The Guest Who Stayed

Chapter 12 - August 1921

Jack left the following morning to return to London. Alice felt an emptiness invade the house. It seemed that within the last couple of days her life had been turned upside down. All the certainties that gave boundaries to her life had been dismantled and she felt exhausted but also strangely exhilarated. With Jack’s investment there was a real chance that the business could prosper. Jed had lost a good friend with Dan’s death but he’d gained a business mentor – surely a better prospect given their present circumstances.

 And then she had acquired a lover. She had expected to feel guilt but she didn’t. She always knew deep inside herself that Jed was a means to an end. She didn’t intend this to be hurtful. She loved Jed in a caring, cherishing sort of way and she wanted to help him to prosper. But now that she had experienced the passion of illicit love, she knew that she could never return to Jed’s sterile love making in the bedroom.

 Dan’s Funeral took place on the 15th August, 1921. St. Martin’s Church was full and many people were forced to wait outside in the summer sunshine. Alice and Jed chatted to those in the congregation who had memories of Dan’s kindness when it was needed most. Jed realised that Dan had been respected and trusted. Maybe he hadn’t understood this properly. In his obsession with building the business and taking control, he’d begun to patronise Dan and treat him disrespectfully, forgetting that it was Dan that people came to when they needed help, not him.

 During the service, Jed read falteringly from Ecclesiastes, chapter three, which seemed to sum up the contrasts of Dan’s life from impoverished child to warrior, to craftsman and sage.

“A time to be born and a time to die

 A time to plant and a time to uproot,

 A time to kill and a time to heal,

 A time to tear down and a time to build.”

 The words pricked at Alice’s conscience as she sat in the front row with Flora.

‘A time to tear down and a time to build.’ Was she tearing down something she’d only just started to build with Jed – something that could lead to her ambitions being fulfilled? Was her relationship with Jack putting that future at risk? She felt a shiver run down her spine.

 “A time to be silent and a time to speak,

 A time to love and a time to hate,

 A time for war and a time for peace.”

 Jed struggled to the end of the reading and rejoined Flora and Alice. Dan’s coffin was borne from the church by pall bearers, drawn from amongst his drinking friends. He was laid to rest in the churchyard by the wall facing the pub.

 Friends and acquaintances gathered in the Fox and Hounds afterwards. Jed was pleased to discover that many people there had assumed that he would be taking over Dan’s business and there was plenty of talk of work that needed doing. Two local farmers approached Jed about repairs to barns and the clerk to the town council enquired whether Jed would be available for general maintenance work.

 That night in bed, Alice and Jed lay talking about the day’s events.

 “You know, Alice, I’m feeling optimistic about this whole business idea. People at Dan’s funeral seem to have accepted that I’m the boss now and were treating me right, you know, like I was somebody.”

 “You are somebody, my love, and you’ve worked hard for it. You deserve their respect.”

 There was a pause before Jed spoke again.

 “I’ve been thinking, my love, when we’ve got that truck, the one that Jack’s getting for us, well I’ve been thinking about what words it’ll have painted on the side.”