The Hornbeam Tree

by Susan Lewis

  Katie and Michelle were both in the kitchen as Laurie came back down the stairs.

  ‘I don’t think she can hear me over the music,’ she said, ‘but I took your advice not to go in.’

  ‘She probably thought it was me,’ Katie responded.

  ‘Or me,’ Michelle added.

  ‘Well I’ve got a Porsche, so it couldn’t be me,’ Laurie quipped, making them laugh.

  At that instant Molly came thundering down the stairs and started shoving her way past.

  ‘Where are you going in such a hurry?’ Katie demanded.

  ‘Out!’

  ‘Where? Molly! Come back here.’

  Molly kept on going, out the door, over the garden fence, sprinting up the lane towards the village, and disappearing from view.

  Katie sighed in exasperation. ‘Please excuse my daughter’s manners,’ she said to Laurie. ‘She will apologize before we have dinner, which should be …’ She turned to Michelle. ‘Around seven?’

  ‘Seven thirty,’ Michelle amended. ‘I need to pop over to the supermarket for a few things.’

  As she and Laurie walked out to their cars together, Laurie said, ‘Tell me, what do you think about doing a programme? Was I inappropriate to suggest it, or would it work?’

  Michelle looked round at the sound of childish chatter, over by the pond. ‘I think it would be wonderful for Katie,’ she said. ‘She’s really missed being in the cut and thrust of it all, as you can tell, and you know how she loves the limelight. The problem is, we have no way of knowing how the next weeks, or months, are going to unfold, and with Molly being so unpredictable …’ She sighed. ‘I don’t know. My instinct says yes, but then I’m not so sure.’

  Laurie smiled. ‘Well, we don’t have to make a decision right away, and anyway, it’s up to Katie in the end. Now, I’ll just check my email before I go to see if Elliot’s heard anything from Tom,’ and taking out her Blackberry she clicked on to see what was there. ‘Nothing,’ she said, putting it away again. ‘I’ll give him a call from the car, and let you know if there’s any news.’

  As she drove away Laurie turned on Elliot’s digital phone, already tensing in dread of discovering a message from Andraya. To her relief there were none, so selecting the speed dial for their home she turned into the village and waited for him to answer.

  ‘Hi, it’s me,’ she said, as his voice came over the speaker. ‘Anything from Tom yet?’

  ‘No. But following on from Michelle’s email that Joshua Shine was in Frankfurt, I’ve just learned that he’s now on his way to Washington. Max will take over from there. How was Katie?’

  ‘Amazing, actually. She said to tell you she loves you.’

  The smile was audible in his voice as he said, ‘I hope you told her the feeling’s mutual.’

  ‘No, but I will. I’m thinking of doing a programme about her.’

  He took only a moment to respond. ‘That’s a great idea,’ he said. ‘Is she up for it?’

  ‘She has some reservations, but we’re going to talk it all through, which means I’m going to stay down here tonight. I’ve booked in at the pub where we had lunch.’

  There was a pause before he said, ‘I see.’

  Knowing what he was thinking, she said, ‘Is there a problem? Do you need the car?’

  ‘No. I was just wondering if you’d called Nick back yet.’

  Despite the immediate flare of guilt, her voice was quite neutral as she said, ‘What do you mean, called him back? Has he left a message?’

  ‘Wasn’t that him on the phone last night?’

  Almost missing a sign for the town centre, she veered sharply to the left and narrowly avoided a ditch. How had he known it was Nick last night? She hadn’t mentioned him, nor had he asked at the time. ‘Actually it was Rhona,’ she said, blurting out the lie without thinking. ‘And no I haven’t called her back yet.’

  ‘Oh.’

  She waited.

  He said nothing.

  ‘What on earth makes you think it was Nick?’ she demanded.

  ‘I just get the feeling it’s not quite finished between you two.’

  Starting to feel slightly angry now, she said, ‘I don’t think this conversation’s getting us anywhere so shall we change the subject?’

  ‘If you like.’

  She struggled for something else to say, but was still too thrown by his suspicions over Nick, and annoyed with herself for lying.

  ‘Actually, I was going to call Nick myself,’ he said. ‘He’s written several pieces about US intelligence in the last couple of years, so depending where this leads us, he could turn out to be helpful.’

