Bryony shook her head. ‘You were meant to fight for her. Make a big play for her.’
‘In The Happy Hare?’
‘Absolutely!’
‘Bry, you are a crazy romantic with unrealistic notions about how the world works.’
‘I am not!’ she protested. ‘Polly – back me up here, why don’t you?’
‘I’m with Sam here,’ she said. ‘If something’s meant to be then it’ll work itself out. I wouldn’t be tempted to push things.’
Bryony rolled her eyes.
‘Look,’ Sam said, ‘Callie and I are friends. Good friends. That’s all, okay?’ He watched as Bryony puffed out her cheeks in frustration and left the room. Polly took Archie’s glass to the sink and then started fiddling around with the dishes. Sam joined her and stared out of the window into the wintery garden. He was tempted, just for a moment, to tell Polly what Callie had said to him as she’d left the pub. Heaven only knew he’d been thinking about it ever since.
‘I should have said yes to you that day – when you asked me to dinner.’
She’d looked at him with such tenderness in those beautiful hazel eyes of hers, but what had she meant? Did she just mean that she enjoyed his company and that they should spend more time together talking about books or was it more than that? Was she beginning to have feelings for him as he was towards her?
He sighed. He was, wasn’t he? He was beginning to feel something much stronger than friendship towards Callie. It had been creeping up on him so quietly that he couldn’t really pinpoint when it had first begun. But it was there. Of that he was quite sure.
‘Sam?’ Polly said, breaking into his thoughts by placing a hand on his arm. ‘You okay?’
‘Just thinking.’
‘I’d love to know what about. Or whom,’ she said, ‘but I am not Bryony and so I won’t ask.’
‘Thank you,’ he said, giving her a little smile.
‘But don’t wait too long to tell me, will you?’ she said, going up on tiptoes to give his cheek a kiss.
It was just beginning to get dark and it had started to rain when Polly noticed something wasn’t quite right. The family were all sitting in the living room, in that comfortable, casual sprawl that always seemed to follow Sunday lunch.
‘Where’s Grandma?’ Polly asked, closing the paperback book she’d been reading and looking around the room.
A few heads looked up from their own books, newspapers and cups of tea.
‘Did she go for a lie down?’ Eleanor asked.
‘I don’t think so,’ Grandpa Joe said.
‘I’ll go and check,’ Polly said, on her feet in an instant and making her way to her grandparents’ rooms on the ground floor.
‘I’ll check the kitchen,’ Frank said. But she wasn’t in the kitchen. Nor was she upstairs.
‘I’ve looked everywhere,’ Polly said when she came through from her grandparents’ wing a moment later.
‘Is she in the TV room?’ Eleanor asked.
‘No,’ Bryony said, coming out of that very room.
‘Mum,’ Josh said, running through from the dining room. ‘The patio door was open.’
Eleanor looked at her husband.
‘I’ll get some torches,’ Frank said.
‘Her coat’s still hanging up,’ Sam said from the hallway. He grabbed it and then put his own on.
‘I’ll get some blankets,’ Bryony said. ‘It’s freezing outside.’
‘Do you really think she’s out there?’ Polly asked.
‘She’s not in the house, is she?’ Sam said. ‘Where’s she likely to have gone, Grandpa?’
Grandpa Joe scratched his head, his face was deathly pale. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I really don’t know.’
‘Think, Dad,’ Frank said. ‘Is there anywhere she likes to walk to these days?’
He shook his head, looking vague. ‘She likes the old wooden bridge over the ford, I guess,’ he said, ‘but I don’t think she’d go there on her own.’
‘There’s a first time for everything,’ Frank said.
‘Would she really have gone there in the dark and the rain?’ Josh asked.
‘It might not have been dark or raining when she left,’ Eleanor pointed out, ‘and you know how she loses track of time these days.’
‘Come on,’ Frank said, once everyone had their coats and hats on. ‘We’ve got no time to lose.’
‘Should we take the dogs?’ Josh asked.
‘Good idea,’ Frank said. ‘You take Hardy and I’ll take Brontë.’
