by ammyford1
“Yeah, of course, that would be great,” I said supportively.
Bennie gave a half smile and rolled her eyes. We both knew it wouldn’t be great. Most of Mr and Mrs Blythe-Smith’s friends were snooty and insufferable. We had both endured them on a number of similar occasions over the years. Unfortunately, we could no longer get away with hiding out in the tree house.
“Thanks.” She gave me a brief hug and made her way out to her car.
I stood and waved her off.
Chapter 28
I stopped at the florist in the village and bought a bunch of lilies on my way over to Audrey’s. I parked outside her cottage and looked at the familiar façade before getting out of the car. Not much had changed except the window frames were freshly painted. Her pretty garden looked as neat as ever and even though it was nearly the end of November there were still some splashes of colour in it. It was such a strange feeling knowing that my world had been turned upside down and yet everyone else’s around me carried on as normal. It was a bit like when a loved one dies, I thought morbidly, your world changes forever, but incredibly other people’s lives carry on as if nothing has happened.
Would I ever be able to resume a normal life? It seemed such an impossibility.
I took a pained breath before reaching across to pick up the flowers from the passenger seat. I walked up the garden path, knocked on the front door and waited. The door opened and Audrey greeted me with a hug. I cannot describe how good it was to see her.
“Sophie, thank God you are both okay, I’ve been so worried.”
She felt smaller than I remembered.
I pulled away. “I’m so sorry I’ve not been in touch sooner. I feel so terrible I left you in such a state.”
“Oh now, don’t you worry about me, I’m as tough as old boots. Let me have a look at you,” she said, holding me at arm’s length. I didn’t push her for a thorough rundown of her condition, she obviously didn’t want to talk about it.
“Have you been eating properly?” she asked, her brows knitting together.
Food was the answer to most of life’s problems according to Audrey.
I shrugged. “It’s been a tough couple of weeks.”
“You poor dear.” She reached past me to shut the front door. “Let’s go into the kitchen where it’s warm.”
Her house smelt familiar and comforting like an old patchwork quilt. She put the kettle on the Aga and placed some warm scones on a plate. She moved gingerly around the kitchen doing everything with her right hand, holding her left arm against her stomach as if it was in an imaginary sling. It was like she had aged ten years. My sympathy and guilt increased in equal measures.
“Are you sure you should be out of hospital?” I asked doubtfully. It seemed very early for Audrey to be at home fending for herself.
“I couldn’t have stayed in that place for another minute,” she said briskly. “I was surrounded by old people who were waiting to die. I’m much better off at home. There’s a girl that comes around in the evenings to bring me a meal and to check I’m okay and Paul’s been helping me out with shopping.”
“Oh, well that’s good then.”
“Yes, the hospital is piloting a new initiative to provide those who don’t actually need a hospital bed with care in their own homes.”
“At least they haven’t left you entirely on your own. Sandie said that you are having physio.”
“Yes, for some reason my left arm doesn’t seem to want to work properly,” she said, looking at it disapprovingly. “There.” She put the plate of scones on the table and returned to the whistling kettle on the Aga.
“Would you mind getting the jam and cream out of the fridge dear?” she asked as she made the tea.
“Yes of course,” I replied, jumping up. I had been sitting there allowing myself to be waited on hand and foot when I should have been helping her.
“You didn’t have to go to all this trouble,” I said as we both sat down at the table.
“Don’t be silly, it’s no trouble at all. I am so pleased you’re back.”
The left side of Audrey’s face was slightly less mobile than the right, it wouldn’t have been that noticeable to anyone else but it was a face so familiar to me it was easy to spot something wasn’t quite right.
“I feel so bad about what happened to you Audes, I wish I hadn’t left you on your own in the shop.”
“Stop that talk, you weren’t to know. I’m just glad it was me and not you. I’ve got no one depending on me.” She began to pour the tea into two china cups and added a little milk. “Anyway, I should be the least of your worries. You’ve been through enough over the last couple of weeks. Tell me about Toby. What on earth happened?”
I took a sip of tea, she always made it stronger than I usually liked but today I welcomed its metallic taste. “Toby was kidnapped the day after you were attacked.”
“The thought of that poor little boy being taken,” she said, shaking her head. “What sort of person would do such a thing?”
“There are some pretty evil people out there,” I said. And not just in this world I thought to myself.
“Do you think there is any connection between Toby’s kidnap and my attack?”
I took a deep breath. “I’m afraid I think there was.” I slowly started to butter a scone. “Do you remember the guy who came into the coffee shop asking for me, the one with the accent that you couldn’t place?” I deliberately made him faceless in my mind. If I didn’t picture him it made it easier.
“Yes, he wasn’t the one that kidnapped Toby was he?” Audrey asked, looking appalled.
“No, no, it wasn’t him,” I said, shaking my head. “It turns out that he’s related to Toby’s father and he was looking for me because he was worried that Toby was in danger. He wanted us to stay with his family so they could us.” It also helped if I didn’t say his name.
