The Knapthorne Conspiracy

by Malcolm Ballard

  “Do I look ok, then?” She held her arms out wider for Mickey to examine the whole outfit. His eyes never left the top of her shirt with its top two buttons undone where the material was pulled tight across her breasts by the action of spreading her arms. He gulped, seemingly unable to speak and some internal mechanism injected a pink tinge to his flesh, from neck to cheeks, that slowly darkened to a deeper red.

  “I’ll take that as a yes, then, shall I?” Bella lowered her arms to her sides to put him out of his misery. “What nice surprises have you got for me today?” She could see that there was at least one postcard amongst the mail he held for her.

  “There’s…” the word came out somewhat strangulated and Mickey coughed to clear his throat. Bella bit her lip to stop herself from laughing but there was mischief in her eyes. “There’s a postcard, from Italy by the look of it, two letters and a couple of bills,” he replied, handing them over.

  “Going to stay like this, all day?” she asked him, with one eye on the weather.

  “More ‘n likely, I should reckon,” The smile was back in his voice, as he answered, having regained his composure. “Doin’ somethin’ special are you, then?”

  “Maybe, Mickey I don’t know. I’ve got someone calling in and we might go out somewhere.”

  “Boyfriend is it?” He tried to make his voice sound light, disinterested as he watched her reading the card.

  “No, just someone I met recently.” She looked up, into his amazing eyes, and was transfixed, momentarily, by their hypnotic quality.

  “You got a girlfriend, Mickey? Good looking bloke like you would have them queuing at your door I should think.” He coloured up, immediately.

  “I knows one or two. No-one special. I don’t want to get tied down, like.” As if embarrassed by the turn of the conversation he climbed back in the van and looked down at her. “How come someone drop-dead gorgeous like you ain’t married, then?” Bella couldn’t help herself and laughed at his directness, posing with one hand on her hip before she answered him.

  “I suppose I just haven’t found the right man.” The pose was seductive, her voice full of promise.

  “There’s a chance for me yet then is there?” he asked, cheekily, grinning all over his face as he slid the door shut. She watched the van disappear before turning to go back into the cottage. Mickey’s call always added a sparkle to her day and now she had heard from her mother who wanted to come over and visit. The gods were smiling on her today, she figured, so it had to be a good omen for Kyle’s visit. What time would he turn up, that was the question?

  It was answered at around 10.15 when her phone rang. It was Kyle calling to say that he’d be there within around twenty minutes and would she like to go out and have lunch somewhere? Perfect! Bella took a coffee out into the back garden which was now showing the results of Joshua’s handiwork and stood in the sun feeling really pleased with herself and life in general. She began to walk around the garden, suddenly determined to take a greater interest in what her gardener had been doing. What an amazing difference he’d made in only two weeks and, what was this? He’d even discovered a herb garden beneath all the wild growth of grass and weeds. The joy of being at Willow Cottage coupled with the general direction her life was taking filled her with an overwhelming sense of satisfaction that she had never known in London. There was just one thing missing and Bella considered the only two men in her life at the moment. Excluding Mickey, she thought, with a grin. But on a more serious note she wondered about how deeply she wanted to get involved with anyone. From past experience she knew that she brought out the possessive side in men and how ugly that could sometimes become. With the way her life was shaping she couldn’t foresee losing the independence that she was beginning to prize more and more. Looking back over the past her most successful relationships, from her point of view anyway, had been with men that had been committed to someone else, a wife or a girlfriend. She had remained a free spirit, which she found so necessary to her enjoyment of life, while, in most cases, her partners had sought nothing permanent from the liaison. Marriage had been her greatest mistake and it made her shudder to think of it. How foolish she had been! But she had also been very impetuous then, and headstrong. Time had smoothed those rough edges a great deal but certainly not completely. Bella’s wandering had brought her to the low trellis fence that separated the vegetable plot from the garden nearest the cottage and, where Joshua had trimmed back the thick growth of ivy, she now saw a climbing rose of the deepest purple and stopped to admire it. I could cope with Ben every now and then if he was still married, she told herself, bringing one of the small, perfectly formed, flowers to her nose. Maybe, she added as an afterthought. His qualifications for the job were fine except that it now seemed he wanted something more serious. Not good. Bella released the bloom carefully, taking care to avoid the thorns. And that leaves Kyle, she reflected, turning back towards the cottage and pausing for a moment to look at it from the garden. An unknown candidate with possible potential. How she wished Jane were here and they could discuss it like a couple of schoolgirls drooling over a first date. Wouldn’t that be fun? The intrusive sound of a blaring horn shattered the silence and her thoughts. He was here! Either twenty minutes had passed extremely quickly or he had made better time than he’d predicted. Bella took the path around the side of the house feeling as excited as a little girl going to a party.

  “Brought me a coffee, have you?” Kyle was referring to the empty mug she was carrying. “That’s very thoughtful of you!” As he was approaching the front door of the cottage she had come round the corner oblivious to the fact she was still holding the mug and she looked at it, briefly, in amusement as she walked towards him with a welcoming smile.

