Petra seemed to come back to the present. She shook her head. ‘No. They do not approve of Denis. It cannot be resolved.’
Beth tried to hide her shock. How could grandparents not approve of their own grandchild? Beth wasn’t sure what to say, so she gave Petra a tentative hug, which was reciprocated.
Petra broke free. ‘Right, I had better go,’ she said with a brief frown, and she left.
Beth looked about her. The cottage was starting to look better and she’d made a friend in Petra. She was even getting on well with Jack. Very gradually, things were starting to come together.
Chapter Eighteen
It was just before midnight and Beth was drifting into a well-earned deep sleep when suddenly banging echoed through the hallway and around the small dwelling. Who would be banging on the door at this time of night? thought Beth. She scrambled up onto her pillow and looked out of the window and into the dark. Nope, it was no good, she’d have to go downstairs. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw someone was trying the door handle and it made her freeze. Who would do that? The banging started again. She could think of only one person – Nick.
Leo stirred upstairs. ‘What’s up, Mum?’
‘Shh. Nothing. Go back to bed.’ Her voice was tight and her breathing was panicky. Her mind was awash with scenarios and none of them ended well. Beth inched towards the door while fear tried to pull her back. She wondered if she should call the police but banging on a front door wasn’t an offence. She wished she’d thought through this possible scenario before now. Perhaps she and Leo could escape out of the back of the cottage without being seen. If Nick had found her, she didn’t want to think about what he might do. Despite the dark, she could see a figure through the glass. She edged closer to get a better look and a face loomed up at the pane, distorting it somewhat and making her jump.
Someone spoke. ‘Beth, it’s Jack. I need a big favour. Beth?’
Beth’s whole body relaxed instantly as a wave of relief washed over her, followed by a tinge of annoyance. She opened the door and Doris trotted in.
‘Who bangs on a door and then tries the door handle?’ she said sharply.
Jack looked momentarily confused. ‘It was on the off chance that you’d left it open. Look, I’m really sorry but there’s an emergency and I need to go to work now.’
Beth smirked. ‘An emergency in IT?’ Her annoyance was forgotten, a grin was spreading across her face and her heart rate was returning to normal.
‘Yes.’ Jack was frowning hard. ‘I can’t explain, official secrets and everything, but trust me it’s serious. Can you have Doris?’ he asked, as he handed her his house keys.
Beth’s smile disappeared. ‘Of course. Are you a spy?’ The question was out before she could regulate it.
Jack gave her a stern look. ‘I don’t know when I’ll be back. Get what you need for Doris from my place. I’ll call you.’ He put up his hood and jogged into the darkness.
‘Bloody hell,’ said Beth to Doris. She heard sniggers from Leo. ‘Back to bed!’ she called up the stairs.
It wasn’t the best night’s sleep she’d ever had. Doris was happy to lie on a blanket in the hall during the day but apparently that wasn’t comfortable enough for night-time. She had paced outside the bedroom door, her claws scraping on the floor, until Beth had reluctantly let her in, and she had now made herself rather comfortable on Beth’s double bed.
What Beth had thought was a generous-sized bed was now reduced considerably by Doris’s sprawled bulk. Although it was obvious that Doris was a very big dog, she appeared to be even bigger when she was stretched out and she was completely impossible to move despite lots of shoving on Beth’s part. Doris seemed to be in a very deep sleep and she vibrated with her dreams, making her judder all over the place, which was quite comical to witness, though it was more than a bit disconcerting to keep being woken by a dog snoring in your ear. However, she had to admit that it was a chilly night and she was secretly grateful for the warmth that Doris was sharing, but that was the only positive thing about it.
Even without all that Doris’s presence brought, Beth’s sleep was sporadic thanks to the spectre that was Nick. She had so quickly assumed it was him at the door, and the feelings that had gripped her maddened her. She thought she had left the fear behind but she had only been fooling herself. He still had a hold on her and somehow she had to break that control.
When Beth had finally slipped into a profound slumber, the alarm started to beep and Doris started to bark. Apparently she didn’t like being woken by the alarm, either. Three tired figures all padded down to the kitchen. Doris looked hopeful when the toast was served.
