The Silent Touch of Shadows (9 page)

‘I shall expect you to return my deposit in full since we haven’t damaged anything,’ she told him. She couldn’t ask for the rent back, as that was paid monthly, but he owed her the deposit at least.

‘The sooner you’re gone, the better, and I’ll be making a deduction for the heating,’ he muttered, true to form, but she fixed him with a fierce glare that seemed to startle him.

‘Don’t you dare! The contract clearly says that the heating is your responsibility and my lawyer informs me I can sue you for not keeping the flat warm enough.’ This was an outright lie, as she hadn’t consulted anyone, but she figured Mr Donne didn’t need to know that. He blustered for a bit, but finally agreed to give her a cheque for the full amount. Melissa was very proud of herself for securing this small victory.

She also knew she had to inform Steve of her plans, vague though they were, so the following week she steeled herself to call him. His secretary took it upon herself to disturb him in a meeting, despite Melissa’s protests that the matter wasn’t urgent. Consequently, by the time he came to the phone he was already in a bad mood. Melissa’s heart sank.

‘Yes, what is it? Has something happened to Jolie?’ he barked.

‘No, not at all. I’m just calling to tell you that we’ll be moving soon.’

‘Couldn’t you just have sent me a letter with the new address as usual? Or are you going to Outer Mongolia?’

Stung by his sarcastic tone, Melissa replied with some asperity. ‘No, to Kent, actually. I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I just felt it would be courteous to inform you, but if you’re not interested
 
…’

‘Kent? What the bloody hell do you want to move down there for? What about Jolie’s schooling?’

‘We’re going to find a better school for her there; she hates the one she’s at now. The other children have been bullying her and the teacher is a nightmare. And another reason we’re moving to Kent is to be near my great-aunt Dorothy. She’s getting on a bit and needs some support.’

‘Great-aunt who? I thought you didn’t have any aunts, great or otherwise. Look, this is going to make things very inconvenient for me. It’s bad enough having to come all the way from Islington down to Putney to see Jolie, but to Kent? It’s fucking miles away, not to mention having to use the M25 each time. It’s always choc-a-bloc with traffic.’

‘I’m sorry you feel that way, but I really can’t afford to stay in Putney any longer. And if Jolie is unhappy, I have to do something about it. We’re going to live with my great-aunt at first so I can economise for a while.’

‘You can’t be that hard up with all the money I pay you each month.’

‘All the money? It barely covers Jolie’s food and clothing, never mind anything else!’ Melissa could feel the discussion heading in the direction of a major row, something she didn’t need right now. She decided to end it before things got out of hand. ‘I’ve got to go, Steve. I’ll send you the address and phone number. If you find it difficult to get down there, I can always bring Jolie up on the train to Victoria and you can pick her up from there. Bye.’

She was shaking by the time she put down the receiver, but she was pleased. For once she hadn’t allowed him to provoke her into a full-blown fight. She only prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake in leaving London. Somehow, this had to work.

Dorothy was more enthusiastic when told of their plans. ‘Excellent,’ she said, ‘but if after a while you find that you like it here at Ashleigh, then please feel free to stay. Really, I’d love it. Now have you thought about schools? Shall I call the ones around here to see if any of them could offer Jolie a place, then you can go and have a look as soon as possible?’

‘Thank
you, that
would be great.’

After that everything happened with lightning speed. They moved in with Dorothy while Melissa started to make enquiries about a cottage, and Dorothy was as good as her word and found a school for Jolie within cycling distance of Ashleigh Manor. Although Melissa was worried at first, she soon realised her daughter could manage very well on her own. Unlike in London, there were no busy roads to cross and not much traffic.

‘I’ll be fine, Mum,’ Jolie assured her. ‘I’m not a baby, you said so yourself. This won’t be any worse than walking home from school in Putney by myself.’

Fortunately, their move coincided with the winter half-term break and Jolie was able to start school soon afterwards. She returned in high spirits after her first day, barely pausing to lean her bike against the gatepost.

