Country Life

Terms of engagement

I HAD every intention of asking while we were standing beneath that blackthorn bush on the edge of the pond, but before I summoned up the courage, a pair of teal appeared over the top of the willows. Constance lifted her gun, fired and the higher of the two tumbled into the water.

It was far from a perfect evening for flighting duck. The moon was too big, there was hardly any wind and there was very little cloud cover, but they came steadily, appearing every couple of minutes, and I sat there drinking tea from my

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