A Trick of the Light

by Ali Carter

  Rupert gave a sneering snort and Louis asked whether the email said more.

  ‘Yes, so devious, I think they wanted to strike up a correspondence about art.’

  ‘Art?’ said Louis.

  ‘Yes, Landseer in particular. It went on about how pleased they are with theirs.’

  Crumbs. Alarm bells are ringing in my head. Perhaps this pair own a Muchton original? But why isn’t Fergus thinking that? He’d never be telling us this if he did. Maybe he hasn’t had a call from the art dealer yet?

  I wish I’d done 1471 on the landline. I could have so easily confirmed if he’d received the call.

  ‘And,’ said Fergus, ‘they went on to say how much they’re looking forward to the next one.’

  ‘I think that’s quite nice,’ said Minty. ‘It sounds as if they’re trying to be friends.’

  ‘Why would I want to be friends with Ethan and Chloe Hewson of Ice Lake Mansion, Canada, or so they say they are? I mean poultry shoot. Come on. Americans…’ he corrected himself, ‘Canadians can be so carelessly ignorant at times.’

  Canadians struck a chord with me. Toby, oh Toby, has come up trumps, he’d suggested Canucks will buy up anything to bolster their Scottish roots. I don’t think Fergus’s email is spam.

  Louis pushed his chair out from the table, stretched his legs straight and with a rush of thoughtfulness said, ‘I’d delete it, Fergus. Much better it’s out of your computer if there’s the slightest hint of something suspicious going on.’

  ‘Quite right, that’s exactly what I did.’

  ‘But,’ said Rupert, ‘people like to reach out in the modern world. The internet makes it possible. I rather agree with Minty, I’m not sure you’ve been “done” as they say.’

  ‘Perhaps you’re right.’ Fergus’s eyebrows rose. ‘I never thought about it like that. I must put it past Zoe later, see what she says. I haven’t actually told her yet.’

  ‘What’s that, angel?’ said Zoe, attuned to her name.

  ‘Oh nothing, I’ll tell you later. Giles,’ he called, ‘keep the wine flowing, I don’t want to be left with half-drunk bottles.’

  ‘Will do.’ Giles smiled a Burgundy-stained grin.

  ‘Fergus,’ said Felicity, ‘what are you going to call your first child?’ At the mention of babies I turned to Louis.

  He was staring down the table at Zoe who was twitching her head towards the door. Louis got up and left the room. Zoe was now looking down the table at me; she shrugged her shoulders and left the room too.

  ‘Shane,’ I said, turning to my right, ‘I’m so sorry, I’m just going to nip to the loo.’ I really, really, really wanted to follow on.

  ‘That’s all right, Miss, you don’t have to ask.’

  Haggis stuck to my heel as I walked up the corridor, into the body of the house. Hovering behind the staircase, I could just see Louis and Zoe at the bottom of the banister. They were chitter-chattering under their breaths. Zoe had a hand to her forehead and Louis had his arm on her shoulder. Haggis yapped, they spun around and both bolted upright as soon as they saw me.

  ‘Susie?’ said Louis.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I played the I-was-worried-about-you card.

  ‘He’s fine,’ said Zoe, giving the game away. She was trying her hardest to cover up their intimate moment. ‘We were just having a chat.’

  Are these two having an affair? It would be amusing if I wasn’t stuck in the middle of it.

  ‘Whatever,’ I said. ‘Didn’t mean to interrupt.’ Louis touched my shoulder as I went straight past them and on through to the downstairs loo.

  There’s a stuffed deer’s head in here above the sink. Why do people put animals they’ve culled on display? Is it only the ones they’ve stalked or will the head of the road kill we’ve been eating tonight find its way onto a wall in this house?

  I think there’s a strong chance Ewen ran into that deer. He had blood on his wheel arch, I’d seen it in the photograph, and he was late home (according to Louis) on Monday night. He could have been drunk, embarrassed about what he’d done and not wanted anyone to know. So, dragging it into the wood at the time probably seemed the most logical thing to do. But can one man drag a deer or does its dead weight require two? Maybe Ewen got Louis to help and this is how he pulled a muscle in his arm? It’s not as if we’ve been doing anything strenuous in class.

