‘Phone me if you hear anything, won’t you?’ he said, tersely.
‘I will do. I’ll have a ring round to see if anyone’s seen her. Polly might have done on her way home. If not, I’ll try George, he’s my parents’ tenant. Katy met him in here the other day and I know they’ve spent a bit of time together recently. Try not to worry, Max. She’ll turn up soon enough, I bet.’
‘She’d better do,’ he said, his voice heavy with emotion. ‘I’ll never forgive myself if something should happen to her.’
Eighteen
Polly hadn’t seen her. Neither had George. I thought of the lads she’d been with the other night – I knew a couple of their names, but not where they lived, although I could probably find out if I just made a few more phone calls. First, I rang the manor, thinking she may have gone home while Max was still here, but the number just rang out.
Oh Katy, where on earth are you?
Then I tried her mobile number and to my surprise and utter relief, she picked up straight away.
‘Katy!’
‘Oh hi, Ellie,’ she said, her voice ringing out brightly, clearly having no idea that Max had been going frantic over her whereabouts.
‘Where are you?’
‘I’m down at the barns with Ryan and the rest of the band. You know, The Leyton Boys, the ones who are appearing at the ball. I’ve been watching them rehearse. Oh my god, they’re amazing.’ She lowered her voice and whispered down the line, ‘And Ryan is just dreamy.’
‘Right. Well, that’s good to know. But do you have any idea what the time is? Max has been going out of his mind with worry.’
‘Um… yeah.’ Now she was beginning to sound contrite. ‘I just needed to get away for a bit. He was really cross with me and I didn’t want to have another row with him. So I thought it best if I just went out for a couple of hours.’
‘What, when he’d grounded you?’
‘Oh god…’ She fell quiet clearly contemplating the seriousness of the situation. ‘Maybe I’d better not go home tonight. Should I come and stay with you instead?’
‘No, you need to get straight home, Katy, right now. You can’t just ignore Max. He only gets mad because he’s worried about you. You could have texted him and told him what you were doing, it would have made all the difference.’
‘I’m not sure it would. He’d still have been as mad as hell.’
‘Oh, Katy!’
‘I’m fine. Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. I’m almost eighteen. I can look after myself, you know.’ As she liked to keep on reminding me.
‘I don’t doubt it for a moment. But if you’re as grown up as you say you are then you need to start showing a bit of respect to Max.’ I could hear the exasperation in my own voice and half expected the phone to be slammed down in my ear. Instead, I got a begrudging apology.
‘Sorry Ellie.’
‘It’s not me you should be apologising to. Look, you really need to be getting back home now. I’ll come and get you.’
‘No don’t,’ she said, quickly. ‘Ryan said he will bring me home. There’s no need to worry. Look, I’ve got to go, but I’ll speak to you soon, yeah?’
‘Katy…’
Too late. She’d already hung up. I glared at the phone in my hand accusingly. At least she was safe and that overrode any other emotion I might be feeling. Straight away I called Max to tell him the news, his obvious relief and gratitude filtering down the line.
‘Thank goodness for that.’ He let out an audible sigh. ‘I might have known she’d answer her phone to you, but not to me, but anyway that doesn’t matter, at least we’ve found her, that’s the main thing. Thanks, Ellie, I appreciate you tracking her down.’
‘It’s fine.’ A pause wafted down the line – I couldn’t help thinking of it as a pregnant pause. Our conversations had never been punctuated by awkward silences. Why were we now struggling to find things to say to each other?
‘Look, Ellie, I don’t know what’s happened to us these last couple of days, but we can’t carry on like this.’
‘You’re right,’ I said on the defensive now. ‘If there’s something you want to say, tell me now.’
‘No, Ellie, not like this. I need to see you.’ I took a breath. Obviously the kind of news that needed delivering in person then. ‘Shall we say tomorrow, early in the morning, 9.00ish?’
He sounded as though he was arranging a business meeting, just managing to squeeze me into his busy schedule.
‘Fine,’ I said, as though consulting my own. ‘See you then.’
