Time Out of Mind

by Ruth Hay

  “Most impressive background research, Mr. Patterson! Now, do you think you can find my great-uncle’s hotel?”

  “I think so. The map shows a very small village. How hard could it be?”

  * * *

  It took longer than expected to find the Gold Rill Hotel. Jay parked in a Pay and Display parking area just inside the village limits and they walked through the winding streets keeping their eyes peeled for a hotel sign. There were many hotels and restaurants but none that they needed, until they passed the churchyard where Wordsworth was buried and found a road heading off at an angle. A short distance along this road they saw a thriving garden centre and tourist shop and only a few steps beyond it, they saw the hotel sign they had been looking for.

  “Thank God!” exclaimed Jay. “I was beginning to think this place was a maze with no straight roads in it at all!”

  Caroline ignored his comment. She was casting her eye over the hotel’s exterior to get a sense of whether she might be banned from the dining room in her casual clothing.

  There were cars parked in front of the entrance but the main building ran straight back from the entrance doors. Standing close to the road, Jay and Caroline could see a lawn and the terrace set with shaded tables, near a substantial glassed lounge with windows facing the view of hills and water glittering in the distance.

  “This looks quite up-market, Caroline,” stated Jay with an air of being impressed.

  Caroline decided to play the role of an English girl who was used to such accommodations, and advised Jay to take a seat at one of the tables on the terrace while she registered at reception.

  “I think we deserve afternoon tea after that climb, Jay. I’ll order it for us. You enjoy the view.”

  Mentally counting how much cash she had left after using her debit card to buy the new jumper, she pushed open the heavy door and found herself right bedside the reception desk where a young woman began typing as soon as she heard Caroline’s name.

  “Yes,” she said, in a foreign accent, “We are expecting you, Miss Fenton. I will show you to your room. Your uncle said you were to order food if you wished. He is hill walking this afternoon but looking forward to meeting you later.”

  With a sigh of relief, Caroline, ordered tea for two on the terrace and followed the young woman to a room on the ground floor with windows looking out toward mountains above the water.

  “Is that Grasmere Lake?”

  * * *

  “I believe so, Miss. I am working here for the summer only and I don’t get time to learn much about the area.”

  Caroline put her backpack on a bench at the foot of the comfortable-looking double bed and headed for the adjoining bathroom where she inspected the shower and heated towel rails and the selection of miniature bottles on the window ledge.

  “Very nice!” she murmured to her reflection as she completed a much-needed wash and brush-up. “This should be excellent, provided great-uncle Philip is as lovely as his sister.”

  Stopping only to hang up her meager supply of clothes, she pocketed the room key and found her way out to the terrace where Jay was making himself comfortable and taking photographs with his camera.

  “I like this place!” he exclaimed. “I hope your great-uncle doesn’t object to me being here. I’m sure he didn’t plan on you turning up with a guy in tow.”

  Caroline settled herself in a wicker chair and pushed Jay’s feet off the seat of another chair.

  “Don’t get too comfortable there, mister. He may send you packing when he sees your manners. I’ll be inspecting your tea time behavior.”

  Jay straightened up his posture and sat back politely while the girl from reception unloaded a full tray of teapot, hot water, milk, lemon, strawberry jam, cream, scones and cake.”

  “Will that be all?” she enquired, after placing plates and cups in front of them.

  Jay smiled and thanked her, as he extracted a linen napkin and spread it carefully across his bare knees.

  “We may not have the custom of afternoon tea in Canada,” he said with a raised eyebrow, “but my mother did take my brother and me to a decent restaurant once in a while. I won’t disgrace you, Miss Fenton.”

  Caroline felt embarrassed that Jay had taken her comment so seriously. She hastened to set out a selection of scones on his plate and to pour his tea, hoping that he had not noticed the flush on her cheeks.

  “I think he will be amazed to hear your information about the wedding photograph, Jay. When do you think you can contact your boss?”

  “Oh, I took care of that while you were away. I phoned up to Scotland then wrote down the names and checked the spelling. The bride and groom are Marion Jarvis McLeod and Angus McLeod. I asked my boss again and she confirmed that neither of the other two people was known to her. She’s really keen to find out more about your side of the story.”

  “Me too!” replied Caroline. “But for now we should enjoy this food and relax for a bit.”

  * * *

  An hour passed pleasantly while Jay talked about the farm house in Scotland and his boss’ plans for A Plus, the business he was connected with. Caroline found out he had left business cards at likely Lake District tourist venues and taken note of names and email addresses for any who were interested in his boss’ hand-made wool products.

  “So you will be heading north soon?” asked Caroline, with an unexpected pang of regret as she acknowledged he would be going out of her life as speedily as he had entered it.

  “One or two things still to do but, yes, I’ll be going to Scotland and back to Canada soon.

  Will you miss me?” Jay’s cool gaze challenged Caroline to admit to liking him more than she had revealed. Flustered, and unwilling to answer him, she knocked over her knife which clattered onto the stones and spun out of her reach. She bent down to retrieve it, hiding her face from Jay’s view.