Audrey looked completely bewildered. “Why in God’s name was Toby in danger?”
I almost told her Toby’s grandfather was royalty but thought better of it. The less she knew the better.
“Toby’s father had got into some kind of trouble and kidnapping Toby was his enemies’ idea of just retribution,” I said, thinking on my feet.
“That’s dreadful!”
“You’re telling me,” I said, feeling downhearted and dejected.
“So you know who Toby’s father is?”
“Yes. Unfortunately he was killed nearly nine years ago, but his parents are very keen to get to know Toby and bring him into the family fold.” I tried to keep the bitterness out of my voice. Audrey didn’t seem to notice any change in my tone, she was too busy trying to piece together what I was telling her.
“Who are these people? They sound like some kind of hoodlum?”
“Toby’s grandparents are very respectable,” I said and smiled inwardly at the world’s biggest understatement. But Bazeera and her henchmen? They were really no different to mobsters. They were thugs and criminals who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted.
“And how did you find Toby?”
“Ahran and I…” It happened so quickly, his named slipped out and an image of him flashed in my mind before I even had a chance to slam down the shutters. I felt a jolt to the centre of my chest like I’d been hit squarely with a sledgehammer. I took a few deep breaths and used all my willpower to compose myself. Was this always going to happen every time I let my guard down? I took a shuddery breath.
“This is upsetting you dear,” Audrey said as she squeezed my hand that had inadvertently gripped the table cloth. “You really don’t have to go into all of it now. It’s enough to know you are both safe.”
“No, it’s okay.” I had to continue. It was the only way I would be able to build up any resistance. The more I talked about him, the easier it would become. Wouldn’t it?
I paused. “Ahran and I spent the days following Toby’s kidnap searching for him. Eventually we found out where they had taken him and were able
to rescue him. He’s now with his grandparents for his own protection.”
“Good grief Sophie, it all sounds utterly dreadful. Do the police know about this?”
“Well, that’s the thing, they don’t know and they can’t know.”
“I see dear.” She was still struggling to take it all in and I was glad I had only told her the bare minimum. “I’ve never heard anything like it. It’s the sort of thing that only happens in films.”
“I know it all sounds crazy, I would struggle to believe it if I hadn’t been there and witnessed it for myself,” I said. “I hate lying to the police but I’ve told them that the kidnappers blackmailed me and that I was double crossed at the last moment. I had to say something that would explain why I was back and Toby was not. I didn’t want them to think I had anything to do with his kidnap.”
“Well, dear you haven’t got to worry about me, I won’t tell a soul.” She gave my hand another reassuring squeeze. “When will you see Toby again?”
“The police have asked me to make a television plea tomorrow. I’ve got to carry on with the pretence that Toby is still missing,” I said unhappily. “And then I shall go to see him after that. In the short term I’ll try and see him as often as I can.”
“And in the long term?”
I shrugged. “I really don’t know.” I struggled to keep the despair from my voice.
“So where do his grandparents live?”
“It’s better for yours and Toby’s sake that you don’t know,” I explained.
“I see dear. Well, it will all sort itself out in the end, things always do,” she said with an air of confidence.
“I hope so.” I had to change the subject, my chest felt heavy and I could feel tears beginning to threaten.
I said the first thing that came into my head. “How’s Paul? Did he paint your windows?”
Audrey took a sip of her tea. “Yes, we had a couple of dry days last week, they were long overdue. He’s been trying to keep himself busy as much as possible, Eva has taken a turn for the worse.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Is she in hospital?”
“No, she’s in St Magdalene’s.”
“Oh, so really not good.” St. Magdalene’s was a hospice for the terminally ill just outside Brighton.
Audrey shook her head but didn’t say anything.
“I suppose it was going to happen one day. How’s Paul taking it?”
“He’s keeping himself busy. I think he’s been preparing himself for some time now.”
“I hope for everyone’s sake it happens quickly.” I glanced over at Audrey and she looked away as she stood up to get some more milk. She never spoke about her feelings for Paul but I knew how much she cared for him.
“I’m sure it will take him some time to come to terms with it, he is a devoted husband,” she said defensively.
“Yes of course he is Audrey, but nobody would blame him for wanting to get on with his life.” Audrey and Paul were in love with each other but I knew Audrey was worried about what people would think if they got together. I hoped beyond hope that she and Paul would choose to follow their hearts rather than do what they thought they ought to do.
Audrey poured us both another cup of tea.
“How has Toby taken to his new-found family?” she asked, deflecting the attention away from herself.
“Finding out that he has a family he never knew about has been very exciting for him, as you can imagine, but I’m not sure it has quite sunk in that he can’t come home yet.”
“He’ll miss you no doubt, but he’s a resilient little boy and I’m sure he’ll take it all in his stride.”
“It worries me though Audrey.” It felt good to have someone to confide in, I might not be able to tell her everything but at least I was able to talk about some of my fears.
