The Knapthorne Conspiracy

by Malcolm Ballard

  “How long have you been there!” She leaned down and stroked it. “I’m surprised you haven’t been pestering me for your dinner. Must be the weather.” On rainy days Ubix would develop sloth-like tendencies and not show much of an interest in anything. Except sleeping. Looking back on her day Bella congratulated herself for sticking at it especially after her mother’s phone call. The weather had helped, of course, as there was no temptation to be doing something else when it was pouring down. Feeling the effects of her stop-start day, she eased herself up from the chair and realised that she was ravenous.

  “Come on you, let’s go get some food.” Ubix yawned, mouth open wide, fangs exposed and lazily stretched out one paw before deciding to move. “Yes, it’s a bit like that, isn’t it?” Bella commented.

  More than satisfied with the progress she had made, Bella finally put her feet up late in the evening. Physically tired, she was glad of the opportunity to relax and wind down before going to bed but her mind, stimulated by the day’s activities, hadn’t got the message. As she went through a deep-breathing routine her thoughts flitted from one subject to another like a restless bird seeking somewhere to settle. First she tried to make sense of her mother’s phone call, running over their conversation in her mind trying to pick up any pointers from what she could recall. She definitely had sounded tired, breathless even, but she had always enjoyed such good health. What on earth could it be? Anything, of course, was the answer. Maria wasn’t getting any younger. The other thing was that she had wanted to see Laura too which was quite unusual in itself. The two of them tolerated each other, Maria having far more patience, Bella admitted, than she had herself. And after all Laura was her daughter. Laura. Her focus ricocheted off her mother to alight on her sister. What was she up to now? It had been just over a week since her unpleasant call and the thought of her scheming away somewhere was just too horrible to contemplate. Bella remembered that her umbrella was still in the lobby. Was it likely that Ben would have heard from her? Doubtful, but one never knew with Laura. Perhaps it would be as well to ring him as she hadn’t heard anything from him either. Funny that, considering how serious he had seemed to be getting. You just never knew with people. Come to that, she countered, did you ever really know people at all? Really know them, that is. Take Kyle. Her mind went off on another tangent. Yes, I could take him right now she decided. Or he could take me. It was a disturbing thing to think about late at night so she turned her attention to his phone call instead. What was he really likely to turn up with his ferreting through files and records? So what if there were some odd characters around and she had her suspicions? What did it all add up to? Questions, questions and more questions. If that was the small price she had to pay for the luxury of having Willow Cottage then so be it. Thanks to Rupert it was hers and not even Laura could take it away from her. Ubix came padding quickly out of the kitchen, as though the floor were hot, and jumped up onto her lap.

  “At least we like it here, don’t we puss?” The cat responded immediately to her touch, purring loudly. “Not like that funny old Jane.” Bella looked around her, contentedly. “I mean, what is there not to like about this place, hm?”

  Monday must have got all the bugs out of the system because Tuesday and Wednesday saw Bella at the computer working away uninterrupted, her trip to London no more than a distant memory. Even the tragedy of her hair had been relegated to a minor nuisance. In her element now, her world had shrunk down to the one room but, in contrast, her imagination was unrestricted by such meagre boundaries and she employed it unreservedly. Over the two days it occurred to her more than once that she had never been happier. Not only that, but how fortunate she was to be doing something that she loved in such a conducive environment. She was not one to take such things lightly knowing how fickle the hand of fate could be but, being a pragmatist, she knew she had to take every advantage of her situation and relished the opportunity to do so.

  Thursday brought the prospect of Cora and Joshua arriving and she found herself quite looking forward to seeing them. Company was company, whoever it was and Bella hoped the ice that had been so firmly packed around Cora’s good humour would have been melted a little. The gardener’s demeanour never seemed to change, his grin always in place on the round, whiskery face under the squashed hat. Deferential to a fault and shy by nature, what he lacked in communication skills he more than made up for by his expertise in the garden. In recent years Bella had discovered she valued the company of quiet people and respected Joshua for his competency but she longed for Cora to open up to her. Maybe it was asking a lot but she pondered the possibility as she buttered a slice of toast for her breakfast. Ubix had just come in and she had put his bowl of biscuits on the kitchen floor. A noise she recognised had her automatically glancing at the clock. Mickey was early with the post and she couldn’t wait to find out what he had brought. A quick look in the lobby mirror to make sure her hair was ok and she opened the door, wondering if he would notice that she’d had it cut, even.