‘Mum, I’ve made a friend already,’ she announced, running to give her mother a hug. ‘She’s called Amy and she lives in a cottage just up the road. Can I go over there this afternoon? She has her own horse and she’s going to teach me how to ride. Please?’

‘That’s wonderful. Of course you can go.’ Melissa felt some of the tension of the past few weeks drain out of her.

Arriving at Ashleigh, she had experienced the strange apprehension again and had there been anywhere else for her to go, she might have turned and run at that point. Since there wasn’t, she had no choice but to stay, even though she was almost sure she shouldn’t have come. Jolie’s happiness now made her feel a lot better and she decided to stop worrying. ‘What about the other children, were they nice?’

Jolie shrugged. ‘Oh, they were okay, but I didn’t really talk to them much. Some of the boys called me “carrot-head” and “newbie”, but I ignored them and then they stopped. Amy says they sometimes call her “four-eyes”.’

Melissa shook her head. Perhaps it was as well to let Jolie fend for herself. It was probably not the last time she’d be teased about her hair colour. If she could take such comments in her stride, so much the better.

A warm feeling of contentment spread through her body as she followed Jolie into the house. She told herself everything was going to be fine.

Jolie’s new friend came over after school the next day. She was tiny and blonde, with enormous cornflower blue eyes behind her glasses, and Melissa immediately warmed to her.

‘I live with my dad,’ Amy told them while they were having tea in the kitchen. ‘Mummy died in a car accident two years ago.’

‘Oh, yes, I remember.’ Dorothy nodded. ‘I read about it in the local paper. So sad for you. I expect you miss her a lot.’

‘I don’t miss her at all,’ Amy stated and helped herself to another chocolate biscuit. The others stared at her in surprise. ‘She was never home anyway,’ she explained, shrugging her slight shoulders as if that took care of the matter. ‘She was always busy. Now we have Mrs Johnson. She does the cooking and cleaning.’

Melissa would have liked to ask more questions, but didn’t want to pry. She suspected Amy had had to grow up a little too fast after her mother’s sudden death, but she sensed the girl was still very vulnerable, despite her bravado.

‘Tell us about your horse,’ she invited instead. ‘Is it a big one or just a pony?’ This subject was seized upon with great enthusiasm by the two girls and half-an-hour later Melissa had begun to regret having asked. Horses had never been her passion. Apart from the one belonging to her night-time warrior, of course. She smiled to herself and let her thoughts wander. The dreams had returned several times since their move, but her memories of them were always frustratingly vague. The only thing that stood out clearly was his face – she knew each and every part of it in intimate detail now. Had she been an artist, she would have been able to draw his likeness without any problems. She sighed and gazed into space, propping her chin up with one hand.

‘Mum.
Mummy!
’

‘Sorry?’ Melissa came reluctantly out of her daydream and it took her a moment to focus on her daughter.

‘I said, we’re going over to Amy’s house now so I can have my second riding lesson,’ Jolie said, speaking slowly as if she was talking to an idiot. Melissa realised she must have been far away and hurried to make amends.

‘Of course, dear, but you will wear a riding helmet, won’t you?’

‘Yes, Mum. Amy has a spare one.’ Jolie rolled her eyes in exasperation. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t fall off.’

‘I wouldn’t be too sure about that.’

‘I’ll take care of her,’ Amy assured her. ‘She’ll be fine.’ The confidence she saw on the little girl’s face made Melissa smile.

After the girls had left, Melissa wandered towards the sitting room with the intention of reading the paper. As she walked along the corridor she experienced a prickling sensation between the shoulder blades, as if someone was watching her. Turning around swiftly, she thought she caught a glimpse of a shadow disappearing quickly into the wall. A shadow in the shape of a human.

She shivered and went slowly over to the spot where it had vanished. It was just an ordinary wall. Smooth plaster painted white. Nothing else.

‘What are you doing, Melissa?’ Dorothy appeared behind her and Melissa jumped as if she’d been jolted by an electric charge. She put a hand over her heart to stop its frantic beating.

