The Cuckoo Clock by Nixon John

Author:Nixon, John [Nixon, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Nixon
Published: 2013-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

The days following Joseph’s birth were busy ones for Madeleine, even though she was not nearby. She was in regular demand on the phone as Tim or Fiona rang to ask for advice, and she was also in touch with other members of the family, keeping them up to date with developments. She was enjoying having a new baby in the family, and travelled back to Emberton a couple of days after the birth, once Fiona was settled at home. Tim was still working part time at the planning office for the local council, but was on paternity leave and he and Fiona had asked Madeleine to stay with them for a few days, while they adjusted to being parents

It was, therefore, about ten days later when she saw Ian the next time. She had told him about Joseph, so he was not surprised when she was not in church the following Sunday. It was a week later, after church, that they had an opportunity to get together and chat about other things. Ian had not had the chance to fill Madeleine in with Jean Sanders’ information concerning the receipt, and that she, Jean, thought that Lawrence and James was an expensive jewellers which may not have sold anything for as little as 19/11d. Madeleine was sceptical;

‘Even expensive shops have some cheaper items,’ she said, ‘unless they are very grand, which I don’t think would be the case in Seatown. My guess is that this receipt is for a ring. But what sort of ring, I wonder. Could have been an engagement ring for an engagement that did not lead to a wedding, I suppose. Or even a wedding ring, but then he didn’t get married for many years. How old would Eric have been in 1952? When did Tina say he was born?’

‘1919,’ replied Ian. ‘So he would have been thirty two or three. He didn’t marry Tina’s mum until he was in his late forties. Was he married before perhaps, and it was a memento of his first marriage?’

‘But in that case we should be able to find him getting married. Maybe we should look for that. What else would the receipt be for? What else do jewellers sell?’

‘Bracelets, brooches, watches, some clocks. The difficulty is knowing what price things would have been in 1952. It makes it very tricky to match the receipt with a purchase when you don’t know how much everything was,’ said Ian.

‘Any more thoughts about the number in the envelope? Why would anyone keep a number on a bit of old paper? Why did Eric keep it? And why didn’t Tina bin it when she found it in his stuff from the home? She must have felt it was important somehow.’

‘I haven’t any ideas on what it might be, apart from what we said last week. As far as why Tina kept it, perhaps she thought that if her dad had kept a bit of paper in an envelope then it must be important, so she would keep it as well.

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