The Running Lie

by Jennifer Young

‘Well, we have to all be watchful. There are also the temporary footmen and gardeners, of course. I’m never convinced of agency staff.’ Harris folded his arms. ‘Lucy, you must be aware I’m talking to you as a trusted member of staff, not as a suspect.’

  ‘Thank you, sir. I’m sorry.’

  ‘Can I help you, Miss Max?’ Harris asked.

  ‘I’m looking for my mother.’

  ‘She’s with Mr Marshall in the garden. Neither of them trusts the temporary gardeners to look after the roses.’

  Max smiled. ‘Thanks. Are you very worried?’

  ‘This has never happened in the ten years I’ve worked for the family. So, yes. I am.’

  ‘Thanks, Harris.’ She took two steps from the door, and then popped her head back in. ‘Could you make a list of what’s missing?’

  ‘I’m doing it now for Lady Bartlemas. Would you like to see it too?’

  ‘Yes, please. I’m headed to town, and I’ll ring about the phone line. Do you need anything else?’

  ‘No, thank you.’

  Laughter floated towards her from the rose garden. She walked down the terrace steps. Had there ever been anything more than friendship between her mother and Henry?

  ‘Mother, I’m going to town to check with the phone company. Do you need anything?’

  Her mother pointed with a pair of secateurs held in a gloved hand. ‘I’d rather like to know why I learned from Henry that Mr Knox has proposed.’

  Heat rose in Max’s face.

  Henry shrugged. ‘You didn’t say to keep it quiet.’ He clipped a rose. ‘I did point out that John told me, not you.’

  ‘Henry’s been singing his praises.’ Mother brushed back an invisible strand of hair. ‘I assume we can announce it tomorrow at the party?’

  ‘I haven’t answered him.’

  ‘Still? Girlie, get on with it,’ Henry said. ‘I’d say you’re well along in terms of lust, and he’s besotted. No sane man does that much work and doesn’t kill me for hiding the chain saw. And as for fighting over…’

  Did everyone know? ‘I said yes too quickly to Daniel. We haven’t known each other all that long and…’

  ‘You’re twenty-seven. You’ve met a stable man who loves you. Still, if you end another engagement as spectacularly I don’t know who will marry you. How long do you think Mr Knox will wait?’

  Was he stable? ‘Do you need anything from town?’

  ‘No, darling. Mind you, Catherine said I should be wary of Mr Knox, although…’

  ‘She also said she was going to get me fired. That woman is no good for Charlie.’ Henry’s emphasis suggested he wanted to use another word.

  ‘Bye,’ Max said as she climbed the steps again. Her mother and Henry spoke rapidly about Catherine behind her, but she couldn’t bear to hear anything more about her.

  John stood near the door. He’d added a jacket, and presumably changed his bloody shirt. At least he was far enough away that he couldn’t have been eavesdropping this time.

  ‘Max, can we talk? I’m…’

  ‘Harris says things are going missing. He’s going to make a list.’

  ‘Anything valuable?’

  ‘Food, blankets, a few small things, apparently. Maybe it’s just a tramp.’

  ‘Maybe. Look, I know that…’

  ‘Let’s find Emma and Victor.’ She walked ahead of him rapidly. Under no circumstances would she hold his hand.

  John leaned against the side of the phone box as the phone company assured her they were doing everything they could to restore service. She opened the door, and he stood upright.

  ‘Come for a walk with me? They’ve gone in a store.’

  ‘There’s nothing to shop for here.’ She sighed. ‘Okay.’ She walked beside him into the field beyond the phone box, watching where she placed her feet. Had it only been yesterday they came here? She glanced at her watch. Ten. Less than seven hours ago they’d been curled together in his bed.

  ‘Did you find anything last night?’

  ‘No. The shed is very clean though. Empty when I checked.’ He held out his hand, and after a split second she took it. ‘I don’t want to leave this. We’re pushing too much to be talked about later. I’m sorry.’

  ‘You goaded him.’

  ‘Yes.’

  He shortened his stride to allow for her high heels over the long grass. He automatically did this. Daniel would have plowed ahead, although he’d never set foot in a field willingly without a horse under him. ‘How did you think he’d react?’

