time he’s finished! I’m coming in specially to watch!’
Barely drawing breath she chattered on. ‘And Mr Woodleigh’s joining in with his cows. They’ve been everywhere, his cows – his fences are terrible. Last year they escaped and stormed the village fete! Mrs Hepplewhite was upset because they demolished the cake tent before the judging and she was determined to win… Everyone helped to round them up but there’s no hurrying those heifers anywhere. Oh, I can’t wait!’ she squeaked and jumped up as the phone started to ring.
T here was a special delivery after breakfast. A lifeline in the shape of a new mobile. Katie had charged it, put credit on it and programmed her number into the address book. There was even a text waiting, ordering her to call straight away which Lizzie did, from the privacy of her room.
‘ Katie! It’s me! Thank you so much!’
‘Lizzie! I’ve had a brilliant idea! Why don’t I come and join you for the weekend? You’re stuck there and I’m not busy now… You see, I had a wedding to go to until the bride did a runner… D’you think there’s any chance of a room?
Lizzie’s heart leapt. ‘There are plenty but you can share mine! It’s huge! When can you get here?’
‘Well, if I remember rightly, I took the afternoon off to go with a certain bride-to-be for a manicure and bikini wax, so if I finish here about twelve, I don’t know…I could be with you by six I guess?’
‘Well bring your glad rags ! Because you and I have a date. Oh, and Antonia, of course, to the Star’s weekly quiz night. Tonight!’ Lizzie said ecstatically.
‘ Quiz night? Oh God. You sound like you’re looking forward to it,’ said Katie, rather worriedly.
Lizzie found herself with yet another glorious sunny day at her disposal. With more enthusiasm than the previous day, this time she stuffed her mother’s letter in her pocket and heading in the opposite direction to last time, she followed paths through the fields to a sheltered spot by a lake.
T ime really was a luxury. But an essential one, she’d decided. Too much rushing around made you forget that. She was lying in the long grass just feet from the water. The peace and quiet were exactly what she’d been looking for and even though she was miles from Roscarn and nowhere near the sea, she could feel it soaking into her.
How odd that she didn’t miss Jamie just a little bit . After three years of sharing a home and a life and a bed - but actually that had been the least spontaneous area of their relationship. Friday and Saturday nights and not exactly earth-moving. It just went to show, didn’t it.
At least she’d escaped - by the skin of her teeth. Screwing up her eyes, Lizzie thought about it. Jamie and his friends had the money and enormous houses, while she was homeless and jobless but free. But she liked how that sounded and sighing, turned her gaze upwards, feeling slightly as though she was playing truant from some boring history lesson, waiting, any minute now for a voice to boom out and hand her a detention.
How utterly self-indulgent it was, just to lie staring at the heavens. When had she last really looked at the sky, or at the feathery wisps of cloud like spiders’ webs, twisting and turning on the blue. Lizzie watched the ghostly shapes drifting slowly, her mind emptying and that was when she felt the faintest stirrings of something else. Briefly, madly, she fancied she could hear a whispering, as if the trees were breathing their secret to her. Fleetingly as she lay there, a hint of breeze brushed her skin and suddenly she felt part of something much greater and more powerful, turning her ear to the ground for a second, listening for the drumming of nature’s heartbeat.
A splash in the lake jolted her from her ponderings, and rolling over, Lizzie fixed her eyes on the clear water. A dragonfly flitted here and there over the glittering
Barely drawing breath she chattered on. ‘And Mr Woodleigh’s joining in with his cows. They’ve been everywhere, his cows – his fences are terrible. Last year they escaped and stormed the village fete! Mrs Hepplewhite was upset because they demolished the cake tent before the judging and she was determined to win… Everyone helped to round them up but there’s no hurrying those heifers anywhere. Oh, I can’t wait!’ she squeaked and jumped up as the phone started to ring.
T here was a special delivery after breakfast. A lifeline in the shape of a new mobile. Katie had charged it, put credit on it and programmed her number into the address book. There was even a text waiting, ordering her to call straight away which Lizzie did, from the privacy of her room.
‘ Katie! It’s me! Thank you so much!’
‘Lizzie! I’ve had a brilliant idea! Why don’t I come and join you for the weekend? You’re stuck there and I’m not busy now… You see, I had a wedding to go to until the bride did a runner… D’you think there’s any chance of a room?
Lizzie’s heart leapt. ‘There are plenty but you can share mine! It’s huge! When can you get here?’
‘Well, if I remember rightly, I took the afternoon off to go with a certain bride-to-be for a manicure and bikini wax, so if I finish here about twelve, I don’t know…I could be with you by six I guess?’
‘Well bring your glad rags ! Because you and I have a date. Oh, and Antonia, of course, to the Star’s weekly quiz night. Tonight!’ Lizzie said ecstatically.
‘ Quiz night? Oh God. You sound like you’re looking forward to it,’ said Katie, rather worriedly.
Lizzie found herself with yet another glorious sunny day at her disposal. With more enthusiasm than the previous day, this time she stuffed her mother’s letter in her pocket and heading in the opposite direction to last time, she followed paths through the fields to a sheltered spot by a lake.
T ime really was a luxury. But an essential one, she’d decided. Too much rushing around made you forget that. She was lying in the long grass just feet from the water. The peace and quiet were exactly what she’d been looking for and even though she was miles from Roscarn and nowhere near the sea, she could feel it soaking into her.
How odd that she didn’t miss Jamie just a little bit . After three years of sharing a home and a life and a bed - but actually that had been the least spontaneous area of their relationship. Friday and Saturday nights and not exactly earth-moving. It just went to show, didn’t it.
At least she’d escaped - by the skin of her teeth. Screwing up her eyes, Lizzie thought about it. Jamie and his friends had the money and enormous houses, while she was homeless and jobless but free. But she liked how that sounded and sighing, turned her gaze upwards, feeling slightly as though she was playing truant from some boring history lesson, waiting, any minute now for a voice to boom out and hand her a detention.
How utterly self-indulgent it was, just to lie staring at the heavens. When had she last really looked at the sky, or at the feathery wisps of cloud like spiders’ webs, twisting and turning on the blue. Lizzie watched the ghostly shapes drifting slowly, her mind emptying and that was when she felt the faintest stirrings of something else. Briefly, madly, she fancied she could hear a whispering, as if the trees were breathing their secret to her. Fleetingly as she lay there, a hint of breeze brushed her skin and suddenly she felt part of something much greater and more powerful, turning her ear to the ground for a second, listening for the drumming of nature’s heartbeat.
A splash in the lake jolted her from her ponderings, and rolling over, Lizzie fixed her eyes on the clear water. A dragonfly flitted here and there over the glittering
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