by Anna Jacobs
‘Where have you been, Toby? Your house supervisor will be looking for you.’
He immediately tried to push past them and Rachel grabbed his jacket.
‘Not going back. Not going back! Miss Penelope hide me.’
‘I think someone must have been ill-treating him,’ Rachel said. ‘He was very hungry and he’s got bruises on his lower arms.’ She turned back to Toby. ‘It’s all right, really it is. This is my friend Emily. It’s her house now.’
He calmed down a little, staring at Emily.
‘She’ll let you stay here.’
Oliver opened his mouth as if to protest, but shut it in response to a quick warning glance from Rachel.
Emily moved forward, smiling. ‘It’s nice to meet you, Toby. Shall we all sit down? I’m really thirsty. I’ve got some fizzy water in my shopping. Do you like fizzy water?’
He blinked and looked at her warily, then nodded.
‘Oh, good.’ She bent to fumble in the bag she’d put down and handed him a bottle. ‘Could you open this one for me, please? The tops are always very tight.’
For a moment all hung in the balance, then he reached out and took the bottle, opening it carefully, tongue poking out at the side of his mouth as he concentrated. The water fizzed up and a little spilled.
He cringed. ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry!’
Clearly he was expecting someone to hit him. Emily hated to see his fear. ‘That’s all right, Toby. I spill too sometimes. If you get a cloth, you can wipe it up. It’s only water.’
‘Miss Penelope not get mad, not shout at me, not hit me.’ Tears began rolling down his cheeks. ‘I want her back.’
‘She can’t come back, but I’m here. I can help you.’ Something made her add, ‘Just like she did.’
He looked at her, neither trusting nor mistrusting, evaluating . . . waiting.
Beside her Oliver muttered, ‘It’s not as easy as that.’
Emily gave him a very determined look. ‘Chad and I know what it’s like to be helpless and afraid, Oliver. I’m not letting a friend of my cousin be ill-treated by anyone. Whatever it takes.’
He let out his breath in a half-groan. ‘I can see you’re going to be as bad about it as Penelope was.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Collecting waifs and strays. Helping them.’
Emily opened her mouth to protest that she didn’t do that sort of thing, but the words died unspoken, because she knew she was definitely going to help Toby . . . and she was already helping Chad. How strange! Had the coma changed her?
There was a sudden feeling of warmth around her, as if someone was hugging her. The light in the kitchen seemed to grow brighter for a moment or two, then faded.
Her imagination working overtime again. It must be. Lights couldn’t grow brighter and dimmer on such a grey day.
Rachel intervened. ‘I’ll put some lunch together. Will you help me, Toby?’
He nodded vigorously. ‘Help you.’
‘Oliver, you can come and talk to us while we work, if you like. I think those two need a rest.’
The lawyer nodded, looking resigned now.
Emily and Chad both went into the living room.
‘Infuriating, isn’t it, to be so weak?’ he murmured.
‘Every day in every way . . .’ She smiled, cocked her head to one side and looked at him, waiting.
‘. . . I’m getting better and better,’ he finished. ‘And so we are. How many more people are you going to rescue, Emily Mattison?’
She smiled at him. ‘As many as I can. Will you help me?’
‘Of course I will.’ A shadow passed over his face. ‘If I can.’
‘I know.’
He gave her a sudden hug and she clung to him for a moment, then remembered he might still be married and stepped back.
‘I know what you’re thinking,’ he muttered. ‘But I don’t feel married. I just . . . don’t.’
After a wonderful meal of really fresh food, they decided to explore the house and its outbuildings properly.
Emily followed a hunch. ‘Toby, will you show us round?’
He looked at her, his face scrunched up in thought, then nodded and led the way out.
In the rear bar, he tugged at her sleeve. ‘You need keys.’
‘Where are they, Toby?’
‘Hidden. So no one can come in.’
‘It’s time to give them to Emily, don’t you think?’ Rachel said gently. ‘This is her house now, so they’re her keys.’
Emily watched him think that through slowly, then nod.
