Entwined (13 page)

“And did he eat it?” I asked.

“Yeah, because she made him, but he called every mouthful pig slop.”

“If he’s hungry, he’ll eat it,” I said, scribbling oats on the lined page in front of me.

“Won’t we need milk to go with that?” Kate asked

“No, there’s nothing wrong with porridge made with water. What about lunch. Either of you have any ideas?”

“Cup-a-soups?” Rose suggested.

“Perfect,” I agreed, adding it to the list.

I had personally become somewhat addicted to the mushroom flavor over the past few months, and resisted the urge to add my preference.

“Dinners are going to be bit more difficult,” added Kate, “But I have a suggestion.”

“Fire away, hun,” said Rose.

“Well there’s a packet of sausages in the freezer, and I noticed some flour in the cupboard. If I get a two liter bottle of milk we can make a toad in the hole.”

“I’m sorry, Kate, but I don’t know what that is,” I said.

“Sausages and batter baked in an oven,” Rose offered helpfully.

“Done,” I said, adding the last bits to the list.

“Shall I just get what I can for the rest of the meals?” Kate asked.

“Yeah, you’ll come up with something, hun. You’re a genius with stuff like this,” Rose chirped.

Harry retrieved two large reusable carrier bags from the kitchen and snapped several twenty pound notes from the bar till.

“Keep safe, sweet,” I whispered, giving her a hug.

“You said it yourself, Corran. There is no reason why anyone should connect me to any of you. I’ll be fine.”

“See you in bit, hun,” Rose said, taking her friend’s hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

I turned my attention to Simon. “Look after her.”

“I wouldn’t let her go if I thought she was in any danger,” he replied curtly.

“Come on you two, the shops will shut if you gas for much longer,” barked Harry.

“Gas?” I asked, wrinkling my brow.

“He means gossip, talk, you know the thing,” chirped Kate, her red hair bobbing as she spoke. “I hear you, Harry, and I’m coming.”

“Be safe,” I mouthed, as they disappeared through the old door in the cellar.

******

CHAPTER 12

Rose and I made our way back up the slimy cellar stairs with Duncan following behind. Despite the extra room beneath my rib cage I still found myself breathless and gasping for air at the top of the stairs. The ache in my back had returned and my womb tightened in response to the exertion. Dropping my shoulders, and trying to relax, I took slow, steady breaths. Grabbing the door frame with one hand I rested the other on my contracted womb.

“Are you alright, Ma?” Duncan asked behind me.

I couldn’t answer, but nodded slowly.

“What’s up Corran?” said Rose, turning back after hearing Duncan.

“It’s fine, really. Nothing to worry about… All just part of being pregnant.”

“Let’s get you into a chair. You look an awfully funny color,” insisted Rose. “Give me a hand to get her back by the fire,” she said to Duncan.

I didn’t argue. A chair was exactly what I needed and I was glad of their help.

“You know, Ma, I swear you have one of those African elephants in there,” Duncan said, easing me into the spindle-backed chair.

“Nice job there, Duncs, just go tell your mother how big she is,” Rose snapped.

 “It’s alright, love,” I said weakly, slumping in the chair.

“I think you could use a cuppa,” Rose replied, ignoring my son.

“Don’t run after me, Rose. I’m fine. Just needed to sit down for a few minutes.”

“I’m making a cup, so you might as well drink it,” she said, turning toward the kitchen.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“No bother, Corran. You coming, Dumbo?” she said, facing my son.

“What’s a Dumbo?” I heard him ask as they disappeared into the kitchen.

I shifted uneasily in the chair, leaning first to the left, then to the right. I straightened, trying to ease the ache in my back. No matter how often I adjusted my position, it seemed impossible to get comfortable. My eyes grew heavy and my body ached with the need of a soft mattress, and eventually exhausted with the effort of finding comfort, I hauled myself out of the chair and made my way to the base of the stairs.

“Duncan, love, I’m going upstairs for lie down.”

“Right you are, Ma. Do you want a hand up the stairs?”

“No, love. I will be fine.”

