Saving Willowbrook (26 page)

Cameron turned to Amy. ‘Let's check that the kitchen is tidy and then we'll get a chalet ready for Mr Smith.'

‘I know what to do. I can show you.'

‘All right. As long as you promise to have a lie down after we've done it. Your mother isn't the only one who needs to rest.'

She pulled a face, but muttered, ‘All right.'

When they went outside she slipped her hand into his and he looked down at it in bemusement before giving it a quick squeeze in return. These Turner women had a way of wriggling their way into your heart.

Ella woke feeling well rested but still disinclined to do much. A small handbell was sitting beside the bed with a paper propped up against it, saying, ‘Ring for waiter service when you wake.'

She didn't recognize the handwriting. Cameron's, she supposed. She listened and could hear voices downstairs – Amy and Cameron. They sounded happy. There was no mistaking her daughter's gurgle of laughter.

She rang the bell, which tinkled cheerfully, and a moment later she heard footsteps on the stairs.

Cameron came in, carrying another glass of orange juice like the one she'd drunk earlier. ‘What would madam like for brunch?'

‘Brunch?'

‘It's gone eleven o'clock.'

‘Goodness. I didn't even think to look at the clock. I think you'll have to call me Rip Van Winkle.'

His gaze was warm. ‘I think Sleeping Beauty is more accurate.'

Their eyes met, held, then he reached out for her hand, holding it in both his for a moment. ‘How are you feeling, Ella? Really.'

‘As if I could sleep for a million years. Which is silly, when I've been doing nothing but sleep. I hope this hasn't been too much trouble for you. I can easily get up for lunch.'

‘You'll have to fight your way past Stephanie and me, not to mention Amy. No, shh. Listen to me. Oliver says you're run down and need a good rest, a week or two if possible.'

He put one finger on her lips to prevent her speaking, and warmth zipped through her body at even this light touch.

‘I've nothing to do with myself at the moment, so I'm happy to help out. Stephanie is loving spending time with her granddaughter and she's a brilliant cook. We just took another booking, so business isn't suffering. Give yourself time to recover properly, Ella. If you don't, you could make yourself really ill and what would become of Amy then?'

Tears filled her eyes. ‘That's always been my big worry.'

‘I can imagine.'

‘But I can't ask you to do this.'

‘You didn't ask. Stephanie and I volunteered.'

Tears overflowed then, she couldn't keep them back. And when he drew her close, she nestled against him willingly.

‘So you'll let us help you?'

‘Yes. But only on condition you don't pay for your accommodation while you're helping out.'

He chuckled and stroked her hair back from her forehead. ‘All right. I won't pay for the days I'm helping out. Then, when you're up, I'll start using my week paid in advance. Is that all right?'

‘Yes.'

From downstairs they heard Amy singing. It was the voice of a contented child.

‘What's she doing?'

‘Listening to the radio. She loves music, doesn't she? And she's getting on really well with her grandmother.' He looked at her. ‘Something wrong with that?'

‘It really hurts to think that Amy's missed three years of her grandmother's company. I'll never forgive Miles for that.'

‘Pretty mean thing to do, I agree. Now, let's get you some food.'

She lay back again, feeling limp and so unlike herself she'd have worried if she'd had any spare energy to worry with. As it was, she just let herself go with the flow.

Cameron was wonderful.

And both Amy and Willowbrook were being well looked after.

Life was . . . promising. In spite of Miles and his demand for repayment. She smiled, wondering if he'd got the letter about maintenance yet. He'd be hopping mad. Serve him right. He couldn't have it every which way.

She stayed awake to eat most of the food Cameron had brought up, then felt tired again. She thought she'd thanked him for his help, hoped she had.

Just a short nap . . .

Stephanie came back from Chawton with several bags of groceries and another book for Amy, who had just got up after a rest.

‘This fell into my shopping bag,' she said with a smile.

Amy flung her arms round her grandmother. ‘Thank you. I do like having you here.'

Stephanie turned to Cameron. ‘How's Ella?'

‘She ate brunch, then fell asleep again. She's looking a little pinker, at least. Anything else to fetch in from the car?'

‘Yes, there are a couple more bags. Thanks.'

The day passed quietly, the only interruption being a phone call about the heritage listing. The local officer was excited after Julian's assurance that the place was genuinely medieval in parts and had started processing the listing.

‘Thank goodness for that,' Cameron told Stephanie. ‘But I think we should keep it to ourselves. Would you mind not telling your son?'

She grimaced. ‘When do I ever see Miles unless he wants something?'

Mid-afternoon a car drew up and a man got out. Cameron frowned. The newcomer looked vaguely familiar. He turned to Stephanie, ‘I think I know that guy and I'd rather avoid meeting him till later. All right if I hide in the family sitting room?'

‘Fine by me.'

Amy looked up at him sharply so he put one finger to his lips, winked and slipped out of the room, staying behind the door to listen.

‘I have a booking,' the man said. ‘Name's Smith.'

‘Yes. Let me show you to your chalet. And you wanted an evening meal. We usually serve meals about seven o'clock. Is that all right?'

‘Fine by me. Lovely place.' He stared round. ‘It looks older than I'd expected. I mean, really old.'

‘It is.'

‘I'd love a tour.'

‘Sorry. The owner is ill. I'm only filling in for the moment.'

‘All right if I wander round the outsides of the buildings?'

‘If you wish. Please don't go inside them, though.'

When she came back, she went to find Cameron. ‘I don't like him. The way he looks round is . . . predatory. I wonder if Smith is his real name?'

‘I doubt it. But I don't know what he's called, only that I've seen him somewhere.' He didn't explain about the DevRaCom link. Not yet. He wanted to tell Ella first. But he was determined to keep an eye on that fellow, so went upstairs and found a bedroom whose window looked in the direction of the chalets, standing hidden by the curtain to watch.