  “Mickey told me to ‘oot when I pulled in.” What she had been expecting was a far cry from what confronted her. The welcoming smile was quickly replaced by a look of disbelief. Walking towards her, carrying a small package and a number of envelopes, was a man in his fifties. Although he was of average height, he was substantially overweight and walked with a slight limp, his left shoulder appearing to be permanently lower than the right, as if he’d spent years walking the streets carrying a heavy post bag. His large pot belly hung over his belt and the last button of his shirt, above the trousers, was undone. Whereas Mickey’s uniform was always clean and neat, it looked as though this man might have slept in his, if indeed it was his at all. It could well have belonged to someone two sizes smaller as the material was under strain just about everywhere. His hat sat slightly askew on his head. As he limped up to Bella, she could see that he was perspiring, his florid face moist and greasy looking.

  “’Ere you are then, missis!” As she’d first thought, the accent was Welsh. He held out the package and the letters for her to take.

  “Bit far from home aren’t you,” she quipped, feeling flippant. “What did you do, drive over from Cardiff last night?” The remark fell on stony ground as he obviously didn’t understand so Bella tried another tack, determined to appear friendly, if only for Mickey’s sake.

  “So what have you done, hijacked the van and tied Mickey up in the back?”

  “You’re pulling my leg, now, aren’t you indeed?” On an impulse, Bella checked her mail, to make sure that it was all hers. “No, young Mickey’s got a couple of days off. Gone to Birmingham, he has, for some competition or other.”

  “Oh?” she remarked, casually. “What sort of a competition?”

  “Something sporting I think it was.” He turned away and began limping back to the van. “He did tell me but I’ve forgotten.”

  None of the letters looked interesting but the package was a different matter. It had a London postmark on the plain brown wrapping paper. Bella walked back inside, closing the door behind her with a shove of her backside, tearing the paper away as she returned to the kitchen to finish her breakfast. Her efforts revealed the unmistakable shape of a memory stick. There was no letter accompanying it just one of those small, yellow reminder notes gummed along one edge which was with the contents. The simple message read, ‘Thought this might be of interest to you. Your loving sister, Laura.’

  “What’s she up to now?” Bella put the object down on the worktop and picked up her piece of toast, by now long cold, and it crumbled in her hand as she bit into it. Ubix looked on, hopefully, always game for something to supplement his biscuits with. She put another couple of pieces of bread in the toaster and turned to the cat, bending down to stroke it.

  “It’s all very well my sister sending me a memory stick but do I really want to see what's on it? As it’s from Laura it's guaranteed to upset me.” Without further thought she stood up and grabbed the device. Opening the bottom drawer in the
unit next to her she dropped the memory stick in and closed the drawer.

  “That’s taken care of that, puss, now let’s see what’s in these letters, eh?”

  Cora and Joshua came while she was upstairs working and, much to her surprise, Cora came up to inform her they had arrived, something she’d never done before. She’d even brought Bella a couple of freshly-baked scones which she left with her but her manner was still remote and aloof. Any attempt at making polite conversation was rebuffed with a curt response which Bella read, accurately or not, as saying mind your own business.

  “One day, perhaps!” she sighed, watching Cora leave the room and immediately had the thought that it might be nice to go and say hello to Joshua. Just thinking about his face, under the old hat, made her smile. There and then she got up from her seat and went down to the garden. The day had improved from a little earlier when she had met the postman. A light breeze had sprung up and the sun was beginning to burn off the early cloud. Bella was surprised how warm it was but there was Joshua, resplendent in a crumpled old brown, pinstripe suit complete with waistcoat. It suddenly struck her what the old boy reminded her of. He was the spitting image of the classic scarecrow. Stick a broom handle across his sleeves and stuff some straw under his hat and voila!, she thought. The picture she’d conjured up put a wide grin on her face as she approached.

  “Mornin’ miss,” Joshua greeted her, touching his hat.

  “Morning, Joshua. I thought I’d come out and tell you how pleased I am with the way you’ve got the garden looking.” His smile revealed a missing tooth.

