'I suppose your parents got in touch with the people at Beaugency,' Joe said, pushing open the shop door. 'Beaugency would have put them on to Adam and Liz in Paris.'
Freddy waited in a fever of anxiety while Joe made the connection to England.
'Mrs Leigh? Joseph Corey here. I understand you want to speak to Frederica. She's here now.'
Joe handed the phone to Freddy, who said quickly, 'Mother, what's wrong?'
'Darling, I hope you weren't too upset by my message?' Catherine's voice was calm. 'Do you think you can telephone home tomorrow and speak to Meggie? She had an accident and she's missing you rather.'
'What kind of accident?' demanded Freddy, her heart thumping.
'Nothing very dreadful, but not very pleasant, either. She was knocked down by two boys on bicycles, riding on the pavement, which of course they shouldn't have been doing. They were racing each other and came round the corner, and both ran right into her. She's full of cuts and bruises, but nothing's broken. It shook her up, naturally, and because she hit her head we took her to the hospital, but the X-ray didn't show anything and they didn't want to keep her in. The two boys ought to have known better, but they're very sorry, and their parents have been round.'
'So I should think! Wretched boys—why couldn't they look where they were going?' exclaimed Freddy angrily. 'You're sure Megan's OK, Mother? You're not keeping anything from me, are you? I'd rather know.'
'Darling, everything is just as I've said,' soothed Catherine.
'Poor Meg! I shall come home tomorrow—tell her, will you?'
'We'll both be home tomorrow,' said Joe, leaning across and speaking into the telephone while he held Freddy with a strong protective arm. There was a smile in Catherine's voice. 'I'm so glad Joseph is with you, Freddy. I was worried that you might be on your own.' There was a pause before she added delicately, 'Is everything well between you and Joseph, darling?'
'Everything's wonderful,' replied her daughter.
They set off for home early the next morning, Joe driving the Tiger, Freddy the Renault. Freddy had accepted Megan's accident for what it was, one of those happenings that could have been worse. Each time she caught sight of the red sports car in her mirror a rush of happiness rippled through her, and she thought how lucky she and Megan were, to have Joe become part of their family.
Arriving at Dean Close a little travel-weary, Megan did look rather a mess and cried when she saw them, but the tears were soon dried when Joe set out to make her laugh, and she was allowed to stay up a little longer than usual that evening.
No questions were asked by Catherine and Edmund Leigh before they set off for their own home in Boston, although privately they were overjoyed at the happiness glowing from their daughter.
Joe's quiet, 'Don't worry about them,' and his quick grin, followed by, 'She's finally stopped running,' settled their surmising of the future. Judith was not so reticent. She was most verbal.
'I just wish I'd taken on a bet with you,' she told Freddy, when Joe finally left. '"I'm not getting married again! I'm off marriage",' she mimicked. Freddy burst out laughing and threw an accurate cushion at her friend, protesting, 'He hasn't asked me to marry him, Judith!'
'He will,' prophesied Judith smugly.
A week later, following instructions from Joe, Freddy glanced at her watch and hurried her steps through the shopping precinct, her hand clutching Megan's tightly, the little girl having to run at her side to keep up. Even for a Saturday, Queensbridge was crowded and the traffic was almost crawling to a standstill..
'Will Joseph be there, Mummy?' Megan asked, panting with the exertion.
'He said he would be,' replied Freddy, wondering what Joe was up to. He had rung her that morning, offering to pick her up in town, although where he had told her to meet him—outside the Queen's Theatre—was hardly a convenient pick-ing-up point.
'There he is,' shouted Megan, letting go her mother's hand and running on ahead. Freddy saw the gleaming red paintwork of the Tiger first, with Houdini sitting majestically on the back seat. Then she saw Joe, leaning against the wing, talking to a traffic warden, a buxom lady, who was trying to look severe and not succeeding.
As Freddy and Megan neared they could hear Joe saying, 'Yes, I know it's a double yellow line, but surely a flat tyre constitutes an emergency?'
'And you say that your young lady is on her way?' questioned the warden.
'Two of them, actually.' Joe had seen them, but made no move to declare the fact. Freddy held Megan back, eyeing him suspiciously.
'And it's her turn to do the mechanical duties?' The warden announced that as if repeating a quote, her voice doubtful.
'Quite correct,' Joe drawled. 'This week the roster runs that I do the cooking. I have a goose in the oven at the moment—you've heard the expression to cook one's own goose? I'm cooking mine.'
Freddy spluttered a laugh, and moved forward, saying, 'Hello, darling, is there something wrong?'
Joe's smile broke out like the sun. 'Here she is. Darling! I've got a flat tyre!'
'Oh dear, never mind. Don't you worry about it. We'll soon have that changed, won't we, Meggie?'
Megan nodded and smiled radiantly at Joe. She still looked as though she had been in the wars, but the bruises and scratches were fading rapidly. Joe scooped her into his arms, saying, 'Hello, princess.'
'Are you really going to change the wheel?' asked the warden, looking dubiously at Freddy's pale lemon dress.
'It looks like it,' she replied cheerfully.
'There's a pair of overalls in the boot,' Joe informed her kindly. Two more pedestrians slowed their steps, curiosity getting the better of them. Inside the boot was the spare tyre, the jack, a box of tools and the promised pair of overalls, pristine white. Joe glanced at his watch. 'I need to get back in an hour to baste the bird,' he told Freddy worriedly. 'Do you think we'll make it?'
A bus pulled up, waiting for traffic to pass the other way before overtaking the Tiger. The passengers gawped as it began to inch by.
'So we have goose tonight, have we?' Freddy asked, struggling into the overalls, and one of the pedestrians remarked to her neighbour, 'Goose is awful rich—repeats something wicked.' Freddy caught Joe's eye and saw he was having to hide his amusement.
