Silent as the Grave (16 page)

I let her take my arm to support me as we went upstairs. I didn't think it tactful to point out that I didn't need the help. When we got to my room, I turned to face her. ‘Thanks again, Evie,' I said.

I'd given her the chance to retire and get some rest herself. She ignored me. She pushed me through the door and watched as I kicked my shoes off and relaxed on the bed. Then she went over to the window and drew the curtains. She switched the bedside lamp on and sat in one of the armchairs by the window. She picked up the book by Miles Rowe then noticed me watching her. ‘Go to sleep,' she ordered and opened the book.

I woke up feeling both rested and cheerful. I sat up and looked round. Eve was asleep in the chair, the book she had been reading lying open on her knee. She looked peaceful as she slept. There was a slight smile on her face. Eve, it seemed, was dreaming and by appearances it was a pleasant dream. I was loath to wake her, so I sat watching her for a while. Whether being observed in this manner disturbed her I'm not sure but she stirred, the book slipped from her lap, and landed on the floor with a gentle thump. ‘Damn and blast,' she muttered then looked up to see me watching her. ‘I thought I'd woken you up, dropping the book,' she explained. ‘I didn't know you were already awake.'

‘Yes, I've been awake for ages,' I teased her. ‘Your snoring woke me up.'

‘I don't snore,' she reacted sharply; then saw me laughing.

I got up and stretched. ‘I must admit I feel lots better for that nap,' I admitted.

‘Me too,' she agreed, ‘Although I only nodded off for a few minutes.'

‘Have you seen the time?'

She glanced at her watch. ‘Golly,' she said, ‘I didn't realize it was as late as that. We'd better go downstairs or we'll be late for dinner.'

‘I can't do with missing another one or Cathy Marsh will get paranoia thinking I'm avoiding her food,' I agreed.

I remember that evening's meal not only for the novelty of my actual attendance at the dining table but also because it marked the culmination of the stalemate that had seemed to descend over events at the castle.

After it was over I opted for an early night and said goodnight to everyone. I went up to my room and closed the door. The room had been a haven for me whilst I had been recovering from my injuries, now it seemed a little less welcoming. It didn't take me long to figure out why. That gave me food for thought.

I was less than surprised when the door opened shortly after I'd got into bed. My night watchman had arrived. Suddenly the room felt warmer, brighter. I looked across the room. My eyes were already heavy with the prospect of sleep. ‘Hello, Evie,' I smiled.

She appeared hesitant, reluctant almost. ‘I came,' she said slowly, ‘to see if you were going to be OK on your own or whether you want me to stay? In case the intruder returns,' she added, unnecessarily.

‘I think it would be wise to avoid taking any chances,' I replied.

Her expression cleared. ‘Oh, all right, in that case I'll go get a duvet from my room and curl up in the armchair,' she said.

‘Whatever for?' I asked, ‘Why not use the bed like before?'

‘It was different then. You were ill and I didn't … I mean I wasn't …' The sentence petered out into uncomfortable silence.

‘Evie,' I said gently. ‘I won't harm you, I promise. You do believe me, don't you?'

She looked at me, her eyes a painful mix of emotions that defied guesswork. ‘I've never been alone with a man since what happened to me. Not until I nursed you that is, and it was necessary then. What I mean is, it isn't you; it's me that's at fault. I can't explain it very well. I'm just plain scared, I guess.'

‘You don't act that way most of the time,' I said ruefully, remembering our first encounter.

‘Will you do me a great favour, Adam? Will you forget that ever happened?'

‘If you prefer it, Evie,' I smiled comfortingly. ‘If you will promise never to be scared of me?'

‘That's asking a lot after what I've been through. I won't promise but I'll try my very best.'

‘That's good enough for me,' I pulled back the duvet alongside me and after a moment's hesitation Eve turned her back and began removing her outer garments.

I watched her unashamedly. She had a delightful figure. I'd forgotten about the dressing table mirror. Eve turned round. ‘Enjoying the view?' she asked sarcastically.

‘Yes,' I admitted without a trace of guilt.

