Others in the room giggled nervously. It certainly did seem pretty ridiculous.
‘Maybe,’ said Harry, ‘you two ought to try talking to each other. And while you’re at it, you might try listening to us locals – stop trying to make us change our ways. It won’t do no good and it won’t make you no friends.’
Miranda nodded. ‘Yes, I get that. And I’d like to be friends.’
‘Then you come into the pub tomorrow evening and I’ll buy ’ee a drink. Tell you all you need to know about this place, and mebbe I’ll introduce you to some other locals.’
Miranda looked at her husband. ‘Roddy?’
‘I think that sounds like a grand idea,’ he said. ‘But I think the drinks’ll be on us.’
Harry wasn’t going to argue.
The sound at the party began to rev up again and this time it woke Emily and she began to grizzle.
Time to go, thought Bex. She told Miles that Emily needed a feed and a change, then she picked up the baby and slipped out of the room leaving her family enjoying themselves along with all their friends. As she got to her gate she looked back up at the open window of the function room and heard the laughter and the chatter and realised that she’d never felt more at home, more accepted, anywhere in her life. And now Little Woodford seemed to have worked its magic on the Osbornes of all people.
Good for Little Woodford, she thought. Long may it continue to thrive.
CATHERINE JONES lives in Thame, where she is an independent councillor. She is the author of nineteen novels, including the Soldiers’ Wives series, written under the pseudonym Fiona Field.
Acknowledgements
When I began to write this book I knew nothing about church bells, change-ringing, bell-related problems and the concomitant fundraising required to solve them but thanks to some incredibly kind, patient and knowledgeable people I hope anything that I have written regarding bell-ringing isn’t too wide of the mark. If I have got anything wrong, it’s because I didn’t listen hard enough.
So thank you to, Rosalie Gibson, Anita Clayton, Hilary Ely, Hilarie Rogers and Bernadette O’Dwyer. And thank you to Kirsty for advice on things theological and other, general, church-related matters. I am also indebted to the support and encouragement of everyone at Head of Zeus but especially Rosie, and also to my agent, Laura, for wise words of advice.
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The Bells of Little Woodford Page 41