Mystical Circles
Page 32
“Visions?” she asked.
The clergyman nodded.
“Theo,” she said, “Was it you who came to dinner here?”
“Yes.”
“And saw the farmhouse as if from above?”
Craig and Theo exchanged glances.
“Yes, Juliet,” said Theo. “You realise now it was I who had that dream about this place.” He smiled sadly. “But it is not to be.”
Craig looked enigmatic. Juliet scanned both their faces, perplexed. What had been going on?
“Theo,” said Craig. “It could be.”
“How?”
Juliet looked from clergyman to group leader. She hardly dared breathe. Theo bowed his head. Craig took Juliet’s hand, and held it firmly in his.
“Because,” said Craig, “I want to give this place to you.”
Theo’s head snapped up again. “You can’t, Craig,” he said.
“Yes I can.”
Juliet swallowed, taking in air at the same time; and was overtaken by a violent fit of coughing. The conversation halted as Craig banged her on the back and Theo drew a tissue from his pocket and wiped the tears from her eyes.
When she was calmer again she said in a husky voice, “Do you realise what you said, Craig?”
“Yes,” said Craig.
“Give this property to Theo? Free?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“But Craig, it will ruin you. You heard what your father said. You’ll be bankrupt.”
“There are worse things. I can start afresh. With you, Juliet, I can do anything. And in this way, I’ll have peace.”
She opened her mouth to speak. But no words came out. Theo had been listening thoughtfully.
Now Craig touched Theo’s arm. The clergyman turned to him. “Theo, did you say you’ll have charitable status?” asked Craig.
Theo nodded. “You know, there may be ways through this which even your father wouldn’t quarrel with.”
A look of complete bafflement crossed Craig’s face. “How?” he asked.
Theo held his hand up. “All in good time,” he said. “You’ll need to cover your debts, Craig.”
“Yes. I acknowledge that.”
Juliet faced him urgently. “But Don will be gnashing his teeth up in Barnsley,” she protested. “And so will his board of directors.” Craig’s eyes met hers. They gleamed. His lips curved. She felt a strong desire to laugh, but just contained herself.
Theo remained quiet for a few more moments. Juliet was amazed that he hadn’t said, “Craig, you cannot be serious,” or “Are you out of your mind?” or anything like that. He simply bowed his head.
Juliet inspected Craig’s face. It shone. This time, she believed, she saw his true self. It was quite extraordinary. His proposal seemed ruinous, for him at any rate. She could only hope – and pray – that Theo would find a way through this financially, and avoid the mistakes Craig had made.
And yet, somehow, she believed he would. Whatever the outcome might be, Craig’s face said he understood the implications of his offer; this was his decision, and it was the right thing to do. She kissed him, slowly, seriously – and then turned back to the clergyman.
“With the grace of God, Don will agree to this,” said Theo. “And, Craig – with strong financial management, I promise I’ll enable you, eventually, to cover your debts.”
Juliet found her hand in Theo’s. And he now offered his other hand to Craig. They all three stood there, hands clasped. She felt as if a pact was being sealed.
Time passed. No-one spoke. But Juliet thought how curious it was that her sister, whom she’d wanted to take away from this house, would now be staying there for ever.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I wish to thank the following people who gave guidance, editorial feedback and encouragement at many different stages of this journey; Marie Calvert, William Connelly, John Costello, Hilary Johnson, Jeannie Johnson, Rev James Lawrence, Victoria Lee, Liz Obee, Fay Sampson, and the members of the Kenilworth Writers Group. Also many thanks are due to those who helped me with research: Moira Rawlings on freelance journalists; David Calvert and Simon Chapman on Yorkshiremen and Welshmen respectively; Rev Sharon Jones and Rev Ellie Clack, and ordinand Nat Reuss, for being willing to answer my questions and give me deeper insight into Theo. Thanks are also due to the members of the local community mental health teams in Leamington Spa whose dedicated work with their clients taught me so much, contributing in no small measure to my understanding of certain characters in this story. Inevitably others too deserve my thanks; they are the people who gave me moral support – you have all played your part in keeping me going, by being interested, by asking me about my novel, by promising to buy it when it’s published, and by helping me believe in myself as a writer. Thank you to all of you.
For details of other sources of inspiration in my life, further back in the past, visit www.scskillman.co.uk
You can also follow my blog at www.scskillman.com, like my Facebook Page on www.facebook.com/pages/sc-skillman-author-blogger or follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/scskillman