  “Allow me, miss?”

  Caroline saw an elderly man stretch down and pick up the knife, handing it back to her, handle first.

  “Excuse me,” he said. “Have you seen a young lady on her own out here? I am looking for a great-niece of mine who should be waiting for me.”

  Caroline realized with a start that this must be her great-uncle Philip.

  “I think I’m her,” she stuttered. “I mean, I am Caroline Fenton.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “Well, I am glad to meet you at last, Caroline. They told me at reception that you had arrived but I did not know you had a companion with you, hence my inquiry.”

  The tone of this comment seemed decidedly chilly to Caroline’s ears. Before she could explain the circumstances of her ‘companion’, Jay was on his feet. He held out his hand and introduced himself as “a recent acquaintance who is very interested in the old wedding photo.”

  Caroline was startled to hear Jay use the formal name, James, which she had never heard before, but she was relieved when Jay took over as host and made sure the older man had a seat beside Caroline. This gave her a moment to recover herself and take a look at this family member who she had never met.

  He was taller and more slender than his sister and looked as if he could be five or more years older. He had a head of thick hair of the pure white variety that often comes when red hair fades, but the skin of his face showed a devotion to the outdoors despite the fair skin that comes with that colouring.

  Caroline discretely examined his features while he signalled to the waitress to bring more tea.

  She could not see any family resemblance, and noted particularly the lack of the bold eyebrows that many of the family had inherited.

  His expression was still vaguely disapproving and Caroline had a pang of regret that she had committed herself to a couple of days in this stranger’s company without a clue as to his personality. He certainly did not give out the friendly vibes of his sister, Caroline’s Gran Lynn.

  “I asked James……..” (at this point she looked over at Jay with a glint in her eye that promised later discu
ssion) “…. to come along today because he has a connection to the wedding photograph that I felt he could explain better than I could.”

  The older man’s skeptical expression did not falter at this information. If anything, he looked even more determined to mistrust the young people sitting uncomfortably beside him.

  Clearing his throat, he managed to produce an abrupt sentence.

  “Let’s have a look at the photograph then, and the young man can get on his way.”

  Caroline’s immediate reaction to this statement, was to defend Jay.

  “Excuse me, great-uncle Philip, but James here has been of immense help to me since I arrived in the Lake District. I could not have managed without his encouragement and advice. He may be a new acquaintance of mine but he is not a hanger-on as you seem to suggest.”

  There was a welcome pause while the fresh tea things were placed on the table and the used cups, saucers and plates were removed. Caroline was still breathing rapidly from anger and Jay was looking as if he would like the earth to swallow him up immediately.

  Philip took his time pouring tea and arranging a linen napkin over his lap before he replied.

  “I may owe you both an apology. I have very little contact with young people these days and I am afraid my opinions are formed largely from reports in the newspapers about the negative things teenagers get up to. I have never married and so have no close experience to guide me.”

  “That’s perfectly alright, sir,” responded Jay. “I don’t wish to intrude. I will give you my information and you can judge its merits for yourself.”

  Jay’s politeness and his accent seemed to placate the older man. He nodded toward Jay with a more accepting expression on his face and then smiled at Caroline as if asking for forgiveness.

  “Let’s see the photograph, but first can I ask you to drop the ‘great-uncle’? Just call me Uncle

  Philip, please. I feel old as the hills already and I don’t need any more reminders of how long I have been alienated from my family in England.”

  Caroline received this request with relief. She had been wondering if she could possibly invent a shorter name for this relative, as she had done for Gigi, but nothing suitable was coming to mind and she doubted if it would have been welcomed.

  “That’s fine Uncle Philip. By the way, James usually refers to himself as ‘Jay’. I would be grateful if you could call him that, if he doesn’t object.”

  Jay agreed. Caroline reached over to Jay who fished out the photo in its manila envelope from the inside pocket of his jacket where he had stowed it for Caroline when she arrived on the terrace. She handed it over to Uncle Philip and watched with interest as he examined it.

  Seconds ticked away and the suspense grew. When Caroline could hardly wait any longer, her uncle shook his head and pursed his lips.

  “I am afraid I can’t contribute anything at all. I have never seen this photograph before, to my knowledge, although I think I recognize a younger version of my father here.”

  “We were pretty sure about him,” replied Caroline, “as Gran Lynn had already identified him.

  We would have been stuck there if Jay had not come along.”

  “So, how did a young man you just met, have useful information about a very old photograph?”

  Caroline could hear a hint of her uncle’s previous skepticism, so she quickly handed over to Jay to fill in the details for her.

  It took a few minutes while Uncle Philip grilled Jay on these details, but in the end he seemed to be satisfied about the authenticity of his story.

  “How remarkable!” he exclaimed, sitting back in his chair with a look of amazement on his weathered face. “I imagine some people might say this meeting was meant to be.”

  Jay and Caroline exchanged glances as they silently digested that comment.

  Jay recovered first and assured the older man that his employer, Anna Mason, was anxious to talk to both Caroline and her uncle as soon as possible to try to establish the links among the three of them.