  “I can make you one, if you like,” she offered. “I’ve just been wandering round the garden checking on what the gardener’s been up to.” He was exactly as she remembered him. A more physical presence than Ben, altogether. There was an edge of hardness to him, a hint of male macho totally absent in Ben. Kyle was dressed casually in a short, brown, antique leather jacket over a black t-shirt. Beige slacks and hand-made Italian shoes completed the outfit.

  “Why not? Ok, then. It’s good to see you looking so much better. I hardly recognise you!” This was a different woman to the one he’d seen on the day of the accident. He had been attracted to her then but this was something else. She looked sensational.

  “Here, I’ve brought something for you.” He held out a small, slim package wrapped in expensive-looking paper. Bella was quite taken aback.

  “Kyle, that wasn’t necessary,” she said, affectionately.

  “Go on, take it,” he insisted. “It won’t bite.” She got the impression he wasn’t the sort of person who would take a refusal easily and did as he had asked, not wishing to get things off to a bad start. Her nails made short work of the sellotape and the wrapping paper fell away to reveal a long thin box. When she removed the top she found herself looking at a gold Parker fountain pen and her mouth fell open.

  “Before you say anything…” he laid a firm hand on hers, as he spoke, “…I’ve bought a copy of Lingering Doubts and I’d like you to sign it for me. It occurred to me that this would be a nice touch, that’s all.” She searched for sincerity in his eyes but his face gave nothing away. It was the extravagance of the gesture which had taken her by surprise. Flowers, maybe. Chocolates, definitely. But a gold Parker? Something in her rebelled against it and, in some way, she felt she needed to even things up without upsetting him. Absent-mindedly she worried at her bottom lip with her teeth before replying.

  “It’s extremely nice of you…” Bella began, having decided that generous would be the wrong choice of word.

  “But?” He spoke the word before she had a chance. There was no humour in his voice and his eyes were as hard and unforgiving as greenstone. As he took his hand away, Bella reacted with a smile.

  “No buts,” she said, lightly, and leaned forward to brush her lips against his
cheek. “I’m touched that you bought the book and the pen. In return I’d like to nominate where we go for lunch, if that’s ok with you, and I’m going to pay.” Before he could say anything she took his hand and led him towards the cottage. “Now, let’s get you that coffee!”

  “You didn’t put up much resistance,” she teased him, as they sat in the lounge, Kyle in an armchair and Bella at one end of the sofa. She had made herself a cup of coffee to keep him company while he drank his.

  “I didn’t come here to argue with you,” he said, amiably. “And besides,” he added, with a sudden grin, “you’re irresistible, you know that!” Bella gave him an old-fashioned look.

  “Handsome and charming, eh? I can see I’m going to have trouble with you!” Kyle gave her a slow, enigmatic smile in response and she wondered exactly what was going through his mind as he leaned across to get his coffee.

  “Thank you for organising the garage, by the way.” For a moment, he looked mystified. “You know, the repairs to the car, after the accident. That was wonderful. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I was in no fit state to do anything!”

  “Anyone else would have done the same, I’m sure. It was lucky I happened to know someone that’s all. Anyway I could hardly have just gone off and left you like you were. Are you ok now? No after-effects I mean?” The look on his face showed genuine concern.

  “Thankfully no but it could have been a lot worse if you hadn’t have been so quick to react.” With a wave of his hand he dismissed her comment. “I’m serious, Kyle,” she said, slowly and with great emphasis.

  “Pure instinct or, more likely, self-preservation in my case.” His laughter was gently self-mocking. “I didn’t know it was you in the car at that time did I?”

  “I’ll believe you,” Bella replied dismissively, without conviction. She finished off her coffee.

  “Right then, lunch! I was thinking about wanting to go to Bournemouth, then I suddenly had another thought. What about Fordingbridge? I recall going there once years ago and there’s a river as you go in with a nice pub on the left, if I’m correct. They’re bound to do food and, with a bit of luck, we could sit outside and eat by the river. What do you think?” Kyle couldn’t help but be affected by her enthusiasm.

  “It’s your call but it sounds like a great idea.”

  “Let’s not waste any more time then!” Bella got up from the sofa holding her hand out for his cup and Kyle passed it to her as he stood up. He looked concerned, peering about him from right to left then glancing all around the room.

  “Are you alright?” she asked him.

  “Just seeing if that domestic terrorist you laughingly call a cat is around anywhere. I suddenly remembered what happened the last time I was here.” She couldn’t imagine he was actually afraid of Ubix and had to suppress a laugh.

  “I think you’re safe. The last time I saw him, or her, I don’t know which, he was still asleep upstairs. I think he must just have been having a bad fur day when he went for you!”

  Within ten minutes they were on their way to Fordingbridge, heading for the A354 which would take them north-east, towards Salisbury. Being summer, local traffic had increased with the influx of holidaymakers and the roads were fairly busy. Bella couldn’t help noticing that Kyle was quite an aggressive driver relying on the brakes far more than she would normally do when she was driving. Also, he had a tendency to follow the vehicle in front a little too closely for her liking and demonstrated a marked lack of patience with the slower moving motorhomes and caravans. One accident recently was enough to cope with and it gave her some small consolation that they were in a fairly substantial vehicle.

