by Tania Crosse
‘Jack! I thought you couldn’t get away for another few weeks?’ She hugged him tightly and then frowned since, as they drew apart, she noticed him stifle a wince. ‘What’s the matter, Jack?’
‘Oh, your friend and I had a minor contretemps when I arrived. She thought I was a burglar and hit me with a frying pan.’
‘What!’
‘I can’t tell you how dreadful I feel about it,’ Anna said as she poked her head around the kitchen door. ‘I had to send him down to William to have a couple of stitches put in.’
‘Oh, dear.’ But when Carrie glanced back at Jack, he was smiling.
‘I’m sure I’ll live. More importantly, how’s Jeffery?’
Carrie tipped her head optimistically. ‘Well, he’s already improving. But it’s going to be a long job.’
‘Well, I’m here to help. And I’ll come with you to the sanatorium next time you go, if that’s OK.’
‘Oh, yes! It’s such a tedious journey, I’d be really glad of the company. And I know Jeffery would love to see you.’
‘Sorry to butt in,’ Anna interrupted them, ‘but I think we should get the children off to bed. I took them to the park this afternoon so they didn’t get their nap and they’re both exhausted. Then we can have our meal in peace.’
‘Good idea. Oh, hello, Polly, love!’ Carrie smiled as her little daughter came out into the hall and clamped herself around her mother’s legs. ‘Say night-night to everyone.’
‘Come on, Charlie, bedtime for you, too, my lad.’
‘Jack,’ Charlie declared decisively, and grabbed hold of Jack’s hand.
Anna felt her face redden. ‘Oh, dear. Would you mind? Would you read him a story, otherwise he’ll never settle down.’
Oddly, she saw Jack and Carrie exchange wary glances, but then Jack answered evasively, ‘I’m not much good at reading stories, but I can make one up for him.’
‘Even better!’ Anna laughed as Charlie pulled Jack towards the stairs. ‘But doesn’t Mummy get a kiss, too?’
Twenty minutes later, the three adults were sitting outside as it seemed a pity to waste such a pleasant evening indoors. Despite the occasional train that rumbled past on the embankment at the bottom of the garden, it was like relaxing in a tranquil oasis, since all three had had a long, tiring day in one way or another. But the garden was showing signs of neglect. The warm weather combined with the recent rain had encouraged everything to grow – including the weeds!
Jack had obviously been thinking the same thing. ‘I’ll mow the lawn in the morning,’ he offered. ‘And the beds need some attention. And those roses need deadheading. Belles de Crécy, aren’t they? Very fragrant. I love purple roses. Such a subtle colour, don’t you think?’
A flutter of breath caught at the back of Anna’s throat. She had always thought of the bruises her father had inflicted on her mum as purple roses. But Jack was right. The blooms on the two rose bushes in Carrie’s garden were very beautiful.
‘Always the gardener!’ Carrie chuckled. ‘I remember when we were little, you used to take me round the garden, and you’d get quite cross when I couldn’t remember all the names of the plants you kept telling me.’
‘You should’ve written them down for her,’ Anna suggested. ‘I always find things like that easier to remember when I see them written down.’
‘Ah.’ Carrie’s eyes darted across at Jack for a second, and then she dug her fork into her shepherd’s pie again. ‘So, what are you going to do now you’re here, Jack? You’ll need a job, won’t you?’
‘I’ve got one.’ Jack surprised them both with his announcement. ‘At least for one morning a week, so it’s a start. But I’ve got quite a lot of savings to tide me over.’
‘So … what’s this job, then?’ Carrie asked, nonplussed. ‘You’ve only been here for a few hours and you’ve got one already.’
‘Ah, well, I have Anna to thank for that. When I went down to the doctor, I explained who I was. First thing he did was give me some sort of TB test if I’m going to be visiting the sanatorium. Then we got chatting as he saw to my shoulder. When he learnt I’m a gardener, he said he could do with somebody one morning a week. And he’s going to ask around and see if he can find other customers for me as well.’
‘Oh, that’s super. Well done!’
‘Well, if I can build up a reasonable clientele, it’ll keep me going. I’ll need to earn a bit of cash if I’ve got to find somewhere to live.’