When she climbed into bed alongside me we both found sleep difficult. We talked for what seemed hours. It was that time of night where whispers seem to carry like shouts so we kept our voices low. Eve talked of her career with a major international trading group and the travels that took her all over Europe. ‘It has been fun,' she said, ‘but now I feel ready for a change. I'm sick of the travelling for one thing. Europe is interesting but I'd rather see it as a tourist. For me it has been one hotel room after another and one boardroom looks very much like the next whether you're in Rome, Paris, Madrid, or London.'

‘I can understand that,' I agreed. ‘Everyone thinks the life of a foreign correspondent is all glamour but in fact most of the time you're only called on to report man-made disasters such as shootings, bombings, or terrorist outrages. Alternatively, you get to report on air crashes or train accidents. For comic relief you get elections and a fair proportion of those are either dull foregone conclusions or rigged votes you can't tell people about.'

Later, Eve asked me gently if I'd like to tell her about Georgina. I did so with some reluctance because it was still a subject I avoided where possible. ‘She was too gentle; too timid for the acting profession,' I said. ‘The only way to succeed in that industry it seems to me is by battering people's door down to get the best parts. Georgina wasn't made that way. It wasn't in her nature to force herself onto people and she suffered for it. She had a mercurial temperament.' I smiled. ‘A bit like yours in some way but nowhere near as violent.' I waited for Eve's protest, but strangely it didn't come. ‘That was a joke,' I explained. ‘What I meant was that Georgina would be full of fun and laughter one day, the next she'd be in the deepest depression. When the work got less and less so did the good days and the bad days became more and more frequent. I could do little to help. New York is a plum assignment for a correspondent but it also keeps you busy every hour you're prepared to spend working. You could work twenty-four hours a day in New York and not hope to cover all the stories going. You just have to be lucky and go for the ones you think will make the best headlines and trust to luck and judgement. Sometimes,' I added with a wry smile, ‘you even manage to get it right.

‘In the middle of all that I got a sudden transfer to Ethiopia. Georgina came to the airport to see me off and I could tell she was suffering but there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't have foreseen she would get so far down she would just want to end it all.'

I stopped then and looked across at Eve. I could see tears in her eyes and from the marks on her cheeks I guessed she'd been crying a while. ‘Hey,' I said. ‘I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to get upset.'

She composed herself. ‘It seems such a waste,' she said, ‘a waste for her and a waste for you. Do you think it would have been better if you'd had a family?'

‘I don't really know,' I said heavily. The past was beginning to bear down on me oppressively as it always did when I dwelt on it too long. ‘Georgina couldn't have children. It was something to do with a riding accident she had when she was at school. We did talk about adoption but just never seemed to get round to it. That was another problem with the job; being able to offer children a stable family upbringing when you could be posted anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat.'

‘Would you have liked children? You would have made a good father,' she commented.

‘I suppose so,' I thought about it for a moment. ‘It wasn't to be, so I never thought of it at the time but yes, on balance I think I'd have enjoyed having children.'

‘I can picture you with a daughter,' Eve said smiling, ‘you'd have spoilt her rotten.'

‘That's what fathers are for, isn't it? What about you? Don't you want a family of your own or are you happy enough as favourite aunt to Harriet's three?'

‘Given my history I don't think the occasion will arise now,' Eve said sadly. ‘I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for it anyway. Add that to the fact that I couldn't stand having a man near me let alone go to bed with one and I think the odds are pretty long; don't you?'

‘You let me near you and as far as I can see from here you're in bed with me,' I pointed out.

‘That's different, you're different, and I didn't mean being in bed that way.'

I smiled but refrained from any further comment on the subject.

We drifted off to sleep and the next thing I remember was waking briefly sometime in the early hours. Eve, who hated and distrusted all men; who was frightened to be alone with a man, was curled up against me, her head was on my shoulder and her arm was wrapped tightly round my chest. Anyone looking in would have taken us for lovers, which was far from being the case. But then again the situation was different and I was different and it wasn't at all like that. I knew this because Eve had said so.