  Stiffening, she said, ‘It’s up to you if you get him involved, it has nothing to do with me. I just called to let you know my plans for tonight, and to say, why don’t you stay at the flat, seeing as it’s going to be empty.’

  ‘Thank you,’ he responded. Then, quoting a line from La Bohème, he said, ‘All ’uom felice sta il sospetto accanto,’ and a moment later the line went dead.

  Suspicion forever jogs the happy man’s elbow.

  Was he happy, she wondered, and her heart contracted with guilt, for she knew he wasn’t, and he was right to be suspicious, because it wasn’t all over between her and Nick. But what did he expect, that everything would change for her just because he’d decided he didn’t want Andraya any more? It didn’t work like that. She couldn’t just forget what he’d done, any more than she could pretend that nothing had happened with Nick. She didn’t know where she wanted it to go with Nick, or if she should even see him to find out, though of course, she would. Was this how it had been for Elliot with Andraya, she wondered? Wanting to resist, while all the time knowing he wouldn’t.

  Deciding to call Michelle to update her on Joshua Shine’s movements, she parked the car alongside a small rank of shops in the town centre, and spoke to her on the mobile as she crossed the bridge on foot towards a pedestrian precinct.

  It didn’t take long to pick up the few essentials she needed for the night, and with her mind still full of Elliot and Nick, she was on her way back across the bridge when she spotted Molly dawdling along the riverbank with a boy. They weren’t close enough for her to get a particularly good look, but even from where she was the geeky-looking creature with his awkward gait, peculiar ginger hair and puny physique didn’t seem at all the type she’d have imagined Molly to go for. However, they were probably just friends, since they weren’t holding hands, nor was Molly appearing very happy about being there. A moment later they ducked in under some overhanging branches, and were lost from sight.

  Laurie continued on to the car, past a trio of giggling girls, across a mini roundabout towards an Oxfam shop, where she hit the remote on the keys and was just sliding into the car when her personal mobile started to ring. Seeing Nick’s name on the readout her heart gave a powerful jolt. For a moment she even tried to resist answering, but in the end she couldn’t.

  ‘Hi. How are you?’ she said.

  ‘I’m good,’ he answered. ‘Is it OK to talk?’

  The sound of his voice was already having the effect she was dreading. ‘Yes,’ she said, managing to sound much more in control than she was feeling. ‘Actually, Elliot wants to be in touch with you about a story he’s getting involved with. Do you happen to know Tom Chambers?’

  ‘Tom? Sure I do. Do you know what it’s about?’

  ‘I should let Elliot fill you in.’

  ‘OK, I’ll give him a call.’

  Realizing that really wouldn’t be a good idea, she said, ‘Maybe you should wait till he calls you.’

  ‘Anything you say,’ he responded, seeming to understand. ‘So, you had a good time in Bali?’

  Wishing she wasn’t actually sitting in Elliot’s car while having this call, she said, ‘Yes, it was lovely, thank you.’

  ‘Lovely in the sense it’s all worked out with Elliot? You’re officially back together?’

  Not entirely sure how she wanted to answer that,
she said, ‘Let’s put it this way, we haven’t given up on each other yet, but we’ve still got a way to go.’

  There was a pause, then his voice seemed to steal right into her as he said, ‘So there’s some room for hope?’

  Oh God, how was she going to answer that when she truly didn’t know?

  ‘He doesn’t deserve you,’ he said softly.

  She took a breath. ‘Nick, I … I’d like us to be friends …’

  He gave a sharp intake of breath, as though he’d been stung. ‘Not what I wanted to hear,’ he told her.

  ‘OK, if you want to know the truth,’ she said, ‘I do still have feelings for you, but Elliot and I …’

  ‘Listen, you don’t have to explain. I get the picture, and I shouldn’t be putting this pressure on. So consider it off, and tell me where you are now.’

  Closing her eyes in relief she said, ‘Wiltshire. Actually, I’m looking into making a programme about Katie Kiernan, so I could be here for a few days.’ She wondered if that had sounded like an invitation, and even thought it might be.

  ‘I’m going to be down that way myself tomorrow,’ he said. ‘Well, GCHQ Cheltenham, which isn’t a million miles away.’

  ‘About an hour, I think,’ she answered, not daring to allow her mind to go any further than that.

