Chapter 3

Nell rang on New Year's Day to wish him a happy New Year. She told him that she had had to slap Matt down quite hard when he started once again on her moving whereupon he had gone into a sulk for a couple of hours. She had overheard Helen telling him forcefully to pull himself together. Ralph wondered whether he was ever going to meet Matt. He rather hoped not.

Whereas before Christmas they had only contacted each other about once a month they found themselves doing so twice as often. It was not intentional. It just happened.

Nell asked him if he rode.

"I have done," he replied, "in single figures and each one was a catastrophe of some sort or another bar one."

"Tell me."

"Well the first was the only non-catastrophe when I rode a very tame little New Forest mare who was on a lead rein. This was so that I could ride with the rest of the gang to a Pony Club meeting the next day. My pony bolted when it heard a hornet. Then it threw me when a Jack Russell came out of a cottage and yapped at it."

There was a chuckle from Nell. "Go on."

"Well then I spent the day with a school friend and his sister offered me a ride on her horse. I went across the field OK but as I turned to go back the saddle slipped and I fell off. It took me a little while to kick my foot free of the stirrup so I got rather bumped."

"Ow! Are there more?"

"One."

"Go on."

"Well while I was at Sandhurst I thought it might be quite fun to go hacking so I entered a test. We had to trot and canter round a bunch of officers. My bloody horse decided to gallop straight through the middle of them. I didn't pass."

Nell shrieked with laughter. "And all their smart trilbies and flat caps fell off," she finally gurgled.

"Yes. They were not amused and the galling thing was that I had noticed that the horse I rode was an unpleasant animal but so did everyone else and when I got back from a much needed pee in the bushes while queueing it was the only one left; bloody animal."

That caused further laughter. "I've got a very tame mare. Would you like to ride her with me holding a lead rein?"

"Is she tall? I suffer from vertigo."

"Chicken!"

"Pa-a-ark, puck, puck."

"No dear, that's what I say. You say cock-a-doodle-do."

"Yes, ma'am."

This time they both laughed.

"Well?" she asked finally.

"OK."

"There's a big brave boy. When?"

"Up to you. A Wednesday or Friday would suit me best."

"Wednesday week. Come over about eleven for coffee. We'll ride for an hour then beer and bandaging."

"I'd better not need bandaging."

"You won't, Ralph dear. Promise."

"I'll hold you to that! No, Nell, I look forward to it even if a bit trepidatiously."

"Where did that word come from?"

"Adverb from 'trepidation'"

Rude noise. "Pompous ass!"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Quite funny pompous ass!"

The riding lesson (for that is what it turned out to be) was a success and Ralph enjoyed it. He told Nell that she ought to take it up as a business.

"No fear!" she retorted. "All the Health and Safety lot would descend in hordes and make me rebuild the stables and put rubber foam down in the paddock so that nobody bruised their bum if they fell. Anyway you don't need bandaging but you deserve your beer."

They did repeats of that but the third time Ralph insisted on taking her to the Trout for lunch which they both enjoyed.

The planned game of golf took place in March. Ralph's playing partner and his wife had gone off to Brazil for a holiday and also to watch a total eclipse of the sun. It was a relatively warm and dry day and they enjoyed themselves.

Not surprisingly with her build Nell could hit the ball a long way for a woman but not always very accurately. Her short game though was lethal and she beat Ralph three and two which led to much teasing. She also did not fail to pretend to entice him into the bushes behind the ninth tee. If she had not been giggling so much she might have beaten him four and three. Ralph was not in the least put out this time and reflected later that evening that he really was getting over Nessa's death.

Both choirs had an Easter concert. Nell's did St Matthew's Passion in the cathedral. It was stunning and Ralph said so.

"How did you manage to reach that peak of excellence in only three months with one rehearsal a week?" he asked Nell.

"We only did it two years ago and the vast majority of the choir sang both times, added to which we have the same director so it was really just a question of memory."

"It was still damned good."

"Thanks, Ralph."

His choir sang the Brahms's Requiem and Nell was impressed with that.

"It's far from easy," she said. "There are some quite strange harmonies and the rhythm is pretty tricky in places."

"We've got a brilliant director. You mentioned discipline after Messiah but he's also painstaking and patient. He's also very encouraging." He shrugged deprecatingly.

"And," added Nell forcefully, "you've clearly got a dedicated choir."

"I think so."

"I know so."

The Bach had been sung in the cathedral on the Thursday before Easter. Too much was going on there over Easter weekend itself. Ralph's choir though sang on Good Friday evening and Nell invited him home for a light supper afterwards. Matt and his family were there for the weekend. They had not come to the recital because of the children.

"Are you keen on him, Mum?" Matt had asked.

"No. I like him a lot but he's still grieving for his wife who only died last October."