Rubies Among the Roses

by Vivian Conroy

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m glad that raving mad woman is leaving so we can eat in peace.’ Bolingbrooke gestured at Cador, who had followed everything with silent attention. ‘The first course, please. I’m starving.’

  ***

  After dinner Guinevere took a breath of fresh air in the courtyard when Oliver appeared by her side. ‘Take a look at this,’ he said in a low tone. He handed her his mobile phone.

  Guinevere had to look closely to understand what he meant.

  The screen showed her several small shots like someone’s feed on social media. Then Oliver pulled the phone from her hand, tapped the screen and suddenly it was filled with a picture of her own face as she smelled a yellow rose in her palm. She recognized it as taken this afternoon on their way to the harbour. Max had posted it with the caption Lady of the Roses.

  It had been liked over two hundred times, and people had also replied to it saying things like Congrats, man, she’s a looker or Are you in a relationship now? Whyyyyy? We wuv you!!!! The latter reply had a crying emoji after whyyyyy? and ended with several red heart emojis.

  Oliver said, ‘Why did he post this?’

  Guinevere shrugged. ‘No idea.’ Maybe to prove to her that she was beautiful?

  Her face was on fire just thinking about it.

  Oliver said, ‘You should be careful around him. I texted a few of my colleagues to ask if they knew DeBurgh.’

  Guinevere looked him over. As a nature film-maker Oliver had lots of contacts in the photography and filming business. ‘Yes?’ she said.

  ‘Several of them have worked with him and said he’s hot-headed and volatile. Loves you one day, treats you like dirt the next. Especially when he feels like he didn’t get his dues.’

  Guinevere stood motionless. She could still see Max snapping at Dolly, his body tight as if he was ready to slap at the dog. That had struck her as really unpleasant. Did Oliver’s comment confirm that Max was indeed volatile?

  But didn’t everybody have moments where they were curt just because they were tired or under pressure? Max had explained to her that the assignment here on Cornisea was important to him. Who knew what demands he placed on himself to succeed?

  Oliver said, softly and urgently, ‘I know my colleagues in and out. They wouldn’t just throw dirt at someone. If they say DeBurgh’s mood changes like a weathercock, they mean it. I just want you to be careful around him.’

  Guinevere drew breath slowly. ‘First you send me after him to find out some things about him and now you tell me to stay away from him? Max might have been focused on his work and curt with people, but that doesn’t mean he’s aggressive. Those are completely different things. Just imagine what some people who have worked with you might say about you?’

  Oliver’s jaw tightened. He said in a low voice, ‘People can’t say about me I got into a fight while drunk and beat somebody until others had to pull me off. Literal description: he would have killed the poor bloke if we hadn’t intervened.’

  Guinevere studied Oliver’s expression. ‘Stories like that tend to get bigger and bigger every time they are told.’ She raised a hand to ward off further explanations. ‘I’ll tell you what: I’ll go see Max and ask him to take the photo of me down. I bet you he’ll do it, without an ugly word. That will prove he’s not volatile and we don’t have to worry about him being here at the castle. OK?’

  ‘That hardly proves anything,’ Oliver protested, but Guinevere had already turned away to go inside. Oliver’s tale about Max having beaten someone while drunk did make her uncomfortable, but for the moment she wanted to give Max the benefit of the doubt. She had to experience for herself what he was about, without someone else telling her what to think.

  Wadencourt appeared on the stairs, and she asked him where Max was. ‘In the library I think,’ the historian replied with a vague wave over his shoulder.

  Guinevere hurried to the library and opened the door.

  Max was on the movable ladder looking for something on the top shelves. His quick movements suggested determination.

  ‘Hello!’ Guinevere called, and Max started, grabbing the edge of the shelf to steady himself. ‘Do you want me to take a tumble and break my neck?’ he yelled.

  Dolly had moved into the room as if she wanted to run at him but seemed to have second thoughts at the volume and tone of his voice. She slunk back and hid behind Guinevere.