Polly grabbed hold of Archie’s hand. ‘Now, stay with me, okay? We don’t want you getting lost as well.’
The little boy nodded as everyone headed outside.
The late afternoon air was bitterly cold. The wind had picked up and the rain chilled everyone’s face and fingers in an instant.
‘Okay,’ Frank began, holding the spaniel’s lead tight in his hand, ‘Polly, Archie, Bryony and Eleanor – search the garden. Check the greenhouse in the walled garden and the potting sheds. Everybody got a working torch?’
‘Yes,’ everyone echoed. If there was one thing country living taught you, it was to have plenty of torches.
‘Josh – could you head out across the field with Hardy?’
‘The footpath to the woods? Sure, Dad,’ he said, the pointer at his side waiting anxiously to get moving.
Frank nodded and everyone instantly looked nervous at the thought of Grandma Nell wandering into the woods in the dark.
‘Sam–’
‘I’ll go down to the ford,’ he said.
‘And Grandpa and I will head the other way along the road. Have we all got our phones?’
Everyone nodded.
‘Okay, let’s get going.’
The night air filled with cries as the Nightingale family spread out.
‘Nell?’
‘Grandma!’
‘Mum? Where are you?’
Polly, Archie, Bryony and Eleanor fanned out around the garden, the lights from Campion House as well as their torches helping to guide them. Sam watched as Josh headed for the footpath to the wood and then he walked out of the driveway, turning right along the lane which led to the ford and the little wooden bridge.
His bent his head low as he faced into the wind. He hated the thought of his grandmother out there in the dark somewhere.
‘Grandma?’ he shouted, but the wind carried his voice across a hawthorn hedge and off over a field.
The country lane from Campion House was narrow and twisted through the countryside. The road was slick with rain tonight and Sam found himself sloshing through several deep puddles. Was his beloved grandma really out on such a night? The thought terrified him.
He scanned the gaps in the hedges with his torch as he went, stopping at each and every field opening in case she’d walked into one, but there was no sign of her. He could only imagine how his grandpa must be feeling. He’d looked completely winded when he’d been told that Nell wasn’t in the house.
Sam thought of the special love his grandparents had for each other and how much they’d been through in almost sixty years of marriage. Sam loved hearing the stories from their past and Grandpa Joe loved telling them whilst he kept his grandson company in the shop. Sam had heard all about the early years of their marriage and how hard they’d struggled to open and expand the bookshops in Castle Clare. There were funny tales about Sam’s dad and uncle, the young Frank and Ralph, and countless reminiscences about Sam and his siblings, some of which he’d sooner forget like the time they’d had a picnic in a nearby field by the river and Sam had trod in a cow pat, seeming to sink right up to his four-year-old knees. Grandpa had dangled him over the river to wash the mess away and Grandma had given him an extra lollypop. Her pockets had been filled with lollypops and jelly babies in those days, Sam remembered with affection.
‘Grandma?’ he shouted into the dark now as he headed towards the ford. It was coming up around the next bend. He sent the beam from
his torch as far ahead of him as he could and caught a glimpse of water. The downpour had swelled the ford and, as he approached it, it sounded like a small river.
He flashed his beam to the left of the lane where the wooden bridge was, but there was no sign of anyone on it.
‘Grandma!’ he called again, crossing the bridge. Would she really have come this far?
Sam had his answer as soon as he stepped off the little bridge when the thin beam from his torch picked out a pair of slippers and the fallen body of his grandmother.
Chapter 21
Callie was just drawing her curtains against the night when a pair of headlights lit up the lane. It was Leo’s Land Rover. He hadn’t called and she wasn’t expecting him, but she was beginning to learn that that was one of the ways of country living: people did have a habit of just dropping by unannounced.
‘Leo?’ she said in surprise as she opened the door to him a moment later.
‘I got caught in that downpour. Did you hear it?’ he asked, entering the cottage before actually being invited in. ‘I’ve been out all day,’ he said.
‘I can tell,’ Callie said, looking down at his trousers which were more mud that material.
‘Ah, sorry. I should have gone home first, but I was so close to yours and I wanted to see you.’ He bent forward to kiss her, his stubble scraping the soft skin of her face.
