Time to Pay (7 page)

‘Yes, and the local TV and radio stations.'

‘Good. What are you feeding them?'

‘Just canapés and stuff. Pippa's taking care of that,' Giles told her, and they became immersed in the details.

Eve was clearly in her element. Her deceptively
languorous air hid a razor-sharp mind, and Gideon guessed there was nothing she would like better than to be planning a marketing coup.

Be careful, Giles, he thought, as he watched the pair. You'll find you've got yourself a business partner before the night's out.

When the supper party broke up, just before one o'clock, the sky was clear and moonlit, and Gideon and Eve turned down the offer of a lift back to the Gatehouse in favour of walking the quarter-mile or so.

As the door shut behind them, Eve wrapped her long, woolly coat around her and, tucking her arm through Gideon's, said, ‘I like Giles and Pippa.'

‘Good,' he responded, trying not to dwell on the way Lloyd's arm had wrapped possessively around Pippa as they'd turned back into the house.

‘Have you ever dated her?' Eve asked after a moment.

‘Who, Pippa? No. We're just friends. I've known them for ever.'

‘You don't like her being with Lloyd.'

‘I don't think he's good enough for her.'

‘Is that all?'

‘Yes . . . Why?'

Eve didn't answer. For a moment there was only the sound of their footsteps crunching on the gravel, then she said, ‘I don't think they're in love.'

‘Lloyd and Pippa?' Gideon was surprised. ‘But he's obviously staying the night.'

‘So am I,' she pointed out.

The following morning brought a telephone call from Tilly Daniels.

It was past nine and Gideon had been lying in bed listening to the birdsong outside his window and enjoying the play of the sunshine on his closed eyelids.

He opened his eyes. Beside him, Eve lay sprawled on her back, apparently asleep, her dark hair tousled on the pillow and her long lashes touching the smooth caramel skin of her cheeks. She had only the faintest of laughter lines and no hint of silver in her black mane; Gideon imagined she'd probably look the same for another fifteen or twenty years.

The phone trilled on the bedside cabinet on Eve's side of the bed, and without opening her eyes she reached out a slim brown arm and located it, handing it across to Gideon.

‘Hello?'

‘Gideon? It's Tilly here – Tilly Daniels. It's not too early, is it?'

‘No – not at all,' Gideon said. ‘How can I help?'

‘Well, it's about Nero. I was lying awake last night, worrying about him. The thing is, you and Damien were getting on so well with him, but since . . . well, you know . . .'

‘Yeah, sure.'

‘Well, since then he's been a real pig, and I'm not sure I can cope with him. It's partly the lack of time. One of my lads didn't turn up for work yesterday and I've still got a yardful of horses to deal with – except for a couple whose owners whisked them away as soon as they heard about Damien. Nero needs more attention than I can
give him, and the lads that I've got left aren't too happy about managing him . . .' Her voice tailed off.

‘And you'd like me to have him for a while, and continue his training,' Gideon said.

‘I hate to ask, but would you, Gideon? It'd be a weight off my mind. I don't really want to sell him – even if I could in his present state – because Damien thought such a lot of him, but just at the moment . . .'

‘Well, I'll have to check with Pippa, but I'm pretty sure she's got room.'

‘Oh.' Uncertainly. ‘I didn't realise – I mean, I just assumed you had stables yourself.'

‘I'm sure there won't be a problem. Listen, I'll get back to you as soon as I can.'

Eve was already out of bed as Gideon leaned over to put the handset back. Yawning, she wrapped a black satin housecoat around her and padded across to the door, winding her hair into a knot in preparation for her shower.

‘You don't have to get up, if you don't want to,' he told her.

‘Oh, but I do,' she said with a smile. ‘I've got a gallery to open and I'm late as it is. I'll only be five.'

As predicted, Pippa raised no objections and the Daniels' cream and brown horsebox delivered the problem horse just after three that same afternoon. Tilly backed the vehicle right up to the stone arched entrance to the Priory stableyard, so that Nero, should he somehow get free, would only have the run of the yard.

‘Thanks guys, this is brilliant – such a help,' she called, jumping down from the cab as Pippa and Gideon went to meet her.