‘We’ll get you something on the way back from the school run,’ Beth told Doris, whose nose was inching ever closer to Leo’s plate. Beth gently guided her away and scratched her head to distract her. Doris drifted into a trancelike state, her eyes closed and her tongue lolling out of her wide jaws at an angle. She was a soppy creature really.
‘Is Jack really a spy?’ asked Leo a little while later while he wrestled with the inside-out sleeves of his school coat. His mother pulled them through and helped him put the coat on.
‘Nooo! Don’t be silly. We were joking.’
Leo’s nose wrinkled. He was thinking. ‘Shame,’ he said eventually, ‘that would’ve been SO cool.’
Beth gave what she hoped was a neutral smile and they all left the cottage.
Having dropped the boys at school, Beth was now at Jack’s place. The kitchen was an odd sight. It looked perfect as usual, all clean and tidy with the exception of a meal at the table and a single glass of white wine but no bottle. Beth had a sniff. She’d only ever seen Jack drink Guinness at the pub – perhaps this double life was more intricate than her already wild imagination was conjuring up for her. The meal was lasagne with four vegetables; she raised her eyebrows at that.
What she thought might be a bit of a search for Doris’s food wasn’t at all. She simply asked Doris where her dinner was and the dog bounded into the small conservatory and happily danced around a giant sack.
‘I’ve heard of buying in bulk but seriously?’
Doris was throwing her head about in excitement. Beth found her food bowl and put a couple of handfuls into it, which Doris seemed to inhale before the bowl had properly touched the floor. While the dog nudged the now-empty bowl around the kitchen, Beth went in search of spare bowls and something to put some food in; there was no way she was dragging the giant sack across the village green. She found a cereal box in the recycling, filled it from the sack and took it, along with a spare bowl and Doris’s beanbag. If he was away another night there was no way she was sharing her bed with Doris again. Before she left, she washed up Doris’s used bowl and the plate, cutlery and glass from the table so it no longer looked like the cottage version of the Marie Celeste.
Beth’s phone beeped when she was struggling across the village with a large beanbag that constantly changed shape as it tried to escape from her clutches, a cereal box at arm’s length containing Doris’s food, and Doris at full stretch trying to get her nose into the cereal box. When she reached the village store, Shirley was shuffling out trolley first. The dog spotted it instantly and no amount of shaking of the cereal box was going to distract Doris from her arch-enemy the wheelie trolley.
Doris chose the route behind Beth’s back as the quickest and spun Beth round inelegantly as the cereal box contents flew over Shirley and the beanbag finally made good its escape.
Shirley looked alarmed when the lolloping mass that was Doris dived onto the wheelie trolley.
‘Mittens!’ shouted Shirley.
‘Bugger!’ shouted Beth, dropping the cereal box and bowl and making a dive for Doris. She missed. Doris, however, had landed with her front paws on the trolley, which was a four-wheeled variety, and was moving away because Doris appeared to be pushing it along. As it gathered pace so did Doris.
‘Stop her!’ shouted Shirley. ‘She’s got my
mittens in there!’
A pair of mittens was the least of Beth’s worries because Doris and the trolley were heading towards a parked car. Beth sprang into action and ran after the renegade pair. People had now stopped to watch and laugh as the comic scene played out. Doris, who was still trotting along on two legs, had been distracted by the morsels of food on the top of the trolley but when she licked up the last of them she detached herself from the trolley just as Beth caught up. As soon as Doris was no longer pushing the trolley it slowed to a stop millimetres from the car’s bumper.
A spontaneous smattering of applause echoed across the green from the few locals who had witnessed the event and Beth waved her appreciation. Beth was breathing heavily from the short sprint, as was Doris from the excitement. At least Doris wasn’t barking, thought Beth, keeping a tight hold on Doris’s collar with one hand and the errant trolley with the other. That was when she felt it. She didn’t see it, she just felt the sharp pain when something scratched her knuckles. Beth darted a look at her hand in time to see the small white paw shoot out of the edge of the trolley lid and have another swipe at her.
