One
A HOUSE
G wenda Reed stood, shivering a little, on the quayside.
The docks and the custom sheds and all of England that she could see, were gently waving up and down.
And it was in that moment that she made her decision—the decision that was to lead to such very momentousevents.
She wouldn’t go by the boat train to London as she had planned.
After all, why should she? No one was waiting for her, nobody expected her. She had only just got off that heavingcreaking boat (it had been an exceptionally rough three days through the Bay and up to Plymouth) and the last thingshe wanted was to get into a heaving swaying train. She would go to a hotel, a nice firm steady hotel standing¹ on goodsolid ground. And she would get into a nice steady bed that didn’t creak and roll. And she would go to sleep, and thenext morning—why, of course—what a splendid idea! She would hire a car and she would drive slowly and withouthurrying herself all through the South of England looking about for a house—a nice house—the house that she andGiles had planned she should find. Yes, that was a splendid idea.
In that way she would see something of England—of the England that Giles had told her about and which she hadnever seen; although, like most New Zealanders, she called it Home. At the moment, England was not lookingparticularly attractive. It was a grey day with rain imminent² and a sharp irritating wind blowing. Plymouth, Gwendathought, as she moved forward obediently in the queue for Passports and Customs, was probably not the best ofEngland.
On the following morning, however, her feelings were entirely³ different. The sun was shining. The view from herwindow was attractive. And the universe in general was no longer waving and wobbling. It had steadied down. Thiswas England at last and here she was, Gwenda Reed, young married woman of twenty-one, on her travels. Giles’sreturn to England was uncertain. He might follow her in a few weeks. It might be as long as six months. Hissuggestion had been that Gwenda should precede him to England and should look about for a suitable house. Theyboth thought it would be nice to have, somewhere, a permanency. Giles’s job would always entail⁴ a certain amount oftravelling. Sometimes Gwenda would come too, sometimes the conditions would not be suitable. But they both likedthe idea of having a home—some place of their own. Giles had inherited some furniture from an aunt recently, so thateverything combined to make the idea a sensible and practical one.

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