*
I hardly slept. How could I when my mind was totally wired, thinking about Katy, and going over the events of the last couple of days. She texted when she got back to the manor, saying she was home, but had sprinted straight up the stairs to bed just to avoid having to face Max. Followed by a scary face emoji. I’d smiled knowing exactly how she felt. If I could put off my conversation with Max then I would, but barring broken limbs, natural disasters or raging food poisoning – all much more appealing propositions – then it was something I was just going to have to get over and done with.
Eventually, with daylight edging through my curtains, I gave up on the idea of sleep, and went downstairs to the kitchen. Even Digby, who usually leapt out of his basket to greet me, thought it was too early, as he curled up into an even tighter ball and gave a barely perceptible wag of his tail.
With my freshly made cup of tea, I sat at the kitchen table, but couldn’t bring myself to drink it. Instead it grew cold in front of me.
I felt sick just thinking about seeing Max again, anticipating what he might have to tell me. Now I knew how Polly felt at the thought of having Johnny back in the village. Living in the same community as your ex, the one who messed with your heart, was one thing, but the thought of having to watch Max bring up his baby, with another woman, was something I wasn’t sure I’d be strong enough to cope with.
Stop it, with the surmising, I chided. It was turning my head in circles. Giving myself a stern talking-to, I reached across for the wicker basket on the table which doubled as my filing tray. It was overflowing with random bits of paper, but for once I was glad of the distraction and after a couple of hours concentrated effort I was done, with a warm glow of satisfaction at seeing the basket empty for the first time in months, and all before breakfast too.
After quickly showering and dressing, I looked down at Digby who’d been waiting patiently at the back door.
‘Come on then boy, let’s go and do this.’
Outside, the morning had its cheerful sunny face on and I tried to match my mood to the sense of hope in the air, but all I felt was a deep trepidation.
We’d just reached the front gates to Braithwaite Manor when I noticed a familiar figure wandering up the lane towards us. With his distinctive rolling gait and straw trilby perched on his head, I would have recognised him anywhere.
‘Hello my lovely, well there’s a thing. I was just on my way to see you.’
‘Really? It’s a bit too early for a pint, Arthur.’
‘No,’ he chuckled to himself. ‘I was going to drop in this rhubarb to you. Fresh off the allotment this morning. My first decent crop of the year. You do like rhubarb, don’t you?’
‘Love it!’ Although I wasn’t about to admit that I had no idea how to cook the stuff. That was Mum’s territory, and I was suddenly reminded of all the wonderful food she made in her kitchen, not only with rhubarb but with all the lovely fruits that were in such abundance in the village over the summer months. Fruit tarts, pies, jams, chutneys. What I wouldn’t give for a big bowl of rhubarb and custard right now. Slightly weird, first thing in the morning, but at that moment I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather eat. ‘That’s very kind of you.’ I took the bundle of rhubarb from Arthur, gratefully. ‘Next time you’re in, there’s a pint on the house for you.’
‘Sounds like a good exchange. You know, when my Marge was alive, she’d make a smashing rhubarb crumble,
that’s one of my favourites, you know.’ Mmmm, fruit crumble. ‘Not that I’ve had it in a while now,’ Arthur said wistfully. ‘I could make you a crumble,’ I said, with a confidence I had no right to possess. I had made one before – in Year 6 in Food Tech, although that had actually been an apple crumble. I couldn’t remember it being that difficult. And surely you would just have to swap the apple for the rhubarb. I mean, how hard could it be?
‘Well, I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble…’
‘No trouble,’ I said, feeling a sense of joy at having located my inner Mary Berry. ‘I’ll do that this afternoon.’
‘Lovely,’ said Arthur, smiling. He gestured to the big house at the end of the drive. ‘Expect you’re off to see your young man now.’
‘Yes,’ I said, happily, before my smiled faded, remembering the purpose of my visit.
‘He’s a lucky fella. If I was forty years younger, I’d give him a run for his money that’s for sure.’
‘Aw, thanks, Arthur.’ I said, feeling buoyed by his words.
