Chapter 7
We wait until Danny’s men leave for the day before creeping up to the site. They have gouged out a good half of the marked area. Alan and I jump into a nearby trench and wait until sure we’re alone while Avril hugs a tree nearby.
“I’ll be the lookout.” She hollers in a voice loud enough to wake the dead.
We cringe out at her before Alan sets to work with a trowel he’s found at the ARC. He carves out a neat slab of earth a foot or so from ground level and I watch before following his lead and do the same on the other side using an ancient soup spoon. Avril passes us various trinkets and we plant them until we have two rows of interesting pieces on show. I drop a few coins in the trench for good measure before turning to watch Alan carefully slide the Roman sword into the main hole he’s dug before smoothing it over with heavy clay soil, leaving only a tantalising couple of inches on view. “It’ll be just our luck if they all get pinched before anyone has a chance to see them.” He sighs, fruitlessly patting at the mud on his jeans.
“That’s a chance we’ll have to take.” I whisper, already concerned at just how nondescript the objects look now they’re back in the earth. We stay low and creep along the length of the trench, stopping every couple of metres to plant another object or drop a few coins, taking it in turns to do the digging. Avril keeps abreast of us, wandering along examining the nail she broke earlier with that familiar pained expression I’ve come to know so well. The floor of the trench is muddy from natural ground water and my trainers and jeans are soaked and stained brown right up to my knees. But I grin all the same, knowing the end result will be well worth the discomfort. When the potato sack is empty, we climb back out.
“They don’t look as if they’ll be discovered for another two thousand years.” Avril says. “Pity they’re so dull. Can’t you put them up higher where people are bound to see them?”
Alan shakes his head. “That’ll blow the whole deal. I’m banking on some interested dog walker passing this way and not being able to resist looking down into the hole. People tend to do that for some reason.”
“But what if they don’t?”
“Then I’ll just have to get hold of someone who’ll discover them for us.” I say, not wanting to hear what could go wrong with our wonderful plan. “It’ll have to be someone who’s not a known objector though. Someone we can trust from your college will be fine.”
Avril eyes the pair of us with disgust. “Lucky I didn’t go down there after all, look at the bloody state of you both.”
I shrug. “It will all be worth it.”
“Right,” Alan says, scanning the trees around us for potential witnesses. “The car’s on the other side of the lake Cath, so we’ll cut away from here. We don’t want to be seen loitering around this place together, so we’ll catch up with you when this is all over.”
“You’re not going to the party?”
“No fear," Avril replies. “Normally I’d go anywhere for free drinks, but it was us who mangled his fence and lost his stupid dogs.”
“He’s probably forgotten all about it.” I grin. “Now he thinks he’s crushed the rebellion, it will be all sweetness and light.”
“Well I’m not taking the risk,” the girl says finally.
The sky begins to darken as I pick my way through the dense undergrowth as I head back for the Animal Rescue Centre. The incessant twittering above me falls silent, as the birds ready themselves for a downpour and I wonder if heavy rain will help or hinder our plan. At least a good deluge could be blamed for washing out the sides of the trench, I muse. One thing’s certain; I desperately need a change of clothing right now. The thick, brown goo clings to just about every part me from the waist down and my top half is spattered all over through standing so close to Alan as he hacked away with the trowel. Some of it has even worked its way down the back of my neck where it seems to wriggle about, as cold and clammy as dead slugs against my skin. But for all my discomfort, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself by the time I get back down the hill. Not only have I beaten the rain, I’ve beaten Danny Marsden too, or at least slowed him down for a long time.
“Good Afternoon.” The voice stops me dead in my tracks. Danny’s standing a few yards in front of the ARC buildings with his hands in his pockets. He’s locked onto me the moment I step around the trees and in my hyped-up state I’ve failed to spot him. He’s smiling, friendly.
“Hi there,” I call, struggling to remain cool. He watches me intently as I slowly narrow the gap between us as I try to give myself time to think. He’ll be working on a reason for the state I’m in and I curse him silently for his lousy timing. Why did he always seem to be around when I looked like this? I could feel the black gaze scanning my entire body.
“Have you actually got a bath at home?” He asks.
I know if I say nothing he will be even more suspicious. “Someone phoned and said they’d seen an injured swan caught up in fishing line over on the lake.” I say.
“And good old Cathy dived in to save him?” He laughs.
