Even the wind was bringing warm air, nevertheless it felt like it could start raining at any moment, just another English August late afternoon. Joan and Margaret were lying under a sessile oak down the hill. It was all so quiet, as if time stopped just to let Summer pass. The quiet was immediately ruined by Kathy screaming at the top of her lungs while running down, calling for her sister.
"We're coming, we're coming! Come on Meg, dinner should be ready, will you stay right for dinner right? Amelie would not mind".
"Hmm, what.." said Margaret waking up from her nap slowly opening her dark eyes but still not moving her head from Jo's thighs.
"Meg it's dinner time, would you like to join me?" replied Joan.
"Oh, that. Hm no I really can't, my Mother is probably waiting for me and..."
"I insist, please stay."
Meg sat straight, her head kind of hurt, she had slept almost half afternoon. "...I don't know," continued the red head.
"Oh please, I'll send Kit to tell Mrs Abbott you stayed for dinner!"
"alright, alright, I'll stay!" said Meg raising her voice while laughing and so did Jo.
In a few minutes the two girls were in the hall of the Lambton's estate. "Kit! Boy come here, hurry up!" the young valet boy, son of Amelie the chef, an overweight French woman in her sixties, came running. A sweet boy, I think he was 11 at the time. "Kit you have to go to Margaret's house and tell Mrs Abbott that she'll eat here and we'll bring her home just right when we finish, is everything clear? you remember the address, don't you?" Joan was bent over her knees to talk eyes to eyes with the kid, "Of course I do, Madame" Jo smiled, "Good! Be right back!". The ladies crossed the large hallway to the dinner room, with a fast walk they got in the room just before the butlers entered with the first dishes. It was delicious, every dish the serves brought in. Not many hours later people started to leave the room, "I'm very tired darling, I'm going to my bedroom" said Mrs Lambton and her husband silently followed her. Mr Lambton had been all dinner like that, as if thoughts seized his body, but no one could guess what he was thinking about, never. Kathy went playing outside, in the last hours of light that the evening could offer. Joan took Meg's hand and brought her outside as well.
"Tomorrow, I wanna bring you to a special place. You'll love it I'm sure! You probably even read a book on it." Jo's face was brightening.
"Where? You know I don't like surprises..." said Margaret leaning her back on the majestic front gate of the estate, just before the marble steps at the beginning of the garden.
"Oh but I do!" Jo smiled, "I'll call you a car so I can take you home..."
"That won't be necessary." interrupted Meg.
"Come on, I wanna say hi to Mrs Abbott!" Joan protested
"I'm sure they all are already sleeping, these are fabric workers timetables, you know, early sleep early wake up. And I don't want to bother anyone with a noisy car, I'll just walk home, it's fine"
"...alright then, be safe!" Joan said as Margaret turned to wave her hand to tell her bye and kept walking down the hill to the quiet, sleepy, village.
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The spreading tree by Sir George Clausen (British, 1852–1944)
