by Alys West
“You okay?” Zoe said from the backseat.
Jenna released her seat belt and glanced at Zoe through the rear-view mirror. “Second thoughts, that’s all.”
“Don’t say much at all and keep your voice really flat.” Zoe retied her ponytail as she spoke. “And don’t laugh or make any jokes.”
“That bit shouldn’t be any trouble. I don’t feel much like joking.”
“And if you want out at any point then just say.” Finn turned to shoot a glance at his girlfriend. “Zoe’ll take you home if you want to go.”
There was some tension there but she couldn’t worry about that. Not on top of everything else. Jenna pushed open the car door and got out. Her hair whipped around her face and she pushed it back. There was already a stiff breeze. Rain lurked in the dark clouds over Hoy. Not unusual for Orkney at this time of year but today she wanted flat calm and sunny skies. Nothing for Rachel to whip into a storm.
“Okay, thanks.” She smiled at Zoe over the roof of the car. It didn’t feel like she’d only met Finn and Zoe this morning. That could be down to everything Winston had told her about them but it felt more than that, deeper somehow. Especially with Zoe. Of course, it helped that Zoe had been kind on that first strange, dislocated meeting with Grace but there was something more that she couldn’t fathom. “Ready for your false identities?” Jenna added, as she opened the boot.
She’d rung Andrew earlier and asked if she could bring two friends who happened to be in Orkney this weekend. In case Andrew had been paying far more attention to her life than she’d thought, Zoe was going to be Laura who Jenna had worked with at the Royal Armouries and Finn, Laura’s boyfriend, Dave.
“I’m cool with it,” Zoe said. “Twice in two days for me.”
“Show off,” Finn muttered.
Lifting her fiddle case, she swung it onto her shoulder. It bumped against the bandage on her arm and she swore.
“Let me.” Finn held his hand out.
“I can manage…” The words came out automatically and then she stopped. Earlier, sometime after the argument about her going through with this plan, Winston had gone on for ten minutes without a single joke about her accepting help when it was offered. That he cared, that he felt he had the right to say these things, she hadn’t yet had time to adjust to. “Alright, thanks.”
As Finn took the fiddle case from her, their eyes met. He looked slightly apologetic and she knew instantly what that meant. “He told you to look after me, didn’t he?”
“Go easy on him. It’s killing him waiting this out.”
“For an hour. Two at the most.”
“You’re going to have to get used to it now you’re dating a druid.” Zoe took the music stand out of the boot. “I’d known Finn less than a week when he parcelled me off for Winston to take care of.”
“There were reasons.” Finn sounded faintly amused as if they were talking about something that’d happened at a party.
“See?” Zoe tilted her head to look up at him. “They always find a way to justify it.”
Jenna slammed the boot shut. It was weird hearing them joke about it. Would she and Winston be like this in a few months’ time? So easy, so right together? Regardless of what he’d said last night, she was still having trouble thinking of them as a couple.
The gravel crunched underfoot as she led them around Andrew’s Range Rover and Felicity’s BMW to the front door. A bunch of purple and silver helium balloons were tied to each of the ornamental box trees which stood on either side of the door. After lifting the knocker, she gave two sharp raps. As she always did before she met Felicity, she looked down at her outfit and found it wanting. It’d been hard to find a top that didn’t reveal the bulky bandage underneath and she’d settled on a baggy navy shirt with a lacy turquoise vest underneath. Zoe, at least, looked dressed for a party in a pretty tunic top, red cardigan and matching scarf.
The door swung open and Jenna plastered on the fake smile she reserved for dealing with her aunt. Then pulled it back a notch. She was supposed to be under the spell. No emotion, minimal reactions.
“Oh, Jenna, come in,” Felicity said. “Your friend’s already here. He’s setting up in the living area.”
