mattress.
‘Really? And how was that? Did she set the dogs on you?’ Miriam’s questions were delivered without humour.
‘No, she didn’t, but she’s so fierce herself I doubt she’d need the dogs.’
Miriam chortled at this, ‘Ha, you’re not wrong there. Not known for her warm welcome is our Rosemary. Every village has a termagant, and she’s ours. Ruby was the same, an absolute bitch of a woman. I don’t think there was a person in the village that didn’t feel the sharp edge of her tongue at least once. Still, I suppose they both had their cross to bear what with Derry,’ she said, beating a pillow into smooth submission.
‘I met him too, he seems harmless enough though.’
Miriam paused in what she was doing and regarded Elaine as if debating how much she should say. ‘Well, I’d agree. I don’t think there’s much harm in him, but he can be a handful. He’s a bit obsessive, he can get fixated on things and I think that scares people. He loves little kids see, I suppose they don’t treat him any different. That’s why he got into so much trouble when the little one went missing – people knew he liked kids and when they found the poor little mite’s cardigan in his hut, all covered in blood, well you can imagine. Two and two got put together and that was that. Even though there was no proof and no other evidence, and they had to let him go, people said there was no smoke without fire and the poor sod has been hounded ever since. So I suppose I don’t blame Rosemary for being the way she is, she’s had her cross to bear.’
‘That whole incident still seems very fresh for people, doesn’t it? Yet I’m told it happened thirty years ago.’ Elaine said, glad that Miriam had brought the subject up.
Miriam sighed, and eased her padded frame onto the bed. She perched on the corner like a roosting hen. ‘Sorry love, got to take the weight off for a minute, my bloody feet will be the death of me.’ She gave Elaine a tired smile. ‘As for the other, I think if her body had ever been found it would have been different. Everyone would have moved on, even our Shirley – she’s Brodie’s mum. She might have come to terms and had a life. As it is I don’t think there’s a farmer in the district that doesn’t think that one day he’ll be digging a ditch or ploughing a field and a pile of little bones will turn up. Doesn’t bear thinking about really.’
Elaine sat down on the opposite corner of the bed, ‘What actually happened? People have mentioned the story but I’m not clear on the details.’
Miriam closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. ‘I blame myself really, and so does Shirley if the truth be told. She left the kids with me that day. She had an appointment at the hospital and didn’t want the kids fussing around her, so I said I would keep an eye on them – she often left them with me back then. It was the summer holidays and they all loved it here, plenty of room to play I suppose. They weren’t bad kids, Fern was a typical teenager, it was all boys and girls’ magazines for her. Tony was a decent lad, still is – he’s the only one who keeps in touch. Shirley hasn’t spoken a word to me from that day to this…’ Miriam tailed off wistfully. ‘Anyway, they were all here – Fern, Tony and little Mandy – only I got called up to the house to help with Mr Gardiner-Hallow. He’d had one of his funny turns and for some reason he would always respond to me, so off I went. Course I had to take the kids with me, I couldn’t leave them on their own could I? I mean Fern was fourteen, but she was a feckless sort even then. Well, young Alex was home for the summer, he’s the Gardiner-Hallow’s nephew, quite famous now, you might even get to meet him while you’re here. Anyway me and Esther, she was the housekeeper then, we packed the kids off into the gardens and tried to sort Albert out. And that was that, next thing we knew Mandy was gone, disappeared into thin air. We
‘Really? And how was that? Did she set the dogs on you?’ Miriam’s questions were delivered without humour.
‘No, she didn’t, but she’s so fierce herself I doubt she’d need the dogs.’
Miriam chortled at this, ‘Ha, you’re not wrong there. Not known for her warm welcome is our Rosemary. Every village has a termagant, and she’s ours. Ruby was the same, an absolute bitch of a woman. I don’t think there was a person in the village that didn’t feel the sharp edge of her tongue at least once. Still, I suppose they both had their cross to bear what with Derry,’ she said, beating a pillow into smooth submission.
‘I met him too, he seems harmless enough though.’
Miriam paused in what she was doing and regarded Elaine as if debating how much she should say. ‘Well, I’d agree. I don’t think there’s much harm in him, but he can be a handful. He’s a bit obsessive, he can get fixated on things and I think that scares people. He loves little kids see, I suppose they don’t treat him any different. That’s why he got into so much trouble when the little one went missing – people knew he liked kids and when they found the poor little mite’s cardigan in his hut, all covered in blood, well you can imagine. Two and two got put together and that was that. Even though there was no proof and no other evidence, and they had to let him go, people said there was no smoke without fire and the poor sod has been hounded ever since. So I suppose I don’t blame Rosemary for being the way she is, she’s had her cross to bear.’
‘That whole incident still seems very fresh for people, doesn’t it? Yet I’m told it happened thirty years ago.’ Elaine said, glad that Miriam had brought the subject up.
Miriam sighed, and eased her padded frame onto the bed. She perched on the corner like a roosting hen. ‘Sorry love, got to take the weight off for a minute, my bloody feet will be the death of me.’ She gave Elaine a tired smile. ‘As for the other, I think if her body had ever been found it would have been different. Everyone would have moved on, even our Shirley – she’s Brodie’s mum. She might have come to terms and had a life. As it is I don’t think there’s a farmer in the district that doesn’t think that one day he’ll be digging a ditch or ploughing a field and a pile of little bones will turn up. Doesn’t bear thinking about really.’
Elaine sat down on the opposite corner of the bed, ‘What actually happened? People have mentioned the story but I’m not clear on the details.’
Miriam closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. ‘I blame myself really, and so does Shirley if the truth be told. She left the kids with me that day. She had an appointment at the hospital and didn’t want the kids fussing around her, so I said I would keep an eye on them – she often left them with me back then. It was the summer holidays and they all loved it here, plenty of room to play I suppose. They weren’t bad kids, Fern was a typical teenager, it was all boys and girls’ magazines for her. Tony was a decent lad, still is – he’s the only one who keeps in touch. Shirley hasn’t spoken a word to me from that day to this…’ Miriam tailed off wistfully. ‘Anyway, they were all here – Fern, Tony and little Mandy – only I got called up to the house to help with Mr Gardiner-Hallow. He’d had one of his funny turns and for some reason he would always respond to me, so off I went. Course I had to take the kids with me, I couldn’t leave them on their own could I? I mean Fern was fourteen, but she was a feckless sort even then. Well, young Alex was home for the summer, he’s the Gardiner-Hallow’s nephew, quite famous now, you might even get to meet him while you’re here. Anyway me and Esther, she was the housekeeper then, we packed the kids off into the gardens and tried to sort Albert out. And that was that, next thing we knew Mandy was gone, disappeared into thin air. We
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