‘D’you want me to come back? I can be there in . . . ’
‘No, oh no. You can’t do anything here, Shona. No one can. I just thought you ought to know, that’s all. He’ll be out of action for weeks. I don’t know what we’re going to do.’
‘You’ll stay living exactly where you are, Jodie, until it suits you to move into a place of your own.’
‘But you’ll have to come back after your holiday and get another job and you’ll need us out of your apartment.’
‘Listen, Jodie.’ Speaking earnestly, Shona leaned forward as if Jodie was sitting across the table instead of Felix poised with his fork halfway to his mouth. ‘I’ve got myself a job here. It’s live-in, so your accommodation’s not an issue. I’ll fill you in on the details tomorrow. Promise.’
‘So we really don’t need to worry about the apartment?’ The surprise and relief in her cousin’s voice made Shona smile.
‘A crisis?’ said Felix as she clicked off her phone.
‘That was my cousin, Jodie,’ she said. ‘You probably remember her.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘Should I?’
Shona picked up her fork. ‘She was the little girl who liked to follow us about.’
‘Sorry, you’ve lost me.’
For a confused moment she wondered if he was the same Felix Langholme that she had known years before. Laying down her fork, she stared at him.
‘Would you like us to leave?’ he said. ‘You’re obviously in shock, Shona.’
‘No, it’s not that. You don’t remember me so of course nothing makes sense. Those holidays twenty years ago . . . I was the bigger girl, Shona Renison.’
‘Shona Renison by all that’s wonderful.’
She laughed shakily. ‘You remember now?’
‘I should think I do.’ He leaned forward eagerly. ‘I can hardly believe it. Dare I say you’ve grown into a beautiful woman? I never thought we’d meet again and now here you are. But something bad’s happened?’
‘Jodie’s husband’s broken his ankle,’ she said.
‘And they’re keeping him in hospital overnight? I heard that much, Shona. But that’s a good thing. Lets him rest where they can keep an eye on him.’
Felix’s voice was so sympathetic that Shona felt ashamed of her initial panic. She began to eat again, scooping up mouth-watering morsels of aubergine steeped in rich sauce. ‘This is one of the best biryanis I’ve ever eaten,’ she said.
Felix looked pleased. ‘That’s the spirit. So, tell me about this Jodie I’m supposed to remember.’
Shona smiled. ‘It feels like a fairy tale. I can see you’re the same Felix as you were then. D’you remember joining in our games over on the island? We had some fine times and you were part of them.’
‘Leckie Shore,’ he said, the light of memory shining in his eyes.
She smiled. ‘I’m glad to be back.’
‘So Jodie was that little girl and you were . . . Shona. Yes, yes, yes!’ He laughed with pleasure.
She felt her cheeks glow as they talked about those far-off days, finding so much to reminisce about that time stood still.
‘We’re practically related,’ he said when Liz had removed their empty plates and produced the dessert menu.
He looked pleased about that but she wasn’t so sure. He had been something more, something special. But that was then. She was here with him now enjoying this meal because he wished to show his gratitude to her for taking his daughter back to school. Nothing more.
As they ate their lemon cheesecake he filled her in with a few details of his own life, his studies at Falmouth Art College where he specialised in ceramics, the chance he had after he left to work with a firm in Cornwall where he met his future wife. And the agony of losing her in childbirth and his decision to move back north where he had family connections to help him bring up his young daughter until she was old enough to board at a suitable school.
Shona wanted to ask more about Tamsin, why she had run away and what the school was going to do about it, but felt it was too personal. He would tell her if he wanted her to know. ‘And the work you do now?’ she asked instead.
He smiled. ‘I must show you my workshop one day. I’m a one-man band working at my designs and ceramics all hours with clients abroad I need to see periodically. That’s why I have to be away from home so much. It’s a living. How about you? Have you always done similar work as you’re doing now?’
She told him of her work as a researcher and of how Jodie had been so supportive through the years of looking after her father.
