The Knapthorne Conspiracy

by Malcolm Ballard

  “Yes. Based in Bristol. And,” she said, drawing the word out for effect then pausing for a moment, “this one’s not married.” Jane stifled a yawn, suddenly feeling very tired. Bella had wanted to tell her about Cora Flint coming back, and then explain about the cat but she could see her friend was having trouble staying awake.

  “I think that’s enough for tonight, don’t you?” Jane nodded, sleepily. “You look done for. Why don’t you go up first and use the bathroom and I’ll tidy up a bit down here?” Bella knew her well enough to know that Jane always pushed herself hard during the day, at work, to the point where her energy would suddenly give out at some point in the evening. Often, in the past, when she had arrived at the apartment on a Friday night, to stay for the weekend, Bella had found Jane would fall asleep in her chair by 9-o-clock.

  “And have a lay in, in the morning!” she shouted after her, knowing it wouldn’t do much good. The cat, woken by the noise, stood up a little unsteadily and arched its back, stretching lazily. “It’s alright for you, puss isn’t it? Your life’s one long lay in.”

  Bella enjoyed an uneventful night and woke up virtually free of any remaining evidence of the accident. With the excitement of Jane’s arrival, she had forgotten about her dream, even to the extent of not mentioning it to Jane, who probably wouldn’t have been interested anyway. Strictly existential, Ms Symington-Bentley, and the more male-orientated the better. Turning her body this way and that there was just the merest twinge in her back to serve as a reminder of what had happened three days ago, which pleased Bella immeasurably. She could now enjoy the weekend and, on Monday, get back to her writing. It was not yet 8am so she stuck her head into Jane’s room to be rewarded with the sound of gentle snoring. With a little smile, Bella tiptoed away. As she made her way down the stairs, the cat appeared beside her, following Bella around as she pulled the curtains then running ahead of her into the kitchen.

  “If you’re going to make yourself at home here,” she said to it, “I’m going to have to find something to feed you. I’ll give you some milk and you can make do with that, for now.” Bella bent down to stroke it and, for the first time, the cat allowed her to make a fuss of it and she was rewarded with a deep, resonant purring.

  “And I suppose you think I’m going to stand here all day doing this, do you? Well I’ve got a guest to look after, so let me get your milk, then I can get on with breakfast.” She had only just put the bowl down for the cat, when her mobile, on charge in the kitchen, rang.

  “Bella Foxton!” She wondered who could be ringing her at this hour on a Saturday morning. Kyle had both her mobile number and the one for the home phone but surely it wouldn’t be him.

  “How’s my favourite author?” It was Ben Hollingsworth, and her first reaction was disappointment but she quickly recovered and it didn’t show in her voice when she replied.

  “Ben! What a nice way to start my Saturday. I’m fine, really enjoying myself down here. How are you?”

  “Looking forward to a completely free weekend, for once and believe me I can do with it.” Did that mean he was thinking about coming down, she wondered. Wouldn’t that be bloody typical now that she was looking forward to just Jane and her being by themselves.”

  “Tina’s gone off to golf, so I’m doing a bit of work out in the stables…”

  “You’ve got horses?”

  “The girls have. All their friends ride so Tina insisted that the girls had to learn. Having their own horses was the next step. I’m just hoping they don’t want flying lessons next.” She could imagine the look on his face. At that moment, a very sleepy-looking Jane shuffled into the kitchen and acknowledged Bella with a little wave.

  “Where do you keep the coffee?” she whispered, and Bella pointed to one of the shelves on her left. “Mugs?” Bella indicated the cupboard next to the pantry.

  “Hallo? Are you still there?” There was concern in Ben’s voice.

  “Sorry, Ben, I was just talking to someone.”

  “Oh, there’s somebody with you? Do you want me to ring back?” he asked.

  “No, it’s fine. It’s only Jane, my editor. She’s come down to see what I’m up to in Turnip Land, as she calls it.”

  “Alright. Look, I won’t keep you but I should be able to get down for the day, next Saturday, all being well. Tina’s playing in a tournament somewhere and the girls will be away. Are you free?” If it had have been a week earlier that she was having this conversation then Bella would have been excited by the prospect of Ben’s visit. Now, having met Kyle in the meantime, even though it might amount to nothing, she didn’t react as positively as she might have done, trying to give herself time to think, and Ben picked up on it.

  “Is there a problem? I thought you’d be pleased.” He sounded put out.

  “No, of course there’s not a problem, Ben, why ever should there be?” The answer came to her, as she was speaking. “Laura, my sister, said she was coming down and I was trying to remember which weekend she’d mentioned. I’d hate for the three of us to be here, together!” Jane put the electric kettle on to boil so Bella went through to the lounge. She decided, there and then, to take the plunge and tell him to come down. A bird in the hand being better than no bird at all.

  “I’d love to see you and of course I’m pleased. Next weekend will be fine.” In the back of her mind, now, she was certain that Laura had said the coming weekend. Oh, well, to hell with it! It’d sort itself out and she’d no intention of living her life for Laura.

