by Anna Jacobs
In desperation, he said, ‘Let’s go for a walk round the lake.’
She shook her head.
He yanked her to her feet and she burst into tears.
‘You’re a bad man. I don’t want to be with you.’
She was out of the door before he could stop her, running with that ungainly gait he hated to see. He hesitated for a minute, wondering whether to give chase. Then she fell and didn’t get up. Without thinking, he ran along the path after her.
‘Are you all right?’
She was sobbing in a despairing, heartbroken way, and he gathered her in his arms instinctively, annoyed with himself for managing her so badly and to his surprise, upset by her distress. ‘Oh, Amy, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Give me a chance. I’m trying to be a better father.’
She lay unresponsive in his arms and he became aware of how small she was, how vulnerable her slender arms and legs.
‘Shh now, shh.’
Gradually the crying stopped, but when he helped her to her feet, her voice caught on a sob. ‘I want my m–mummy.’
‘I’ll carry you back to the farm.’
She pulled away at once. ‘I don’t need carrying. I can walk. It doesn’t matter if I fall down. I can get up again.’
She had a bruise on her wrist, and her eyes were still brimming with tears. He didn’t want to admit defeat but didn’t know what to do except say, ‘I’ll walk back with you, then.’
‘I know the way.’
‘It’s only polite to walk a visitor home.’
‘You’re the visitor, not me. This is my home.’ She set off, ignoring him.
He went with her, feeling like a louse.
Ella saw them coming, realized that Amy had been crying and rushed out of the kitchen. ‘What’s the matter?’
Amy went to cling to her, something she didn’t normally do.
‘She ran away and fell. I didn’t mean to upset her. I’d bought her a present, only she didn’t want it.’
‘You can’t buy a child’s love.’ She gave Amy a hug.
Suddenly the child let out a wail. ‘I left my teddy behind!’
‘I’ll go and fetch it,’ he volunteered. ‘I can buy you a new teddy if you like. That one looked old and worn.’
Two pairs of eyes regarded him scornfully.
‘He’s my teddy,’ Amy said. ‘He’s very special and I love him. He was Mummy’s teddy when she was little, too.’
‘Oh. Sorry. I was only trying to help.’
‘Fetch the teddy,’ Ella said quietly. ‘I’ll calm her down then we’ll all have a drink of lemonade.’
He nodded, relieved to get away from the fraught atmosphere for a few moments. Who’d have thought a child could make you feel like that?
After morning surgery Oliver went to find Rose. She wasn’t at home and her door was locked.
As he was walking back down the outer stairs, his father came out to the car park and called, ‘She’ll probably be in the pub. She works there at lunchtime some weekends.’
‘Oh. Yes, of course.’
His father stopped to eye him. ‘You look tired. Something wrong?’
Oliver shrugged. ‘I didn’t sleep well last night.’
‘Worried about the work?’
‘Not exactly. I just – don’t like being shut in.’
‘Oh. I didn’t realize you still—’
‘It’s all right. I coped. Things are – getting better.’
‘Tell me if I’ve pushed you too hard. I can get another locum.’
‘I had to start work again sometime.’
‘You did a good job with that cut this morning.’
‘That sort of thing’s easy, compared to what you can see after a road accident or a shooting.’
‘It must be hard working in such a – front-line position.’
‘Great experience.’
‘For what?’ He held up his hand. ‘Don’t answer that. I’m being pushy again. You coming home for lunch?’
‘No. I think I’ll go for a walk.’
Of course his walk took him past the Green Man and then he couldn’t help going inside the pub. After all, he had to thank Rose for the picture!
She was behind the bar, leaning on the counter, laughing with a very old man. Oliver stopped in the doorway and as easily as that, fell in love again with her wonderful smile and vivid personality. Too plump for modern standards, his Rose, but undernourished women never had turned him on.
Oh, hell! He still fancied her like crazy. As if he needed a further complication in his life.