So Hal had showed. She hadn’t been entirely sure he would. Not even after he’d replied to her text this morning. She’d wanted to call it off, to keep him as far away as possible from Andrew’s this afternoon but, as Winston had pointed out, if she was under the spell she wouldn’t be thinking like that. She got that but it still felt wrong to bring Hal into danger he knew nothing about.
Jenna gestured to Finn and Zoe. “This is Laura and Dave. Thanks for letting me bring them along. They’re only in Orkney for the weekend and I didn’t want to miss out on spending time with them.”
Finn shook Felicity’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs Stewart. You’ve a beautiful home here.”
Felicity flipped her hair back and held his hand rather longer than was necessary. “It took a lot of work, I can tell you, especially with the Orkney weather holding things up at every turn.”
Zoe reached in her bag and carefully extracted a bunch of Sweet Williams. “And I brought you these as a thank you for letting us come along.” Zoe’s accent was stronger than when she’d spoken outside the door. No one would doubt she was from Yorkshire.
“That’s so kind. Thank you.”
“Is there somewhere we can put these, Mrs Stewart?” Finn gestured with the fiddle case. “Jenna roped us in as roadies.”
“Felicity, please.” There was another hair flick as she spoke. “Of course, let me show you.”
If Zoe noticed Felicity’s hand lingering on Finn’s arm, she gave no sign of it but kept up a constant stream of compliments on the view, the pictures on the walls, the flower arrangements, even the huge rug covering the wooden floor.
That was the first hurdle down. They were in. Now she’d only got to deal with Andrew.
***
Jenna looked better. More colour in her face, her eyes back to normal. Her smile looked false but that could be down to proximity to Felicity.
Beside Jenna walked a slender woman with long brown hair in a ponytail, who was carrying a music stand. Felicity was chatting to a tall, curly-haired bloke who held Jenna’s fiddle case in his right hand. At least she hadn’t turned up with bloody Winston, although he was bound to be around somewhere.
Hal had nearly ducked out. Faked a sore throat, claimed he’d shut his fingers in the car door, anything that’d stop him playing. Only the fact that Jenna, despite her injuries, was willing to go through with it had got him here. He couldn’t be the guy who let her down. It just wasn’t in him.
“I thought this’d be a good spot. We’ll open the patio windows when people arrive,” Felicity said, steering the tall, curly-haired bloke to a stop. “I’ll leave you to do whatever you musicians need to do to get ready. They’re setting the bar up in the dining room so if you need anything help yourself.”
Hal put his guitar down and stood up. Jenna shot him a quick smile before she returned her attention to her aunt and asked, “Where’s Andrew?”
“He and the boys are setting up the barbeque. I’m sure he’ll be in soon. There’s so much—” her gesture encompassed the room and then she froze “—if you’ll excuse me.” She didn’t wait for an answer but shot off across the wooden floor, her heels tapping out an angry rhythm.
“Sorry, we’re a bit late.” Jenna took her fiddle case from the tall guy and laid it on the empty chair next to his. “This is Laura and Dave. They happened to be in Orkney this weekend so I brought them along.”
What kind of idiot did she take him for? Well, he was damned if he’d play along a second time. “No, they’re not. At least, that might be Dave. I’ve never met Dave. But that’s not Laura. I met her in Newcastle and she’s got short blonde hair and is about three inches taller.”
Her reaction was worse than he’d expected. She went bone white. Every scrap of colour left her face until she
looked as bad as she had last night. “Shit!” she said quietly. “I’d forgotten that.”
“I’m tired of you lying to me, Jenna—” something in the way she reacted made him keep his voice low “—so who are these people and why are you telling your aunt and uncle they’re someone they’re not?”
She gestured with her head towards the patio doors. “Outside.”
He glanced around. Felicity was laying the law down in the dining room. The woman who wasn’t Laura was biting her lip uncertainly. The guy stood beside her, his hand protectively on her shoulder. Whoever they were, they looked like a couple.
