Chapter Twenty-Two

The first thing he remembered was a warm, cottage bedroom and crisp, clean sheets. He couldn't remember much else; barely even his name. The light that came through the little panes of glass hurt his eyes and he turned away.

A small, wooden door opened and a slender young woman came through it. She smiled, said something in a language he couldn't understand, then placed the bowl she was carrying on the bedside table, and twitched at his counterpane.

The girl had red hair, and something stirred in his memory, then was gone. It hurt to keep his eyes open, so he closed them again and slept.

Thus was the pattern of his days, as the girl, and her mother, perhaps, came in and laid cool towels on his forehead and murmured soothing words in that strange language.

One morning, the girl came in and settled herself on the bed. ‘I am Felicia. You are?' Her words were in stilted English; but he appreciated her attempt.

His reply came out in a cracked way; the result of too long without speaking and a throat and lungs that had seemed on fire for too long. ‘William. Will.'

‘Ah!' The girl, Felicia, smiled and nodded. ‘Hello William. You have an animal? A cat?'

‘A cat?' Will stared at her, visions of a soft-pawed, whiskered animal not making any sense to him.

‘A cat. You have talked of it. You are on a farm. We have cats too. You will like them.'

Will couldn't think straight. Images of a boxy-headed mongrel dog floated into his mind, and that seemed to make a lot more sense. But he said nothing, as he wasn't very sure.

Felicia smiled. ‘So William. Do you know where you are or how you came here?'

That, he could answer. ‘No.' He half-smiled. ‘And no. Can you tell me?'

‘Of course.' In halting English, she explained how he had been discovered in the ocean by a fishing vessel and brought into shore. He was in Belgium, now, she told him, and her family had taken him in to look after him. Her fiancé — here she blushed prettily — had been working on the boat, and knew of no better place for the nearly-drowned gentleman to recover.

But he need not worry. He could stay as long as he liked. Until he remembered everything that had happened.

Will nodded his head against the pillow and told her thank you, and as soon as he was strong enough, he would work for them to repay them.

‘You must work hard at home,' said the girl, appraising him. ‘You look strong. I'm sorry.' Then she laughed again and blushed.

William closed his eyes and tried to remember what it actually was he did at home — and it was just a blank.

* * *

Kate ended up driving the van back to the museum while Theo pedalled the bicycle down from the Hall.

‘This vehicle-swapping thing is becoming a bit of a habit, never mind the beer drinking,' Theo commented, as he swooped the bicycle to the front door of the museum. Kate was waiting for him, dangling the van-keys from her forefinger, the other hand on her hip.

‘Blame Cassie. The trousers are her fault.' It had been nice in the van; the hot day had heated up the interior and it smelled of warm hay and soft leather and Theo's aftershave. The obligatory carrots were rolling around the foot well looking a little dehydrated, but she was certain the horses wouldn't mind if they were a wee bit more chewy than usual. She had also been aware of the clinking of bottles somewhere behind her, and guessed they were the brewery freebies that had inveigled her into spending the evening with Theo. Well, okay — perhaps it was Theo himself that had brought her to this point — but she wasn't going to split hairs.

Then she saw Theo's face change.

‘Looks like you've got company. Maybe we need to do a rain check for tonight.'

‘What?' She spun around, seeing Jenna sitting on the edge of the desk, laughing up into the face of a tall man in profile. It was too dark in the foyer to make out who it was.

Her stomach lurched — if Chris had come up, if he was trying to make it up to her, to get back with her . . . no way. No way on this earth.

‘Katie!' The man detached himself from the darkness and her heartbeat returned to slightly-faster-than normal, instead of cardiac-arrest-inducing fast. Talk about a panic.

‘Tom! I thought you were sleeping with Anne Boleyn in Hever Castle or something?'

‘She wasn't called Anne Boleyn.' He leaned down and kissed her. ‘I think she was called Tammy, but I can't be sure.' His brow furrowed. ‘Tamara? Tessa? I don't know. She was a bridesmaid.'

‘Whatever. What are you doing here?'

‘I came to see you. And who's this?' He smiled at Theo and held out his hand. ‘I'm Tom. Kate's big brother. You're not Chris, thank God.'

