Tagan's Child

by ammyford1

  The coffee shop was busy leading up to Christmas and I employed one of the school mums temporarily to cope whilst Audrey recuperated. She was making a good recovery. I took her out shopping and helped her as much as I could, trying to make up for not being there when she had needed me most. Marcus and I had formally split after a very awkward meeting at the local pub. He wanted to try for a reconciliation but as hard as it was to see him hurting there was no going back for me and I did my best to let him down gently. I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to enter into another relationship again.

  It was the Friday before Christmas and I closed up the shop looking forward to spending a week of annual holiday in Ramia. Even though Christmas wasn’t celebrated there, Leylana and I were excited about the festive celebrations we had planned for Toby’s sake.

  The phone was ringing when I got back home from my evening run.

  “Hi Sophe,” Bennie said when I picked up.

  “Hi Ben, you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. You okay? You sound out of breath.”

  “I’ve just come in from a run,” I said, picking up the free local newspaper lying on the mat and shutting the front door with my behind. I hadn’t seen Bennie for a few weeks but she had called me from Mexico. Not a work trip I had found out later, much to my dismay, but a dirty week away with her non-committal bed partner Matt, who also happened to be her boss and the love of her life. Although it was perfectly clear to me, that she was not his.

  “You haven’t forgotten my parent’s golden wedding anniversary lunch tomorrow have you?”

  I hadn’t forgotten. I’d told Toby I wouldn’t be arriving until Sunday. He didn’t seem to mind, it meant that he would be able to visit the royal race yard with the King in the morning.

  “No. What time does it start?”

  “Can you come about ten thirty? The guests aren’t arriving until midday but I think I’ll need some moral support before then.”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. Are your Aunt Flora and Uncle George coming?” Flora was Bennie’s mum’s younger sister and was a gentle, long suffering woman. Her husband reminded me of Prince Phillip. A man who always harked back to the past, which according to him, was when things were so much better than they are today. He also had a tendency to say the most outrageous things in company and often had me and Bennie in stitches.

  “Yes, they arrived this afternoon. You’ll be pleased to know Uncle George is on fine form,” Bennie said cheerfully.

  “Excellent! Looking forward to it. What are you wearing?” I mentally searched through my wardrobe for something suitable.

  “A pair of tailored black trousers and a grey cashmere sweater.” Bennie’s clothes were always beautiful and expensive.

  “Right,” I thought aloud. If I had thought about it I could have borrowed something from the palace.

  “What are you doing this evening?” I asked

  “We’re going to The Oak for dinner. Do you want to join us?”

  I contemplated spending the evening with Bennie and her family but I had some paperwork to do and I wasn’t sure I could stomach an evening and a day with her relatives.

  “Sorry Ben, I must get my VAT return done.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked doubtfully.

  “Yes but thanks for the invite. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Okay then lovey. Have fun.”

  “I doubt it.”

  I put the phone down and ran upstairs to have a shower. I always looked forward to the prospect of seeing my best friend and I hadn’t heard the low down from her trip away with Matt yet. Once I’d showered and had a bite to eat I sat at the bureau at the bottom end of the lounge and switched on my laptop. I logged on to the HMRC’s website and got on with the tedious task ahead of me.

  *****

  The next morning I got up and walked Mungo and then met a local producer at the shop who was delivering some cheeses for me to try. I dashed back home to get ready so that I could be at Bennie’s for ten thirty. I was cutting it fine and nearly didn’t answer the phone on my way out of the door.

  “Hello?”

  “Sophie it’s me,” Bennie said, sounding shaky.

  “Bennie, are you alright?”

  “It’s Dad. He had a heart attack in the night.”

  “Oh my God, Ben!” I sat on the bottom step of the stairs. “Is he going to be alright?” Bennie’s father was a tall striking man, but he wasn’t the fittest of 76 year olds and not helped by a penchant for cigars and brandy.

  “Mum and I are at the hospital. He is fairly bright and the doctors don’t think it was too serious but they are keeping him in for monitoring.”