She turned to wipe the bar surface, saw him and stilled, studying him gravely as if waiting for him to make the running.
He couldn’t talk to her in front of all these people, so raised one hand in greeting and walked out again.
Rose watched him leave. Had he been coming to see her? Or just popping in to see if the place where he used to drink had changed?
He looked tense and drawn, much thinner than he had been. She’d never seen him like that. He’d always been brimming with confidence and energy.
But he was still the most attractive man she’d ever met, damn him!
She wondered if he’d seen the painting she’d put in his office early that morning and realized why she’d done it. Would he send it back with a no, thank you? Would it do what she hoped and help him not to feel so shut in?
He wasn’t a liar, so he must have sent her a letter before he left. She could weep for the years of needless pain she’d experienced at the thought of him abandoning her without a word.
Had he been upset about their break-up, too?
She’d not rest till she knew what had happened to the letter and what it had said. Tomorrow morning she was going out to Willowbrook to speak to Ella. Surely her cousin hadn’t kept it back on purpose? No, not Ella.
So what could have happened to it? And why had Ella not mentioned it?
Ten
Ella calmed Amy down, but refused to let her go up to her bedroom. ‘Darling, we’ve talked about this before. You have to spend time with your daddy.’
‘But I don’t like him.’ She began to sob again. ‘And he doesn’t like me.’
Ella was horrified. ‘Of course he likes you. He’s your father.’ She pulled the child on to her lap, even though Amy, who was tall for her age, had for a while been declaring herself too old to be treated in such a babyish way. The fact that Amy didn’t protest only emphasized how upset she was. ‘Shh, now. Shh.’
There was a knock on the door and they turned to see Miles standing there holding the teddy by one foot.
With a squeak of anger, Amy slid off Ella’s lap and snatched her toy from him. ‘Teddy doesn’t like being held upside down.’
‘Er – sorry.’
With awful scorn, Amy added, ‘You don’t know anything about teddies!’
‘Er – no.’ When he looked at Ella for help, she gestured to a chair, though only for Amy’s sake. If it were up to her, she’d simply tell him to leave. But Amy was now even more upset about her father and that wasn’t a good thing. ‘I’ll get you that coffee I promised, Miles. You must be thirsty.’
He looked at her in puzzlement.
Sit down, she mouthed, then turned to her daughter. ‘Amy, you can get your weekend bar of chocolate now and your daddy is going to buy you a can of fizzy drink to go with it as a special treat.’
He had always been quick on the uptake. ‘Choose whichever sort you want.’
For a moment Amy hesitated, then said a stiff thank you and took out a can of ginger beer. She hesitated again, but her mother beckoned so she brought it across to the table. Was she exaggerating her limp? It certainly seemed like it. And Miles was definitely looking away.
‘We always have our drinks sitting down, because I don’t like wiping up spills,’ Ella said brightly. As if he cared! She took out some of her home-made biscuits and brought them across on a pretty plate. ‘The coffee will only be a few minutes.’
‘It smells h
eavenly. You always did have a weakness for good coffee.’
‘It’s more than a weakness here. I have some very discerning customers and the hotel inspectors approve of such touches. I’m aiming to get a four-star rating next time. Try one of my home-made biscuits.’
He took one, bit it without even looking at it, then chewed slowly, staring down before he took another bite. ‘This is brilliant,’ he said through a mouthful of crumbs. ‘I’ve never tasted anything quite like it.’
‘I pride myself on my biscuits. That’s my own recipe.’
‘Have you ever thought of selling the recipe?’
‘Could I really do that?’
‘Yes. And I probably know someone who’d be interested. I’d only charge you twenty per cent for brokering the deal.’
She looked at him in exasperation. He could never give you anything, could he, always had to profit from you. The meanness of this offer made up her mind: she was definitely going to claim maintenance from him.