‘That’s why I feel I must be there for her now,’ she said, suddenly downcast.
‘You’re a good and generous girl,’ said Felix warmly. Shona felt herself flush at his praise.
They ordered coffee and Liz came to join them bringing an extra cup with her. The other diners had gone now.
‘No rush,’ said Liz, pouring for them all. ‘It’s good to see you both.’
Shona leaned back in her chair. Jodie’s news didn’t seem quite so terrible now. She would phone tomorrow and find out all the details. And Jodie would want to hear about the new life she was forging for herself here and how the meeting with Felix had come about.
Shona smiled at him as he teased Liz about drinking away her profits, glad that she had found two such good friends. And she was thankful, too, that she had slotted into a job at Ferniehope Castle with accommodation provided so that Jodie and family had one less worry at this difficult time.
Dusk was beginning to fall by the time they left Bessie’s Kitchen and their cars were the only ones in the car park.
Felix took a deep breath. ‘I can smell salt and reeds and mud and all things wonderful,’ he said, his head thrown back.
Shona laughed at him. ‘What an imagination!’
‘Superb, don’t you think?’
‘If you say so.’
They reached her car.
‘I see you have company.’
Startled, she looked inside. ‘Oh, you mean Toby.’
‘He’s got a name?’
She clicked on her key tab and opened the passenger door. ‘He keeps me company.’
‘Mind if I have a look?’
‘Feel free’ She reached inside and handed Toby to him. He turned the jug over in his hand and was silent for so long she felt alarmed. ‘Is anything wrong?’
‘Where did you get this?’
‘Why do you ask?’
‘He’s the twin of one my aunt had.’
‘She had one just the same? I discovered this among my father’s possessions. I’m not sure I like thinking Toby’s got a brother. I thought he was all mine.’
Felix laughed suddenly. ‘He might be an only child now. My aunt’s collection was split up when she died and a lot sold. He could be anywhere . . . broken, dead and buried in the mud down there at Leckie Shore.’
She laughed too. ‘So you’re not going to kidnap my Toby?’
‘I wish I could.’ He sounded serious but his eyes were dancing as he handed him back to her.
* * *
Instead of leaving Toby in the car Shona carried him carefully into the house. Because of Felix’s interest he had taken on a value for her he hadn’t possessed before. He needed looking after even though the expression on his ugly face seemed smugger now than it had before.
‘You’d better watch it,’ she warned him. ‘One false move from you and you are out there in the glove compartment in solitary confinement.’
Smiling, she shut the front door behind her and then hesitated, surprised to see Ingrid hovering in the hall dressed in a long black skirt and skimpy top. Surely not waiting for her? She glanced up at the clock on the wall above the desk. Twenty minutes to midnight.
Shona felt a shimmer of alarm. ‘Something’s wrong?’
‘Why should there be?’
As Shona began to head towards the staircase Ingrid moved to block her way. ‘I thought I’d check you were back before I left,’ she said in
a voice that sounded more rasping than usual.
Shona stifled a yawn. Ingrid was playing games but she wasn’t going to join in. ‘It’s getting late,’ she said.
Ingrid made no move to let her pass. ‘Jack came back.’
‘And?’
‘You weren’t here.’
‘Did he want me then? You had my mobile number.’
Ingrid rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms as if she was suddenly cold. ‘I suppose.’
‘He can’t have expected to see me, Ingrid, can he?’
‘Maybe. Maybe not.’
Shona stared at her, suspicion stirring. ‘Are you telling me you made it up about Jack giving me his last-minute permission to leave the place for the evening?’
‘What if I did?’ A smile hovered on Ingrid’s lips and there was no doubting the pleasure she was taking in this exchange.
Shona took a painful breath. ‘Ingrid, tell me, did you tell Jack where I was?’
‘I don’t give my friends away.’
‘What sort of an answer’s that?’
‘Good enough for the time being.’
Shona clenched her hands until they hurt. Ingrid’s words sounded like a threat. ‘I can’t believe you did that,’ she said. ‘I’ve never done you any harm.’