  ‘Well, I didn’t think he’d run to violence…’

  ‘You insulted his sister.’

  ‘Technically, I never even finished my sentence.’

  John’s grip on her hand remained loose. If he tried to squeeze it, would she wrench away?

  ‘My intention was to provoke him into revealing something.’

  ‘And you learned what? He doesn’t take kindly to family slurs? I’m guessing you wouldn’t either.’

  ‘Max, my job…’

  Max pulled her fingers free. ‘I don’t want to talk about your fucking job.’

  ‘Fine.’ John shoved his hands in his pockets. His lips tightened.

  ‘I smelled your cigarette. You were outside how long?’

  ‘Long enough to hear him propose. And compare me to Hagan.’

  ‘Then presumably you heard me tell him no too. I don’t need protection, John; I don’t need you fighting for me.’

  He lit a cigarette. ‘I didn’t like it.’

  ‘I didn’t like you kissing Catherine either. If we got married, men would stop proposing to me, but you’d still be off kissing women.’ And more.

  ‘Matrimony, maybe.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Marriage doesn’t mean men stop propositioning women.’ Smoke floated away over his head.

  ‘What, are you saying you don’t trust me?’

  ‘You don’t trust me.’

  ‘The British government isn’t going to be ordering me to screw someone. It’s not you I don’t trust—I know in normal, regular life…’ She stopped but John stayed silent. She lifted her hair off her neck. She’d worn it down because he liked it. Stupid in this heat.

  He ground his cigarette out carefully, staring at the fragments of paper and leaves rather than her. ‘Should I quit?’ He didn’t look up.

  ‘Would you?’

  ‘I know how to be a farmer, a soldier and I suppose a student. And this. I have no idea what I’d do.’

  ‘And what happens to the safety and sanctity of the United States?’

  ‘There are others.’ He grinned. ‘I don’t singlehandedly preserve the Union.’

  ‘Good Lord, you’re cocky.’

  John stepped close to her, but didn’t touch her. ‘Say you forgive me.’ He barely brushed her lips with his. ‘Please.’

  Max breathed in the wildflowers, the grass and John. Why was she so silly about him? All the same, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down for a kiss. ‘I love you,’ she murmured. ‘It’s foolish, but I love you.’

  ‘I love you.’ He sighed. ‘Thank God.’

  ‘Have you eaten at all?’

  He shook his head, and then rolled his shoulders with a wince.

  ‘I thought you said you weren’t hurt? There’s a tearoom that might be open.’

  ‘I’m sore. I haven’t cut wood with an axe in years.’ He nudged her as they walked back to the road. ‘It occurred to me you could have told me about the chainsaw.’

  Max laughed.

  ‘Maybe I deserved it though.’

  ‘And Henry so enjoyed it.

  The tea shop had added a mirror on the far wall since Max’s last visit. But the white tablecloths, the dark curved back chairs and the low ceiling remained the same. The sunlight barely filtered in through the white net curtains. Her mother martyred herself to two visits per summer.

  ‘Has the whole trip been this busy?’ Emma asked.

  ‘Not quite,’ Max said.


  ‘How are you coping with that woman here, besides John brawling in the library?’ Victor asked.

  ‘Not that well.’ She tapped her nail against the tablecloth. She should be on a bloody dig, not hanging out in cafes. Not agonising over Catherine Dinsmore.

  ‘Admirably,’ John said.

  Max frowned, and Emma patted her hand.

  ‘What are they suspected of?’ Victor asked.

  Max’s breath caught. If he told Victor when he refused her, Max didn’t think she would ever forgive John.

  ‘I can’t say. Besides, I found absolutely nothing except an incredibly boring woman and her brother, floundering in debt. My colleague did find something, elsewhere. There shouldn’t be any reason to worry.’

  ‘But you think there is.’ Victor sounded serious again.

  ‘There are too many coincidences.’ John shifted in his chair. ‘Plus the tree.’

  ‘Tree?’

  ‘It fell, almost on top of Max’s car,’ John said. ‘It was the storm, which would have been fine, except there were clear axe marks.’

  ‘Is the DB2 okay?’ Victor asked.

  ‘It was the Daimler.’ Max laughed. ‘Never let it be said that you don’t worry about automobiles. We were fine too.’

