The front door to Lyney House was open when Abby got there. She had driven up preferring not to arrive hot and clammy from the walk up the hill. "Hello!" She called stepping forward just across the threshold. She was uncertain whether to proceed further. A door twenty feet away directly in line with the front door opened and a tall, slim, grey-haired lady, dressed in jodhpurs and blouse smiled at her.
"Hello, Abby. Do come through, I have just put the kettle on."
Abby advanced down the hall. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Comberford." For Abby was sure it was indeed Mrs. Comberford.
"Please call me Gwen. Come on in, I thought we could have tea on the patio at the back." The door led through into a large Breakfast room, with a French window which opened onto a paved area outside. Gwen extended her hand, and they shook hands. "It's so nice to meet you at last. I have heard a lot about you, but not from my son, I have to say. He seems most reticent on the subject."
Abby smiled. James had mentioned his mother's spies, and Gwen's comment seemed to bear out the efficiency of her network. "It's good to meet you. Can I do anything to help?"
"That's kind of you. Would you take that tray outside? There is a table and chairs. The table is a bit wobbly, but it should serve. I'll just make the tea and join you."
The table was indeed a bit wobbly, and Abby noticed that a folded piece of cardboard had been used to balance the leg. She adjusted the card and achieved a kind of stability.
Gwen appeared with the tea, and noticed that the table was more stable. "Oh well done. Everything around here either wobbles or is falling down. I have told James on many occasions to pull the whole place down, and build a small modern house. He won't of course. He doesn't seem to like modern things that much." Abby giggled. Gwen looked at her sharply. "You seem to have come to that conclusion too."
"Yes, I called him a throwback the other day. He actually agreed with me."
"Well wonder of wonders. He argues with me whatever I say. You must have the magic touch." Abby thought this last comment may have been said in a rather delving manner.
Gwen switched topics. "I was so sorry to hear that your mother was dead. You know that no-one here knew what had happened to her. CC made a lot of enquiries, but to no avail, she had vanished completely."
"CC?" Abby queried.
Gwen laughed. "Sorry, that was how I called Charles, James' father. CC, Charles Comberford."
"Well it was generous of him to make the enquiries."
"It was this damn valley. CC adopted a very patriarchal interest in everyone. It was his duty in a way, although he had a high opinion of your grandfather. He would have tried for his sake."
"I didn't think my granddad was that friendly to anyone?"
"Oh no. It wouldn't have been friendship. Charles admired your grandfather because of his sense of duty and his integrity. That was very important to Charles." She poured the tea, adding just a little milk to Abby's with half a spoon of sugar. Abby was dumbstruck! How did Mrs. Comberford know how she liked her tea?
"I understand that you don't spend too much time here?" Gwen shook her head.
"No, I have to confess, that unlike CC and James, I am not absorbed by the valley. I prefer to live in Berkshire. I have a lifelong friend there. She is widowed as well, so it suits us both. I only come back here to get some of the fat off Jason, and chivvy James, as he no doubt has told you."
"Yes, he did mention something like that."
"I would imagine that his comments were a little more barbed than just mentioned."
"Yes, perhaps a bit." Abby smiled.
Gwen took up the topic of Jason again. "But from what I hear, I shall not have to be exercising Jason as much in future?"
Abby blushed slightly. "Well I wouldn't say that. Gentle walking was all I managed with him, and I don't suppose that I shall be riding him again."
Gwen looked at her pensively. "Well if you are going to be a resident here, you may as well ride Jason whenever you wish. It will be doing me a favour." Abby picked up on Gwen's inflexion. There was an emphasis on the "here", almost as if Gwen meant Lyney House rather than the valley as a whole. Gwen tilted her head to the side and went on, pointedly asking Abby. "Another one becoming absorbed with the valley?"
"I wouldn't say absorbed."
"What would you say?"
Abby felt that she had to make some kind of explanation. "Mum grew up in the valley, and even though I was born in London and grew up there, I never felt that I was a Londoner. I lived and worked there, but that was all. I came here to see if there was a possibility that I had family I didn't know about, and found an intriguing story. I also found somewhere my family had been part of, in a very small way. Having no tie to anywhere else, this is the best I have got."