  “What are you up to today?”

  “Sortin’ out a place for a compost bin I’m goin’ to make and I want to build a little glasshouse for your seeds. I got the materials from the village. Put it on your account as usual, Miss.”

  “You’re a gem, Joshua. I don’t how you do it. Keep up the good work.” He touched his hat again as she turned away, loathe to leave the warmth of the garden for her chilly room. It made her wonder what it would be like upstairs in the winter and if it wouldn’t be better to move everything downstairs. Time enough to think about that later, she conceded, as she returned upstairs and settled herself back at the keyboard. Every now and then the odd sound would filter up from below as Cora went about her work or Joshua hammered nails in but it in no way intruded on Bella’s concentration. More than content in her isolation she worked on, stopping only to have one of Cora’s scones with her coffee until she began to feel the need for something more substantial to eat. As she went to get up, the phone rang and Bella answered it only to discover that it was Ben Hollingsworth.

  “Hello, stranger!” As soon as she’d recognised his voice, Bella remembered that in just over twenty-four hours Kyle would be arriving for the weekend and she hadn’t even thought about what they were going to eat, or anything.

  “Yes, sorry I’ve not been in touch. I can’t talk for long but I needed to speak to you.”

  “Is something wrong, Ben?” She thought he sounded quite ill-at-ease.

  “It looks like Tina and I are going to split up.”

  “What?” Whatever Bella might have been expecting to hear, it wasn’t the news she had just been told. “This is all a bit sudden, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, I think it’s been on the cards for a long time but both of us were simply turning a blind eye to the situation and carrying on as if everything was ok.” There was a little-boy-lost quality to his voice and she couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “It’s early days yet but I really need to see you.” Right at that moment she was so pleased that she hadn’t contacted him last weekend. “Are you coming up here soon?” It certainly wasn’t the time to tell him she’d only just got back.

  “I hadn’t planned to, Ben. No chance of you coming down here, I suppose?” The instant the words were out she regretted saying them.

  “Absolutely not. I’ve got some problems at work that need to be sorted out, too. It’s impossible for me to get away right now. What are you doing this weekend?”

  Quick as a flash the lie came to her lips.

  “My mother’s coming to stay.”

  “Oh!” He said it so quietly she hardly heard him. Presumably he had been counting on the fact that she might drop everything and dash up to see him. The lie weighed heavily upon her.

  “Can’t we talk now, on the phone?”

  “No, I need to see you!” he stressed. “Look, I’ve got to go. Can I ring you, say, one evening next week?”

  “Of course, Ben. I’ll look forward to it.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “Right, I’ll talk to you then. Bye.” Bella was left looking at the portable in her hand, trying to come to terms with Ben’s news. He obviously didn’t want to see her to discuss the weather, that much was clear. Maybe it would have been a good idea to have seen him last weekend, she thought. How typical! Just when everything had seemed to be going along so nicely.

  Ben had ended the call on his mobile after talking to Bella from his office and rested his head in his hands, massaging his face. All of a sudden he felt dog-tired and very old. Previously he had considered himself to be in the prime of his life, proud of his physical condition and the general level of his fitness but now he felt used up, wrung out like an old dishcloth. With his life coming unstitched at the seams it had begun to show in his work and, if he wasn’t careful, he’d have neither a wife nor a mistress (which he saw as a blessing) but far worse than that he’d be out of a job. If he didn’t do something soon about Barbara Richmond the likelihood was that he would be unemployable too. The call to Bella had been nothing less than a cry for help but she wouldn’t have known that. How could she? From the depths of his misery he recalled the journey back from Dorset after his last visit and the decision he had come to then. Why, oh why hadn’t he acted on it straight away? Thinking to himself that if he had have done he might not have found himself in the situation that he faced now, after the unforgettable night at Barbara's friend’s flat. Unforgettable in just about every way, he thought despairingly. But he knew the answer well enough to why he had done nothing. Because he was weak that was why. Not only weak but trapped in the web of her sexual favours, ensnared by his own inability to master his lust for her. A knock on the office door interrupted his thoughts as though it were fate itself calling for him. Barbara walked in smiling confidently without waiting for him to answer. In her arms were a number of files. A word came to his mind, making him smile in the midst of his misery. Cocksure, that’s how she came across now and it suited her perfectly.

