Echoes of the Dance (5 page)

Roly came in through the French doors as Daisy appeared at the other door. He was so dazzled by the sun and water that he frowned for a moment, wondering who she was.

‘I heard the kettle singing,' she was saying cheerfully, ‘and Bevis was still waiting for me to show me the way. Wasn't that nice of him?'

‘Bevis is a great gentleman.' Roly began to make the tea. ‘He is kind and he likes people to be happy.'

Daisy was staring appreciatively around, one hand still on Bevis's head.

‘What a fantastic room. And I love that galleried landing at the end. But tell me,' she sat down carefully on one of the chairs at the table, ‘why Bevis doesn't like stairs.'

‘No-one quite knows why he reacts so strongly but we feel he must have been beaten quite badly when he was a puppy for going upstairs. We didn't have him until he was fifteen months old. When his owners divorced, neither wanted to take him into their new lives. He was very nervous to begin with but he's a much more confident fellow now. Apart from the stairs.'

He put the teapot on the table and saw that Daisy was staring at him, shocked.

‘That's terrible,' she said. ‘Who would do a thing like that?'

Roly made a little face. ‘People lose it, sometimes. And dogs are easy targets.'

She shivered, bending down to give Bevis a hug. ‘So you rescued him,' she prompted, as though helping along with a story. ‘But how did you know about him in the first place? And what happened then?'

‘Some friends of mine knew the couple in question. I thought Uncle Bernard might like a friend so I met Bevis and decided to keep him. We'd just moved back from London, the two of us, and there was plenty of room for another dog. Once he was settled I looked up the local rescue society and agreed to foster other dogs until homes could be found for them.'

‘And you haven't been tempted to keep any of the others?'

‘Not yet. There has to be a very special rapport.' He passed her a mug of tea. ‘We've got lots of decent people ready to give homes to them, I'm glad to say.'

‘What about Floss?' asked Daisy.

They both looked at Floss, who was sitting on her rug watching the scene rather wistfully until Roly clicked his fingers and she came to him readily.

‘Floss is grieving and she needs someone who understands that,' he said. ‘I might be tempted, she's got such a sweet temperament, but I have someone in mind for Floss.'

Watching him, Daisy saw an odd expression – tender and secretive – flicker across his face, and she was seized with curiosity. She thought: It's a woman and he's in love with her.

‘And you think this person will understand how Floss feels?' she said. He glanced at her and she grinned back at him. ‘Am I asking too many questions?' she asked. ‘I don't mean to be intrusive but I'm like the Elephant's Child, I'm afraid.'

He smiled. ‘You haven't got the nose for it,' he said lightly. ‘But, yes, I think Kate will understand. She's grieving too. She lost her husband recently and then her dear old dog followed suit. I think she and Floss were made for each other. She's coming over tomorrow to meet her. Anyway, enough of dogs for the moment. Tell me about yourself. I know you trained in London with Mim, but what happened after that?'

She accepted his change of direction very readily and made him laugh with descriptions of the jobs she'd taken – especially one as an usher in a theatre when times were really hard – before joining the Upstage Dance Company. He poured more tea whilst she described the flat in Henrietta Street, the glories of Bath and her bitter disappointment at being left behind when the company went on tour.

‘And do you have to rush back?' he asked. ‘Or can you stay for a while?'

He watched with surprised interest as the narrow, vivid little face was suffused with colour. He thought: There's a man there somewhere and she's in love with him.

‘I have to go back for treatment,' she said after a moment. ‘For my Pilates class and to see the physio.' She shrugged. ‘You know how it is.'

‘Oh, yes,' he said. ‘I know how it is.'

He stood up and began to remove the tea things whilst Daisy sat in silence, watching him. She was fighting back the most extraordinary desire to tell him all about Paul. Perhaps it was because he was so like Mim that she'd been so immediately at ease with him; whatever it was she must be careful not to go blurting out things like a foolish child.