Audrey took another sip of her tea as she waited for me to continue.
“I’m worried I’ll lose him. His grandparents are very wealthy and they can offer a far more exciting and privileged life than I can, what if he doesn’t want to come back?”
“Sophie, this is where all his memories of his mum are, it’s where you are and it’s his home, you aren’t going to lose him,” she said.
I sighed deeply.
“He loves you Sophie. Besides he’s still only a child he needs you now more than ever.”
I thought about what she had said for a moment. “I suppose you’re right.” Her words had given me some hope although I was still not convinced Halsan would ever let him return to Earth.
“Well, I suppose I ought to get going,” I said, looking at the clock on Audrey’s wall.
“I need to get some shopping. I’ve got nothing left in the cupboards.” I finished my second cup of tea.
“You must look after yourself Sophie, you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment and you need to keep your strength up.” This is exactly what Bennie had said to me but no one seemed to realise how much effort it took to look after oneself when it was a full time job worrying about a child who had been torn from you as well as nursing a broken heart.
I gathered the dirty dishes up and started to wash them in the sink. “I’m so glad you are making a good recovery Audes. My last image of you was lying unconscious in a hospital bed plugged into a machine, it’s haunted me ever since.”
“It would take more than a beating to keep me down,” she said with a chuckle.
They were tough words but not entirely true as I turned around to look at my more fragile-looking friend.
I dried my hands on a tea towel. “Thank you for the scones, they were delicious.” I gave her a hug.
“Send my love to Toby, I hope everything settles down and he is able to come home soon. Keep me informed won’t you dear?”
“Yes, of course I will.
She followed me out into the hallway.
“Oh,” I turned around. “I know it’s very early days but I’m opening the shop on Wednesday. I completely understand if you never want to set foot inside the place again but your job will always be there for you if you feel ready to come back.”
“Thanks love. Once I’ve got this working a bit better,” she said, touching her left arm. “You won’t be able to keep me away.”
I had to admire her spirit. “Is there anything you need?” I asked after I had given her a kiss on the cheek.
“I don’t think so dear. Paul did some shopping for me yesterday and my meals are being provided at the moment. You just concentrate on looking after yourself.”
“Okay, as long as you are sure.” I opened the front door. “Take care, I’ll pop in later this week.”
“I’ll look forward to it and tell Toby that Auntie Audrey sends her love.”
“I will.”
Walking down Audrey’s path I glanced over the hedge at Paul’s equally neat garden and hoped she wouldn’t be on her own for too much longer.
I went home via the nearest supermarket and bought something for tea. There was little point buying too much if I was going to be in Ramia for the next couple of days. I usually enjoyed my weekly shop but I struggled to face the aisles and aisles of food. I grabbed some fresh pasta and a ready-made sauce and got out as quickly as I could.
When I got home, I made some calls and then forced a few mouthfuls of pasta down. Audrey was right. It was no good starving myself, what good would that do Toby? When I had eaten as much as I could, I took a deep breath and phoned the palace. Even though the King had said I could visit whenever I liked, I thought it was only polite to let him know I would be visiting in the morning.
I hadn’t spoken to Toby since I had been back and was disappointed to find out that he and his grandparents were at some dinner event when I called. I wondered if the King had even told him I had phoned. I left a message with Sulaan to say I would be there late morning. The evening stretched ahead of me and I spent it mindlessly flicking through the channels on the television until I fell asleep and woke up just before midnight with a stiff
neck. I took myself upstairs to bed feeling happier knowing I would be seeing Toby in the morning.
Chapter 29
I think I gave a convincing performance during my T.V. appeal, it wasn’t as if tears were too far away these days. I had never broken the law or even stolen as much as a penny sweet after my mum had made me take back a packet of fruit polo’s I’d taken from the corner shop aged eight, so lying to the police, and now the nation, did not sit easily with me. Everyone at the station had been very kind and the detective in charge of Toby’s case was as reassuring as he could be in spite of having come up with very little so far. Thank goodness!
I returned home and packed a bag for the weekend, managing to fit everything into my small backpack in the hope that I would look less conspicuous walking into the woods. It was difficult to contain my excitement at the prospect of seeing Toby, even though I feared Ahran might still be there. I wasn’t prepared for an encounter with him yet. I locked the front door, slipped out the back and headed into the woods. The air was cold against my face but my cheeks burned with anticipation. I couldn’t help feeling paranoid about being followed and glanced back over my shoulder several times whilst walking in the direction of the oak marking the portal.
I wasn’t certain I’d found the right tree and put my hand out fully expecting to hit the trunk. My stomach lurched. It had to be one of the most unpleasant experiences, like a rollercoaster that had got stuck in a perpetual spin. I’d missed breakfast and could feel myself retching even before I had entered Ramia. Maybe this time I would get lost in the vortex between the two universes and would never find my way out. But just before losing all hope of ever seeing another living being again, my foot touched firm ground and I stumbled forward as if someone had pressed the eject button.
