AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He rubbed Ben’s hair. ‘Am I allowed to miss you while you are away?’
‘That’s not the first thing you thought when I reminded you I was going, is it?’
‘Ack, two things can be thought at once, grasshopper. Enjoy your benefit. You have nothing to worry about here.’
* * *
Once Ben was safely out of sight on the driveway, heading to London with the moron, Aleksey slipped away from Tim Watson’s less than stellar guard-duty attempts and walked over, as had been authorised, to visit Babushka’s cottage. It had occurred to him that if Ben wouldn’t feed him cakes and biscuits and chocolate, they were never denied to Molly. And Molly’s stash was inthathouse.
The cottage was locked and he hadn’t brought his key.
All was not lost, however.
Enid was the Walter White of cake.
He did his careful, stiff walking gait over to her cottage instead.
Enid Toogood had become increasingly frail over the winter while he’d been laid up in traction, then in plaster, and then just in pain. She found it difficult to get around, even inside the house, so usually left the front door open for her frequent visitors, so they could just walk in. The guard team Squeezy ostensibly ran often popped in to have a chat, make a brew and use the facilities.
Aleksey had had the cottage built with his usual emphasis on glass and sunshine, but her extension was off the main living area, so she could sit in this garden room and see her patio. She had dozens of bird feeders, which seemed to give her all the entertainment she needed when she wasn’t reading.
She put down her book when he ducked beneath the lintel and entered with a polite, ‘Is this a convenient time for a visit?’
‘It is indeed. I’ll put the kettle on.’ This was only offered for form’s sake. They both knew she was past being able to actually make good on this small courtesy. Neither commented as he went into the kitchen and called back, ‘Cake?’
‘Absolutely, yes please. But just a small piece for me. Do help yourself though.’ Aleksey intended to. He occasionally wondered to himself if Ben’s renaming of him, which of course had only really been Ben admitting who Aleksey had always been, had unleashed this new passion for something he had always shied away from. And of all foods, cake had been his particular nemesis, given the victories and defeats it represented in the battles with his mother. Now he rather liked it.
Perhaps it was just another step on his road to freedom.
It was a bit sad, when you thought about it in those terms.
She insisted he bring little forks and that they use her best china, so Aleksey sat eating his cake, watching the birds, and wondering how his life had gotten him to this moment. There was not much of violence, cruelty, lies, deceptions, drugs, alcohol, or sex in it, that was for sure.
‘Miles won’t be here until the second week in June now. He’s going on an adventure training course with the school for the first week of the hols.’
Aleksey pulled his gloomy thoughts back to this surprising announcement. ‘Really? Miles?’
Enid smiled. ‘Well, it’s compulsory for his Duke of Edinburgh. You know how he loves collecting his badges.’
‘But not so much…adventurous training?’
‘Oh dear. But I think they have some things he’ll enjoy. They’re taking a yacht out to one of the islands, so he might be able to spend the whole week sailing. He’d like that.’
‘Islands?’
‘Oh, yes. There are thousands of islands off the coast of Scotland.’
‘Really…’
‘Och, they’re lovely in summer. My parents were very keen sailors. I spent my childhood visiting the islands with them on their boat—Osprey. She was called Osprey. Goodness, I haven’t thought about this for years. I must see if I’ve got the slides somewhere. I could have a little slideshow when Miles gets home. Father was a very keen photographer. He had a Zeiss, if I remember correctly. Rather expensive in its day, but it took wonderful pictures.’ She smiled wistfully. ‘I can remember as a girl lying in my bed listening with father to the shipping forecast. All those wonderful names: Rockall, Bailey, Faeroes, Fair Isle, Viking, Forties. The announcer would warn of gales, but I’d be tucked up warm and safe. There is one island no one can visit because they did secret experiments during the war on it, and it’s still out of bounds to this day, but yes, all the others are quite beautiful. And some still use the old language to this day. I learnt a little. Just to say hello, that sort of thing.’
‘Oh, so they’re all…taken. Settled? Owned?’
‘Oh, no. Not the little ones. They did a television show years ago on one that was completely empty. Put some young people on it and just left them to survive on their own, I think. Very odd show. Rather sad in the end.’
‘Really? They…ate each other then the remaining one starved to death?’
She regarded him for a moment then murmured, ‘Not on BBC Two, dear, no.’