  The dog’s fear of someone who had already snapped at her once tore at Guinevere’s heart. On top of Oliver’s suggestions about Max’s bad reputation with his colleagues she wasn’t sure what to think of him.

  And what was he doing here in the library? He would never have managed to get in and get onto that ladder if Rufus and Nero had been here. But after dinner Bolingbrooke walked the dogs on the beach.

  Had Max seen him leave?

  Had he come here on purpose knowing the coast was clear?

  What did he want to find anyway, rummaging through those books?

  Her heart beat fast at the idea that Max’s surreptitious behaviour seemed to support Oliver’s negative take on him. She had come up here to prove the opposite. How could she go back to Oliver and defend Max to him when she wasn’t even sure what he was doing now?

  She said challengingly, ‘I doubt that Lord Bolingbrooke gave you permission to go through his books.’

  Max waved a hand at her. ‘He did say I could use the library when I needed something. When we talked before dinner. I came in here to print something and then I saw all of these beautiful old books. I just wanted to have a look around and determine if this library would make a good backdrop for a photo shoot with the goblet.’

  It sounded plausible. She had seen Max come in with Bolingbrooke as dinner was about to start.

  But she wanted to push him a little to see if he responded in any way that supported Oliver’s ‘volatile’ suggestion. So she said in a forced brusque tone, ‘And why did you post my picture on your feed? I told you not to snap me because it makes me feel awkward and you did it anyway and now you’ve even put it out to the world where everyone can have an opinion about it.’

  Max blinked at her. ‘You didn’t tell me at all that it made you feel awkward. What on earth for? You look beautiful.’

  ‘I haven’t read all the comments, so there might be spiteful ones among them. Things that would hurt me if I did read them. Besides, all of these people act like they’re entitled to you.’

  ‘Well, they’re not. And you’re pretty; you deserve to be shown off.’ Max had clambered down and studied her. ‘Why would comments from perfect strangers hurt you?’

  He rocked back on his heels. ‘Or are you hiding out here? Are you on the run from someone?’

  ‘Of course not.’ Guinevere was shocked at the suggestion. How did Max get such an idea into his head?

  Max came closer and looked into her eyes. ‘There’s something sad about you. Like you’ve been through things, bad things. A relationship maybe in which you were put down all of the time? I don’t want to hurt you, honestly. I wanted to cheer you up by snapping your picture and showing you how you look to me.’

  He smiled at her. ‘I want us to have a good time together. I’m here to work, sure, but that won’t take all day.’

  Guinevere stared into his chocolate brown eyes. She was aware he was standing very close. The scent of his aftershave filled her head.

  ‘You know what?’ Max pulled out his phone and tapped on the screen. It took him a few moments, then he said, ‘I’ve removed your photo from my feed. I shouldn’t have put it up without asking for your permission. I’m sorry about that. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable when I’m around. OK?’

  Guinevere nodded. Relief flooded her that he had taken it so well. Oliver was wrong about him. All wrong. ‘Thanks.’

  ‘No problem. And that dress looks great on you. I didn’t get a chance to say anything about it over dinner with Lady Serena popping up and
all.’ Max kept smiling. ‘As a photographer you work with filters to make everything prettier. Put a morning haze over that field or turn the sunset just a little fierier. But you don’t need filters.’

  Guinevere shuffled her feet. She wasn’t good with compliments, tending to think them overdone and even untrue. But she wanted to believe that Max meant what he said. And that they could really spend a lot of time together during his stay here. That his kind words and warm smiles could convince her she was really beautiful like he had said.

  Wouldn’t it be great if she could just believe that instead of immediately annihilating a compliment with her self-critical thoughts? Just a little more confidence wasn’t a bad thing, right?

  She retreated to the door. ‘If you do need a particular book, ask Lord Bolingbrooke for it when he’s back from his walk with the dogs. He has a system and he’ll notice when someone has been in his things.’

