Sarah and a rather subdued Bertie went with Sophie to Badgers Brook. At Sophie’s suggestion they left Bertie with Kitty and Bob to tell them of his adventure.
‘He’ll be all right with Kitty and Bob,’ she assured Sarah. ‘It’s very important that I talk to you.’ She explained Ryan’s suggestion and at first Sarah refused.
‘Owen wouldn’t believe me anyway. I was quite emphatic. And what if Bertie got it wrong again? I can’t risk upsetting him any more. He’s only a boy, Sophie, and he’s been through so much.’
Eventually, after assuring her that Bertie could be with Sophie when she and Owen were presumably leaving, Sarah agreed. ‘Any doubts, mind, and I’ll call everything off,’ she warned. ‘Bertie’s more to me than all of the Treweathers.’
It wasn’t difficult for Sarah to talk to Owen. She took Bertie to stay with Sophie until it was time for school and went to the farm. Tommy told her Owen was in one of the sheds and she found him and smiled her sweetest smile.
‘I’ve been awake all night,’ she said.
‘Oh? What was the matter?’
‘You, Owen, that’s what kept me awake. You and your offer for us to make a new start. Were you serious about caring for Bertie?’
‘I’ll treat him like my own, as I should have done ten years ago.’
‘I’m not managing on my own, and after ten years it’s a sad admission. I thought with this new home and a bit of help from friends I might have coped better than in the past, but I can’t do what I want to for my son.’
‘Sarah, I believe we can make a success of a fresh start but not if your only reason is Bertie.’
‘I can understand your doubts after my insistence that I’d never come back to you, but I didn’t think you’d ever want me, and my anger was a cover for my real feelings.’
‘You haven’t given me much hope. So what has changed you if it isn’t a better life for Bertie?’
‘The fact that in more than ten years I’ve never found anyone else must tell you that I still love you. Crazy, I know, but last night I did some honest thinking.’ She saw the expression on his face soften and a smile begin. ‘Please, Owen, can’t we try?’
‘I’ll do my best for you and Bertie, but you realize that we have to leave without any delay? I’ve made arrangements to take over a place and I can’t be casual about it. It’s now or never.’
She stepped closer and touched his face with her hands, slowly drawing him towards her until their lips were close. ‘It can’t be too soon for me. I regret every moment I’ve been away from you.’
‘This change of mind is very sudden,’ he said. ‘Can I believe you?’ He wanted to, he had her name on the deeds and everything would be easier if she were with him.
‘Let me show you.’ To kiss him wasn’t a hardship, after all, he was the only man she had loved, even though that love was gone for ever, and they came out of the shed with shining eyes and promise in the closeness of their bodies as they walked.
‘I’ll give you a lift back to the shop. From the way you’re dressed that was where you were going.’
She said thanks and glanced at him, her eyes detecting a few remaining doubts. She even had a few of her own, wondering if she was doing the right thing trying to catch him out in his thieving, but shrugged away her hesitation and said, ‘Owen, I’ve dreamed of this ever since we parted, but I didn’t believe it would happen. Last night, while I considered the future, I was filled with doubts about whether you really meant it. Then, towards dawn, I knew I had to believe you.’
*
After phoning to tell his parents and particularly Owen that he wouldn’t be back for a few days, Ryan left for the drive home. He had borrowed a car and broke the speed limit on many occasions as he dashed back to Cwm Derw. He stopped at Badgers Brook and he and Sophie shared all they knew.
After telling her what he and Gareth were planning, he kissed her lightly, then he held her closer and said. ‘Be careful. Stay at Sarah’s place. This isn’t a night to be outside. Any sign of trouble and I want you and Bertie and Sarah to stay well clear, promise me.’
‘I’ll be helping Sarah to look after Bertie, keeping him well out of the way.’
‘Don’t take any risks. You’re too precious. I’d rather Owen take everything than you even get frightened.’
She relaxed in his arms and when their lips touched the moment engulfed them both completely. Owen and his plans were forgotten, and they were aware of nothing but themselves and the promise given with the kiss.