‘Somewhere to live?’ Carrie echoed. ‘But you’re going to live here.’
‘And where am I going to sleep? The couch is fine for a night or two, but I don’t fancy it on a permanent basis.’
‘Oh, I won’t hear of that!’ Carrie protested. ‘No. I’ll move Polly in with me. That chair in her room opens into a bed, so you won’t have to sleep on the floor or anything. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting you for a few weeks yet. Anna was looking for somewhere to live, you see, and with Jeffery … But didn’t you get my letter explaining that Anna and Charlie were here?’
‘Well, yes, I did get a letter from you. But I didn’t … read it.’
‘I should be the one to move out,’ Anna broke in, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. ‘It isn’t fair on—’
‘No. I’m quite happy to have Polly in with me. I want you both here. But, Jack, you should have sent a telegram or something.’
‘I did think of it, but I thought it would be a nice surprise for you if I just turned up.’ And then, flashing his eyes across at Anna, he added wryly, ‘I didn’t realise I’d get such a hostile reception.’
Anna wanted to curl up and die. Did he have to rub it in? Surely she’d apologised enough!
‘Well, it was your own fault for not getting someone to read my letter for you. Really, Jack—’
Carrie stopped in mid sentence and gave a short gasp. Anna blinked in astonishment, wondering if she had heard right, and glanced up to see Jack turn his head away. Then she saw Carrie swallow.
‘I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to let it slip. But Anna will need to know. Jack can’t read or write, you see, Anna. He’s what they call word blind.’
Anna’s eyebrows arched. She was astounded and yet intrigued at the same time. And she must play this right. She didn’t want to give Jack any more reason to deride her if they were going to be living in the same house! ‘Good Lord,’ she said guardedly. ‘I’ve never heard of that.’
‘It’s not that he’s stupid or anything. Far from it. It’s a sort of medical condition. People are only just starting to recognise it.’
‘So how …?’ Anna questioned, becoming genuinely interested.
‘They thought at school I was just lazy,’ Jack explained, his eyes lowered towards his empty plate. ‘No one could understand it. I could do anything orally, but when it came to anything on paper, it was useless. Mum and Dad were so good about it. And Mum tried so hard to help me, but … When I look at a page, I just see a great jumble of shapes, and try as I may, I just can’t make any sense of it.’
‘Gosh, that must make life so hard for you.’
‘Unbelievably at times.’ But then he looked up, his eyes narrowed almost as if he was judging her reaction. ‘It wasn’t until my National Service medical that it was diagnosed. It was a relief at long last to be told it wasn’t my fault. But … it still makes me feel such a fool.’
‘Well, I have to say I’m amazed. But now that I know, well … And while we’re making confessions, you know I’m not really widowed? I was never married in the first place.’
Jack’s eyes didn’t leave her face. ‘Yes. Carrie told me when you were in the kitchen. Does that make us equal, then?’
‘Equal? No, not at all. You’ve done nothing to be ashamed of, but I really was a complete and utter fool. And a real hussy in some people’s view.’
‘You don’t strike me as anything of the sort.’ Jack held her gaze in the most unnerving way. ‘Vulnerable, maybe. Carrie said you were deceived by some upper-class rotter. But
… it’s nice to have someone be so understanding about my problem. Thank you.’
His deep-blue eyes, almost indigo in the twilight, continued to bore into hers and his mouth stretched into a tentative smile. Anna felt an unexpected warmth wrap itself around her. They had, most definitely, got off on the wrong foot but she couldn’t deny that she felt a confusing attraction towards Carrie’s handsome brother.
‘Better take these plates in and do the washing-up,’ Carrie announced, getting to her feet. And, despite her agonising worry over Jeffery, there was a secret smile on her lips as she went indoors.
‘How did you get on, then?’
Anna glanced up as Jack came out into the garden. ‘I was about to ask you that,’ she smiled back. ‘Here, have my chair. We had sandwiches for lunch. I’ll bring yours out. Cup of tea?’
‘Just some water would be fine, thanks.’
