Читать книгу A Summer to Remember - Sue Moorcroft - Страница 9

In the morning, Aaron’s conscience prodded him awake ridiculously early, considering it was Sunday.

He hadn’t meant to leave Clancy Moss alone in an unfurnished house yesterday.

He’d met Genevieve at his end-terrace flint cottage in Potato Hall Row on the edge of the village near the cliffs, and found her worrying aloud about where to go while builders repaired her own cottage. It was a tricky subject. He was all too aware that she was fishing to move in with him and he was beginning to resent it. They might have been together for a year or so but he liked his life in Nelson’s Bar as it was. He was content with his own company, creating gardens, soil between his fingers, the scent of grass on the air, blossom in spring, crinkling leaves and the promise of frost when autumn came. Nature’s glorious, ever-changing landscape. OK, he didn’t have much of a relationship history – serial monogamy interspersed with happy singledom – maybe his brother’s public dumping had had something to do with that.

But that was his choice.

As it happened, while he’d been trying hard not to tackle the issue of where Genevieve was going to spend the months the builder needed to underpin her house, Aaron’s mum Yvonne had telephoned. ‘Aunt Norma’s broken her ankle on a day trip to King’s Lynn, and bumped her head. She’s got to stay in hospital overnight. Your dad’s on shift at the hotel—’

Knowing his mother’s car control in times of stress, Aaron immediately offered, ‘I’ll drive you.’ His great-aunt had looked after him and Lee a lot when they were little so Yvonne could work. He’d apologised to Genevieve and was soon driving his mother out of the village, noticing the absence of Clancy’s car outside the Roundhouse and sparing a moment to wonder whether she’d decided to head home to London already.

He had little opportunity to examine his reaction to that possibility during the hassly fifty-minute journey as Yvonne alternately worried aloud about her aunt and reproved him for the disreputable interior of his double-cab pickup, littered with notes, plans of gardens and empty crisp packets.

Once at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, they found Aunt Norma had concussion. Queasy and quiet, she looked unlike her usual noisy, feisty self. Yvonne croaked, ‘Oh, Auntie! You poor thing!’ and became quite tearful.

They stayed on, requesting information of nurses and buying Aunt Norma magazines from the hospital shop. Her normally bright eyes were closed against queasiness and she didn’t tease anyone or ask awkward questions, so they knew she had to be feeling pretty rubbish.

Finally, after she’d fallen asleep, Aaron and Yvonne went out into a dark and breezy evening. Yvonne was inclined to sniff and Aaron gave her a reassuring hug before they got into his truck, her loose curls blowing into his face.

It wasn’t until he was nosing his pickup into the mad traffic on the huge roundabout on the outskirts of King’s Lynn that Clancy Moss returned to the forefront of his mind with an uncomfortable jolt. He should have made some effort to check whether she’d definitely left. He had the landline number of the house but the clock on the dash of his truck read 22:47 – too late to ring.

When, eventually, he’d driven his yawning mother past the Roundhouse, the place was in darkness, but the smart blue BMW was once again parked outside the front gate. He drove on, feeling like a git. Spending a night in an empty house couldn’t be comfortable.

As he was feeling no better about himself this morning, he let Nelson out into the garden, pausing to enjoy the view of the glittering, restless sea and wonder why anyone would live anywhere other than Nelson’s Bar, then passed half an hour strumming one of his favourite guitars on the garden bench. It always put his soul at peace.

When it was nine o’clock, mindful that yesterday Clancy hadn’t seemed to be looking after herself, he stuffed four cereal bars in his pockets, called Nelson and snicked on his lead, then stepped out into the early summer sunshine. He strode past the rest of Potato Hall Row, mainly flint cottages edged with red brick. Nelson’s feathery tail waved as the king-sized canine sniffed hedges and gateposts. They made their way down the curve of Long Lane to the Roundhouse.

