Everyone stopped what they were doing to look at me. Maxwell froze in his pacing, Chuck fell down into the seat next to me, and Caitlin turned and looked at me, her jaw had dropped open.
‘Right, well if you think that’s what happened,’ Maxwell said, ‘I guess we can call off the cavalry.’
I looked around the room at the three males that were to make up this group Maxwell was referring to. Chuck in his bright blue bathing shorts against his pale torso, clutching a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and Maxwell himself, who was wearing a green-and-burgundy bow tie with a grey suit and shiny shoes – Josephine was more likely a candidate to send the fear of God into the travellers, but she was upstairs having a lie-down. Dad was the only one who looked vaguely ready to take on potential thugs with his Caterpillar boots, jeans and tool belt.
‘Right, right then.’ Maxwell had brought his pacing to a complete halt and I could already see he was looking back out into the hallway, desperate to get back to his study, clearly perturbed at having been disturbed.
‘Phil, can I leave things in your good hands? Just keep an eye on the borders and get Hackett to pop up there and make his presence known so they know that they can’t edge their way onto our land. They can do what they like on Brian’s. And girls, may I suggest you stay this side of the wood and not venture back out that way until they have moved on. What a jolly old inconvenience.’ And then he was gone. We listened to his shiny shoes clomping along the hallway and then the door to his study slammed.
I was reeling from my little speech. Usually I was slow to get out what I needed to say, so today I was thrilled that I didn’t stutter or hesitate. But I could feel some sort of energy coming from Caitlin, and I looked to see that the expression on her face was getting darker. She was not at all happy. And then it occurred to me that for that moment before I spoke, she had Maxwell in the palm of her hand; her father was ready and willing to step up to the post. And I guess I ruined it. From what I knew of the travellers that would come to the outskirts of Hackney, they were never any bother, and if you were polite and smiled, then they were polite back.
Caitlin stood up so her chair scraped loudly against the tiles on the floor. We all watched her leave. I knew my role was to go after her, to check up on her, but I was tired after all the excitement.
‘I think I’ll give the hens some mealworms,’ I said to Judith.
‘Oh yes, dear, I think that’s just what’s needed after that hullaballoo. They will be wondering what on earth has been going on.’ Judith smiled at me.
I smiled back, although I knew that the hens were completely oblivious to the excitement of the last twenty minutes; it was I who needed bringing back down to earth and a quick cuddle, and a chat, with Ivy would sort me right out.
I went out into the courtyard with the tub of mealworms. I could sense Caitlin was in the vicinity, but I couldn’t see her, I could only feel her and occasionally hear her clear her throat, which sounded forced. I imagined she was hiding in one of the outbuildings that Hackett frequented so regularly. I thought about how I hadn’t seen him for some time; Dad told me he often disappeared from January for a few months because there was less to do in the gardens, but Maxwell wouldn’t have known that when he mentioned him guarding the boundaries earlier.
I sat on the floor in the courtyard and began making kissy noises with my lips. Something I had been doing with Ivy since I came here, and then there she was, hopping over to me, followed by some of the other hens. They all knew the sound of the tub being opened.
Ivy came rushing to my hand, where I already had a stack of mealworms ready for her to dive in. I sat and let Ivy feed, enjoying the sensation of her little beak pecking on the tough skin of my palm.
I wanted to stay there all day, amongst the hens. At times like this, when Caitlin was acting this way, it felt like the safest option. I couldn’t believe just a few hours ago I had been so excited to see her. Everything now felt flat and hopeless. Eventually, the hens had their fill, and so I closed the lid on the tub and put the mealworms back in the boot room. I walked past the outbuilding where I had heard Caitlin earlier and popped my head in. I could just about make out her silhouette in the corner, near to some pretty heavy-duty gardening equipment.
‘Be careful, you might hurt yourself,’ I called out to her. We had both been told many times not to hang out in there, but it was strange how she always felt so compelled to go against the grain and also how she felt the safest where there was an element of danger.
She didn’t reply to my comment, I waited for a moment, I heard her body shift in the shadows, and then I turned and went to walk away. It was then that I heard her say, ‘It’s you who needs to be careful.’
I stayed around the cottage for the rest of the afternoon. We had a small garden where Mum was getting a vegetable patch ready for planting: radishes, beetroots, lettuce and carrots. She kept offering me small