  I went back to the dining room. Zoe was in her seat but Louis was nowhere to be seen. The plates had been cleared and I began to dream up my favourite thing for pudding.

  Ting-ting went Zoe’s glass and the kitchen door swung open to reveal Louis carrying an enormous chocolate cake.

  ‘Bon anniversaire,’ he began singing, and everyone, slightly confused, joined in with ‘Happy Birthday to You, Happy Birthday…’

  ‘Dear Fergus,’ shouted Zoe.

  ‘Happy Birthday to You.’

  Louis settled the lit cake in front of the birthday boy, who took in a deep breath and blew out the single candle.

  ‘How dare you, darling,’ he said. ‘I hate people knowing it’s my birthday.’

  ‘Had nothing to do with me,’ Zoe grinned. ‘Louis organised it behind your back.’

  Fergus looked over his shoulder at Louis. ‘That’s the problem with being a twin.’

  Mhàiri entered the dining room with a huge knife and Fergus grinned as he took it from her and began cutting up the delicious-looking cake.

  Louis sat down beside me and slipped his hand under the table, onto my knee. I very nearly let out a yelp.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I whispered.

  ‘Touching you. I like you.’

  I looked down the table at Zoe and back to Louis.

  ‘Non, non, non,’ he shook his head. ‘You don’t really think so, do you?’

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  ‘You’re so cute when you’re jealous.’

  ‘Well?’

  ‘I’m not even going to answer that.’

  The cake was delicious. Mhàiri had excelled. We all gobbled it up and as dinner drew to an end Shane ting-tinged his glass.

  ‘Miss,’ he said, when everyone was listening, ‘I’m doing this ’cause I like you…’

  For a conceited moment I thought he was going to make a speech to thank me. But when he got his mobile out of his pocket I feared the worst – he was going to take Jane down again…

  ‘I want to know what you,’ he was looking at Jane, ‘took from Susie’s room. She says you were looking for her but when I zoomed in on my video I can see you’ve clear as effing daylight got something up your sleeve.’ Shane got up and thrust his mobile at Fergus.

  ‘I won’t have this bullying from someone less than half my age,’ Jane said and burst out of her chair. ‘Give me that telephone.’ She waddled down the table and for some perceptive reason Fergus handed the mobile, which he hadn’t looked at, back to Shane. (I bet if he hadn’t, it’d be smashed by now.)

  ‘Common little brat,’ said Jane and stormed out of the dining room.

  There was a shock of silence. What a dreadful end to the evening.

  ‘Miss,’ said Shane, ‘I did it for you. She’s got something of yours.’

  ‘That’s so thoughtful, but I’ve spoken to her about it.’

  ‘She stole from you?’ screeched Felicity.

  ‘No, no, that’s not what happened.’

  ‘Damn well did,’ said Shane. ‘She wouldn’t be making my life hell if she hadn’t.’

  ‘I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it all,’ said Rupert. ‘But I’m not prepared to sit it out so if you’d let me excuse myself I’m off to my scratcher. Better get some beauty sleep before seeing my wife.’

  ‘Night, Rupert,’ said Zoe. ‘Angel?’ I think she wanted Fergus to rescue the situation.

  He leapt in, ‘Now dinner’s over, please head to the sitting room, or the snug. I’d like to have a word with Susie and Zoe alone.’

  People began to leave and I turned to Shane. ‘It really
is sweet of you to have played amateur detective for me.’

  ‘Nothin’ amateur about it, Miss. I have her on camera.’

  ‘Yes, yes, I know but honestly I’ve cleared it all up.’

  ‘What did she take?’

  ‘It was personal so I’d rather not say.’ This was a back-to-front truth. I really don’t want to lie again.

  ‘Susie,’ said Fergus, ‘come and sit by my side. Shane, please leave now.’ Fergus patted the other seat next to him. ‘Darling, are you okay here?’

  ‘Yes.’ Zoe came down the dining room with her head held high and I was pleased to see she didn’t look in the least bit ruffled. Here’s hoping it’s something else Fergus wants to talk to us about.

  ‘Look at me,’ said Zoe, ‘pregnant, hormones running through my body. It’s put my character quite out of kilter. I reckon Jane Atkinson’s at the other end of the spectrum, going through the menopause, battling with hormones too.’