  “Bella, that’s great! I’m really looking forward to seeing you. I’d better go, the girls are coming.”

  “Ok. Give me a call when you’re on your way.”

  “Will do. See you.” Jane walked in with two mugs of coffee, as Bella stood staring out the window, deep in thought.

  “Where do you want this?” she said, indicating the coffee.

  “Just on the table, there, will be fine.” Bella turned to her friend.

  “Why is life never straightforward?” A degree of mild exasperation coloured her words.

  “What’s up?”

  “That was Ben Hollingsworth on the phone. He wants to come down next weekend.”

  “So, what’s the problem?” In contrast with her fashion sense, Jane liked life in black and white. No half-measures, make a decision one way or the other then forget about it and move on. Good corporate strategy.

  “Kyle Lucas, for one and my sister, for another.” Jane took a seat in one of the armchairs and Bella sat on the sofa, tucking her feet beneath her. The cat, meanwhile, jumped up on a widow ledge and sat looking out at the birds on the lawn in the back garden. “I was really hoping that Kyle would ring this week and maybe call in on the weekend…”

  “He still might!” Jane suggested, happy to play devil’s advocate.

  “Thanks for reminding me, I’m well aware of that!”

  “And how does your sister come into the picture?” Bella’s face fell, at the thought.

  “I’ve told you often enough, in the past, what Laura’s like. I don’t want to dwell on it but she was at the reading of the will, when I inherited the house. She had always been suspicious of my relationship with Rupert but that wasn’t unusual. Laura is just suspicious by nature, especially where I’m concerned.” Pausing to sip at her coffee, she regarded her friend, thinking there was something different about her but unable to identify it. “Anyway,” Bella contin
ued, “my inheriting the cottage has really put her nose out of joint, for some reason, and she’s unbelievably jealous. I mean, I don’t see her for months and now we’ve had two pretty acrimonious confrontations in just a matter of weeks.”

  “Did Rupert leave her anything?” It seemed the obvious question to ask.

  “Oh, not much!” Bella answered, with an air of understatement. “Just an eighty-thousand pound necklace that she’d been begging him for, for years!” Jane exhaled noisily, at the news, thinking that she could have made do with that.

  “Ha! A mere bauble, darling!” she replied, dismissively. “No wonder she was jealous.” Bella gave her an old-fashioned look.

  “I can’t understand why she’s being like this. What’s more, she’s desperate to come down and see the place. It’s beyond me, it really is!” It was very unlike Bella to be so upset and Jane sympathised with her.

  “That’d piss me off, too, sweetie,” Jane agreed, idly tugging at an ear lobe, “but what’s it got to do with your solicitor friend, I don’t understand?”

  “I’m certain it was next weekend that Laura was planning to come down. With her partner, no less.”

  “Oh.” It was a very small sound that came from Jane, confirming that she now understood. Without warning, Bella extracted her legs from beneath her and stood up.

  “But that’s next weekend, Bentley, and not your concern. Let’s have some breakfast and get ourselves organised, eh?”

  With her curiosity spurred by Bella’s description of The Lamb and its regulars, Jane had made the surprising suggestion of walking to the pub for lunch. Surprising because Jane normally viewed exercise in the same light as visiting the dentist. Something to be done only when absolutely necessary. During breakfast, Bella had described her walk across the fields and the fact that the track extended right to the village and Jane had seized on the idea immediately much to Bella’s amazement. Now, here she was, clad in a pink nylon tracksuit and crimson trainers, looking like a tubby flamingo with bloody feet, struggling for breath as they reached the top of the incline that looked down on the copse and the church beyond.

  “Do you want to rest up for a bit?” Jane stood, hands on hips, taking in the rolling landscape, under a clear blue sky dotted with small, white clouds. Slowly catching her breath, she shook her head in answer to Bella’s question.

  “Soaking up the atmosphere, old thing, that’s all,” she replied. “We’re a bit short of this sort of thing in Pimlico.” They both stood there for a moment, happy to be at one with their environment, before starting on the sloping track down to the copse.

  “Alright then, who is he?” As they set off at a leisurely pace, Bella had finally recognised the signs that had been staring her in the face.

  “What d’you mean?” The thin cloak of innocence in her voice couldn’t disguise the sparkle in Jane’s eyes as Bella turned to look at her.

  “There’s only one reason that I know of that Jane Symington-Bentley would attempt to give up smoking and start getting some exercise. What’s his name?” The question carried an air of resignation as though it was all too obvious.

  “Rod Fletcher. And he’s a hunk.” Bella couldn’t help but laugh. Jane’s men were never ordinary. Only superlatives could ever adequately describe either them or their abilities. The day was turning out to be rather pleasant, with the sun having chased off the early chill air and its warmth now making itself felt. This was why I came down here, Bella was thinking to herself, revelling in the tranquillity of her surroundings, the fresh air and her sense of well-being.

