Tina put a bright red cross through the date on the calendar. It had quickly become a ritual since Mabel had hung it up on the inside of the front door on the 1st May. There was no doubt it helped keep people focused, although it scared her and Thea to death.
Mabel was still taking her role as coordinator extremely seriously and, apart from occasional mutterings from a few of the stalwarts about her bossy ways, she was proving an asset. The calendar had been Mabel’s way of instilling into everybody else that time really was short. Each day she took up a thick red marker pen, and crossed off the bold black numbers, showing how much – or how little – time they had left. Tonight however, Bert had arrived and taken his wife away early.
Tina smiled at the memory of Bert’s kindly face, as he’d steered his far more dominant wife off the premises. He’d manoeuvred Mabel with a soft insistence to which she gave a token effort of resistance, before giving in, just as her husband had probably known she would.
‘I wonder what it’s like to be happily married for that long.’
Thea tried not to acknowledge the presence of the marker pen in Tina’s hand as she came through the front door with an armful of fresh eggs. ‘We’ll never know. Already too late for us to be married for over fifty years, unless we live to gone ninety and get married tomorrow.’
‘That’s a depressing thing to say!’
‘It must be the effect of that calendar! How can it be mid-May already?’
‘Never mind mid-May, where did today go?’ Tina rubbed a dust-covered hand over her cheek, leaving a secondary trail of grime in its wake. ‘I’ve been digging out demonstration tables for the mill from the back of the stable block.’ She gestured to her hair. ‘I take it I’m pickled in cobwebs?’
‘Yep.’ The memory of Shaun teasing a line of spider’s silk from her hair inconveniently planted itself at the forefront of Thea’s mind. Had that really been six weeks ago?
Shaun had been away from Mill Grange for thirty days now. Thea had told herself it was inevitable that he’d be longer than he’d hoped, but she hadn’t thought he’d be gone a whole month without a word. John was right. Shaun isn’t coming back.
Guessing what was on her friend’s mind, Tina took the trays of eggs from Thea’s hands. ‘I take it you still haven’t heard anything?’
‘No.’ Tugging her boots off, Thea gestured to the eggs. ‘Sybil will be pleased the eggs are coming regularly now Gertrude and the gang have settled in.’
Accepting that her friend didn’t want to speculate about Shaun, Tina said, ‘When we’re finished at Mill Grange, it’s going to be a wrench for Sam to leave the hens.’
‘Not to mention Tony Stark.’
Tina laughed. ‘I still can’t believe you called the rooster Tony Stark!’
‘The way he struts about and yet remains adorable, it suits him down to the ground. Very Robert Downey Junior.’
‘Talking of Sam, he said he’d have the kettle on, and the jacket spuds should be ready by now.’
‘Jacket spuds?’
Tina led her friend towards the kitchen. ‘Don’t you remember? Sam’s cooking jacket spuds on the bonfire by his tent this evening. You, me and Sam are going to have a chill with some wine. Celebrating a job well done so far, and a rallying cry to help with the final push to the summit. We have nine weeks until opening, and for the first time ever, we’re on schedule.’
‘Nine weeks?’ Thea stifled a heavy yawn. ‘How is that possible?’
‘Don’t look so dismal. It’s working. The chickens are laying, the seedlings Sam and John put in are already mini plants, which will be ready for sale by mid-June, Sam’s rent and egg money is keeping us in cleaning materials and snacks, and the mill is almost ready to have its health and safety check so we can invite the spinner and so on for Open Day. The only big decision left is whether to pull down the greenhouse. If we are going to do that, it needs doing ASAP.’
‘And professionally. That is no job for Derek, Bill and Sam, however skilled they are.’
‘I have the quotes I got weeks ago. Should I chase them up tomorrow? We’ve saved so much, the loss of one greenhouse shouldn’t upset the trustees too much.’
‘I’d have still liked to save it.’ Thea suddenly held up a hand, as if asking for quiet and whispered, ‘Did you hear something?’
‘No.’ Tina automatically looked around as she replied, ‘There’s no one here. I double- checked before I marked the calendar.’
‘Right.’ Thea forced herself not to peer over her shoulder. ‘It’s such a shame about the greenhouse. It could be so beautiful.’
‘I know, but you’ve worked miracles already. Something was bound not to work out.’ Tina studied her friend. ‘When did you last get a good night’s sleep?’
‘Just takes me a while to drop off sometimes. Lots on my mind. At least the trustees have stopped emailing me with demands for progress reports every five minutes. Finally the penny seems to have dropped that I can’t get on with my job if I’m answering their queries all the time.’ Thea pointed to the mugs on the side. ‘I’d forgotten about supper with Sam. Would you like me to cry off so you two can be alone?’
Now it was Tina’s turn to sigh. ‘I’ve told you, Sam isn’t my type, and frankly, I’m not his. He’s never made a single move or said anything to make me think he’s remotely interested beyond friendship.’
Suddenly Thea understood. ‘And there is no way you’ll ask him out because you don’t want him to reject you.’
‘Of course I don’t. No one wants that, do they?’ Tina stared at Thea. ‘Are you sure you’re okay? You seem unsettled.’