  Fergus stared at me as if for some ridiculous reason he thought I was going to open my mouth and confirm that his wife had hit the nail on the head.

  ‘Susie?’ he said.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Is there more to Jane’s behaviour than you’ve told us?’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ reassured Zoe. ‘There was good reason why you didn’t come to me before with things you knew, but…’

  ‘What’s this?’ interrupted Fergus.

  ‘It’s nothing, angel, just a little blip. Jane had wanted to leave early.’

  Zoe obviously does keep things from her husband.

  ‘Right, I see. Susie, you must tell us if there’s something else going on.’

  Grrr, I felt so cross. Jane had well and truly dropped me in it. No matter how I go about this, I’ll be blamed for holding something back. I wanted to burst into tears right here, right now.

  ‘Susie?’ said Fergus. ‘What is it?’ His patience was running out.

  ‘I think it’s best if you talk to Jane about it.’

  ‘So, there is something going on?’

  ‘Well, hmm, well…’ I really did not want to tell another lie, so taking a deep breath I settled for, ‘I’m in a very difficult position and I don’t really want to say.’

  ‘Please, continue.’

  ‘I know too much about something someone else has done. What that person has done is, I feel, wrong, but I also think it would be wrong of me to tell you behind their back.’

  ‘It is Jane we’re talking about here, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Zoe, longing for a conclusion. ‘Has she hurt you, Susie?’

  ‘No, not at all. I’m in a compromising position but it’s entirely my fault.’

  Fergus raised his voice. ‘What have you done?’

  ‘Nothing.’

  ‘It doesn’t sound that way.’

  Zoe grasped Fergus’s hand and rested it on the table under hers.

  Bravely I looked them straight in the eye. ‘I promise you can trust me, I’ve tried my very best to make this week a success and I’m so thrilled you asked me here to tutor. These little episodes with Jane are entirely down to something she’s up to behind your back.’

  ‘You must tell us,’ said Fergus.

  ‘Wait a second, angel,’ said Zoe. ‘Are you absolutely certain you’re right, Susie?’ She stared at me. ‘I don’t want you to say something you’ll later regret.’ Zoe’s body stiffened.

  ‘If you can confirm one thing, I can be certain,’ I said, longing to rid myself of the whole Jane/necklace episode.

  ‘Of course.’ Zoe nodded.

  I looked at Fergus. ‘According to Jane her parents were friends of yours and they used to come and stay here with her when she was very young.’

  ‘Nonsense. I’d remember.’

  ‘You probably weren’t born,’ said Zoe nudging her husband in the ribs. If there’s something a trained accountant’s good at, it’s numbers.

  Their eyes were fixed on me. ‘If you have a visitors’ book from your parents’ early days we can look back and see if Jane’s family came to stay.’

  ‘But we don’t know her maiden name,’ said Fergus, up to speed with tracing connections. His mother must have trained him well.

  ‘But we do know she was young, so if we look up, say, forty to fifty years ago, and find the name “Jane” appearing with a mother and father, I’ll bet that’s her.’

  Fergus rushed out of the room and was back in a matter of seconds with two leather-bound books. I wonder where he keeps them stashed?

  ‘Well done, angel,’ said Zoe as he laid them on the table and opened the first one. Page after page he whizzed through the signatures; he must recognise most of the writing.

  ‘Nothing in that one.’ Fergus opened up the book below.

  ‘There,’ I exclaimed. My finger hovered over a name.

  ‘J A N E,’ read out Zoe. ‘Adorable squiggly writing.’

  ‘I missed her by a decade,’ said Fergus. His eyes were darting back and forth. ‘Good god, her parents were Kelton.’

  ‘Kelton?’ I said.

  ‘Kelton,’ repeated Fergus as if he was trying to believe it. ‘Kelton.’

  ‘Who are they, angel? I vaguely remember a connection with Rupert?’

  Fergus was speechless so I explained. ‘Rupert managed the sale of the Keltons’ land, his colleague the contents of the house. Your father-in-law bought some things.’

  ‘What’s the problem, angel?’

  Fergus held his head in his hands. ‘Jane’s parents were great friends of my parents, in fact my father was her godfather.’

