Autumn Leaves at Mill Grange

by Jenny Kane

  Not commenting on the stunning nature of the night’s constellations, Thea asked, ‘Did Tina wake up and come back out to join you?’

  ‘No.’

  Helen looked around her. ‘And you’d have noticed Tina would you, for sure, if she’d come out again and slipped into the tent?’

  Woody’s smile faded. ‘I think so. We were facing the tent. I didn’t see her go inside. Why? What’s going on?’

  *

  ‘Bert said I was allowed to argue, to get cross over not being consulted about what happens here, but I hate it. I don’t know how to argue anyway. I always say the wrong thing and make it worse.’

  There was no response from the chickens. She couldn’t even see them; they were all asleep in the coop Tina had helped Sam build a few months ago. That had been before they were together. ‘I was chasing men with money back then.’ Tina grimaced as she thought back to some of the blokes Thea had labelled ‘Silver Foxes’. She’d hunted them out, determined to be looked after financially in her adulthood. Tina shivered at the idea of her former self. She’d never seen it as gold-digging; she just didn’t want to be alone or poor. Then Sam had come along.

  ‘Even you girls get to sleep in your home at night; though you do have to share Tony Stark between you. I know Sam can’t help having to sleep in a tent. I don’t expect perfect; I just expect to be included. Is that too much to ask do you think, Gertrude?’

  ‘Of course it isn’t.’

  Tina jumped as the unexpected voice floated across the walled garden. Woody was walking her way. ‘I didn’t hear you coming.’

  He grinned as he looked down at his feet. ‘I run more or less on silent, especially over grass.’

  Tina blushed. ‘Sorry, I didn’t think.’

  Woody asked gently, ‘Do you always apologise for things that aren’t your fault?’

  ‘Sorry.’

  ‘I guess that’s a yes then.’ He tapped his artificial legs. ‘Anyway, it wasn’t my legs I meant; it’s these trainers. Cushioned soles make no noise at all.’ He smiled wider. ‘I had a hunch you’d be here.’

  ‘You did?’

  ‘You told me the chickens were the fount of all wisdom.’

  ‘So I did.’ Tina shifted uneasily. ‘Why were you looking for me?’

  ‘Don’t move for a moment. I’ll tell Thea I’ve found you. Then I’ll come back.’

  ‘Thea?’

  ‘She and Helen have been worried sick. They’ve been all over Upwich searching for you.’

  ‘They have?’

  ‘Thea is your best friend; wouldn’t you expect her to worry when you go AWOL? Especially as your mobile was off.’

  ‘And Helen?’ Tina kept her eyes on the empty chicken run.

  ‘Was worried too. Wait there. I, as they say, will be back.’

  Leaning against the wooden fence to the newly extended chicken run, Tina closed her eyes. Now she could add self-reproach to her list of confused feelings. It hadn’t occurred to her that anyone would notice she’d been out of the house, let alone come looking for her. Or did I hope they would? Did I hope they’d worry, just to prove to myself I’m here?

  Opening her eyes again, Tina took her phone from her pocket and switched it on. The beeping of delivered messages echoed across the garden, until she flicked off the sound function. There were three missed calls and five texts. All from Thea.

  ‘Nothing from Sam,’ Tina mumbled to the slumbering chickens as the gate to the walled garden swung open behind her.

  ‘Mostly because I was told you were asleep.’ Sam was running across the garden, his face etched with a mix of panic and contrition. ‘Where have you been? Thea came to fetch me. She’s been going out of her mind.’

  Fighting the urge to say it was nothing, to brush the hurt away and say she’d fancied a bit of space, Tina dismissed the easy way out and gripped the fence a little harder. ‘I hadn’t meant to worry Thea.’

  ‘But you meant to worry me?’

  ‘Childish perhaps, but I wondered if you’d notice I’d gone.’ Tina shrugged. ‘And you didn’t. If Thea hadn’t, you would have gone to your tent and not worked out I’d been out until tomorrow. Or perhaps not even then as I have work in Taunton tomorrow morning.’

  ‘What are you talking about?’ Sam felt his voice rising and lowered it hastily as he remembered how sound travelled at night. ‘Thea told me you were asleep.’