‘No?’ For a moment Ingrid stood motionless staring bleakly at Shona. Then she turned and left, fading away like a bad spirit intent on harm.
Shona went up to her rooms, regretting her stupidity in taking Ingrid’s word for something she could have checked for herself. Jack wasn’t the kind of person to change his mind when he had decided on a course of action.
With a heavy heart she got ready for bed. When at last she was beneath the duvet she curled into a ball for comfort and tried not to dwell on what might be ahead of her in the morning.
‘DON’T GET INVOLVED, SHONA.’
Jack greeted Shona with a smile as she went into the office after breakfast. He looked so relaxed in his open-necked shirt, leaning back in his swivel chair, that it seemed that her fears were unfounded and Ingrid hadn’t yet told him that she was absent last evening. But she would, oh yes she would. The question was . . . when?
‘You’re bright and early this fine morning,’ he said indicating the nearest chair.
Shona sat down, smoothing the soft material of her skirt over her knees. ‘Eager to start work, you see,’ she said, smiling.
She saw that he had left off his gold watch today. The white skin on his wrist seemed to glimmer in the sunshine that filtered in through the broad open windows. A soft breeze stirred the curtains. She seemed to smell the sea on it, salt with a hint of mud. Ridiculous, of course, but there it was.
‘Ingrid’s been telling me . . .’
‘What?’ Her voice was sharper than she had intended and she swallowed hard in confusion.
He looked at her in concern. ‘Are you all right, Shona?’
She struggled to take a hold on herself. ‘Sorry,’ she said faintly. ‘I didn’t sleep too well, that’s all.’
‘Any particular reason?’
‘I’ll get an early night tonight.’
He seemed satisfied. ‘Taking on a new job can be tiring, I know.’
Shona smiled and agreed. What made it extra tiring, of course, was worrying that you might lose your job because someone else had set you up.
‘It seems that the Ruddon Ramblers need some input from us,’ Jack said. He picked up a pen, clicked it open and then put it down again. ‘As you know they booked in for accommodation and meals to include packed lunches. And for transport to and from locations each day in the minibus. I understood that they had planned their routes in advance. Maybe they want to change and need advice.’
‘You’d like me to deal with it?’
‘D’you know much about planning suitable walking routes?’
‘Well no,’ she admitted.
He laughed. ‘Nor me. A fine pair, aren’t we? The trick is to appear confident as if you have all the knowledge they require at your pretty fingertips. I know I can rely on you, Shona.’
If only, she thought.
‘Make sure you don’t send them down dangerous precipices or up impossible heights and you’ll be all right. How are your map reading skills?’
‘Adequate, I think,’ she said.
‘Good girl.’ He leaned forward and picked up a list. ‘I’d like you to look at this. I’ve jotted down some figures here about arrivals the week after next. See to the arrangements, will you, Shona?’
She took the list he handed to her.
‘Ingrid will have the list of food allergies and requirements,’ he added. ‘For a group of open air addicts they seem singularly unhealthy.’
Shona smiled. This morning Jack seemed a different person from the man who had greeted her on her arrival last Saturday. He had been friendly, but she had the feeling that she was being weighed in the balance. Hopefully his relaxed manner now meant he had accepted her. She determined to do all she could to make herself indispensable.
‘I’ll see you at lunchtime then, Shona.’
‘I’ll look forward to it,’ she said. After Ingrid’s fun and games she would be on tenterhooks not knowing when the blow would strike. She was well aware that when it did she would have to explain to Jack exactly what had occurred even though Ingrid would lie through her teeth. Her word against Ingrid’s. No prizes for guessing the outcome.
In the hall Shona paused for a moment to appreciate the delicate scent of invisible roses. Even after so short a time she felt completely at home here in Ferniehope Castle as if she had lived in a place like this all her life. Having to leave Jack’s employ now would be shattering not only because Jodie would no longer have peace of mind but also on her own account.