The scent of clipped privet was strong on the air as he passed 3 Roundhouse Row where Ernie could be seen sweeping up hedge trimmings. ‘Aaron!’ Ernie hailed him at max volume. ‘Do we have a new Evelyn? Dilys says we have but nobody’s told me.’ He waved towards the blue BMW parked in the lane and leaned on the broom handle, shaggy grey eyebrows knitting above the bridge of his nose.

Aaron met Ernie’s scowl with a smile. There was no point trading Ernie grump for grump. He couldn’t help but attack every subject like a threat any more than Aunt Norma could help tripping on uneven pavements. ‘Possibly,’ he replied.

Ernie revolved on the spot as Aaron attempted to carry on by. ‘And she’s Alice’s cousin? Come to represent the family interests, has she?’

Aaron shrugged, managing to sidestep Ernie on the second attempt. ‘Hard to say. Hedge is looking great, Ernie.’ Ernie was instantly distracted, beaming with pride as he patted his manicured privet, and Aaron escaped. Dilys must have met Clancy, which was like telling the whole village, and Aunt Norma had the same knitting and sewing mates. It was no doubt only because she was in hospital that he hadn’t already received an indignant phone call about a member of Alice’s family living in the Roundhouse.

He broke into a jog, determined to pass Dilys’s cottage without being collared again but, thankfully, her red gingham curtains were drawn and he was able to slip through the gate to the Roundhouse.

It was no use checking for drawn curtains there as every window was presently bare. His conscience gave him another prod. He gave the outer front door a gentle knock. If she was upstairs asleep – on what? – she would be unlikely to be disturbed by it and—

A brisk rattle, then the porch door swung open and Clancy stood in the opening wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Her chestnut hair fell poker-straight and glossy to her shoulders, the fringe framing those direct green eyes.

‘Oh, good, it’s you,’ she said, beckoning him in. The smell of coffee and the red mug and bowl he could see in the sink as he followed her suggested she’d had breakfast. ‘I’ve found the bookings book in a kitchen drawer,’ she began as she strode ahead. ‘Can I get access to the Roundhouse Row bank account? Or do I come through you to check payments received? Evelyn’s notes don’t cover that.’ By now she’d reached the place on the kitchen island where the bookings book and a few piles of paper were all neatly arranged. She glanced down at the big dog beside Aaron. ‘Morning, Nelson.’

Nelson waved his tail. Evidently, he didn’t know her well enough to perform his greeting dance.

‘But first—’ Aaron broke in, taken aback to realise the dreary, droopy ghost Clancy he’d met yesterday had vanished, leaving in its place a Clancy much more like the sparky woman he remembered.

‘“But first” let’s get the Roundhouse furniture out of storage?’ she finished for him, her honeyed tones belying her steely expression. ‘It’s high on my list, but not high on yours, evidently, as you didn’t bother coming back yesterday, regardless of whether I had anything to sleep on.’

Aaron felt a smile tug at his mouth. He didn’t want it to, but something amused him about her obvious satisfaction in possessing knowledge he’d failed to share. ‘But first,’ he repeated firmly, ‘I need to apologise for abandoning you yesterday. There was a small family emergency.’ He explained about Aunt Norma.

Instantly, concern filled Clancy’s eyes. ‘Your family comes first, of course. I can manage on an airbed for another couple of nights if necessary.’

An airbed. He caught his mouth this time before it grinned at her resourcefulness. ‘I’m relieved you didn’t have to sleep on the floor. Can we sit down for a few minutes?’

She looked ostentatiously around the space about them, still devoid of furniture. ‘On what?’

This time he didn’t trouble to hide his smile, not minding points being scored over him when it was done with such elegance. ‘The garden bench worked perfectly yesterday.’

He led the way out, letting Nelson off to sniff around. Clancy sat down and waited for him to begin, apparently content to watch a blackbird hopping about a gnarly apple tree as if choosing the perfect perch from which to sing.

‘I’m glad you feel that family comes first,’ he began carefully, joining her on the bench, ‘because I don’t think you being here’s a good thing.’

Her hair swung around her face as she turned to regard him, the sun picking out glittering flecks of gold in her eyes. ‘Why’s that?’