  ‘After I’d gone, I assume. Not to worry the guests. Your business has to come first after all.’

  Not missing how she’d stressed the word your, Sam said, ‘Our business. I said the other day…’

  ‘Oh I heard you. I even believed you for a while.’ Tina shook her head. ‘And yet it was just words. Something to say.’

  ‘I meant it.’

  Tina bit her lip. Bert’s reassurance that she was allowed to be upset tripped through her head again. ‘Tell me, Sam, how does co-running a business work in your mind?’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘I have always been under the impression that discussion of ideas and decisions are part of any joint-run venture, or am I naïve in that assumption? Is it just Thea who gets that courtesy?’

  ‘I—’

  Sam got no further. Now she’d started, Tina daren’t stop talking in case she lost her nerve and began apologising for being upset.

  ‘The deal was that I would carry on working for the Trust to keep the money coming in while we got established, then I’d give up and we’d be a proper partnership, running Mill Grange between us.’

  ‘And it still is.’

  ‘Yet in the past two days, while I was away from the manor, I discover you’ve invited another person to stay and you intend to design a certificated archaeology course, possibly sponsored by Landscape Treasures. Not only that, but you’re intending to employ an archaeology tutor to teach it. I wonder what you’ll have decided once I get home from Taunton tomorrow.’

  Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Tina was sprinting across the garden towards the gate, tears streaming down her face. Giving chase, he watched as she passed through the open kitchen door, safe in the knowledge that he couldn’t follow her.

  Anger and frustration welled up inside Sam as he stood at the open doorway. Tina had already disappeared into the depths of the house.

  He took a step forward. Sweat broke out on Sam’s forehead and he felt his lungs contract. Holding on to the sides of the doorframe he struggled to breathe, but he didn’t step backwards.

  The attics, he knew from the video relays he’d shared with Thea, were up narrow stairs and ran along an equally narrow corridor.

  Enclosed and narrow.

  Nausea swam up his throat. A flash of orange crossed the backs of his eyes, sending Sam’s fingernails digging into the doorframe. Perspiration crept along his spine; suddenly his ponytail was sticking to his back.

  ‘This is ridiculous.’ He took another step forward. ‘I have to talk to Tina.’

  The scent of burning was suddenly overwhelming. It filled his nostrils and coated his tongue. The kitchen table turned from solid oak to molten lava before his blinking eyes as the world turned green.

  Twenty-Three

  September 10th

  Tina hadn’t let go of his hand. She wasn’t sure how Sam would react when he came round and found he was still inside Mill Grange.

  Woody had found him sprawled across the kitchen floor, a hand at his throat, as if he was choking. They weren’t sure if Sam had tripped and knocked himself out or fainted, but as he’d fallen, he’d hit his head on the tiled floor. The wound he’d got in the process was slight; a small cut that would, in time, become the centre of an impressive bruise. Tina tried not to think about what Woody might have found if Sam had caught his head on the corner of the table as he’d fallen.

  Her eyes were red from crying as she sat on the kitchen floor, next to Sam, who lay in the recovery position. ‘Do you think we were right not to call an ambulance?’

  Replying with more confidenc
e than she felt, Thea said, ‘Woody seems to know what to do. He said something about having done medical training before he dashed to fetch the first aid kit from the office. I wasn’t really listening. Anyway, Sam wouldn’t cope well in an enclosed hospital environment.’

  Tina kept her gaze on Sam rather than Thea, who was sat cross-legged on the floor next to her. ‘This is why I never argue. It always makes things worse.’

  Returning with an instant ice pack from the first aid kit, Woody passed it to Tina. ‘Place that over the bump. How’s his breathing?’

  ‘Steady.’ Tina swallowed. ‘It’s as if he’s asleep. Is that okay?’

  ‘If he hasn’t come around in another ninety seconds, then I’ll have to call an ambulance.’

  ‘But he’ll hate hospital. He’d really freak out.’

  Woody placed a hand on Tina’s shoulder. ‘I know.’

  Thea, her need for caffeine intense, spoke softly, ‘You didn’t do this, Tina.’