  ‘I assumed that, or you wouldn’t be sitting here now. Did you have to swerve or…’

  ‘Reversed, at some speed,’ Max said. ‘John was driving.’

  ‘You’ve never let me drive your cars.’ Victor sounded sullen. He’d asked repeatedly over the years.

  Max smiled. ‘I let John do all sorts of things that I wouldn’t let you.’

  They all laughed. John bumped her foot with his under the table. She’d missed the easy banter with Victor and Emma. ‘I’m terribly glad you came.’

  ‘We’re always up for a party,’ Victor said.

  ‘Is there anything we can do?’ Emma asked.

  ‘Vivian’s having a hard time,’ John said. ‘In terms of the Dinsmores, not much.’

  Emma’s face hardened briefly. Max should have thought. She stood. ‘I’m going to powder my nose. Emma, do you…’

  Emma rose. ‘Of course.’

  ‘You can talk here, you know,’ Victor said. ‘Or we could go wander the streets till you finish?’

  ‘I’m really hungry,’ John said. ‘What if I just agree not to listen?’

  ‘Stay put, both of you.’ Once they were away from the table, she took Emma’s hand. ‘Any luck?’

  ‘I just had a late period after we got back from Berlin.’ Max wrapped her arm around Emma’s waist. Emma forced a smile. ‘It was silly to get my hopes up. I’d forgotten Vivian was here. Is the baby okay?’

  ‘She’s fine. Her mother-in-law is being horrible to her about breastfeeding.’

  ‘I’d give anything to have that choice.’

  ‘Vivian is hardly coming downstairs at all. You’ll barely see her. She’s pretty much tied to the baby, which is why they want her to do bottles.’ She pushed open the WC door. It was one lavatory with no waiting room. ‘Do you want to go first?’

  Emma closed the door behind her. Max pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes. How many times would she get angry with John and forgive him? And poor Emma. She could imagine their baby… but it morphed into a dark-haired baby cradled against John’s chest like the photo of him with his nephew. A baby she might have to raise alone.

  ‘Max?’ Emma said. She jostled her elbow.

  ‘Sorry, I was miles away.’

  ‘I take it you haven’t told John if you’ll marry him?’

  ‘I don’t know—I’m not sure I’m suited to marriage.’

  ‘What experience do you have?’ Emma clearly hid a smile. ‘I can’t imagine that you and John would have one that looks like your parents, or even Vivian’s. Or ours. John’s not as silly as Victor, for one thing. But any marriage is a leap of faith. And bloody hard work. Go to the loo.’ She pushed Max towards the door. ‘Shall I wait?’

  Max shook her head. ‘Thanks. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you coming.’

  When Max came back to the table, Emma was telling John about the art show in Hampstead as he ate.

  Her coffee had appeared in her absence. She trickled in some milk. At home, John ate like British people, with a knife and fork held in each hand. Here, his left hand stayed in his lap. She did the same in America. How long had it taken him to pick it up? ‘Where’s Victor?’

  ‘More cigarettes,’ John said.

  ‘I think you’re a bad influence on him,’ Max said, fighting a smile.

  ‘Quite possibly.’ He grinned.

  Victor came back in a few minutes later and tossed a pack of cigarettes on the table. He didn’t open them. ‘Right. Importantly, are you going to go for the Viking job at Durham?’

  ‘Edward wrote me about it,’ Max said slowly. ‘I haven’t decided.’

  John folded his napkin carefully. Max watched his fingers extract his cigarette case. She would look no higher.

  ‘Why not?’ Emma asked. ‘From what Victor has heard, you’d be perfect.’

  ‘I don’t need a job. Not really.’

  ‘But you’d be good at it,’ Emma said.

  ‘But isn’t there an ethical argument that other candidates need it more than I do? I have enough.’

  ‘And you’re bored and a brilliant archaeologist.’ Victor sighed extravagantly.

  ‘Would you move to Durham?’ John asked. His voice stayed quite even.

  ‘Maybe a flat, but not permanently, no. I’d drive back to London. It’s only a few hours.’ She managed to watch the reflection of his dark hair in the mirror, not his face.

  ‘See, you are thinking about it. Excellent.’