‘Leaving aside the fact that I don’t think you realise what it’s like living in such a tiny, out-of-the-way place as Nelson’s Bar, you have to consider my family.’

She tilted her head. ‘Why’s that?’ she repeated.

Aaron began to feel less amused. It might be better – for her as well as him – if he was more direct. ‘Lee was nearly destroyed by Alice. He was heartsick for so long that we were afraid for him. As you know, Alice agreed that I could buy his half of the Roundhouse and Roundhouse Row to enable him to move away and make a new start, but he’s living in the village again and you’ll be a reminder.’ He paused, then went on, feeling she might as well know the truth. ‘To give you an idea of the level of antipathy in my family, they refer to Alice as “Awful Alice”.’ He sat forward, leaning his elbows on his thighs, giving her a level look. ‘There’s resentment, Clancy.’

Clancy leaned forward to prop her elbows on her thighs and give him a level look of her own. ‘You may be your brother’s keeper, but I’m afraid I’m not my cousin’s.’

‘I didn’t say I was Lee’s keeper,’ he interrupted, stung.

Clancy overrode him in the same level but firm voice. ‘What Awful Alice did was nothing to do with me, which I’m sure Lee’s mature enough to realise.’

He decided to become yet more direct. ‘Personally, I thought of your cousin as Princess Alice, not too worried about what anybody else wanted, expecting her wishes to be paramount even when she was crying for the moon.’ He ignored the way her eyes widened at this candid appraisal. ‘Even if you’re not like that, I’m pretty confident Lee would prefer you to consider his feelings in this and return to your life in London. And – friendly warning – he won’t be alone in that.’

Her gaze didn’t waver, though she made a tiny movement, as if somewhere deep inside she flinched. ‘You’re mixing up opinion with fact. Anyway, I can’t go back. Lee’s not the only one things have gone wrong for. My fiancé – ex, now – has got someone else, Renée, who I suspect he’s moving into our apartment pretty much as we speak. I’m being shoved out of the business I worked long and hard to help build so, as well as having nowhere to live, I have no job. I represent Alice’s interests and therefore I appoint myself as caretaker.’

Her voice softened. ‘I think Alice will want me to have the job. She and I – there’s a special relationship. I haven’t seen her for a while, but that doesn’t matter. That’s how it’s always been because my parents towed me around the world or they put me in boarding school or left me with Alice and Aunt Sally, when, despite your assessment of her character, she shared her home, her life, her friends and even her mother with me without hesitation. Now I’m based in the UK and she’s the one travelling I’m pretty certain she’d support my wish to come to Nelson’s Bar. But we can ask her, if you like.’ Her expression clouded. ‘I’m genuinely sorry you don’t want me here, and I can see you might think that with my history I should be inured to just cheerfully packing up and shoving off somewhere where I’m less of an inconvenience. But I need a new home, at least for now. And this is it.’ Her voice wavered and she clamped her lips shut on the end of the sentence.

In the silence, the blackbird began to sing beautifully fluting notes. Nelson lifted his head as if searching for the source of the sound with his one eye.

Aaron stared at Clancy, shaken to his plummeting core. He should have recognised the trouble he’d seen in her eyes yesterday. He’d watched Lee battling similar heart-wrenching grief. Now he understood why she had arrived looking so ill, why abandoning her in an empty house hadn’t made her turn tail. Clancy was in a mess. And, judging from the way her fingers were folded around each other so hard that her knuckles were white, her composure was only a very thin skin deep.

Aaron had never been able to kick people while they were down and rarely refused to give help where it was needed – leaving aside the current uncomfortable situation with Genevieve. Nelson was only one in a succession of badly off animals he’d adopted at one time or another. He dragged up a breath from the pit of his lungs and let it out in a gusty sigh. ‘OK. I’ll get my truck. We’ll fetch the furniture.’

A noisy swallow, then she replied, simply, ‘Thank you. May I walk along with you?’

‘Of course,’ he muttered.

