Doubting Abbey (27 page)
She yawned. ‘Point taken. Okay. Wicked meeting you. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series.’
I closed the car door behind me and waved as she drove off.
Ten minutes later, I entered through the Hall’s gates. An autumn chill now hung in the air and I buttoned up my denim coat. Spooked by the hoot of an owl, I looked over my shoulder, convinced footsteps were following me across the grass. A blister nagged my heel as I passed the orchards. Near one of the trees, I bent over to take off my stilettos. As I straightened up a click sounded behind my back.
‘Don’t move or I’ll shoot,’ bellowed a deep voice.
Crap. I swung around and stared down the barrel of a shotgun. As fast as I could, I ran away. A gunshot rang out. With a scream, I fell to the ground.
LORD EDWARD’S E-DIARY
Friday 7
th
September
Awfully early in the morning.
In fact, it’s around 2.15a.m. I’m absolutely done in, having spent time in the old evacuees’ dorm once more, up in the Long Gallery. Cousin Abbey was too tired to help, but is getting up early to continue our efforts. Now I must retire to my room, so do forgive this very short post.
Lovehotnoble
, you gave an interesting reply to the poser question. I’m not sure the kind of ‘improvement’ Lady Constance had in mind involved breast implants and your lips being injected with fat from your, erm, posterior.
Excuse me a minute… What was that…? I’ve just heard something that sounds remarkably like a gunshot.
Like a gun dog proud of its catch, Mr Thompson hovered by my side. Eventually running footsteps approached. Ouch. My leg hurt. Maybe trying to escape had been a mega bad idea but, out of my Abbey disguise, I had no power over the estate manager. Plus I didn’t really think he’d shoot me down like a rabbit or pheasant.
‘Don’t move,’ he ordered, voice deeper than ever.
‘I can’t help shaking,’ I said and spat out crumbs of soil.
‘Thompson! What on earth were you thinking?’ Within seconds, Edward was on the ground by my side. Gently, he turned me over. I sat up and rubbed my knee.
‘I’m okay…’ I muttered. ‘It’s just a graze. I tripped over a stone. The bullet missed.’
Edward helped me to my feet and I slipped my stilettos back on. He tilted my chin to the moonlight, eyes full of concern.
‘Are you sure, Gemma?’ he asked. ‘You aren’t hurt anywhere else?’ He brushed some soil off my cheek.
‘You know this…this juvenile?’ stuttered Mr Thompson. He squinted through the darkness and lowered his gun.
‘This woman is a friend of my cousin’s,’ Edward said, eyes ablaze. ‘But good God, man, even if she was built like a bodybuilder and carrying a swag bag, you should never have aimed and fired.’
‘Especially as my back was turned,’ I muttered. ‘How cowardly is that?’
Mr Thompson shuffled his feet. ‘I only shot into the air. Sick of these intruders, I am, My Lord. They’re taking us for mugs.’
Edward shook his head. ‘Go to bed and leave this to me—and count your blessings this didn’t end more badly. You could have ended up in jail.’
Lips pursed, Mr Thompson slung his gun over his shoulder and headed up the drive to Applebridge Hall.
‘He won’t mention me to anyone, will he?’ I said. Lady C would go mad if she thought I’d risked blowing my cover. ‘Abbey’s, um, got enough on her plate without worrying about me getting shot at.’
‘I’ll have a word with him in the morning.’ Edward stared at my knee. ‘You’re trembling. That gunshot must have been quite a shock. Come inside for a drink. It’ll calm you down.’
‘I’m fine,’ I said, but Edward already had an arm around my shoulder and started guiding me back to the house, as I limped.
‘Everyone else is in bed,’ he said. ‘It’s gone two a.m. What are you doing out here at this time?’
‘Um… My brother was passing this way again tonight. He got a two-week night-shift contract stacking shelves in a supermarket a few miles on from here. Tom offered to drop me off if I wanted to see Abbey once more, and pick me up on his way back, at sunrise. So I, um, texted her to see if she’d like me to visit. I’ve been helping her ring some of the evacuees on that list. Then she was tired so we hit the sack, but I couldn’t sleep. I just fancied a walk and then…’
‘Won’t you be tired for work tomorrow?’
‘I’ve recently lost my job,’ I said, glad not to be lying for once.
He squeezed my shoulder and warmth surged through my veins. ‘Come on. A hot chocolate will restore your spirits.’
‘Could I meet you by that bench at the pond?’ I said. ‘It’s a beautiful night. I could do with a bit of peace – my ears are still ringing, thanks to that bullet.’