  ‘What’s going on in London?’ Max asked. If John hadn’t gone running off with a gun, she would have told him already. They’d been together less than a month. Together. Their first date, Victor and Emma’s party. The next morning. Could she count Berlin? And the four days here. Eight days in total. The journey back from Scotland. And…

  ‘Max?’ Emma said.

  Max blinked. ‘Sorry. What was that?’

  ‘How many people are coming to the various celebrations?’

  ‘I’m not sure. Maybe fifty tomorrow night, a hundred for the ball?’

  ‘I thought this was a yearly party. Have you two never been before?’ John asked. He lit another cigarette.

  ‘This is the first season in ages I haven’t been on a dig,’ Victor said.

  ‘I used to come back for it,’ Max added. ‘My mother gets very fussy about birthdays. It’s always odd to go from mud and tents to a ball gown though.’ Stop rambling.

  ‘Is it dressing for dinner every night?’ Victor asked.

  John nodded.

  ‘Super. I fear my dinner jacket is underused.’

  Emma laughed. ‘Except for you dragging it out at every opportunity.’ They talked about normal things as they finished their drinks, and when they returned to the house, Max drew Emma aside for a walk. John and Victor headed a different direction, but Max still spotted the hurt on John’s face, however momentarily.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  JOHN STOOD AT the end of the family corridor as Max emerged, dressed for dinner. Her sober navy dress matched her mood.

  ‘You look beautiful. Come for a walk?’ John asked.

  Max nearly refused, but she couldn’t keep avoiding him. She nodded. ‘How long have you been waiting?’

  ‘Only twenty minutes.’ They walked down the stairs slowly and stayed silent as they passed the drawing room. Mother glanced out at them and smiled, so they wouldn’t be missed for drinks. The front door closed behind them and Max sighed.

  ‘Is Emma all right?’ John asked. ‘Sorry, I realise that we have a lot to talk about…’

  Max kissed his cheek. ‘I love that you asked. That you noticed.’ She slipped her hand into his. ‘I don’t think she’d mind me saying. They’ve been trying for a baby for a while. She was hopeful after Berli
n, but wasn’t. And she’s… had some problems in the past.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that. Vivian being here can’t help.’

  ‘I probably shouldn’t have invited them both.’

  ‘But you’re lovely and generous.’ His hand tightened. ‘A holiday will do them good, and Vivian couldn’t be alone with Mrs Gould.’

  ‘I suppose.’

  ‘Do you know yet if we’re okay, by the way?’

  Six narrow straps wrapped her toes in navy leather, leading back to the high heels that sank into the grass. She wouldn’t look up. ‘Is there a deadline?’ He said he was in no rush.

  ‘Well, yes. Isn’t there?’

  ‘And how long do I have?’ She looked up at him. Would he simply leave?

  ‘A month?’

  ‘That isn’t very long. When did it start? The night you proposed? Berlin?’ She jerked her hand free. If he was going to set a time limit, she could answer now. No.

  ‘Well, any of the… hang on, what do you think I’m talking about?’

  ‘Your proposal. You said I could take time.’ Tears didn’t rise in her eyes. Not at all.

  John gripped her hand. ‘Honey, I was trying to ask—badly, clearly—if you’d…’ He glanced around. Tommy slammed the back door and walked towards them. John wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. He lowered his mouth to her ear. ‘If we’d been sufficiently safe. If you were…’

  ‘Oh. I’m definitely not.’ She exhaled and relaxed into John’s touch. Daniel never asked, he just blithely assumed. ‘Thank goodness. We’ve been careful.’

  John nodded, and they continued through the roses.

  ‘Max, wait,’ Tommy called.

  John glanced down at Max. They slowed and turned together. She could have shrugged his arm off, but she didn’t.

  Tommy jogged to a stop before them, although he looked only at Max. ‘Can we talk, Max? Please?’

  ‘I’m busy at the moment, Tommy.’ It sounded like a cop out. ‘I don’t have anything to add to our earlier conversation.’ His nose was faintly swollen.

  ‘I do. Please accept my apology in the meantime.’ He still didn’t raise his eyes to John. Except for the fact that John physically touched Max, it would have appeared he didn’t exist. ‘Later?’ Tommy asked.