  “How are you liking Dorset then now that you’ve been here a few weeks. Not missing the bright lights?” His eyes never left the road as he spoke much to Bella’s relief.

  “Well, it’s been interesting, I’ve got to say that and it’s certainly taken me a little while to settle in but, overall, I’ve got to say I’m loving it.”

  “Why do you say interesting? Isn’t it what you’d expected?” His question didn’t get an immediate reply as she thought it over.

  “It would be true to say that I hadn’t thought about it in that way. Expectations I mean,” she explained, glancing at him. “I just looked on it as an opportunity to be able to get away and write in virtual seclusion. And from that point of view it couldn’t be better.”

  “So?”

  Where to start, she thought. Would it sound ridiculous to someone else? If she couldn’t explain it properly, the answer was likely to be yes so she would demand his full attention while she told him. That she wasn’t going to get it while he was at the wheel was obvious and Bella, already apprehensive about his driving, was not going to risk distracting him.

  “It’s not quite that simple to explain but I’d like to tell you about it and see your reaction. Can it wait ‘til we get wherever we’re going?” The request didn’t appear to concern him.

  “If that’s what you want. I’m certainly curious to hear what you’ve got to say.”

  “Good!” Bella remarked, emphatically, determined now to change the subject. “Tell me all about Kyle Lucas, then. You’re a man of mystery except that I know you’re very good to girls who crash into your car.” She turned to study his strong profile eager to find out more about him. A ghost of a smile flitted across his face.

  “What exactly you would you like to know? I was born at 3.36am on a dark, cold morning in December 1969…” Bella burst out laughing and playfully tapped him on the shoulder.

  “No! You know what I mean, come on! I want to know about you. Your life. Your work. What makes you tick. You never know I might want to use you as a character one of these days.” They had caught up with a large truck and Kyle flicked the indicator on, to overtake. It was only a two-lane road where they were driving and when Bella finally had a clear view of the road ahead she also became aware that it was a truck and trailer unit. Had Kyle realised that? The oncoming traffic was closing fast and she shot him a worried glance. Kyle kicked down the accelerator and the Range Rover surged forward. Up ahead, and not very far away now, the driver of the first vehicle in the line of traffic angrily flashed his lights as they cleared the truck and pulled back over into their lane with only seconds to spare. Bella exhaled quietly and closed her eyes and for the next few moments neither of them spoke, each occupied with their own thoughts.

  Kyle never did get round to talking about himself during the drive, the subject banished for the time being in a rush of adrenalin caused by the incident with the truck. It was Kyle who broke the silence though, making no reference to the near disaster which had almost occurred.

  “I thought we’d approach Fordingbridge from the north. Come down through Rockbourne and Damerham.” He spoke as though nothing had happened.

  “Why’s that?” She found her voice was little more than a hoarse whisper and had to cough to clear her throat. “Sounds like you know the area.”

  “You could say that. This used to be my stamping ground, years ago. I won’t give you the reason.” A knowing grin accompanied the words. “You can tell me, in a bit, if you think it was a good idea.” As he finished speaking he indicated to turn right. Bella lapsed into silence with the niggling thought that Kyle liked to feel he was in control. Not knowing him well enough maybe she either wasn’t reading the signs right or jumping to to an incorrect conclusion. She consoled herself with the knowledge that no-one was perfect and waited to see what was so good about where they were heading for. It wasn’t long before she found out and immediately revised her opinion about the driver.

  The route they were taking was on a secondary road consisting of two lanes only and narrower than the busier arterial roads. A tiny section of the spider’s web of highways that connected small, outlying villages to larger towns forming part of the vast network that covered the country. They had now left Dorset and were travelling through the north-western tip of Hampshire towards their destination. I
f they were to leave Fordingbridge, heading south for Bournemouth, they would roughly follow the county line to the coast. The landscape was much the same as the countryside around Willow Cottage with the winding road taking them through rolling acres of farmland with the occasional property dotted here and there. Suddenly, Bella gave a cry of delight as she saw a thatched cottage to her left. Looking like something from a fairy tale its squat, almost dumpy form stood back from the road beyond a small, well-tended flower garden. The whiteness of its solid-looking walls harbouring small, recessed windows, stood out in stark contrast to the dark brown, almost black appearance of the steeply-sloping woven straw roof. With the deep eaves hiding the top of the wall at the front it gave the impression of a chubby white face with a long fringe of dark hair.

  “Oh, did you see that?” Inadvertently she grabbed his arm, turning to look over her shoulder as the cottage rapidly dropped behind them. Kyle eased his foot off the accelerator as they approached the outskirts of Rockbourne.

  “And another one!” she cried, having just turned back only to see a larger cottage, on her right, set a little further back from the road. And then they were into the enchanting setting of the village itself, with a scattering of thatched cottages on either side, their pristine gardens bordering the road. No two buildings were exactly alike but all were built of the same solid construction, each being well over two hundred years old. To her immediate left, a narrow waterway ran between almost vertical grassy banks about a metre in depth, requiring a small bridge to give access to each property’s garden.