by Fortin, Sue
‘Impressive,’ said Will.
‘I only told him who I was, that I was on holiday and my brother lived at the farm,’ said Marcie. ‘Wonder what’s up? Do you think it’s something to do with Ben? He kept pointing towards the farmhouse. Has Ben said anything? What about Lisa?’
‘That’s a lot of questions,’ said Will. ‘To which I don’t know any of the answers before you fire them off again.’
Marcie gave a tut, which Will chose to ignore.
‘Aren’t you the slightest bit interested?’ said Marcie.
‘Not especially,’ said Will. ‘Come on, we’ll never get to Lizio at this rate.’
Big drops of rain began to splatter onto Will’s jacket and speckle the tarmac.
‘Ew,’ said Marcie. She pulled her waterproof jacket round her, fastening the buttons on the collar. ‘Here comes the rain.’
‘Still time for you to go back.’
‘Why would I want to do that?’
Will smiled to himself, secretly impressed at her stubbornness. ‘Just checking,’ he said and then to steer the conversation onto safer ground, proceeded to tell Marcie about the local area, in particular, the woods they were heading for.
They walked on together with Will setting the pace. He knew he was striding out, but Marcie seemed to be keeping up well and he got the feeling she wouldn’t appreciate him going easy just because she was female. The rain was now falling steadily and Will took the decision to go via the communes of Bremelavie and Brenugat taking in a small woodland area where the canopy of branches would at least provide some shelter from the weather.
As they walked further into the woods, Will stopped and took his camera from his rucksack.
‘So, that’s what you keep in there,’ said Marcie.
‘What else did you expect?’
Marcie shrugged. ‘Oh, I don’t know. It could be like a Mary Poppins bag. You could magically pull out a picnic table or a tent or a barbeque. Anything really. You were in the Army, so I imagine you must be very resourceful.’
Will crouched down and aimed his camera at the bracken, adjusting the lens manually.
‘The very fact that I was in the Army, means that I don’t actually need a Mary Poppins bag. Water and a knife will do just fine.’ He took a couple of shots to test the focus and then looked up at Marcie. ‘What have you got in your pack then? Change of clothes, spare shoes, hair brush, nail polish, make-up?’
He tried not to laugh at the indignant look on her face.
‘Actually, I haven’t got any of those, just water and something to eat.’ She bent down to look over his shoulder at the images on the camera. ‘What are you taking pictures of?’
Will lifted the camera to his face and closing one eye, lined up his next shot. ‘Nature,’ he said. ‘See the way the rain drop is just sitting there on the end of the leaf? It defies gravity for as long as possible, until it drop becomes too big and then it bulges and falls off the end of the leaf. I’m using a really slow shutter speed to capture that moment.’
He showed Marcie the pictures. ‘Wow. That is beautiful,’ she said. ‘Is that what you were doing the other night? Going out, taking photographs?’
‘Busted,’ said Will.
‘What do you take photos of in the dark?’
‘Wildlife mostly. Foxes. Badgers. Owls, if I’m lucky. The night sky. Sometimes it’s things like buildings, trees, farm machinery.’ He looked at Marcie who clearly thought he was mad. ‘It’s not as crazy as it sounds,’ he said. ‘Things look different in the dark. I love the way the moon casts shadows. Everyday things take on a different life at night times.’ She was still looking at him in that odd way. ‘Okay, when we get back later, I’ll show you what I mean. I’ll get some of my photos out for you to look at.’
‘Is that like inviting me back to look at your etchings?’ said Marcie.
‘What? No! I didn’t meant that,’ said Will. ‘I genuinely meant…’ He stopped. Marcie had an enormous grin on her face.
‘I was just pulling your leg,’ she said. ‘It just sounded like a cheesy chat-up line.’
Will let out a laugh, which he was conscious was one initially of relief, but then as the idea took on a life of its own in his mind, the laugh faded. He shouldn’t even be going there. Not with his mate’s sister at any rate. Bad thought. Or maybe not.
He busied himself with taking some more pictures, trying to capture the exact moment the rain drop fell from the tip of the leaf.
