Page 14 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

Elodie nodded. ‘Good luck. I’d be interested to see what you find out. I’d start around the 1880’s if I was you. They look like that style of boot.’

Kate had no idea how Elodie knew these random facts, but she was rarely wrong. Instead of questioning her, she simply trusted her and stood up, holding her hand out to Elodie. Elodie took it and Kate hauled her up, off the bench, then relieved her of the skates.

Kate gave Elodie a quick hug — well as much as she could, given her circumference — and told her, ‘It’ll soon be over. August will come really quickly.’

Elodie blanched a little, pressing her hands into the small of her back and looking pained as she tried to stretch a bit. Poor soul. She wasn’t dealing with this well at all. ‘And then I’ll have two babies, Kate. How on earth will I cope?’

‘You will. Plenty of people do. Thanks again. I’m going to grab a quick coffee and have a wander across the Faerie Bridge, I think. Go back the long way.’

‘The Gypsy Tea Caravan’s up that way,’ said Elodie. ‘I’m not sure who’s manning it today.’ Despite being a pregnant Countess, it was Elodie’s job to man it, but clearly she had a day off, swollen ankles and all. Alex would be happy; Elodie wouldn’t be. ‘Get your coffee up there. In fact, just tell whoever’s in it that it’s on the house.’ She smiled and adjusted her circlet of flowers.

‘Oh, no,’ Kate said, feeling a little guilty that not only had she — possibly — skipped in without paying, but she was getting a free coffee as well. ‘I’ll pay. It’s fine.’

‘Whatever.’ Elodie shrugged. ‘The offer’s there if you want it.’

‘Thanks.’ Kate looped the skates back over her wrist and headed off up towards the old packhorse bridge that spanned the river.

As luck would have it, it was Cassie who was sitting in the caravan today, dispensing hot water from the tea-urn.

Her face broke into a smile as she saw Kate. ‘I’ve decided on three flavours of ice-cream,’ she said. ‘Vanilla, strawberry and chocolate. Then we can sell Neapolitan ice-creams, topped with clotted cream as a special offer.’

‘Great choices. I’ll get on the case for you. Three’s probably enough — there’s only a small compartment to keep them in. It’s not like I’m lugging a full-size freezer about with me. I might have to store some at the Hall, if that’s okay?’

‘That’s fine by me. And are you sure you’re happy to do it?’ Cassie asked.

‘Absolutely. I’m just heading back to have another go at it. I sanded most of the paint off yesterday and I’m going to try and put an undercoat on if I get the chance. Chris has gone back to London so I can just get on with it. It’s a nice enough day. Jenna can stay inside, in the dark, and nurse her hangover.’

‘Another one?’ Cassie grimaced. ‘I don’t know how she does it. They wipe me out completely.’

‘And me.’ Kate put on a sniffy, mock-disapproving voice. ‘I think I’ll simply purchase a coffee from you instead, my dear.’

‘You’re very welcome, Madam. Enjoy it. On the house, darling,’ replied Cassie in an equally hoity-toity accent.

They both giggled as Kate shook her head. ‘No. Please, take my money.’

‘You snuck in again, didn’t you?’ Cassie squashed a lid onto a takeaway cup and handed it over. ‘I keep telling you, just come the front way. The volunteers all know you. You know they’ll let you past.’

‘Yes, but it looks really bad if you’ve got customers waiting to pay.’ Kate dug in her pocket and pushed some coins over to Cassie. ‘And anyway, I can neither confirm nor deny my nefarious entry tactics.’ She winked. ‘Thanks for the coffee.’ She raised the cup to her lips, the ice-skates clinking together.

‘Oh, you decided I could use them? Thanks!’ said Cassie.

‘No. No I didn’t!’ Kate shook her head. ‘These were for something entirely different. I needed to ask Elodie about them.’

‘Okay.’ Cassie sighed, theatrically. ‘But I still get the tennis racquets?’

‘You still get those. And the bicycle. Catch you later!’ She turned and went towards the Faerie Bridge. She could cross that and walk down the other side of the river, then use the stepping stones further along to get back to her cottages. It was a lovely day for a walk and she was on her afternoon off after all.

* * *

Theo arrived at Sutton Hoo for its opening, wandered around the site for a good part of the day, then decided to explore the surrounding area.

It was all incredible and he loved it. He loved Felixstowe as well — he stood out on the pier imagining what was over the horizon and how it must have been years ago, when it first became a fashionable seaside resort and a bustling trading port. Just south of there was Harwich, where you could sail to the Netherlands and from there travel into Europe. It was all magical and exciting, and it was with some reluctance he turned and headed back to Hartsford. Maybe on another trip, he could look into where he could go from those places. Currently, he would prefer to be anywhere else than Derbyshire, where he lived, and Suffolk was fitting the bill nicely. At one point, he had simply wanted to sit in his car, and drive — just follow the road wherever it took him. Anything, to get away.

But today, his destination was Hartsford and a return to the campsite. Strangely enough, the closer he got to the village, the faster he wanted to drive the car. And he still had time to visit the Folk Museum, he realised with a happy jolt of his heart; so he swung the vehicle towards the museum’s car park and pulled into a space facing the buildings. The old bicycle was outside but there was no sign of Kate.

Theo got out of the car and walked over to the first cottage, just in case she was inside. He’d try his luck with that ticket again, see if she’d remembered he could re-visit the place today.

He stepped into the reception area, his eyes adjusting to the gloom, and wondered if they’d had a power outage.