4.

For Alice there had never been such a joy as to have her husband home, and safe. A letter at the start of June had heralded his return, some weeks after the signing of the final peace at the end of March. It was a little under two years since he had set sail, and he would be home in time to see the roses in the walled garden, even if they would be just a little past their best. William was to sail via Malta to Marseille and thence proceed by train, at last traversing the Channel; a journey which would take some two weeks. No sooner had his letter arrived than his wife began to prepare the house for him. The windows must be cleaned with spirit, the furniture with beeswax; the grates blacked, the carpets taken out and beaten. These tasks she left to the household, while she herself took charge of her husband’s things. His coats she removed from the wardrobe in his dressing room and brushed, his leather stud- and collar-boxes she buffed, his shirts she had out and took down to the laundry room to be pressed afresh, each to be sprinkled on her instructions with a little rose water. She wanted to provide every comfort for him, after his long ordeal. Housekeeping was not generally to the fore of Alice’s mind, but the thought of how dear his home must now be to him was very tender to her. To make him welcome was now her chief preoccupation.

The one matter was if it were incumbent upon her to invite the older Mr and Mrs Gale, and also Caroline, to dine on the evening of her husband’s arrival, or whether this might be deferred until the next day. They of course would be most anxious to see him, but she fancied William would be somewhat weary from his journey and benefit from a quiet arrival. He would like a little time, surely, to walk arm in arm around the garden with her. Then too, she hoped that dinner might not be unduly prolonged, so that they could be alone together afterwards, upstairs. She elected to ask them to dine on the following day, once the returning hero had rested a little.