They turned to see a girl in a hooded anorak approaching, holding a pink woollen scarf.
‘No,’ Natalie said, ‘it’s not mine.’
‘Oh – sorry!’
The newcomer was pale and shivering with cold, and the medic in Natalie came to the fore. ‘Are you all right?’ she asked, taking in the thin jeans and trainers. ‘You’re not exactly equipped for this weather.’
A rueful smile. ‘No, I didn’t realize it would be quite so cold.’
‘You don’t live here?’
She shook her head.
‘Then you should go back to your hotel,’ Natalie decreed, ‘and spend the rest of the day in front of the fire. Doctor’s orders!’
‘You’re a doctor?’
‘A GP, yes.’ She glanced at Nick, standing silently by her side. ‘So is my fiancé.’
‘Well, it’s good advice, but I’m staying at a B and B and not allowed back till five.’
‘But that’s ridiculous in this weather!’ Natalie exclaimed, glancing about her. There was no one else in sight. ‘Are you here by yourself?’
The girl nodded, her eyes filling with tears.
Natalie reached a unilateral decision, and with a quick apologetic glance at Nick said firmly, ‘Well, we’re just going for a pub lunch. You’d better come with us.’
She felt his movement of protest as their companion gave a little gasp. ‘Oh no, I don’t want to …’
‘Nonsense. You need some hot food inside you, and so do we. I’m Natalie, by the way, and this is Nick.’
‘Ellie,’ the girl said in a whisper.
‘Then come along, Ellie, and over lunch you can tell us why you chose to come alone to Scotland in the depths of winter.’
The Thistle was a small, cosy pub, and out of season its lunchtime clientele consisted mainly of those who worked in nearby shops and offices. Nick secured them a table near the fire and went to the bar for a menu. Local laws varied about the legal age for alcohol; Natalie hoped this pub didn’t insist on drinkers being twenty-one. She doubted Ellie was that old, or, come to that, even eighteen, but she’d asked for a shandy, which was pretty innocuous.
Nick returned with the drinks and a couple of menus. ‘I’m going native!’ Natalie announced after glancing through it. ‘Cullen skink and a crusty roll will go down a treat. It’s a soup,’ she added for Ellie’s benefit, ‘and a very good one, made with smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and cream.’
‘Sounds delicious,’ Ellie murmured, holding out her hands to the fire. Its nearness had brought colour back to her cheeks and she’d shaken her hair free of the hood. It hung almost to her shoulders, sleek and brown, and Natalie saw with faint surprise that she was pretty.
‘Will you join me then,’ she prompted, ‘or would you rather have something else? One of the famous Scotch pies, for instance?’
‘That’s what I’m going for,’ Nick informed them.
‘I’d like the soup, please,’ Ellie said, ‘but I’ll pay for it.’ She reached for her bag.
‘Nonsense,’ Natalie said firmly. ‘We invited you to join us, so you’re our guest.’
‘But really, I—’
‘Non-negotiable,’ Nick said, and went back to the bar to order their meal.
‘So,’ Natalie began, leaning back in her chair and sipping her wine, ‘what made you decide to come to the frozen north in February?’
Ellie’s eyes brimmed again and she bit her lip. Natalie waited, neither pressing nor exempting her from answering, and after a minute she said, ‘It was a favourite place of Mum’s; she was always talking about it.’ A pause as her hands clenched together tightly in her lap. ‘She died just before Christmas,’ she added, barely audibly.
Impulsively Natalie reached across, closing her own hand over the clenched ones. ‘Oh, I’m so sorry.’
Ellie gave her head a little shake and straightened her shoulders. ‘I know it would have been more sensible to wait till spring, but I … needed to get away.’
‘What about your father? Is he still alive?’
A tremor went through her. ‘I’ve never met him,’ she said. ‘He … left before I was born.’
Difficult ground, Natalie warned herself. ‘But you must have someone?’ she asked tentatively.
‘My gran,’ Ellie answered, to her profound relief. ‘We’ve always lived with her, Mum and me, and Gramps too, of course, till he died two years ago.’ She paused, then went on, ‘My boyfriend wants me to move in with him, but I know Gran wouldn’t like it, and anyway now’s not the time.’