Take that, Max Golding, I am a desirable woman and have a whole queue of men lining up to woo me. Well maybe not a queue, and what did it matter that my suitor was in his seventies, it was the sentiment that counted. I tried to keep that positive thought at the front of my mind when I reached the back door of the manor and banged on the door.
The door flew open much quicker than I was expecting, taking me by surprise, my heart speeding up at the sight of Max.
‘Ellie, come in.’
I followed him through to the kitchen, thankful that Digby was with me, providing some much-needed moral support.
Max turned to look at me, his early morning stubble lending him a gorgeously sexy air, that was entirely unnecessary today. ‘Is that a peace offering?’
‘What?’ He was staring at my rhubarb in a covetous manner. ‘Oh, no, no it’s not,’ I said, clutching it tighter to my chest. ‘Arthur’s just given me this.’
‘Shame. I love rhubarb, especially a crumble. Haven’t had one of those in years.’
It was funny the things you learnt about people, at the most unlikely times too. If I’d been feeling more well-disposed towards Max, I would have offered to make him one as well. But I didn’t.
‘Anyway, why would I be bringing you a peace offering?’
‘Well, in fairness, you did call me an idiot the other night.’ The faintest of smiles appeared at the corner of his lips, sending the sensuality factor soaring, but I was determined not to be distracted by his physical presence – his very distracting physical presence.
‘In fairness, you were acting like one!’
He shrugged, as though it was, indeed, a fair point.
‘Coffee?’ he asked, gesturing for me to sit down.
I nodded, the aroma of roasted beans wafting over from the gurgling machine in the corner of the room enticing me with its promise. I pulled out a chair at the table, taking a measured breath, conscious of not wanting to bombard him with a barrage of questions.
‘Look, I’m sorry,’ he said, when he placed two full mugs on the table and came and sat down beside me. Max leant down to stroke Digby behind the ear, who immediately rolled over onto his back, asking for his tummy to be tickled. My trusty four-legged friend. The traitor.
‘I know it’s no excuse, but that day was a shocker. It was one thing after another, constant interruptions, demands from different quarters, and then finding out about Katy, what she’d been up to and you covering up for her, well it just kind of pressed all the wrong buttons. I overreacted, I admit it, but it upset me that you would keep something like that from me.’
‘I did it for Katy. She asked me not to tell you and I wanted to keep her confidence. If I thought she’d been in any serious danger, then of course I would have told you.’
‘I don’t like the fact that you kept it a secret from me, Ellie. What else don’t I know?’
‘Huh? You really want to talk about secrets?’
Max lifted his brow, narrowing his eyes. ‘How do you mean, Ellie?’
‘Oh come on, Max. I’m talking about Sasha, your ex. The one who’s pregnant. You’ve not been very forthcoming on that subject.’
‘Ah right. This is all making sense now. That’s what this is all about, the fact that I didn’t tell you Sasha was pregnant?’
‘Well how did you expect me to react?’ I said, frustration tempering my words.
‘Honestly, Ellie, I wouldn’t have expected this from you?’ He looked at me accusingly. ‘Why didn’t you just pick up the phone or come to the house and speak to me?’
‘Well, I reckoned if you wanted to tell me about Sasha then you would have done. But you didn’t. Admittedly it would have been nice to have been told your ex was pregnant, rather than coming face to face with that very obvious fact myself, but then I expect you have your reasons for not telling me. As you have for moving Sasha into a house just down the road from you.’
Hearing my words aloud made me realise how needy and possessive I sounded, but didn’t Max owe me some kind of explanation?
‘Look there was no big conspiracy not to tell you, and I tried to on a couple of occasions, but there was always some kind of interruption. I decided it would be better if we sat down when we had some time together, and discuss it then. Not that we can seem to manage much of that these days.’
He looked at me with reproach in his eyes, as a heavy, tension-filled silence fell over us.
‘It’s not my baby, if that’s what you’re worried about.’
I swear my heart stopped beating in that moment.
‘Isn’t it?’
‘No!’ he countered, incredulous.