Shirley appeared at her side. ‘There’s a cat in the trolley?’ said Beth, feeling uncertain of her own words.
‘Mittens!’ said Shirley, as she huffily took back the trolley. Doris remembered why she hated the trolley so much and started her usual barking onslaught at a retreating Shirley. Beth shook her head and started to drag Doris back to where she’d dropped the beanbag.
‘Bonkers, this village is totally bonkers,’ she said but she was smiling broadly as she said it.
Beth was glad to be back inside the cottage at last with the empty cereal box, a dented bowl, a muddy beanbag and a hyper Doris. She put the kettle on and ran her scratched hand under the cold tap. It was only a minor mark but it stung all the same. At last she sat down with a cup of coffee and checked her text messages.
At the station be with you soon C x
Beth stared at the message, then she checked the date and finally she checked previous texts from Carly.
‘Bugger,’ she said out loud. Today was the day Carly was coming to stay because she had pantomime rehearsals in Gloucester. As if on cue there was a knock at the front door and, although her shoulders sagged, Beth felt a spike of joy as she rushed to open it.
Beth gave Carly a hug and any uncharitable thoughts instantly disappeared. Her friend had come to stay and, even though it had slipped her mind, she knew they would have a good natter and the world would feel better for it. Doris was very interested in Carly’s wheelie case but thankfully quickly assessed that, surprisingly, it did not contain a cat so she returned to her blanket.
A few cups of tea later and they had slipped back into their comfortable chatter and, although the subjects weren’t the most uplifting thanks to Nick, talking things through always helped to put life in perspective.
Beth explained the previous night’s drama, and how she had been sure it was Nick banging on the door, and the subsequent revelation that Jack had signed the Official Secrets Act.
‘Ooh, so he’s yummy and he’s dark and dangerous,’ said Carly, her eyes wide as she peered over her large mug of tea. ‘He’s perfect for you.’
‘No, he’s not. I’ve had enough of dark and dangerous, thank you very much. And anyway he works in IT.’
‘Oh, that’s clearly a cover. I bet that right now he’s climbing up a mountain to infiltrate a villainous gang, or rescuing vital information or shooting a baddie.’
Beth blinked hard. ‘You watch too many films. I bet he’s sat looking at a computer screen and retrieving someone’s boring emails. The real world is a lot less exciting than the movies.’
‘He is yummy, though.’
‘I’m surprised you can remember.’ Beth laughed at the memory of a drunken Carly crashing out on Jack’s sofa.
‘I wasn’t that bad! I liked how he smiled with half his mouth, sort of crooked but quite endearing,’ said Carly, followed by a sigh.
Beth didn’t like where this was heading. She changed the subject quickly. ‘And how is the wonderful and delicious Fergus?’ she asked.
Carly let out an even bigger but far less dreamy sigh. ‘It’s all turning to poo.’
‘What’s happened?’
‘Nothing major. It’s not one big thing, it’s loads of little things. We’re annoying the hell out of each other, basically. I can feel him slipping away and it’s happening really fast. He’s going out more and more so we see each other less. He avoids eye contact which makes it very hard to have a conversation with him without it feeling very deliberate and forced.’
‘Everyone has rough patches, Carls. I’m sure that’s all it is.’
‘I’m not,’ said Carly, her face a picture of sadness.
Carly and Doris bonded while Beth changed her bed, as Carly would have to share a bed with Beth. She came downstairs with the sheets bundled up in her arms, hoping that Carly wouldn’t work out that she’d forgotten she was coming to stay.
‘She’s a total darling, isn’t she?’ said Carly, rubbing Doris’s middle as the dog stretched out on the grubby beanbag. Doris looked like she was in heaven.
‘We’re getting used to each other,’ said Beth, giving Doris an affectionate rub on the head as she went by.
‘I see you’ve not found a hairdresser yet,’ said Carly, joining Beth in the kitchen as Beth rammed the things into the washing machine.
‘Blimey, that’s harsh,’ said Beth, with a half-laugh.
