Iain Pears - Arcadia

Rosalind blushed and smiled shyly.

‘Do you really plan to voyage?’

‘Soon enough, although I can’t refuse Henary’s request, and one of the nurses pointed out that spring would be a better time to set off. So in about nine months’ time we will leave, I hope.’

‘And see the world in all its majesty.’ She smiled. ‘Rain, fog, snow, danger.’

‘That’s it,’ Rosalind agreed happily. ‘And beautiful, wonderful things as well.’

‘Until then, I hope you will stay here as much as possible. I could use your assistance too.’

‘With pleasure, my Lady.’ Rosie curtsied, and Catherine laughed.

‘Ah, no. You do not call me that. You of all people. In fact, it occurs to me that we have never actually been introduced. Not properly.’

‘Then let us do it properly. I present myself to you as Rosalind, betrothed of Pamarchon, son of Isenwar. But I think I know your name already.’

‘Do you indeed?’

‘I think so. It was what the Professor said, how you became a major character in his story all on your own, a bit like I did. That made me think that perhaps you are not from here either.’

‘Go on.’

‘I think,’ here she paused for a moment, a little uncertainly, ‘I think you must be Angela Meerson. It is the only explanation which makes sense to me.’

Catherine smiled. ‘Good try. But I am not.’

‘Oh, what a pity! I was certain that you had to be.’

‘You were very close. My name is Emily Strang. I am Angela’s daughter.’

‘Now that I did not expect,’ Rosalind said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. ‘But then I didn’t know she even had a daughter. I never met her, you see.’

‘Nor I.’

‘Really? Your own mother? Poor you.’

‘She has looked after me in other ways.’

‘How on earth did you get here?’

‘Now that is a whole story of its own, and a very great one. It will take many hours to tell, but it is worth hearing. I hope you will stay long enough, because I will tell you of my mother and her work, of the Exile and the Return, or at least what I think it must have been. I have seen extraordinary things and would like to tell the one person who will understand, and perhaps help me unravel more of the truth. There is much I do not know.’

‘I’d love to.’

‘But that is for another day; there is no hurry. Now we must celebrate and be happy.’

She turned to look out of the window, over the broad gardens of Willdon, across to the woods beyond.

‘It is beautiful here, you know,’ she said quietly. ‘We can make something truly wonderful of it, this time.’

With thanks for help, support and advice to Ruth Harris, Alex Pears, Michael Pears, David Brown, Felicity Bryan, Catherine Clarke, Bouzha Cookman, Loren Eskenazi, Josie Gardiner, Michael Holyoke, Andrew Katz, Bill Lehr, Lyndal Roper, Mark Rowse, Sarah Savitt, Alex Scott, Nick Stargardt, André Stern, Henry Volans, Simon Whitaker.