cope.’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘Like Mrs Swan?’
‘There are special circumstances in the case of Mrs Swan,’ he said firmly.
‘I would have thought you’d agree there are special circumstances in my case too,’ she said.
I wanted to tell Declan to shut up, that the circumstance of Ms Fairfax having provided all this unsolicited help to us, including the food and shelter that was making our lives so much easier, was enough for him to overcome his natural suspicions and take her foraging with him, but all at once he gave in.
He held up a hand. ‘Fine, Ms Fairfax, that’ll be fine then. We’ll go down town together and have a grand time.’
‘Oh, I don’t think it’ll be all that grand,’ she said, and turned on her heel and left.
He swore to himself under his breath and kicked one of the stable doors a couple of times.
‘She’s getting to you, is she?’ I said.
‘Doesn’t she get to everybody, Gav, even you?’ he asked, perhaps rhetorically.
‘When are we expecting Fiona and Dan back?’ I said, ignoring the question. ‘It’s going to be dark before long, especially on a day like this. They shouldn’t be wandering about up there.’
‘They’ll be fine,’ he said casually. ‘They’ve taken torches with them. It’s not exactly mountainous around here. Even if they slip they won’t do themselves much damage on such a gentle slope.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘You know me, Gav, nearly always right, except when I’m wrong.’
I tried not to worry as the daylight faded and the rain carried on rattling on the roof of the stables. Since the arrival of Tanya and her team, we had taken to having an evening meal all together in the big kitchen tent that had been the first to go up. I fully expected to see Fiona and Dan present and correct at the meal. It was almost unheard-of for Dan to miss out on a meal, being still in his growing years.
‘What if the torches don’t work?’ I said to Declan, cornering him as he ate the reconstituted stew.
‘This isn’t bad,’ he commented. ‘The torches will work. Trust me.’
By the time we emerged it was completely dark, and there was still no sign of Fiona or Dan. I looked at Declan, wondering if he would show any trace of concern. Instead it was Tanya who came over and said, ‘Shouldn’t they be back by now?’
‘You’re not meant to know about that,’ Declan grumbled. ‘Oh, well, I suppose I’d better go – through the rain and cold, putting myself at risk too – and have a look for them.’
‘They could easily have fallen,’ said Tanya reproachfully. ‘It’s slippery under foot.’
‘Listen here, Ms Fairfax,’ said Declan, putting an arm round her shoulders and leading her away, ‘if there’s one thing we’re used to by now, it’s wet ground. Trust me. They both know to take care.’
‘I wish you’d told me they’d gone. Told me officially, I mean. I could have sent a couple of men with them.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ said Declan.
She shoved his arm away. ‘Let me be the judge of that. I’m sending scouts up there now.’
He heaved a long-suffering sigh. ‘I suppose so.’
‘There’s no suppose about it,’ she snapped. ‘You can go with them to show them the way. I’ll get that organised now. You’ve got five minutes.’
It wasn’t any longer than that until the small party set out. I wondered whether to offer to go too. Certainly if Dan was in trouble, I should be there to help get him out of it. But I didn’t have as much hill experience as Declan had, which I knew would make it too risky to take me along, so I made the excuse of staying at our base camp in case Dan and Fiona found another way down and wondered what was going on.
I thought the worst that could happen was that one of them had fallen and the other had stayed with them, waiting to be rescued.
The truth about what had happened didn’t cross my mind at all.
JENNIFER
The story became more like ‘Wind in the Willows’ as
Her eyebrows rose. ‘Like Mrs Swan?’
‘There are special circumstances in the case of Mrs Swan,’ he said firmly.
‘I would have thought you’d agree there are special circumstances in my case too,’ she said.
I wanted to tell Declan to shut up, that the circumstance of Ms Fairfax having provided all this unsolicited help to us, including the food and shelter that was making our lives so much easier, was enough for him to overcome his natural suspicions and take her foraging with him, but all at once he gave in.
He held up a hand. ‘Fine, Ms Fairfax, that’ll be fine then. We’ll go down town together and have a grand time.’
‘Oh, I don’t think it’ll be all that grand,’ she said, and turned on her heel and left.
He swore to himself under his breath and kicked one of the stable doors a couple of times.
‘She’s getting to you, is she?’ I said.
‘Doesn’t she get to everybody, Gav, even you?’ he asked, perhaps rhetorically.
‘When are we expecting Fiona and Dan back?’ I said, ignoring the question. ‘It’s going to be dark before long, especially on a day like this. They shouldn’t be wandering about up there.’
‘They’ll be fine,’ he said casually. ‘They’ve taken torches with them. It’s not exactly mountainous around here. Even if they slip they won’t do themselves much damage on such a gentle slope.’
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘You know me, Gav, nearly always right, except when I’m wrong.’
I tried not to worry as the daylight faded and the rain carried on rattling on the roof of the stables. Since the arrival of Tanya and her team, we had taken to having an evening meal all together in the big kitchen tent that had been the first to go up. I fully expected to see Fiona and Dan present and correct at the meal. It was almost unheard-of for Dan to miss out on a meal, being still in his growing years.
‘What if the torches don’t work?’ I said to Declan, cornering him as he ate the reconstituted stew.
‘This isn’t bad,’ he commented. ‘The torches will work. Trust me.’
By the time we emerged it was completely dark, and there was still no sign of Fiona or Dan. I looked at Declan, wondering if he would show any trace of concern. Instead it was Tanya who came over and said, ‘Shouldn’t they be back by now?’
‘You’re not meant to know about that,’ Declan grumbled. ‘Oh, well, I suppose I’d better go – through the rain and cold, putting myself at risk too – and have a look for them.’
‘They could easily have fallen,’ said Tanya reproachfully. ‘It’s slippery under foot.’
‘Listen here, Ms Fairfax,’ said Declan, putting an arm round her shoulders and leading her away, ‘if there’s one thing we’re used to by now, it’s wet ground. Trust me. They both know to take care.’
‘I wish you’d told me they’d gone. Told me officially, I mean. I could have sent a couple of men with them.’
‘It’ll be fine,’ said Declan.
She shoved his arm away. ‘Let me be the judge of that. I’m sending scouts up there now.’
He heaved a long-suffering sigh. ‘I suppose so.’
‘There’s no suppose about it,’ she snapped. ‘You can go with them to show them the way. I’ll get that organised now. You’ve got five minutes.’
It wasn’t any longer than that until the small party set out. I wondered whether to offer to go too. Certainly if Dan was in trouble, I should be there to help get him out of it. But I didn’t have as much hill experience as Declan had, which I knew would make it too risky to take me along, so I made the excuse of staying at our base camp in case Dan and Fiona found another way down and wondered what was going on.
I thought the worst that could happen was that one of them had fallen and the other had stayed with them, waiting to be rescued.
The truth about what had happened didn’t cross my mind at all.
JENNIFER
The story became more like ‘Wind in the Willows’ as
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