Amy started eating her chocolate slowly, piece by piece, with the single-minded attention she always gave to her favourite treat. When she’d eaten half, she wrapped the rest up carefully.
‘I’ll save that for tomorrow, to share with Nessa. We’ll have lots of chocolates this time, won’t we?’
Miles looked questioningly at Ella.
‘Nessa’s her best friend. She’s coming over to play tomorrow.’
‘Oh. I see. Is she in your class at school?’
Amy nodded.
‘What do you play at?’
She looked at him, shut her mouth firmly, then her mother nudged her and nodded towards the can of ginger beer her father had bought her. ‘We play hidey in the barn.’
He frowned at Ella. ‘Is that old place safe?’
‘Safer than most modern houses. They knew how to build houses in those days.’
‘It wasn’t good enough to be listed.’
Trust him to point that out yet again. ‘It’ll outlast you,’ she said, annoyed that her voice came out thin with annoyance.
After a moment’s bristling silence, the conversation limped along. Give him his due, he was trying to talk to the child, using all the normal conversational tricks. But Amy answered mostly in monosyllables, sometimes not at all.
Ella decided she’d done enough to help him. ‘I want to speak to your daddy. Why don’t you go and play outside for a few minutes, darling? Don’t go away from the yard, though.’
When the child had gone without even a glance in her father’s direction, Ella said bluntly, ‘It takes time to win over a child. She doesn’t know you. If you come back next time, you can buy her another can of drink and maybe bring a bar of chocolate – a small bar, and she likes milk chocolate best. As she gets to know you, she’ll soften up a little.’
‘I brought her an expensive fairy outfit,’ he said in an aggrieved tone. ‘The best in the shop. I can’t believe how much they charge for a bit of net and sparkle! They assured me that little girls of that age love them but she wouldn’t even touch it.’
‘She’s no fool, knows you’re just trying to buy her affections. I have to wonder why you’re even bothering. You never did like children.’
‘Amy is my daughter, that’s why I’m bothering. And if you must know, my mother’s been nagging me too. She wants to see her only grandchild.’
‘How is Stephanie? I was always sorry when she cut Amy and me off after you left us.’
‘She was busy then. She’s retired now, got out early with a fat redundancy payment, so she’s got more time.’
‘Why don’t you bring her down with you next weekend?’
He stared at the ceiling for a minute, eyes narrowed, then shrugged. ‘Good idea. I’ll see if she’s free.’
‘Tell her no expensive presents. I’ve not brought Amy up to expect such things. Now, I think that’s enough father and daughter togetherness for one weekend – or do you really want more punishment?’
He shook his head, not even needing a minute to think about it.
‘Right then. I don’t have any more time to chat. I’ve guests arriving shortly and eight dinners to prepare for tonight. There’s really no point in your staying the night.’
‘I’ll vacate the cabin then.’
‘Good idea.’
She watched him go and as she’d expected, he did no more than wave goodbye to his daughter.
When he’d gone, Amy trailed back inside. ‘I still don’t like him.’
It was out before Ella could stop it. ‘Neither do I.’
‘Is he coming again next week?’
‘He says so. And he may bring your grandmother. Do you remember her?’
Amy shook her head.
‘Well, I remember her well and I liked her very much, so don’t decide in advance how you feel about her.’
‘Nessa has a grandma. She takes them out for burgers.’
Ella stifled a sigh. It was a long-running battle between them. She refused to spend her hard-earned money on commercial burgers and fries. She made better burgers herself and chips were a rare treat at Willowbrook, because she was a firm believer in a healthy diet.
‘If my grandma wants to take me out for burgers, will you let her?’
‘Maybe. But not more than once a month.’
Amy’s face lit up at this concession. ‘I don’t mind seeing her, then.’
Cameron met Julian Walkley, the real estate agent, and was shown round a huge and expensive modern ‘executive residence’. It would give him something to report back on to Ella later, but he didn’t like the feel of it at all. Soulless was the word that came into his mind.
