A Ordinary Girl

by Betty Neels

  He was sitting on the arm of a chair, the baby peacefully asleep against his waistcoat.

  `Father will come for me.'

  `Better still, we'll drop you off as we go.' He had a phone in his hand and was dialling a number. Philly, aware that she should remonstrate with him at such high-handed behaviour, said nothing, listening to him telling her father that she would be returning in about an hour or so.

  `I can't go until someone comes to look after the children,' said Philly, finding her voice.

  `There'll be someone,' he assured her, and smiled, handed back the baby and went away.

  `Well, really. I don't know,' said Philly to the baby, who stared back at her and went to sleep again.

  Philly longed for a cup of tea, but she had no doubt that she had been forgotten with the house full of guests and everyone run off their feet. She drank some water and looked at the nursery clock; in less than an hour the children's tea would be brought up, and then hopefully someone would come to take her place.

  She worried a bit about the Professor giving her a lift. For one thing Sybil wouldn't like it, and for another she might keep them waiting unless someone took over promptly.

  The children woke up, and she washed their faces and hands, brushed their hair and sat down on the floor with them to play the nursery games she remembered from her childhood, thankful that the baby remained soundly asleep. Their teatime came and went, and after another ten minutes she picked up the phone. Just as she did the door opened and a maid came in with a tray.

  `Sorry I'm a bit late, Miss. Everything's a bit rushed downstairs. The guests are leaving. Here's a pot of tea for you.'

  Philly beamed at her.' 'Thank you. I'm sure you are

  rushed off your feet. I expect someone's coming to take over?'

  `I don't rightly know, Miss.'

  Which wasn't very satisfactory. Philly sat the children at the table, put the baby's bottle ready to warm and handed out mugs of milk and egg sandwiches, much cheered by the sight of the teapot, but before she could pour herself a cup the door opened and the children's mother came in.

  `What a day! I'm exhausted, but it all went off splendidly. Are you ready to go?'

  An elderly woman came in behind her. 'We'll see to the children now. Have they been good? We are so grateful, Philly. Now do run along; James and Sybil are waiting for you.'

  They bustled her away. She bade the children a hurried goodbye, with a regretful look at the teapot, smiled away their mother's thanks, and hurried down to the hall. The Professor was there, talking to a group of guests, but when he saw Philly he made his goodbyes and crossed the hall to meet her.

  `I've kept you waiting?'

  He smiled down at her. She looked tired and dishevelled, and her hair badly needed a comb; he found it disturbing that she outshone all the attractive women he had seen that day. And that included Sybil.

  `The car is outside,' he told her. 'You must be tired.'

  `Well, a bit.' She smiled in the -general direction of everyone else there and walked to the door, feeling very out of place. At the door she was stopped by the butler, who handed her a neatly wrapped package.

  `Wedding cake, Miss—I was to be sure and give you a slice. For good luck, you know.'

  She thanked him and got into the car, where Sybil said, `There you are at last. James, I'm exhausted...'

  `Not nearly as exhausted as Philly after most of the day spent with a handful of toddlers and a baby.' He looked

  over his shoulder. 'All right? We'll have you home in no time.'

  Philly had settled on the back seat, bringing with her a strong whiff of baby talcum powder, milky drinks and soap. There were sponged stains on her dress, which from time to time gave off an unavoidable tang. Sybil gave an audible sigh and the Professor bit back a laugh.

  No one spoke on the brief journey. At the Vicarage he got out and opened her door. Not sure if she would receive a snub, Philly offered tea.

  `I know Mother will be delighted...'

  `In that case we would be delighted; a cup of tea is just what I need. Don't you agree, Sybil?'

  She shot him a look which boded ill for the future, but she got out of the car and Philly ushered them into the Vicarage.

  She took them not to the kitchen but into the drawing room, which was seldom used because it was always damp, even in the height of summer. It was a splendid room, with wide windows, and furnished with the good pieces her mother had inherited when her parents died. A fitting background for Sybil's hat, thought Philly naughtily.