  ‘I caused it though. If I hadn’t got so upset and run away when Sam was trying to explain, then he wouldn’t have followed me, and…’

  ‘And he wouldn’t be inside.’ Helen, who’d been quietly moving around the kitchen, knelt down next to the others, a tray laden with hot buttered toast and marmalade in her hands. ‘I’m new here, you don’t know me, and I’m sorry you weren’t asked before I was invited to stay, but, assuming he’s okay, awful though this is, I think it needed to happen.’

  ‘What?’ Tina whispered as she soothed a palm over Sam’s forehead.

  Instead of answering, Helen placed a slice of toast on a plate and passed it to Tina. ‘You have to eat. You’ll need to be strong when Sam comes around.’

  ‘I’m not hungry.’

  ‘Someone has to run this place, look after three guests, and see them safely away from here tomorrow. This is your business too. Or was the argument you told us about just a fit of jealousy now you’re having to share Sam with other people?’

  ‘Helen!’ Thea took a sharp intake of breath.

  Picking up some toast for herself, Helen sat on the nearest armchair. ‘I don’t mean to be unkind, but I can’t help feel that this is Sam’s biggest chance.’

  Thea uncurled her legs. ‘You mean, Sam is inside, so let’s see if he can stay inside?’

  ‘Yes.’ Helen smiled. ‘I’m not saying tie him to the table or anything, but he is here, now; in his house.’

  Watching Woody as he counted down the seconds, Tina willed Sam to come round as she took a bite of toast. Even if she hadn’t felt hungry, her body obviously knew better, as the butter and marmalade easily slipped down her throat. ‘When he wakes up and finds himself inside, what’s to stop him diving outside? What if he panics and has another accident?’

  Helen frowned. ‘I don’t know. Open the door maybe? He could run into the garden if he had to. I’ll go and move the bench that’s just outside, so he doesn’t trip over it.’

  ‘That’s a good idea.’ Woody had just made his mind up to call an ambulance, when he suddenly said, ‘Eyelids.’

  ‘What?’ Tina looked harder at Sam’s face.

  ‘They moved, thank goodness. There were only three seconds left on my countdown.’ Woody perched on the nearest seat. ‘Yep, look, they’re opening… Sam? Sam mate, can you hear me?’

  The soft groan Sam made from the stone floor was almost drowned out by the murmurs of relief from his friends.

  ‘Thank goodness. Sam, can you hear me?’ As her boyfriend gave an almost imperceptible nod, Tina spoke to Woody without looking up. ‘Should we move him?’

  ‘Not yet.’ Woody addressed Sam. ‘You caught your head when you fainted, mate. Keep still for a little while, then we’ll get you to bed. You’ve got a bump and a bit of a cut, so we need to make sure you aren’t concussed.’

  Sam murmured into the tiles, ‘Tina?’

  ‘I’m here.’ She crouched down so he could see her face. ‘Can you see me clearly or am I blurry?’

  ‘Seven eyes, right?’

  Sam’s feeble joke sent tears of relief streaming down Tina’s face. ‘Absolutely, seven eyes.’ She knocked his ponytail from where it had fallen over his shoulder. ‘Would you like a cushion? This floor is awfully hard.’

  ‘Floor?’ Sam’s forehead creased as he raised a hand to where the ice pack was cradling the bump on his head and winced. ‘What happened?’

  ‘You don’t remember?’ Tina glanced at Woody, who held his mobile, still poised to call an ambulance if he needed to.

  ‘We were by the chickens, and then I was running and…’ Closing his eyes for a second, Sam groaned. Disappointment sounded in every syllable as he said, ‘I tried to follow you. I did try, Tina. I wanted to talk to you, to explain why and then… I really did try to come inside after you.’

  ‘You did.’ She wiped a stray hair from his forehead. ‘And you made it.’

  ‘Made it?’ Sam’s voice was dry. He licked his lips as he asked, ‘Am I… am I inside?’

  Anticipating what was about to happen, Woody stood up and headed to the door as Tina gripped Sam’s hand tighter. ‘The kitchen.’

  ‘I’m inside.’ Sam’s pulse began to pound as his eyes darted towards the door. ‘Outside! I have to go outside.’

  ‘You need to stay still for a while. Just to make sure you’re okay, and…’

  Sam was already scrabbling to his feet, his face blanched. ‘Outside. Take me outside!’