She locked up the Roundhouse with city-dweller punctiliousness. They began up Long Lane through the dappled sunlight created by laburnum trees, the last of their yellow blossoms floating down around them. They headed into the village before swinging towards the north side of the headland. May was mild this year and the sunshine stroked Aaron’s skin with warm hands. ‘I live further up the lane in Potato Hall Row,’ he volunteered. Having made the decision not to hurl further impediments in Clancy’s way – though he wasn’t particularly looking forward to the little chat he’d soon need to have with his family – he went on: ‘Long Lane loops right around this side of the village as far as the B&B and The Green, towards the furthest point of the headland. Then Marshview Road takes over and comes back round.’ He swept his arm in a long U-shape.

Clancy’s hair blew in a sudden gust of wind and she smiled faintly, as if enjoying the freshness of the air. ‘Alice took me around the village a couple of times when I was here before but I don’t remember much. Do your parents live somewhere near here?’

‘Frenchmen’s Way. This turning we’re coming up to.’

Neither of them said anything about the shared kiss in his parents’ garden one night, a long time ago, as they passed the opening to Frenchmen’s Way. Long Lane continued to bear right and slope upwards. Clancy strode out beside him. ‘Are your parents going to mind me being with you to pick up the furniture? Or Lee? Perhaps, to follow the alliterative style of Awful Alice,’ she went on ruminatively, ‘they’ll call me Crappy Clancy.’

‘They won’t be there,’ he admitted frankly, at the same time wishing he hadn’t told her about the Awful Alice thing. ‘Dad’s at work and Lee’s taken Mum shopping before my great-aunt comes home. Aunt Norma lives in an annexe at De Silva House.’

‘That’s nice.’ Clancy sounded genuinely touched at this sign of family love. ‘Oh, look! Those flint cottages are so pretty.’

‘That’s Potato Hall Row,’ he answered. ‘Mine’s the furthest one, the one with the workshop attached.’

She nodded absently. ‘How have you and I emailed so regularly if there’s no internet in the village?’

He was thrown by the sudden question and was sure, from the way she watched him out of the corner of her eye, that he was meant to be. ‘I have satellite broadband.’

‘Ah,’ she said, raising her eyebrows. ‘So the thing about no internet was fake news. How about no pub, no shop …?’

‘There is no pub or shop,’ he said defensively, though he wasn’t sure whether she was teasing him or was actually annoyed. ‘There are a few places in the village with satellite broadband, but you can’t get it everywhere because of the conservation area, listed buildings, and even preservation orders on trees that block the signal.’

‘Oh. I see the issue.’ She frowned. ‘As one of the owners of Roundhouse Row, couldn’t you share your internet access with the caretaker?’

‘I could,’ he admitted. ‘Evelyn wasn’t keen on learning to do things online so it didn’t come up. So many people ask to hook up with it that I suppose I’ve become wary of reaching my data limit before the end of the month. People are always asking to “just borrow” my connection. I change my password a lot.

‘Here’s the truck,’ he added unnecessarily as he stopped beside the big silver pickup with De Silva Landscaping on the side. He beeped it open.

‘But,’ Clancy began again. She was interrupted by Genevieve suddenly rounding the side of his house, waving energetically, the breeze making her long blonde hair wave too. Nelson yanked at his lead so Aaron let him bound over to fling himself at her, not sure how he felt about Gen’s unscheduled appearance. It was new and not particularly welcome for her to hang around him so much. Before she’d tried to solve her housing issue by moving their relationship up a level, she’d been a warm, fun, independent girlfriend who’d seemed as content as Aaron to include a relationship in her life but not make it the be-all and end-all.

‘There you are!’ Genevieve fussed Nelson but looked at Aaron as she spoke, as if she was talking to a little boy who’d wandered off. ‘You’re out early. I heard about your aunt and came to see if I could help.’ Then she looked at Clancy with a half-smile of enquiry.

‘The village grapevine hasn’t taken long with the news about Aunt Norma’s ankle,’ he said drily. ‘She’ll be OK. This is Clancy Moss. She’s going to move into the Roundhouse and take Evelyn’s job.’

