‘It’s not as bad as that, is it?’ Diana asked, studying the sketches more practically now.

‘Well, I may have exaggerated a little,’ Constance admitted, ‘but I think I caught the essence of the difficulty. You could take this to a hairdresser and say, “There, that’s exactly how I don’t want it to look.”’

‘Why don’t you learn to cut my hair?’

Constance took a fistful of it in her hand and drew Diana’s face down to her own.

‘I love even the things you can’t do for me,’ Constance said and kissed her.

New Year’s Day fell on a Wednesday, and David arrived early in the afternoon with a shopping cart full of supplies. Though he insisted on taking charge of the meal, he did let Diana do odd vegetable fixings and stirrings of sauces. She knew she gave him courage, for they were really very alike in their skills, competent without being adventurous unless they had both encouragement and help. More than that, it was a time they could be alone together, for Constance had lost interest in the kitchen once she had lost it as a territory.

‘I’m sending Mary and Ted off for a long weekend at Harrison Hotsprings,’ David confided as he worked to remove the membranes from freshly boiled sweetbreads. ‘I’d like to send them further away for longer, but Mary doesn’t think I can last longer than three days with the kids.’

‘Can you?’ Diana asked, amused.

‘I don’t really see why not. I began parental duties fairly early in life and got through my failures early.’

‘Failures?’

‘How long has it been since you’ve seen Carl and Robert?’

‘Not since Mother’s funeral.’

‘Neither have I,’ David said. ‘I wasn’t as hard on them as Hugh, but, once he left, I did lord it over them. I didn’t want them to think they could run wild just because their father’s belt went with him into the war. They resented the fact that Mother let me play the role. They were obnoxious kids as they got older, and Mother was useless with discipline. I think one reason I couldn’t stand them was that they reminded me of how obnoxious I was at their age. It didn’t make me tolerant.’

‘In the last years Mother pretty well arranged it that none of us ever met,’ Diana said. ‘But by the time I got home, I didn’t really know them or much want to. I never really felt close to them, but I remember how patient you were with them, even when they got into your things.’

‘When Hugh was still around, I used to feel sorry for them.’

‘Yes, I did, too, but I didn’t feel really related to them. They just made it very clear to me how little I wanted children.’