Theo grinned and held his hand out to clasp Tom's. ‘Theo Kent. No, I'm not Chris. I'm—'

‘He's working at the Hall this weekend,' Kate interrupted, before it got complicated. ‘He's a farrier. And a horse-whisperer. And you might be older but you're much more immature, so stop being so arrogant.'

‘I'm not arrogant! I speak the truth.' Tom turned back to Theo. ‘I am older than her. Nice bicycle. That's Kate's workmanship, isn't it?'

‘Yes, I can't take any credit for it,' Theo replied. ‘The fact is she drove my van back so I brought her bike. It's a bit of a routine now.'

It was time to speak again, before Tom started asking any more questions. ‘Theo knows Maeve,' Kate said. ‘They were working at the crannog together.'

‘Fantastic! I might head up there at some point myself.' Tom grinned. ‘I've always got a lot of time for Maeve.'

‘Lucky Maeve,' Kate said, wryly.

Theo laughed. ‘It was good fun. Cold, wet and windy, but good fun. Well, I'll let you entertain your brother, Kate, and I'll see you tomorrow.' He plucked the van keys from her fingertips and jangled them. ‘I'll find you by the Spa, I'm sure. Or maybe by the Faerie Bridge.' He smiled down at her and she thought there might just be a little shade of regret in there. She had a vision of Cat's life again; Will walking away, saying he'd see her when he came back; promising that he would return for her. And he never did. The heat must have got to her and maybe she had a touch of sunstroke as well, because she suddenly felt very weepy.

‘But—' She stared up at him, helplessly. Damn Tom and his unexpected visit!

‘Is it almost time to close up?' Jenna slithered out of the shadows and stretched, arching her back and yawning like a kitten; apart from the fact that kittens didn't thrust their ample boobs into their employer's brother's faces.

If they did, perhaps the employer's brother's faces wouldn't have lit up quite as lasciviously as Kate's own brother's face did. It was almost a habit with Jenna — she always did that booby-archy thing when an attractive man was nearby. It was like a mating display.

‘Because if it's almost time to close up,' she said, moving over to Tom, ‘I've got just the place to take you.' She walked her fingers up and down his chest and Kate's jaw slackened and dropped open. ‘Have you been to the wine bar? They do cocktails on a Sunday evening and it's absolutely terribly boring when you're a woman on your own and you ask for sex on the beach, or a slow, comfortable screw.'

Kate felt her cheeks heat up. Good God, this girl was like a young, black-haired, Marilyn Monroe. Tom had totally fallen for the wily young minx as he practically drooled over her and nodded, speechlessly.

‘Theo, you can come too.' Jenna quite pointedly ignored Kate as she trailed her fingers down Tom's arm and took his hand.

She held out the other hand for Theo but he just smiled and shook his head. ‘Not tonight, thanks all the same.' He looked down at Kate and his expression softened. ‘I've already made plans.'

‘Suit yourself,' said Jenna, shrugging nonchalantly. ‘We'll be there all night if you want a little bit more — excitement .'

As a parting shot, she turned and winked at Theo, as she and Tom began to walk off across the courtyard.

Kate stared after them, her mouth still hanging open. ‘Tom!' she called out, but he didn't seem to hear her. ‘Unbelievable. That girl is—'

‘—a genius.' Theo turned to her and dropped the keys into his pocket. ‘Now, you don't have to entertain your brother until much, much later, if at all. You just need to entertain a horse whisperer — who happens to have six bottles of beer very close at hand and is longing to spend the evening with you, and not anywhere near Jenna and her wine bar. Do you have a bottle opener? If it's okay to leave the van here, I'll just walk back to the campsite tonight. It's a waste of energy driving back to the site, coming to the village, going back to the tent — that sort of thing. I'll need to be here in the morning to ride your bike up to the Hall anyway, so I'll just set off extra early and walk down.'

‘Ride my bike to the Hall? You're offering?'

‘Of course.'

‘Thank you, that would be very kind. But right now, I need to make sure the visitors have gone, and I have to close up properly. And I need food.' Her stomach growled, as if in agreement. ‘And my ducks need food.'

‘Okay.' Theo smiled. ‘I'll sort your ducks out, and you sort your visitors out, and then how about we head to the Dragon? The beer can wait until after that.'

