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who would I bring? not anyone from school, would I? And if Janie Farringdon's there and Frances Talbot, what more could I
    want?`
    Suddenly he stopped, gripped her arm and swung her round to face him while he demanded, `What is it you don't like about Moira? All right, she laughs a lot. Well, I can't see that that's a bad thing. As for Maggie Ann, she's a servant and you don't need to take any notice of her. But what is it about Moira? Is it because she's married Father?`
    `No. No, it isn't because she's married to Father ... I wouldn't have cared who Father married, if you want to know. Oh ...!`
    Whenever she couldn't find the answer to a question she would hunch her shoulders up around her chin, and they assumed this position now, and she walked on for almost a minute before she exclaimed, Ì
    think there's something behind her. She's hiding something. I don't know what. Because why does she keep laughing all the time? People don't laugh all the time unless it's to distract you over something up.`
    Ì like her laughing; it's a nice laugh, and she's kind. Don't you think she's kind?`
    `People are not kind for nothing.`
    He considered this for a moment before he said, `Well, perhaps she's grateful for Father marrying her, because she's old, isn't she? 51 twenty-five.`
    She turned to him now and gave him one of her rare smiles as she said, Ànd you, Daniel Stewart, are very young.Ànd then he gave the lie to her words and she recognised this when, querulously, he said,
    `But time will take care of that, won't it?`
    `Come on,` she said now; Ì'm freezing.`
    `The house is warm. There's a fire in the drawing-room, and in the dining-room, even in the study and billiard-room. And you know what? I found a hot brick in my bed to air it, likely. It was wrapped in flannel. That was nice of her, wasn't it?`
    Òh, wonderful!Às they entered the hall Moira was approaching from the kitchen. She had a large bibbed white apron over her dress and her whole appearance was welcoming, as was her voice when she greeted Pattie, Àre you frozen, dear? There's some hot broth in the kitchen. Come away in and get thawed.`
    Ì'll go and wash my hands first.`
    Daniel noted that Pattie's voice was quiet and civil; and when she turned away, Moira said to Daniel,
    `You've been out without a coat on, laddie. Do you want to catch your death?`
    Ì'm warm enough, Moira,` he said; `but I could do with some of that broth.`
    `This way, sir, at your service.` She bowed and swept her arm in the direction of the kitchen. And he, taking her cue, marched with head up towards the door, her laughter following him ...
    Later that evening, after his father had departed the house in high spirits for a meeting in Newcastle, Moira came into the study where he and Pattie were sitting reading, and addressing Pattie, she said,
    `Would you like to come into the kitchen, dear, and help me decorate this cake; or better still, give me an idea of what should go on the top of it. I've always been a dab hand at baking cakes but, as for titivating the tops of them, a horse could make a better job of it with his hooves.`
    Daniel had got up from the rug, and he looked at Pattie as she answered, `Well, you can put me in the same class as the horse,àt which Moira put her head back and 53 let out a bellow of a laugh, the while Daniel nodded quickly towards Pattie, the motion speaking clearer than his words when he said, `But you've always got bright ideas.`
    `She has that. Come on then.` Moira turned away as if Pattie had already accepted her invitation.
    When Pattie slowly rose from her chair Daniel gave her a push in the back, and although she turned her head sharply towards him she said nothing.
    The kitchen was warm and full of the smells of spice, and there in the middle of the long wooden table was a large fruit loaf, and Maggie Ann, pointing to it, cried by way of greeting, `Did you ever see anything so good to look at as that? She's a dab hand, is herself, at the cakes.`
    `Shut up!