  “And where did you meet this hunk, then?”

  “Well, I wasn’t so desperate that I had to run him off the road, darling, like some people I know!” Bella gave her a hefty dig, nearly pushing Jane off the track. “We met at a conference in Sheffield and hit it off straight away. You’d like him, Bell, I know you would.” It never ceased to amaze Bella that her friend had such a Jekyll and Hyde personality. For someone who prowled the publishing jungle like a tiger, happy to get her claws stuck into male egos and personal vanities, she was such a pussy cat when it came to her men.

  “If he makes you happy, that’s good. But why do you have to try and be someone different? Why can’t you just be yourself? I prefer you that way, for all your faults.”

  “It’s alright for you to say that, darling. Look at you! You’ve got top of the range equipment. Body, face, legs, you name it. Me? I’m like something from the bargain basement. You’re the Roller, I’m the V-Dub Beetle so don’t blame me for tinkering with the bodywork and the engine, ok?” Put like that, Bella found it difficult to argue. Earlier that morning, after breakfast, when they had each had a shower and got dressed, Bella had given Jane a conducted tour of the cottage and garden. As they had sat at the table in the kitchen, afterwards, enjoying a leisurely coffee while Jane plied her with the latest industry gossip, Bella sensed that she seemed inordinately pleased with herself and guessed that work must be going really well. Only when they were well into their walk did everything fall into place.

  “When am I going to meet him then?”

  “Probably when he’s got a ring on his finger and we’ve had our first two kids, I should think. I might consider it safe, by then.”

  Village life was proceeding at its usual pace as they entered the main street from the pathway that ran alongside the churchyard. The place had a lazy, slow-motion feel to it after the hectic chaos of London and Jane stopped, to look up and down the street, as if not quite being able to believe what she was seeing. Bella knew the feeling from her first visit.

  “So this is the metropolis, eh?” It was as if she were letting the atmosphere seep into the pores of her skin. “I could handle a bit of this. Definitely.”

  “Is that the Bentley seal of approval then?” Bella asked, taking her arm. “Come on, I’m thirsty. You might change your mind once you’ve seen the pub.” She could imagine the reaction that Jane’s outfit would cause and found herself quite looking forward to it.

  “I can’t believe it’s as bad as you say it is.” The weight of conviction was absent from Jane’s words, as they walked along the pavement to the car park of The Lamb and the door to the saloon bar.

  “Well, there’s only one way to find out and that’s to see for yourself. After you.” Bella pushed the door open to allow Jane to enter and the shorter woman passed her with a none too confident look on her face.

  “You’re not going to run off and leave me, once I’m inside, I hope?” she said, over her shoulder.

  “Not when you’re as thirsty as I am. I’m right behind you.” Her words died away, swallowed in the utter silence that greeted them. There were nine men, of varying ages, in the bar, and every head was turned towards the two women as they entered. The hiatus continued for, perhaps, ten seconds before one of the men passed comment.

  “Christ, looks like a porker on its ‘ind legs!” A burst of laughter rippled round the room but Jane, unfazed, turned to Bella as they walked to the bar.

  “Did you see anyone’s lips move, darling?” Bella shook her head. Jane hadn’t survived in the cut-throat world of publishing through being a shrinking violet.

  “I thought not. Typical male, talking through his arse. How do you get service round here?” At that moment, Samuel Handysides walked through from the public bar, immediately sensing the atmosphere in the room but it seemed as though his appearance was the cue for things to return to normal as the locals drifted back into their usual Satu
rday morning routine. Usual, except that for every one of them, the topic of conversation was the same.

  “Bella! Nice to see you again.” Samuel Handysides gnome-like countenance beamed at them both from behind the bar.

  “Nice to see you, Samuel,” she replied, coolly, flicking her head to straighten out her hair. “It’s a pity some of your regulars still haven’t learned any manners. It’s no wonder you don’t see strangers in here.” The level of her voice was such that the sound carried through the room, her remark directed at the customers, as much as the publican.

  “Come now, Miss Foxton, they means no ‘arm by it, as I told you before. It’s only the lads ‘aving a bit o’ fun.” Jane was incensed, having been the target of their bit o’ fun. All activity in the room had ceased.

  “Bit o’ fun? Is that what you call being downright insulting to someone? I’ll happily trade insults with your customers all night but, believe me, I know words they couldn’t even spell, that’s if they’ve ever had an education, which I doubt. Now I’d be pleased to settle for an apology from you and then we’d like to have a drink!” Impassive throughout Jane’s tirade, Samuel Handysides, a deliberate man not known to act in haste, took his time before replying. His features gave no indication of what was going through his mind.

  “You have your drinks, whatever you’m be wantin’, on me, by way of an apology. I can’t says the lads are ever goin’ to change but if you gives as good as you gets I reckon that might shut ‘em up.

  “Pack of wankers, the lot of ‘em,” Jane grinned as she reached for her glass. They had taken seats at a table near the back wall of the room, close to the bar and facing the windows.