  `I'll tell Mother,' said Philly, and sped to the kitchen. Mrs Selby, being a vicar's wife, was unflustered by sudden demands on her hospitality.

  `Fetch your father,' she said, and went to welcome her visitors.

  Leaving the Vicar to entertain them, Mrs Selby hurried back to the kitchen, where Philly was putting cups and saucers onto a tray.

  `That's the most extraordinary hat,' she observed, getting a cake from its tin, and added, 'She's not at all suitable...'

  Philly giggled, and then said, suddenly sober, 'But she oes look gorgeous, Mother.' Adding matter-of-factly, 'She doesn't like me.'

  `No, dear. But of course that is only natural.'

  Philly made the tea. 'Is it? Why?'

  Her mother didn't answer. 'Bring the teapot, dear. I'll take the tray.'

  The Professor had quite a lot to say about the wedding, but Sybil hardly spoke and refused Mrs Selby's fruit cake with an, 'Oh, God no,' which made the Vicar draw a breath and bite back the rebuke on his tongue.

  Mrs Selby filled an awkward moment by observing cheerfully, 'I expect you had too much wedding cake. A wedding wouldn't be one without it, though, would it?' She turned an artless gaze onto Sybil. 'Have you planned your own wedding? I dare say it will be a big one?'

  `Oh, I suppose so. We have very many friends. Though we don't intend to marry yet...' Sybil's vague reply, from Mrs Selby's point of view, was reassuring...

  They didn't stay long, but their departure was delayed for a few minutes by the arrival of Lucy and Katie, back from their schools. They wanted to hear about the wedding, and Katie remarked with all the candour of a teenager upon Sybil's hat. It was fortunate that Sybil, confident of her splendid appearance, took Katie's, 'Now that's what I call a hat...' as a compliment.

  Sybil said, in the voice she used to those beneath her notice, 'I'm glad you like it. I had it specially made...'

  The Professor, looking amused, shook hands all round and ushered her into the car.

  Driving away, Sybil said, 'I can't think why you had to stop. There was no need to give that girl a lift—she smelled...'

  'Philly has spent most of the day looking after three toddlers and a small baby. They needed to be fed and washed and cuddled and amused. A hands-on job, Sybil, without regard to what one is wearing.'

  `You should have considered me. I hate anything like that...'

  `Would you even with your own children?'

  `We will have a highly qualified nanny—and anyway, I consider four children to be excessive. One is more than enough. Shall we be back in time to go out to dinner? A pity you can't join me at the Reeves' for lunch tomorrow. Really, you take your work too seriously, James.'

  The Professor reflected that falling in love with a lovely face had been a mistake. One which he would have to rectify if he could think of a way of doing so.

  Sybil didn't love him; he had thought at first that she did, but now he realised that loving someone was very low in her priorities. There were things which mattered more: comfortable living, money, being popular amongst the society in which she moved, a husband with money to spend on her—and one who was at the top of his profession— and the leisure to enjoy her life without worry.

  He said now, 'It will be eight o'clock before we're home, and I want to go to the hospital. And I'm sorry about tomorrow but there's this meeting...'

  `How tiresome you are, James. But we'll change all that when we're married.'

  `Am I
to give up my work?'

  `Don't be silly, of course not. But you can give up all this hospital work and keep your private practice. Do some consulting work, if you must, but you're well enough known to pick and choose.'

  `I'm a children's doctor, Sybil, and that's what I intend to remain.'

  Sybil gave a little laugh. 'Darling, I'll change your mind for you.'

  The Professor didn't answer.

  After leaving Sybil at her home, he drove straight to the hospital. There was a premature baby he wasn't happy about, and he spent the next hour or so discussing treatment with his registrar.

  It was ten o'clock before he got home and Jolly, coming into the hall as he let himself in, said, 'There you are then,

  and high time too. It's a good thing your dinner's one that won't spoil.' He peered at the Professor. Ted up with the day? Weddings, leastways anyone else's but yours, aren't much cop.'

  The Professor had one foot on the stairs. 'Give me five minutes to get into other gear. I could eat a horse, Jolly.'

  `Not in this house, you won't. I don't hold with horseflesh!'

