The Soft Whisper of Dreams (21 page)

‘I see what you mean. Mind you, there’s something to be said for corsets though. I quite like them myself. On women that is.’ His comment earned him a punch on the arm from Maddie, but she didn’t quite look him in the eye.

Alex had been racking his brains as to what he should say to her to put her at ease. Ever since their love-making she’d been as tense as a violin string and it seemed to him that as soon as they returned to normal she retreated into some form of shell. He could almost see the shutters come down across her eyes as she disappeared inside herself and he was at a loss as to how to bring her out.

There had been nothing wrong with their love-making, he was pretty sure of that. What they shared in that department was incredible – almost magical – and he simply couldn’t believe that she didn’t feel the same. So then why did she withdraw from him immediately afterwards? At Marcombe she’d told him they didn’t suit, that they should just be friends. He had taken that to mean she regretted their passionate encounter because of his criminal past, but afterwards she hadn’t shown any signs of despising him for that reason. And today, all it had taken was one kiss and she’d ignited like dry tinder. He sighed.

‘Alex, come and look at this.’ Maddie called him back to the present. She was standing next to a glass case containing a mannequin dressed in an eighteenth century costume consisting of a dark red velvet jacket with large buttons and matching breeches and waistcoat. A white linen shirt and neckcloth completed the outfit. ‘Doesn’t he look just like your ancestor Jago?’

‘I suppose so.’ Alex put his head to one side to judge the clothes critically. ‘Although he’s not nearly disreputable enough,’ he added.

‘No, you’re right there.’ She glanced at Alex. ‘I’d love to see you dressed up like that. You look a lot like Jago, so it would probably suit you.’

Alex laughed. ‘I’d look ridiculous! Mind you, it would be worth it to see you in one of those.’ He pointed to an extremely low-cut evening gown on a female doll in the opposite glass case and was delighted to see a blush spreading over Maddie’s features. He loved it when she blushed, it was such a natural reaction and completely unaffected.

‘I don’t think you’d like that at all,’ she stated firmly and led the way over to the Victorian costumes. ‘One of these would be much better.’

Alex shook his head with a grin. ‘No, they cover all the interesting bits.’

‘Hmm. We’ll just have to agree to disagree, won’t we?’

And that was the problem in a nutshell, Alex reflected. He didn’t want to agree to disagree, he wanted them to be compatible. He wanted them to agree on everything like they had seemed to at the beginning when they’d talked about their favourite music and films. An hour later when they left the museum, however, he was no closer to a solution. If anything, he was further away than before because Maddie had built up the barriers between them once more and even managed to avoid sitting too close to him on the bus. He gnashed his teeth in frustration.

There had to be a way.

For two days Alex pondered, while watching in amused silence as Maddie came up with one excuse after another for not being alone with him. He had to admit she was remarkably inventive, but then so was he and by the second afternoon he believed he’d come up with a solution. It was radical and it would take careful planning, but it might be his only chance. He had to make her see him in a new light. He smiled to himself.

He was seated on a chair outside the ward where Maddie and Jane were visiting their mother. The distinctive hospital smell made him feel slightly nauseous and he wished they would hurry up so he could leave this place. He hated hospitals. Admittedly, this one was very light and modern with all the wards built around a central atrium, but that didn’t change its atmosphere. Alex found it extremely depressing to know he was in the midst of so much suffering and pain. And it reminded him of the night he’d been arrested for drug smuggling. He’d been hurt at the time and they’d brought him to a hospital first. That was the last he saw of the outside world for three long years. No point thinking about it now. It’s in the past and it won’t happen again.

It seemed an eternity before the sisters emerged from the ward.

‘How’s your mother?’ he asked them politely.

‘Much better, thanks.’ Maddie looked relieved. ‘She was quite talkative and doesn’t appear to be in so much pain today. The doctor is very pleased with her progress.’

‘Great. When will she be able to go home?’

‘Oh, not for ages yet, so she has told me to go back to Devon for a while and come back in a couple of weeks. She seems to think I’ll be safer there.’

‘Because he’s here?’

Maddie shook her head. ‘No, Alex, we were wrong. It wasn’t him. It was a genuine accident.’

