LITMIR.BIZ

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time now was ten fifty-six and I had passed the place without seeing him or sensing that he was around. He wasn’t coming; not today, that was. People like him, I supposed, couldn’t materialize to order, but even so, I looked in the rear-view mirror, then in the overtaking mirror, to be sure he wasn’t behind me.

      But he would come. Sooner or later he would appear, I knew it. If I really was psychic, then the vibes I’d been sending out for the past fifteen minutes would have got to him good and strong. I would have to be patient. Didn’t I have plenty more days? I smiled, pressed my foot down, and made for the crossroads and the dirt road off it. This time, the road ahead was clear of sheep.

      I slowed instinctively when I came to the dirt road, glancing ahead for a first view of Deer’s Leap. When I got to the kissing gate I almost stopped, noting as I passed it that its black paint shone brightly.

      ‘She’s here!’

      Beth’s children were waiting at the white-painted gate. Hamish and Elspeth were exactly as Jeannie had described them.

      ‘Hi!’ I called. ‘Been waiting long?’

      ‘Hours,’ Hamish said.

      ‘About fifteen minutes,’ his twin corrected primly.

      ‘Have you met Hector, Miss Johns ?’ The Labrador lolloped up, barking furiously.

      ‘Cassie! And yes, I have – the weekend you two were at camp.’

      I’d seen little of the dog, actually; he’d been shut in an outhouse because of his dislike of strange men.

      I got out of the car and squatted so Hector and I were at eye level, then held out my left hand. He sniffed it, licked, then allowed me to pat his head.

      ‘He likes you,’ Elspeth said. ‘We’ll help you with your things.’

      I smiled at her. She was a half-pint edition of Jeannie, not her mother. Hamish was fair and blue-eyed, like Danny.

      ‘Beth’s in the bath.’ Danny arrived to give me a smacking kiss, then heaved my big case from the boot.

      Carefully I manoeuvred my word processor from the back seat, handing the keyboard to Hamish. His sister took my grip and soapbag; I carried the monitor.

      ‘How on earth did you get all this in that?’ Danny looked disbelievingly at my little red car. ‘Looks as if you’ve come prepared for business.’

      ‘I shall write and write and write,’ I said without so much as a blush.

      Beth arrived in a bathrobe with a towel round her hair. Her smile was broad, her arms wide. I love the way she makes people welcome.

      It felt as if I had just come home.

      

      When they left, waving and tooting at seven next morning, I watched them out of sight then carefully closed the white gate, turning to look at Deer’s Leap and the beautiful garden. It was a defiant glare of colour: vivid red poppies; delphiniums of all shades of blue; lavender with swelling flower buds and climbs of every kind of rose under the sun. They covered arches and walls, rioted up the trunks of trees and tangled with honeysuckle. In the exact centre, in a circular bed, was the herb garden; a pear tree leaned on the wall of the V-shaped gable end.

      Uneven paths wound into dead ends; there were no straight lines anywhere. The garden, for all I knew, had changed little since witches cast spells hereabouts, and Old Chattox, Demdike and Mistress Nutter fell foul of the witch-hunter.

      For a couple of foolish minutes I pretended that everything between the white gate and the stone wall at the top of the paddock belonged to me. I began rearranging Beth’s furniture, deciding which of the bedrooms would be my workroom when I had become famous and a servile bank manager offered me a huge mortgage on the place. Hector lay at my feet; Tommy, the ugliest of cat you ever did see, rubbed himself against my leg, purring loudly. Lotus, a snooty Persian, pinked up the path to indicate it was high time they were all fed. I felt a surge of utter love for the place, followed by one of abysmal despair. I wished I had never seen Deer’s Leap; was grateful beyond measure that for four weeks it was mine.

      ‘All right, you lot!’ I said to the animals, determined not to start talking to myself. First I would feed them, and then myself. Then I would make my bed and wash the dishes I had insisted Beth leave on the draining board. After that, I would start work.

      The kitchen table was huge and I planned to set up my word processor at one end of it. I had decided to live and work in the kitchen and only when I had done a decent day’s work would I allow myself the reward of the sitting room, or of watching a wild sunset from the terrace outside it – with a glass of sherry at my side.

      I smiled tremulously at Deer’s Leap and it smiled back with every one of its windows. Already the sky was high and near cloudless, and the early sun cast long shadows. I thought of Beth, and wondered if they had reached the M6 yet. Then I thought of Jeannie.

      My route to Preston station had been painstakingly illustrated by Danny so I could find my way there without bother to meet her train at nine tonight. I felt a contentment that even my Yorkshire common sense couldn’t dispel. I had even decided not to drive down the lane to The Place, near the clump of oaks; that I wouldn’t hassle Jack Hunter nor feel disappointment if he didn’t turn up – or was it materialize? Today would be given to settling in, settling down and getting used to being mistress of Deer’s Leap.

      Tomorrow, if I could, I would find an excuse to drive into Acton Carey alone. I am a writer, so surely between now and then I could come up with a believable excuse. After all, the pilot and I had met on a Saturday, so it was worth a try.

      I sighed blissfully. I would potter until ten, when I would start work. Not until four o’clock would I prepare the salad to eat with the home-cooked ham Beth had left for us. Only then would I make myself presentable and meet Jeannie’s train. I felt so lucky, so utterly contented, that I wondered when the skies would open and jealous gods hurl down anger against me.

      I crossed my fingers, whistled, then rummaged in a drawer for the tin opener. First the cats; then Hector’s biscuits and water as set out on the list on the kitchen windowsill. It was all so lovely and unreal that I wanted to laugh out loud.

      ‘That’s enough, Cassandra!’ I said in my mother’s it’ll-end-in-tears-before-bedtime-if-you-get-too-excited voice. ‘Just take every hour as it comes – then sit back and let things happen!

      And happen they would, if I had anything to do with it!

      

      Jeannie’s train arrived on time.

      ‘Hi!’ she said. ‘Good of you to pick me up.’

      ‘No bother. I like meeting trains.’ I do, actually. ‘Good to see you.’

      ‘How’s everything going? Got settled in?’

      ‘All set up and working. I’ve had a good day. Did you eat on the train?’

      ‘No, and I’m famished.’

      ‘Well, there’s ham salad and crusty bread and some rather special ice cream for pudding. There’s a bottle of white wine on the slate slab in the dairy, too.’

      ‘I’m ready for this weekend.’ Jeannie shoved her grip on the back seat of the car. ‘It’s been a swine this week at work. Nothing but meetings and interruptions and a pile of manuscripts a mile high to be seen to. I’ve brought a couple with me.’

      ‘You’re not spending your time reading!’

      ‘No. I can usually tell if a book is going to be any good by the end of the third chapter. Now, first of all I must tell you how pleased I am with the chapters you sent me. You’re on to a winner if the rest of the book is as good. You seem to be writing with more confidence.’

      ‘I am. It’s going well and I’ve covered quite a bit of wordage today. Beth’s kitchen is a lovely place to work in. They

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