“Alright.” He slid the door open, stepped through it. Jenna followed and shut it behind her. Pulling her jacket around her, she walked down the sloping garden until she reached the wall. Beyond was a hundred yards of rough grass, a small pebble-strewn beach and the sea.
“What’s going on?” Hal folded his arms. “And this had better be good because otherwise I’m going and you can explain that to your uncle any way you want.”
“I’m sorry about Laura. I should have remembered you’d met her. I just didn’t want Andrew asking too many questions about why they’re here with me.”
“So who are they? And don’t lie to me this time.”
“They’re friends of Winston’s, that’s all.”
“So Winston put you up to this, did he?” The wind sliced through his thin shirt. Hal hunched his shoulders. “I should have known.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“That you didn’t keep things from me until he turned up.”
“And you always tell me everything, do you?” Her chin came up. “You’ve a short memory, Hal.”
“I told you about Cassie. Maybe not as soon as I should have but I did tell you. But you didn’t tell me about you and Winston. You left me to find that out from him.”
“Because I didn’t know.”
“How could you not know?” He moved closer, leaned in. “You either are or you’re not. It’s not rocket science.”
She took a step back. “It’s not that simple. Things have been… complicated.”
“Why? Has he got a wife back in Glasgow? A couple of girlfriends he’s not told you about?”
“Not that kind of complicated.” She looked down, fiddled with the zip on her coat. “It was me. I screwed up, okay? I screwed up lots of things. Like deciding to leave and giving up my job and almost giving Mansie away—”
“You were going to give Mansie away?” He pulled back. “No way. You love that cat.”
She sniffed, reached in her pocket and pulled out a tatted tissue. “I know.”
“Then what the hell happened?”
She glanced up at the house. “You have to promise not to tell anyone I told you this?”
It was going to have to be good but whatever it was he needed to hear it. “Okay.”
“Uncle Andrew put pressure on me to leave. I can’t—”
Hal’s hands tightened into fists. “What?”
She reached for his arm, her touch lingering only for a second. “You promised not to tell anyone.”
“I didn’t promise not to punch anyone.”
She looked skywards. “Not you as well. I had to practically bribe Winston not to deck him.”
“At last something Archaeology Boy and I can agree on.”
“Archaeology Boy?” Her grin came slowly and then widened. “Really?”
“I’m never going to like him. You know that, don’t you?”
“I know.” Her gaze searched his face for a long moment before switching to stare out to sea. “He’s better than you think. He just hides that side of himself really well.”
Somehow the little black-haired git had managed to convince her he’d got a good side. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up. Sooner or later she’d see through the twat. And then Hal would…
Crap! He couldn’t think like that. Cassie was coming.
He moved to stand next to her, fixing his gaze on the horizon. “So, you’re not going to Edinburgh?”
“No. But I’m not ready to tell Andrew yet.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because he’ll start pressuring me again.”
“I don’t understand. How’s he pressuring you?”
She shook her head. “Family stuff. It’s messy but I need a bit more time. Once I’ve got enough on him, I’ll be able to make him stop.”
“How?” Hal frowned. “Is this about Nethertown? Are there things going on—”
“Partly.” Jenna’s smile tightened. “Now try to look like you’re enjoying yourself. He’s coming over.”
Hal turned to see Andrew striding across the lawn towards them, wearing a checked blue shirt tucked into too-tight jeans. Jenna pulled her sunglasses out of her coat pocket and, even though the sun wasn’t out, slipped them on.
“How’s my favourite niece?” Andrew enveloped her in a hug. Over her uncle’s shoulder, Hal saw her face as he touched her. Revulsion quickly suppressed.
What was going on? What she’d told him just didn’t add up. There was something else, something more serious.
“Fine,” Jenna said, as Andrew released her. “You remember Hal?”
Andrew’s handshake was swift and firm. “From Nina’s funeral, of course. You’re living in Orkney now?”
It was an effort to keep his tone civil but if Winston could keep from punching Andrew Stewart then he could too. “In Stromness. I’m working on the Atlantis Project.”