I closed my eyes, wanting just a few minutes rest but I must have fallen asleep because when I opened them again it was dark and downstairs I could hear the voices of Harry, Simon and Kate.

Rolling off the bed, I stubbed my toe on a suitcase that I was sure hadn’t been there before I lay down but dismissed the mystery in favor of getting back downstairs.

“How long have I have been asleep?”

“A couple of hours, Ma.”

“Goodness, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be daft, Corran. You needed that,” said Rose, handing me a steaming hot cup of milky tea.

“It’s got milk in it,” I said in surprise.

“Aye, lass, that it has, the girl done good,” Simon said, affectionately putting his arm around Kate’s shoulders.

“Did everything go alright, Kate?” I asked.

“Everything went just fine, Corran. I got all the stuff on the list plus a few extras.”

“A few extras!” exclaimed Harry. “She could hardly walk for all the bags she had.”

“You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?” I asked, with a look of concern.

She shook her head and smiled. “Of course I didn’t. Harry’s winding you up.”

“The clever lass ordered a taxi to Rose’s house where she packed up some things for us. Then she booked another taxi and had it take her to the Morrisons at Foss Island,” Simon said, with a hearty grin.

“Goodness, Kate. Thank you,” I said, smiling up at her. “But how did you get into Rose’s house?”

“Oh, that was easy. She always keeps a spare key under the mat on the front door step,” Kate said with a laugh. “You wanna come see what we’ve got?”

I smiled weakly, realizing that meant I had to extract myself from the chair.

“I’d love to, Kate,” I said, putting my hands on the arm rests and heaving myself out of the chair.

The moment I stood, my head thudded and the room swayed, but I held myself steady, not wanting to cause concern. Taking a long, deep breath, I followed Kate and Rose into the kitchen, where I quickly realized that Harry hadn’t been exaggerating.

“How did you pay for all this?” I asked with genuine concern.

She shrugged. “I used my credit card.”

“Credit card?”

“She means she borrowed the money, Corran,” Rose replied.

“But who from? Won’t they get suspicious?”

The two girls giggled and shook their heads in unison.

“I borrowed it from the bank. They’ll not care why I borrowed it just so long as I pay it back,” Kate explained.

“Simon will see you right.”

“Corran, don’t worry about it,” Kate said firmly. “We’ve bigger problems to deal with than a few pounds borrowed on my credit card.”

Rose laughed. “Like feeding three men for a start. I got the sausages out of the freezer when you were gone. They’re not completely thawed yet, though,” said Rose.

“They don’t need to be. If you grab a frying pan, you can cook them on a very low heat. Fry them slowly and they won’t burst.”

Potatoes were peeled, a cabbage was shredded and carrots were washed. Bacon and sausages were added to a batter mixture and it was all then poured into a smoldering hot, oiled baking tray. Kate was on her haunches in front of the oven.

“It’s rising.”

“Like there was ever a chance it wouldn’t?” Rose laughed.

“They don’t always,” Kate said, trying to keep her long curls out of her face.

“Here, I’ll get that,” Rose offered, moving behind her friend and snapping a band from her wrist.

“Cheers mate,” Kate said, as Rose gathered a mass of her fiery hair into an untidy ponytail at the base of her neck.

“Better?” Rose asked, grabbing a pair of oven gloves from the counter. “Look lively,” she said, throwing the gloves to her friend.

“Cheers.”

“Do you still cook much, Kate?” Rose asked, turning suddenly serious.

She shook her head. “No mate. Haven’t cooked much since I left your place. It was your Mum used to get us cooking. Live mostly off takeaways now.”

“I miss it,” Rose said, starting to dish up the plates, “You know, being a kid. We had some good laughs, didn’t we?”

“Yeah we did,” Kate said, sliding the fully loaded plates off the counter top. “Come on, let’s go feed this lot.”

“What have you lasses got planned for breakfast?” Simon said, swallowing the last mouthful of his meal.

“Have you not had enough?” I asked with genuine shock.

“I’m fit to burst, lass. A man could die happy on a meal like this. But if God sees fit to grant me another day, then there’s no harm in having something to look forward to.”

