CHAPTER EIGHTIt was not until the rest of the party met at lunch that Jonathan Field’s journey to town became generally known. Mrs. Fabian had apparently encountered him in the hall and delayed him to the point of frenzy whilst she considered whether it would be worth his while to go to the Army and Navy Stores and enquire whether a certain kind of rice was now available. As they settled themselves round the dining-table, now reduced to its smallest proportions, she proceeded to relate the incident.
‘They always used to stock it before the war, so I thought it would be a good thing if he went and asked. The other sort is not really any good for milk puddings—at least that is what Mrs. Stokes always says, though I don’t see why. But the trouble is that I never can remember which is which.
