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knew a lot more about the Sandytown project than he was letting on. In the end—to shut him up I think!—he accepted Toms invite to make a visit to see if he felt called to bring his ministry there—Toms dead keen to get him onboard for what he calls the Festival of Health—scheduled for Bank Holiday weekend—Ill be long gone—thank heaven!—
    Finally—at Marys request—Gord laid his healing hands on the sprained ankle.
    As we left Tom claimed his injury was much improved.
    —I felt a warmth—he asserted—A definite warmth as from a powerful sunlamp—
    Back in the car—out of earshot of Mr Godley—I observed that—in veiw of the nature of the injury—I would have been more impressed if hed felt a defi nite coldness.
    He turned in his seat—hed wanted me to sit in the front—but I insisted he needed the space because of his ankle—& gave me a delighted smile & said—see Mary how good Charlotte will be for us. Scientific objectivity—thats what we want. No chance of charlatanism ruining the good name of Sandytown with her keen eye upon us!—
    Im not sure what lasting effect the healers hands might have on the sprained ankle—but one thing I feel certain of—Tom Parkers optimism is in-curable!
    Mary drove well & very carefully. If shed been at the wheel I doubt theyd have ended in the tank trap. On the other hand I couldnt regret that they had. My acceptance of their invitation might have been made in pique—but now I found I was really looking forward to the visit. Dont know if Ill get much useful thesis fodder out of it—after my start with Godly Gordon I guess Ill need to brush up my interviewing techniques—but being cast in the role of detached scientific observer tickled my fancy.
    Like a camera—I will record—& not judge.
    Or maybe Ill judge just a little! I am after all Steve Heywoods daughter.
    Difference being—Ill keep my judgments to myself!
    & you—of course!

    T H E P R I C E O F B U T C H E R ’ S M E AT 3 1
    . . .
    Short break there.
    Eldest kid—Minnie (= little Mary)—burst in to say lunch would be ready in 20 mins—& see if Id got everything I needed. Gave the impression shed been sent—but I suspect it was mainly her own idea—to check out the new fish! She talked nonstop—while her eyes gobbled everything up—especially my laptop. Shes 9 going on 90—reminds me of me at that age. Havent been bothering much with security—but now I may reactivate my password!
    Got rid of her—by main force!—after a couple of minutes—so now I can get to the really exciting bit of the journey here—so pay attention!
    Even at Marys steady pace it wasnt a long drive—but long enough for me to learn a little more about the Parkers. Old Yorkshire family—made their money in building—Tom trained as an architect—offices in Scarborough but siezed the opportunity offered by mod tech to work from home—4
    kids—Minnie 9—Paul 8—Lucy 6—Lewis 5—apples of his eye—Marys too—but Tom comes first. I get the impression she doesnt like letting him take off alone—not cos she dont trust him sexually—but cos she worries what scrapes his enthusiasm might get him into! Like driving into the tank trap—I suppose!
    He talked—with great
    affection—of his financier brother Sidney—
    younger—& invalid sister Diana—older. Without saying much—Mary gave the impression she has a few reservations about Sid in the City—& a whole bucketful about sister Di!
    More to Mary than meets the eye. When Tom started rattling on about Kyoto House—inviting her agreement that it was in every way superior to the old Parker family home theyd swapped it for—she replied dutifully—I suppose youre right dear—but the old place did have such a pleasant garden—& so sheltered—
    —yes—thats it entirely—he declared—as if shed confirmed everything hed said—It was indeed sheltered—from the benefits of the sea breeze—& sheltered from the veiw too—no outlook save for fields &