Nell: Nice hair.
Me: Thank you.
Me: Did I see Sally arriving earlier in a red car?
Nell: Yes, she has decided to visit us for a few days.
Me: How lovely. Dave must be over the moon.
Nell: David is completely out of control. He ran twice around the garden and jumped into Princess’s pool. There was water everywhere.
Me: Bless him. Darling Big Brave Beautiful Boy.
Nell: Then he ate two ham sandwiches and a packet of biscuits.
Me: Happiness can make you hungry.
Nell: They weren’t meant for him. Poppy was making a picnic for Harriet.
Me: Is she going somewhere?
Nell: I certainly hope so. It would be most odd if she wasn’t.
Me: Where’s she going?
Nell: Out with Jim the Farm Dog.
Me: On a secret mission?
Nell: No.
Me: But Sally is here and Harriet is one of her spies.
Nell: Good grief. Could you be a little more discreet, please?
Me: Do the walls have ears?
Nell: No, the walls do not have ears but someone might be listening.
Me: That’s what I meant.
Nell: Why didn’t you say it then?
Me: Never mind. When you said someone was coming to dinner were you talking about Sally?
Nell: No. I didn’t know she was coming.
Me: Who is then?
Nell: Terry and Marian.
Me: Our friends from Oxfordshire?
Nell: Yes.
Me: They’re not baddies.
Nell: Nobody said they were. Don’t say ‘baddies’. It’s so childish.
Me: Then why is Sally here?
Nell: I might have invited Lionel King.
Me: I don’t believe it.
Nell: This is the time for forgiveness.
Me: Knitwear Wolf isn’t going to agree with you.
Nell: Au contraire. Rupert will be joining us for dinner.
Me: He’s a bigger wolf than I am.
Nell: Obviously.
Me: Yes. Sorry.