  “I have given your niece the number of the farm house in Scotland, Mr. Purdy. If you want to call, my boss will be happy to speak with you at any time. She says she has very little information about why her parents left Scotland and never returned, or why they never contacted any family from there. She would like to solve that family mystery.”

  “I will give that some thought this evening,” responded Caroline’s uncle. “But first I need a bath and a rest before dinner.”

  Philip left the terrace abruptly, leaving Caroline and Jay to wonder why he was not more enthusiastic about his father’s part in the family mystery that now seemed to stretch from Glasgow to Canada and back to England.

  “I think he’s a bit scared by all this family stuff,” Jay ventured after a minute. “My thinking is you should not press him tonight. If he is reluctant to contact Anna Mason, there is probably a good reason. He has his own issues to deal with. Check in with your grandmother tonight and see what she suggests, and don’t forget to let me know before you go to sleep, OK?”

  “Look, Jay, I’m very sorry you were not invited to stay for dinner tonight. I feel badly about my Uncle Philip’s behavior to you.”

  “Hey, no worries there! I have some reports to file tonight and I need to see the pics we took today on Tod Crag. Maybe we’ll meet again tomorrow but don’t worry. I’ll be in touch, for sure.”

  “Thanks for everything Jay. You are the best!”

  Caroline got up and hugged Jay just a he was heading for the parking lot. He was too surprised to respond properly but gave her a quick hug back. He turned to wave to her as he followed the curve of the street and lost sight of the terrace. Caroline was still standing by the table with a thoughtful look on her face.

  * * *

  The arrangement with her uncle was to meet in the lounge at seven, before going in to dinner. Caroline glanced at her mobile phone and saw that she had almost two hours to wait.

  She was so annoyed and frustrated after the awkward meeting with Philip. She could hardly bear to think of him as an uncle or related in any way to her beloved Gran Lynn.

  If she had been at home, the natural thing for her to do when feeling this way, was to head for the swimming pool and beat out her annoyance in the cool water.

  As this thought passed through her mind, Caroline looked across the putting green in front of the terrace and understood what the sparkle of water she had glimpsed during the difficult session with Philip, represented.

  “Right! I will see if the hotel will allow me to swim there. I will feel more capable of dealing with this evening’s dinner if I can cool off first.”

  Caroline did not realize that the young girl who had delivered the tea was standing behind her with a tray. “Excusing me, please,” she said. “I am overhearing you speak. It is permitted for guests to swim in the pool. You can get a towel at reception, miss, if you give to them your room key.”

  Caroline noted the girl’s name badge. “Thank you, Elsa. I will do that right now.”

  She smiled at herself as she changed clothes in her hotel room. She had almost forgotten the black one-piece swimsuit she had stuffed into the bottom of her backpack. It was a habit of hers to always pack a suit just in case, and this time, as often happened, it was going to be needed. She pulled her jacket over the suit and her jeans, and headed for reception where she traded the key for a large, colourful, beach towel.

  The path from the terrace led straight to the in-ground pool which she had spotted earlier, partially hidden behind its tall, white-painted fencing. There was no one else around.

  She claimed a lounge chair, shrugged off her clothes, and made a shallow dive into the deep end, grateful that there was no pool guard to tell her she could not dive or swim alone.

  It was glorious to swim outside. She did not mind the unheated water that was probably keeping other swimmers away. She knew the busy tourist village of Grasmere was nearby, but all she could hear over the sounds of water splashi
ng against the pool edges, was the wind rustling the leaves far above her and the birds chirping in the sunshine.

  After about five minutes of strenuous swimming, she turned over onto her back and floated.

  As her breathing returned to normal she could not avoid a growing dread of the coming evening, then she calmed herself with the thought that it was only one meal and she could escape tomorrow with some excuse if she needed to. It would have been nice to stay in such a lovely place, she considered, yet it was not worth the cost of spending time with an unpleasant old man.

  No one else arrived to claim the pool so Caroline stayed until the shadows indicated it might be close to six o’clock. She wrapped the huge towel around her and dried her legs, leaving her hair dripping, since she intended to blow it dry with the dryer in her room.

  As she left the shelter of the pool fence, she could see residents at tables in the lounge and she sprinted along the path to reclaim her key. It wouldn’t do to offend the rich residents, she thought, especially if one of them is a certain Uncle Philip.

  It didn’t take long to smarten herself up for dinner. The new jumper looked elegant, even if her jeans were too casual for the setting. Reminding herself that Gran Lynn always preached the value of good carriage, Caroline straightened her shoulders and walked to the lounge with her head held high.

  She had to search for her uncle among the crowded tables and chairs. She finally found him seated at the bar and looking rather more approachable with his hair brushed back and wearing a white shirt under a lightweight tweedy suit. He spun round on the bar stool as soon as she said hello and the look on his face was transformed from the rather ugly frown of their previous meeting.

  “My God, girl! Why didn’t you tell me? I only saw this by accident a few minutes ago.”