Grace saw that the corners of her mouth were turned up, and there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
‘Really?’ Annabel sounded excited, and Claire’s enjoyment seemed to wane a little. Grace smiled to herself – they didn’t know Annabel yet. While she complained and squealed a lot, her fascination with ghoulish tales overrode any fears she might have. Annabel was more likely to organise an exorcism and then clutch at everyone throughout the event rather than run away.
‘There’s plenty of folklore, that’s for certain.’ Meredith got up from her seat and held her hand out for Grace’s plate. ‘Now, would you like some dessert?’
Once Meredith had left the room, Grace stared out of the picture window, only dimly aware of Claire and Annabel’s conversation. There was nothing out there, she reassured herself, except a bare expanse of nature. Ghosts made good stories, that was all.
Meredith returned bearing an apple pie, which she deftly sliced up, placing portions into bowls. She offered around a jug of cream, and they all tucked in again. Grace’s stomach was uncomfortably full, but the pie was too delicious to resist. As they ate, the only sounds were the scraping of their spoons against the bowls and the whining of Pippa, hoping to be let into the room to join them.
‘So how long are you staying, Annabel?’ Meredith asked when she’d finished eating.
‘A couple of days,’ Annabel said, a spoonful of dessert halfway towards her mouth. ‘Then back next week for Christmas. I’ve been helping Grace pull down boxes from the attic all morning,’ she told them, making a face at her sister.
Claire rested her wine glass against the tip of her chin. ‘I hope we never have to sort this place out. Nightmare.’
‘You will when I die,’ Meredith replied.
Grace didn’t know how to react to that, and neither did Annabel by the look of her, but Claire laughed. ‘I think we’ll probably all die before you do, Mum.’ She pushed her empty bowl away with a sigh of satisfaction and rubbed her stomach. ‘She’s made of extremely tough Northern stuff, my mother,’ she explained to the others.
Meredith smiled, and Grace thought it was perhaps the most genuine response she’d seen from the woman all afternoon. Then Millie began to wriggle in the pushchair. Without even a query to Grace, Meredith walked across and unbuckled the child, lifting her up. Millie stiffened, then stared around the room at them all. Grace smiled at her, and Millie held her arms out to her mother, her little face crumpling as she began to cry.
‘There, there,’ Meredith said, jiggling her up and down as she walked across to Grace. ‘No need for that.’ She handed Millie over. ‘They’re so clingy at this age, aren’t they? I much preferred mine as they got a bit older.’
Grace felt defensive but didn’t reply. Meanwhile, Millie leaned into the hollow of Grace’s arm and looked around at them all from her place of safety.
‘Can we help you clear up? Grace asked, as she rocked Millie gently.
‘Not at all.’ Meredith began collecting plates. ‘You have your hands full there. Claire and I are more than capable.’
Annabel got up to help anyway, and Grace went to sit in one of the armchairs with Millie. The little girl had woken up irritable, and squirmed to be free. As the women filed back in from the kitchen, Grace stood up. ‘I might have to take her home, Meredith. I’m sorry to rush off after such a lovely lunch.’
‘I understand,’ Meredith replied. She went across to a tall dresser, rummaged in a drawer, then strode over to Grace. ‘Here’s your spare key back. Now, why don’t you come again during the week – I have a portable cot I keep for the grandchildren that Millie can use. Or why don’t you come at five, when she’s up? I’ll make you another meal and we can get to know one another better.’
Grace took the key as she considered the offer. She was unsure whether she and Meredith would find much more to talk about, but she didn’t want to be rude – especially not after Meredith had done her such a huge favour by taking care of the cottage.
Claire added, ‘Yes, come and eat here, Grace, don’t sit in that cottage by yourself.’
‘Thanks,’ Grace said. ‘I’d love to.’ But as she said it, she sincerely hoped that Tiny Tim wouldn’t be making one of his rare appearances that night.
7
It had been dark for hours by the time they finished emptying the attic. There were now seventeen boxes of various sizes stacked precariously against the banister on the upstairs landing. Grace had to squeeze round them to get to the bathroom and Millie’s room, but she was pleased to have the job finished – at least she wouldn’t have to venture up into the roof space again. She had prised open a couple of lids to discover a real mishmash of items, so decided that was a job for another day. Besides, she didn’t want to push her luck with Annabel.
Instead, they got ready for their trip to the pub. Grace put on some jeans and a jumper, while Annabel emerged in a short black dress, smart jacket and heels. Grace thought of where they were heading and tried not to giggle. When Adam had taken her into the pub a year ago, the predominant fashion had been flat caps and pipes.
They put a sleepy Millie into her pushchair, and then set off on the short walk down the hill. The moon was lost somewhere behind the clouds, so the only light to navigate by came from the windows of the pub. As a result, there was a faint, irregular glow over small sections of the road ahead of them, but the rest lay cloaked in heavy shadow. A strong wind lashed their faces, whipping Grace’s hair in all directions, sending it in stinging slaps across her skin. As she concentrated on keeping the pushchair steady, she waited for Annabel’s first complaint. It didn’t take long.
‘Hey, slow down, I can’t go that fast in these shoes.’
Grace slackened her pace. ‘I’d love to see you trying to get down this hill when it’s frosty. You’d be on your backside in five seconds.’
‘We don’t all want to live in ugg boots, you know,’ Annabel answered, then stumbled and gripped Grace’s arm. ‘Bloody hell, I can hardly see the road. I feel like I’m skating over a black hole.’
‘Stop moaning,’ Grace laughed, sucking in her breath against the wind, the sharpness of it making her teeth chatter. As she bent her head, a fast-moving dark shape low to the ground caught the edge of her peripheral vision. She felt a twinge of fear in her chest and peered at the blackened space, but there was nothing moving now. The barghest flashed into her mind, and she quickened her pace over the little stone bridge, moving at speed towards the entrance of the pub. ‘Here we are.’
Annabel held the door open, a blast of warm woodsmoke greeting them as Grace wheeled the pushchair inside.
The interior of Roseby’s only drinking establishment was as quaint as Grace remembered it. The main sitting area was basically a decent-sized front lounge. Two men standing side by side would have taken up the whole width of the bar in the corner, but that probably didn’t matter much here, as there weren’t enough patrons for a queue. When Grace had been in with Adam, he’d found his grandparents on a few of the old pictures that were hung around the walls; and pointed out the darts board in the corner, saying his grandfather used to come down every Friday for a game.
Tonight would probably be deemed a busy night for the elderly couple who ran the place, as they already had three customers in, and as many dogs. That was what she’d seen, Grace reassured herself. Someone’s dog had been nosing about outside. After all, it seemed everyone in the area owned a dog.
‘My round!’ Annabel trilled cheerily, and headed straight to the bar.
As Grace unwound her scarf, she glanced up to see a man studying her from a dingy corner, but he quickly looked away. Grace had the unnerving feeling that she should recognise him – what was it with familiar faces around here? She studied his broad back as he hunched over his pint, trying to place him, but he didn’t look in her direction again.
‘Grace!’
At the sound of her name, she turned to see a middle-aged couple seated in the opposite corner by the fire, wearing matching thick green jumpers. Sitting stoically to the side of them was yet another Labrador, its black fur glowing in the firelight. The woman leapt up and came over, pulling Grace into a hug.