  September 11th

  Tina looked drawn as she sat back at the kitchen table. ‘Woody is going to sit with Sam for a while. If he’s still lucid in another hour, it’ll be safe to let him sleep.’

  Thea pushed Tina’s cold toast towards her. ‘Thank goodness Woody knew what to do.’

  Playing some toast crumbs between her fingers, Tina said, ‘I knew really. I did a first aiders course before we applied to open the house, but because it was Sam lying there…’

  Helen poured Tina a cup of tea. ‘It’s natural you forgot everything in the face of seeing someone you love hurt. It’s not an unusual reaction.’

  As they lapsed into a silence that was only broken by the sound of crunching toast, Thea pictured Shaun. She badly wanted to contact him as soon as they’d found Sam, but she hadn’t liked to leave Tina, and it seemed cruel to email her boyfriend when Tina’s was hurt; her relationship as bruised as Sam’s head. She hoped Shaun would hurry up and find or replace his mobile soon. ‘What time is it?’

  ‘Almost one o’clock in the morning.’ Helen stifled a yawn. ‘Can I ask why Sam is like this?’

  Thea thought for a few seconds, unsure if it was her place to answer Helen’s question, but Tina was staring into space, looking as if her thoughts were miles away. ‘Sam was in the forces. He got trapped inside a burning building trying to save someone. He’s been severely claustrophobic ever since.’

  ‘Wow.’ Helen breathed out the word with quiet awe.

  Watching as a twinkle of pride came to Tina’s eyes, Thea added, ‘When we got caught in the mill fire in the summer, it was Sam and Shaun who saved us. They broke in and dragged Tina and me out. I’m not sure having to face his fear again so exactly did Sam any favours.’

  ‘Bloody hell.’ Helen put her plate down. ‘He must love you very much.’

  Tina didn’t say anything, but her face flushed pink as Helen went on. ‘Tonight I suspect Sam realised just how sidelined you felt, and he was so determined to talk that he did one of the two things that terrifies him most in the world. He ran into a house.’

  Tina murmured, ‘I suppose he must.’

  Helen got to her feet. ‘If you guys don’t mind, I’ll get to bed, then I’ll get up when it’s time to do breakfast. You two should have a lie-in.’

  ‘Thanks, Helen.’ Thea gave her friend a grateful grin.

  ‘Two things that scare him?’ Tina asked as Helen headed to the door. ‘What’s the second thing? Is there something else I haven’t been told?’

  ‘I have no idea if he’s told you or not. It�
�s so obvious, that I can’t imagine he thought he needed to.’

  ‘What? What’s so obvious?’ Tina could feel her hackles rising again.

  ‘Losing you of course. What else could send him into a building where, in his mind at least, the place could burst into flames at any moment and the roof fall on his head?’

  Twenty-Four

  September 11th

  The new phone felt awkward. It was bigger than his last one, and didn’t fit as well into the back pocket of his combats. Fishing it out again as he crossed the pub car park, Shaun checked the time. It was approaching ten o’clock. Phil and the team would have been working on the site for the past hour and a half.

  He ought to be there himself, but after his phone had failed to reappear, he had taken an early morning drive into St Austell to buy a new one. It had taken ages, largely due to being stuck behind a stream of cyclists on the narrow lanes between Lanivet and Bodmin. Shaun knew that his absence wouldn’t have held up the dig unless something of especial interest had been found. If it had, then he’d be needed to talk on camera, and more time delays would be incurred.

  Unless Phil gets Sophie to do it for me.

  Not sure if he minded about that possibility or not, Shaun let himself into his room over the pub. Sinking down onto the bed he called Thea.

  *

  Thea’s mobile vibrated in her pocket as she crossed the garden towards the excavation site. It wasn’t a number she recognised.

  ‘Hello?’

  ‘Thea, it’s me.’

  ‘Shaun! I’m so glad you called.’

  Picking up on the worried yet relieved tone in his girlfriend’s voice, Shaun shelved the onslaught of groans and grimaces he’d been about to deliver in favour of listening. ‘What is it?’

  ‘Sam had an accident last night. He came inside and fainted, hitting his head on the kitchen floor.’

  ‘Ouch!’ Shaun rubbed at his forehead in sympathy. ‘Where is he now?’

  ‘Resting in his tent.’