one, they learned that the Ghyer was growing more active – waylaying travellers and robbing houses. He had even ventured into Chalcaster once to take revenge on a woman, they said. With news like that echoing in their minds, Emily and Mary always hurried to reach Grammaine before nightfall.
Alice had gone with them on the first of these charitable ventures, in high spirits at the thought of being received by the country people as an angelic saviour. The experience itself was less to her taste: too windy, too rainy, the roads too rutted, the people not ecstatically grateful enough. After that she left the task to Mary and Emily.
Soon enough there was more to argue over. Before the war, Alice’s energies had been given plenty of outlets, but now there were few social occasions, few men of good standing to enchant, few places to go. Alice felt boredom keenly. Many times she wanted the buggy to drive into Chalcaster when Mary needed it for making deliveries. At other times, when their own table was barren, she would lament that they had given so much away too soon. Emily’s patience with her, never capacious, frayed every time, and only Mary kept the two of them from a fierce row whenever they sat down to supper.
At last matters came to a head. Alice had been acting with a particular assurance for a day or so, a smug pretence that she had somehow garnered a new admirer. Emily had kept pointedly ignoring her, but her sister’s arrogance was irksome. Despite being older, Emily had always felt somewhat in Alice’s shadow. The youngest Marshwic had been everyone’s darling as a child, and always a great beauty. In better days, Grammaine had seen its share of respectful gentlemen callers, but they only came for Alice.
And that became their battlefield, when at last they were snapping at each other across the table. Alice, at the end of her tether for lack of entertaining company, brought the subject up as a time-honoured way of needling her sister.
‘I fear you’re catching up with me, then, Alice,’ Emily shot back, with eyes narrowed, ‘for you’ve gone as unadmired as I. What a shame that when this war is done and all the men return, there will be a new generation of beauties, and you will be old.’
That was plainly exactly what worried Alice, who went terribly pale. ‘Even with this inconsiderate war I am not without friends,’ she insisted. ‘You’re so busy doing your good deeds that you don’t even notice, but I have callers.’
This sounded like nonsense to Emily, and she said so.
Alice bit at her lip. ‘Oh, but I forget, you think yourself the catch now, do you not? You are the Marshwic beauty all of a sudden.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘But yes.’ Alice put on a particularly vicious smile, ‘I forgot! Emily had a caller, at long last. He came just once and has not come again. But what a shame that Mr Northway is your only admirer!’
‘Is that it, then?’ Emily felt herself very calm. Inside her, those words were rattling back and forth, hurting her every time they struck, but if Alice was going to be childish, then two could play ‘Well, then, if I am such a disappointment to you, I would not dream of disgracing our family by showing my face at Deerlings.’
Alice stopped, open-mouthed and frowning. ‘But of course you must.’
‘No, my mind is made up. You’re quite right.’
‘But I can hardly go alone.’
‘Quite. So we will simply send our regrets, and sit here together at home.’ It was a stupid thing for her to say. She wanted to go herself, and of course they would go. They were words spoken in anger, that was all. Alice did not know it, though, and she just stared aghast at Emily, and then shrieked with horror and stormed from the room, leaving Emily looking shamefaced at Mary.
‘She’ll calm down by tomorrow,’ she tried defensively. ‘She was being intolerable, Mary. I had to do something.’
Mary’s expression said she was unconvinced, and Emily found that she agreed.
She would have addressed the matter directly the next morning, but Alice was always late in rising – and when she was in a foul mood she might not be seen before noon. Emily and Mary took the buggy out to distribute the last of Mr Northway’s most recent bounty, then returned for a frugal lunch just as Grant was riding back from Chalcaster with news. He had brought