‘Have you always liked photography?’ said Marcie as she watched him.
‘Only since I came out of the Army,’ said Will.
‘You’re not into tanks and guns and all that macho stuff, then?’
Will stood up and replacing the lens cap pushed his camera back into his rucksack. He hadn’t managed to get exactly what he wanted but he was conscious that hanging around for half an hour, although it wouldn’t stretch his patience, it would probably bore Marcie to death. ‘No. Seen enough of that for one lifetime.’
‘Do you miss the Army?’
‘I used to. When I first came out. Missed the other lads. The company. But not anymore.’
‘Do you keep in touch with any of them?’
‘You’re doing it again,’ said Will.
It took a moment for the penny to drop but when it did, the look of embarrassment on Marcie’s face, actually made Will feel guilty. ‘Sorry,’ she said not meeting his eyes.
‘No, I’m sorry,’ said Will, feeling embarrassed himself now. ‘I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.’ He paused, the urge to explain his reaction took him by surprise. He wasn’t in the habit of explaining himself to anyone but for some reason Marcie was having a strange effect on him. He let out a sigh, deciding to go with it. ‘I don’t keep in touch with any of the lads from the Regiment. Some bad shit, I mean stuff, happened on my last tour.’
‘It’s okay,’ said Marcie, her voice was so soft and gentle it felt like it was caressing him. ‘You don’t have to explain. I didn’t mean to pry.’
‘I’ll spare you the details but I’ve had counselling. CBT. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy,’ said Will. ‘They get you to change your mind-set basically.’
‘Has it helped?’
‘To a certain extent. I still don’t sleep that well.’
‘So that’s why you’re out and about at night.’
‘Pretty much.’ Will blew out a long breath. He hadn’t expected that conversation to happen. He also didn’t expect Marcie to then step forward and hug him. ‘What was that for?’ he said when she pulled away.
‘Can’t beat a good hug.’
Will tipped his head to one side, looking up at the sky as if thinking. ‘I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that,’ he said. She grinned and laughed at him, the intimacy of the moment broken. Will shrugged his rucksack onto his shoulders. ‘Right, let’s get going. Quick march.’
When they reached Lizio, the rain had stopped and Marcie took off her woolly hat, shaking the rain from it.
The village looked enchanting even on a grey soggy day like today. The various roads into the village all converged in the centre at the church. With no curb to the paths, the blocked paved walkway was the only distinguishing feature to show where the pavement ended and the narrow roads began. During the summer, Lizio was a busy village, attracting many tourists to come and sit at the cafes and restaurants, enjoy an ice-cream and watch the world go by. November, however, saw the cafes closed and the shutters down on most of the windows.
‘I always think it must be really dark in the houses when they close their shutters,’ said Marcie as they walked through the centre of the village.
‘That’s the French for you,’ said Will. ‘They close them in the winter to keep the grey miserable weather out and close them during the summer to keep the lovely warm sun out. Might just as well not have windows.’
He steered Marcie north out of the village and passing the local school, they followed the road as it wound its way through more woodland. B
y now, there was no path and keeping close to the verge, they eventually reached a lake.
‘Here we are,’ said Will. ‘Etang du val Jouin.’
‘Impressive French accent,’ said Marcie, laughing at his distinct lack of one.
‘I know, it’s great, isn’t it?’ said Will.
They made their way round the lake, passing the picnic benches and fishing spots dotted along the bank. Reaching the opposite side, they continued on to a second smaller lake. There was an old stone house in a clearing and a wooden bridge spanning the stream that joined the two lakes.
‘It’s really peaceful here,’ said Marcie. ‘I’ve been here during the summertime when it’s busier.’
‘I prefer it this way,’ said Will. ‘We just need to cut through here and across the road, then we’ll be at the woods. There’s a long route and a short route. Which do you fancy doing?’
‘I really don’t mind,’ said Marcie, aware that she could be falling into a potential trap and giving Will the chance to tease her. ‘Let’s do the longer one.’
As they walked along the bank of the second lake and then crossed the road to the opening of the woods, the rain began again. Marcie put on her hat, suspecting that she would regret her choice of walk.