Leaving her with great reluctance, leaving the car in the lane, Ryan walked through the wood and cautiously approached the farm. He managed to get inside the house without being seen and the first thing he did was change from his smart clothes into some belonging to Gareth. Baggy corduroys, a lumberjack shin, an Arran jumper, frayed at elbows and cuffs, and well-worn wellingtons.
Although Owen obviously knew them well enough to distinguish between them, as children he and Gareth had often played games, dressing in each other’s clothes and confusing him. They had always had differing tastes, Ryan choosing good-quality suits, well-cut sports jackets and greys, while Gareth rarely dressed well and treated whatever he was given with indifference. Ryan trusted that Owen, presuming he was in London visiting a friend, wouldn’t look at him closely enough to notice and would only see what he expected to see.
A weary Gareth arrived in the early evening after a journey spent contemplating all he had learned. He said nothing to explain his absence during the day and neither Rachel nor Tommy asked. They were so keen to describe the search for Bertie and its happy outcome that no one gave a thought to what he had been doing. He went to his room and waited for Ryan to appear.
*
A few minutes after Ryan had left her, ignoring his plea for her take no chances, Sophie had followed him. There was something she wanted to do, to help if she could, both for Ryan’s sake and for Sarah’s. She didn’t go to the farm, but walked down the steep field to the old farm buildings. There was no one about and the place looked unwelcoming.
Although the storm had subsided, rain was still falling, darkening the already stained grey stone walls, adding its quiet hissing sound to the last gusts of the wind and more gentle rattle of objects moving around the yard. Uninviting as the lonely house appeared, she went inside.
She forced herself to go up and try the back bedroom door again but the padlock was still firmly in place. She was disappointed but knew there was a ladder in one of the sheds and if she could raise it to the window she might be able to look inside the locked room. She knew she ought not to take such a risk. Alone, no one knowing where she was and far away from any help, it was decidedly foolish. Nevertheless, she decided, as she tugged uselessly at the padlock, that she would try to look into the room to find out what was important enough to justify such protection.
The rain wasn’t a deterrent as she was soaked through already, and the window was in a spot that was sheltered from the last sighs of the wind. And, she reminded herself soberly, it was out of sight – a place where no one was likely to find her if she fell.
She found manhandling the ladder into place extremely difficult. It was heavy and she only managed it by lifting it a few inches then resting it against the uneven stone wall, then raising it some more. Even in the lee of the building the occasional gusts almost pulled it from her hands, but she eventually had it propped against the wall below the window and she stood and leaned on it for a moment or two to recover her breath. Making the foot as secure as she could with some bricks and stones she climbed up. It was getting dark but she had come prepared with a torch.
It took a moment or two for her eyes to adjust to the darkness within, but eventually she saw several boxes securely tied with string and an oak chest with its drawers piled beside it, each filled with newspaper-wrapped items. There were also four of the bentwood chairs she had helped Rachel to put into the barn, and a small table. Having helped with the sorting, she recognized the things as ha
ving been taken from the items put aside to sell. What could they be doing here?
She was in danger of slipping, as the ladder rungs were wet and her shoes were unsuitable for such activity. Cautiously she slowly made her way to the ground, where a voice startled her.
‘What the hell are you doing?’ Owen, very wet and very angry, stood beside her.
‘Owen! Oh, you did give me a fright!’ She was shouting above the steady hissing of the continuing downpour. ‘Can we go inside? It’s impossible to talk with all this noise and I’m soaked through.’ When he had followed her into the house, she explained. ‘I came here the other day and found that one of the rooms has been padlocked. I wanted to see what was inside. Did you know there was some stuff from your uncle’s farm in there?’
‘Of course I knew! I’ve been watching the place hoping to catch whoever has been stealing from us. Now you’ve ruined it.’
‘Sorry.’
‘We might as well take the stuff back. You can give me a hand putting it into the van.’
