we really â what do you say? â blotted our copybooks with her, all right.â
âNever mind.â Hazel laughed lightly. âSheâll get over it. Iâm sure youâll find she grows friendlier as the hedge grows out again.â
âWe wonât be here that long.â
âAt least, sheâs on speaking terms again.â Hazel seemed determined to be a little ray of sunshine. âThatâs something.â
âSure.â Lania rallied round in an emergency, and undoubtedly sheâd let us know if the house was on fire. But she wasnât exactly what Iâd hoped for in the way of neighbours when I left home. I was really missing the friends Iâd left behind. Even Celia was beginning to seem like a bosom buddy compared to Lania.
âAnyway, about the day trip. We planned it and booked the coach ages ago, but there are still a few places left. If youâre interested, we could fit you in easily. I think youâd enjoy it.â
âEnjoy what?â I was still suspicious. Even Hazelâs friendliness might have an ulterior motive. The image of those arms around Arnold, having recurred to me, would not fade. It led to a bemused wonder as to just how she had said goodnight to John Blake the night he met his death. Had she given him something to think about that night? So much that he was distracted and not paying attention to his driving when that other driver had come at him? Rosemary had blamed Hazel for his death â was she righter than she knew?
âFrance ââ The magic word drove everything else out of my mind. âBoulogne. Shopping. We do it four or five times a year. The coach takes us straight to the supermarket and we pick up our duty-frees and shopping and donât have to worry about carrying it. After that, we have lunch and explore the shops in the centre of town, then catch the last ferry home and are delivered straight to our doors. It makes a nice dayâs outing.â
âDay? You mean you can do it in a day? Go to France?â I was aware that my voice had risen to a squeak. Arnold and the kids looked at me expectantly.
âThe bus will leave here at eight in the morning, itâs less than an hourâs drive to the coast, the crossing is about seventy-five minutes on the ferry. The coach will take us straight to the supermarket, wait until weâve done our shopping, then drive us into town and leave us. Weâll make our own way to the ferry at the end of the day â the dock is right across from the main shopping area â and the bus will be on board waiting for us. It couldnât be easier.â
âYouâve just picked up four more passengers.â Arnold was nodding enthusiastic agreement. âWhen do we go?â
âWednesday. Itâs a market day in Boulogne, so weâll leaflet, âa man would sail his own boat across the Channel, load up with booze and tobacco ââ
âYou havenât got a boat and you donât know how to sail.â
âSmuggling â thatâs the only way to beat them!â Arnoldâs eyes narrowed. He struck a stance and declaimed: â Four-and-twenty ponies, trotting through the dark â â
âThat reminds me,â I said. âBrandy is even more expensive than rum â the best brandy.â
âAh-ha!â Arnold swung his attention to the twins. They cringed under his sudden calculating scrutiny. âAnd they fitted up their cohorts with body-belts for gold, hollow-heeled shoes, coats with secret pockets ââ
âI gotta go look for Esmond,â Donald said uncomfortably. âI havenât seen him all day. Maybe heâs in trouble.â He began hobbling off.
Hobbling ? âWait a minute,â I said. âCome back here. Whatâs the matter with you?â
âNothing â honest.â He paused in the doorway, shaking his head. âIâm okay,
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