When I woke a second time it was daylight. The pressure on my chest had eased and Eve's hair was no longer tickling my neck. I looked at her. Sometime in the night she had gone over onto her left side and was facing away from me. I had turned with her, it seemed. I had been given little choice in the matter for she was holding my hand in her sleep. I drifted back off to sleep. It seemed like only seconds later when I felt her stir and knew she had woken up. I decided to adopt a tactful approach and pretended to sleep on. She removed my hand gently from her waist and held it for a moment. I opened my eyes and looked at her. She looked confused; frightened, and alarmed. She said nothing but got straight out of bed and began pulling her clothes on. ‘I'm going for a shower and then I'll meet you in the dining hall if you like,' she said when she was ready to leave.

I didn't want her to go. I realized it and knew better than to say it. ‘OK, Evie,' I said, ‘thank you for taking care of me again. You're a most efficient bodyguard.'

She eyed me dubiously, searching for the hidden meaning in my words. It was there but if she found it she didn't say so.

I beat her down to the dining room with ease and was talking to Tony and Harriet about a minor domestic crisis when Eve entered. She stood for a moment in the entrance, her expression defiant. She had obviously accepted the challenge thrown out by my remark the previous day and was wearing a close-fitting pair of black cords topped by a white polo-necked sweater and a plaid jacket identical to Harriet's. ‘Wow, Evie,' I said, ‘you look stunning.'

Like I said, I know when to crawl; but in this instance I wasn't exaggerating. She did look stunning. She smiled a little smugly and greeted her sister and brother-in-law. ‘I was just telling Adam we appear to have mislaid our butler,' Tony informed her.

Eve gave a puzzled frown. ‘Rathbone,' she said. ‘Hasn't the old soak appeared this morning?'

‘No, he hasn't,' Tony grimaced. ‘He didn't seem in too bad a shape last night though. I was about to go check his room when Adam arrived then you came in.'

‘I'd be tempted to check the wine cellar on your way past,' Eve suggested.

Tony reappeared ten minutes later. Rathbone's quarters were on the third floor of the castle and Tony was a little out of breath and pink in the face. ‘There's no sign of him in his room. What's more it doesn't look as if his bed's been slept in.'

There was dreadful sense of similarity in Tony's words and I was reminded forcibly of Christmas morning when Beaumont had gone missing. I heaved a sigh. ‘Another day; another search,' I said. ‘When the rest of the family come down, I should get them to search within the castle. I'm going to have a look outside.'

Tony glanced at the weather outside and the others followed his gaze. ‘You'll not be able to see far,' he suggested.

The fog that had descended after the thaw began was denser than ever. Our only hope of an early end to the isolation of the castle seemed to be if the roads had been cleared. On this however Tony had more bad news. ‘I was listening to the radio whilst I was shaving,' he told us, ‘and apparently the melting snow's caused a lot of flooding. The river has swollen to such an extent that it's washed away the bridge this side of Kirk Bolton. As that's the only route up the valley we might be marooned a while longer.'

‘That makes it more urgent than ever to find Rathbone,' I suggested.

‘Adam; sit down and get some breakfast before you go dashing off outside. You'll make yourself ill again if you don't,' Eve ordered. ‘I'll come and help you as soon as I've finished eating. My ankle is much better.'

‘Eve's right,' Harriet added. ‘If anything has happened to Rathbone a few minutes one way or another won't harm.'

The remainder of the family began drifting in as we were eating. They all seemed suitably shocked by the news of the butler's disappearance and agreed to begin searching the castle again after breakfast.

Once Eve and I had finished our meal we went out to get ready. ‘We'll need to wrap up well,' I told her, ‘this fog will be worse than the snow for making us cold. It's the damp that does it. I'm going to pick up the chapel key and have a look round Rathbone's pantry before we go. It might give us a clue to where he went and when.'

It didn't, however. I stuck the key in my pocket and we went into the corridor behind the kitchen to prepare for our walk outside. Hats, scarves, and warm coats were all essentials. Suitably attired, we set off. The fog had concealed an additional factor to the weather. Overnight the temperature had dropped below zero. What we were faced with was freezing fog in the air and sheet ice underfoot; particularly where the snow had been trodden down.