‘I show you keys, Emily . . . just you.’
‘Very well.’ She looked at Oliver, knowing he’d stop her if he thought she was at any risk from their young intruder.
He threw her a resigned look and shrugged.
Toby led her through the rear bar, past the entrance to the pub kitchens, then along the corridor. It was lined with several walk-in store cupboards whose shelves were bare. He ignored those and went into a small room near the end.
She followed and let him close the door behind them.
On the shelves that covered the left side of the storeroom were piles of plates and stacks of wire trays filled with glasses. All were thick with dust. The wall to the right was covered in wood panelling, which looked old and in need of a polish. There were two wrought iron candle holders on the wall – eighteenth century, she’d guess. How wonderful that they’d not been removed!
When Toby went across to one of them and twisted it so that it was slightly skewed, she reached out to stop him damaging it, but then realized that the candle holder had moved easily, so it must have been intended to move. He went to twist the other one, tugging it downwards, and a section of the panelling behind it opened with a small click, revealing a shallow cupboard about a metre square and thirty centimetres deep.
He put one finger to his lips. ‘Secret place. Miss Penelope said I tell next lady. You’re next lady.’
When she nodded, he looked at her very solemnly. ‘She left a message. She hid it. I know where.’
‘Can you show me?’
He nodded and felt inside the cupboard, pulling out a dusty envelope.
She opened it carefully and read the beautiful copperplate handwriting.
This house is yours now, Emily. Look after the old inn. It’s been in our family a long time.
It’s always been a place of hope. Look after the people who come here for help. Give them hope.
Be happy here, as I have been.
Toby looked at her anxiously. ‘I remembered. I did it.’
‘Well done.’
He nodded, beaming at her now, then turned back to the cavity, pulling out what looked like a ledger and a battered tin box which rattled. ‘Miss Penelope’s book. For you. And the keys. All in the box. Two keys for each door.’
He thrust both items into her hands, then pushed the secret door shut and twisted the second candlestick, which seemed to hold it in place.
Again that sense of warmth and approval surrounded her like an embrace and Emily stood for a moment, welcoming the feeling. Was The Drover’s Hope haunted? She had never believed in ghosts . . . until now. Perhaps it was Penelope’s spirit still lingering? Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t feel as if it meant her any harm.
She jumped in shock when someone called from the corridor, ‘Emily? Are you all right in there?’ The door rattled but seemed to be sticking, so she opened it.
‘I’m fine. Why are you worried? Toby and I have only been getting the keys to the back doors.’
‘We called out several times and you didn’t answer,’ Oliver said.
‘Oh. I didn’t hear you. How strange!’
‘And the door seemed to be stuck. Chad said we should wait a little longer, but I was starting to get worried.’
‘Toby and I were getting these out, the keys and Penelope’s diary. We need somewhere to tip the keys out. There are quite a few.’
‘How about we do that o
n the bar top?’ Chad suggested. ‘And I noticed a box of envelopes on one of the shelves in the flat. Shall I fetch them and something to write with so we don’t mix up the keys again?’
He took longer than they’d expected and Emily was just going to go and look for him when he came back, looking dazed.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes. Only . . . I’ve suddenly remembered my first name. It’s not Chad. That’s just a nickname. It’s Edward . . . Edward John . . .’ Another long pause, during which he rubbed his temple as if it ached, then shook his head. ‘That’s all I remembered, though.’
‘It’s another piece of the puzzle, an important one.’ Emily smiled reassuringly at him. ‘Though I prefer Chad to Edward.’
‘So do I. It’s what my friends call me. I wonder if it’s a shortening of my surname? Chadwick? Chadderton? They don’t sound right, though.’
‘Give it time.’
He looked down at the packet of envelopes in his hand. He’d been clutching them so tightly he’d crushed them. ‘Here we are. Envelopes and a pencil.’ He smoothed them out. ‘They’re not too bad. Let’s get started on the keys. Toby, will you tell us which keys are which? Then I’ll write it down on the envelopes. We can leave one copy of each key in the box and put the others on a key ring once we have some labels.’