‘Where are the dogs?’ she asked.
‘Asleep in the car.’
‘Won’t they be cold?’
‘They’re snuggled up together on their blankets.’
‘Well come and get warm yourself,’ she said. ‘I’ve got the wood burner going.’
‘Brilliant,’ he said, taking off his great big boots, his wax jacket and his cap. His dark hair was wet at the edges and his face had a rainy sheen. If Callie had been a writer of romance novels then Leo Wildman would be prime material for a hero, she couldn’t help thinking.
‘What have you been doing today?’ he asked her as he sat himself on the rug in front of the stove, his long legs crossed yoga-style.
‘Oh, not much,’ she said, ‘mostly staring at a blank screen and wondering where all my words have gone.’
‘Oh, no,’ he said. ‘A computer malfunction?’
‘No, an author malfunction.’
‘Perhaps you need somebody to turn you off then turn you on again,’ he said with a wink.
She grinned but chose to ignore his suggestion. ‘Would you like something to eat?’ she asked him.
‘I would love something to eat.’
‘Well, it won’t be anything spectacular from the local hedgerows; it’ll just be a simple pasta.’
‘That sounds great,’ he said, getting up from the rug. ‘Anything I can do to help?’ He winced.
‘You okay?’
‘A bit wet around the legs,’ he said. ‘I don’t suppose I could have a bath?’
‘Oh,’ Callie said in surprise. ‘I – well, of course.’
‘Great,’ he said. ‘So, where is it?’
‘Right, well, it’s upstairs, on the left. Towels are in the airing cupboard on the landing. Help yourself.’
Callie watched as he walked up the stairs and then she went in to the kitchen to make a start on dinner. She heard the bathroom door shut and then came the sound of running water.
There’s a naked man in your bathroom, she thought as she boiled the kettle.
‘I’m not going to think about that,’ she said to herself, and she really tried not to because the thoughts that had been tumbling around in her mind lately all pointed to one thing.
‘You’ve got to tell him,’ she said as she walked to the fridge to see if there might be something worthy of Leo’s palette in there. ‘This has got to be the first and the last time he’s naked in your home.’
She nodded to herself. It was unfair of her to keep stringing Leo along when she knew that she was having feelings for another man. Leo was a lovely guy – one of the loveliest she had ever met – and she’d had so much fun with him, but he wasn’t quite right for her.
‘And Sam is?’ she said to herself, remembering how she’d come to Suffolk with one very clear vision in mind: to avoid men and anything approaching a romantic relationship. So what had happened to that idea?
‘Sam happened,’ she whispered, pouring the water from the kettle into a big copper pan. Gentle, smart, sweet Sam, and she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
‘Oh, this is ridiculous,’ she said. ‘You’re meant to be happily single again and putting all your time and energy into your work, not mooning around like a lovesick schoolgirl.’
But it was too late for that. Much, much too late.
In a dark country lane just a few miles away from Owl Cottage, Sam Nightingale was dealing with a crisis all of his own.
‘Grandma?’ he cried, rushing forward. ‘Are you okay? Are you hurt?’
‘No, no,’ she said in a faint voice. ‘Who is it?’
‘It’s me – Sam,’ he said. ‘Can you get up?’
‘I’m not sure,’ she said. ‘I can’t feel my legs.’
‘You’re frozen,’ Sam said, ‘and wet through. We need to get this coat on you and get you indoors. Can you move? We’ve got to get you off the road.’
Gently, Sam scooped his arms around her, lifting her slowly until she was sitting up, then placing her coat around her and removing his winter hat and placing that on her head.
‘How do you feel? Do you remember what happened?’
‘I was walking across the bridge and slipped.’
‘You know where you are, then?’
‘Yes,’ she said, ‘but I’m not quite sure how I got here.’
‘I’m going to call Dad, okay?’ He got his phone out of his pocket. ‘Dad?’ he said a moment later. ‘It’s Sam. I’ve found her. She’s here by the ford, but she’s had a fall. Okay. We’ll see you in a minute.’ He hung up. ‘Grandpa and Dad are bringing the car. We’ll get you home in no time, all right? Get you nice and warm.’ He gave her a hug, rubbing his hands up and down her back. ‘Do you hurt anywhere?’
