Abi swallowed nervously, not wanting to let it go.
“Did she used to visit you?” she asked at last.
Natasha looked at her with a frown. “Yes. How d’you know?” she asked suspiciously.
Gideon smiled at her. “Cathy told us you used to get visits from an older lady. Was that Nan?”
Natasha jumped up again. “You ask a lot of questions,” she said crossly. “D’you want to see my drawings or not?”
Abi nodded and got to her feet.
“Are we allowed to go to your room?” she asked as Natasha headed for the door.
The little girl stopped with her hand on the doorknob and called over her shoulder. “Aunty Cathy! I’m taking them to my room to see my pictures,” and then she pulled the door open and skipped out ahead of them. Cathy appeared at the other doorway and raised her eyebrows at them.
“Have fun,” she said. “And good luck. I’ll follow you up there in a minute, in case you need me.”
Abi and Gideon hurried out into the hallway and managed to catch up with Natasha just as she was getting to the top of the stairs.
“Come on,” she chided. “My room’s up here.” She ran along the corridor and pushed open the door. Abi and Gideon followed her in and watched as she pulled a box out from under her bed and produced a large sketch pad. She laid it on the floor and opened it to the first page. She looked up at Abi and patted the floor beside her.
“Sit down,” she invited impatiently. “Are these better than yours?”
Abi sat down beside her, and Gideon hovered behind them. The book was filled with pencil drawings of animals. Horses, dogs, rabbits, even tigers, and they were all extremely good. Abi reached out and flicked carefully through the pages.
“These are brilliant, Natasha,” she said admiringly. “Do you do them from real life, or from photos?”
Natasha pointed to the first picture, of a shire horse.
“That was a photo,” she said, “ but this one”—she thumbed through the book until she found the one she wanted—“this one I drew from the actual animal,” and she pointed to a very neatly drawn portrait of a Rough Collie.
Abi caught her breath. “That’s wonderful,” she said, her eyes shining. “D’you like Rough Collies? I’ve got two at home.”
Natasha nodded. “I like all dogs,” she said. “I’d love to have one, but we’re not allowed to, here.” She pouted slightly, then perked up a bit. “I’ve got a rat, though. Would you like to see her?”
She jumped to her feet again and ran to the end of her bed. She beckoned them over, and for the first time they noticed the cage hidden in the corner of the room. It housed a large brown rat, who stared at them balefully. Gideon bent down and had a closer look.
“She’s lovely,” he said politely.
Natasha giggled for the first time. “She’s a rat,” she said. “She’s not s’posed to be lovely. Most people are scared of her.”
Abi was looking around the room. “You’ve got a lot of teddies,” she remarked indicating the basket in the corner.
Natasha nodded. “Yeah. People give them to me. Nan gave me most of them.” She walked over and picked up a large stuffed lion from the top of the collection.
“Do you have a favourite?” asked Gideon. Natasha tossed the lion back into the basket and picked up the little grey rabbit with the chewed ear. She held him out.
“This one,” she said. “I’ve had him longest. He’s called Thunder.”
Abi smiled. “That’s an interesting name for a bunny,” she said watching Natasha’s face.
The little girl shrugged. “It goes with my middle name,” she said.
Gideon raised an eyebrow. “And what’s that?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
She looked at him under her long lashes. “Storm,” she said at last, daring them to laugh.
Abi nodded. “That’s a nice name,” she said. “It’s different. Who wants to be called Alice, or Sally, or Elizabeth, when they can have a cool name like Storm?”
Natasha considered for a moment, then nodded her head.
“I guess,” she said at last. “At least it’s not too girly.”
Gideon saw a toy guitar leaning against the wall and moved over to pick it up. “D’you play the guitar?” he asked casually.
In a flash Natasha had snatched it from him and replaced it exactly where it had been resting.
“Don’t touch my things!” she shouted at him, stamping her foot.
Gideon backed away. “I’m sorry,” he said contritely. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I play the guitar, and I wondered if you did too.”