“Not exactly. I couldn’t find him.”
He drops the sneer. “Maybe we should both go and take a look. We could drive up the lane and cut across to the lake from the road.”
“No point,” I sigh. “There’s nothing there. Trust me, I know that place better than you do.”
“Are you all right then? he says. “You haven’t hurt yourself?”
“No.” I reply. “Just a bit wet and muddy.”
The look of concern in his rugged face makes me smile and as I approach the door with the key in my hand. He makes no attempt to move aside, forcing me to squeeze past him as I slip it into the lock. I can feel him staring at me and his face is just inches from mine. He’s too quiet and too thoughtful. Danny Marsden seems to have inner vision about things not being quite what they seem and I have to stop him pondering for too long.
“What do you want anyway?” I ask as he follows me inside.
“I thought I’d stop off on my way to see if you’re still coming over tonight?”
“On your way where?”
“The site of course. I bet they’ve all sloped off and it’s still early. I need to see how far they’ve got with the trench for the fencing. With any luck it should all be sealed off from prying eyes by this time tomorrow.”
My mind whirrs as he speaks. The one place Danny can’t go right now is the site and I stifle an involuntary swallow. “You don’t need to go now do you? It looks as though it’s going to pour down at any moment.”
He shrugs, as if wary of my sudden concern for his well-being. “A bit of rain doesn’t bother me?” He murmurs.
“I thought you might like a cup of tea, I was just about to make one for myself.”
Again he looks around, suspicion furrowing his deep brow and I turn away from him to face the kettle, terrified in case my expression’s giving away information it shouldn’t.
“It’s safe?” I add, over my shoulder. “Molly’s gone off to visit her folks up north, so you’ve no worries there.”
He relaxes a little then and walks fully into the room. I watch him examining the wire mesh cages as if noticing the animals inside for the first time and he spots an abandoned fluffy white kitten we’ve named Snowy in one of them. The tiny ball of fur remains homeless and I’d love to adopt her myself but Mother’s allergic to cats.
“Good boy. Come on fella.” Danny says through the mesh softly as the kitten cowers away from him.
“That’s not the way you talk to a kitten Danny.” I whisper. “Here let me.”
I open the door and lift the reluctant feline out and she soon as he realises there’s no imminent danger and begins to purr as she presses herself into my body, soaking up the extra warmth.
“He seems to like you all right.” Danny says, grinning down at the creature. “You didn’t find him round here did you?”
“He is a she Danny.” I reply. “Are you rea
lly interested or are you just making small talk?”
He runs his fingers gently through the soft fur. “Despite what you think about me, I’m not an odious beast. I do like animals, seriously. Here let me take her.”
Snowy finds herself dwarfed a second later, cradled in huge hands. Eyes big as saucers she stares up at her latest admirer. “So what’s the story with her?”
“Someone found her inside a tied bag on the river bank on the other side of town. Luckily the bag stayed afloat and she was found by an angler. But she was nearly dead by the time we got her.”
Danny shakes his head sadly “Some people.” He sighs sadly, as Snowy decides to sink sharp little fangs into his finger and leap onto the table. “Ow.” He cries, pretending to be in great pain. I play along. If it keeps him away from the ditch, it’s a small price to pay and his injured finger will ensure he won’t be leaving just yet. I examine the wound. “It’s only a nick.” I say. “I’ll get you a plaster.”
The first aid box is not in its usual place and I start rummaging through all the other cupboards while speaking to Danny over my shoulder. “You see the effect you had on that poor little thing?” I say, “You do exactly the same to me.”
As I turn to make sure he’s listening, I’m amazed to see Snowy sitting on his lap purring louder than ever and clearly just about to go to sleep. He grins triumphantly.
“Do I really?” He says as I glare at the little turncoat. “If that’s the case, you’re more than welcome to sit on the other knee.”
I turn away, scowling at the cheek of the man and continue the search, curiously aggravated by the kitten now looking up at him through half closed eyes, utter devotion on the tiny streamlined face. I finally find the box in one of the sink drawers.
“She’s really quite a nice little thing underneath it all isn’t she?” He says, letting the question hang for what seems an age.
“Yes,” I replied evenly. “She is.”
“We’ve never had a cat. I’d like to adopt her.”
“You!”
“Yes me. Is that so strange?”