‘That's all right,' Pippa said. ‘How are you? Gideon told us about the break-in; how awful!'

‘Yeah, it's been pretty bloody, but at least they didn't take too much.'

‘How's your mum?' Gideon asked.

‘Much quieter, thanks. She's still sedated but at least she's finally facing up to everything. We were beginning to wonder if she ever would. It's been awful, and what makes it worse is not being able to have Damien's body for a proper funeral. It makes it hard to move on, you know?'

From within the lorry came a heavy banging as Nero began to complain at being kept waiting, and Tilly made a face.

‘Oh, he's done that all the way over. Every time we stopped at a junction he'd start up: bang, bang, bang. It was almost driving me mad!'

‘Well, let's get him in. Have you got time for a cuppa before you start back?' Pippa enquired.

‘Oh, I'd love one,' Tilly said, going round to the back of the lorry. ‘Where do you want him?'

‘In the end box,' Gideon said. ‘Shall I bring him down?'

‘Be my guest.'

Nero had worked up a sweat and came out of the lorry with a rush, pulling right to the end of the extra-long lead rope Gideon had fastened to his headcollar. Once in the yard he went into rapid reverse, his head held high and shod hooves drumming a frantic tattoo on the cobbles. Gideon went with him for a few strides, offering
no resistance and avoiding eye contact until the brown horse backed himself into a corner and stopped. Then, still not looking directly at Nero, he moved slowly up the rope, soothing him with a steady stream of nonsense. Gradually the animal's head came down and when Gideon was finally close enough to reach out a hand and rub him between the eyes, Nero sighed and relaxed.

‘All right now? Come on, you daft bugger,' Gideon said. ‘Let's go and see your new home.'

With the horse safely installed, Tilly fetched his saddle and bridle from the lorry, and Pippa followed with a big canvas bag containing a number of rugs and blankets.

‘He has to have his own saddle because he's got such a high wither,' Tilly said, meaning the bony part of a horse's anatomy, at the base of its neck. ‘And we always keep separate rugs for each horse, so I've brought those, too.'

Ten minutes later, happy that Nero was settling, the three of them made their way across the yard, through the boot room and into the huge kitchen, where heat from the old-fashioned range banished the chill of the cold wind outside.

The Priory kitchen was one of Gideon's favourite places on earth. Cavernous and cosy at one and the same time, it had dark beams, warm ochre-painted walls and a wide, diamond-paned window over the biggest earthenware sink he'd ever seen. The uneven stone floor was scattered with rugs and supported, among other things, a range of cupboards and shelves, an oak table, three armchairs that had seen better days, and two dog beds.

Giles was already in the kitchen and, anticipating their need, had the kettle boiling. His greeting woke the dogs, who'd been occupying both beds
and
armchairs, and for a moment all was chaos as five assorted canines pressed forward to welcome them.

‘Oh, my goodness! What a crowd!' Tilly exclaimed. ‘Are they all yours, Pippa?'

‘No, one of them's mine,' Gideon admitted, adding, ‘the well-behaved one,' whereupon he was immediately shouted down by Pippa and Giles.

‘Hallo, sweetie, what's your name?' Tilly said, leaning down to fondle the ears of Pippa's black Labrador.

‘That's Fanny,' Giles told her. ‘The two handsome Jack Russells are Yip and Yap – they're mine. The other two are Fanny's pups; the black one is Bella, and the brindle monster is Zebedee – he belongs to Gideon.'

‘They're gorgeous. I love dogs but Damien's allergic –
was
allergic – so we've never had one. We could have done with a couple in the house yesterday . . . But Zebedee? Why on earth Zebedee?'

‘Because he bounces,' Gideon explained. ‘You remember
The Magic Roundabout
?'

They talked dogs while Giles made and served the coffee, but after a while they drifted inexorably back to the subject of the break-in.

‘Honestly, it's just the lowest of the low,' Pippa said. ‘And Gideon said they let the horses out. Did you get them back OK?'