Natasha scowled at him and sat down on the bed with her arms folded. After a moment she looked up at him.
“No, I don’t. Are you in a band?” she asked curiously.
Gideon nodded. “Yes. Well, I was until two weeks ago, anyway.”
“Are you famous?” she asked, staring at him. He smiled at her and nodded. “I’m going to be famous one day,” she said firmly.
Rather sooner than you might have imagined, thought Gideon to himself as he watched her swinging her legs.
“What’s your band called?” she asked, still staring at him.
“NightHawk,” he said.
“Why?”
“Why what?” Gideon frowned at her.
“Why’s it called NightHawk?” she said patiently. “It’s a weird name.”
“Well, my surname is Hawk,” Gideon explained, “and it just seemed like a good name.”
Natasha considered this for a moment, then nodded. “I s’pose so,” she conceded. “If my surname was Hawk, my name would be Natasha Storm Hawk. Storm Hawk sounds cool.” She said the name several times to see how it sounded.
Abi and Gideon exchanged glances, and Abi sat down on the bed beside Natasha and smiled at her. “D’you like the sea?” she asked.
Natasha nodded. “Yes. They take us to Hastings lots in the summer. I’m a good swimmer,” she said proudly.
“I live by the sea,” said Abi, “in Cornwall. D’you know where that is?”
Natasha looked at her as if she was mad.
“’Course I do,” she said. “It’s that thin bit where Land’s End is. King Arthur was born in Cornwall.” She frowned. “D’you live near Land’s End?”
Abi nodded. “Yes, very near. It’s very beautiful there. I have a cottage right by the sea. And I have two dogs, too.”
Natasha jumped up and began to hop around the room.
“You told me about the dogs already,” she said. “Why’re you telling me all this stuff, anyway?”
Abi swallowed. “Just being friendly,” she said faintly. “Thought you might be interested.”
“Nan lived near London,” said Natasha suddenly, continuing to hop.
“Was she nice to you?” asked Abi carefully.
“’Course she was,” said Natasha in surprise. “Why would she come and visit me if she was going to be nasty? You’re weird!” She hopped around Gideon, then collapsed on the floor in a heap. “She used to bring me toys. I think she didn’t have much family, ’cause she used to pretend I was her granddaughter. I didn’t mind,” she said. “That’s why I called her Nan. Don’t know what her name was, really. Then she died and stopped coming.” She looked sad for a moment, then looked from Abi to Gideon and said. “Have you brought me any toys?”
Gideon squatted down beside her. “Not this time, Natasha,” he said, “but if you like, we can visit again and bring you something then?”
Natasha considered for a moment, then nodded.
“If you like,” she said, nonchalantly picking at a loose thread on her jumper. “Nan used to talk to me about weird stuff,” she went on seriously. “I think she was sad about something. Once she said to me that sometimes people do stuff that’s wrong, but they can’t put it right ’cause it’s too late. I think she did something wrong, but she didn’t tell me what.” She looked up at them with wide eyes. “D’you think she murdered someone?”
Natasha shrugged and rolled onto her back. She stared up at Gideon as he hovered over her.
“Your eyes are like mine,” she said suddenly, “really, really blue. I like my eyes.” A bell rang in the distance, and Natasha jumped up again. “That’s the supper bell,” she announced. “I have to go and have my hot chocolate now, before bed.” She headed towards the door, then turned and stared at them again. “You can come again…if you like.” Then she ran out of the room, and they heard her clattering down the stairs.
Abi stared after her, her head spinning. Gideon sat down on the bed beside her and gave a chuckle.
“Well, and that’s our daughter. We’re gonna have our hands full with her,” he said, putting his arm around Abi’s shoulders.
She leaned her head against him and sighed. “Oh, Gid, what d’you think she’ll say when we tell her? Should we have told her today?” she said, panicking slightly.