‘Are you sure?’
‘Yes!’
‘Right, I see,’ I said, turning my face away, feeling a whole lot of pent-up emotion and relief seep from my body. But even then I couldn’t leave it. There were so many more questions I needed answers to. ‘How do you know?’
‘What?’
‘Well how do you know it’s not your baby?’
‘I asked her.’
‘Oh! Right. So you thought it could be your baby then?’
I was trying to keep my emotions under control, but I could feel my face flaring a bright red and my heart pitter-pattering ever faster in my chest.
‘I was as surprised as you were. I had no idea she was pregnant until she turned up to view the cottage. And then, well, it seemed only polite to ask.’ He gave a tentative smile, our eyes locking, and I couldn’t help smiling too, probably from the relief washing over me. ‘Sasha assured me it wasn’t my baby and later when I thought about it I realised it couldn’t have been. The dates didn’t work out.’
‘Okay.’ And breathe. ‘So what’s she doing back in the village then, living in one of your houses?’ It still didn’t make any sense.
‘I’m sorry about that. I should have run it past you first, but I didn’t really think. She came to me and said she needed somewhere to live and could I help her out. I could hardly say no. She told me she wanted to make a new start for her and the baby,’ he went on. ‘And she thought Little Leyton was a good place to do that. Yes, it’s one of my houses, but it’s purely a business arrangement. She’s paying the going rate for the rent. Honestly, Ellie, what do you think’s going on here?’
I felt a prickle of shame tingle in my cheeks. ‘Nothing.’ Max really didn’t want to know what had been going on inside my head. ‘I just wondered that was all.’
‘To be honest, I feel a kind of responsibility towards Sasha.’ He raked a hand through his brown hair, sweeping it away from his face. ‘She’s on her own expecting a baby. Some might say that’s down to me.’
‘What?’
‘Well…’ He shook his head, resigned. ‘In the final months of our relationship I pretty much neglected her. I’d moved on emotionally although we hadn’t actually split up. She was spending a lot of time at the house while I was working away. She found solace in a colleague of mine, Peter And
erson. You know, the surveyor?’
‘Really?’
‘Yeah. They had a bit of a fling, but trouble was Peter was still very much involved with his estranged wife so he was doing a bit of toing and froing. He and his wife are back together again now trying to make a go of their marriage which has left Sasha high and dry.’
‘Oh goodness.’ A mix of emotions flooded my body. Relief that it wasn’t Max’s baby after all, but a twist of concern too for Sasha, wondering how I would feel in the same situation. ‘Where are Sasha’s family then?’
‘That’s the thing, she doesn’t really have close family around her. She has a sister who lives in Australia, and she’s kind of estranged from her parents. Her dad was in the military, so they moved around a lot when she was growing up, and then her parents split up when she went away to university. I think relations have been a bit strained since then.’
‘Oh dear.’ Now I was feeling desperately sorry for Sasha.
‘Yeah, I think that’s why she decided on Little Leyton. She mentioned how much she’d enjoyed living here and how she appreciated the sense of community. Not something she’d really experienced before.’
I stood up and wandered across to the window, admiring the stunning view that was Max’s garden. If I was in Sasha’s shoes I’d probably want to do the same. Find a small and friendly village where I could settle down and make a new start for me and my baby. The sun bearing down on the lawns only caused to remind me that my problems were insignificant compared to Sasha’s. I had no reason to feel threatened by her coming back into the village.
‘Look I’m sorry if I didn’t think to talk to you first about offering Sasha the house. I didn’t stop to consider that it might be a problem. It’s not a problem, is it?’ Max asked me now.
‘No!’ I said, desperately backtracking. ‘It was just seeing Sasha so… so pregnant, it was a bit of a shock.’
‘Yeah, well you can imagine how I felt.’
‘Ha, must have given you a heart-stopping moment?’
‘It did. I mean I’ve never been one to walk away from my responsibilities, but I must admit to feeling relieved when I found out the baby wasn't mine.’
Summer at the Dog & Duck Page 16