  ‘I will. Thanks. Goodnight.’ Max folded his hands behind his back and smiled at her, not moving from the spot.

  Guinevere turned away and closed the door behind her. For a moment she was tempted to listen for sounds indicating he was climbing up that ladder again to continue doing what he had been doing. Men usually didn’t listen to advice – that she had already learned from her friends in London. Especially Old Carter, their props man at the theatre, who had been great at getting himself into a pickle because he was always so sure he knew best.

  Speaking of theatre friends … She had some postcards to write to them. Whatever Max did now was his business. If Bolingbrooke had given him permission, it was probably all right.

  She made for her bedroom in the tower, saying to Dolly, who jogged beside her, ‘Now we just have to convince Oliver to think better of Max. But that’ll be hard. He didn’t like Max from the first moment he saw him photographing through a window and caught him by the neck to drag him in. Is there something like antipathy at first sight? What do you think, girl?’

  Dolly made the sounds Guinevere always called chatter. It was like the dog was talking to herself, being undecided about something. Max?

  Or Oliver? To be honest, she didn’t know him well. The events after the murder during the re-enactment had brought them closer fast, as they had sleuthed together and even been in danger together. But the bond this had forged didn’t seem to guarantee they saw eye to eye all of the time. Guinevere sometimes just didn’t understand Oliver. Why he suddenly had a strong opinion about something or someone and didn’t want to see reason.

  In her room Guinevere went to the window to shut the curtains. As she always did, she let her gaze travel across the view. The skies were clear with just some very light puffs of cloud. The first stars were visible, as was a bright half-moon. It illuminated the beach and the figure standing there, looking up at the castle, holding something up to its face.

  It seemed to be a woman and judging by the white trousers and tall boots, it could be Lady Serena. The thing in her hands could be binoculars.

  She had said she’d keep an eye on the castle, but Guinevere had thought it was a mere threat to underline her point as she had left. Much like a slamming door in an argument, something you don’t take very seriously.

  To see Lady Serena actually surveying them now made Guinevere a little cold inside.

  How serious was Lady Serena about being entitled to the goblet of Rose and Stars? And about making sure that she got, as she had put it, what was coming to her?

  A sound at the door startled Guinevere. She pressed a hand to her throat and felt her pulse against her fingertips. There had been so much tension created over a couple of hours that her nerves were on edge.

  A rustling sound indicated that something was shoved under the door. She stared at what appeared. The corner of something colourful, then …

  She walked over and picked it up. It was a full-colour shot of Dolly, printed off at letter size. The dog looked happy and perfectly in her element staring out onto sea from the harbour. When had Max taken this? And how had he managed to capture Dolly’s essence so well?

  He was really talented.

  Guinevere ran a finger over Dolly’s figure on the smooth sheet in her hand. If this was Max’s way of making up to her for being curt with Dolly earlier, he had hit a winner. At the same time she wondered how he had printed this beautiful portrait for her. In the library most likely. On Bolingbrooke’s printer there?

  Had he used his alleged need to print something as his excuse to be there and look into the books on the upper shelf? Why was he interested in those books anyway? He had denied having a part in trying to locate the goblet.

  But at the same time he had taunted Wadencourt claiming someone else had worked out the clues for him. Who?

  Max himself maybe? Did that explain for the strange bond between the men, an alliance even though they didn’t like each other?

  And what had Max been discussing with Bolingbrooke as they had entered the dining room? Just if he could look in the library? Max had said with emphasis, ‘You do see my point.’ As if he had been trying to convince Bolingbrooke of something.

  Chewing her lip, Guinevere took Dolly’s portrait and put it beside her bed where it would be the first thing she saw as she woke up in the morning. She couldn’t help smiling as she ran her eyes over it again. She couldn’t help looking forward to the next day and spending time with Max again. He was an exciting new presence at the castle, someone who had shaken things up, deep inside of her.