Gideon shook his head. “No, we just needed to let her meet us today. Next time, maybe.” He paused and glanced down at her. “Funny about your mother, isn’t it? Has she been feeling guilty all this time but couldn’t admit what she’d done, d’you s’pose?”
Abi was silent for a moment. “I didn’t think she was capable of guilt. I didn’t think she had a heart. Maybe she did.” She stood up and held out her hand to Gideon. “Come on. Let’s go back to the pub. We can see her again tomorrow. I want to phone Judy and tell her how it went.” She looked at him anxiously. “It went well, didn’t it? D’you think it did?”
Gideon stood up and took her hand. “Yes it did,” he said quietly. “Stop worrying.”
They left the room, carefully shutting the door behind them, and made their way back down to the entrance hall. Half way down the stairs, they met Cathy Masters coming up to look for them.
“There you are,” she said with a smile. “Sorry, Natasha just abandoned you, I believe. She likes supper time. I think she must have liked you—I gather she said you could come again?”
Gideon nodded. “Yes, we thought the same time tomorrow, maybe, if that’s all right?”
Cathy nodded. “That’s fine. See how it goes, but that may be the time to tell her who you are. Can’t leave it too long—and she’s a very bright child. She’s probably already wondering why you’re here.” They had reached the bottom of the stairs, and Cathy let them out the front door and waved them off. “See you tomorrow, then, and have a good evening.”
****
Abi was woken the next morning by the sound of her mobile ringing. She reached out and groped around until she found it. She pressed the button and put it to her ear.
“Hello,” she said rather groggily.
“Is that Abi?” asked a female voice.
“Yes…yes, it is. Who’s this?” She struggled to sit up, and pushed her hair out of her eyes. She peered at her watch; it was seven thirty. Who on earth was calling her at that time?
“It’s Cathy Masters,” came the voice at the other end.
Abi was instantly alert, and she nudged Gideon with her foot.
“Hello,” she said, “is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine,” replied Cathy, “but I do have one little problem you may be able to help with.”
Abi cleared her throat and kicked Gideon again.
“What is it?”
“Natasha’s refusing to go to school until she’s seen you and Gideon again,” Cathy said. “So I was wondering how you’d feel about coming over now instead of this evening?”
By the time she had finished speaking, Abi was out of bed and pulling the covers off the still sleeping Gideon.
“Of course we will,” she said at once. “Give us half an hour, and we’ll be there.” She disconnected the call and flung her phone onto the bed. “Gideon, Gideon! Wake up! We’ve got to go and see Natasha.”
She ripped off her pyjamas and began searching for clothes. When they’d got back to the pub the previous evening, Abi and Gideon had celebrated the events of the day with a bottle of Champagne, and, in Abi’s case, a lot of chocolate, and consequently they were both feeling a little the worse for wear. Gideon sat up and rubbed his eyes.
“What? Why? Now?” he muttered, trying to focus on Abi.
She nodded vigorously. “Yes. Apparently she won’t go to school unless she sees us first. Come on!”
Gideon grunted and got out of bed. “I could see she was going to be trouble,” he muttered with a grin, as he slipped into the ensuite for a quick wash. By the time he emerged, Abi was fully dressed and attempting to make her hair look acceptable without the use of straighteners.
“Abs, you look fine,” said Gideon as he pulled on his jeans. “Natasha isn’t going to notice your hair.”
Abi looked at him in horror. “That goes to show how little you know about girls,” she retorted. “She noticed the colour of your eyes. Of course she notices hair.”
Five minutes later, they were in the car and on their way back to the Birtwhistle Home once more. As they drove, Abi speculated about the little girl’s actions.
“Why would she want to see us this morning?” she asked. “She didn’t seem that keen on us, did she?”
Gideon frowned. “Hmmm…she’s a strange one. Difficult to see what she was thinking at all. She’s very close with her feelings.” He grinned at Abi. “Just be patient. We’ll find out in a minute or two.”