‘I tell you what,’ said Will. ‘We’ll take the shorter one. That way I can stop and take photos without worrying about the time.’
‘If you’re sure,’ said Marcie. Secretly, she was relieved and wondered whether the gesture was out of lack of time or pity for her. She resisted the urge to make some smart arse comment about his stamina, just in case she shot herself in the foot and he changed his mind.
‘We’ll do the other route next time,’ said Will. ‘That’s if you’re still about. How long you staying for?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said Marcie truthfully. ‘Until the fuss dies down at home, I suppose.’ From her peripheral vision, she was aware Will had turned his head to look at her. ‘I got myself into a spot of bother,’ she said.
‘You don’t strike me as the spot of bother type,’ said Will now looking ahead.
‘I used to work for a company which manufactured electronic components,’ said Marcie. ‘They won a contract with the MOD.’ She frowned as she thought back to her old admin job.
‘Right,’ said Will. ‘I take it from your tone of voice, you weren’t happy about it.’
‘I got a bit side-tracked by this guy I met. Ollie. We started dating,’ said Marcie. ‘He told me he was a Greenpeace activist. I got sucked into it all without even realising and went on what I thought was a peaceful anti-war demonstration.’ She stole a glance at Will, just catching him roll his eyes.
‘You’re going to tell me it was that big rally in Whitehall last month, aren’t you?’
‘That will be the one,’ said Marcie.
‘Where it all turned nasty, rioting, looting, arrests,’ said Will. ‘I suppose you can see the irony of the situation.’
‘Don’t worry, Ben’s already pointed that out to me,’ said Marcie. ‘I got arrested, not for doing anything criminal, but I was in wrong place at the wrong time. Literally. My picture appeared on the front page of the newspaper.’
‘And your boss saw it.’
‘Yep. I was hauled into the office and my contract terminated there and then on the spot.’
‘On what grounds?’
‘Official Secrets Act. They said they couldn’t trust me not divulge confidential information, bearing in mind who my boyfriend was and the sensitive information I had access to. This also meant that the contract on the company flat I rented was also terminated.’
‘Harsh.’
‘Mmm. Said boyfriend, promptly dumped me. It seems my boss’s hunch was right. Ollie just wanted to use me to get inside information so he and his mates could launch more daring protests.’ Marcie cringed inwardly as she thought back to Ollie. ‘I was a total fool, taken in by his charm and easily influenced like some impressionable schoolgirl. I couldn’t see it at the time but, afterwards, it was obvious. It didn’t end there, though.’
‘Really? There’s more?’
‘The local paper got hold of the story and ran it all over again,’ said Marcie. She scuffed at a stone in the track, kicking it into the bushes. ‘They made out I was some sort of trouble maker who only went there to cause a fuss. I had hate messages on Facebook, Twitter, even a note shoved through my letter box. I got lots of people coming out in support too, but sadly they weren’t the type of people I wanted to be associated with. It all got so out of hand, I had to close all my social media accounts and make my escape over here.’
‘All that for going on a demo,’ said Will. ‘Was it worth it?’
‘In a way, no. I lost my job, my flat and my dignity, all for an hour marching in Whitehall shouting anti-war slogans,’ said Marcie. ‘But, on the other hand, yes. It’s given me the chance to take stock of my life and of myself.’
‘Sometimes good things come out of bad things,’ said Will. ‘Don’t focus on the past, look to the future now.’
Marcie studied his face. He was doing his best to look distant and detached, but she could see the flick of a muscle in his neck. There was more to his words of wisdom than he was letting on.
As if sensing she was just about to ask a difficult question, Will picked up the pace. ‘There’s a little bridge and stream just up ahead. Apparently, in the summer months, it’s a great spot for dragonflies.’ He lengthened his stride and took the lead.
Marcie followed on, listening to him tell her all about the life cycle of a dragonfly and how it was different to a damson. All this from someone who killed people for a living and loved loud drum and bass music. There was certainly more to Will than met the eye.
