The wind had almost taken their breath away as they’d walked. Helen had snuggled into him, her arms wrapped around his. He could almost feel them now, hugging him close.
They hadn’t been the only fools out that day. There were a handful of dog walkers braving the elements, including a couple with a yellow Labrador. Helen’s favourite dog. She’d laughed when she’d seen it sploshing into the sea, barking up at the sky in utter delight.
‘Just imagine if we had a dog like that!’ she’d said. ‘Welcoming you home after a hard day’s work—’
‘Making you go out in all weathers,’ Luke had countered.
He cursed himself for saying that now because he could totally see the joy of having a dog. Okay, so he hadn’t had to walk One Ear in the pouring rain yet, but he sincerely thought that he wouldn’t mind now. Coming to Lorford had taught him so many things, but learning to appreciate simple things like walking and breathing in fresh air was pretty high up on the list.
As he walked now, he looked up at the big blue sky and wondered if somehow, somewhere, Helen could see him and if he could share this moment with her – if One Ear could somehow be their dog for a moment. He hoped so.
By the time he got back to the castle, Bernadette was in the kitchen washing the tea things.
‘How is she?’ Luke asked.
‘Scared.’
Luke watched as she angrily sloshed washing-up suds around, waiting for her to elaborate, but she didn’t.
‘Has she eaten?’
Bernadette didn’t answer.
Luke sighed in exasperation. ‘Can I see her?’
At last, Bernadette turned around to face him. ‘No.’
Luke swallowed hard. It was taking every ounce of his being to remain polite to this woman.
He left the room, taking refuge in the basement, where he was pretty sure Bernadette wouldn’t follow him. He was still deciding how best to treat the wall he’d exposed behind the board. Looking at the carving of the Wild Man, he shook his head.
‘What on earth did you start, my man?’ he said, half wishing that he’d never found the thing.
Bernadette was sitting on the Knole sofa in the great hall, flicking through a magazine she’d brought with her, when Luke dared to surface sometime around seven o’clock.
‘Mrs Kendrick?’ Luke said as he entered the room. ‘I’ve been thinking about the sleeping arrangements. I’ve been in the spare room. I think there is only the one made up in the castle, isn’t there? Well, I changed the bedding over for you this morning. I’ll take the sofa while you’re here.’
She looked up from her magazine, not bothering to disguise her disdain.
‘That is my room you’ve been sleeping in with sheets that I bought,’ she informed him, her eyes fixing on him as if he’d done her a great disservice.
‘It wasn’t being used,’ Luke said in his defence. ‘Orla allowed me to use it.’
Bernadette put her magazine down and stood up and, although she wasn’t tall, Luke couldn’t help feeling that he was being looked down upon.
‘Who exactly are you to my daughter?’
Luke really didn’t appreciate this woman’s tone of voice. Everything she said sounded like an accusation.
‘I’m her friend.’
‘Well, I’ve never heard of you.’
‘Oh, well, I obviously don’t exist, then, if you’ve never heard of me.’ He couldn’t help his sarcasm. This woman had been winding him up ever since he’d rung her.
‘Are you married?’
Luke was stumped by the sudden question. ‘Well, I’m . . .’
‘Single?’
‘Not . . . exactly . . .’
‘What does that mean? Just exactly why are you here?’
He put his hands on his hips. ‘That’s not really any of your business, is it?’
‘I’d say it is my business when my daughter’s locked herself in her bedroom!’
‘Did she tell you what’s happened?’ Luke asked. ‘Did she tell you about Brandon and the drone and how he somehow managed to get inside the castle? And how we had to call the police and have him taken away?’
Bernadette didn’t seem interested.
‘I don’t think you’re good for her. I think it’s best if you leave. I’ll take things from here.’
Luke felt as if he’d been flattened. He’d expected a few uncomfortable days while Orla’s mother was here. He’d envisaged them carefully moving around each other. But he hadn’t expected this.
‘Is that what Orla wants?’ Luke asked.
‘Yes.’
‘She said that?’
‘I’m saying that.’
Luke stood his ground for a moment, trying to weigh up his options, but they seemed very limited. This woman was not going to make his stay a pleasant experience and, as much as he didn’t want to leave Orla, he didn’t want to add to her stress either.
‘Orla has my number,’ Luke told Bernadette. ‘Tell her to call me if she needs anything.’
‘She doesn’t need you.’
He stared at her in disbelief. Did she really know what was best for her daughter? He hadn’t heard Orla mention her mother before, but hers was the number Orla had given him, and who was he to question that now?
So he backed down.
‘Right. I’ll go. If that’s what Orla wants.’
Bernadette didn’t say anything, and he was glad of that. She’d said more than enough in the brief time she’d been there. The Kendrick women seemed very good at throwing men out, he couldn’t help thinking. Helen had never done such a thing. She’d thrown a fair few of his old bachelor rock-band T-shirts out, but she’d never thrown him out.
Luke packed his things away, loading them all into his van, and then came into the great hall, where Bernadette was sitting on the Knole sofa, her arms crossed against her chest, waiting for him to leave. As if he knew what was happening, One Ear crossed the room and shoved his wet nose into Luke’s hand.
‘It’s okay, boy.’
The dog whined, telling him that it wasn’t okay
