more exciting because so unexpected. Also she wasn’t sure about Corinna. Somehow it hadn’t been as much fun as last time.
Phoebe felt the same.
‘The Royal Box was so exciting,’ she was complaining to Debbie, ‘and everyone didn’t rabbit on about Housman, though I suppose it’s better than house prices. Frankly, I’m fed up with Corinna hogging the limelight. Pity Valent wasn’t here to buy all that lovely fizz, he’d have kept her in order.’
‘I’m quite exhausted, having been kept awake by them rowing all night,’ said Debbie, not adding that just as she was dropping off at five o’clock, she’d felt the Major’s penis nudging her back: ‘Wakey, wakey, here comes snakey,’ so she really hadn’t got any sleep at all.
The west was dominated by a dark cloud with a chink of fiery scarlet light along the bottom, the remains of the sunset.
‘I don’t know how Seth puts up with her,’ grumbled Phoebe.
‘By drinking too much,’ said Debbie tartly. ‘Mrs Wilkinson’s our Village Horse, not Corinna’s. She’s the village whore. I’m going to bail out if she continues to ruin things.’
Up the front, Alban and Toby were still talking about shooting.
‘Phoebe won’t beat or pick up,’ Toby was complaining. ‘Last time we went shooting with Georgie Larkminster, we only got a cup of coffee when we arrived, and nothing but Cornish pasties and not a drop of drink at lunchtime.’
The Major’s mobile rang. He took it to the back of the bus again and five minutes later strode back down the gangway, taking up his position beside Alban, bristling with self-importance.
‘Well, there’s good news and very good news. That was Valent ringing to congratulate us all and particularly Mrs Wilkinson and Etta,’ the Major smiled in her direction, ‘and he wants to join the syndicate if we’ll have him.’
‘Of course we will,’ cried Etta, feeling a glow of happiness as everyone cheered.
‘He’s going to take Chris and Chrissie’s slot,’ went on the Major, ‘although they’ll still be involved, I hope.’
‘Not too much at that price,’ muttered Debbie.
‘How lovely, drinks will be on the house,’ piped up Phoebe.
‘Now the even better news.’ The Major’s eyes gleamed. ‘He’s going to donate his share to Bonny Richards as a birthday gift.’
There was a pause.
‘We’ll have to put chastity belts on our husbands,’ giggled Phoebe, ‘but what fun to have some young blood in the syndicate.’
Even Toby looked rather excited.
‘Valent wants Bonny to involve herself properly in the community,’ explained the Major. ‘He’s so anxious for her to enjoy living in Willowwood.’
‘Here’s one member of the community who wouldn’t mind getting improperly involved with Bonny,’ said Seth.
Etta felt even more depressed.
Everyone, particularly the Major, who’d had his hand up her black polo neck all the time he was talking to Valent, jumped as Corinna’s rich contralto rang out:
‘My Bonny lies over the ocean.
My Bonny lies over the sea.
My father lay over my mother
And that’s how they got little me.’
When Etta got home, she was delighted to find Gwenny mewing outside and inside a message to ring Joyce Painswick, however late.
‘Wasn’t Wilkie wonderful, clever little girl, beating Playboy in those ghastly conditions?’ cried Etta, as she tried to hold the telephone and scrape the meat off the chicken leg intended for her supper into a saucer for Gwenny. ‘And didn’t Amber do brilliantly?’
‘Brilliantly,’ agreed Painswick. ‘I texted Hengist that she would be riding.’
‘We missed you and Dora and Trixie so much. How did you get on?’
‘I now know how Hercules felt after mucking out the Augean stables,’ said Painswick sourly. ‘I have never encountered such a mess. The only thing Marius puts away in filing cabinets is bottles. I had to take little Mistletoe and Chisolm for a walk to get some fresh air.
‘Marius was absurdly late leaving for Ludlow. Worked himself into a lather over nothing, changed in thirty seconds without even washing, rushed off, then rang up constantly from the car. Had I seen that, not to do that, had X been entered for that. I’ve never met anyone so disorganized.’
‘Oh, poor Joyce.’ Etta put the chicken on the floor.
‘Not sure I’m up to it.’
‘Oh please, you will be. Look how you cherished Hengist. Wilkie needs you, Marius certainly needs you.’
‘Huh, not sure he’ll ever pay me, he’s got bills going back to the middle of last year. How was Corinna? Saw her hogging the limelight. You’d think she won the race herself.’
‘Demanding. Actually I thought she was horrid. I can’t see why she and dear Seth … But she’s going to have