Reaching the beach, the sea air blew away Orla’s cares for a blissful half-hour. One Ear raced and chased, and Luke and Orla crunched across the pebbles and ambled over the acres of wet sand, dipping toes tentatively into the clear waves. It was always good to walk along the beach. No matter what was worrying you, the sound of the sea and the scent of the salty air always made life seem brighter and shinier.
They walked back through the fields, the sun hot upon their backs. Orla had almost forgotten the threat that had been hovering over her since the day before and the fear that had tightened her chest. Almost. Until she saw a figure hovering in the lane at the end of the footpath. It was a man in a baseball cap. He was some distance away, but it looked like the man who’d been hiding in the shadows in the village the day before, and Orla knew it was him.
‘Luke!’ Her voice was a little pip of despair and Luke’s arm was immediately around her shoulders.
‘Is that him?’
She nodded.
‘What do you want to do? Shall we go back the way we came?’
She saw Luke glance behind them. It would be frustrating to have to double back now when they were so close to home, Orla thought, and yet the fear of getting any closer to this man was almost unbearable.
‘No.’
‘No? You want to go on?’
‘Don’t let him near me.’
‘I won’t. One Ear won’t either, will you, boy?’
One Ear looked up from the clump of grass he was investigating and was immediately alert.
‘We’ve got you,’ Luke said, and they continued walking.
Orla felt horribly dizzy. The man at the end of the path was clearly waiting for them and he took his dark glasses off as they approached.
‘Oh, my God!’ he cried. ‘It is you! I thought it must be.’
Luke’s arm tightened around Orla’s shoulder as he ushered her past the man, One Ear trotting on her other side.
‘I’ve come all the way from London, Orla! I heard you were here and just had to see you. You disappeared!’
Orla shrank against Luke’s shoulder as if trying to make herself invisible.
‘Just ignore him,’ Luke whispered to her.
‘Did you get my flowers? I didn’t want to leave a message. I didn’t want to scare you.’
‘Well, you’re scaring her now, buddy – so back off!’ Luke shouted.
Orla kept her eyes lowered, her gaze firmly on her feet. Her breath was ragged. It was all she could do just to keep breathing and moving.
‘Why did you leave me? What did I ever do to you to deserve that?’ The man’s tone was changing now, and Luke and Orla picked up speed.
‘Don’t hide your face from me. I don’t mind about the acid attack. You’re still beautiful to me!’
‘Hey!’ Luke shouted, coming to a stop in front of him. ‘That’s enough.’
‘Who the hell are you?’
‘She doesn’t want anything to do with you, so go home before I call the police!’
The man didn’t respond to that and Luke guided Orla away from him as quickly as possible.
‘Orla!’ he shouted after her.
‘Come on. We’re nearly home,’ Luke told her.
In truth, Orla didn’t know where they were. She felt as if she was in the middle of some nightmare and was only vaguely aware of Luke’s voice and his guiding hand.
‘We’re here now,’ he said a moment later, and Orla could see the castle steps. They had never looked more welcoming.
She heard Luke open the door and then shut it behind them, bolting and locking it securely. It felt good to have all that heavy oak and stone between them and that madman, she thought, once again thankful for her decision to buy a castle.
‘It’s all right now! He’s gone,’ Luke told her, guiding her into the great hall. ‘I’m going to ring the police, okay?’
She nodded.
‘There is a restraining order on him, isn’t there? He shouldn’t be anywhere near you, right?’
At last, Orla found her voice. ‘Get rid of him!’ she cried, as she fled to her room.
Luke made a call to the police and later spotted a car patrolling outside. He put his tools down and made his way to the front gate, flagging the car down as it doubled back.
‘There’s no sign of him,’ the officer told him.
‘Well, he’s here somewhere,’ Luke told him. ‘Please keep looking. He’s been hanging around for a couple of days now at least.’
Luke gave the officer his description of Brandon again and watched as the car drove on, silently cursing as he glanced back up to the castle and saw Orla gazing down from one of the windows before edging back into the shadows.
Luke busied himself with his work after that, glad of the distraction. He was so mad at the upset this had all caused Orla and didn’t blame her for hiding out in her room, although he was concerned when she didn’t surface for lunch.
‘Orla?’ He knocked gently on her door. ‘Come and eat something.’
‘I’m not hungry.’
‘You should still eat.’
She didn’t reply.
Luke worked on through the afternoon, opening one of the windows in the great chamber to let the warm summer air help dry the lime plaster. And that’s when he heard it. He didn’t really register what it was at first because it was such a slight noise, but it gradually became louder and caught his attention because it simply wasn’t going away. He looked out of the window, half expecting to see a swarm of angry bees, but it wasn’t bees; it wasn’t anything belonging to the natural world. It was a drone.
Luke