  ‘Listen, I’m sorry, I’ve got another call coming in,’ he said. ‘It could be one I’m waiting for. I’ll get back to you.’

  As he rang off she dropped the phone on the seat beside her and heaved an unsteady sigh. At least she hadn’t actually suggested they meet tomorrow, nor had she let him think Elliot was out of the picture. Which he wasn’t. Far from it, but if Nick wanted to see her when he was down this way, was she really going to say no? And if he came to her hotel … She cut the thought off there, for she knew only too well what would happen, and if it did, where the hell was that going to leave her relationship with Elliot?

  The Daughters of Lilith were hanging out in Allison’s bedroom, listening to the latest CD from Beyoncé, while painting their nails and brushing each other’s hair. The TV was on too, showing pop videos with the sound turned down, and the computer was logged on so they could go in and out of chat rooms when they felt like it.

  ‘… so then the bloody teacher grabbed the picture,’ Molly was saying, ‘and now I’m in deep trouble. He’s even got the diary stuff me and Allison wrote.’

  ‘I bet it makes him all randy and yuk,’ Donna giggled, pulling a face.

  ‘Just say someone planted it on you,’ Cecily advised, dipping a brush into a pot of purple nail polish. Then dismissing Molly’s concern, she said, ‘So now Molly’s met someone from the Net we can move on to Step Four. Oh God, whose phone is that?’ she grumbled, as one started to ring.

  Afraid it was hers, Molly quickly checked, but then Donna was saying, ‘Ugh, vomit. It’s my mother.’

  ‘Ssssss,’ they all hissed. ‘The enemy. Ssssss.’

  Molly laughed the loudest and sank down on to the bed. She’d sent a text to her mother on the way over to say she wouldn’t be home for dinner, as if she’d care, with all her friends there keeping her happy.

  ‘Right, forget Step Four for the moment,’ Allison declared when Donna had finished on the phone, ‘I reckon we should give Molly the good news now, don’t you?’

  Molly’s eyes opened wide with surprise. ‘What’s that?’ she said, already excited.

  Allison looked at the others. ‘Shall I tell her?’

  ‘No, keep her in suspense,’ Donna teased.

  ‘No!’ Molly cried, throwing a cushion at her. ‘What is it? I want to know.’

  ‘It’s about Brad,’ Allison told her.

  Molly’s heart turned over, and the smile dropped from her face. ‘What about him?’ she said, feeling sick and hot and like really strange. ‘Is he seeing someone? Oh God, please don’t tell me he’s seeing someone.’

  ‘We just said it was good, didn’t we?’ Allison scolded. ‘So no, he’s not seeing someone – though he might …’ her eyes swivelled round the others and came back to Molly, ‘be seeing you.’

  Molly’s breath caught as her heart tried to catapult out of her chest. ‘Oh my God,’ she murmured, feeling herself start to shake. ‘Why? Did he say something? Oh my God! Oh my God!’

  ‘He asked Toby to get your mobile number off me,’ Alison told her.

  ‘Oh no! Oh no!’ Molly gasped, pressing her hands to her cheeks. ‘He’s going to call me?’

  ‘Why else would he ask for your number?’ Allison laughed, glancing at the others. ‘You are like, so lucky, because you’re not going to have any problem with Step Six if he’s interested in you already. And he thinks you’re sixteen, so don’t go telling him your real age or you’ll blow it.’

  ‘And don’t go missing out Steps Four and Five,’ Cecily reminded her, ‘because remember, we all have to achieve Step Sex – sex!’ And she screeched with laughter at the slip of the tongue. ‘I said sex! Can you believe that? I said sex instead of six.’

  ‘What she means,’ Donna continued, ‘is we all have to make Step Six on the same night, and as we’ve designated the night of the party, you’ve got to wait, Molly. OK? So don’t go letting him do anything before. I mean you can like snog, and he can feel you up and stuff, just don’t go all the way.’

  Feeling almost faint at the idea of it, Molly flattened herself on the bed and stared up at the ceiling.

  ‘Right,’ Cecily said, ‘so we all know what we’re doing for Step Four, but we’ve still got to come up with an idea for Step Five.’

  ‘I reckon it should be more like Step Four,’ Molly said. ‘You know, nothing to do with boys. Stealing something’s good. It’s got high risk, and gets us something we want, so for Step Five, why don’t we do something more like that?’

