‘Ow.’ I bent down and rubbed at the right side of my calf where a sharp pain was biting at my skin.
‘What is it?’ Caitlin stopped and turned around. She put down the picnic basket and bent to look at my leg. Her face was precariously close to mine, and I could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose, a tiny dot of something red, maybe jam, near the indent of her mouth. ‘Looks like a nettle sting. Quick, let’s find a dock leaf.’
‘Does that actually work?’ I asked, standing up and watching Caitlin scan the area. ‘I thought it was just an old wives’ tale.’
‘What? No. Good Lord, you are a proper townie, aren’t you?’ Her voice became strained as she bent down and looked amongst the nettle bushes. ‘Nature has an amazing way of healing us – where there is illness, there is sure to be a cure nearby.’
It sounded like a very adult thing to say, and I felt inferior; there were probably lots of things that Caitlin knew that I didn’t.
She strode into the brambles. ‘Ah, see, here we are.’ She plucked a long, green leaf and pressed it to my leg and rubbed it up and down a couple of times.
She stood up and threw the now crumbling leaf into the bush. ‘How’s that?’
‘Erm, better.’ I scratched my neck, amazed at how she seemed to have magically cured me.
‘Not such an old wives’ tale now, is it?’ She gave her head a tilt to one side as if to further prove her point, then she scooped up the picnic basket and set off walking down the clearing towards a vast stretch of wooded area.
I quickened my pace to fall in line just behind her so I wouldn’t sting my leg again and so I wouldn’t miss out on anything else she said just out of earshot.
We were almost at the start of the woods when I heard a rustle in the bushes to my right. I stopped dead in my tracks. My heart jumped right into my throat as I looked at the man standing in front of me. His face was a mass of grey stubble and red cheeks, and he looked older than my dad but not as old as my grandad. Some of his skin was a little cracked in places. He was wearing a blue T-shirt, baggy jeans and brown boots. They were the same as the ones my dad had been wearing recently and he swore they were the best investment he had ever made. Suddenly I wanted my dad more than ever. The man was breathing heavily, and I felt my heart thud in my chest. I was used to moving away from unsavoury-looking sorts in Hackney – it was inbuilt into my system – but I couldn’t understand why my legs wouldn’t let me move. I looked back towards the main house. I wanted to run, but my legs felt like heavy weights.
The man took a sidestep so he was now further out of the bush but closer to me.
A choked noise erupted from my throat, which must have been loud enough to attract Caitlin’s attention because she stopped and turned and walked the few paces back so she was standing next to me, and was now looking at the man as well. I looked at her to gauge her reaction. Was this man safe or dangerous?
‘Oh, Hackett. You’re back. I trust you’ve had sufficient rest?’ Caitlin’s voice was calm, and I felt an immediate surge of relief. She knew the man. I was still getting used to the enormity of Saxby and discovering new places all the time. Even now, I felt alarmed when I saw someone appear suddenly. Where I used to live in Hackney, I knew each and every corner and exactly who I would see where and at what time.
Caitlin plucked a flower from a hydrangea bush, one of my dad’s favourite plants, and drew it in towards her nose. She made eye contact with Hackett over the purple bloom. It reminded me of something I had seen in a film, a romantic gesture. Hackett stood statue still opposite Caitlin, his facial expression unchanged. I waited for him to speak, to say hello, anything, but his mouth remained tightly shut. Then, ever so subtly, I saw Hackett’s eyes narrow and his lips quiver, as though he was trying to form words that wouldn’t come, or perhaps trying to smile. Caitlin and Hackett continued looking at one another. Caitlin still held the flower in front of her, and I could now sense a