‘Okay. Somewhere Kathleen’s got a flask…’
‘Mr Thompson’s gone in, right? Or do I need to carry a white flag?’
Edward smiled. ‘He’s not a bad man – just a creature of routine. All the filming… it’s stressed him out.’
I knew that, really. Despite his gruff manner and this evening’s murder attempt, the estate manager had grown on me.
‘See you there in ten minutes, then,’ said Edward. ‘I’ll bring something to clean up that knee.’
‘Don’t worry—I’ll just wash it in the pond.’
He looked at me for a second, as if I were a puppy that had just performed the cutest trick. Then he disappeared inside the main entrance. Still limping a little, I reached the bulrushes, bent over and splashed water onto my knee. Graze cleaned, I pushed through the longer grass to the bench and sat down. Mmm. Quiet. What a difference to the hustle and bustle of the Castle. I breathed in the woody smells with a tinge of fish tank pond – much nicer than the whiff of vomit at the Baron’s place.
‘I wondered if I might find you swimming again.’ A grin on his face, Edward appeared by my side. He passed me a thick anorak. ‘Take this. Autumn is well and truly on its way.’ He sat down and poured two cups of hot chocolate out of a flask and then unwrapped slices of Kathleen’s Dundee Cake. In silence we watched the occasional frog jump as moonlight caught the surface of the pond.
‘That was good,’ I said and swallowed the last mouthful, wiping my mouth on the borrowed coat’s sleeve. ‘That Kathleen’s a mega cook.’
‘Abbey’s pretty decent in the kitchen as well.’
Good thing I’d swallowed my cake, otherwise I might have choked at that compliment!
‘What will you do once she’s left?’ I asked. ‘Who will take over the Applebridge Food Academy if you win?’
Edward threw some crumbs into the pond and tiddlers bobbed up to the surface for a midnight feast.
‘I think that’s what you’d call the Elephant in the Room…’ He sighed. ‘It’s jolly hard discussing these things with Father. With a million dollars, we’d be able to hire a top calibre chef who’d be happy to take the job on once we’d finished the refurbishment of the guest bedrooms, properly kitted out the kitchen and added more work-stations. But he still loathes the idea of strangers living in our home.’ Edward drained his cup.
‘With all that dosh, you wouldn’t have to make the decision straight away,’ I said.
‘True—we could postpone it for a while, but I have to think long-term. I don’t want Applebridge Hall to be in the same precarious position ten or twenty years from now. When Father inevitably passes on there will be death duties to pay and… Well… A million dollars must be invested very wisely. I don’t want to pass the responsibility I carry down to another generation…’ For a second deep lines cut across his forehead. ‘We also want to employ more locals from the village again, like in the old days. There’s a lot to think about.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s a pity Abbey never mentions staying, to work here in some capacity.’
‘Really?’ My mouth fell open. ‘I mean…You get on that well?’
He glanced sideways at me. ‘As far as I’m concerned, yes. And she’s had some great ideas. It’s… It’s tremendous having my cousin around, after all this time. Even if we don’t win, she’d be an asset. I’m afraid the stiff upper lip faltered tonight and I wrote on my blog about…feelings… and praised Abigail.’
Wow. I must take a gander.
His cheeks flushed. ‘There’s something about the virtual world that makes it somehow easier to offload…’ He grinned. ‘And being around you, Gemma. That’s what I like – your honesty. Forthrightness.’
I grinned back. ‘You’re pretty forthright yourself, from what Abbey says.’
The humour dropped from his face. ‘Oh, Gemma… If only you knew… Sometimes I wish I could be a lot more upfront…’
Huh? What did he mean by that? I linked my free arm though his. ‘Abbey, um, talks mega fondly of you, too,’ I said. ‘It’s just… About the future…Your two families don’t exactly get on well.’
‘We’re all so stubborn, that’s the problem.’ He smiled. ‘Abbey included—she’s a Croxley woman, all right. Absolutely determined, yet with that feminine edge that stops her just short of behaving like… Well, like trigger-happy Thompson.’
‘I’m glad you find it funny – he nearly killed me!’ My heart raced. Edward liked me – well, in my disguise as Abbey. I’d done it—passed the test. Edward believed I was a true member of his aristocratic family.
‘Anything I can do to help tonight?’ I said. ‘My brother won’t be here for a couple of hours. Abbey mentioned some ration books and toys… Do you need help sorting stuff out?’
‘No, thanks.’ He yawned.