‘No, you still look lovely. It’s just not how you used to look with your salon-perfect hair and manicures and stuff.’ Carly inspected her own flawless nails.
‘I don’t need it, it’s not who I am. It was like this costume I used to wear.’ She paused and Carly was now watching her closely. ‘I like this costume better,’ she said, pointing at her dungarees and giving a cheesy grin for emphasis.
Carly didn’t look convinced. ‘The cottage is looking a million times better.’
‘You’ve not seen the bathroom yet. That’s still a horror.’
‘But this is fabulous,’ said Carly, spreading out her arms in the small kitchen.
‘Yeah, it’s great. Jack and Simon did a great job …’
‘You’ve had the lovely Jack getting all hot and sweaty in here?’
‘Yes,’ said Beth, refusing to rise to the innuendo. ‘He and another local guy fitted it for me in exchange for custard creams and dog-sitting.’
‘Oh,’ said Carly, ‘they’re not a couple are they? Jack and Simon?’
‘No!’
‘Good. That would be a terrible shame,’ said Carly, her expression quite serious. ‘So Jack’s handsome, mysterious and handy. He gets better and better.’ Carly clapped her hands together.
‘Don’t go getting ideas. I’m off men for a while and not only for my sake but for Leo’s as well.’
‘I do get it,’ said Carly. ‘But I want you to be happy.’
‘I don’t need a man for that to happen,’ said Beth. ‘Can you watch Doris while I go and get her some dog food from Jack’s?’
‘No, I’m coming too. I’m not missing a chance to have a nose around a spy’s house. Ooh, do you think he has a gun?’
Beth rolled her eyes good-humouredly. ‘Come on, then,’ she said as she directed Carly towards the door.
Chapter Nineteen
At Jack’s, Beth had quickly refilled the cereal box with dry dog food and was waiting by the door ready to leave.
‘Carly, what are you doing? He might have spy cameras all over this place, you know?’ Beth chuckled to herself.
‘Bloody hell, do you think so?’ Carly peered down the stairs.
‘Carls, you can’t go snooping about. If he notices something’s been touched he’ll think it’s me!’ There was no answer. ‘Carly!’ Still no response. Beth put down the cereal box and reluctantly went upstairs.
The cool minimalism continued to the next floor but it somehow still felt homely; perhaps that
was the nature of cottages with their low ceilings and traditional fittings. She peeked into the bathroom as she passed. It was long and thin and he’d managed to get a separate shower cubicle in as well as a bath, and she found herself nodding her approval.
Beth found Carly in the master bedroom. ‘Look. No photographs,’ said Carly, her voice barely a whisper.
‘So?’
‘It’s weird, isn’t it? There’s nothing personal here. Nothing to tell you anything about the man that lives here.’
‘Come on, Miss Marple,’ said Beth, shaking her head as she nudged Carly towards the door.
‘Look at this.’ Carly took Beth’s arm and walked her into the spare bedroom. It had a simple table-like desk with a large computer screen, a keyboard and two laptops on it. There was a cross trainer, a state-of-the-art exercise bike and weights bench. Carly pointed to them each in turn.
‘He works in IT and he likes to keep fit. So what?’
Carly silently pointed across the room. A large built-in cupboard dominated the end wall.
‘No,’ said Beth, guessing Carly’s next exploration.
‘Just a sneaky look.’
‘I’m leaving,’ said Beth, who was feeling increasingly uncomfortable. Carly crept over to the cupboard and tentatively gripped the handle.
‘Argh!’ yelled Beth for a joke and Carly almost fell over with the shock.
‘You bloody idiot!’ Carly spluttered through a nervous laugh. Once she was a little calmer she opened the cupboard. It was completely empty. A series of shelves were all clear. ‘Now that is odd,’ said Carly, pointing at the empty cupboard. A quick look in the other side revealed a lot of box files and that was Beth’s cue to be a little more forceful with Carly and hustle her out of the room and out of the cottage before she took her amateur detecting too far.
Escape to Willow Cottage Page 17