  “Oh. Well, that’s a relief. Is there anything I can do? Do you want me to come to the hospital?”

  “No, its fine. Mum and I are staying here until they’ve found him a room. Would you mind going to the house? We are cancelling the lunch obviously, but I wondered whether you could help Aunt Flora phone round the guests and tell them what’s happened?”

  “Yeah sure, no problem. Send your mum and dad my love.”

  “Thanks Sophe. Sorry, I’ve got to go. I’ll phone you later.”

  “Okay, bye.” I put the phone down. Poor Ben’s parents. What a horrible thing to have happened on the eve of their golden wedding anniversary. I grabbed my bag, drove to the Old Vicarage and parked on the large gravel drive in front of the house, next to the catering company’s van. I didn’t recognise the girl who opened the front door. I went in and found Aunt Flora sat next to the phone in the drawing room with the guest list in her hand.

  She got up when she saw me. “Hello Sophie, it’s nice to see you again.”

  I gave her a peck on each cheek. “Hello, Mrs Highbridge. What a dreadful thing to have happened.”

  “Yes, not something we really planned for,” she replied.

  “It was the brandy in that place last night,” said a booming voice from the other side of the room.

  Bennie’s Uncle George was sat beside the fire reading the paper.

  “Oh hello Mr Highbridge. I didn’t see you sitting there.” I went over and formally shook his hand. I was never quite sure how to greet him, a kiss on the cheek seemed over familiar somehow.

  “I said to Flora it didn’t taste right and sure enough it gave the old bugger a heart attack,” he grumbled.

  “Oh George, it was nothing to do with the brandy,” Flora said, chastising her husband.

  He muttered something and rustled his paper in disagreement.

  “How are you my dear? Gwen told me the terrible news,” she said, turning her attention back to me.

  “It’s been difficult,” I answered noncommittally.

  “Are they still no closer to finding him?”

  I shook my head. “No, the police are doing everything they can.” I trotted out the well-rehearsed answer I used if anyone asked me how the search was going. In true British fashion, most people didn’t know what else to say once they had said, ‘It must be awful. I hope they find him soon’. Usually, I was then safe to change the subject.

  “It must be awful for you dear, I can’t imagine what you must be going through. I hope they find him soon,” she said.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  She smiled at me sympathetically.

  “How are you getting on there?” I asked and with the change of subject swiftly executed, I pointed to the list of names she had in her hand.

  “I’m making progress.”

  “Do you want me to call a few?”

  “Would you mind dear? That would be helpful.” She handed me the second sheet of paper she was holding.

  “You can use the phone upstairs in Gwen’s bedroom. It will be quieter than the one in the kitchen. The caterers are just clearing up.”

  I made my way upstairs passing a young girl carrying a box of glasses in the hallway. It was such a shame, the Blythe-Smiths must have spent a fortune on this lunch.

  I went into Bennie’s mother’s bedroom. I knew her mothe
r and father hadn’t shared a room for years. It was large with a floor to ceiling bay window making the most of the weak morning light, there was expensive floral wallpaper on the walls and it smelt of Chanel No 5., which I was fairly certain she showered in. I sat on the edge of her bed and picked up the handset. I dialled the first number and looked at the picture of Bennie on her mother’s bedside table. It must have been taken when Bennie was about seventeen. She had the same jet black hair but it was long and in a ponytail. It was some time before she’d had it cut into the blunt bob she now wore. Bennie sat there smiling at me whilst I waited for a ‘Mrs Boothroyd-Jones’ to answer.

  “Oh hello, is that Mrs Boothroyd-Jones?”

  “Yes,” the voice on the other end answered.

  “This is Sophie McAllister, I’m a family friend of the Blythe-Smiths. I’m sorry to have to report that Mr Blythe-Smith has been taken ill and their anniversary lunch has been cancelled.”