‘I can’t tell,’ she said. ‘I think I hurt everywhere, but maybe it’s just the cold.’
‘Very likely,’ Sam said. ‘The cold and damp. Do you think you can move to sit on my lap.’
‘But then you’ll get all wet and cold,’ she said.
‘Doesn’t matter,’ Sam said, sitting down on the road and easing her onto him before wrapping his arms around her.’
‘I could murder a cup of tea,’ she said.
Sam laughed and kissed her cheek which was terrifyingly cold. ‘We’ll get you a cup of tea.’
It was then that they were lit up in a sweep of headlights and the sound of car doors opening greeted them.
‘Mum!’ Frank cried. He was by her side in an instant. ‘Sam – help me get her into the car. Is it safe to move her?’
‘I think so,’ Sam said.
‘Nell?’ Grandpa Joe said, taking her hand. ‘My old darling. Can you hear me?’
‘Of course I can hear you,’ Nell said. ‘I’m not dead yet!’
Grandpa Joe gave her a big kiss and then they all helped to lift her into the car and drove her home as fast as was safely possible along the wet country lane.
‘Oh, thank God!’ Eleanor said as they arrived home. Nell was now on her feet although being supported by Sam and Frank, and was surrounded by the entire family.
‘Don’t crowd her,’ Eleanor said.
‘We should ring an ambulance,’ Josh said.
Eleanor shook her head. ‘We need to get her straight into bed. A nice warm bed with a hot drink. That’s what she needs.’
‘But something might be broken,’ Josh said.
‘I don’t think it is,’ Frank said, ‘but I think we should call Dr Ward. He’s just down the road. He can be here faster than any ambulance.
Eleanor nodded. ‘I’ll boil a kettle.’
‘I’ll do that, Mum,’ Bryony said.
�
��Thanks, darling,’ Eleanor said, following Grandpa Joe, Sam, Frank and Nell along the hallway towards Joe and Nell’s rooms on the ground floor.
There was then a flurry of activity as everyone did something to help. Bryony brought in a hot water bottle and a mug of sweet tea, Eleanor helped Nell get ready for bed, Frank got in touch with Dr Ward, Polly and Archie dried the dogs off and fed them, and Sam comforted his grandfather who had turned quite ashen.
‘She’s never done this before,’ he whispered to his grandson. ‘What did she say to you?’
Sam sighed. ‘She seemed quite lucid when I arrived on the scene. She knew where she was, but she didn’t seem to know how she’d got there.’
Grandpa Joe shook his head. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘We’re going to make her comfortable and let Dr Ward see what’s what,’ Sam said in a calm voice although a tumult of emotions was churning inside him.
Grandpa Joe nodded and then walked towards the bed where he sat on the edge, taking Nell’s right hand in his.
‘All right, my Nell?’ he asked, bending forward and giving her a kiss.
‘Did I scare you?’ she whispered, looking up at him.
‘You certainly did,’ he said, ‘but you’re safe now.’
Sam watched the scene, his grandmother’s frail hand in his grandfather’s great strong one, and something touched him deeply inside. They had shared so much life together and the thought of one of them being without the other was too much to bear.
He left the room, blinking back the tears that had caught him by surprise.
‘How is she?’ Josh asked as he entered the living room. Polly, Archie and Bryony were also in there waiting for news.
‘She’s resting.’
There was a knock at the door. Sam went to answer it, letting Dr Ward in. ‘She’s through here,’ he told the older man, leading him through to his grandparents’ bedroom.
Sam told Dr Ward where he’d found his grandmother and he examined her and there passed an anxious few moments with the whole family hovering by the bedroom door. Grandpa Joe, who’d refused to leave Nell’s side, was sitting in a chair by the bed, only relinquishing her hand when the doctor absolutely insisted.
‘Well,’ he said once he’d finished his examination, ‘bed’s definitely the best place for her.’ He motioned for the family to leave the room and they all went into the living room at the front of the house.
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