  The professor laughed. Five minutes later he was back again, in casual trousers and a sweater, pouring himself a whisky.

  No one looking at Jolly would have thought of him as being an excellent cook. But he dished up a splendid meal, and the Professor, whose large frame needed more than the bits and pieces usually offered at weddings, enjoyed every morsel of it.

  `That's the ticket,' observed Jolly. 'Be in for lunch tomorrow, will you?'

  `As far as I know. I think I'll drive down to the cottage in the afternoon. If you want to go out, leave something cold for me, Jolly. I'll probably stay there for tea.'

  `Miss West going with you?'

  The Professor said, 'No,' in a voice which warned Jolly not to say any more.

  Sunday was a dry day, but cold under a grey sky. The cottage looked charming, with daffodils spilling from the banks around it and great clumps of primroses. There were early tulips in the flowerbed and forsythia in abundance. George was delighted to see him and Nanny, roused from an afternoon nap, bustled about getting tea. The Professor, greeting them both, wished that Philly was there, too. It was becoming increasingly evident to him that she fitted very nicely into the kind of life that he enjoyed...

  Easter had been early and May Day wasn't far away. Nether Ditchling was preparing for the annual children's

  fête which would be held on Bank Holiday Monday. It was held in the village hall, lavishly decorated with balloons, and was an old-fashioned event, its traditions untouched by modern ideas.

  There would be Punch and Judy, in the disguised persons of the primary schoolmaster and his wife, a bran-tub, presided over by Mrs Salter, a trestle table loaded with buns and ices, lemonade and bags of crisps donated by Lady Dearing, wife of the Lord of the Manor, and served by herself and her two daughters, while at the other end of the hall her son would be in charge of target shooting with toy rifles.

  Since the children would have their mothers and fathers with them, the Vicar and his wife always took charge of a vast tea urn, rows of cups and saucers and a great variety of cakes. As for Philly and her sisters, they helped out wherever they were needed: consoling crying children, taking toddlers to the lavatory, clearing up after one of them had eaten too much. It was an event which never varied from year to year and no one would have wanted it otherwise. This year there was to be a fancy dress parade with prizes, which meant a good deal of searching in trunks and attics and a run on the crinkle paper which Mrs Salter had remaining in stock from Christmas.

  The church was full on the Sunday before. The Lord of the Manor with his wife and family sat in their high-walled pew, and the Vicar's wife and his five daughters were on the other side of the aisle. Rose and Flora had their fiancés beside them, and Lucy's current boyfriend sat there too. Only Katie and Philomena were unaccompanied, and as usual the village craned its neck to see if Miss Philly had found a man yet. The nicest of the bunch, everyone agreed, but likely to die an old maid.

  Philly, unaware of the village's concern for her future, sat quietly, listening to her father's sermon, while hidden

  away at the back of her mind she wondered what the Professor was doing.

  He, just as she was, was in church. Sybil had gone to Italy for a week to stay with friends who had a villa in Tuscany. It was an invitation she couldn't ignore, she had told him. She had sounded regretful, peeping at him to see if he minded, but his face had told her nothing and she had been careful to beg him to go with her. 'I see so little of you, darling, and we could have a lovely time. There'll be several people we both know there, and there'll be plenty of amusement.'

  When he had said patiently that a holiday for him was out of the question she had made a charming little face and said, 'Surely you can take a holiday when you want to?'

  `Perhaps a day now and then. I could manage to be free for a day or so. If you stayed here we could spend a few hours at the cottage.'

  But there's nothing to do there and no one to talk to— only Mrs Willett.'

  He had wanted to tell her that if they loved each other there would be plenty to talk about, just the two of them: their wedding and their future together, and the delight of just being together.

  He had said mildly, 'Go and enjoy yourself, Sybil. Tuscany should be lovely at this time of year.'

  And so Sybil had gone, with a case of new clothes and a rather careless goodbye, confident that James would be waiting for her when she came home, placid and tolerant of her demands upon his time.