‘No,’ Natalie agreed, seeing with relief that Nick was making his way back. She’d probed enough into what was none of her concern.
For the rest of the meal conversation was intentionally light, but Natalie, having instigated the relationship, felt obscurely responsible for the girl; it would be difficult, after this lunch, to abandon her to her lonely grief.
Ellie herself was growing increasingly relaxed as the meal progressed. ‘You’ve not said why you’re here at this time of year,’ she remarked as she finished the last of her soup.
Natalie smiled. ‘Too true, we haven’t. Well, my parents met here years ago and we’ve always come back for holidays, though in the summer, of course. But it’ll be their fortieth wedding anniversary on Tuesday, so the family has gathered for that.’
Ellie’s hand stilled momentarily over her soup bowl. Then she asked brightly, ‘Are there a lot of you, then?’
‘Two brothers and a sister, with various appendages.’
‘Of which I’m one!’ Nick said.
Ellie smiled. ‘It must be great to have a large family. I saw two men with a little boy yesterday, on the prom. There aren’t many visitors around – would they be your relations?’
‘Doubtless my brothers Sebastian and Harry, with Danny, who belongs to Seb.’ Natalie looked at her watch. ‘Which reminds me, we’re supposed to be meeting them for indoor bowls at two thirty. We’d better make a move.’
Ellie immediately shrugged on her anorak and retrieved her bag. ‘Are you sure I can’t pay for my lunch? I’d feel much happier.’
‘Not a chance.’
‘Then thanks once again, it’s very kind of you.’
As they walked towards the door Natalie asked suddenly, ‘Have you got a mobile?’ and was aware of Nick’s questioning look.
‘Yes.’
‘Give me your number, and perhaps we can do this again.’
Ellie’s face lit up. ‘That would be great – but I’ll certainly be paying next time!’ She glanced down at the pink scarf she was holding. ‘What do you think I should do about this?’ she asked uncertainly. ‘Hand it in somewhere?’
‘Well, it doesn’t look very expensive,’ Natalie replied, tying her own scarf. ‘I doubt if anyone will bother to report it, but to salve your conscience you could phone the police and say you found it. Ten to one they’ll just tell you to keep it unless you hear to the contrary.’
Ellie nodded. ‘Right, I’ll do that,’ she said.
They parted on the windy street, but as Ellie watched them walk away she was well aware she wouldn’t be contacting the police or anyone else. The scarf was, in fact, her own.
Sebastian said abruptly, ‘Have you noticed anything about the old man?’
They were walking back from bowls in the cold darkness and Harry, who’d been about to catch up with the others, fell back again. ‘No. What?’
‘I don’t know – he just doesn’t seem himself. What’s more, I get the impression Mum’s worried about him.’
‘Well, I must say I’ve not picked up on that. Been too busy trying to fathom Jess out,’ he added ruefully.
‘At least she came to the bowls.’
‘Only because I more or less dragged her. But to get back to the old man, what makes you think something’s wrong?’
‘For one thing he’s hardly eating anything, and you know what an appetite he has normally. Once I registered that, I studied him more closely and several tim
es, instead of joining in the general conversation, he seemed to retreat into a world of his own – and not a pleasant one, by the look of him.’
‘Now you’ve got me worried! Do you think he’s ill, then?’
‘Either that, or there’s something on his mind.’
‘And he’s keeping it quiet till after the anniversary?’
‘God, I hadn’t got that far, but you could be right.’
‘Do you reckon we should have a word with him, in case it’s something we could deal with? On the work front, for instance?’
Sebastian shook his head, closing the gate behind them. ‘Just keep a watching brief and we can discuss it again later.’
He and Harry joined the others in the hall, where they were stepping out of boots and hanging their coats on the stand.
‘Where’s Danny?’ he asked, looking round.
‘He went shooting off upstairs the minute he got in,’ Helena reported. ‘Probably needed the loo.’
‘No, he went just before we left the sports centre. I’d better make sure he’s OK.’
