on it. So she knows.’
‘But she hasn’t told Dr Harris?’
‘Well, she was going to later, like, but she didn’t know how she was going to tell her and she kept putting it off and then one day she found her crying about the cat, and didn’t like to say anything, in case she made matters worse. So I’ve said she’s to tell the rector and see what he thinks.’
‘That’s best. I’ll ’ave a wander round there, see if I find anything. I knows them woods like the back of my ’and.’
‘Thanks, Jimmy. I ’oped yer would. If anyone should know them woods it’ll be you, considering ’ow much poaching yer did in there. But not a word. Dr Harris mustn’t find out from anyone except the rector.’ Willie tapped the side of his nose and Jimmy winked in agreement.
Sykes Wood, eh? He knew just where Willie meant. The charcoal-burners’ cottages had long since disappeared, most of the stones carted away for building other houses years and years ago, but the clearing was still there. Odd that. He’d have a look tomorrow before he went to work.
Chapter 11
‘Mummy! Mummy!’ Flick slammed the front door and raced through to the kitchen. ‘Mummy, we’ve been on a walk.’
‘Where to?’
‘Sykes Wood. We’ve been communing with nature.’
Harriet folded up the ironing board and went to the fridge to get Flick her drink. ‘What does one do to commune with nature?’
‘Well, one of the things we did was to hug a tree.’
‘Hug a tree? Whatever next.’
‘It’s all to do with listening to what the tree says to you.’
‘And what did yours say to you? Here’s the biscuit tin. Want one?’
Flick chose a Bourbon and bit a huge piece off it so her mouth was too full to answer. Harriet said, ‘I would have thought that with your exam tomorrow, a bit of hard work would have been more appropriate.’
Flick sipped her milk and then began, ‘Well, Kate said that—’
‘“Kate said”? Ms Pascoe, surely.’
‘She says that as we are in our last year we can call her Kate.’
‘Well, I don’t approve at all.’
‘Get up to speed, Mummy. You’re so old-fashioned. Though Mrs Hardaker did say she didn’t like us calling Ms Pascoe Kate, and she thought we should be working but Ms Pascoe said “Nonsense” and Mrs Hardaker’s lips went all straight like they do when she gets cross. She said, “Miss Pascoe, I really think—” But Ms Pascoe just tossed her head and said, “Come along, Class Three, away from these four walls out into the world, for another brilliant experience” so we did.’
‘So what did you hear when you hugged your tree?’
‘Well, I didn’t hear anything actually, because there were creepy-crawlies all in the cracks in the bark and I couldn’t concentrate in case they got in my hair.’
‘So you didn’t have a brilliant experience.’
‘No, it was a bit disappointing. Kate says trees scream when they get a branch chopped off or get cut down. She says when the world was young we would have been able to hear them but not now. That’s dreadful, isn’t it? I never thought they could feel hurt. I shall worry now. Shall I go and rest ready for tomorrow?’
Harriet laughed. ‘That’s your way of saying you’ll go and join Fran watching television, is it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, it’s not for long. She’s getting square eyes, absolutely hypnotised she is and doesn’t understand one tenth of what she watches, so you must get her to play in a while.’
‘OK.’
Flick came back from the day of examinations exhausted. Harriet had collected her in the car at three o’clock and when she saw how weary Flick looked she began to have reservations about her angry retort to Kate.
‘How did it go? Everything all right?’
‘Mummy, I’m so tired. It was quite exciting though. Two girls burst into tears, another one fainted, and one went out to be sick. The lunch was lovely, and the teachers! They were so kind.’
‘And the exam?’
‘Oh, that. Quite easy,
‘But she hasn’t told Dr Harris?’
‘Well, she was going to later, like, but she didn’t know how she was going to tell her and she kept putting it off and then one day she found her crying about the cat, and didn’t like to say anything, in case she made matters worse. So I’ve said she’s to tell the rector and see what he thinks.’
‘That’s best. I’ll ’ave a wander round there, see if I find anything. I knows them woods like the back of my ’and.’
‘Thanks, Jimmy. I ’oped yer would. If anyone should know them woods it’ll be you, considering ’ow much poaching yer did in there. But not a word. Dr Harris mustn’t find out from anyone except the rector.’ Willie tapped the side of his nose and Jimmy winked in agreement.
Sykes Wood, eh? He knew just where Willie meant. The charcoal-burners’ cottages had long since disappeared, most of the stones carted away for building other houses years and years ago, but the clearing was still there. Odd that. He’d have a look tomorrow before he went to work.
Chapter 11
‘Mummy! Mummy!’ Flick slammed the front door and raced through to the kitchen. ‘Mummy, we’ve been on a walk.’
‘Where to?’
‘Sykes Wood. We’ve been communing with nature.’
Harriet folded up the ironing board and went to the fridge to get Flick her drink. ‘What does one do to commune with nature?’
‘Well, one of the things we did was to hug a tree.’
‘Hug a tree? Whatever next.’
‘It’s all to do with listening to what the tree says to you.’
‘And what did yours say to you? Here’s the biscuit tin. Want one?’
Flick chose a Bourbon and bit a huge piece off it so her mouth was too full to answer. Harriet said, ‘I would have thought that with your exam tomorrow, a bit of hard work would have been more appropriate.’
Flick sipped her milk and then began, ‘Well, Kate said that—’
‘“Kate said”? Ms Pascoe, surely.’
‘She says that as we are in our last year we can call her Kate.’
‘Well, I don’t approve at all.’
‘Get up to speed, Mummy. You’re so old-fashioned. Though Mrs Hardaker did say she didn’t like us calling Ms Pascoe Kate, and she thought we should be working but Ms Pascoe said “Nonsense” and Mrs Hardaker’s lips went all straight like they do when she gets cross. She said, “Miss Pascoe, I really think—” But Ms Pascoe just tossed her head and said, “Come along, Class Three, away from these four walls out into the world, for another brilliant experience” so we did.’
‘So what did you hear when you hugged your tree?’
‘Well, I didn’t hear anything actually, because there were creepy-crawlies all in the cracks in the bark and I couldn’t concentrate in case they got in my hair.’
‘So you didn’t have a brilliant experience.’
‘No, it was a bit disappointing. Kate says trees scream when they get a branch chopped off or get cut down. She says when the world was young we would have been able to hear them but not now. That’s dreadful, isn’t it? I never thought they could feel hurt. I shall worry now. Shall I go and rest ready for tomorrow?’
Harriet laughed. ‘That’s your way of saying you’ll go and join Fran watching television, is it?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, it’s not for long. She’s getting square eyes, absolutely hypnotised she is and doesn’t understand one tenth of what she watches, so you must get her to play in a while.’
‘OK.’
Flick came back from the day of examinations exhausted. Harriet had collected her in the car at three o’clock and when she saw how weary Flick looked she began to have reservations about her angry retort to Kate.
‘How did it go? Everything all right?’
‘Mummy, I’m so tired. It was quite exciting though. Two girls burst into tears, another one fainted, and one went out to be sick. The lunch was lovely, and the teachers! They were so kind.’
‘And the exam?’
‘Oh, that. Quite easy,
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