Genevieve’s smile broadened. ‘Oh, the Clancy who’s Alice’s cousin? Maybe we met when you were here for … anyway, welcome to Nelson’s Bar. Are you moving from very far away?’

Clancy sent Aaron a glance, as if divining that Genevieve had been going to say for Lee’s wedding and noting that she’d thought better of it. ‘From London. We’re just going to pick up the furniture from Aaron’s parents’ house.’ Clancy smiled pleasantly and didn’t remark on Genevieve knowing Alice. Everyone knew everyone in Nelson’s Bar.

Genevieve immediately hurried to join them at the truck. ‘I’ll help you.’ And before Aaron could react, she’d ushered Nelson into the back seat of the cab and taken her customary spot in the front.

‘Thank you,’ said Clancy politely, climbing into the back alongside the dog. Aaron suspected that Clancy took refuge in absolute courtesy when she didn’t want people to read her too accurately.

He took the driver’s seat and Genevieve twisted round as Aaron turned in the road, telling Clancy about her favourite subject: waking up one day to a substantial crack in her kitchen wall and discovering the ground was subsiding around the foundations of her cottage. ‘There must have been water leaking underground for ages, the builder thinks.’

Reaching De Silva House in less than a minute, Aaron reversed up to the double doors in the storage area beneath Aunt Norma’s flat, and they all climbed out of the truck.

Aaron turned to Clancy. ‘You’ll appreciate that Lee long ago disposed of his half of their furniture.’ He hauled one of the doors open with a rumble and a creak to reveal a dim interior of sheets flung over large objects.

They began removing dust sheets – disturbing a lot of dust – and assessed what lay beneath. ‘Two beds, a sofa and chairs, a couple of tables and a cabinet. Might as well take it all.’ Aaron indicated a stack of boxes. ‘These came from the Roundhouse too.’ The boxes contained crockery and kitchen equipment, books and ornaments. Then came Alice’s things. Clothes and shoes. Dusty make-up. An outdated laptop and a jumble of pens and paperwork.

Clancy stared at it all. ‘I hadn’t thought about what happened to Alice’s things. I suppose I ought to take them rather than leave them to inconvenience your parents.’

Genevieve came to peer over her shoulder. ‘Where is Alice these days, anyway? Can’t you send them to her? We were quite friendly when she lived here but now I never hear from her at all.’

‘I have an email address. I don’t actually know where she is,’ said Clancy absently, folding the flaps of the box closed again. ‘She moves around a lot.’

Genevieve sounded fascinated. ‘How mysterious she became! Did she really just sneak out while you were on the phone that day?’

‘If you don’t mind taking the boxes, that would be great,’ Aaron interrupted. He was beginning to wish Genevieve hadn’t tagged along on this expedition. He could do without the village rehashing ‘poor Lee being jilted’, especially now Lee was living locally again.

Clancy rose, dusting off the knees of her jeans. ‘Let’s get everything to the Roundhouse and then I can let you two get on with your Sunday.’

Genevieve smiled and patted Aaron’s bum as she passed, as if to emphasise their closeness. ‘I’ll lay a couple of the dust sheets in the bed of the truck. If I know you it’ll be filled with grass and soil.’

Aaron suppressed a snippy remark about the function of the truck being to transport lawn mowers and plants and merely said, ‘Thanks.’

It didn’t take them too long to load up and Genevieve chattered happily to Clancy as they drove down to the Roundhouse, and all through the process of unloading.

Conversely, Aaron found himself working in silent frustration, especially when Genevieve giggled madly at having to squeeze and wiggle the springy mattress through the door at the top of the second flight of stairs, Clancy apparently having chosen the loft as her bedroom.

At that point Clancy called a halt. ‘Thank you both. I can manage from here. Would you like a cuppa before you head off?’