Crossing her arms protectively over her chest, Thea said, ‘I’m just being paranoid, forget it.’
‘John isn’t here. I’ve checked. I check every room every night. And I’ve told you, you can come back home with me. There’s a decent sofa you could sleep on, or we could grab an airbed from Taunton on the way back.’
‘I have to be here. After that nightjar got in, I couldn’t possibly risk leaving the manor. Anyway, Malcolm knows I’m sleeping here now, so I can keep an eye on the place. He agreed that if Shaun hadn’t been here when the bird had got in, and got it out again, then the damage could have been so much worse. It’s only the volunteers that don’t know I’m living in.’
‘Because you don’t want John knowing you’re here all the time.’
‘I can’t believe he hasn’t worked it out.’ Thea looked over her shoulder. ‘He’s not a stupid man.’
‘Bloody persistent.’
‘Yes.’ Thea had stopped trying to avoid John during the day. He’d turn up at some point during the morning and do a token gesture of work, just enough to be seen as useful so he wasn’t asked to leave, then he’d take time to charm either Mabel or Diane or both, before sauntering off again to goodness knew where.
‘When he isn’t here, what’s he doing?’ Thea cuddled her arms tighter around her chest. ‘I feel as if John is watching me even when I can’t see him.’ She groaned. ‘I sound paranoid, don’t I?’
‘A bit.’ Tina found herself looking over her own shoulder. ‘Do you want to check the house again before we go to see Sam?’
‘No, it’s okay. Logically, I know I’m overreacting because I’m overtired. John’s hardly here compared to everyone else.’
‘I thought he’d stopped asking you out every five minutes.’
‘He hasn’t asked me once since Shaun left.’
‘That’s good, isn’t it?’
‘Very, but…’
‘But what?’
‘But the second my… the second Shaun left John stops hassling me. I can’t quite believe he isn’t planning something.’
Tina crossed her arms as she regarded her friend. ‘You were going to say “the second my boyfriend”, weren’t you?’
‘Hardly. Boyfriends don’t disappear for three weeks longer than planned without a word. I know the signal here is weak, but it isn’t non-existent. He could email me or call the landline.’
‘Only if he has a signal his end.’
‘He’s in Cornwall, not Outer Mongolia. And the landline doesn’t need a signal.’
Pulling a face, which clearly expressed her conviction that Shaun was mad, Tina picked up the mugs. ‘Come on. Let’s take these to Sam. Dinner’s bound to be ready by now.’
Picking the back door key off the table, Thea agreed, ‘I’m quite hungry actually.’
‘I’m not surprised. You’ve been working like a Trojan and hardly eating.’ Tina ran an assessing eye over her friend. ‘You’ve lost weight. I hadn’t noticed before. You always wear such baggy clothes.’
‘They’re warm.’ Thea felt defensive.
‘It wasn’t a criticism. You’re looking great.’
‘Thanks. Sorry.’ Thea gave a weak smile. ‘Let’s go and find Sam. He’ll be hungry as well, and he’s such a gent, he wouldn’t think of starting without us.’
‘He is, isn’t he? And so is Shaun.’
‘If he was a gentleman, he’d have been in touch.’
‘Hun, he’ll have a good reason.’
‘So you said.’
*
The aroma of bonfire, cooked potatoes and charred tinfoil hit the girls’ nostrils as they crossed the garden. Mill Grange’s grounds looked beautiful bathed in the half light of the late spring evening.
Sam got to his feet as they approached. ‘They’re ready.’ He brandished a packet of butter and a knife. ‘I’m going for full-on calories myself.’
‘Sounds good.’ Tina spotted three bundles of foil tucked into the embers at the edge of the fire.
‘I wasn’t sure if you’d want your potato before you went, Thea? Might be a good idea, as I bet you haven’t eaten much today.’
The girls exchanged glances as Thea asked, ‘Go where?’
‘Didn’t you see the message I left on your desk?’
Tina’s eyebrows rose. ‘You went inside the office?’
Sam poked the fire with a long stick. ‘There was no one else about and I’m sure it was a message Thea would want ASAP.’
Thea felt her fingers tingle. ‘What was the message?’
‘To be at the Stag and Hound at eight o’clock. Same place as last time, whatever that means.’
‘From Shaun?’
‘The message came from the landlady. Moira, I think she said her name was.’
Tina beamed. ‘Same place as last time must mean Moira’s backroom. It has to be Shaun. He has to be back.’
‘Well, if he thinks he can just waltz back without a word…’
‘Oh, for heaven’s sake. Don’t waste time, woman. It’s almost eight now.’
Sam got to his feet. ‘Would you like us to walk you over to the pub?’
Tempted to say yes, Thea declined the offer. ‘Thanks, but it’s not far. You two eat your dinner.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want yours first? It could be a while before you eat. It’s a Saturday night after all.’
‘I’m fine, but thanks.’ Thea brushed her palms down her jeans, briefly contemplating changing. Then she remembered how long Shaun had been AWOL and changed her mind.
He was bloody lucky she was going to meet him at all. Especially as he couldn’t even be bothered to leave a message himself, but had got Moira to do it for him.