Abi managed to stay silent for the rest of the journey, and when they arrived at the home, they found Cathy waiting for them on the doorstep.
“Good morning,” she called. “Thank you so much for coming. Natasha’s barricaded herself in her room and refuses to come out until she’s seen you.”
Gideon stared at her. “You don’t seem very fazed by this,” he remarked.
Cathy grimaced. “You get used to all sorts of behaviour here,” she said. “I’m not surprised by anything nowadays. I told you Natasha was strong-willed, didn’t I?”
She led the way upstairs to the little girl’s room and tapped on the door.
“Tasha, Abi and Gideon are here. Let me in, please.” There was silence from the other side of the door. Cathy knocked again, this time more sharply.
“Natasha, open the door, please.”
“How do I know they’re there?” came a suspicious voice.
Abi stepped forward. “We are here, Natasha. Open the door, please.”
There was the sound of boxes and furniture being dragged across the floor, and then the door opened and Natasha stared at them. She was dressed for school in black trousers, a white polo top, and a blue sweatshirt, and her shoulder-length curls were tied up in a ponytail. She stood back to let them in, then closed the door before Cathy could join them.
“I want to be private with them,” she said firmly.
Abi and Gideon stood in the middle of the room and waited, wondering how this child could have so much of a hold over them. Natasha indicated that they should sit on the bed, while she stood in front of them with her hands on her hips.
“I need to ask you something,” she said, frowning at them. “Why did you come to see me? How d’you know about me?” Abi moistened her lips. How could she find the words to tell this child that she was her mother? Natasha saved her the trouble. Without waiting for them to reply, she went on. “I thought about it last night. All night,” she said impressively. “And…I think you two might be my mum and dad.” She blushed bright red as she said the words, and bent her head forward. Unfortunately, her hair was tied back and nothing happened. Gideon grinned to himself. Natasha turned her back on them. “Well?” she said, after a moment, in a very small voice.
Abi glanced at Gideon, a lump forming in her throat, and they both got to their feet.
“Natasha?” she said, putting her hands on the child’s shoulders and turning her round to face them. �
�You’re right. We are.”
There was a very long silence while they all three looked at each other. Then Natasha scowled at them.
“Where have you been, then?” she demanded, stamping her foot. “I’ve wanted a mum and dad for ages. Where were you?”
Gideon knelt down in front of her.
“We didn’t know about you until last week,” he said gently. “If we had, we would have come to find you much, much sooner.”
Natasha digested this piece of information, and then looked at Abi, whose eyes were swimming with tears.
“Did you come to get me, then?” she asked. “D’you want me to live with you?”
Abi nodded. “We’d love that, Tasha,” she said, tentatively trying out the pet name. “But only if you want to.”
Natasha thought for a moment, then looked at Gideon.
“Can I be called Natasha Storm Hawk, then?” she asked.
Gideon smiled at her. “Of course you can,” he said, taking her hand and squeezing it. “We’ll explain everything to you as we go along. It’s a very strange story.”
Natasha turned and walked to the other side of the room. She looked all around her for a moment, then back at Abi and Gideon.
“Can I have a nice bedroom?” she asked.
Abi bit her lip. “Well, to start with—”
Gideon interrupted her. “Yes, of course you can. And to make it even more exciting, we’re buying a new house, and you can help us choose it.” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Would you like that?”
Natasha stared at him, and her face broke into a huge grin.
“I’d like that very much,” she said happily.
Epilogue
Saturday, 10th June 2006
“So, how’re things going then?” asked Judy, leaning back in her deck chair and stretching out her legs to catch the sun. “Tasha looks very settled. Does she like the school?”
They were sitting in the garden of Abi and Gideon’s new house, on the top of the cliff overlooking Sennen Cove. They had been very lucky to find exactly the house they wanted in exactly the place they wanted, and had moved in at the end of February. Natasha had been spending weekends with them until they moved and had then joined them permanently, once she was able to have her own bedroom. Abi stretched out on the grass beside her friend.
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