Absent in the Spring. Агата Кристи

Rodney, but why? He’s so nice and they seem so well suited.’

      ‘He’s a nice enough young fellow—but she doesn’t love him, Joan.’

      She’d been astonished—absolutely astonished.

      ‘Rodney—really—how ridiculous! Of course she’s in love with him! Why on earth would she want to marry him otherwise?’

      He had answered—rather obscurely: ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’

      ‘But, darling—really—aren’t you being a little ridiculous?’

      He had said, paying no attention to her purposely light tone, ‘If she doesn’t love him, she mustn’t marry him. She’s too young for that—and she’s got too much temperament.’

      ‘Well, really, Rodney, what do you know about temperament?’

      She couldn’t help being amused.

      But Rodney didn’t even smile. He said, ‘Girls do marry sometimes—just to get away from home.’

      At that she had laughed outright.

      ‘Not homes like Barbara’s! Why, no girl ever had a happier home life.’

      ‘Do you really think that’s true, Joan?’

      ‘Why, of course. Everything’s always been perfect for the children here.’

      He said slowly, ‘They don’t seem to bring their friends to the house much.’

      ‘Why, darling, I’m always giving parties and asking young people! I make a point of it. It’s Barbara herself who’s always saying she doesn’t want parties and not to ask people.’

      Rodney had shaken his head in a puzzled, unsatisfied way.

      And later, that evening, she had come into the room just as Barbara was crying out impatiently:

      ‘It’s no good, Daddy, I’ve got to get away. I can’t stand it any longer—and don’t tell me to go and take a job somewhere, because I should hate that.’

      ‘What’s all this?’ Joan said.

      After a pause, a very slight pause, Barbara had explained, a mutinous flush on her cheek.

      ‘Just Daddy thinking he knows best! He wants me to be engaged for years. I’ve told him I can’t stand that and I want to marry William and go away to Baghdad. I think it will be wonderful out there.’

      ‘Oh dear,’ said Joan anxiously. ‘I wish it wasn’t so far away. I’d like to have you under my eye as it were.’

      ‘Oh, Mother!’

      ‘I know, darling, but you don’t realize how young you are, how inexperienced. I should be able to help you so much if you were living somewhere not too far away.’

      Barbara had smiled and had said, ‘Well, it looks as though I shall have to paddle my own canoe without the benefit of your experience and wisdom.’

      And as Rodney was going slowly out of the room, she had rushed after him and had suddenly flung her arms round his neck hugging him and saying, ‘Darling Dads. Darling, darling, darling …’

      Really, thought Joan, the child is becoming quite demonstrative. But it showed, at any rate, how entirely wrong Rodney was in his ideas. Barbara was just revelling in the thought of going out East with her William—and very nice it was to see two young things in love and so full of plans for the future.

      Extraordinary that an idea should have got about Baghdad that Barbara had been unhappy at home. But it was a place that seemed absolutely full of gossip and rumours, so much so that one hardly liked to mention anyone.

      Major Reid, for instance.

      She herself had never met Major Reid, but he had been mentioned quite often in Barbara’s letters home. Major Reid had been to dinner. They were going shooting with Major Reid. Barbara was going for the summer months up to Arkandous. She and another young married woman had shared a bungalow and Major Reid had been up there at the same time. They had had a lot of tennis. Later, Barbara and he had won the mixed doubles at the club.