“Good for you. I keep telling everyone green energy is the future of Orkney’s economy.” Andrew started walking up the garden and Hal felt he’d no choice but to join him. “Steambridge has got close links with Atlantis. You’ll see a few people you know at the party.”
As Andrew listed them, Hal glanced back at Jenna. Her arms were wrapped around her middle, her gaze fixed on her feet. She’d never got on well with her uncle but something had definitely changed. Because when Andrew hugged her, her reaction looked a lot like hate.
Andrew slid the patio doors open and gestured for him to go first. The woman who wasn’t Laura was struggling to adjust Jenna’s music stand. She straightened as Jenna introduced her and the tall guy to Andrew.
Hal sat down and picked up his guitar. Jenna sounded off again. It was as if someone had flicked a switch as Andrew approached which dialled her settings down. Her voice was monotone, her gestures muted. Exactly, now he came to think of it, like she’d been yesterday evening before the seizure.
***
Felicity Stewart was a complete bitch. Rachel didn’t know how Debbie was keeping it together and handling all of her ridiculous and contradictory demands. First, the wine glasses had been the wrong size, then the selection of bottled beers hadn’t been up to scratch and now she wanted them to walk around offering glasses of Prosecco as the guests arrived as if they were bloody waiters.
Rachel picked up one of the champagne flutes Felicity had given them and began to polish it. Her feet ached already. Her jaw cracked as she suppressed a yawn. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up for. She’d not had a day off in two weeks and today, a rare free Sunday when normally she’d have gone to see Dad, she had to work.
No matter how much money she earned, it would never be enough to pay the care home’s fees once the Council withdrew its funding. She’d had a chat with Charlie Tait last week but he’d not held out much hope of getting the Council’s decision reversed. He was going to write a letter for her. If that didn’t work and, based on what Charlie had said she’d little hope, she’d have to decide whether to sell the house. But in the end that was only a temporary solution to the problem. What would she do when that money was gone? She’d have no choice but to move Dad to the Council-run care home. Would he really want her to give up her home only to delay by a year or two what was beginning to look completely inevitable?
And coming here wasn’t helping. It wasn’t like being behind the bar at The Commercial where she knew every
one but the tourists. This party was going to be full of rich wankers like Andrew Stewart, any one of whom could afford the care home fees without even noticing. It just wasn’t fair. Why did some folk get all the breaks in life, all the luck? It wasn’t even that they were nice. Quite the opposite, if half she’d heard about Andrew was true.
She wished she’d never said yes to this job. She should have been with Dad, sat by the river in Wick enjoying the feel of the sun on her face, before pushing him back to the home.
“Sorry to disturb you,” a man said. She looked up to see the tall druid from yesterday. He looked as surprised as she felt, which helped a bit.
“What are you doing here?” She spoke quietly, reminded her hands to keep moving.
“I came with Jenna. You’re working?”
“Obviously.”
“Right.” His hand touched the wooden talisman on a leather thong at his throat and then returned to his side. “Look, Grace is coming later on. You should talk to her. She can help.”
“With what?”
Finn’s gaze darted to each side before he leaned closer and said, “You know what.”
“And when do you think I’m going to have time for a chat with Grace? I’ve got a job to do.”
“You must get a break.”
Probably. Debbie hadn’t bothered with those kinds of details. “I might. But I might not want to spend it talking to Grace.”
“She wants to help you.”
“You told her about me?” She saw Debbie heading towards her, struggling with two crates of the larger wine glasses Robbie had brought over from the pub.
Finn, seeing her gaze shift, glanced quickly over his shoulder before he said, “Didn’t have to. She already knew. Nina told her all about you.” Then, at normal volume, he added, “Can I have a couple of bottles of water for the musicians please?”
“Still or sparkling?” The question came automatically.
“Still.”
She took two bottles from the fridge and handed them over. “There’s no charge. It’s a free bar.”