Sebastian started up the stairs, and on reaching the second floor was surprised to find the door of the room he shared with his son firmly closed. He was even more surprised to hear Danny’s voice coming from behind it.
Frowning, he threw the door open. Danny turned swiftly, his face flushing bright red and a mobile phone Seb had never seen before clamped to his ear.
‘Who are you speaking to?’ he demanded, striding towards the boy and seizing the phone.
Danny’s mouth trembled. ‘Mummy,’ he whispered.
Sebastian stared at him as panicky thoughts of sexual grooming faded. ‘Off you go downstairs,’ he said more quietly, and waited till the child had scuttled out of the room before lifting the phone to his own ear.
‘Diana?’
‘Still the forceful father, I see.’
‘How long has he had this phone?’
‘Since last week.’
‘I thought we decided he should wait till he’s at least seven.’
‘Circumstances change,’ she said.
‘And exactly what does that mean?’
‘I didn’t know you proposed to take him hundreds of miles away.’
‘For God’s sake, Di! You make it sound as though I’ve kidnapped him! And I suppose you told him not to mention it to me?’
‘Actually, yes.’
‘Teaching him to be deceitful. Wonderful!’
‘Oh, come off your high horse, Sebastian! I simply arranged to call him at five o’clock each evening, to check he was all right.’
‘And why shouldn’t he be?’
‘He might have been missing me.’
‘Did he say he had?’
A brief pause. ‘No.’
‘Then there’s no need to disrupt his holiday any further, is there? He’ll be home this time next week, dammit! In the meantime, I’m not having him panic every day in case he can’t get back in time for your call.’ He paused, but she didn’t speak. ‘All right?’
‘I suppose so,’ she said sulkily.
‘Good. I’ll bring him home on Sunday, as arranged. And should a cyclone hit Drumlee before then, you’ll be the first to know.’
He ended the call and, going to the dressing table, leaned on the glass, staring at his angry face in the mirror. How was it that his ex-wife still had the ability to push his buttons?
Despising himself, he flipped the phone open again. There’d been two previous calls, on Friday and Saturday, both at five p.m. and both from Diana. Enough. He switched it off, put it in the chest of drawers and went downstairs.
Apart from the first night, Danny had his meal before the rest of the family, and as usual Sebastian sat with him while he ate it.
‘I’m not cross with you, kiddo,’ he told him, ruffling the boy’s hair. ‘It was just that I didn’t know you had a phone or who you were speaking to. But it’s all right; Mummy explained and she’s not going to bother calling again, though if you want to speak to her at any time, just let me know, OK?’
‘OK,’ Danny repeated, and, relief flooding his face, he attacked his meal with gusto.
It being Sunday, dinner that evening was roast pork, which necessitated Douglas carving at the table, and Harry, alerted by his brother, noticed to his dismay that his father’s hands shook slightly. How could he have missed this? he castigated himself.
His attention switched as Jessica suddenly pushed back her chair. ‘I’m awfully sorry; I’m not at all hungry,’ she said in a rush. ‘If you don’t mind, I’ll wait for you in the other room.’
Paula looked up anxiously. ‘Don’t you feel well, dear? Would you like me—?’
‘I’m fine,’ Jess interrupted, smiling determinedly all round. ‘It’s my own fault – the ice I had at bowls spoiled my appetite. Please, just enjoy your meal.’ And she hurried from the room.
Harry, staring furiously down at his plate and concentrating on keeping his temper, failed to notice the exchanged looks between the female members of his family.
Feeling tensions ought to be lowered, Natalie spoke into the short silence. ‘Nick and I had an interesting experience at lunchtime,’ she volunteered, and saw thankfully that she’d everyone’s attention.
‘Well, don’t keep us in suspense!’ Helena prompted.
‘A girl came up to us on the cliff path with a scarf she thought I’d dropped, but it wasn’t mine. She wasn’t dressed warmly enough and was literally shivering with cold.’
‘So Doctor Nat took her under her wing,’ Nick put in.
Sebastian laughed. ‘Nat and her lame ducks!’ he said fondly.