The rest of the walk was spent discussing safer subjects. Will’s appreciation for the natural world was apparent as he happily snapped his way through the woods, patiently answering Marcie’s questions about what he was photographing and why.
They completed the loop of the woodland trail and then made their way back to The Retreat.
‘Hey, the wanderers return,’ said Ben. ‘Good walk?’
‘Excellent,’ said Marcie. ‘And excellent company.’ At which she realised she sounded rather enthusiastic. She saw Ben and Lisa exchange a look.
‘I think we’ve certainly walked that cake off from this morning,’ said Will, bending down to untie his laces.
‘I hope so,’ said Lisa. ‘Half a cake between you. Do you know how much butter and sugar went into that?’
‘I’m pretty certain we’ve walked off a slice, though,’ said Marcie. She ruffled Poppy’s ears as the little dog jumped up, resting her paws on Marcie’s knees.
Lisa went over to the pantry and brought out the Breton Butter Cake. One solitary slice remained. ‘And I’m pretty sure you had more than once slice.’ She laughed good humouredly.
Marcie stood up and looked at Will. ‘Did you have any cake?’
‘Nope. One slice is enough for me,’ said Will. He placed his wet boots in front of the fire.
‘It must be that ghost the villagers are all talking about,’ said Ben.
‘What ghost?’ said Marcie, catching the wink that her brother threw at Will.
‘Ah, the ghost,’ said Ben. ‘I haven’t told you about that, have I?’
‘It’s a load of nonsense,’ said Lisa. ‘It’s just a local rumour.’
‘The other week, we were telling Yves, the farmer from round the corner, that we want to renovate some of the outbuildings for more guest accommodation and he got all animated,’ said Ben. ‘He warned us of the ghost that lived in the barn. Told us we’d be cursed if we went ahead with the building works.’
‘He got quite worked up about it,’ said Lisa. ‘Apparently, some chickens have gone missing from his farm. I think he said he’d even seen a ghost but, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure if I was translating him right. He doesn’t speak English and the French he uses is a traditional Breton dialect.’
‘That probably explains things,’ said Will. ‘We bumped into him on our walk and he was having a rant about something.’
‘He’s always having a rant about something,’ said Ben. ‘We try to keep on the right side of Yves. He knows a lot of people. He’s quite influential locally.’
‘Anyway, enough of the ghost stories and miserable farmers,’ said Will. ‘I’m soaked and could do with a shower.’ He looked over at Marcie. ‘Do you want to dive in the shower first? Or shall I? I’ll probably be a lot quicker than you.’
Marcie looked down at Poppy who was now sitting by the front door, looking expectantly at her. ‘You go first,’ she said. ‘I think Poppy wants to go out. I might as well take her, seeing as I still have my boots on.’
Dusk was fast being swallowed up by the evening darkness. The lack of lighting made the garden seem even darker than usual. Ben and Lisa had spent a lot of time turning what used to be a pasture into both a relaxing and working garden. Stepping out from the kitchen there was a paved terraced area leading to the lawn with flower beds either side. In the summer it was a beautiful and relaxing place to sit, with trees on one side, giving plenty of shade from the sun. A small hedge separated the vegetable and herb garden beyond.
Marcie stood at the edge of the terrace while Poppy sniffed around on the grass. Marcie’s eyes grew more accustomed to the dark and she watched Poppy head off on the trail of something. Probably a fox or a rabbit.
‘Poppy! Come here, girl!’ called Marcie as the dog disappeared through the gap in the hedge to the vegetable garden. Marcie walked across the grass. Poppy gave a whine and then barked excitedly. ‘Poppy! Leave the rabbits alone.’
The moon slid behind a cloud and the wind whipped up, blowing Marcie’s hair around her face. Marcie paused as she reached the hedge. An unexplained feeling of apprehension came over her.
Poppy continued to yap. It wasn’t aggressive, but she was definitely excited by something. There was a rustling and Marcie could hear movement amongst the dead leaves. It sounded too heavy to be a rabbit. A fox, then? A small flash of light in the field caught her attention. She peered into the blackness trying to locate it again but it was gone.
