's because I'm settled and everyone is so nice.

Sitting beside the doctor presently, driving along a narrow brick road between polder land, she said, "Charity told me that you're going to England for Christmas. Do you go every year?"

He slid the car into an even narrower road.

"Usu ally; my grandmother is too old to travel over here. My mother spends Christmas with her but she is visiting one of my sisters. I don't like to think of the old lady being on her own."

"You come back for New Year?"

"Oh, yes."

"Then I expect you'll be getting married?"

He said drily, "The idea had occurred to me. Should I be flattered at

your interest, Cressida?"She looked away from him out of the car window."Have I been nosy? I'm sorry. I I was just making conversation.""Surely there is no need for us to have to do that? Let's talk instead." He turned and smiled at her.

"I wonder if you will like my home we're almost there, another mile or

so. We're quite close to the sea now. As we go back we'll take the other road through Dokk.u.m. Are you to be free on every Thursday?" "I think so, and once a month I'm..." She stopped just in time from telling him that she would have a weekend to herself."Once a month?" he prompted."Oh, nothing," she mumbled, 'nothing important. " She had gone pink;the very idea of telling him about her weekend. he might have thought that she was fishing for an invitation to go out with him. He was nice enough to have responded too even if he hadn't wanted to. She remembered how he had put himself out on her behalf and said hastily, "Charity and I are going shopping together. It's lovely having her so close, I've--I've planned to do such a lot."

He didn't reply and she was searching her head for a suitable topic of conversation when the road widened into a very small village square encircled by cottages, an austere church, two shops and a village school.

"Janslum," said the doctor.

"I'm just up the lane."

Cressida, with the vague idea of a smallish country house with a nice

garden, was taken aback as he swept the car through an open gateway between high pillars and along a straight drive between small wintry blown trees. It curved presently and the house came into view.

"You live here?" gasped Cressida. "All by yourself?"

"Not quite by myself," he conceded, 'and later of course. "

"When you are married." He had got out to open her door and help her and she stood beside him, looking at the house, white-walled and gabled with tall windows on either side of the porch, the windows above getting smaller and smaller until they reached the roof. There were lights shining from the downstairs rooms and as she looked the door was opened and she could see the hall beyond, aglow with soft lamplight.

"It's perfect," she said to no one in particular.

"Just right."

CHAPTER SEVEN.

the doctor didn't say anything, but he smiled a little as he swept her indoors. "This is Wester, who looks after the house for me. His wife Tyske does the cooking. I should sink without trace without them."West smiled discreetly and shook the hand Cressida held out."I've brought Miss Preece for tea," explained the doctor. He glanced at his watch.

"There's plenty of time; would you like to look round the grounds, Cressida?"

"Oh, yes, please."

"It's very nearly dark but there is a moon. Come this way..."

He led her round to the side of the house, down a few shallow steps and

through a shrubbery. There was a gate at the end and as they reached

it he asked, "Do you like horses?"

"Horses? Me? Yes, I do. When Father was alive I used to ride with him.

My stepmother sold Father's horse and my pony. " She bent down to fondle Caesar's ears and pat Mabel, pacing along beside her. The memory still hurt.

"Take a look at these," invited the doctor cheerfully, and whistled.

The two enormous beasts who loomed up at a gallop by the gate were followed by an old pony and a donkey. "Heavens above the size of them! They're per- cherons, aren't they? Do you work them?"

"Just when we make hay and plough. They're elderly I got them from the

knackers there's room enough for them here and they deserve a year or two of peace and quiet."

She stroked the enormous noses breathing gently over them.

"And the pony and donkey?"

"They happened to be there. The pony's very old, and he and the donkey

are fast friends." He nodded towards the end of the field beyond the gate.

"The stables are over there. I've a mare I ride when I'm here she's already in for the night. The boy will be along soon to bed these four down."

He handed out lumps of sugar and Cressida said, "Oh, may I...?"

He gave her the rest of the sugar and she took off her glove and offered it in turn.

"Oh, how can you bear not to live here?" she wanted to know.

"Well, I have my work." He smiled down at her.

"Holland is a small country and I have my car. I spend as much time here as I can manage."

He broke off as a strong-looking lad came plodding towards them.

"There's Wigbald." He called out to the boy who as he joined them said something in Fries and the doctor replied in the same tongue before saying, "Cressida, this is Wigbald who runs the stables for me and does the ploughing and a good deal of the heavy work. He will be a good farmer when he is grown."

He spoke to Wigbald again, the boy came forward and she held out a hand and had it wrung remorselessly "Nice to meet you," said Cressida and smiled widely at him, hoping he would at least see that she was pleased to meet him. It seemed he was for he made quite a long speech, not a word of which could she understand. He then thumped the beasts gently on their enormous rumps and turned to the stables, followed by the pony and the donkey.

Cressida watched their stately plodding until they had reached the stables.

"That's a very funny name," she said.

"Wigbald how do you spell it?"

The doctor obliged.

"Fries names are a little out of the ordinary and we like to keep them in the family, as it were." He took her arm.

"You'll get cold standing there my fault. We can walk round the shrubbery and cross the lawn and go in through the kitchen."