The lad shuffled his feet and looked at Emily. When she nodded encouragingly, he sorted out two keys which were alike. ‘Big green door to back yard.’
Chad wrote on two envelopes and put the keys in them.
When all six pairs of keys had been identified and labelled, Toby started on the padlock keys. To Emily these looked very similar to one another, but he had no trouble telling them apart. This was his home, she realized, and he should stay here. It was what Penelope would have wanted. She was quite sure of that.
They returned a set of keys to the secret compartment and Emily asked the others to stay with her to explore her new domain.
It was giving her hope, too, being here.
Before they could make a start, however, there was a hammering on the front door.
She saw the panic on Toby’s face. No, not panic, utter terror! She went across to put her arms round him and give him a hug.
‘Not go back! Not go back!’
‘No, you can stay here.’
‘I’d better answer it,’ Oliver said.
Emily was about to let him do that, then decided it was cowardly and thrust the box and book at him instead. ‘No, I’ll do it. It’s my house and I don’t intend to hide behind others.’
She hurried through to the front door, hearing someone start hammering on it again. When she flung it open, she didn’t even have time to speak.
‘It took you long enough to answer the door.’
The woman who stood there was large and angry. Emily was so startled by this rudeness from a complete stranger she couldn’t speak for a moment.
‘Is he here?’
‘Who?’ But of course she guessed.
‘That idiot, of course. Toby Jones. I’m Mrs Corrish, his house supervisor. Don’t believe anything he’s told you. He’s more trouble than the other seven put together, that one is.’ She waited, arms folded. ‘Well, is he here?’
Emily didn’t oblige her with an immediate answer, because she wasn’t sure how to deal with this. She could see Oliver shaking his head at her.
The woman didn’t wait for an answer. ‘I knew the old lady had died, so when Toby ran away again, I waited for him to come back of his own accord, because this time there was no one here to feed him. He likes his food, that one does. Eats like a pig. Only he didn’t come home and when I drove here to find him a couple of days ago, the place was all locked up. Then a friend told me someone had moved in, so I came back.’
‘We’ve only just got here,’ Emily said.
‘I heard you got here yesterday.’ Mrs Corrish looked round scornfully. ‘Not much of an inheritance, a ruin like this. Still, the developers will knock the place down and the sooner the better.’
‘Developers?’
‘Don’t play daft. You must have heard from them.’
‘I’m surprised you know about it.’
‘Word gets around. Everyone round here knows. Barton and Halling have had their surveyors traipsing all over the property.’
Without my permission, Emily thought. How dare they?
Mrs Corrish was off again. ‘I came to put a stop to Toby sneaking off here, once and for all. I’m not having you or anyone else hiding him from me, listening to his lies, blackening my name. I treat him well. I look after them all properly. He’s just a troublemaker.’
On the other side of her, Chad stirred as if about to speak, his expression showing suppressed anger. Emily put one hand on his arm, shaking her head slightly. If Mrs Corrish was angry enough to pour out her feelings, let her. They might learn something. ‘I don’t know anything about that.’
‘I think you do. There’s nowhere else Toby could be. He used to visit the old lady whenever he could get away, and she filled him full of stupid ideas. He has to learn to behave himself, he does, to fit in as much as someone like him can. He’s lucky to have a place in a modern group home, you know. So I’ll ask you to fetch him out. And after this, please do not encourage him to come here.’ She stood there, arms folded, impatience in every twitch of her body.
‘Is this Toby a prisoner at the group home, then?’ Emily asked. ‘Isn’t he allowed out on his own?’
‘He’s in my charge, so it’s for me to say what he does and where he goes. Look, I’m a busy person, so stop pretending. I know you’ve got him hidden away. If you don’t fetch him now, I’ll report him and you to social services.’