* * *
Rex, flushed with importance, knelt down and spread his Ordnance Survey map of the area out on the dining room floor.
‘I thought we’d explore the Galloway Forest Park today,’ he said.
Shona smiled. ‘Not all of it surely? D’you have a particular place in mind?’
‘I thought you would tell me that,’ he said simply. ‘Isn’t that what you’re here for?’
‘I’ll do my best,’ she said, squatting down close enough to examine the map. What luck that she had taken the trouble to read as much about the area as she could and knew a little about the various Visitor Centres and where they were situated in the area of nearly three hundred square miles of forest, mountain and loch.
‘I’ve put some leaflets on the table in the sitting room for you,’ she said. ‘How far do you want to walk today?’
Rex sat back on his heels and scratched his head. ‘I’m not too sure about that.’
She looked at him in exasperation. ‘I can get more information from the internet for you,’ she said. ‘But it’ll take time and Donald has been told to have the minibus ready for you at ten o’clock, I believe. He can’t be any later than that because he’s due in Newton Stewart this morning.’
Rex folded the map and struggled to his feet. ‘You’ll be coming with us of course?’
She hid her surprise. ‘Well no. I have work to do here today, Rex. I can’t leave it.’
‘Tomorrow then?’
‘I think Jack will have to decide that. It’s not down to me. Why don’t you take your group off to somewhere like Culzean Castle today and do some walking in the country park there?’
‘I suppose.’
She pointed to Glen Trool Visitor Centre on the map. ‘That would be a good place to head for tomorrow. Plenty of marked trails and lots of other things too. I’ll get all the information I can while you’re away and print it out for you. You’ll have time this evening to plan some good routes and discuss them with the others. It’s wonderful walking country.’
For a moment he looked undecided but then his face cleared. ‘That sounds good,’ he said. ‘Thank you, my dear. You’ve been most helpful.’
* * *
At lunchtime Shona exp
lained to Jack about Rex’s planning problems as they ate their quiche and salad at a table Mags had laid for them in the conservatory. At this time of day the sunshine slanted in through the beech trees at the side of the house and reflected on the copper pots on the shelves at one end.
‘You did well,’ Jack said. ‘He’s a bit of an awkward customer, is Rex.’
‘He expected me to go with them today.’
‘He did? Would you have liked that?’
She shook her head. ‘I got the feeling I’d be in charge and expected to lead.’
He laughed. ‘Outside the call of duty, I think.’
‘I’ll get more pleasure researching the Forest Park on the website for him and doing some print-outs so he can plan his own itinerary.’
‘Much the best way,’ Jack agreed, helping himself to more salad. ‘Better yet, how about doing it in person? I’d like a drive out to Glen Trool myself. Shall we do that this afternoon?’
He looked at her keenly, the salad servers poised over the bowl. ‘What do you say? What could be better on a glorious day like this?’
She smiled and agreed and for the rest of the meal they discussed the kind of information most useful to Rex. Shona leaned back in her chair, aware of the pleasantness of her surroundings among Jack’s lovely orchids. The scented one wasn’t so obvious today. In fact she couldn’t see it in its place on the shady windowsill. She looked up higher.
‘What’s wrong?’ said Jack, leaning back too so he could follow her gaze. ‘Oh, you’ve seen the toby jugs.’
Startled, she looked again and saw several small jugs the same size as Toby tucked well back on their high shelf as if hiding from public gaze.
‘I didn’t notice them the other day,’ she said. ‘So my Toby has some friends here.’
‘You like toby jugs?’
‘I didn’t know I did until I found him in my late father’s china cabinet. I brought him with me for company, as a sort of mascot. I’ve grown fond of him.’
He gave her a quizzical look. ‘We’ll have to introduce them one of these days.’
‘He’d like that,’ she said with equal seriousness.
‘These are just a small remnant of the collection that was here when I bought the place. I had some idea of having one in each bedroom, but it was pointed out to me that they might not be in residence for long.’
Where the Heart Belongs Page 5