Genevieve blew her hair out of her face. ‘Love one! And Nelson adores a saucer of coffee if there’s enough going.’ She’d obviously taken to Clancy and when she’d settled beside her on the sofa Genevieve returned to her preoccupation with her housing issues. ‘Not being able to live in my place during the building works is going to be a nightmare. I’ve got a whopping excess of a thousand pounds to pay so I’ve nothing spare for rent.’

Clancy blew her coffee. ‘Your insurance company wouldn’t expect you to live under a hedge. They should meet a reasonable rent.’

Aaron paused. He didn’t remember this point being aired before.

But Genevieve was quick with an answer. ‘There’s nowhere available to rent in the village, but the main thing is that I’ll save loads on the utility bills if I can find someone to stay with, which will mean I can afford the thousand pounds.’

Aaron began drinking again. That was true. Genevieve didn’t have a well-paid job and, accordingly, only modest savings.

But Clancy hadn’t finished exploring the subject. ‘That could work in your favour because if there’s nowhere to rent in Nelson’s Bar, they should let you move into the village B&B instead. A B&B rate being inclusive, the utilities won’t come into it so you’ll save just the same.’ She glanced at Genevieve with a faint smile. ‘I interned with an insurance giant when I was doing my MBA.’

‘Oh,’ said Genevieve, smile fading. ‘I suppose I could see if the insurance company will wear it.’ Cheeks suddenly rosy, she kept her gaze away from Aaron’s.

‘I don’t think they have a choice, but I’m happy to talk to them for you if you encounter resistance. You’ve helped me today.’ Clancy began to smile. But then she looked from Genevieve to Aaron and back and whatever she read in their body language caused doubt to flicker in her eyes.

Genevieve drained her coffee. ‘Thank you. It seems my knotty problem isn’t a knotty problem after all. I should have known to ask the insurance company about alternatives.’

Aaron rose, as awkward for Genevieve’s obvious discomfort as it was possible to feel at the same time as being so relieved his whole spine flexed. He wanted to hug both women: Clancy in jubilation for resolving the Genevieve situation without apparently trying … but Genevieve in consolation because he felt guilty. It was really tough to disappoint someone you were fond of. But now she had no reason to pressure him he hoped Gen would return to her old independence and their relationship could revert to the easy-going thing it used to be.

He became aware of Gen’s eyes on him, as if she were reading his mind, seeing and being hurt by his relief, so he hunted for a neutral subject. ‘Clancy, are you starting work tomorrow? It might be a good idea for us to run through things in more detail.’

Clancy nodded. ‘That would be great.’

They arranged a time for first thing tomorrow, Monday, then Aaron and Genevieve said their goodbyes, Nelson stretching and shaking in preparation for leaving.

Outside, the sky had become inky and big drops of rain had begun to spatter the dust of the lane as Aaron opened the passenger door of the truck. ‘Gen, I’m giving Mum a ride to visit Aunt Norma. Fancy coming along?’

Genevieve was standing still, staring up Droody Road towards the centre of the village. ‘I think I’d better go home and examine my insurance policy,’ she said, all signs of her earlier vivaciousness gone.

As he had so often lately, Aaron experienced an uneasy feeling of guilt, which prompted resentment that he felt it. ‘Want me to ask Mum and Dad if you can store your furniture with them if Clancy’s B&B idea works out?’ He winced, conscious he’d called it Clancy’s idea as if to distance himself from it.

She shook her head, still not looking at him and ignoring the rain pattering on the leaves of nearby trees. ‘If the insurance will pay for the B&B then they’ll pay for my furniture storage.’

‘OK. Hop in. I’ll give you a lift home. It’s going to pour down.’ He clicked his fingers to tell Nelson to jump in the back seat. Big, hairy dogs took a lot of drying.

Genevieve did look at him this time. ‘It’s only half a mile. I’ll walk. Clancy’s pretty, isn’t she?’

He nodded, because he’d have been blind not to notice that. There was something in Genevieve’s expression that he didn’t particularly like. Jealousy? Suspicion? He was reasonably certain that he’d never told her about the episode in the darkness of his parents’ garden but had she picked up some lingering vibe between him and Clancy?

