Chapter One
Stepping off the train, Lucy-Ann flashed a grateful smile at the porter who was wrestling with her trunk, and looked anxiously about the still-smoky platform, absently shifting the tennis raquet under her arm. Now in the Upper Sixth and home for the Easter hols, Lucy-Ann hadn't been back for some time; ski-ing in the Alps with Dinah and a few other chums in the Christmas break, and off in the Med with everyone the summer before that. She looked much more grown-up than she had before, her freckles reduced to a light dusting over her nose and cheekbones, and her wide green eyes sparkling with enthusiasm and curiosity. Relief and happiness washed over her face as those eyes lit upon the two figures she had been searching for. Her mouth broke into a grin and she began to run toward them, her boater falling off to expose the bob for which her plaits had been sacrificed only a few weeks ago.
"Aunt Allie! Bill!" she cried. Bill, spotting her, gave a great shout of laughter and swept her up into a bear hug when she reached them, depositing her only so she could happily kiss his wife's cheek.
"It's been ever such a long time since I've seen you! It's lovely doing exciting things with one's pals, but - oh, isn't it wonderful to come home? It's such a pity Dinah didn't come back, only she particularly wanted to stay with Anne and her cousin these hols, and I couldn't bear to be away any longer! What is the name of Anne's cousin? Some funny boy's name, even though she's a girl... Anyway-" She continued happily rambling for a few more moments, Mr and Mrs. Cunningham listening intently and smiling indulgently, then suddenly cut herself off, turning around to locate the source of a deep chuckle. There stood Philip, negligently dressed in slacks and a rumpled shirt, her forgotten boater swinging from one tanned hand, the other plunged in his pocket. Two terms into his second year at Cambridge, he'd been away even longer than she had herself, his degree in Natural Sciences providing excuses to travel and study the animals which had proven to be his enduring passion.
"Hallo, young 'un" he said, strolling towards her. "As you would have heard if you'd given Mother and Bill half a second to tell you, Jack sends his apologies, and says to tell you he's gone off hunting Rough-legged Buzzards and Jack Snipes for the day. He says they were positively calling to him, and that a sister of his would understand." He stopped just in front of her, grinning, and reached out to tug on her hair.
"Bit of a change from our little Lucy-Ann, eh, Philip?" said Bill, laughingly.
"Rather" murmured Philip absently, still looking down at his childhood playmate, his grin faded somewhat. Then, stepping back with a rueful quirk to his mouth, he replaced the boater on her head, tipping it to a rakish angle. Lucy-Ann, blushing, shot him a sparkling look through her thick lashes. Suddenly shy, feeling as though she were a little girl once more, she twirled away from him, saying rather breathlessly,
"Come on, everyone, do let's go. I've been on the train simply hours and I can't wait to get home and change out of my school tunic." Linking arms with Mrs Cunningham, she strode towards the car, Philip falling in with Bill behind and the luckless porter following with her trunk.