dash,’ she says. ‘Sarah’s expecting me for lunch. Goodbye,’ she says to Clem. ‘See you tomorrow,’ she says to Sir Alec.
It is only after she’s in the car that she remembers that she will be going to the convent after lunch; to Chi-Meur. She wonders if Clem will still be there.
* * *
‘I’ve met the curate,’ she says casually to Sarah. ‘Do you know him?’
‘Clem Pardoe? Yes, he popped in to see me just after George was born and now he comes in for a cup of coffee from time to time. Dishy, isn’t he? He reminds me of Hathaway in Lewis. ’
‘He seems nice. Not quite how I’d imagined a curate.’
Sarah laughs. ‘Were you thinking very pale and young and nervous? I don’t think curates are like that any more. Clem was in IT in London. He came down to Cornwall when his wife died.’
‘Wife?’ Tilly experiences an odd little shock. ‘He’s married?’
‘Was married. She died having their baby whilst Clem was at theological college. He gave it up so he could earn money to look after the baby and then when Jakey was about three Clem took a live-in job at the convent as a handyman, gardener, whatever. He was ordained quite recently and he helps at the retreat house while he does his curacy. It’s Clem who’s pushing for a really good website.’
Tilly rearranges her ideas about Clem. ‘How awful,’ she says. ‘About his wife, I mean.’
‘Awful.’ Sarah glances slyly at Tilly. ‘Apart from anything, it’s a terrible waste. He ought to get married again.’
‘Well, don’t look at me,’ Tilly says at once. ‘Can you see me as a vicar’s wife, let alone a stepmother?’
Sarah snorts. ‘To be honest I can’t see you as any kind of wife or mother.’
‘Thanks,’ says Tilly, secretly hurt but not showing it. ‘I must admit I have no ambition to be either.’
She is tempted to make an unkind remark about Sarah’s not being much of an advertisement for the domestic scene, but resists. And, to be fair, Sarah has a point. Domesticity, timetables, rules and regs have never been Tilly’s strong point.
‘Anyway,’ she says, ‘he’s probably got a girlfriend.’
Sarah shakes her head. ‘Not as far as I know. He doesn’t strike me as someone who gives his heart easily and he’s completely devoted to Jakey.’
‘And living in a convent isn’t actually particularly conducive to having a relationship.’
‘Oh, he and Jakey moved out of the Lodge when Clem was deaconed. They’re in the new vicarage down the lane. We’re part of a team here so we don’t have our own vicar and the vicarage was empty so they’ve let Clem have it.’
‘You know a lot about it,’ says Tilly, slightly irritated by Sarah’s almost proprietorial attitude.
‘Mmm.’ Sarah makes a smug little face. ‘I rather like Clem.’
Tilly laughs. ‘Well, don’t tell Dave.’
‘Oh, Dave likes him, too. Great sense of humour.’
‘Right,’ says Tilly, giving up. ‘Well, I’d better make a move or I’ll be late. And if I see Clem I’ll give him your love.’
‘You do that,’ says Sarah.
* * *
Clem is the first person Tilly sees as she drives past the house. He stands outside the open front door with a small group of people: an elderly cleric, two of the Sisters and a younger woman with a rather boho appearance and a mane of tawny hair. Tilly parks the car in the barn, picks up Dom’s camera and walks round to the front drive. Clem comes to meet her; his smile is friendly, almost intimate, rather as if they share some secret joke; some common aim.
Sister Emily greets her as an old friend. ‘This is Tilly,’ she says to the small group. She speaks with pride and delight, indicating that Tilly is someone special. ‘She’s helping us with the website. Putting us on the map. And this,’ she says to Tilly, ‘is Mother Magda. And Father Pascal, who is our chaplain. And Janna, who looks after us most wonderfully and imaginatively.’
They all smile at Sister
It is only after she’s in the car that she remembers that she will be going to the convent after lunch; to Chi-Meur. She wonders if Clem will still be there.
* * *
‘I’ve met the curate,’ she says casually to Sarah. ‘Do you know him?’
‘Clem Pardoe? Yes, he popped in to see me just after George was born and now he comes in for a cup of coffee from time to time. Dishy, isn’t he? He reminds me of Hathaway in Lewis. ’
‘He seems nice. Not quite how I’d imagined a curate.’
Sarah laughs. ‘Were you thinking very pale and young and nervous? I don’t think curates are like that any more. Clem was in IT in London. He came down to Cornwall when his wife died.’
‘Wife?’ Tilly experiences an odd little shock. ‘He’s married?’
‘Was married. She died having their baby whilst Clem was at theological college. He gave it up so he could earn money to look after the baby and then when Jakey was about three Clem took a live-in job at the convent as a handyman, gardener, whatever. He was ordained quite recently and he helps at the retreat house while he does his curacy. It’s Clem who’s pushing for a really good website.’
Tilly rearranges her ideas about Clem. ‘How awful,’ she says. ‘About his wife, I mean.’
‘Awful.’ Sarah glances slyly at Tilly. ‘Apart from anything, it’s a terrible waste. He ought to get married again.’
‘Well, don’t look at me,’ Tilly says at once. ‘Can you see me as a vicar’s wife, let alone a stepmother?’
Sarah snorts. ‘To be honest I can’t see you as any kind of wife or mother.’
‘Thanks,’ says Tilly, secretly hurt but not showing it. ‘I must admit I have no ambition to be either.’
She is tempted to make an unkind remark about Sarah’s not being much of an advertisement for the domestic scene, but resists. And, to be fair, Sarah has a point. Domesticity, timetables, rules and regs have never been Tilly’s strong point.
‘Anyway,’ she says, ‘he’s probably got a girlfriend.’
Sarah shakes her head. ‘Not as far as I know. He doesn’t strike me as someone who gives his heart easily and he’s completely devoted to Jakey.’
‘And living in a convent isn’t actually particularly conducive to having a relationship.’
‘Oh, he and Jakey moved out of the Lodge when Clem was deaconed. They’re in the new vicarage down the lane. We’re part of a team here so we don’t have our own vicar and the vicarage was empty so they’ve let Clem have it.’
‘You know a lot about it,’ says Tilly, slightly irritated by Sarah’s almost proprietorial attitude.
‘Mmm.’ Sarah makes a smug little face. ‘I rather like Clem.’
Tilly laughs. ‘Well, don’t tell Dave.’
‘Oh, Dave likes him, too. Great sense of humour.’
‘Right,’ says Tilly, giving up. ‘Well, I’d better make a move or I’ll be late. And if I see Clem I’ll give him your love.’
‘You do that,’ says Sarah.
* * *
Clem is the first person Tilly sees as she drives past the house. He stands outside the open front door with a small group of people: an elderly cleric, two of the Sisters and a younger woman with a rather boho appearance and a mane of tawny hair. Tilly parks the car in the barn, picks up Dom’s camera and walks round to the front drive. Clem comes to meet her; his smile is friendly, almost intimate, rather as if they share some secret joke; some common aim.
Sister Emily greets her as an old friend. ‘This is Tilly,’ she says to the small group. She speaks with pride and delight, indicating that Tilly is someone special. ‘She’s helping us with the website. Putting us on the map. And this,’ she says to Tilly, ‘is Mother Magda. And Father Pascal, who is our chaplain. And Janna, who looks after us most wonderfully and imaginatively.’
They all smile at Sister
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