Nine Steps to Sara (22 page)

“She’s not.”

“Didn’t you know?  She said you had your head buried in the sand, but I told her you
always
know when I’m up to something, so you must know what’s going on.  What is going on, Mom?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out, kiddo, that’s what I’m trying to find out.”

Will’s father, Bernard Talbot stood waiting in the
hall;
hat in hand, a kindly smile stretching his face as Sara came into view.  While he didn’t look like he belonged in the main house, neither did he look nervous or intimidated by the grandeur or by her.

“Thank you for coming Mr. Talbot, it’s nice to meet you,” she smiled offering her hand, which he shook warmly.  

“Let me get a look at the girl who’s stolen my boy’s heart.” 

“I don’t know about stolen, I might have borrowed it for a while…” she smiled shyly, wondering where Will had disappeared to.  “Did Will say if he’d be back soon?”

“He’s gone off to help with preparations for the big todo tonight if I’m not mistaken.  It’s got the entire village all
abuzz;
I hope we’ll see you there.”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world,
Jack’s been beyond excited ever
since he heard about it,” she laughed.

“Ah, Ellie was right, you are the spitting image of Lady Margaret,” he sighed.   

“Ellie?”

“Forgive me, I meant Mrs. Poole as you’d know her.”

“Oh right, Ellie.”  Somehow she couldn’t picture the austere woman as anything other than Mrs. Poole, but of course she had a first name.  “You know, she said the same thing to me when I got here, but I don’t see it myself.  Thanks again for coming out to see me on such short notice, Will tells me you’re the one to talk to about getting the grounds back in shape again.”

“Aye, if that’s your plan I’m the man for the job true enough,” he nodded proudly.  “Now then, what did you have in mind, your Ladyship?”

Sara took him out back to talk about restoring the gardens to their former glory.  She was pleasantly surprised to find him still intimately familiar with what plants belonged where despite the current state of ruin.  They spent nearly an hour wandering the overgrown property, and more than once she wondered if he should be taking notes, but Talbot assured her, he had a mind like a steel trap. 

“I don’t mind telling you how it fills my heart to bursting to think of the life you’re breathing back into the old home again, my Lady.”

“Please, call me Sara,” she replied automatically, convinced he’d beg off like everyone else did, but Talbot surprised her there.

“I suppose it’s alright, all things considered,” he gave her a brief wink.  “To think of my Will hanging his hat in the likes of
Darling
Park
,” he let out a low whistle.

Oh… he must
think
…
Sara’s cheeks grew warm as she realized the assumptions being made about her and Will.  “I ah, I hope you understand, he’s staying here as a favor to me, not actually… with me,” she clarified quickly. 

“I never meant to imply otherwise, dear girl,” he patted her hand gently.  “But I must say I’m pleased as punch to see the happiness you’ve brought to my boy this past week.  I never thought to see him smile like that again after leaving
London
.”

“It was pretty crushing for him to give up his dream of being an architect, huh?”

“All of it.  The schooling, the city life, his girl… I feel for the boy, I don’t mind telling you.  It kills me to think it was all lost because of me.”

“Don’t say that,” Sara laid a hand on his shoulder.  “It’s
obvious
how much Will loves
you;
I think he was glad to have the chance to see you through your rough patch.  I know if I had a chance to help either of my parents again, I’d give up all of this in a heartbeat.  Family is what matters most.”

“Aye it is, bless your heart.  It does me good to hear you say that, Sara.  I hate to think of Will falling for another pretty face with no soul to speak of.” 

“Another pretty face?”  He’d said something about Will having to leave his girl behind.

“I don’t mean to talk out of school, but he was head over heels for this
young slapper
, even talked about bringing her home for a visit, but the timing would never suit.  Soon as Will found out he wouldn’t be returning for the next session, he asked her to join him down here and she flatly refused.  Didn’t so much as bother to try and make up a convincing excuse for it, broke it off, cold as you please.  And this after nearly a year of walking out together mind you.”

“Poor Will, that does sound pretty heartless,” she agreed in sympathy. 

“It was a dark time for us, I don’t mind telling you.  But I told him bigger and brighter things were right around the corner.  It took a few more corners than I’d reckoned for, but here we are
all
the same,” he beamed and Sara found herself smiling back.

“It’s always darkest before the dawn,” she agreed.  “But the dawn always comes if you wait patiently enough.”

“Too right.  Well, I expect you have better things to do with your time than having a bit of a chinwag with old Talbot, eh?  I’d best let you get to it.”

“Oh, not at all, I had a great time getting to know you better.  Thanks so much for coming out Mr.
Talbot;
I know I’m leaving the grounds in the most capable of hands.”

“Thankee for the vote of confidence, dear Sara.  But you must call me Bernard then if I’m to call you Sara.  Maybe one day you’ll even call me Da, yeah?” he winked.

It was a bit early for that, but she gave him a kiss on the cheek, charmed by his easy manner.  “You never can tell, Bernard.”