‘Dorothy, you scared the life out of me.’

‘Sorry, dear. You were so engrossed I suppose you didn’t hear me coming. What are you looking at?’

‘Er, this wall.’ Melissa cleared her throat and tried to come up with a plausible excuse while studying the wall for something that might be of interest. At the top, she found what she was looking for. ‘I was just wondering why the wood was shaped like that.’ She pointed to a piece of cross-timbering in the shape of a semi-circle. ‘All the others are straight.’

‘Perhaps there used to be a door here before they added on the back part of the house,’ Dorothy replied, stepping closer to have a look. ‘Yes, this section is about the right shape for a door, wouldn’t you say?’

Melissa had a sudden vision of a sturdy door, rounded at the top, and set with iron studs in an attempt at crude decoration. She closed her eyes and heard the squeak of its hinges as it opened and shut slowly. The sound grated on her nerves and she had to clench her teeth together firmly to stop from groaning.

‘Yes, I’m sure you’re right,’ she murmured faintly. ‘Well, never mind architecture, I think I’ll go and read the paper now.’ And she escaped into the sitting room, clutching the newspaper in front of her like a shield. She didn’t know what she needed protection from, but there was definitely something strange going on in this house.

With a frown she tried to concentrate on the day’s news, but she still felt as if someone was watching her. The room was quiet, almost eerily so, but nothing untoward stirred. There was a slight draught from the windows moving the curtains, and in a pale beam of sunlight the dust motes danced merrily as always, but there was no sign of the shadow from the corridor. Melissa scanned the room twice, just to make sure, then returned her attention to the newspaper.

The log fire suddenly collapsed, making Melissa’s heart jump almost as far as her throat. She put up a hand to still its beating and drew in a deep breath.

‘For heaven’s sake,’ she grumbled to herself. ‘It’s an old house, it makes noises. Get used to it!’

She felt foolish, but she couldn’t help it. Something was making her edgy and no amount of reasoning with herself could shake the feeling that she was being observed, perhaps even appraised. Was the house judging her to see if she deserved to live here? Would she pass muster? Shaking her head to rid herself of such stupid thoughts, she gave up her attempt at reading and left the room.

As she ran upstairs, however, she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been accepted.

Chapter Seven

John of Ashleigh was not a patient man.

Sibell tiptoed along the corridor outside the main hall of her father’s house, hoping to avoid a meeting with him before the evening meal. He’d been in such a foul mood that morning and she had no doubt it would have worsened during the day while he waited anxiously for her return. She knew he was in awe of Sir Gilbert Presseille, the most powerful man in the district. She was also sure he’d be terrified in case she should manage to persuade her former father-in-law to help her thwart his plans for the marriage to Sir Fulke.

‘Don’t you dare breathe a word of it to anyone, do you hear, or it will be the worse for you,’ he’d threatened before she left, as she’d told Lady Maude.

‘Hah!’ she thought now. ‘As if that would have swayed me if I had seriously thought Sir Gilbert could help.’ Even if Sir Gilbert disapproved of the match, he had no authority to forbid it. He could voice his concerns, of course, but Sibell doubted her father would take any notice because once he was related to Sir Fulke by marriage, he would have a much more powerful ally and protector. Besides, there was no reason why Sir Gilbert would want to disrupt his relationship with either man just for Sibell’s sake. In the greater scheme of things, Sibell’s well-being and happiness would not be worth him fighting for.

What her father failed to reckon with, however, was help from a woman, but Sibell realised that if anyone could find a way out for her, it was Lady Maude. Stealth and cunning were needed and Lady Maude had both in abundance, but John of Ashleigh would never believe that.

‘Well, just you wait and see,’ Sibell whispered mutinously. She was certain her faith in Lady Maude was not misplaced.

She peeked into the hall and drew back hastily as she caught sight of her father, pacing the floor with his hands behind his back. He was muttering under his breath and when her heartbeat had slowed a little, she was able to hear him clearly.