‘Pull yourself together,' she told herself firmly – and, dropping a kiss on Floss's golden head, she got up to help him.

Daisy slept late the next morning and took her time over her breakfast. The kitchen had been stocked up with the basic necessities so that she was able to make coffee and toast: she rejected the cereals but found a grapefruit in a bowl amongst some apples and oranges.

‘I'm afraid I'm rather slow and uncommunicative much before ten o'clock,' Roly had admitted last evening after a gentle walk on the hill. ‘It was those early years in London that set the pattern. Mim and I shared lodgings whilst she was training and I was at art college. She often had late performances or we had friends in – you know the form – and neither of us are early birds. I get up to let the dogs out and then potter very slowly.'

‘Sounds perfect,' she'd assured him. ‘If I were to have a pre-breakfast stroll, would the dogs come with me?'

‘Oh, I should think so. If you follow the route we've just taken they won't let you get lost, and if Uncle Bernard gets bored he'll simply come home by himself. Enjoy yourself. Kate will be here around mid-morning to meet Floss but you'd be back by then. Come and have some coffee with us.'

As it happened she'd slept until nearly nine o'clock. Now, wandering back from washing-up in the kitchen, eating a slice of apple, she caught sight of a woman leaning on the five-bar gate. Daisy moved closer to the window and stared down curiously. She guessed that the woman was in her sixties; she had short, curling grey hair, and her chin rested on her arms that were folded along the top bar of the gate as she watched Bevis and Floss playing together in the yard.

Kate, thought Daisy.

She guessed that she'd left her car down by the ford and had walked up so as to come upon the dogs unannounced. Studying her, Daisy was struck by the look on the woman's face: an odd and touching mixture of tenderness and loss. A little smile lifted the corners of her mouth but her whole expression was one of sadness.

Daisy finished her apple, curbing a desire to go out and give her a hug.

‘What are you like?' she asked herself derisively. ‘Hugging people you've never met.'

Even as she watched, Roly came out of the house. It was clear that Roly hadn't heard Kate arrive and he gave an exclamation of pleasure that distracted the dogs from their game. They rushed to meet him and, all in a moment, there was great activity. Bevis jumped up at the gate with woofs of welcome and even Floss, losing a little of her reticence, went to claim her share in the greeting. They remained for a moment, Kate leaning on the gate with Roly beside her, discussing the dogs and completely relaxed. Then Roly made some comment that made Kate laugh and a look of great affection – and something more – passed between them.

Quite suddenly, Daisy felt as if she were spying on something infinitely private. She turned away quickly, glancing at her watch: nearly a quarter to eleven. She'd give it half an hour and then go and say hello.

CHAPTER SIX

Kate was sitting at the massive central table, Bevis on one side and Floss by her feet, with Uncle Bernard sleeping peacefully in his drawer when Daisy arrived. Roly placed a huge cafetiere on the table and smiled at her.

‘We were hoping you'd turn up,' he said. ‘So what happened to that pre-breakfast walk?'

She made a face at him. ‘It went the way of all good resolutions,' she answered. ‘I slept late.' She paused, her eyes widening with surprise. ‘Why is Uncle Bernard sitting in that drawer?'

‘Ah,' said Roly. ‘Well, it all started when we had two young dogs staying about two years ago. They were litter brothers and their owners simply couldn't cope. We didn't want to split them so I had them here. Poor old Uncle Bernard got tired of being trodden on and generally overlooked so I cleared the drawer out and put him up out of harm's way.'

‘It went to his head,' said Kate. ‘He looks down on us all now.'

Roly made the introductions. Now that they were face to face Daisy saw that Kate was younger than she'd first judged. The lines around the eyes and mouth indicated that life hadn't always been kind but, looking into the smiling grey eyes and holding Kate's thin brown hand, Daisy's instinct told her that here was someone who generally rejected bitterness and self-pity in favour of the hope of better things to come – but, this time, was finding the battle a difficult one.