“I hope she won’t end up being eaten by one of your dogs.”
“Of course she won’t.” he growled. “Way too thin to make a decent meal anyway. I’ll treat her like bone china.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. What do I have to do?”
“Well, you have to give us a donation and then one of us is supposed to visit your home, to see if you’re a suitable person to keep an animal. Then there’s this form to fill in too.” I fumble through the paperwork drawer expecting him to tell me to forget it. But he stays quiet, aside from whispering sweet nothings into Snowy’s ear while he rubs it gently.
“I’ll fill it in as soon as you give me that plaster.” He says. “But right now I appear to be dripping blood all over her and your nice clean floor.”
I grab the plasters and disinfectant.. “Oh, I’m sorry. I really thought it was a scratch.”
“Scratch,” he howls as I dab his finger and dry it, desperately trying to prevent my hands from trembling as I work. The closeness of him in reminds me of the night he’d stuck those ridiculously large plasters on my head. “This thing’s had at least an inch off there. I’ll probably go into deep shock at any moment and collapse.”
It’s hard not to smile at him. He’s in such a playful mood right now and his gaze, warm and humorous, drills into me as I smooth the plaster into place. “It just a little pin hole.” I say calmly, trying not to grin. “And please don’t fall down; I’ll never be able to drag a great lump like you through that door when it’s time to lock up.” I stoop to pet the kitten but I can see she’s lost all interest in me. “I don’t know what came over her. She’s not bitten anyone else.”
“I guess she just had the sense to know where to look for the soft bit.” He looks serious now and I guess the statement’s aimed at me and has little to with the animal. What was the man after? Surely he wasn’t genuinely interested in me. He couldn’t be. He had Amanda didn’t he? Girls who were that slim and had clothes that cost that much usually had everything physically to go with them too. He feels so close now and a major blush creeps up on me as I mentally curse myself for not being able to remain as cool and collected as he always seems to be. I yearn to be as deep and unfathomable as he is. To be able to look at someone as if I can see right through them and let everything roll over me. I thought of the day I’d first seen him sitting in the Town Hall as the throng of people at the back heaped abuse on him without turning a hair. I hear the first big spots of a heavy rain hit the corrugated roof above us and the sound breaks into my racing thoughts.
“Did you pass by the site at all today?” He says.
“The site,” I reply, a little too quickly. “No, I went the long way round.”
“Pity,” he sighs. “Looks as though I’ll have to take a look up there myself then.”
He eyes me with his dark, knowing look and I wonder just how long he’s been hanging around outside? Surely he hasn’t followed us. Was this just his way of winding me up before dropping the bombshell that he knew all about my little subterfuge? As usual, his face shows nothing I can lock onto and now I can only go through the motions and pray he knows nothing.
“Why bother,” I say nonchalantly. “Look, it’s pouring down out there now.”
“I could pick you up later on and drive you over to the house.” He says, suddenly off on a new tack.
“No, Danny, that’s all right.” I say. “My Mother will be there too.”
“That’s O.K, I can take you both,” He sits back, an easy smile playing around his lips. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”
I look at him to see if he’s serious. “I think she’d be nervous at having a total stranger coming to the door for us. You know what I mean?”
“Yes. I think so.” He replies. “You’re embarrassed in case your friends see you with me?”
“No it’s not that.” I say. “You asked me to show up for appearances sake and I will.”
“But I really want you to come.” He replies. “To be honest, appearances haven’t got a lot to do with it. My Mother and Father would love to meet you.”
I sit down surprised. “And why would they want to meet me? I’ve been nothing but a pain in the arse since we first met.”
“That’s the whole point.” He drawls. “They love someone with spirit and I’ve already told them you’ve got bags of that.”
He has that odd look in his eye again, as if he’s keeping something back and again I’m surprised at him telling his parents anything about me. “Will Amanda be there?” I ask suddenly.
He frowns. “Why do you ask that?”
Danny is impossibly pig headed and I make sure he doesn’t misunderstand the remark.
“I haven’t returned her clothes yet, remember?”
He leaned forward to take a sip of his tea. “Oh that’s all right. She doesn’t know you’ve got them.”
I can’t help grinning now. There’s something boyish and rogue like about him and my determination to think of him as an enemy and nothing more is becoming virtually impossible. “Danny, you really are the end. Are you telling me you rummaged through her clothes to find me something to wear that night?”
