‘Earlier this morning.’
Luke swallowed hard. ‘Ah.’
‘Are you all right?’
‘I am. Listen . . .’
‘No need to say anything,’ the man said.
‘I’m sorry,’ Luke said nonetheless.
The man opened the gate and stepped forward onto the path, wiping his hands on the front of his cord trousers before extending one towards Luke.
‘I’m Bill.’
‘Luke.’
‘Good to meet you, Luke.’
‘I wasn’t feeling very well,’ Luke told him. ‘This morning. I hope I didn’t put you to any trouble.’
‘Not at all.’
‘You’ve got a nice plot here,’ Luke said, keen to change the subject as quickly as possible.
‘Thank you. You know I garden for Miss Kendrick up at the castle?’
‘Oh, right. I didn’t know.’
‘I mean, she does a fair bit herself, of course.’ Bill pursed his lips together. ‘You two getting on all right?’
‘Sure. She’s made me feel very welcome.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes.’ Luke was surprised that Bill looked so puzzled by this.
‘Today was – well – it was the first time I met her in person.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’ve never seen her before.’
Luke frowned. ‘Never seen her? What – ever?’
‘Not so much as a passing glimpse. We do all our communication through written notes.’
Luke took this in. ‘She’s a bit of a recluse, isn’t she?’
‘The first one I’ve ever known.’
‘Do you think it’s because of what happened to her?’ Luke asked.
‘What happened?’ Bill asked.
‘I don’t know, but I’m imagining it has something to do with her face. The way she tries to hide it and the anxious way she behaves in general. It kind of makes me think that something happened to make her hide away from the world. Do you know how long she’s been in the castle?’
‘A couple of years,’ Bill told him, ‘and, to my knowledge, she’s only ever left the castle to walk on the beach.’
‘And you’ve never seen her there?’
‘No. We go at different times and I like to respect her privacy. I value my job at the castle and wouldn’t want to make her uncomfortable.’
‘And she doesn’t go into the village?’
‘Never. It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? To come to a place as friendly as Lorford and not to be a part of things.’
‘It does seem a shame,’ Luke agreed.
‘You staying long?’
‘No,’ Luke said, staring up at the castle now. ‘I’d better get back to work. I’m a builder and there’s always plenty to do.’
‘You don’t fancy a spot of work on the castle, then?’
Luke laughed, but then looked back at the great building. ‘I’ve worked on some old buildings in my time, but never a castle before.’
‘I dare say there’d be a bit of work for you there.’
‘I dare say you’re right.’
‘Well, it was good to meet you,’ Bill said.
‘You too.’
Luke watched as Bill returned to his plot, picking up a spade and settling down to some work. It really was time Luke thought about returning to work too. Chippy had been more than understanding over the last few weeks, but Luke knew that he’d have to get back to things at some point.
He returned to the castle. Orla had asked him not to leave without saying goodbye and he wanted to thank her for her kindness in looking after him. It really was an extraordinary place and he almost felt jealous of Orla living there. He felt he could do with something like that at the moment. A huge fortification against the world.
Then something occurred to him as he thought of Bill’s words about the castle needing a builder. Perhaps this place needed him as much as he believed he needed it. One thing he knew for sure was that, in the brief time he’d spent at Lorford, he’d come to be very fond of it and he didn’t feel ready to leave just yet. And then something else occurred to him. Perhaps Orla needed him too. Perhaps he could help her. Hadn’t Helen said Orla had sounded lonely and that she’d wanted to help her? If she spent all her days holed up in a castle, not talking to her neighbours, he could understand why. But perhaps she was scared. Perhaps she needed help reaching out.
Perhaps I can help her.
He rang the bell outside the front door and waited for Orla.
‘You okay?’ she asked when she opened the door, One Ear by her side.
‘Yes,’ he said, wondering how he was going to say what he wanted to say. Quickly, he told himself, before he lost his nerve. ‘Orla?’
‘Yes?’
‘I have a proposition for you.’
‘Oh?’
They made their way into the great hall and Luke looked around the stonework, noticing the bits of plaster that were flaking away. He’d noticed a lot of other jobs that needed doing as he’d left the room he’d slept in. His builder’s eyes meant that he couldn’t help making a mental catalogue of all the work needed on the floor, walls, ceilings and windows.
‘This place of yours,’ he began, ‘have you ever had any work done on it?’
‘Yes, lots. Before I moved in, I got planning permission for extensive repair work and had a team of builders in for a while.’
Luke frowned. ‘There’s still a lot to do.’
‘I know. I thought I’d better stick to a budget so I was careful in the jobs I chose to tackle first.’
‘I see. So you’ve got planning permission and everything?’
‘Yes. It was a bit of a nightmare getting it all signed off with English Heritage, but I’ve got all the paperwork. Why?’
‘Well, there are a few things I wouldn’t mind having a go at.’
‘I’m afraid I’m not really in a position to hire anyone at the moment.’
‘That’s okay. I thought we could do a trade.’
‘What do you mean?’
Luke ran a hand over the back of his neck. ‘I wondered if I could stay here for a while. I don’t really want to go home, you see. It’s been nice to get away for a bit, if I’m honest.’ He stopped, feeling the thud of his heart and the ridiculousness of his request as he looked at Orla’s stricken face. ‘Look, forget it. It was wrong of me to ask. You’ve been so kind and I shouldn’t impose any longer. I’ll get out of your way.’
He turned to leave, regretting having made even more of a fool of himself than before, and then he winced and clutched his head.
‘Luke!’
‘Yes?’
‘Are you okay?’
‘Just my head.’
‘Where you hit it on the beach?’
‘It’s fine.
Orla hesitated. ‘I don’t think you should be thinking of driving anywhere yet.’
Luke sighed. ‘You’re probably right.’
‘I think . . . I think you should come back inside.’
Luke saw the nervousness in Orla’s face and instantly regretted having even broached the subject of staying. What had he been thinking of?