A visit to the Dragon would definitely be the best way to soak up the promised beers and Kate nodded again. ‘The ducks have proper duck feed, just in that barn over there.' She indicated the barn where the bicycle lived. ‘There's a huge sack of it. If you take the bike with you, that'll be great. I need to get changed though — I can't go out in this suit. Oh.' She stared at him. ‘You'll need a shower, I guess? I'm having one.'

‘Really?' Theo raised his eyebrows. Kate had a sudden vision of him, all soapy and glistening with droplets of water running down his chest.

There was an awkward moment as she stared at him; then she managed to break eye contact. ‘Yes. There's a staff one, if you want to use it.'

Theo burst out laughing. ‘A staff shower? Seriously?'

‘Seriously. It's just to the right, near the back of the entrance cottage. There was a push from the Board for all things healthy a couple of years ago, and we got a grant for a shower cubicle and they put in some waymarked paths and a heritage trail leading off from the museum to encourage walkers. Maeve used to do a five-mile run before work and she'd clean up in our shower — she loved having it. It was meant for people who wanted to be fit yet not sweaty when they got to work. You know, like if they cycled to work, or jogged. Like she did.'

‘She still does,' said Theo. ‘She runs around the Loch every morning, or at least she did when I was there.'

‘She puts me to shame, she really does!' Kate grinned affectionately. ‘Jenna has used our shower a few times — if she's stayed out all night. There'll be a spare set of her clothing bundled up in the room, mark my words. But we have towels and shower gel — so, you know, feel free. Shampoo too, I think.'

‘Thanks,' said Theo looking amused. ‘I might just do that. I don't think I've ever used a staff shower before. It's all an adventure, isn't it?'

Adventure. There was that word again.

Kate shivered, despite the heat.

* * *

Will realised that he felt at home outdoors. As he grew stronger and ventured outside, he found himself with an affinity to nature that he was astonished at.

He filled his days with manual work, helping Felicia's father, Meneer Peeters, build walls and repair buildings; turn soil and tend crops. And, to his even greater surprise, he discovered a deep satisfaction whenever he cared for the livestock. His hands seemed to know their way around every lame limb, knew how to brush out a knotted coat, instinctively knew what to murmur to distressed animals to calm them and soothe them.

Deep in his mind, he was aware there must be more to these instincts than he realised.

‘Your body will heal first, and then the mind,' Vrouw Peeters, Felicia's mother would say after supper in the farmhouse. ‘You must stay here until then.'

‘I can't think of anywhere I would rather be,' he told her, smiling. But he could, although he would never, ever tell her. He would rather be somewhere that flickered around the edges of his consciousness; somewhere that was blue and green and somewhere in England. Sometimes, he would dream of that place, and he'd wake up, just as a girl's face blurred into the edge of his mind; so close to him, although so far he couldn't even reach out and touch her.

But who was she? If only he could remember . . .

* * *

The staff shower cubicle was great. It was just big enough to squeeze into and as Kate had promised, there were shower gels, shampoo and towels in there as well.

Theo waited, of course, until Kate had herded the last of the visitors out and the ducks had been fed before using it. He was sure nobody would want to see him, half-naked, running to his van afterwards to grab a fresh t-shirt. If he had learned anything, it was to keep a few spare items of clothing in there — you never knew in this business when you'd end up covered in mud, hay or worse.

Kate came downstairs freshly scrubbed, a slick of wine-coloured lipstick on her mouth, her eyes framed by sooty, dark lashes.

‘Awesome shower,' Theo said with a grin. ‘You should rent it out to walkers. You could make a fortune.'

Kate wrinkled her nose. ‘I'd have to invest in some manly shower gel first. You smell like Jenna.'

Theo raised his arm and sniffed his skin. ‘I'm getting strawberry yogurt with a hint of cherry.'

‘I wonder what my brother's getting,' Kate said, inspecting her bag for something.

‘Something with a hint of fermented grape?'

She laughed. ‘I'm not sure I really want to know! Come on. This way.' She pointed towards the village. ‘I hope you like sticky toffee pudding. The Dragon does the best one ever. You might have to share some with me. It's a pretty big helping.'

‘I don't mind sharing a pudding.'

‘Excellent. Come on, then. Let's get there and beat the rush.'

* * *

‘So what's it like, living so close to the past?'

Theo's question startled her, and Kate choked as she swallowed a spoonful of sticky toffee pudding. ‘The past?'