She began to turn away, and suddenly he found himself commenting, probably more bluntly than he should, ‘You don’t seem very happy that Clancy might have solved your accommodation issue.’ He hesitated, trying to find a way to put into non-contentious words something that had been bothering him. ‘You’ve always loved your cottage so much. I know it will be a wrench to leave it, even temporarily.’ So why angle to move in with me and make it sound permanent? was his subtext.

She sighed and answered. ‘Yes. But I suppose the problem has made me face things I hadn’t realised existed. It’s ended up being more about my future than about four walls … hasn’t it?’ Then she began striding away from him, her hair flying, head up as if she were confronting something other than the rain on her face. She didn’t offer him a kiss goodbye.

And Aaron didn’t mind that she hadn’t. He watched her go and knew they’d just acknowledged that the subsidence had been the cause of cracks in more than her cottage walls.

He drove to De Silva House, a solid, red-brick Victorian, the home still echoing in his imagination with childhood games shared with Lee in the tall rooms or the sprawling garden. Five granite steps swept up to the black front door, bay trees like sentries on either side, and each gracious bay window gleamed in the emerging sunshine. His father’s car was absent but Lee’s van was outside, indicating that Lee and their mum had returned from shopping.

Aaron found them in the kitchen. Four-year-old Daisy was helping put the shopping away by darting about to grab whatever caught her eye and getting under the feet of adults. It occurred to him that Daisy’s existence was something he hadn’t mentioned to Clancy. Probably just as well. She didn’t need additional emotional pressure right now.

‘Uncle Aaron!’ Daisy bellowed when she saw him, smile wide and arms out in the certainty of a good welcome.

‘Oof!’ He caught her in mid-air and swung her up. ‘Crazy Daisy!’

‘I want to say hello to Nelson,’ she said, trying to scramble down the instant she was up.

‘Sure thing.’ He set her carefully on her feet. ‘In fact, I think he wants you to take him in the garden and play tug o’ war with his rope toy.’

‘Yeah! I know where it is, don’t I, Granny? It’s in the utility room. C’mon, Nelson!’ She flew towards the next room, Nelson cantering gamely after.

‘Back garden only,’ Lee called after them. He turned to Aaron. ‘Want a beer?’

Aaron ignored his mother’s slight eye-roll and accepted. Though he’d been much more relaxed and carefree when he was younger, Lee had become a solemn man who took single fatherhood seriously, pragmatic about living with his parents until his place in Northamptonshire was sold. A beer or two with Aaron might be the social highlight of his week, particularly as Yvonne would be busy with Aunt Norma and less available for babysitting.

‘Thanks.’ Aaron took the proffered beer along with a seat at the table. ‘I’ve come to mention the new caretaker at Roundhouse Row. To everybody,’ he added.

Yvonne, busy stacking tins of soup in a cupboard, glanced over her shoulder. ‘I didn’t think you’d advertised.’

‘It became unnecessary.’ His words seemed to ring in his own ears as he added, ‘Clancy Moss has taken the position herself.’

Lee, who’d been making for another chair, halted.

Yvonne dropped a tin of soup with a clang. ‘Why on earth do you want her to do it?’ she demanded.

Aaron’s eyes remained on Lee. ‘I would have avoided it if I could.’

Although he’d paled, Lee remained composed. ‘OK, thanks for telling me.’ He looked at the bottle in his hand and then around the kitchen as if suddenly struggling to remember where he was or what he was doing. ‘I’ll just go and check Daisy’s OK.’

When the back door had closed behind him, Yvonne rounded on Aaron, pink and damp-eyed. ‘This won’t be good for Lee. Can you stop her?’

Aaron sighed. ‘No. She has as much say in it as I do.’ He deliberated over how much to reveal. ‘She’s not here to make trouble, Mum. From what she told me, she’s had a hard time of it and hasn’t got many places to go. Lee seemed to take it OK. Let’s not make a big deal out of it, in case he gets anxious.’

Yvonne gazed at him, eyes dark with worry. ‘We certainly don’t want that.’