Brian makes time to ensure the secret stays that way for the time being.

Radio Times: Janet resists temptation.

Characters: Brian, Caroline, Janet, Jennifer, Shula, Siobhán, Tim

• Shula and Jennifer have enjoyed the Easter Sunday service, especially Janet’s well-judged comments about the Queen Mother’s death yesterday. (Please may I be presumptuous in adding on behalf of us all: God bless her and may she rest in perfect peace.) Apparently Peggy and Jack spent a bittersweet evening of reminiscence about the blitz and their wonderful London trip at the time of Her Majesty’s 100th birthday. Shula is going to stay back for coffee but Jennifer needs to minister to Brian before he leaves for another stressful trip to Hungary. Will Janet change her mind about coming to the stables for lunch? Caroline and Oliver will be there and Tim too – but Janet is looking forward to ending her Lenten abstinence in peace with an Easter egg. (Lovely, but Janet, you really do need to make a real comparison sometime.)
• Brian is convincing Jennifer that the time of his flight to Hungary has been brought forward by several hours. Jennifer is convincing Brian that he can tell her everything that is causing his current state of anxiety – of course she will understand! They are both hoping that this week will ‘sort it all out’.
• Lunchtime at the stables, and Caroline is telling Shula that she has decided to interrupt the aging process by spending the morning of her forthcoming birthday at the hairdressers in preparation for the treats that Oliver has planned for her. Tim has escaped from the clutches of Alistair pontificating about the stick insects and refuses a sherry as he is in training for tomorrow! Shula sharply shuts Caroline up when she starts to talk about Janet, Lenten abstinences and vicars versus temptations of the flesh – and shoos Tim (who is questioning whether Janet turned down the lunch invitation because he was coming) out to fetch Alistair and Daniel. Caroline is a little hurt and says she was only thinking of Robin (her erstwhile vicar-fiancé) and of warning Tim about involvement with those of such calling.
• After some electric dialogue about the ‘circumstances’, Siobhán and Brian decide to forget about them for a few hours before he goes to the airport.
• Janet’s Easter egg is obviously going down well. Tim wonders whether he is disturbing her when he calls to give her a half-price one that he picked up at the petrol station. Their dialogue, clipped but subliminally cosmic, is abruptly ended by Janet who needs to leave for a service at Loxley Barrett – it’s her busy time, she apologises, with a subsequent sigh.
• After a mutually enjoyable interlude, Brian retrieves his crumpled tie (?) from Siobhán’s bed and prepares to leave for Hungary. They have a lot to think about, the only thing actually decided, being that Siobhán will have the baby. Brian, purporting to be really trying to understand her situation, is sure that it wouldn’t be sensible to involve anyone else yet and states, hard-headed as ever, that the next few days will give them a breathing space.