  ‘What an unbelievable coincidence she’s here,’ said Zoe. ‘Are you absolutely certain?’

  ‘I’m sure,’ said Fergus. ‘His name was Hector, his wife Arabella.’

  ‘How funny,’ said Zoe looking back at the book.

  ‘No, no, it’s not good. They had a terrible falling out and never saw each other again. It was ages ago. I have absolutely no idea why she’d want to come here.’

  ‘She must be up to something.’ Zoe’s voice held a wobbly combination of worry and fear.

  Fergus reached to hold her hand. ‘In the early days of my parents’ marriage these Keltons – their great friends – fell on hard times. They had to sell their estate and my father bought some of the contents. Actually, rather a lot of the contents.’

  ‘But how come they fell out?’

  ‘I assume Jane’s father didn’t like the idea of his friend, my father, buying his things, carpet-bagging the estate they call it. I can understand. It would be difficult if you and me, darling, had to sell Auchen Laggan Tosh and Archie and Hilda bought a proportion of the contents. I don’t think we’d be able to go and stay with them ever again.’

  This Archie and Hilda, I remembered they’d written the only letter of support for Fergus’s wind farm application. They are good (biased) friends.

  ‘No, no, of course not,’ said Zoe, stroking the back of her husband’s hand. ‘They’re pretty much our best friends, they’d never do that to us.’

  ‘One would hope not.’ Fergus leant back in his chair. ‘But my father did it to Jane’s father, and even worse, he paid very little for what he got.’

  ‘Did he realise that at the time?’

  ‘Unfortunately, I’m sure he knew. But Pa couldn’t resist a bargain. I doubt there was anything left for Jane in her father’s will.’

  ‘That’s awful,’ said Zoe, as if inheritance were all that mattered. ‘It’s hard to imagine being quite so cruel to a friend.’

  ‘It’s hard to imagine many things my father did in his lifetime.’ Fergus squeezed Zoe’s hand, as if reminding himself of a pact to lead a better life. ‘Susie,’ he said, ‘aristocratic families with histories like this can be hard to understand, but I want you to know Zoe and I are trying our very best to create a home at Auchen Laggan Tosh where our children can retain their innocence for as long as possible and grow up good people.’

  I smiled.

  He went on
, ‘Do you know what…I’m not sure I really want to know what Jane was up to…’

  ‘But angel,’ said Zoe, ‘that’s awfully forgiving of you.’

  He huffed, as if he’d heard this before. Zoe’s subtle way of calling him weak. ‘Jane’s father was treated badly by mine. Digging up Pa’s past is a can of worms. He was a selfish man and I never fully understood him. I don’t want to cause any more problems. We have enough on our plate managing Ewen’s jealousy. Please, darling, can we agree on this?’

  ‘Agree what? Jane has been up to something behind your back. You deserve to know the truth.’

  My heart was beating fast. If they want to know more, it’s time they spoke to Jane. I’ve said enough. I don’t want to go behind her back.

  Fergus stroked his wife’s hair. Her shoulders relaxed and she gave him a sympathetic smile. It was evident from her silence she understood her position in it all. Zoe’s married into this family, she has no right to captain her husband on issues from his past.

  Fergus turned back and forth between us. ‘If Susie can reassure us no one has been hurt, she hasn’t had something stolen and there will be no repercussions for you and me, I think it’s best, Susie, if you keep the details to yourself. Jane deserves an apology from our family and if you think she has redeemed this then so much the better.’

  I nodded. ‘No one has been or will be hurt and I’m pretty sure once Jane’s left you’ll never hear from her again.’

  Zoe was nodding too.

  Fergus stood up. ‘I’d like the three of us to leave this room, and never mention this again.’ He spoke fairly but firmly and Zoe didn’t attempt to go against him.

  I’m mightily relieved. My conscience can rest. I’ll never ever mention it again.

  Fergus thanked me and when Zoe stood up he held her hand. ‘Quite something to end my birthday with this.’

  She gave him a peck on the cheek and all three of us headed for the door.

  ‘I’m going to go to bed,’ I said, feeling completely drained.

  ‘Night then, Susie,’ said Fergus.

  ‘I hope you sleep well,’ said Zoe.

  ‘Night, night.’

  Oh my goodness, what a weight off my mind.