It was almost dark now but the sky was clear and full of stars and coming out of the shrubbery on to the gra.s.s she saw the house again, the back this time, with lighted windows casting brightness on to the velvety lawn. Without stopping to think she said, "But Nicola must be mad to dislike this it's the most wonderful house I've ever seen." She stopped abruptly.

"I'm sorry, I had no business to say that. I I expect den Haag is a very nice place; some people prefer the town, don't they? I mean, it's really a long way from anywhere here, isn't it?" She went on a little desperately, for he had remained silent, "Although I suppose Leeuwarden isn't too far away."

"Don't babble, Cressy, there is no need." He sounded kind and a little amused. They had reached a stout door at the bottom of a pair of steps and he led her down and opened it on to a flagged pa.s.sage with plastered walls at the end of which there was another door. The kitchen was beyond, a large square room, its flagstones covered in matting, a row of windows at semi-bas.e.m.e.nt level. A vast dresser loaded with china took up almost all of one wall and facing the door was a large Aga before which sat a tabby cat who ignored the dogs.

Tyske was at the table, stuffing a chicken; she looked up as they went in and said something to the doctor which made him laugh.

"Tyske says that we must be cold and she will bring tea at once."

What was there to laugh about in that? reflected Cressida as she was led out of the kitchen, up a few steps and through a small door which took them into the hall. The door was beside a wide staircase which ascended to a half-landing before turning at right angles to a gallery above. The house door was ahead of them and a wide sweep of black and white tiles, partly covered by thin silk rugs. Along one wall was a walnut side-table with a panelled frieze elaborately carved, upon which was a bowl of chrysanthemums, and on either side of it Dutch burgomaster chairs each with an intricately carved crest. On the opposite wall there was a marble fireplace in which a log fire burned briskly, flanked by winged armchairs, their walnut cabriole legs gleaming in the firelight, upholstered in dark red brocade. The walls were white and almost covered by portraits and landscapes in heavy gilt frames. A bra.s.s chandelier hung from the high plastered ceiling and there were ormolu wall lights s.p.a.ced around the walls. A long case clock stood in one corner, chiming the hour.

She stood still, taking it all in unhurriedly.

"It's beautiful," she said presently, and the doctor nodded.

"Most of the furniture is original and was brought here when the house was built."

"It's old, the house..."

"Parts of it are sixteenth-century; it got added to from time to time but except for the plumbing and heating and electricity it hasn't been altered for al most two hundred years."

They crossed to arched double doors and he ushered her through them into the drawing-room. There was a bright fire here too, under a ma.s.sive stone hood with a coat of arms carved upon it. It was a very large room and yet it contrived to be lived-in and comfort able. The furniture was a nice mixture of satinwood and rosewood although the two walnut and marquetry display cabinets on either side of the fireplace were of an earlier date and filled with ma.s.sive silver and a Meissen tea set, a collection of small bowls and dishes and a ma.s.sive centrepiece.

There were sofas on either side of the fire and a number of easy-chairs and the room was lighted by the lamps standing on the various small tables. The enormous cut-gla.s.s chandelier hanging from the ceiling although unlighted, reflected the lamp-light and the flames from the fire, giving the room a warm glow.

The doctor gave her time to look around before inviting her to sit by the fire.

"We'll have our tea here," he said, sitting down opposite her, 'then we must go back; it wouldn't do to keep Charity waiting. "

Cressida said, "You have a beautiful home and so peaceful and far away well, I know you can't be far away from anywhere in Holland but it seems like that."

"You like the country?"

"Oh, yes, although I liked Leiden. I'm going to explore this part of Holland..."

Triesland. " He was laughing.

"Yes, well, Friesland." She smiled at him a little shyly as the door opened and Wester came in with the tea-tray. The dogs, who had stayed in the kitchen to have their meal, came in with him, followed by the cat. The three of them sat down before the fire, the cat in the middle.

"What is his name?" asked Cressida.

"Smith! He adopted us a year or so ago; the dogs are devoted to him."

Wester had set out the tea things, a plate of sandwiches another of little cakes and specula as on a table between them and gone again.

"Be mother," said the doctor.

"I have two lumps of sugar."

He was friendly in a casual fashion and she felt at ease with him. She had been rather taken aback with the grandeur of his home but he was so very much at ease himself that she forgot to be shy. Besides, the conversation he carried on was calculated to set her mind at rest: gardens and gardening, music and books, Friesland's past history. They ate their tea in complete harmony. Cressida had quite forgotten Nicola, and, as for the doctor, although he hadn't forgotten her, he had certainly dismissed her from his mind as a problem to be dealt with at some not too distant date.

Cressida was disappointed that she hadn't seen more of the house, but Aldrik hadn't suggested it and she hadn't liked to ask; besides it was time for them to return. She asked if she might go to the kitchen and say goodbye to Tyske, "For she gave us such a lovely tea," she pointed out, and then shook hands with Wester, who bowed over her hand just as though I were someone important, she thought, not noticing the doctor's smile. Nicola, when she had been to Janslum, had ignored Wester and eaten the delicious lunch Tyske had prepared for them without comment.

They didn't talk much as they drove back to the van der Bronses' house, Cressida sat quietly, feeling the warmth of the breath of the dogs on the back of her neck whenever they leaned forward. She was happy; she was having a lovely day off and she was going back to a job that she was enjoying. She'd had no idea that half a dozen children could be such fun even if they were hard work and took up every moment of her day.