Realizing that she was staring almost rudely, Daisy turned away and sat down beside her.

‘Roly says that you've barely had time to settle in,' Kate was saying. ‘Have you been to Cornwall before?'

Daisy shook her head. ‘It's my first time. I haven't seen much of it yet but we've been up on the moor for a walk. It's so wild and beautiful, isn't it?'

Kate shrugged. ‘It's not bad,' she said, glancing mischievously at Roly. ‘But if it's real moorland you want, Daisy, then you need to come and see Dartmoor.'

Roly shook his head warningly. ‘Don't start on that one,' he told her. ‘We've agreed to differ. Remember?'

Kate gave Daisy a tiny wink. ‘
He's
agreed to differ,' she said to her, ‘but that's because he's a compromising Celt. Between you and me, there's no contest.'

‘I gather you don't live round here?' Daisy began to like her very much.

‘My family moved from Somerset to West Cornwall when my father took early retirement. But early in my married life I rented a house on Dartmoor and after that I was hooked. I've lived on the moor near Tavistock for nearly thirty years.' She hesitated. ‘But perhaps not for too much longer. I was going to tell you earlier, Roly, but Floss distracted me. I've arranged to have the house valued.'

Kate bent down to stroke Floss, as if aware that her remark would have an effect she did not want to see. She murmured to the dog for a moment and then straightened up again to reach for her mug of coffee. Roly was standing quite still, staring at her in surprise.

‘You've finally decided then.'

It wasn't really a question but Kate answered anyway.

‘I think I have – well, you know all the reasons why.'

Roly sat down and poured himself some coffee. Daisy felt once more as if she were witnessing a private moment between the two of them and, as if she guessed this, Kate smiled ruefully at her.

‘Sorry. This is one of these ongoing conversations that Roly and I indulge in at regular intervals. I have this big Victorian semi-detached house. You know the kind of thing? High ceilings, huge rooms, big garden with a paddock that opens on to the moor. Now I'm on my own it's simply crazy to go on living there, even if I could afford to, which I can't. It costs the earth to decorate it and heat it and, anyway, I need to add to my pension fund by downsizing, but even so, I can't quite bring myself to move. Each time I think I've made the decision to leave I lose my nerve about ten minutes afterwards. I'm driving Roly mad with it.'

‘Not a bit of it.' He spoke automatically but his eyes were thoughtful. ‘You must do what's right for you.'

‘If only I knew what that was,' muttered Kate wretchedly.

Despite the fact that it was none of her business, Daisy was now absorbed by the small drama.

‘Why is it so difficult?' she asked. Her genuine interest robbed the question of any idle curiosity. ‘Can't you find a smaller house in – where did you say? – Tavistock?'

‘Kate is thinking that it's time she had a complete change.' Roly answered Daisy whilst Kate hesitated. ‘The difficulty is that she can't quite decide what sort of change.'

‘Oh, I know,' cried Daisy eagerly. ‘Having choices is utter hell, isn't it? Much easier to be told where to live and what to do.'

Kate looked at her in surprise. ‘You're absolutely right. For the first time for years I have only myself to plan for. In fact, this is the very first time. Although I'd been alone for a while when I first met David, that's my late husband, the boys – my twin sons – were still young enough to want to come home from university from time to time so there was a point to keeping everything going. Now they're both happily married and not very far away, David's gone, and I just rattle about feeling sorry for myself. Anyway, it's not your problem . . . But you're so right about having choices. It's hell! Now I don't even have the dogs to worry about I ought to change the car for something small and economical.' She shook her head despairingly. ‘I can't even manage that. It's crazy. I must be sensible. All I need is a tiny cottage and a tiny car. Should be simple.'

‘But what about Floss?' asked Daisy anxiously. Roly and Kate exchanged a glance and she frowned, distressed. ‘Am I speaking out of turn? It was just something Roly said – or did I misunderstand? Oh damn . . .'