Sidney Chambers and The Shadow of Death (The Grantchester Mysteries)

about the cultural life of the court of Henry VIII: the drama, the art and the music, that she felt a whole world was opening up before her. Perhaps they could go to Hampton Court in the summer together?
    Sidney told her that would be delightful and replied with parish news, the gossip at Corpus and the arrival of Leonard Graham.
    ‘Has he shaved off his moustache?’ Amanda asked.
    ‘Indeed he has. And he is all the better for it.’
    ‘Such a business at the Thompsons,’ Amanda continued. ‘Poor old Daphne . . .’
    ‘And poor old you.’
    ‘I can never forgive myself for that awful mess with Guy Hopkins.’
    ‘He was a very attractive man.’
    ‘And an absolute brute.’
    They arrived at the hotel, handed in their hats and coats and were shown straight to their table.
    ‘To think that it took me so long to notice that Guy was appalling,’ Amanda continued. ‘I’ve quite lost my sense of judgement. I was so distracted by a handsome man with prospects that I forgot to think what it might be like to be married to him. Could you tell as soon as you met him?’
    ‘I wouldn’t like to say.’
    ‘That means you could . . .’
    ‘Not necessarily, Amanda. I never spoke to him privately or with the two of you alone.’
    ‘But that is what you do before a marriage, isn’t it? And that’s partly why I’ve come. I wanted to ask that if it ever happens again, and I do become engaged, that I can come and see you and talk about it?’
    ‘Of course. Do you have someone in mind?’
    ‘Not yet. But there are possibilities.’
    ‘And will I be the first to know?’
    ‘After Jennifer, of course. I can hardly keep things secret from my flatmate.’
    ‘How is she?’
    ‘You mean you want to know about Johnny Johnson? They are just friends, you know.’
    ‘I rather admire Johnny Johnson.’
    ‘And so do I, Sidney. Surely in this day and age we can have friendships with the opposite sex without worrying about what it all means. I am sure you have plenty of female friends . . .’
    ‘Not like you, Amanda.’
    ‘I should hope not. I wouldn’t want to be a duplicate.’
    ‘There is no one in the world like you, Amanda, I can promise you that.’
    ‘Oh, I am sure that in the Russian Revolution, or in the French for that matter, I would have been shot with all the other posh girls. But I have to be careful now. I’m worried that when men make an approach they may have ulterior motives.’
    ‘Well, you’re quite a catch.’
    ‘Oh, Sidney, you say the sweetest things. But there are times when I just can’t be sure of the motives of the men I like.’
    ‘An occupational hazard, I would have thought.’
    The waitress arrived with herrings fried in oatmeal but Amanda was in full flow. ‘Don’t priests undertake to counsel people when they are thinking of getting married? What kind of things do you say to them? And can you sometimes tell that the whole thing is going to be a disaster from the start? I bet you can.’
    ‘That’s quite a lot of questions, Amanda.’
    ‘I have more. I want to know everything. How in love do you have to be, for example? Can you tell if it is enough and can you marry if you still have doubts? Does it matter if your parents approve or not? Is it important that your husband has money? Do you have to be of the same social standing? What do you do if there is one aspect of your future husband’s personality that you can’t stand? Can people change once they are married? All those kinds of things.’
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Sidney as he started on his herring. ‘You cannot anticipate everything. But, at the time, I think you have to be unable to imagine the alternative. I think you have to think that it is impossible to live without someone.’
    ‘But you live without someone.’
    ‘It is different in my case. I live with my faith. What I mean is that it has to be impossible to imagine living without the person you love.’
    ‘But what if you can’t find that person? So many people I know seem to settle for second best.’
    ‘Do you know that, Amanda? They may only seem second best to you. And love can be about more than attraction. I sometimes think it is more a question of sanctuary, a case of unassailable friendship.’
    ‘Have you known that?’
    ‘Not quite,’ Sidney replied. ‘Not yet . . .’
    The waitress removed their plates from the table and returned with pork chops and apple sauce. Sidney had not anticipated such close questioning and found