“Very funny.”

“You have a spring in your step. And a new dress, if I’m not mistaken.”

They were the first to arrive and had the room to themselves; otherwise he would not have commented.

Jean gave a model’s twirl. “Thank you for noticing. It’s couture, you know. Not off the rack.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Mrs. Tilbury made it for me. She’s an expert needlewoman as well as a Virgin Mother.”

“Hmm. Accepting gifts from sources. That’ll have to go before the board.”

She laughed.

“Very smart, anyway.”

“It’s amazing the difference it makes when something actually fits.”

Howard had dropped the dress off, wrapped in tissue paper, while Jean was still at work.

“That man came round with a parcel for you.” Her mother had described the incident with a slight pursing of the lips, but she had relented when she saw the workmanship. It was so beautifully made—not a raw edge to be seen, French binding on every seam—you could have worn it inside out. “You’ll be wanting to save it for best,” she remarked.

“I don’t have any best to save it for,” Jean replied. “I’m going to wear it to work.”

At the meeting, the main subject for discussion was the change in layout, moving the entertainments, listings, marriage lines, household hints, gardening, Pam’s Piece, features and fashion to the middle pages (displacing “news from the estates” and motoring). This would then form an eight-page section, aimed chiefly at women, which could be detached from the main body of the paper. It was felt that this would enable couples to share and enjoy the Echo more harmoniously. The mailbag was split between those who viewed all change with hostility (the majority), those who approved of the principle of the supplement section but had alternative suggestions for its content based on their own preferences and those (few) who were in favor of the new layout.

After some debate it was decided to proceed as planned. Time, Roy’s argument ran, would deal with the opponents of change. The new and threatening would become the old and familiar in due course. The second group’s needs were too diverse and conflicting ever to be successfully addressed. That left the third and smallest group to carry the day.

The matter settled, it was Jean’s turn to give an update on Our Lady of Sidcup, as Larry styled it. Her frequent absences from the office had been noted and Roy felt the rest of the team deserved a report on the progress of the medical investigations.

“You might remember, but we approached this story with some skepticism,” Jean said, “imagining that it would be quite quickly dismissed.”

Heads nodded. Most of those present had in truth imagined that this is exactly what had happened, weeks ago, and were surprised that the story was still live.

“I’ve investigated the woman’s claims and interviewed various people connected with her during the crucial period, and I can’t find anything that undermines her version of events. For what it’s worth, I find myself inclined to believe her. What is more significant, though, is the results of various tests that she and her daughter have had at Charing Cross Hospital to try to prove beyond doubt that parthenogenesis—that’s virgin birth to you—occurred. And, so far so good.”