Chapter 18
There was a knock at the side door and Peggy stood there holding on to the door frame. The rain that had been present for the last couple of weeks had stopped but the winds had increased, especially in the wind tunnel that was Flora’s driveway.
Peggy waved aside the invitation to go in the kitchen.
‘I thought that perhaps you might want to discuss everything you’ve learnt. Make some sense of it?’
‘It's beginning to make more sense than I ever thought possible. Aren't you coming in then?’
‘No, there are more of us. We thought we should have a gathering–’
‘As in a coven?’ Flora raised her eyebrows. She must try and rid herself of this cynicism as even she was starting to believe it was all possible.
‘Whatever you want to call it. We gather. It's a gathering. A Meet. Whatever. Are you coming?’
‘Well, yes I suppose so. Where is it?’
‘The Folly in the grounds of Peverel Hall. It's where we always meet.’
‘ Or gather’ grinned Flora.
‘You're not too old for a clip around the ear’ said. Peggy, deadpan.
‘I'd better get my coat on then and a woolly hat too. It looks nasty out there.’
‘Soft gale blowing’ nodded Peggy.
While Flora was working out what a soft gale was, she dressed for the weather and locked up. As they reached the front of the cottage, Jen was walking towards them.
‘Blessed be Jennet’ said Peggy.
‘Blessed be to you both’ replied Jen grabbing hold of one of Peggy's arms to keep the old woman upright against the gusts.
As Peggy watched, Flora did an odd thing. Instead of grabbing hold of Peggy’s other arm to help Jen keep her upright, she went to the other side of Jen and grabbed her arm instead. Peggy, looked on with amazement as Jen turned to Flora, her eyes wide with surprise and her mouth forming an uncharacteristic smile. Even more surprising to the old woman was that, with an almost imperceptible nod, Jen squeezed her niece in a gesture of great affection. Surely not in such a short time, thought Peggy? Surely they can't have reached this stage from a point of deep antagonism on Jennet's side not too long before? All three of them. Jen in the middle continued up the road, past the newsagent and the Peverel Arms and entered the gateway of Peverel Hall.
*
‘Merry Meet’
They all greeted each other with these words as they joined Binky in the Hall’s Folly. Flora joined in. It seemed natural. But there were four of them now. She put this into words.
‘Am I okay to join you? There won't be three anymore.’
A high-pitched giggle escaped from Binky while the familiar wheeze, which passed for a laugh with Peggy, could be heard next to Flora's ear.
‘What do you think we are? The Wyrd sisters from Macbeth? she spluttered.
‘Hubble bubble. toil and trouble’ sang Binky in a convincing cackle.
‘It's double, double, toil–‘ began Jen and was ignored.
‘Sit down Flora’ said Peggy.
Feeling slightly miffed and a little silly, Flora did as she was told, taking one of the chairs placed around the central table. Peggy began.
‘Now that you've read Sybil's letters and have had time to take them in, are there any questions you want to ask us? We will do our best to answer.’
‘I'm sure there are plenty but they're all gone out of my head for the moment. Let me think.’
There was a silence while they all looked at her intently, which didn't help her thought processes.
‘Okay,’ she said at last, ‘let's start with the first letter. I now know that you are my aunt, Jen and I'm very happy to have discovered this. I didn't know I had any living relatives so to find you living almost next door is unbelievable.’
She stretched forward to grab Jen's hands again. While Jen squeezed hard and grinned, Binky who had no idea of this turn of events, let out a little 'mmff' noise of surprise and wondered who this pleasant, happy person formerly known as Jennet was. Peggy looked on in wonder. What magic had Flora worked when she visited her aunt that day?
‘Although’ Flora went on, ‘Sybil mentioned the possibility of two aunts?
Binky giggled.
‘That might be me’ she said happily. ‘No, that is definitely me.’
‘Bianca’ Peggy said sternly. ‘You don't know that for sure. You can't get her hopes up like that.’
‘I do know for sure’ Binky shot back defensively.
Peggy lowered her head and pierced Binky’s skull with her best withering look.
‘How?’ she asked.
‘Oh Peggy, you can be so old-fashioned sometimes. Well, you know I've met Flora a couple of times? I just happened to brush her hair from her shoulder at the inn once, in an affectionate gesture of course. And I just happened to keep both of the hairs as they somehow found their way into a clean handkerchief. Then I sent them up with one of my hairs and one of Ralph’s hairs from a jacket in his wardrobe. He was last here over 2 years ago and I was worried the hair was too old as I don't know how these things work. So I sent mine up too, to make sure.
‘Too old for what?’ Peggy scowled.
‘Why, DNA testing of course.’ Binky smiled innocently, unaware of the bombshell she was dropping, ‘and it came back as proof positive we were all very closely related and there was little doubt that Ralph was Flora’s father.’
She sat back and beamed. Flora leant forward.
‘And that is definite?’
Peggy closed her eyes.
‘Yes. I can show you the results. I’m the other aunt that Sybil mentioned’ she cleared her throat as her voice had suddenly gone squeaky ‘and well, my brother Ralph is your father.’
There was a different kind of wheeze as Peggy let out the breath she didn't realise she had been holding. Jen came around the table to put her arm around Flora who sat with both hands covering her face. Binky sat in an abashed silence, only now becoming aware that maybe she should have approached this without hobnail boots on.
Flora dropped her hands and looked around at the stricken faces of the other three. Suddenly she wanted to laugh. It obviously wasn't the reaction they would be expecting so she resisted the impulse and smiled at them instead.
‘There's one thing I can say. My life since I moved here has been anything but boring.’