'Norrie . . . I-' she stopped herself and, purely on impulse, went over to Norrie and hugged her. 'I'm sorry I threw out your preserves.'
'Oh, bosh! At least these will be edible. I was having a rather bad time of it when the old batch got made. The others kept them far too long, just to humour me, thinking I didn't know they'd gone bad. Brr! I hope you had sense enough not to open them before you threw them out. But never mind. A clean slate! That's what we all need. And you know, my dear, there are times when I can't help but think of you in those terms. Now come, that's fifteen minutes. Let's seal these and get the next batch in before both of us lose track entirely.'
Theo returned four days later during an horrific snowstorm. There had been a number of problems: icy road conditions, impassable roads, collisions involving several cars. Theo and Mr. Pascoe had just finished changing a tyre only a few miles from the Dewhurst place, and they were both thoroughly chilled and miserable. Without thinking, Pamela brought Theo a large mug of coffee laced with rum as he sat in the sitting room by the fire, glaring at the inclement weather from the safety of his armchair. He accepted the mug from her, smelled it in surprise, and drank deeply. Pamela had turned away and was just about to leave when unexpectedly he said, 'Wait, please. Sit down a moment. I wish to have a word with you.'
She did as he asked, but sat on the edge of the chair across from him, stung with misgiving, hands clutched in the hem of her apron. As before, taking in her demeanor, he seemed angry or unsatisfied with what he saw. What he said, however, caught her entirely off-guard.
'I've managed to track down your parents.'
Ashen-faced, Pamela could only stare, waiting for him to continue.
'They're both alive, living in different parts of North America. Neither of them expressed the slightest curiosity over how you are, or what you look like now that you've grown.'
Looking away from him, Pamela wiped at tears that came unbidden, yet found herself experiencing a sudden detached feeling of desolation that was somehow akin to fate, as though she had known all along that this would moment would come. Her parents were not the kind of people that Theo and his family would ever associate with. It was over.
'When are you sending me back?'
He was silent for several long moments. At last, he said very quietly, 'Is that what you want?' For the first time, his voice sounded gentle, if that was possible.