Natalie ignored them both. ‘I suggested she went home and warmed up by the fire, but she’s staying at a B and B and had to be out of the house till five. Imagine, in this weather! So I invited her to join us for lunch. It was a sad story: her mother, who was a single parent, died at Christmas. She’d apparently loved Drumlee and often spoke of it, and the girl – Ellie – felt that being here might somehow bring her closer.’
‘You mean she’s here by herself?’ Mark asked.
‘Yes; I was relieved to hear she lives with her grandmother and has a boyfriend, so she’s not entirely alone, but I felt really sorry for her. She was so interested to hear about you all, not having much family of her own.’ She glanced at her brothers. ‘She thinks she saw you with Danny on the prom yesterday.’
Seb looked puzzled, but Harry, determinedly joining in the conversation, nodded. ‘There was a girl on one of the benches. I noticed her because no one else was about.’
‘What does she do for an evening meal?’ Paula wondered.
‘Probably goes to a pub or café,’ Nick replied. ‘I didn’t get the impression she’s hard up; after all, she could afford the fare to come here and stay a few days, and she tried to pay for her lunch. Her clothes mightn’t have been appropriate for the weather but they were of reasonable quality.’
‘Nonetheless, it must be pretty grim, alone up here after a bereavement,’ Natalie said. ‘I took her mobile number and suggested we meet later in the week.’
‘If she was interested in the family, perhaps we could all meet her?’ Paula suggested. ‘Invite her here for lunch one day, so she doesn’t feel so alone?’
‘That would be great, Mum,’ Natalie exclaimed. ‘Let’s fix a day now and I can give her a ring, prove it wasn’t an empty promise.’
‘Oh, and by the way, folks,’ Seb put in, ‘on the subject of meals, we won’t be wanting dinner tomorrow; we’re meeting up with Blair, Ailsa and her husband. Monday’s their quietest day, so that suits them best.’
‘Very well. How about Wednesday for Ellie, then?’ Paula suggested. ‘Everyone OK with that? Lunch here on Wednesday?’
There was a general murmur of agreement. Natalie nodded, pleased with the outcome. That left just one other point she needed to make, and she wasted no time. As they left the dining room she drew Harry to one side, her fingers digging into his arm.
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‘For God’s sake,’ she said in a low voice, ‘will you try to be a bit more understanding with your wife?’
He looked at her mutinously. ‘She’s being thoroughly unreasonable, Nat. Why the hell she agreed to come here if all she’s going to do is hide upstairs, I don’t know.’
Natalie stared at him in amazement. ‘Are you telling me—?’ she began.
‘Telling you what?’
‘Do you really not know, Harry?’
‘Know what, for pity’s sake?’
Natalie’s hand dropped from his arm. ‘She’s pregnant, you oaf!’ she said.
SIX
Kent
With the Bournemouth visit cancelled, or rather – as Sophie was quick to emphasize – postponed, Mark was after all able to spend time with his daughter before she started school, time which he treasured despite his wife’s prickly attitude. The gulf between them seemed to be widening, and he was at a loss to know what to do about it. Florence, meanwhile, had taken to ‘big school’ like a duck to water, and bombarded him on his return each evening with a detailed account of all she’d been doing.
No further reference had been made to Peter’s lapse and Mark hadn’t seen him since, though Sophie had occasionally driven Florence down after school to have tea with her grandparents. Summer slid into autumn, and he was busier at work as sales became brisker after the summer dip.
It was in the middle of September that an unlooked-for complication arose. Mark had always kept his social and business lives separate, but at the last office Christmas party Sophie had met the wife of one of his colleagues and they’d become friends, meeting several times for lunch. There was therefore little he could do when they received an invitation to have dinner with the Lesters at their home in nearby Petts Wood.
To add to Mark’s reluctance, Simon Lester wasn’t someone he’d have chosen to spend out-of-office time with. Conventionally good looking with dark, curly hair and blue eyes, he made a practice of flirting with every woman in sight, confident they’d welcome his advances and impervious to the odd brush-off. A more personal irritation was his habit of invading people’s space, invariably coming uncomfortably close when speaking, so that Mark continually found himself having to take a step backwards.
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