about, but he’d still seemed a little over-anxious about my whereabouts. ‘I keep it locked,’ he said, matter-of-factly.
‘You’re not worried about the boat being stolen though, are you? I had the impression that you didn’t have many visitors.’
‘No, I don’t. It’s just that’ – he smiled a little in embarrassment – ‘I have a tendency to be rather obsessive about security. I know it’s silly, being so isolated, but, well, I can’t help it. If the boat did disappear then I’d—’
‘Don’t worry, I understand. And you’ve no need to worry about me taking off with it.’
‘No, of course not. I wasn’t implying that – I suppose I get anxious too easily.’ He laughed. ‘Please ignore me – think no more of it.’
Mather opened the front door and we went back into the house.
‘Why don’t you take a seat in the living room while I make us some breakfast?’ he said, trailing his words behind him as he left the room.
‘OK,’ I replied, hoping we would get to the matter in hand soon. ‘Thank you. I hope it will be all right to get stuck into the story in a little while. I really should be getting back to work as soon as possible.’
‘I perfectly understand,’ came the reply from the kitchen. ‘And I do apologize for detaining you. Blasted weather! I assure you it will be a story worth waiting for though. The Lady will quite take your breath away.’ I presumed by ‘the Lady’ he meant the mosquito, but it seemed an odd choice of words.
‘Excellent,’ I replied, though Mather may have been out of earshot. I felt a little uneasy being left there on my own, not really knowing what to do with myself. Unable to sit still, I left the living room and crossed the hall to the kitchen.
This was also at the front of the house, its window looking out onto the clearing. It wasn’t as big as I had expected, but since Mather lived on his own, I guessed it was more than adequate. There was, as I had expected, a gas cooker, but there were also a number of electrical appliances – a refrigerator, kettle and toaster. Mather stood with his back to me, absorbed in thought.
‘So where’s the generator?’ I asked, startling him for the second time that morning.
He scratched his forehead and nodded towards the back of the building. ‘The previous owner had it installed inside a sound-proofed hut behind the house. It’s a fairly small petrol-powered model. Thankfully I don’t need to go in there and replace the fuel very often. I use little electricity really, but God forbid it should ever break down.’
‘Yes, that must be quite a scary thought. So are there any other buildings on the island?’ I asked as he filled the kettle with water. He set it on its plastic cradle and pressed the switch, then turned to me with a look that implied he didn’t welcome my curiosity.
‘Sorry if I’m being nosy,’ I said. ‘It comes with the job, I’m afraid.’
Mather chuckled at this. ‘Not at all. I should have been prepared for it.’ He opened the breadbin and took out a sliced loaf. ‘No, this is the only building on the island.’ I wondered how often he went to the mainland for food. He must have made frequent trips, if he used bread and fresh foods rather than tinned comestibles. Either that or he arranged to have his groceries delivered. He took out four thin slices of bread and put them into the toaster.
‘You’ll love the Lady. I really can’t wait for you to see her.’
‘Yes, I’m looking forward to it.’ I wasn’t quite sure if I meant this or not. I still didn’t know if Mather was telling the truth, or whether his story about this mosquito being the only one of its kind was a pack of lies. He turned from the toaster and took some plates out of the cupboard above the sink.
‘So, Mr Reeves . . . how are you with mosquitoes?’
‘Sorry?’
‘What do you know of them?’
‘Oh, not a great deal really. Only that they never leave me alone when I’m on holiday. I
‘You’re not worried about the boat being stolen though, are you? I had the impression that you didn’t have many visitors.’
‘No, I don’t. It’s just that’ – he smiled a little in embarrassment – ‘I have a tendency to be rather obsessive about security. I know it’s silly, being so isolated, but, well, I can’t help it. If the boat did disappear then I’d—’
‘Don’t worry, I understand. And you’ve no need to worry about me taking off with it.’
‘No, of course not. I wasn’t implying that – I suppose I get anxious too easily.’ He laughed. ‘Please ignore me – think no more of it.’
Mather opened the front door and we went back into the house.
‘Why don’t you take a seat in the living room while I make us some breakfast?’ he said, trailing his words behind him as he left the room.
‘OK,’ I replied, hoping we would get to the matter in hand soon. ‘Thank you. I hope it will be all right to get stuck into the story in a little while. I really should be getting back to work as soon as possible.’
‘I perfectly understand,’ came the reply from the kitchen. ‘And I do apologize for detaining you. Blasted weather! I assure you it will be a story worth waiting for though. The Lady will quite take your breath away.’ I presumed by ‘the Lady’ he meant the mosquito, but it seemed an odd choice of words.
‘Excellent,’ I replied, though Mather may have been out of earshot. I felt a little uneasy being left there on my own, not really knowing what to do with myself. Unable to sit still, I left the living room and crossed the hall to the kitchen.
This was also at the front of the house, its window looking out onto the clearing. It wasn’t as big as I had expected, but since Mather lived on his own, I guessed it was more than adequate. There was, as I had expected, a gas cooker, but there were also a number of electrical appliances – a refrigerator, kettle and toaster. Mather stood with his back to me, absorbed in thought.
‘So where’s the generator?’ I asked, startling him for the second time that morning.
He scratched his forehead and nodded towards the back of the building. ‘The previous owner had it installed inside a sound-proofed hut behind the house. It’s a fairly small petrol-powered model. Thankfully I don’t need to go in there and replace the fuel very often. I use little electricity really, but God forbid it should ever break down.’
‘Yes, that must be quite a scary thought. So are there any other buildings on the island?’ I asked as he filled the kettle with water. He set it on its plastic cradle and pressed the switch, then turned to me with a look that implied he didn’t welcome my curiosity.
‘Sorry if I’m being nosy,’ I said. ‘It comes with the job, I’m afraid.’
Mather chuckled at this. ‘Not at all. I should have been prepared for it.’ He opened the breadbin and took out a sliced loaf. ‘No, this is the only building on the island.’ I wondered how often he went to the mainland for food. He must have made frequent trips, if he used bread and fresh foods rather than tinned comestibles. Either that or he arranged to have his groceries delivered. He took out four thin slices of bread and put them into the toaster.
‘You’ll love the Lady. I really can’t wait for you to see her.’
‘Yes, I’m looking forward to it.’ I wasn’t quite sure if I meant this or not. I still didn’t know if Mather was telling the truth, or whether his story about this mosquito being the only one of its kind was a pack of lies. He turned from the toaster and took some plates out of the cupboard above the sink.
‘So, Mr Reeves . . . how are you with mosquitoes?’
‘Sorry?’
‘What do you know of them?’
‘Oh, not a great deal really. Only that they never leave me alone when I’m on holiday. I
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