'We do if you get a move on,' he said.
Freddy glared at him. He would pay dearly for this later, but right now she would play his game for him.
'You've got her well trained, mate,' joked the bus driver, poking his head out of the cab window.
'She's very independent,' drawled Joe. 'I'm just putting her through her paces before I ask her to marry me.'
The spectators grinned and chuckled and one woman said, 'Go to it, girl!
Show the men we're as good as they are.'
'He's cooking the dinner tonight,' the warden called out to the bus driver, feeling she ought to be more in control of the situation, but too intrigued and charmed to interfere.
A car hooted behind the bus indignantly and the driver shouted, 'Good luck, lady,' withdrew his head and drove on.
By now Freddy had the wheel trim off and was jacking the car up from behind the rear bumper. Joe had offered this piece of information, thank goodness, as different cars had different locations for fixing the jack.
'What's the trouble?' A policeman strolled up and was assessing the situation.
'No trouble, officer,' assured Joe. 'We won't be long now.'
The policeman looked from Freddy to Joe and grinned. He stepped on to the roadway and began to direct traffic round the Tiger, glancing now and again to see how Freddy was doing.
She was, in fact, going redder and redder in the face with the exertion of removing the five nuts from the wheel. Joe strolled round to the tool-box in the boot and took out a long-handled brace which he handed silently to her. Puffing slightly, she straightened for a moment, glanced at his deadpan face and then went back to work. The nuts began to give as she was able to apply more pressure, and before long she pl
aced them, one by one, safely in line along the kerb. Now for the spare wheel out of the boot. This, too, was a struggle, but she gritted her teeth and heaved, aware of encouraging words from the rapidly growing crowd of spectators.
'I hope the dinner tonight is going to be good,' she said, breathing heavily as she rolled the spare wheel round to the kerb.
'It will be,' promised Joe airily. 'There's goose, of course, with all the trimmings, a choice of four veggies, and I thought pavlova or fresh fruit salad for afters.'
'Blimey,' said a male voice from the back, 'can I come?'
'Need any help, love?' asked a passing builder's labourer.
'Everything's fine, thanks,' muttered Freddy, adding under her breath, 'at the minute!' She was wrestling with the wheel on the car. At last, after a huge heave, it came off, dropped to the road with a thud and she struggled with it into the boot. It took some effort and she leaned against the wing, catching her breath.
The next part, she knew from experience, tricky. She stood up and brushed the hair from her face, leaving a black oil mark across her forehead. She looked challengingly at Joe, who was still holding Megan, her arms clutched round his neck, and he smiled that treacherous smile of his. She found she was grinning back idiotically.
There were five holes in the centre of the new wheel to be fitted on to the five studs on the hub of the car. Freddy manoeuvred the wheel until it was opposite the hub and aligned holes to studs.
'Need help?' quizzed Joe.
'Keep your hands off,' threatened Freddy. ' If I do, then I'll ask for it.'
'You've picked a busy time of the day to have a puncture,' the policeman remarked, and Joe replied smoothly, 'Punctures have no respect for time, place or person.'
'You can say that again,' muttered Freddy, heaving the wheel up and on, triumphantly levering it into place. There were cries of encouragement, a few handclaps. She fitted the nuts, one by one, starting at the top, and tightening them with a brace, then lowered the jack. Panting, she looked across the car at Joe, waited until she had regained her breath and then held out the brace.
'Now you can apply that extra amount of brute strength that I admit I haven't got and make sure the nuts are tightened adequately.'
He put Megan down and did as she asked, making no comment. When he was done she slotted back the wheel trim, gave it a smart kick with the heel of her shoe and felt it snap on. She put the tools back in the boot and dropped the lid down with a decisive bang.
One elderly gentleman leaned over and patted her shoulder, murmuring,
'Well done, m'dear, well done,' before walking on.
A woman joked, 'His cooking had better be as good, love,' causing much laughter. Gradually they all drifted away.
The traffic warden strolled back and said, 'Right, you two, be off with you, and choose a less busy place next time to do your courting.' She wagged a finger at Joe and then turned to Freddy, asking, 'Are you going to accept him?'
'I think I might,' replied Freddy, looking at Joe and smiling a little. Joe leaned into the back of the Tiger and produced a bunch of roses which he now presented with a flourish to the warden.
Face bright red, laughing, she clutched them to her and observed to Freddy,
'My, he's a dangerous fellow!' and, still shaking her head, she walked on.
'Your flowers, Fred,' Joe said comically. 'Hope you don't mind. I'll buy you some more.'
Freddy burst into laughter, she just couldn't hold it in any longer. She wiped her hands down the by now not-so-pristine overalls and stripped them off, tossing them on to the floor in the back of the car. Joe lifted Megan into the back seat, and strapped her in. Then he got out a clean handkerchief, said,
'You've passed full marks,' and wiped the black smudge from her forehead. He opened the passenger door with a grand air and ushered Freddy in. The policeman halted the oncoming traffic to let them move off, grinning as they passed him.
'Are you going to marry me, Frederica?' asked Joe.
'I didn't think you were the marrying kind,' she teased.
'I'm not, if I can't have you.'
'I can be bridesmaid,' piped up Megan from the back, 'and Joseph will be with us all the time!'
'You'd better marry me,' Joe advised, eyes amused. 'The child and the dog will make your life a misery if you don't.'
Freddy glanced over her shoulder. Houdini's black squashed-up muzzle and soulful brown eyes and Megan's anxious little pixie face were both fixed on her intently. She gave Megan a wink and turned to Joe.
His brows rose questioningly as he flicked her a wicked side glance. 'So, will you marry me, Fred?'
Freddy grinned. 'I'll let you know when I've tasted the goose,' she said.
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