Abby had not explained herself well, and knew it, but found it difficult to put into words. Funnily it didn't seem a problem with James; he seemed to know instinctively what she meant.
Gwen gave her a smile. "So the valley will have one more resident. What will you do though? You are obviously an intelligent girl; I doubt that you will find anything as exciting as the life you have led, here?"
"I don't know at the moment. I think I will have more than enough to do with restoring the station and house. After that, I shall have to give it some thought."
"But you don't really have to work. Do you?" Gwen asked. Abby was not taken aback by this direct question. She was well aware that the valley was alive with gossip, and that Mrs. Comberford's spies would have passed this on.
"I cannot do nothing." She replied hoping that this would neither confirm or deny Gwen's question. The evasion only served to firm up Gwen's suspicions. If Abby had to find a job, there would be no reason to prevaricate. Abby continued "The only thing I do well is use the Banks money, and make them even richer than they were. I doubt that I can do that here."
"You may be surprised. When you go to the Ball, you should be prepared for some loaded questions." Abby had long ceased to be taken aback that everyone seemed to be aware of her movements, so Gwen's reference to the Hunt Ball was not worth comment.
"Oh and why would that be?"
"There will be some moneyed people there. Your position in the City is of interest, although no-one is actually sure of what you were doing, except that whatever it was you did it very well. You will find the need to fend off some indirect, even some direct questions. There are some who will always seek free advice, if they think you can give such advice.
Abby laughed at this. "Well, I don't think I will be able to help then. Moving millions of the Bank's money is a long way from advising on investments in the UK. I had to use a Stockbroker to make my own investments, and they are nothing like the sums I worked with."
Interesting, thought Gwen. More reason to believe that Abby, financially, was very comfortable. "Did you find the job interesting?"
Abby gave that some thought. She had never considered this before. "I suppose I did. Yes! It was a challenge. At least it was when I started, but looking back on how easily I gave it up, makes me wonder if I had not outstayed my time. I know there are those who would say I should have stayed and fought, tried to break the Glass ceiling. But another challenge beckoned."
Gwen smiled now. "Restoring the station and house?" That was what she said, but her thoughts turned to the possibility that James was the real challenge. She did not find this upsetting. Gwen felt none of the emotions that mother's were supposed to have about girls setting their sights on her son. In fact emotion played very little part in her life. She had married Charles Comberford because their families had all agreed that it was a good thing. She had never felt passion for Charles, just fondness, and having given Charles the son he needed, had absented herself from the valley as much as decorum would allow. To her mind it was immaterial if Abby and James should fall in love. Love didn't pay bills. It appeared to her that Abby did have the funds to pay bills, if they liked each other, so much the better. However there was something playing on her mind that would make all this speculation pointless. She got up. "I'll go and make some more tea, James will probably be here soon, and will want a cup."
"Can I help you?"
"No, but thank you for asking. Have a little wander round the garden. It's quite pleasant. Not as pristine as when we had a gardener, but James does a reasonable job keeping it tidy." Abby said she would.
As she strolled down the slight hill past beds of Roses set against huge Rhododendron bushes she realised that Gwen had learnt a lot about her, whilst giving away little about herself. She didn't converse so much as interrogate subtly. She laughed to herself. It didn't matter; it was just a little more to add to the gossip. She was disquieted a little as her hostess seemed to be examining her face very closely; Abby wondered if she had smudged her lipstick or something. Gwen on the other hand was quietly pleased. She had tried for years to get James to come with her to Berkshire, where he could have been introduced to girls who knew what their duty would be, and would comply without complaint. All in vain. Suddenly the valley had produced the right girl without any apparent effort on her part. There were one or two problems. To the first she would have to give much thought, the other was more simple although still a little vexing. Gwen was certain that Abby would not accept a marriage in the same way that girls of Gwen's circle would. She felt certain that Abby and James would want to be in Love. Why? She asked herself. Wasn't it enough that they were well suited? Why did they have to bring love into the equation? Whatever, none of it mattered until the first problem had been resolved, and that meant delving into the past. How tiresome!