‘Yes,’ Jane added. ‘Mother says she was daydreaming and not looking where she was going. She just forgot to check the traffic before crossing the road. She’s not used to London yet.’

‘I see.’ Alex looked at the pair of them and could see they truly believed this. That was a relief – one thing less to worry about. But it meant the crazy coot, Blake-Jones, was probably still on the loose somewhere near Marcombe. ‘You haven’t heard anything from the police in Devon, have you?’ he asked Maddie.

‘No, nothing yet, but I’m sure they’re doing their best.’

Alex wished they’d hurry up as he didn’t like to think of Maddie, her mother and half-sister in danger. ‘Well, it’s up to you whether we stay here or not.’

‘All right, I guess I’ll go back then, or what do you think?’ Maddie glanced at Jane for confirmation.

Jane nodded agreement. ‘Yes, no point us both being here. I’ll visit her every day and let you know how she’s getting on.’

‘Okay then.’ Alex stood up and closed the book he’d been reading. ‘Let’s go.’

‘I really should have stayed in London to look for a job,’ Maddie said to Kayla the next evening. She was unpacking her belongings for the third time in the guest room at Marcombe and it was beginning to feel like coming home. In comparison, the flat in London had seemed strangely alien. ‘I’ve lazed around doing nothing for long enough.’

‘Yes, but you promised you would stay a bit longer and then you were called away in the middle of it. You have to finish your holiday and anyway, we’ve hardly seen you,’ Kayla protested with a smile.

‘Rubbish, I’ve been here for weeks, months even.’

‘Well, a few more days won’t make any difference. The children missed you and so did I. Wes has been so busy I’ve barely seen him, what with doing his own work and looking after Alex’s cottages as well.’

Maddie hung her head. ‘I’m sorry about that, Kayla. I did try to tell him to stay here, but there was no way of changing his mind.’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that. I don’t mind really. Now, come on, you’d better help me get the little ones into bed so they know you’re back.’

‘Oh, Maddie, I’m so sorry, I completely forgot,’ Kayla exclaimed halfway through a piece of toast the next morning.

‘What did you forget?’ Maddie took a sip of tea and regarded her friend. She had almost been startled into dropping the mug by Kayla’s sudden outburst, since her thoughts had been on quite another matter – the man who was sitting opposite her at the table. His blue gaze had been fixed on her with embarrassing intensity and Maddie was trying desperately to think of a way to tell him to stop it without Kayla noticing.

‘That Mr Ruthven rang and left you a message. He wants you to call him back. Honestly, I don’t know how it could have slipped my mind.’

‘The man we spoke to at Wisteria Lodge?’

‘Yes, that’s the one. I wrote down the number for you, hold on and I’ll find it.’

Kayla dashed off towards the hall, leaving Maddie alone with Alex and she seized her chance.

‘Would you please stop staring at me,’ she hissed at him.

‘Why?’ He raised an eyebrow at her and leaned back in his chair.

‘I don’t like it. It makes me nervous.’

‘I don’t see why it should. I’m just admiring your vibrant beauty this morning.’ He grinned. ‘Besides, it’s a free world.’

‘Oh, for heaven’s sake, you sound like Nell.’ Maddie clenched her fists under the table. He really was the most infuriating man she’d ever met.

‘Childish, you mean?’ He laughed. ‘Well, two can play at that game. You shouldn’t try to avoid me so much, then I wouldn’t have to stare at you.’

‘I never ―’

‘Here we are, I found it.’ Kayla returned in triumph carrying a small scrap of paper which she handed to Maddie. ‘This is the number. He said you could call any time.’

Maddie was still seething, but managed a smile of thanks. ‘I’d better do it now then, before I forget. See you later.’ After one last glare at Alex she left the kitchen and ran up the stairs.

As she sat down next to the phone to catch her breath she looked at the piece of paper and wondered what the man could want now. Had he perhaps remembered something? Her stomach did a small somersault. Was it possible she’d been right after all? There had been no opportunity to discuss the house with her mother before leaving London, so Maddie was none the wiser. With fingers that shook slightly she dialled Mr Ruthven’s number.

She let it ring at least twenty times and was about to hang up when someone finally answered. ‘Hello?’ It wasn’t the Scottish burr she had expected, but an entirely different voice, albeit still a man.

