‘I wasn’t sleepy,’ he answered her unasked question. He stood up, his back to the flames. ‘It’s nice here, isn’t it. Incredibly quiet. I hope we don’t get London-withdrawal symptoms.’ He gave her one of his lop-sided grins, half humorous, half quizzical.
‘So do I.’ She hadn’t meant her reply to sound so dry.
‘It is over, Carla. I swear it.’ He immediately looked guilty. ‘I was a total idiot and I shall regret it all my life. Please try and forgive me.’
She stared down into the depths of her mug. ‘I want to.’
‘But?’
One word could convey so much. Uncertainty. Fear. Hope. Resignation. Anger.
She glanced at him. ‘But you have to show me you still love me.’
‘Carla, you know I do.’
‘No, Rob. I don’t know anything any more. Words are so easy. They are not enough. You have to show me. Tell me. Reassure me. Every minute of every day if necessary.’ She paused and then tried to lighten the remark a little. ‘At least until I’m convinced.’
‘I see.’ For a moment she thought he wasn’t going to move, then at last his expression softened. ‘So you won’t hit me if I kiss you?’
She laughed. ‘No, I won’t hit you.’
She made it easy for him. She stood up and put down her mug and held out her arms.
‘Carla -’ He came towards her. His hand caught hers. Then he froze.
The call came from upstairs on the landing.
‘Who the hell is that?’ He dropped her hand and strode to the staircase.
‘It sounds like a boy.’ Charlotte was peering over his shoulder.
‘Come on. We heard you. We know you’re there.’ Rob ran up the stairs two at a time.
Charlotte remained at the bottom. ‘Be careful – ’
He was out of sight now, in her room. Then she heard his footsteps cross the landing and he was in his own.
‘There’s no one here,’ he called. ‘Take a look outside. He must be in the garden.’
‘How could he be? He couldn’t have gone past us – ’ Her voice died away and she shivered. ‘Forget it, Rob. It must have been someone outside in the lane.’
He was clattering down now, shrugging, heading for his mug of tea and the fire. ‘I could have sworn the voice came from upstairs.’
He sat down and leaning over the arm of the chair he drew his briefcase towards him. Unfastening it he drew out some papers and then settled back with a comfortable sigh, the incident apparently forgotten.
Charlotte stared at him in dismay. What had happened to the kiss? ‘Rob? You’re not working?’
‘No, of course not.’ His eyes did not leave the pages on his knee. ‘Just reading for a few moments while I finish my drink.’ He looked up suddenly. ‘You don’t mind, do you?’
‘No, of course not.’ She sat down on the opposite end of the sofa gazing into the fire. Then she stood up again restlessly. ‘More tea?’
He did not hear her.
Shrugging she walked out into the kitchen and opened the back door. The garden was sweet scented beneath the moon; almost as light as day. She stepped down onto the grass and wandered across the lawn. The apple tree cast a hard shadow in the moonlight. Beneath it, it was black. Somewhere near by an owl hooted.
The voice was further away now at the end of the garden. He sounded young and very sad.
‘Hello!’ Charlotte called.
She took a couple of steps forward. ‘Hello? Don’t be afraid.’
There was no answer. In the silence she found she was shivering.
Behind her in the cottage a light came on upstairs. She didn’t notice. She stepped further into the shadows. ‘Where are you?’
Above her the apple tree branches were dark.
In the cottage the light went out.
‘I know you’re there. Come out, so I can see you.’ It was dark all round her now. The ground was damp underfoot, the air suddenly cold and bitter with rotting leaves. She knew there was no one there. She could sense the emptiness of the night.
Suddenly frightened she turned back towards the house. The back door was half open as she had left it. In the living room one small lamp burned by the fireplace. There was no sign of Rob.
Climbing the stairs she glanced into his bedroom. His curtains were open. She could see him in the moonlight, lying on the bed.
‘Rob!’ she whispered.
He slept on.
In her own room the smell of lavender and roses drifted in through the open window. She dug in her case for her washing things and her nightdress and crept downstairs to the bathroom.
She woke suddenly a couple of hours later and lay looking up at the ceiling. The moon had gone and the room was dark. For a moment she didn’t move, then she stood up and went to the window. The moon was behind the house now and the garden was still bright with its glow. There was someone under the apple tree. She frowned, straining her eyes. A girl in a white dress. She was sitting on a swing, gently rocking herself backwards and forwards with one foot.
As Charlotte watched the girl swung higher. She grasped the chains more tightly as she pushed harder, her head back, her long hair tumbling behind her as the momentum of the swing carried her higher, and she was pointing her toes now, her white dress flying in the moonlight.
The boy’s voice was right behind Charlotte as though he too was looking out of the window.
Charlotte spun round, her heart thumping.
The room was empty.
‘Rob, did you hear that?’ Her voice was husky. She found she was shaking. Turning back to the window she glanced out. The garden was deserted. Under the apple tree the shadows were dark and empty.
‘Rob? Rob!’ Running across the landing Charlotte threw open his door. ‘Rob? Did you hear him?’
Rob groaned. Turning over onto his back he opened his eyes and blinked. ‘What time is it?’
‘I don’t know. Three-ish, I think. Rob, he was here, in my room.’
‘Who?’ Rob sat up. He was bare-chested, wearing only his shorts, and Charlotte was aware suddenly of how much she wanted him.
‘I don’t know who. The boy. The one we heard earlier. The one calling for Mattie.’ She broke off. The girl. The girl on the swing. Had that been Mattie?
But she had been a dream. Surely, she had been a dream.
‘Rob, I’m scared. Can I come in here with you?’
For a moment she wondered if he would refuse. He said nothing, looking at her, then he held out his arms.
‘Why did you go to bed on your own?’ she asked as she snuggled in beside him.
‘You disappeared. I thought maybe you felt it was too soon.’ He reached out and kissed her forehead gently. Then his arms slid round her waist and he drew her close. ‘I’m so sorry, Carla. I’ve missed you so much, my darling. I just didn’t dare hope that everything was going to be all right.’
‘I think the cottage is haunted.’ Spooning boiled eggs into egg cups, Charlotte set them on the table and reached for the toast rack. She was pink and scrubbed from the shower and glowing with happiness.
Rob nodded. ‘I wondered when you would finally come to that conclusion.’