  He went early to the hospital on Rank Holiday Monday, and then, with the rest of the day free, went back to tell Jolly that he wouldn't be home until the late evening.

  He drove first to the cottage, where he persuaded Mrs Willett to put on her hat and spend the day with him.

  George was to come with them, of course, and the three of them set out in the best of spirits.

  Mrs Willett asked, 'Are we going somewhere nice?'

  She peered at the Professor, in a sweater and casual trousers and looking years younger.

  `Remember I told you of that charming family who were so kind to Sybil and me in that freak snowstorm? And the baby who was so ill? A ward sister was telling me about a children's fête to be held in the village where he lives. An old tradition, his mother told her, especially held for them on May Day. I thought we might go and have a look.'

  Nanny straightened the hat which George had inadvertently nudged to one side as he poked his head between them. 'That sounds nice,' she said placidly, and wondered what Master James was up to. He had mentioned, very briefly, the girl who had collected eggs from the hen house he had freed from the snow.

  Nanny, who couldn't abide Sybil, allowed herself a few hopeful thoughts.

  Nether Ditchling was en fete and since it was a fine day there was a good deal of activity in the street as well as the village hall. Mrs Salter had put a table outside her shop, laden with bottles of fizzy lemonade and pastries, hoping to catch any passing trade, and there were balloons hanging from all the windows. The street was filled with children being coaxed into order for the fancy dress parade, and coaxing them was Philly.

  The Professor, edging the Bentley into the Vicarage gate-ay, saw her at once, already a bit untidy, patiently and cheerfully creating order out of chaos. He watched her, ling, and Nanny watched him. So this was the girl. nothing to look at, but a happy laughing face and pretty

  and hair a nicely rounded shape under that cotton dress.

  `Now this is what I call a nice day out,' said Nanny, and

  his eyes on Philly, continued to smile. 'Shall we have a look?'

  Philly came to meet them. 'How lovely to see you.' She beamed up at the Professor. 'Have you a day off? Mother and Father will be so pleased...'

  `This is Mrs Willett, a family friend and my housekeeper.'

  Philly shook hands, still beaming, and said, 'How do you do? It's a bit of a muddle at the moment—t
he children are getting ready for their parade. Then everyone goes to the village hall. Would you prefer to sit down somewhere quiet? Mrs Salter at the shop won't mind a bit if you have a chair in her window.'

  `I'll stay here and have a good view.' Nanny, not given to easy smiling, smiled now.

  Philly had bent to stroke George's head, suddenly shy because she had greeted the Professor too warmly. 'Is he your dog?' she asked, not looking higher than the Professor's chin.

  `Yes. He lives at the cottage with Mrs Willett.' `Oh, I thought you lived in London.'

  `I escape to the cottage whenever I get the chance.'

  He stood looking down at her, half smiling, and after a moment she said, 'I must go and sort out the children. if I see Father I'll tell him you are here.'

  She slipped away and was lost in the melee of excited children.

  The Professor ushered Nanny and George across the street, and Mrs Selby, coming from the village hall, saw them

  `Well,' she said, 'this is a lovely surprise.' She looked round. 'Is Miss West with you?'

  `I'm afraid not. This is Mrs Willett, family friend and housekeeper, and this—' indicating placid George '—is my dog. We had a fancy to come and see you.'

  `How delightful. I'll find Philly

  `We have already met. We have been told to watch the fancy dress parade.'

  `Some of us older ones are having coffee outside the shop. May I take Mrs Willett with me? We can have a cup of coffee together and watch the children at the same time. If you go to the village hall—' Mrs Selby nodded over her shoulder —you'll find the Vicar there, arranging cakes on plates.' She added, 'The rest of the girls are here somewhere, and they will all be in the hall presently, to help with the amusements and the food.'

  She took Nanny with her, and the Professor strolled along the crowded narrow pavement and into the village hall. The Vicar, with a handful of ladies to help him, was piling cakes and sandwiches on plates and stacking cups and saucers. He looked up as the Professor went in.

  `This is a delightful surprise! Yes, yes, do bring your dog in. Is Miss West with you? You're on your way to Netherby, perhaps?'