‘Oh, er, may I speak to Mr Ruthven, please? This is Maddie Browne. He asked me to call.’

‘Ah, Ms Browne. Thank you for calling back. It was me who called actually, I’m the brother of the Mr Ruthven you met.’

‘I see, that explains it.’

‘Explains what?’ The man sounded puzzled.

‘Why I didn’t recognise your voice.’

‘You mean the wee accent,’ he said in a perfect imitation of his brother. ‘I can do it too, but I’ve lived here in Devon for so long I don’t usually talk like that anymore.’

‘Well, now you sound very alike.’

‘So they say. Anyway, the reason I called you was because I think I might be able to help you. You told Colin you thought you recognised my house.’

Maddie suddenly found breathing difficult and her voice, when she answered, came out in a hoarse whisper. ‘You can? How?’

‘I don’t really want to discuss it over the phone. Would you mind visiting again and I’ll tell you in person?’

‘Er, sure. I mean, of course. When should I come? When would be convenient for you?’ she amended. Her thought processes didn’t appear to be in normal working order and she had to concentrate really hard.

‘How about Friday?’

‘Okay. And what time would you like me to come?’

‘Any time in the afternoon. Oh, and Ms Browne? Come the back way again, I’m having trouble with my front door at the moment. It’s stuck.’

‘Right. I’ll see you then. Bye.’

After she had hung up Maddie collapsed in a little heap next to the wall. It was as if all the air had gone out of her and she simply couldn’t stand up. Three days until Friday. How was she going to survive the wait? It would seem endless.

‘Never mind,’ she finally muttered. ‘I’ve waited this long, I can wait three days. I’ll just have to find something to occupy myself with.’

‘Auntie Maddie, who are you talking to?’ Nell came skipping along the corridor looking as if she were practising the Highland fling.

‘What? Oh, just myself.’

‘That’s silly. Why don’t you talk to Kayla instead? At least then you’d get an answer.’

Maddie had to smile. She stood up. ‘You’re right, of course. But tell me, what are you up to?’

‘I’ve just been to visit Jago.’ Nell was still hopping from one foot to another. Maddie shook her head. The child didn’t have a still bone in her body. It must be wonderful to have so much energy.

‘Jago? You mean your ancestor in the painting?’

‘Yes. I talk to him sometimes because Kayla told me he talked to her, but he never answers me. Maybe one day he will, though.’

‘You never know. So what did you tell him?’

‘Well, today I told him there are gypsies camped in one of our fields. He was a gypsy himself, did you know? Or at least his mummy was. So I thought he’d like to hear that.’

‘Really? Where? I mean, which field?’

‘Let’s go for a walk and I’ll show you. It’s not very far.’

‘All right. Let me just change my shoes. Wait here a second. No, actually, why don’t you run and tell Kayla we’re going for a walk and I’ll meet you in the hall.’

‘Okay. See you there.’

Chapter Twenty-One

It was a long shot, but worth a try, Maddie decided. The gypsies camped in the field near Marcombe may not be the right ones, but they might be able to help her in any case. She desperately wanted to see Madame Romar again to ask her some more questions now that part of her prediction had come true. And even if she wasn’t in this particular camp, the people there might know where she could be found. Maddie had never been so confused in her life and could definitely do with some help, psychic or otherwise. The woman might be able to explain her predictions in more detail.

Nell skipped along beside her and talked almost incessantly about school, about her friends and anything else she could think of. ‘Don’t you ever stop to breathe?’ Maddie finally asked with a giggle. She didn’t see how anyone could find so much to talk about.

‘No, not very often. Kayla says I’m a chatterbox, but I don’t mind. And Daddy says I’m going to be a politician, maybe even the Prime Minister. Do you think I will?’

Maddie laughed. ‘It wouldn’t surprise me. Or perhaps you should be a lawyer like your daddy, but the kind that defends people in court. They have to talk a lot and be good at arguing.’

‘Well, I’m good at arguing with my brother. He drives me nuts sometimes.’

‘That’s understandable, but I didn’t quite mean that sort of arguing. Never mind. Is that the camp over there?’ She pointed to a collection of camper vans over to their right.

‘Yep, that’s it. I told you it wasn’t far.’ Nell skipped ahead, practising her whistling at the same time. Maddie winced.