  After making the same call ten times and fielding the questions the guests asked about Bennie’s father’s condition I went back downstairs to find Aunt Flora to see if there was anything else I could do. She was sat opposite Mr Highbridge in the drawing room, sipping from a porcelain teacup and saucer.

  “Ah there you are dear, how did you get on?” she asked.

  “Fine. I managed to get hold of everyone except,” I referred back to my piece of paper checking the name of the person who hadn’t answered the phone. “A Colonel Havers.”

  “He’s as deaf as a post, he probably didn’t hear the phone,” Uncle George piped up.

  Flora gave her husband a withering look. “Never mind dear, we are staying here so if anyone turns up we can tell them what has happened.”

  “Do you want me to stay here with you?” I was hoping she would say no, I’d already thought I would visit Toby early and use the pool before they got back from the stables.

  “No it’s alright, you go on. Thank you for your help.”

  I gave Aunt Flora a peck on the cheek and gave Uncle George a little awkward wave as I said goodbye.

  When I got home, I tried Bennie’s mobile but it went straight to answer phone. She must have still been at the hospital. I swallowed a travel sickness pill and took Mungo round to Sandie’s for the week. Once I had changed and packed a bag, I slipped out the back and headed into the woods just as I’d done many times over the last few weeks. Thanks to the pills, I was able to travel through the portal now pretty much none the worse for wear.

  I stepped into the Ramian sunshine and welcomed the sun on my skin. I’d definitely turned a few shades darker since I’d been coming here. I told people back home it was tanning lotion if they asked. I followed the path down to the palace and the inner gates swung open after I had barely paused. I was a regular visitor these days and no longer needed to announce my arrival. I used one of the side entrances into the palace and said hello to one of the butlers, who always had a ready smile as we passed each other. There was no sign of Toby or his grandparents. I decided to go for a swim and changed into a bikini in my room. My body was now tanned and toned and I no longer felt self-conscious wearing one. I slipped a robe over the top.

  The palace was quiet as I made my way to the pool.

  “Graatcha Fala,” I said to a young maid carrying a tea tray.

  “Graatcha,” she replied. I was trying to learn some Ramian but it was a slow, painful process.

  I hung my robe on a hook and dived smoothly into the pool. As I swam I thought about Bennie and wondered whether she would ever be able to move on from Matt. He never showed any signs he wanted to settle down and it made me so angry the way he strung her along. If only she could meet someone who appreciated her for the amazing person she was. Maybe at some point I would feel ready to go out with her. We could go to some swanky restaurants or bars in London and have some fun, she might just meet someone decent. Who knows? Maybe I might even meet someone. An image of Ahran flashed through my mind and a surge of pain swept up from my stomach to my chest. Dammit, I had done pretty well over the last couple of weeks, I hadn’t allowed any thoughts of him to breach my defences.

  I put my head down and stabbed my right hand into the water whipping my left arm over as I upped the tempo of my front crawl. I lost count of the number of lengths I swam and eventually pulled myself up out of the water. I sat on the edge of the pool and my lungs burnt as I waited for my breathing to return to normal. That was the most strenuous swimming session I’d done for a while but it had worked, the barriers were firmly back in place and I had returned to my usual plane of non-feeling. I got up and pulled my robe on and left the pool rubbing my hair with a towel. I wasn’t sure what time it was. The King and Queen didn’t know I was coming today and could be out for the whole day. Oh well, I’d brought my Kindle it would give me a chance to catch up on some reading.

  I turned the corner and nearly bumped into him. He put his hand out to steady me. I looked up into his face and it felt like the whole world stopped when our eyes met.

  “Sophie?” he said, sounding just as shocked as I was.

  I took a step backwards and pulled the front of my robe together. It had come apart when we had nearly collided and I felt exposed.

  My eyes continued to disobey as they devoured his beautiful features. I’d not allowed myself to dwell on that face for any more than a split second over the preceding weeks, but now it was like the feast after the famine and I greedily reacquainted myself with every glorious inch of it.

  “Ahran,” I whispered.