She helped him bring the furniture and boxes down and into the van, then Owen told her gruffly to get in. ‘Filthy old thing, but it will get you home quicker,’ he said, attempting to brush some mud from the passenger seat.
She took her time getting in, deciding to take off her sodden coat. At the last moment, struggling to free her arms from its clinging wetness, he slammed the door and shouted, ‘Sorry, I can’t wait any longer for you,’ and drove away.
She called out, running after him and slithering on the muddy surface, but he was soon out of sight, the red rear light vanishing around a bend in the lane. Her attempt to delay him had failed and she was a long way from the farm. She knew that the sensible thing would be to go the same way, but it was a couple of miles along the road and she wanted to know what was happening at the farm and warn Ryan about the van apparently packed ready for departure. She couldn’t see the top of the field nor the wood beyond it, but, knowing it would save time, she began to walk up the steep field, her feet, in their unsuitable shoes, slipping on the wet grasses.
She made it into the wood, and although the day was already dark she knew her way and began to hurry through the narrow paths towards the brook. Her mistake was deciding that as her shoes were probably ruined it wouldn’t matter if she tried to jump across the stream and landed in the mud. The stepping stones were further up stream but she was in a hurry and every moment counted.
She jumped, but slipped as she took off and landed with a foot across a dead branch and fell awkwardly, her weight on her ankle.
*
Gareth watched as Owen returned, noting that he parked the van well away from the house, just inside the gate, and, surprisingly, locked it. He stood in the shadows as his cousin then went about the usual evening tasks of shutting the chickens in and checking the sheds. Ryan stayed out of sight. Then they changes places.
‘Everything in order?’ Ryan asked Owen.
‘Of course, Gareth. Don’t fuss so. As I’ve told you, we’ll find the money waiting in a new bank account and we can share it out and get away from this place for good. You to France and me to wherever the fancy takes me.’
‘Thank goodness! My partner is pushing me for my share of the cash and I don’t want to lose this chance.’
‘It’s all arranged. I’ll leave early tomorrow as soon as the morning tasks are done. Then, while the fuss about my disappearance confuses everything, you leave the day after. I’ll ring you at the phone box outside the post office at ten a.m. Just make sure you’re there.’
‘What are you going to do with your share?’ Ryan asked. ‘You’ve never said.’
Owen shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Not a farm, that’s for sure, I’ve had enough of farming. I’ll get a job and give myself time to consider. I’ll be free as I’ve never been free before. And,’ he added, with a cold look, ‘with no need to be grateful to anyone. That’s real freedom.’
*
Sophie’s ankle was painful yet he knew she had to move. Staying there cold and soaked through was asking for pneumonia – or worse. Moving was extremely painful and she guessed the ankle was severely strained or even broken. Feeling around the muddy ground, using the torch to help her search, she managed to reach a suitable branch, and after breaking off some of the side branches with hands that were unwilling to perform she was eventually satisfied that it was the best she could do. She tied it with the belt of her coat and her soggy cardigan. It made a reasonable splint. It took a while before she had the nerve to try but she slowly and painfully began dragging herself backwards, pulling with her hands, sliding on her bottom. She didn’t call. There would be no one to hear and the sound of her own voice, meagre in the empty wood, reminding her of the danger she was in, would have made her feel worse.
She knew her hands were bleeding, the cuts and bruises were hurting even though partially numbed by the cold, but there was nothing she could do about it. No gloves, and no alternative to struggling on. Restricting the movement of the damaged limb had made it less painful, but the journey to the farm meant going uphill and then down. Cold, wet and exhausted as she was, it was going to be a very long way.
*
For both Owen and Ryan, supper would be an anxious affair, with Owen worrying that something might stop him at the very last moment, and Ryan afraid his parents would call him by his name and remark on him wearing such unusual clothes, persuading Owen to look at him closely and realize his mistake. He said he wasn’t hungry, made the excuse of being tired and went to Gareth’s room, although even then his anxiety didn’t leave him.