“Truer words were never spoken.” 

* * *

“I wonder if I might have a word with you, my Lady?” Mrs.
Poole
waited politely by the door to the study and Sara waved her in, not big on ceremony.

“Sure, what’s up, Mrs. P?” she smiled, in a fine mood after spending all afternoon watching Jack follow the
service
man from room to room, wiring the house with internet access
and setting up the new TV’s she’d ordered online
. 

“I hope you don’t mind, but Will brought a matter to my attention, and I feel I have caused you undue distress by my lack of openness.”

“Openness about what?” Sara sat a little higher.  What had Will said to her?

“He mentioned you were startled to find a strange man lu
rking about in the vicinity of Sir
Jack.”

“Yes, you’ve seen him too?”

“I rather hope so, I hired the man.”

“Hired him?  For what?” Sara blinked, confused.  The guy hadn’t been doing anything but standing around.  And why did he slink away the moment she came into sight if he had a reason to be there? 

“To look after the young master’s safety, of course.”

“You hired him as a bodyguard for Jack?”

“Not a bodyguard, per se.  But after your concerns with Jack being threatened, I thought it would be best for someone to keep an eye on him whenever he’s alone.  I apologize if I’ve overstepped my bounds, my Lady.”  Her eyes dropped respectfully.

“No, it’s fine, but I do wi
s
h you’d told me about it first.  I thought the guy was some creeper hanging around the property for God knows what reason.”  Knowing what she knew now about the ghost, she doubted he was in any physical danger, particularly since Jack wasn’t afraid of her at all.  But it couldn’t hurt to keep an eye on him in the unfamiliar place, at least until the majority of the refurbishing was done.  Construction could be a dangerous place for an inquisitive little boy. 

“I can have Lucas up to the house for you to meet him, if you like.  He’s a very gentle man, I can assure you.  Young Jack means just as much to us as he does to you.”

It seemed like a strange thing to say from someone who’d known her son for less than a week, but she tried to take what Will had told her about the village into account.  They might all speak the same language, but the culture was very different than what she was used to.  Sara tried to take the sentiment in the way it was intended, offering Mrs. Poole a smile.  “Thanks then, I think I would like to meet him if he’ll be around the house.”

“Fine, I’ll have him stop in after tea. 
Oh, cook said to let you know she’ll serve an hour earlier than usual due to the fair tonight.  Will that suit?”

“Sure, that’s fine.  You’re coming too, aren’t you?  I hear the whole village is putting together quite a shindig.” 

“Oh yes, I wouldn’t miss it for the world, my Lady,” Mrs. Poole smiled warmly. 

“Hey Mom,” Jack called out, skidding to a stop outside the study door.  “The
TV
guy’s all done.  But he says we’re only gonna get five channels.  Five channels?” he groaned in disgust.  “Why did we even bother?”

“Hey, when I was a little girl we only had three channels,” Sara replied, stretching the truth a little.  They’d only had three channels because they couldn’t actually afford cable and that was all that came in fuzzy with the antenna.  “It won’t kill you not to have the TV on at all hours of the day or night.”

“Joanie said we should get a satellite dish, can we?”

“Hmm, we’ll have to see about that,” Sara frowned, not sure if that would be a step in the direction of progress or their downfall. 

“Joanie said if we got a satellite then we could watch all the same shows we used to get back home.”

“Thomas,” Mrs. Poole called out to her husband who’d walked the
installation
man out.  “They want to mount one of those dish monstrosities onto the house,” she gasped, clearly mortified. 

“
I think it's a grand idea, don't you
Ellie
?
” he smiled genially, ignoring her agitated state. 

With obvious effort, Mrs. Poole feigned a smile.  “I’d best get back to my duties and you would do well to do the same,” she gave Thomas a pointed look before taking her leave.

“I don’t mean to cause any trouble.  I haven’t actually decided if I’ll do it or not,” Sara frowned at Mrs. Poole’s back as she left.

“Don’t give it another thought.  It’s your house, my Lady,” Thomas grinned.  “In any case, I think it’s a good idea to shake things up every now and again,” he winked at Jack before following after his wife.

“So can we get one?” Jack asked with single-minded determination, but Sara deflected the question with one of her own.

“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing the ring toss right about now?”

* * *

It was the smell that put the smile on Sara’s face as they approached town.  The scent of roasted meats, deep fried delicacies, sticky sweet candied apples and spun sugar, and everything the mind could conceive to skewer on a stick put her in mind of a dozen county fairs she’d gone to as a child.  Jack was no less excited, practically pulling her arm out of the socket in his eagerness to get to the first booth.   

Joanie was in a much better mood after her visit from the doctor, probably due to her “happy pills”, and seemed intent on having a good time without having to belittle anyone else to do it for a change.  Sara was glad to have her old friend back; the complaining routine had definitely started to get on her last nerve and it felt good to laugh with her again.