  “Good morning, Mr. Hollingsworth. You’re not looking your usual bright, cheerful self today. Anything I can do for you?” She never called him Ben, at the office, if there was the likelihood of anyone else overhearing. And from the look on her face he could tell that her offer of assistance was definitely not work-related.

  “No thank you, Barbara. I can manage perfectly well without your help!” The reply was a little too terse, sharper than would have been necessary under ordinary circumstances and she raised an eyebrow, in concern.

  “You think so, do you? That’s interesting.” He cursed himself, immediately, for playing into her hands and it was obvious she was enjoying herself. Putting the files down, she leaned forward, hands on his desk, arms splayed out, so that she could talk quietly to him. Ben’s eyed were riveted on the collar of her blouse as it fell forward, displaying her cleavage, and the familiar scent of her talc wafted over him.

  “What are you doing on Sunday? Wouldn’t it be nice if we went out somewhere, don’t you think? Maybe have a picnic. You know, in the open air?” She walked a couple of fingers across the desk, over the back of his hand, and her touch struck him like an electric shock. The inference in her suggestion was all too obvious and the prospect excited him but then, horrified at himself, he realised it had to stop. He had to get out from under her spell. Put an end to it all.

&nbs
p; “No, not Sunday. I can’t.” He searched desperately for an excuse.

  “Why’s that? Tina won’t let you out?” As she spoke, her fingers were stroking the back of his hand. “I don’t think she’ll mind, do you?” A sharp rap on the door interrupted them and she picked up the files, whispering to him, softly.

  “See you Sunday, then.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Friday morning had dawned with a calm serenity. As Bella looked out on the day through her bedroom window it seemed as though the world was holding its breath. Not a sound could be heard. Not a single, solitary thrush or blackbird to herald the start of a new day. Most unusually there wasn’t even the merest whisper of a breeze, the leaves and branches outside her window remaining strangely unstirred. She had risen early, before six, gone downstairs and made a cup of tea and brought it back up with her. Before going back to bed she had opened the curtains then plumped up her pillows so she could sit up and watch the day come awake. It had been a productive week therefore she had given herself the day off although it would have been difficult keeping her mind on her work with the thought of Kyle arriving. The peaceful scene outside was not reflected in the way she felt. Already there was a nervous tingle in her stomach that had its roots in the faint degree of excitement that she was already experiencing. It ran through her like a low voltage electric current as she surveyed the room, her eyes coming to rest on the empty space next to her in the king-sized bed. The space that would be filled, in the matter of a few hours, by Kyle Lucas. Bella took a deep breath then let it out slowly, her head filled with all the implications of what was about to happen. Relationships were never simple. Especially when the border-line that separated friends from lovers was crossed. Nobody knew better than she that appearances could be deceiving and what looked like friendly territory on the other side of that border often turned out to be hostile. The trouble with a minefield, and Bella was very aware of the fact as she thought about Kyle, was that you were most unlikely to know that you were in it until it was too late. To be honest, she reflected, as at last she heard the birds begin to wake up outside, if I could find a half-decent man with a sense of humour, happy to have sex occasionally and nothing more, I’d probably be quite happy. No commitment, none of the drama, with no scenes and no arguments. Just wham, bam, thank you ma’am and goodbye til the next time. Unless of course I could find Mr. Perfect, she concluded. Not wishing to think about the subject any further, convinced it would only spoil her day, Bella flung back the duvet and sprung out of bed with sunlight now streaming into the room. Determined to keep herself occupied and keep her eyes from straying to the clock, after breakfast Bella made a list of all the things she needed to do and anything that she was going to have to buy for the weekend. Not knowing Kyle’s taste in food it was going to pay to keep things simple plus she would need to get some beer in. What was it he was drinking, when they were out? She tried to remember and couldn’t. Perhaps she would go to The Lamb and see Samuel, see what he recommended. That would start a few tongues wagging, no doubt. Maybe she and Kyle would drop in there, over the weekend, too. It would certainly give Kyle a feel for the place, she figured, and he may well get the chance that he wanted to see Alfie. At the bottom of the list she wrote the cat’s name.