Within ten minutes Smith had left his chalet, carrying what looked like a camera. He walked up to the outbuildings, appearing and disappearing between them, then vanishing from sight – but not before Cameron had seen him taking photos.

Ella's bell rang and he went along to her room to find her dressed.

‘I'm not staying in bed
all
the time,' she said, in the tone of one prepared to argue till she won her point.

‘Come down to the sitting room, then. But we'll quarrel if you try to do anything more than sit quietly there.'

She swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stood up, clutching the top of a chest of drawers with a look of surprise on her face. ‘I don't think I could do much. I feel as if my bones have turned to rubber.'

‘You've got to give your body time to rest. Everyone needs that.'

She shook her head as if annoyed at herself, but didn't move. ‘Did I hear a car arrive a short time ago?'

He hesitated, then nodded. ‘Yes, the man who booked in earlier. Only I didn't like the looks of him, so I watched out of the bedroom window. He's not wasted any time going exploring and has started taking photos. I'll help you down the stairs, then I want to go out and keep an eye on him.'

She was instantly more alert. ‘
I
should be doing that. And I don't need help to walk down a few stairs.'

But he still chose to keep his arm round her waist. ‘Don't worry, Ella. I'll check up on him as carefully as you would. And if you're feeling well enough later, maybe we can have that talk we keep postponing? I've got something important to tell you.'

She nodded and let her head fall back against the sofa.

Amy came to join them, looking at her mother in a worried way. Cameron spared the time to say gently, ‘Your mother will be fine. She just needs to rest for a few days.'

‘I can tell her that myself,' Ella said. But the words were without her usual fire.

The girl nodded and sat on a stool near the sofa, her hand creeping up to hold her mother's in a way that showed this had been done many times before.

His heart was touched by the sight of them, both of them under the weather, both bravely facing a world where the odds were against them.

‘I'll report back when I can,' he said gently and left them alone.

Cameron strolled round the back of the outbuildings to find their new guest trying to get a shutter undone. ‘Problem?' he asked.

Smith swung round, looking first surprised then relaxing when he saw who it was. ‘O'Neal. Don't know why you're still here.'

‘You have the advantage of me. I know your face, but not your name.'

‘Smith.' He grinned. ‘It really is.'

‘The owner doesn't want people going into this barn.'

‘I'm not intending to hurt anything, just take a few photos. Why don't you help me? If the place is genuinely old, it's better for Mr Deare to know it.'

‘It
is
genuinely old. But I'm not the owner. It's up to Ms Turner whether people are allowed into her property or not.'

The man's expression turned ugly. ‘Mr Deare isn't going to like it if you stop me doing my job.'

‘As I no longer work for him, that's irrelevant.'

‘You won't think so if you cross him. He can make life very difficult for people and he has a long reach. Anyway, from what I heard, he's been very helpful to you in the past. I'd say you owed him a little in return now.'

‘Why is he so fixated on buying this place? I can't quite work that out.'

‘It's ideal for his purpose, not too expensive, and minimum landscaping needed to provide a decent lake.' He jerked his head towards the farm. ‘Of course the house would be below the new water line, but that adds to the romance of the place, don't you think?'

Cameron stood very still as this sank in, then he turned to look at the small lake and the configuration of the landscape. Yes, it'd be relatively easy to move the earth and extend the lake. ‘Trouble is, she's not going to sell.'

‘Oh, she will. There's always a way. And I hear she owes money, more than she can pay back. She may not get a choice.'

Cameron bit back angry words. ‘Whether she does or not, you still have no right to break into her property.'

‘You're a fool.'

Smith strode off.

Cameron turned to stare at the small lake and try to imagine it covering this whole area. It'd look great as a lake. But it'd destroy Willowbrook.

He wasn't going to allow them to do that to Ella.

Fifteen

They had six guests for dinner that night, because another lone traveller turned up, a taciturn man called Brown who gave them no information beyond his name and who replied to attempts to chat with monosyllables.

By that time Ella had abandoned the battle to stay up and retired to bed, but her two helpers agreed that she looked a bit pinker and not as exhausted.

When they'd cleared up, Stephanie said thoughtfully, ‘I don't like those two men. Birds of a feather, I should say. And I'm sure they know one another.'

Cameron frowned. ‘You think so? They made no attempt to sit together, didn't exchange a word that I saw.'

‘No, but they exchanged glances a couple of times. If Porgy weren't so old, I'd leave him outside to keep watch.'

‘I was thinking of camping out in the barn.'

‘That's a bit risky, isn't it?'

‘I doubt they'd attack me. I was thinking more of acting as a deterrent, making a noise.' But not till after he'd seen what they wanted.

‘I'll get you a bed.'

‘I think not. We don't want anyone noticing that I'm sleeping there. Just get me a sleeping bag or quilt, preferably an old, dark one.'

She winced. ‘You'll be uncomfortable.'

He grinned. ‘The object is not to sleep, is it?'

‘You'll be tired tomorrow.'

‘I can cope with that.'

Oliver wandered into town, waiting for Rose to finish work. A big silver car purred to a halt beside him and the window was wound down.

‘Dr Paige.'

‘Mr Harding.'

‘A word in private, if you please.'

Harding reached across, opening the other front door of the vehicle with some difficulty. He was carrying a lot of extra weight since Oliver had seen him, and his colour wasn't healthy.

‘We'll just drive round to the park, if you don't mind.'

Oliver looked at his watch. ‘I have to be back in quarter of an hour.'

‘To see that hippy female,' Harding said sourly. ‘I don't know why you bother with her.'

‘She's called Rose and she's not a hippy, she's an artist. And a damned good one, too.'

Harding squinted sideways at him. ‘You're making a big claim there.'