He handed her a glass of wine to wash the sponge down. ‘You know, living above the museum? It would be a bit different for me in my line of work — not like the blacksmith from the museum cottage. His forge was next to the house after all. Not far to go for a coffee break, but then you couldn't really leave your work in the office, could you?' He frowned, possibly contemplating it. Or just maybe, he too had been thinking about Cat and Will?

His question seemed innocent enough, but Kate dropped her spoon into the bowl and pushed it away, the pudding losing its appeal. ‘Sometimes,' she replied cautiously, ‘the past seems pretty close to me.'

Theo nodded and dropped his spoon as well. ‘And it doesn't freak you out, having dead peoples' things underneath your flat?'

‘Theo!' She saw the smile quirking at the side of his mouth. She balled up her napkin and plopped it by the side of the rejected pudding bowl. ‘Those things were special to people. Nothing freaks me out about the museum.' Apart from the fact you knew all about the ice-skates and then there's the randomly striking clocks, and the way that cottage on the end melts into the nineteenth century . ‘Nothing at all.'

She scraped the chair back from the table and stood up, suddenly wanting to be out of the Dragon. Wow, she felt pretty drunk. Theo shifted out of focus and she stumbled a little.

‘I know, I should have stopped at two glasses.' She pointed to the empty bottle on the table. ‘That third one pushed it a bit.'

Theo was standing now, somehow already next to her, the smile widening and his hands in his pockets.

He leaned in towards her: ‘I stopped at two. I'm saving myself for the beer,' he whispered.

Kate flushed and pushed her hair out of her face. ‘I don't normally drink that much. I've got a few things on my mind, that's all.'

‘Come on.' He smiled. ‘Let's get you some fresh air. I'll pop back in and settle the bill once you're safely outside.'

He took her by the elbow and steered her out of the door, propping her up beside one of the beer garden tables, then disappeared indoors again. It was a glorious evening though and Kate took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the Suffolk air. God, she loved it here. She never wanted to be anywhere else.

‘I love it here,' she told Theo as he came back over to her. ‘It's really my favourite part of the world.'

‘I can think of many places much worse than Hartsford. Your brother, he enjoys travelling, doesn't he?'

Kate nodded. She recalled telling him about Tom's various escapades whilst they shared their picnic in the entrance of the tent last night.

‘Yes. And as you know, he's just been to Hever Castle.' She peeled herself away from the table and pointed herself towards the footpath that led to the back of the pub and around the outskirts of the village. It wound its way back towards the Folk Museum and was one of the trails they'd put in for the healthy living thing. ‘And it's no surprise to me that he slept with somebody and he doesn't know her name.'

‘Perhaps he's never found the right person. When he finds her, he'll know it.' He fixed Kate with a look that might have spoken volumes, and she dropped her gaze. This was entering dangerous territory.

‘But what if you think she's the right one and she's not?' Kate asked.

‘Some things are just meant to be. Sometimes they come at you when you least expect it.'

Kate paused under the pretext of taking her shoe off and shaking a stone out of it, but it was more so she could dip her head and he wouldn't see how red she was going. ‘But what if it was meant to be years ago and wasn't?' That was worded, she thought, quite well. She could technically be talking about his own recent past — not their potentially combined past. She hadn't told Theo about Will and the steamer ship. Putting it into words made it real somehow.

‘It'll happen if it's meant to happen, no matter when it happens. Are you okay there? Do you need a hand? You're wobbling.'

Kate stood up and shook her head. The world shook with it. ‘I'm fine.' Her shoe was still dangling from her fingertips. She bent down and pulled the other one off as well. ‘My feet are hot. Look — we're right next to the stepping stones anyway. If you go across there, you can head up to the Hall and through the woods and get to the fence. Whoops. I may have just admitted my secret way into the Hall grounds.'

Theo laughed. ‘Do you fancy a walk in the woods then? I suggest you put your shoes back on if that's the case.'

‘No. Because the highwayman might be in there.' She stared into the greenery over the river. ‘And you need to get to the van which is on this side of the river. Look. This is the best way to cross the River Hartsford. I don't show everyone this, you know.'

She tossed her shoes to the ground, followed by her bag and took a run at the stepping stones. She was a toned, classically-trained ballet dancer and she could still do a perfect grand jeté .