“It’s like old times,” Harry said quietly. “Jessie used to cook this all the time.”

“That’s because everyone enjoyed it,” Rose said, laughing.

“I don’t suppose there’s any leftovers?” Duncan asked hopefully.

“Sorry, Duncs. We dished it all up,” replied Rose.

“Where did you learn to cook, Kate?” I asked.

“Rose’s Mum,” she replied, starting to side the dishes away.

“Put those down,” I said, interrupting her. “The men can clear this away.”

“Actually, she’s got a point,” said Rose, returning her plate to the table top. “Come on guys, your turn to do some work.”

The three men looked across at us in shocked silence but didn’t argue.

“Thank you, girls. That meal really was delicious,” I said, when the men had left the room. “Would either of you like me to make you a cup of coffee or tea?”

“We’ll do it, Corran. You stay there,” Rose said.

“How about we all do it?” I suggested.

“OK, but let’s wait for the guys to finish the pots or they’ll do a runner as soon as they see us in the kitchen,” laughed Kate.

“You are so right, hun,” said Rose, still laughing. “I wouldn’t mind but all they’ve got to do is bang the pots in the dishwasher and set it going. It’s not like they’ve got to wash them.”

“Oh heaven forbid if they did,” chirped Kate.

“Speaking of just having to put the pots in the dishwasher,” I said, “they’ve been in there a while. Do you think they’re alright?”

“Probably trying to figure out how to start the thing,” suggested Rose.

“What’s this about the dishwasher?” Harry asked.

I looked up to see the three men carrying trays.

“We thought you ladies might enjoy a cup of percolated hazelnut coffee with a bowl of rice pudding,” said Simon laying his tray on the table in front me.

“I didn’t know you knew how to make rice pudding!” I said, shocked.

“I didn’t, but Harry’s got some very useful books in there.”

“By gods, Simon. I think we owe you an apology,” said Kate.

Simon laughed a loud, booming laugh, and handed me a one of the bowls. “We heard you.”

“Oh,” said Rose, sheepishly. “We didn’t mean any harm. It was just a laugh.”

“We know, lass,” replied my husband. “No harm in us having the last laugh now is there?” he said, with a teasing grin. “And we didn’t make the pudding. It’s out a tin, but then I think Kate already knows that, considering she has just bought it.”

The pudding was lovely but my stomach was so full by the third mouthful that I just couldn’t finish it. I listened as attentively as I could to the conversations around me but the ache in my back and the weight of the baby made it difficult to concentrate on anything other than my lower body. Mostly I craved the soothing warmth of a bath and the crisp cotton sheets of my bed.

“So, tomorrow we fetch the portrait?” I heard my son say, and was jolted back to the moment.

“The portrait?” I asked.

“Aye, Corran. Do you remember telling us that Eilidh had insisted you look at the portrait?” my husband replied patiently.

“Yes, of course I remember.”

“Well, we think she meant the picture of us, the one Rose sold to Angus,” he finished.

“But it’s back at Rose’s house. How are you going to get it?” I asked.

“I’m going to get it,” Kate said. “The same routine as today. Only I’ll get a taxi from somewhere else in the city and then have another firm drop me back a street or two away from Jessie’s shop.”

“Is it safe?” I asked.

“For now it is safe, but I don’t think we will be able to keep going back to Rose’s house. This might be the last run.”

My husband was right. Eventually this Dark Circle was going to connect the dots.

“Harry, I know this is probably going to sound like a ridiculously stupid question, and I’m sure you have all covered this at some point already, but what is to stop this Dark Circle from tracing us here to the pub?”

“It’s not a ridiculous question. The locket and crystals protect us, which is why we are all safe as long as we stay together here in the pub. It’s what your people are using to stop the Dark Circle from finding them. But it takes many lockets of heather and crystals to protect such a large area and so many people. They simply don’t have enough to protect them all,” explained Harry.

This explained why Simon had insisted on leaving me with a locket and crystal when he had followed Harry and Kate through the tunnel, but that brought me swiftly to another thought.

“When you three went through the tunnel this afternoon you didn’t have the locket. You left it here with me. What happens if they traced your mark then?”