He walked up and down, knowing it would only take a careless word to make Owen suspicious, but from the low murmur of voices he gathered that nothing untoward had happened. He released pent-up breath as he heard Owen leave the room and go outside, saying he was going for a drink.
‘I’ll tell Gareth and he’ll probably join you later,’ Tommy called. Ryan gave a sigh of relief. Those few words could have ruined everything.
Ryan darted through the gate up the field and dashed through the wood, unaware of Sophie struggling not far away from where he crashed through the trees, and hurried to join Sarah.
*
Heart racing, but smiling, Owen drove through the lanes. In a small suitcase under the passenger seat he had all the necessary deeds and bank statements and accounts, including the farm statements that would show the money taken from the account. The bank would provide copies once Tommy asked, but at least it would allow him a little more time. He tucked the latest bills, for which he had accepted payment in cash and not put through the books, into his jacket pocket. He didn’t want to leave anything incriminating behind him to speed up Tommy’s reaction. Still wearing a satisfied smile, he drove back to the old farmhouse.
No sign of the tiresome, interfering Sophie, he thought, as he cleaned the van thoroughly. The long spell of rain had helped and it was soon its original green, with chrome shining in the light of the lantern he had brought. He looked at it in satisfaction; it was unrecognizable for the filthy thing it usually was, unless someone remembered the registration number, and who bothered with that, apart from the police? Especially on a night like this. He’d drive with care, making sure not to do anything to make the police look at the van with any interest. But perhaps he would avoid the Aust ferry just in case. Being with people even for a short time might result in him being remembered. Best if he stayed on the roads.
When he called on Sarah she was alone; there was no sign of Bertie. She looked upset. ‘He’s run off again,’ she said at once.
‘Sarah, we have to leave now.’
‘I can’t, Owen. I have to find him.’
‘We can come back for him. He’ll be safe, there are plenty willing to look after him.’
He was standing at the door, the engine running outside the gate.
‘What is the matter with you? He’s only ten years old! I don’t know where he is! How can I leave not knowing what’s happened to him, wit
hout even telling him I’m going or explaining what’s happening?’
He grabbed her arm and began pulling her out of the door. ‘Come on, you stupid woman. I have to leave and you have to come with me. Hurry or it’ll be too late. Don’t you understand? There’s no time for this nonsense!’
‘Trouble?’ Ryan said, stepping through the gate.
‘Oh, it’s you, Gareth. I’m just explaining to Sarah that we have to leave now. Trouble is, the boy’s disappeared again.’
‘He can follow on with me. You two go. I’ll be joining you in less than twenty-four hours, won’t I, Owen?’
‘That’s right. Just twenty-four hours,’ he said coaxingly to Sarah, ‘and Bertie will be with us.’
‘No. I won’t leave without him.’
‘All right, you go, Owen, and I’ll bring them both tomorrow.’ As Owen hesitated, Ryan asked, ‘What route are you taking, Gloucester or the Aust ferry?’
‘What d’you mean?’ He looked very agitated. ‘Oh, you mean the place where we can wait till the money comes through? It’ll be somewhere in Hertfordshire. I can’t tell you where. I’ll need to find a place to stay, so, as arranged, I’ll phone the box outside the post office at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. I’ve got the number written down – not that I’ll forget it. I’ll have all the details then, so be there.’
‘Off you go, Owen. We’ll be meeting very soon.’
‘Yes. Cheerio, Gareth.’
‘I’m not Gareth, Owen, I’m Ryan.’
Owen stared at him, and his face seemed to shrivel as realization dawned. Then he pushed him, making him stagger, and dived into the van.
As he drove off at speed Ryan turned to Sarah. ‘Well done! You and Sophie make a wonderful team. Thank you. Now I’ll phone the police and tell Mam and Dad what’s been going on, then we can all go to the Ship and Compass to celebrate.’ He looked towards the stairs, where Bertie was sitting. ‘You, too, young man. I’m sure Betty will let you stay in her back room.’ He leaned on the banister and called, ‘Sophie? Come on down, love. It’s over.’
A New Beginning Page 26