He frowned round. ‘I’m coming to the conclusion that I like older places.’
‘How much older?’
An image of Willowbrook came into his mind. ‘Really old.’
‘Even if they’re listed properties?’
‘I know that term, but what exactly does it mean?’
‘Buildings of special interest, with special architectural or historic features. Once they’re listed, you can’t do anything to alter them without permission – though the authorities aren’t usually unreasonable as long as you stay in period.’
Cameron listened carefully and heard the enthusiasm in the other man’s voice. Maybe this afternoon’s meeting could be helpful, instead of merely filling in time. ‘I have a friend with an old farm which has several period outbuildings. If I’m not mistaken, part of the barn is a medieval cruck construction, and the house itself is mainly eighteenth century.’
Julian’s face lit up. ‘Cruck? You’re sure of that?’
‘I do know what cruck means: trees sawn up with strategic branches left on them for supporting cross beams.’
The other nodded eagerly. ‘Is the farm near here?’
‘Just outside Chawton Bassett. But I was told the owner’s ex had made enquiries a few years ago and found the farm wasn’t special enough to be listed.’
‘I’ve not heard of anyone trying to list a property like that, and I would have done. Are you sure he made an official application?’
‘No, I’m not sure. But he stated categorically that he’d been told the place wasn’t worth listing.’
‘When was this, do you know?’
‘Three or four years ago.’
‘I think you must be mistaken. I’d have been called in for a preliminary visit if someone had tried to list a place on my patch, especially with a cruck barn. Bit of a passion of mine, actually, old houses.’
Cameron looked at him thoughtfully. ‘You wouldn’t consider coming to look at this one unofficially and giving me your opinion as to whether we should try to list it? I don’t want to raise any false hopes.’
‘Be glad to. If it really has medieval parts remaining, I’d be particularly interested. Buildings erected before 1700 are more likely to be worth listing and preserving.’
‘Who does this listing?’
‘The conservation officer at the local council in the f
irst place. He’d have a fair idea whether it’d be worth making an application. But I’m pretty good at spotting national treasures. I’ve brought a few to the attention of my local authority already.’ He grinned. ‘I see a lot of buildings in my job and they’re not all like this one.’ He made a scornful gesture at their surroundings.
‘How about coming over tomorrow?’
‘I’m afraid Sunday’s my busy day. And I have meetings in Swindon all day Monday. How about Tuesday?’
Rashly, Cameron committed Ella to showing Julian round on Tuesday morning, then took his leave and drove back.
To his relief the car had gone from the chalet Parnell had been occupying but he was conscious the man might return at any minute, so kept his eyes and ears open for approaching cars as he hurried across to the house.
Through the window he could see Ella working in the kitchen – when was she not working? He’d not met anyone quite like her, never still for a moment, always preparing food, doing the laundry, tidying up or caring for her daughter.
But did she always look so tired? Even as he looked, she rubbed her forehead as if it was aching. He turned to go in, but Amy was sitting outside, looking so unhappy he slowed down again.
‘Hi there.’
She stared up at him bleakly.
‘Is something wrong?’ It obviously was. What had Parnell been doing to the child?
‘My daddy came to see me today and I don’t like him, whatever anyone says. I’m glad he’s gone back to London early.’
Cameron blinked at the vehemence in her voice. ‘Maybe when you get to know him better—’
‘I don’t want to know him better!’ Amy clutched the teddy more closely. ‘He’s not nice. He brought me a fairy dress, but I’m not going to wear it. I wish I hadn’t drunk the ginger beer he gave me. He didn’t even say goodbye to me.’
‘What does your mummy say?’
‘She says I have to see him if he comes again. If I had a real fairy wand, I’d make a spell so he’d never come back.’
A voice interrupted them.
‘Amy! Time for you to get your shower.’
With a long-suffering sigh the child stood up, gathered together her drawing things and walked back to the house with dragging feet.