  No-one seemed to have a problem with that, but as they all started to discuss it Molly couldn’t think about anything except Brad. He wanted her number. She just couldn’t believe it. This was like, really amazing. People would talk about her in shops and places when she walked in, saying things like ‘That’s her, Brad Jenkins’s girlfriend,’ or ‘He’s really crazy about her,’ or ‘She is so lucky,’ and she’d just pretend she hadn’t heard, and go on looking through the clothes rails, picking out something to wear to a party she was going to with Brad that night.

  ‘Are you listening, Molly?’ Donna cried, poking and tickling her. ‘You want to know what Step Five is, don’t you?’

  Molly sat up, ready to listen.

  Allison started to speak, and as Molly registered the words her eyes dilated. ‘I can’t do that,’ she protested. ‘No way. I’m not doing that.’

  ‘Mothers are the enemy,’ Donna reminded her. ‘So what’s the problem?’

  ‘I’m just not doing it,’ Molly replied, getting up.

  ‘But you hate your mother. You said so.’

  ‘I know, but I’m not doing that to her.’ Molly was picking up her belongings now, preparing to leave.

  ‘Are you a Daughter of Lilith, or are you a snivelling coward who’s cheated her way in, and who we’ll now have to expel?’ Cecily snarled.

  Molly swung round, green eyes blazing. ‘My mother’s been really sick, and she’s only just getting better,’ she cried, close to tears, ‘so no way am I going to push her down the stairs. That’s a really mean thing to do to anyone …’

  ‘Actually, her mum has been sick,’ Allison said to the others, ‘so maybe we should think of something else. I mean, mine’s falling down the stairs all the time, she’s so drunk, but Molly’s mum’s a bit different.’

  Cecily tore her eyes from Molly and blew on her nails.

  ‘Come on, Mol,’ Allison said, going to put an arm round her. ‘The pizzas’ll be here any minute, so you can’t leave now.’

  Allowing herself to be led back to the bed, Molly tried to say something, but was still too close to tears.

  ‘So what was the matter with your mum?’ Donna asked.

  ‘Nothing,�
�� Molly answered, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. ‘She’s all right now,’ and desperate to change the subject, she said, ‘let’s go online and see if we can find some ideas for Step Five.’

  As she and Donna started to surf, Cecily beckoned Allison over to one of the sofas.

  ‘I’m telling you, she’s not for real,’ Cecily whispered. ‘I reckon that dork she met by the bridge was someone from school, and she’s definitely making it up about hating her mother.’

  ‘Listen,’ Allison said, keeping her voice down, ‘if you start upsetting her, or think about throwing her out, we won’t be able to pull this off with Brad, will we, and you said yourself, it is going to be so completely awesome if we can.’

  Cecily’s eyes travelled in Molly’s direction. ‘All right,’ she said, finally, ‘we’ll give her one more chance, but I’m telling you this, whatever Step Five turns out to be she has to do it, no excuses, no tantrums, or she’s out.’

  It was gone midnight by the time a taxi arrived at Katie’s to take Laurie back to the inn. Before she left, she made one last call to Elliot to find out if Tom had been in touch yet.

  ‘Still no word,’ she said regretfully to Michelle as she rang off.

  Knowing Elliot would have contacted them right away if there had been, Michelle covered her mounting concern with a smile. ‘We’ll see you tomorrow?’ she said, going to the door with Laurie.

  Laurie nodded. ‘I’m sure he’ll have been in touch by then,’ she said encouragingly.

  ‘I’m sure he will too,’ Katie said, as she and Michelle walked upstairs together a few minutes later, and after checking Molly’s light was out, she went into her bedroom. Michelle went into hers where she passed a sleepless night tormenting herself with all the dangers Tom could be facing.

  Chapter Seven

  DEBORAH GOUGH WAS waiting patiently for the rest of the committee to take their seats around the conference table. As the chair, she was at the head, ageing hands clasped loosely on the blotter in front of her, a stack of files to her right, a fresh cup of coffee to her left. Her benign, somewhat attractive features masked the full force of her intellect and lethal drive of her ambition. However, there wasn’t a man present who was unaware of how ruthless she had been in achieving her position, or of how powerfully connected she now was.