A Tangled Web by Ann Purser Read Free Book Online

I mind about the village - the old tabs will make a meal out of the smallest morsel- but if Joyce gets really upset she might do anything. She's always threatening to do away with herself, and she just might ...'
    'Oh God,' said Peggy, 'Well, there can be only one person gossiping to Joyce and that's Poison Ivy next door. Joyce doesn't see anyone else, does she?'
    Bill nodded, glancing over the fence at Victoria Villa. 'Ivy's a wicked woman, but not stupid, and doesn't often get caught out,' he said.
    The yard was full of the scent of honeysuckle, climbing over the washhouse and intermingling with a crimson rose which had rambled over its trellis arch and ventured up the washhouse roof. It was warm in the full sun, and Peggy stood up straight, wishing she and Bill could sit on the old bench by the back door and have a cup of coffee and savour the scents and the warmth of the day. She sighed, and she too looked across at Ivy Beasley's woodpile.
    'So it'll need drain rods, you think, Bill?' she said in a carrying voice. 'I'd be glad if you could fit the job in some time when you're not busy.'
    'Be down Saturday afternoon,' said Bill, 'and don't worry if you need to go into Tresham, I can manage perfectly well on my own. Just leave the side gate unlocked ...'
    They went back into the shop, Bill buying bacon and baked  beans, and Peggy taking the money and avoiding the bleak look in his eyes.
    The bent figure of Ivy Beasley, pulling weeds behind the woodpile, slowly straightened up and pushed her springy grey hair back from her eyes. Well, Mother, she said, that was interesting.

 
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    One hundred and fifty miles away from Round Ringford, in a newly built vicarage in a medium-sized Welsh town, the Reverend Nigel Brooks, tall, greying at the temples, handsome in a crinkly, old-fashioned, Hollywood way, was talking to his wife Sophie over a sizeable breakfast of bacon, sausage, tomatoes and fried bread.
    'There's one here, Sophie,' said Nigel, 'shall I read it to you?'
    He looked across the table at his wife, who had a magazine propped up against her coffee mug. 'Mmm...what, dear?' she said, not looking up.
    'This sounds a possible,' said Nigel, pushing away his empty plate and opening out the Church Times on the table. '"Diocese of Tresham," ' he read, 'that's in the Midlands  somewhere, isn't it? "Round Ringford, Fletching and Waltonby, three churches, twelve hundred population. Full details and application forms from The Patron, The Hon. Richard Standing, Ringford Hall, Tresham." What do you think, Soph?'
    'The Midlands?' said Sophie, opening her dark brown eyes wide. 'That's a bit off our patch isn't it, Nigel?'
    'Well, at least we'd have only one language to cope with. You'd be happy about that, wouldn't you, Soph?'
    Nigel Brooks was the son of an English vicar and a Welsh girl from Carmarthen. His mother had insisted that he spoke Welsh alongside English from the minute he could talk, and as a result he was usefully bilingual.
    His father had hidden his disappointment when Nigel had opted for a career in the law, not reacting against his father's faith, but wanting complete independence from parental influence. He had practised successfully as a solicitor, and married his secretary, Sophie Fothergill, a small, red-haired Yorkshire girl. She came from a well-heeled rural family and had the fine features of an aristocratic greyhound, warmed by a burst of freckles over her nose and cheeks. Nigel and Sophie had raised two daughters and a son and lived in quiet affluence.
    At forty-five Nigel had had an unexpected challenge. Not particularly disillusioned with the legal world, not wanting to retreat into the comfort of organised religion, he nevertheless knew without doubt that God required him to work for Him.
    This was quite embarrassing to explain to partners and clients. The strict logic of the law was a million miles from Nigel's emotional decision. He felt quite sure that he should become a parson with a