  He looked completely shell-shocked. He also looked slightly thinner in the face but just as heart-stoppingly attractive as I remembered, no in fact more so, my memory had not done him justice.

  “I’m sorry. I came earlier than I had planned. Bennie’s dad fell ill and their anniversary lunch was cancelled,” I babbled. He looked confused. “I wasn’t supposed to come until tomorrow but seeing as Bennie didn’t need me I thought I’d come here…” my voice trailed off. His look of confusion was quickly replaced by something more deadpan. I should have been happy he wasn’t pleased to see me, it made it easier to accept the decision I had made.

  “Don’t mind me, once I’ve finished what I am doing I’ll be gone,” he said flatly.

  He looked as if he would rather be anywhere else but here.

  “Sophie you’re early.” Both our heads snapped round, neither of us had heard the King and Queen approaching, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the King shot Ahran an apologetic look.

  “What a nice surprise,” Leylana said, moving forward to give me a hug. I was pretty confident Ahran didn’t share her sentiment.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt your plans, the lunch I was going to was cancelled,” I explained.

  “Not at all, it’s lovely to see you.” Her eyes were bright with anticipation and she seemed more than happy to find me here at the same time as Ahran.

  “Auntie Sophie!” Toby came running in and skidded past his grandparents to give me a hug.

  “You didn’t say you were coming today.”

  “I know, I thought I’d surprise you,” I said, seriously beginning to regret my decision.

  “This is so cool,” he said, looking from me to Ahran and back to me.

  “Don’t get too excited Toby, I will be leaving shortly,” Ahran said, making it perfectly clear he had no intention of staying.

  “But you said you would be here all afternoon,” Toby responded in a whiny voice.

  “I know, but something has come up.”

  I had a strong suspicion that something was me.

  “No, don’t go Ahran. Stay. Grammour is looking forward to seeing you,” Leylana protested.

  “Grammour is Halsan’s mother,” she explained for my benefit. “She is arriving this afternoon. We hadn’t been expecting her until we received a call yesterday to say she was passing through on her way back from Ralsala. She does a lot of travelling and we very rarely get to see her.” Leylana looked satisfied she had such a good
reason to detain Ahran.

  Such was the strength of Ahran’s desire to leave, he looked as if he was about to argue with her. “Excellent,” she said, not giving him the chance to back out. “How lovely for us all to be together. She hasn’t met Toby yet,” she said cheerfully. Ahran’s face was like thunder. She seemed to ignore it, looking rather happy that her little scheme had worked.

  “I didn’t know Toby had a great-grandmother,” I confessed. At one stage he didn’t have any grandparents and now there seemed to be a plethora of them.

  “Oh yes, she is a keen Floreena,” she struggled for the word in English and looked to her husband for assistance. He looked at her blankly.

  “Botanist,” Ahran said.

  “Botanist,” Leylana repeated. “She travels everywhere on her expeditions and has some of the biggest private collections of plants in Ramia.”

  “She sounds a very interesting lady.” I sneaked another look at Ahran who stood rigidly next to me, not looking in the least bit happy he had been expertly railroaded into staying by Leylana.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I’m just going to get changed,” I said, looking down at my robe. I needed the excuse to get away from Ahran and prepare myself for an afternoon in his company.

  I gave the King and Queen a nod and left them all. I forced myself to walk to my room even though my instinct was to run like a bat out of hell. I closed the door behind me and leant against it, fighting the urge to hyperventilate. Oh my God. I had been totally unprepared for seeing him. It was inevitable I was going to run into him at some point, I couldn’t avoid him forever, but I hadn’t expected to see him so soon. My heart was beating so wildly I thought I was about to have a heart attack. The strength of my reaction to him surprised me. I thought that after my decision to move on I was beginning to do just that, but seeing him again had unlocked everything I had tried so hard to wall up and I stood there feeling utterly confused. I tried to dredge up all the reasons why Ahran and I could never work but the counterarguments popped into my head with such clarity it was as if Leylana was speaking them directly through an earpiece that had miraculously appeared in my ear.