Emily was furious at such rudeness and she could see why Toby was afraid of this bully. But she wasn’t afraid. ‘I only arrived here yesterday afternoon. I haven’t even managed to explore the whole house yet. I’m sorry, but I don’t know where your Toby is.’ Which was true. Sort of. She started to close the door.
Mrs Corrish’s hand shot out and she shoved the door open again with such force, Emily was jerked backwards. ‘I’ll come inside and check that for myself, thank you very much. Who knows what you may be doing with him?’
Chad moved forward, barring her way. ‘You’ll do no such thing.’
‘You either let me come in and look for him, or I’ll be back with the police and his social worker. Either way, I’m not leaving him here.’
Oliver moved forward to where she could see him. ‘Do you remember me, Mrs Corrish?’
She didn’t answer beyond glaring at him.
‘Yes, I see you do. I was Miss Penelope’s lawyer and now I’m acting in the same capacity for Ms Mattison. You shouldn’t try to push your way in or we might be the ones to call the police and report you for trespassing and causing a nuisance.’
She gave him a dirty look but took a step backwards. ‘I might have known you would be involved. You Taptons have certainly dipped your fingers into the Mattison pot.’ She shrugged and waved one hand in a dismissive gesture. ‘All right, then. Please yourselves. I will be back and I’ve got the law on my side.’
Emily waited in the doorway, watching the woman walk away.
Mrs Corrish opened the car door and took out some cigarettes, lighting one and tossing the match away. She took a deep drag and turned to get into her car. A gust of wind suddenly blew up from nowhere, whipping the cigarette out of her hand and sending it flying into the vehicle. With a shriek she dived into the car after it, cursing and yelling as she hunted for the lit cigarette. It took her a while to find it and pinch it out.
‘Serve her right,’ Emily muttered. Only after Mrs Corrish had driven off did she sag against the nearest support, which happened to be Chad. ‘Phew! What a harridan! Where’s Toby? Does anyone know?’
‘He ran off towards the back of the house the minute he heard that female,’ Rachel said. ‘I didn’t try to stop him.’
‘I don’t know where the hid
ing places are,’ Oliver said. ‘Penelope kept her secrets. I’ve had to deal with the Corrish woman before. She wasn’t making idle threats. She’ll be back with the police. She knows every trick in the rule book when she wants something.’
‘Why does she bother if she dislikes Toby so much?’
‘She’s paid to look after him. She gets all sorts of perks and extra payments because the members of the group are intellectually challenged. The trouble is, Toby’s operating at a higher level than the others and needs a more stimulating life. Penelope tried to have him assigned to her instead, but the authorities said she was too old to look after him, and I’m afraid they were right. But he used to look after her in some ways. They both acted as if she was his grandmother, and a beloved grandmother at that.’
‘Hmm.’ Then Emily remembered something. ‘What exactly do these developers want to do with my property?’
‘I don’t know. It was my son who was dealing with your inheritance, and Jeremy only brought me in when he needed someone to rescue you. I have the file at home, because I was going to look through it. Shall I go and fetch it? Barton and Halling are a national company, as you must know. If they’re interested in buying this land, they’ll be willing to pay an excellent price, I’m sure.’
‘If I want to sell.’
‘Yes. Your choice. I believe Miss Penelope refused to sell to them last year.’ He checked his watch. ‘Shall I fetch the file? I can bring some of my other things too and move in.’
Emily nodded. ‘Yes, please.’
He still lingered. ‘One or two people approached Penelope over the years about selling them parts of her land. But they weren’t developers, just individuals. I was acting for her then and the only place anyone could have got permission to build was where the outbuildings are, so that it wasn’t a new dwelling exactly, just a replacement. She didn’t want strangers living so close and always said no.’
‘The rules for building in green belt areas are a lot more flexible these days,’ Chad said. ‘Burton and Halling build good quality homes, at least, if you do want to sell part of your land and stay here.’
Emily glanced quickly his way. He’d sounded so sure of himself. But she didn’t comment on that. ‘It’s far too soon for me to know what I want to do. I haven’t even seen all the outbuildings yet. I’d love to see that file, Oliver.’