Anna went into Carrie’s modern kitchen. She was feeling more relaxed in Jack’s company, yet at the same time, her heart thrilled with excitement whenever he smiled at her. It was a quiet, self-effacing smile, a little wary, perhaps. Endearing. Anna had to pull herself back. She had felt somewhat like this once before, and though Jack appeared a totally different character from Gilbert, she wasn’t going to be fooled twice! Nevertheless, she stopped to put some ice in his glass before taking his lunch outside.
‘William has some sort of nephew out on the moor somewhere near Princetown,’ Jack was saying to Carrie as she handed him the tray. ‘Oh, lovely, thank you. I’m starving. And ice, too. You’re spoiling me. Anyway, as I was saying, this nephew – well, he’s a very distant nephew, I believe – has recently opened his house as a hotel. It’s quite a mansion, apparently. Deborah was explaining to me that it dates back to the time when some well-to-do chap, Sir Thomas something-or-other, founded Princetown back in the eighteenth century. He had some madcap scheme to cultivate the moor up there, but, of course, he failed. But not before he’d persuaded some friends to join him, and this house – Fencott Place it’s called – was one of the results. Been in William’s family – or rather this distant relative’s – since the 1870s.’
‘Well, that’s all very interesting,’ Carrie broke in, ‘but what’s that got to do with you?’
‘Mmm, I was coming to that,’ Jack mumbled as he chewed on a mouthful of sandwich. ‘William thinks they may well need a gardener.’
‘Really? Oh, that would be good.’
‘Well, hopefully. They only opened at Easter but they’re doing very well so far. The nephew and his wife run it between them, with just a friend of the wife’s from Princetown helping them. William and Deborah are going to see them on Sunday and they’ve asked me to go with them.’
‘Yes, they’re so kind, aren’t they, William and Deborah?’
‘Certainly are. They asked if you two would like to come, too, with the little ones, of course.’
‘Oh, that’ll be lovely,’ Carrie replied, her face brightening. ‘It’ll make a nice change.’
‘I can’t go, though. I’m working on Sunday until midday. What a pity. I’d have loved a trip out on the moor.’
Anna suppressed a rueful grimace. Her heart ached for the sense of peace the moor inspired in her, and she longed to feel part of its vast openness and dramatic landscape again. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to be cooped up in the back seat of William’s car with Jack, even if it wouldn’t be for very long. She felt bewildered and unnerved by Jack’s presence, and perhaps a little breathing space wouldn’t come amiss.
‘That’s all right,’ Jack seemed to delight in telling her. ‘William won’t be picking us up until one. So that’s settled, then.’
‘Oh. Right.’
Muddled emotions seemed to spin Anna round in circles. She had only known Jack a few days and already he had put her through a mangle. Her heart still strained with grief over Queenie, and now she was being dragged in different directions by Carrie’s brother, first the business over the frying pan, and now … He seemed a pleasant and amiable fellow, but hadn’t Gilbert? No! She wasn’t going to let herself be fooled again. She was here to support Carrie and make as good a life for her son as she could. And any male she met along the way would remain firmly on the sideline!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
‘I’d forgotten how stunning the moor is,’ Jack declared, dipping his head to look out of the window of William’s Rover. ‘I’ve only seen it a couple of times, mind.’
‘You had moors in Yorkshire, didn’t you?’ Anna replied a touch sharply. She had been caught up in a web of sorrow as the car had effortlessly taken the steep hill from Tavistock up onto the open moor, all the memories swamping her in a tidal wave. Queenie, and the contented years she had spent with her. And now she was gone.
Jack nodded vigorously. ‘Oh, yes. Hundreds of square miles of them. But they’re different in character. Just as beautiful but in a different way.’
Inwardly Anna gave a petulant sigh. She wanted him to say something she could disagree with but so far there was nothing she could pick him up on. Oh dear, what was the matter with her?
‘Keenie?’
Charlie suddenly bounced in her lap, pointing his chubby finger in exuberant expectation. He had evidently recognised where he was, and Anna’s heart lurched as they passed between the lodges on either side of the road. Set a little further back was Holly Cottage looking so empty and forlorn. So lost without the homely woman who had spent her entire life there. Already the little front garden was becoming overgrown and neglected.
Anna had to gulp down the lump in her throat. ‘Not today, Charlie,’ she muttered, and then, forcing brightness into her voice, she went on perkily, ‘We’re going to meet some new friends instead.’