‘Oh… Sorry, Edward, I should have thought—you must be knackered. Not everyone’s a nightbird like me.’
Inside, I felt as if a balloon had just been popped and deflated down to a shred of plastic. If I’d been sophisticated Henrietta, I bet he’d have jumped at the chance to spend a night together in the library, arranging the evacuee lunch. ‘I’ll go back to Abbey’s room and crash out for a couple of hours.’
‘No, don’t… Come with me, Gemma, up to the forest at the top of the hill. The fencing behind it keeps getting broken. Mr Thompson suspects the usual vandals or perhaps fans of the show. I said I’d check it out – which would be less, erm, fun, on my own.’
Yay! He enjoys my company, after all! I stood up and, still arm in arm, we headed around to the back of the house, chatting about all sorts of stuff. He attended private school, I went to a comprehensive. Edward learnt Latin and enjoyed a study trip to China. I took a BTEC in hospitality and visited Alton Towers. I described my job at Pizza Parlour. Edward confessed that he’d never eaten so much as one Margherita. As for ordering delivery pizza by phone, he just didn’t get the concept.
When was the last time I’d had a conversation with a man that didn’t revolve around asking if I’d like a cider or beer? Yet, what was I doing? I shouldn’t eke this evening out; tomorrow was a huuuuge day, as far as organizing the reunion was concerned. Lots to do, plus an early start after a night of washing out hair dye and dawn was already on its way…
Reluctantly, I let go, dragging my feet behind him. I caught up, just as Edward reached the cemetery, pretending I’d just received a text.
‘My brother’s finishing early,’ I said. ‘I’ll have to go to the gates in twenty minutes.’
‘Oh.’ He stopped still and gazed at me through the moonlight, shadows under his eyes suddenly pronounced.
‘But I’ve still got time for a quick look at that fence,’ I said brightly and linked arms with him again as tree roots and stones made walking through the forest bonkers in my stilettos. Finally, we reached the fencing at the back and, sure enough, there was a gaping hole, surrounded by fag butts and beer bottles.
‘Mr Thompson hates litter,’ said Edward. ‘By the look of it, this is just kids messing about. One summer we found a couple of tents here. Another year they built a tree house.’
‘Doesn’t it bother you?’
He shrugged. ‘They’re only enjoying themselves. You know, Mr Thompson used to play hide and seek with me in these woods when I was a lad. Great tracking skills, that man. He always found me.’ He sighed. ‘Who’d have thought one day I’d be having words with him for doing what he does best?’
‘What, stalking innocent people and taking a pop?’
He half-smiled. ‘Mr Thompson would do anything to protect this estate.’
Just like Edward.
Suddenly I longed to rub my cheek against his tousled honey curls. And, as if on cue, here was one of my adrenaline rushes—I had to do something about that little boy lost look on his face, which for a split second said ‘If only I was ten again’.
‘Tig!’ I said and smacked him on the chest, before running as fast as I could amongst the trees. ‘Catch me if you caaaannn.’
‘For God’s sake, Gemma,’ he called after me, ‘you’ll trip over again.’
‘Come on,’ I yelled back and dodged behind a tree, my knee feeling fine now and the blister forgotten. Chest heaving, I stood statue-still. Footsteps came and nearby twigs snapped. I held my breath.
‘If you insist!’ said a familiar voice and a hand came around from behind the tree.
‘Aarghh!’ I screamed, yet felt all tingly as he tickled my neck.
I dodged around to the other side of the trunk. Edward chuckled and looked back to make sure I was following him as he ran. Faster I sprinted, to the left and then to the right, around trees, skirting bushes, jumping over tree roots, praying Edward would stick to the moonlit areas so that I didn’t tumble over a boulder and land in a pile of mud.
I ran into a clearing and stopped still, chest heaving up and down, wishing now that I wasn’t wearing the mega thick, sauna-hot coat. Edward had disappeared. I turned my head. What a giveaway! Someone sneezed from the left. I tiptoed across a grassy area and peered over a large bush.
‘This is too easy. Tig!’ I said and ruffled his hair.
He roared and with a scream I ran back the way I’d come. Laughing, I could hardly breathe and lost my way. Where on earth was I now? Heading for the broken fencing or towards the cemetery at the front? I lay flat on the ground behind some tall grass.
‘Aarggh!’ I screamed as someone grabbed me under the arms. I turned and glared at Edward. ‘You scared me!’ I shouted and jumped up.
‘Your…face,’ he stuttered and wiped away tears from his eyes.
I giggled. ‘Beautiful as ever, I hope, even if mega surprised.’
