I wasn’t looking forward to going home and wondered if Leo had managed to calm Dee. It would have been nice to be able to tell her something more definite about the body.
I found them out in the garden drinking coffee.
‘Did you find anything out at the farm?’
‘Not really.’
She burst into tears. ‘Oh, Leo.’
He put his arm around her narrow shoulders. ‘Shush, calm down.’ He pulled an apologetic face at me. ‘Sorry, Sera. It’s upsetting for Dee right now.’
I could understand why. The discovery of the dead body had unsettled us all. ‘I thought the same thing. It’s a little unnerving, isn’t it?’
‘I’m just finding this a bit much, I’m afraid,’ Dee said sniffing. Leo handed her a tissue and she blew her nose. ‘Sorry.’
It was enough having to deal with Mum’s annoyance having them in the house, but I wasn’t prepared to worry about mentioning the farm in front of them.
‘Maybe you should go back to France,’ I suggested, willing her to agree. ‘The gossip and intrigue is only going to get worse over the coming days and probably weeks. The investigation might not be solved for some time.’ I could only guess, but it made sense to me. ‘I think it might be traumatic for you to be so close at hand.’
She pushed Leo roughly away and glared at me. ‘You. It’s always all about you and what you think, isn’t it, Sera? It always has been.’
I couldn’t believe the viciousness of her accusations. ‘What do you mean?’ As far as I could remember, Dee had always been the bossy, dramatic one out of us two. Had I remembered things so differently to her?
‘Hey, that’s enough,’ Leo snapped. ‘Cut it out. Sera has been a good friend to you. To us both.’
She stood up, knocking her coffee all over her flowered skirt. ‘Now look what you made me do.’ She marched over to me, stopping almost nose to nose with me. ‘We all know why he’s so fucking defensive of you, don’t we, Sera?’ Her right shoulder crashed into mine as she slammed past me and stormed into the house.
Shocked by what had just happened, I rubbed the point of impact, trying to make sense of her reaction. ‘I didn’t realise she resented me like that.’ I turned to Leo. ‘Is it why she’s been so surly since she arrived? Have you forced her to come and stay here?’
‘Not at all,’ he said, looking mortified at the suggestion. ‘I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. You’ve only done as I’ve asked. You’ve been a good friend. Please don’t take any notice of her outbursts.’
It was easier in theory, but by the look on her face she really had an issue with me. I knew she relied heavily on him for most of her emotional support. But I couldn’t understand her feeling threatened by me. Could it be because she and I had always been the inseparable ones and now the balance of our relationship had altered? I decided I needed to be careful to stay out of her odd relationship with Leo and remember that I was an outsider here, not her.
‘It’s fine,’ I said, wanting to make him feel better. ‘I’ll try to be more sensitive towards her.’ I lowered my voice, conscious that if I didn’t she would be able to hear me from her attic bedroom. ‘We both should.’
He stood up and came over to me. ‘No. I won’t have her ruining our friendship.’ He faltered momentarily. ‘Meeting up with you has been the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. As much as I love my sister, I’m not going to allow her insecurities to come between us.’
‘However things seem now, Leo,’ I said, ‘ultimately my loyalty, and yours, has always been to Dee. Now isn’t the time to change that. It’s pretty obvious she needs us both. We can’t let her feel pushed out, it would be cruel.’
He didn’t reply, but stared into space, looking at something only he could see. I checked over my shoulder to ensure she wasn’t nearby, before carrying on talking, willing him to understand.
‘I don’t think she can take much more right now.’ Was he even listening to me? I tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Leo, did you hear what I said?’
He snapped out of his reverie, looking stunned as if he hadn’t even realised I was there, never mind speaking to him. ‘What? Sorry.’
I closed my eyes to concentrate all my efforts on not losing my temper. ‘I don’t want to have to face the consequences of what Dee might do in her present emotional state.’
I hoped he was getting the message that if he did harbour feelings for me that they couldn’t go any further. I had realised that day at the pool that there was something about Henri that attracted me to him. I didn’t like the thought of having to admit my feelings to Leo and chance hurting his feelings. Having Dee upset with me was bad enough.
‘I’m going to talk to her,’ he said. Without waiting for me to answer, he went inside the house.
‘Bugger.’ Sitting on the wooden seat, I closed my eyes. I really should think before speaking. Mum was always telling me not to react instantly to things but to consider what I wanted to say before opening my mouth. It was about time I started following this particular nugget of advice, I mused.
Mum poked her head out of the back door. ‘They’re leaving,’ she shouted, looking rather pleased about it. She went back in and immediately after, I heard the front door slamming. ‘They’ve gone,’ Mum said, rubbing her hands together.
‘I wonder if they’re coming back?’ I said, almost to myself.
‘More than likely,’ Mum shouted from inside the kitchen. My mother had incredible hearing, when it suited her.
I took Katie into the kitchen, gave her a biscuit and poured her a cool drink before running upstairs to the attic room where Dee had been sleeping. Stopping at the doorway, it wasn’t necessary to check if their clothes had been taken, every drawer was open, as were the wardrobe doors.
‘Bloody hell.’
‘Well?’ my mother shouted from the lower landing.
I went to lean over the banisters to speak to her. ‘They’ve moved out.’
‘Thank heavens for that.’ I heard her walk into the bathroom and lock the door.
I couldn’t help agreeing with her. Their sudden departure was a relief, unlike fifteen years before. I wondered if they would stay away as long this time, or if it was the last time I’d see any of them. A part of me hoped they wouldn’t return.