Charlie seemed satisfied, beaming as he clambered across onto Jack’s lap. Anna caught the amused expression on Jack’s face and felt obliged to say something.
‘Do you mind?’ she murmured with embarrassment. ‘He seems to have taken a shine to you.’
‘Not at all. I’m flattered.’ And then Jack’s eyes took on a compassionate intensity. ‘Is that where you lived?’ he asked softly. ‘You looked so sad just now.’
The lump reappeared in Anna’s gullet and she had to nod in reply. On her other side, Carrie squeezed her hand. Anna sniffed and gave a watery smile.
‘Not long now,’ William announced from the driver’s seat and turned off towards Princetown. Anna was glad that they had left Holly Cottage behind, but she had brought some flowers to put on Queenie’s grave, and William stopped the car outside the church gates.
‘Would you like me to come with you?’ Carrie asked gently.
‘No, I’ll be all right, thank you. I’d like a few moments alone if you don’t mind.’
‘Well, don’t be too long, dear,’ Deborah said kindly from the front of the car.
She wasn’t. It was too unbearable to think that Queenie’s remains were lying, cold and decaying, just a few feet below the ground. But, just in case there was some way her dear friend could hear, she whispered to her how she was now living with Carrie and that she and Charlie were happy. She didn’t mention Jack.
The centre of Princetown was busy with parked cars and coaches. Ponies were following visitors in the hope of titbits, and people were taking snapshots of them.
‘No wonder Daniel’s hotel has taken off,’ William commented as he negotiated all the obstacles.
‘Dartmoor’s becoming a real tourist attraction,’ Deborah agreed. ‘And there aren’t many hotels slap in the middle of it. And I’m sure people will appreciate all the personal touches Daniel and Lily are giving their place. And of course, there are the guided walks Daniel’s giving across the moor. Not every hotel offers that.’
They turned the corner by Bolt’s. Anna glanced at it wistfully, remembering the day she had ordered maternity patterns there. It seemed a lifetime ago. Now Charlie held her world together, and she couldn’t imagine having ever even contemplated giving him up for adoption. Her attenti
on was distracted, though, by William driving the car up Tor Royal Lane. After they had passed the sharp bend by the entrance to Tor Royal itself, they continued out on one of the loneliest parts of the moor Anna had ever seen. She had never been out this way and was struck by the bleak, desolate beauty of it.
‘This is Hound of the Baskerville country,’ William informed them. ‘So look out for any strange beasts.’
‘Oh, you fool!’ Deborah laughed merrily.
‘Seriously, though, this road is a dead end. It stops at the old Whiteworks tin mine. And beyond that is Fox Tor Mire. It’s what Conan Doyle called Grimpen Mire in the book. You wouldn’t want to get stuck in one of the bogs, I can tell you.’
William gave a wry chuckle and then turned in at some large wrought iron gates. Anna suddenly felt the butterflies in her tummy. Although very different from Ashcroft Hall, the imposing building reminded her too much of the time she had spent working for Lady Prudence. But no sooner had William parked the car than a black-and-white collie bounded out of the front door to greet them, followed by a young couple who Anna guessed must be the Daniel and Lily she had heard so much about.
‘Deborah, William, how good to see you!’ Lily kissed them both on the cheek. ‘Pity Wendy and Ian are on holiday, and Celia’s on duty, didn’t you say?’
‘Who are they?’ Carrie whispered at Anna, but Deborah had evidently heard her.
‘Wendy and Celia? They’re our other daughters. You must meet them soon.’
‘And you must be Jack,’ Lily turned to them, ‘and you must be, let me see, you must be Carrie because you look like Jack, so you must be Anna! Am I right?’
Lily turned on them such a lovely, open smile that Anna at once felt more relaxed. Lily was about the same age as herself, and exuded warmth and confidence. Perhaps it came from having a loving husband at her side. Certainly Daniel was tall, dark and quite the most handsome man Anna had ever clapped eyes on, and as they all trooped inside, Anna notice him drop a natural, affectionate kiss on his wife’s red-gold hair. Envy pricked Anna’s heart. One day perhaps …