Tilly nodded. ‘It was only two of them. Megan – she's our Girl Friday – found one of them
straight away – he'd only wandered a little way down the lane and started eating grass – but she couldn't find the other one anywhere. She was distraught, poor girl! I mean, what a nightmare – left in charge and twenty minutes later two of the horses go missing!'

‘So where was the second one?' Giles asked.

‘Well, actually, he'd never been out at all. Whoever did it was a clever sod. I suppose he guessed that we'd find them pretty quickly in the lane, so he shut one of them in the haybarn in the corner of the field. He was tucking in happily when we eventually found him, but of course, Megan never thought to look there. You wouldn't, would you? She'd got the Land Rover out and been all round the nearest villages – told the police and everything. All kinds of people got involved in the search.'

‘But you didn't lose too much in the house?' Giles said.

‘No, thankfully. Mostly small stuff, although that's bad enough. Mobile phones, the two laptops and some disks and stuff. They didn't take the PCs but the police said they often don't – they're so heavy, and unless they're state of the art, they're not worth the trouble. Damien's digital camera had gone and they'd made pretty much of a mess of his and Dad's offices. They turned the cottage upside down, too, and I think that's what finally got to Mum. She kept saying she wanted to keep it nice for when . . .' Tilly's eyes swam with tears and she fished a handkerchief out of her pocket to mop them. ‘It was really hard on Beth. And the worst thing is that the house
doesn't feel safe any more. It's like it's been defiled. I keep thinking about these people wandering round the house, touching things – our things – and I feel like I want to have it fumigated from top to bottom! I threw away everything in the fridge and larder, and put every single piece of crockery and cutlery, and all the pots and pans and casserole dishes through the dishwasher last night, after the police had gone. Absolutely everything; but still it doesn't feel clean.'

‘Oh, God! You poor thing! That must be terrible.' Pippa put her hand over Tilly's and she responded with an apologetic smile.

‘I'm sorry. It sounds horribly melodramatic, but it's just how I feel. I suppose it's partly because it's come at such an awful time . . .'

‘And the police don't have any clues?'

‘No, except they know the thieves were still in the house at quarter to twelve because they broke a carriage clock that was one of Mum and Dad's wedding presents, and it stopped at quarter to twelve.'

‘More coffee, anyone?' Giles asked, getting to his feet. ‘Tilly?'

‘I should really be going,' she said. ‘There's so much to do.'

‘Oh, go on. Ten minutes either way won't make a lot of difference,' Pippa said.

Tilly pulled a face, weakening. ‘OK, thanks. Actually, it's nice to get away for a while. I know that probably sounds awful, but it's just so
intense
at the moment. Sometimes I just feel like I want to scream!'

‘What's happening with the horses?' Gideon
enquired. ‘Will you be able to carry on training them?'

‘Well – yes, for the moment, but I can't, long-term, because I haven't got a licence. I mean, I can still train the point-to-pointers, but most of our horses are running under rules now. That's where the money is – obviously. I shall have to apply to the Jockey Club to see if I can take over Damien's licence. I've already made enquiries and there shouldn't be a problem, but God knows how long it'll take. Most of the owners have said they'll hang on for a bit, but they won't wait for ever. And then there's the sponsors – we're not sure whether Skyglaze will continue to support us without Damien. It was his name that carried the deal, you see.'

‘But surely they can't pull out now?' Pippa put in. ‘You've got a contract, haven't you?'

Tilly shook her head, sadly.

‘It was a two-year contract and unfortunately it's due for renewal in a couple of months. Damien was just starting negotiations, but of course everything's up in the air now.'

‘Oh, that's really bad luck!' Pippa said.

Tilly shrugged. ‘Yes, well, I suppose you can't blame them, really. It's business, after all, and Damien was the high-profile one.'

‘So what about Nero?' Gideon asked. ‘Will you keep him?'

‘Well, I'd like to, if we can get him straightened out. As you know, he actually belongs – belonged – to Damien, and he was convinced he'd be brilliant one day, if we could just get to the bottom of his problems.'

‘Gideon says he came from the Radcliffe Trust,' Pippa said. ‘I thought that was where racehorses went to when they'd
finished
racing, or weren't good enough. I didn't realise you could actually get them from there.'