“Amanda is a wonderful girl in every way except one.” He says. “She’s just about the most untidy person in the world. I didn’t have to open any drawers or do any rummaging at all. There were piles of stuff lying around everywhere and I just grabbed what I thought would be the most suitable things I could find.”
His face definitely lights up when he talks about her though and I badly want to ask who the girl is exactly, but I don’t want to stick my head up that far above the parapet. “Would she mind if she found out?”
“I’d doubt it.” He says. “Amanda is the heart of gold type. Very much like yourself in a lot of ways. She’ll do anything for anyone.”
I resist the odd twinge of jealousy. I bet, I think to myself.
He drains the cup and puts it down on the table before standing and gently placing Snowy into my arms. “Well I’d best be off to see what the boys have been up to. Thanks for the tea.”
He heads for the door suddenly and I desperately search for something I can say to prevent him leaving without making him suspicious. At that moment, there’s a flash of lightning followed by a loud and long roll of thunder. Snowy leaps out of my arms and dives into the sink cupboard, big green eyes peering out at us both, as if demanding protection. The rain starts to hammer down, the sound of the huge drops bouncing off the tin roof as loud as heavy machine gun fire.
“Blast.” He drawls, screwing his eyes up at the leaden sky from the doorway. “How’s that for duff timing.”
“I thought you weren’t bothered by a bit of rain?" I say, rescuing Snowy and attempting to stroke her into calming down while ignoring the pain as her claws cling onto my arm with all the force of a drowning man hanging onto lump of timber.
“Rain’s one thing, but I never did like thunder and lightning.” He says. “What time will you be leaving for home?”
“About five I guess. It is Saturday, after all.”
He checked his watch. “It’s 5.20 now.”
“Oh.”
“It’s no trouble getting the bike into the back of the car. You can’t ride home in this and if you stay here you’ll have a long wait before it passes by the look of things.”
I feel trapped and even the kitten looks from one to the other as if expecting something interesting to happen. I can’t stop thinking of the last time he gave me a lift home and my heart beats faster at the memory. But if I refuse his offer he might simply head off to the site regardless of the weather.
“Let me put Snowy away.” I say.
“Can’t I have her now? He asks, coming back over to pet her again.. “If you bring one of your forms too I’ll fill it in. And you know you’re more than welcome to come and inspect the house whenever you like.”
Again the thought of Danny with a kitten in tow seems a little unreal and I wonder what Molly will say if she ever gets to hear about the odd adoption.
“I think you’d better leave the form filling to me.” I say, already running a few innocent sounding aliases through my head, ignoring his confused expression as he scoops up the little fur bundle. This time, Snowy’s glad of the protection and there’s no violence. “You’ll need cat food and some other bits and pieces too.”
“No problem.” He says. “You can show me where to get whatever I need on the way and here’s the money.” He squeezes a bundle of notes into my hand.
“What’s this?”
“The donation I’m supposed to give you.” He replies.
“But it’s far too much.” I gasp. “Most people give us about twenty quid but this is . well, I don’t know what it is. But it’s just too much.”
He makes no move to take it back.
“We aren’t going to have much use for this anyway.” I add. “This place won’t be here in a couple of weeks.”
“Keep it anyway.” he says. “I insist.”
I can’t understand this man at all and I decide it’s probably best not to try. “Normally donations go into the box but I can hardly leave this here overnight. I’ll give you a receipt.”
“There’s no need.”
“I insist too.” I say. “I like to do things properly.”
I find Molly’s receipt book and quickly scribble out an unintelligible scrawl in the name box and pass him his copy. It will prevent her asking questions there weren’t any answers to on her return.
“You always try to do everything the right way don’t you?” he says.
“Yes. I try, whenever possible.”
“But you’d bend the rules if you had to, if you felt justified, right?”
He holds the door open for me and again I’m glad to be able to turn my back on him as I lock it. The ever worrying thought that he might know more than he’s letting on threatens to give me away.
“Yes. If I’m right and I feel something radical has to be done, then I would probably do it.”
“Good.” He says. The remark is completely unexpected.
We walk slowly along the lane towards his car, Snowy shivering at being out for the first time since her lucky rescue and as I stand back to allow Danny to unlock the doors I’m amazed to see him easing the little animal under his coat in an attempt to keep it warm and dry.
Make a Wish Page 7