  Even as she took out her postcards and the addresses of her friends, she still saw Max’s eyes, the dimple in his cheek when he smiled. The intensity in his features when he was doing what he loved to do: photographing the world around him, large scale or in minute detail. Max was just into the moment, something that Guinevere sometimes found hard to do. Her mind wanted to rationalize, understand, order. Max was just taking it all in, letting himself float on the feeling. It made him impulsive and rather hard to follow, but it also had a sort of instant appeal.

  Resting her pen’s tip on the first postcard, Guinevere couldn’t quite remember what she had wanted to write as her head was so full of all that had happened today. Like Max’s arrival had put more colours into the world and dispersed a breathless energy through her system. Instead of sitting here quietly she wanted to go out onto the beach and race the wind, spread her arms wide and feel like she could fly. She wanted to reach up to the half-moon and pretend to catch it in her hands.

  But there was the goblet’s charged history, the squabbling claimants, and Max’s obscure part in it all. She couldn’t turn off her thoughts about that, her questions. Maybe the next few days would reveal more about it. Until then she wasn’t running and flying yet. She leaned over her cards and forced herself to begin to write.

  Chapter Five

  The next morning when Guinevere awoke she immediately saw the portrait of Dolly beside her bed. The postcards for her friends were resting before it, ready to be taken along and mailed in the only mailbox on the island, near the harbour where it was emptied once a day and its contents taken to the mainland.

  She lay back a moment, her arms folded behind her head, a luxurious feeling of freedom and expectation coursing through her still-drowsy body. She intended to embrace everything this Cornish summer had to offer.

  Humming a tune, Guinevere washed and dressed quickly, choosing her favourite poppy dress with broad red belt and matching shoes. The shoes didn’t have high heels so she could move around on them easily. With Dolly by her side she dashed down the stairs. There was nobody near the kitchen unit, but there were used plates and mugs, suggesting somebody had already breakfasted. Oliver? Max?

  Either way it would pay off to go out via the beach to post her cards near the harbour. Guinevere drank a quick cup of mocha coffee while Dolly had her breakfast, then she grabbed a banana and took the doggy outside. The great tit who had his nest in the wall was gathering insects in the yard. Breakfast for his family on the brink of fledgin
g.

  From beside a pot with an orange tree Guinevere collected the sturdy toy she used to play fetch with Dolly. The dachshund yapped in excitement and, once out of the gate, pulled to go right at once, to the secluded beach. Guinevere could barely keep up with her running down the path. The brambles in both sides were sporting small white flowers, and a wren dived into them, using their prickly branches as protection against predators.

  On the beach the breeze came to caress Guinevere’s hot face. She took a few deep breaths, savouring the salty air and ignoring Dolly’s yapping that she should run after her at once.

  The dachshund dug into the sand, clumps flying around her head, then jogged again, her ears brushed back by the wind. She halted abruptly, almost sliding off her feet, sniffed at some driftwood, picked it up, and carried it along only to drop it as soon as something more interesting appeared.

  Guinevere let her gaze travel the length of beach. In the distance was the narrow wooden pier where small boats could moor. It was only used by locals who came to the island to fish.

  There was a boat moored there now.

  Guinevere narrowed her eyes. Judging by its colours it was Jago’s boat. Jago Trevelyan was an old fisherman who had sold off his business to his sons and now only fished for pleasure. He liked to come to the island in the evening and roam the beach, smoking his pipe and scaring people when he suddenly popped up out of nowhere. He was an authority on island lore, knowing every tale that was connected with Cornisea’s eventful past.

  Guinevere wondered if Jago knew about the goblet of Rose and Stars. It was exactly the sort of object that would catch his fancy as proof of Cornisea’s importance in the past. Maybe also as a way to draw tourists to the island in the future?

  Guinevere began to walk in the direction of the pier, keeping her eyes on the bobbing boat. If she met Jago, she could ask him if he believed the goblet was on Cornisea. He might even know some old tale that could help her work out where it was. Wadencourt seemed to know already, but it would be fun to surprise him by casually dropping a hint she knew as well.