Her curiosity was piqued and she had wanted to call last night, but thought it may have been too late. Older people went to bed early, didn’t they? ‘Hello?’ ‘Um, hello . . .’ ‘Ah, Tessa. You’ve finally called. I was beginning to wonder if you would.’ ‘How did you know it was me?’ A chuckle sounded down the phone line. ‘Not too many young women ring me these days, dear,’ Elsie answered. ‘You got the letter, then. Have you opened it?’ ‘No. I’m dying to, though. I’m not sure why she’s left it with you instead of just posting it to me.’ ‘No, well, at the time I wasn’t, either. But then, you didn’t answer her last few letters and she was worried. Violet trusted me, completely and utterly. She knew I’d make you see reason.’ See reason? Tessa decided to ignore that for a moment or two, since it didn’t make any sense. ‘How did you meet Spider?’ ‘We were kids together. The country was just opening up out there. It was the thirties and Dad had decided to try and find work in the west.
