He told her he felt the same way. He couldn’t wait to get back to her. ‘Have you seen Kate yet?’ he asked.
‘Not yet. I rang and told her that I was here for her and would be happy to drop by at any time, but she was somewhat cool.’ She laughed. ‘Until I casually mentioned that we had some old pictures of Holland House that she might like to see. Then I threw in that you knew a whole lot about the area and that I was helping you research it. After that, I was suddenly her best buddy.’
‘So, are you going to see her?’
‘Tomorrow, after lunch. She says she’s decorating, but she’ll take a break for an hour or so at around two. I’m going to tie it in with a visit to Emilia.’
‘Don’t take on too much, my love. I know you’re so much better, but you mustn’t get overtired.’
‘Don’t worry. We come first. I’ll do all I can to help our Whisper Fen neighbours but not at the expense of my health.’
Liz told him that she loved him and very reluctantly he hung up.
* * *
The two men ate breakfast together. Matt offered to let Will go alone to meet his niece and her friend’s family, but Will was having none of it. He was far from certain how he was going to cope with meeting Sophie again under these tragic circumstances, and he wanted Matt’s calming presence.
They set off for the Fauve home with Mitch as chauffeur. Will had no wish to meet his niece for the first time in years while standing by two gaping holes in a cemetery lawn.
His heart was racing as they drew up outside Philip and Annette’s big family home. He had rehearsed a million things to say to the little girl, but as they stepped out of the car, he forgot them all.
Before he could collect himself, Sophie had run down the path and thrown herself into his arms.
‘Uncle Will! I’m so glad you’ve come!’ she said.
She clung to him for what seemed like hours. When she finally let him go, he held her at arms’ length to look at her properly.
He was astounded. It was as if he were looking down at his little sister.
‘Sophie! You’re the image of your mother!’ Will said.
She lowered her head and quietly began to cry.
‘Your mum was a very beautiful woman, and you are going to be just the same. Be proud of that, sweetheart.’
‘I am, Uncle Will. But I miss her so. I miss Daddy too, but he was away so much. Mummy was always here, and now . . .’ Her voice quavered.
He kissed the top of her head. ‘First, I want you to meet my friend Matt, then perhaps you’d like to take me to meet your friend Françoise?’
Sophie smiled at Matt and stuck out her hand. ‘You look nice! Thank you for coming all this way with Uncle.’ She turned back to Will. ‘You’ll like Françoise. She’s funny. My doctor says she is just what I need right now. Come on, Uncle.’ She pulled him towards the house.
A slender blonde woman of about Eva’s age smiled at him from the entrance hall. She wore jeans and trainers with a baggy pink sweatshirt emblazoned with the words “Sloppy Joe.” Behind her stood her husband, tall and broad. He had a clipped moustache and his auburn hair was cropped in military fashion. He would have looked severe if he hadn’t been smiling broadly.
‘Hi! Come on in! Sophie has told us so much about you, it’s great to put a face to the name. And good to meet you too, Matt.’
The big man pumped his hand in welcome. ‘Terrible thing, Will.’ His grip tightened and he turned away for a moment. His wife took Will’s hand. Her voice was soft, and there seemed to be another accent beneath the Canadian vowels.
‘We are hanging on in there for Sophie’s sake but it’s pretty tough. Philip is, well, gutted. I’ve never seen him so hard hit. Guy was his closest buddy — he was our best man, Fran’s godfather . . . And Eva.’ Her voice broke. ‘I don’t know what to say to you, Will.’
‘There is little any of us can say, is there, not at a time like this. But I can’t thank you enough for what you’re doing for Sophie.’
‘It’s the least we can do. The two girls are inseparable anyway. Hey, let’s not hang around here on the doorstep. Come on in.’
Mitch stayed with the car, while Matt and Will, who was carefully carrying the painting of Snapdragon, went inside. They were introduced to Françoise, a chubby and bespectacled version of her dad, followed by the dog, the cat, the rabbit and the guinea pig, and finally given a tour of the house, conducted by a very grown-up Sophie. On their return to the others, gathered in the family room, Will produced Kate’s painting and gave it to Sophie.
She undid the paper slowly, painfully so, very carefully winding the string into a ball, then folding the brown paper, while Fran bounced about impatiently, desperate to see what was inside.
Sophie held the picture up with an excited gasp. ‘Look! Fran! Ann! Philip! Snapdragon is my very favourite. I’m sure I’ve never seen this picture in the books.’
‘Auntie Kate says it is a one-off, especially for you.’
The child rose several inches, bursting with pride. ‘I want to ring Aunt Kate. Will that be alright, Philip?’
The big man laughed and said of course she could, right then if she liked.
‘Oh, later, when I’ve calmed down, I think. Thank you, Uncle Will. It’s wonderful, I shall treasure it.’ She propped the picture up on the table and hugged him again.
The two girls went off to play on Françoise’s computer and Philip went into the kitchen and made his guests some coffee.
‘Is she going to the funeral tomorrow?’ Matt asked.
‘Yes. She wants to go,’ Annette said. ‘We had a long talk with her, and so did the base doctor and her counsellor. She knows what to expect and we will all be there to support her. The doc thinks it’s a good idea. We couldn’t let Sophie see her parents. We went to the Chapel of Rest, and well, Guy was,’ she swallowed, ‘ah, pretty badly injured. Eva looked sort of asleep. Let’s just say we thought it best she remembered them as they had been, full of life and happy.’
Will agreed. ‘I saw my mother, and I wished I hadn’t.’
‘Mmm, well, the doc says because of that, she will need some kind of closure, so its good that she wants to go to the burial. Kids are very resilient. He reckons that after tomorrow, and with plenty of support, Sophie will be able to get on with her life again.’
Will nodded. ‘I suppose so, but it’s a lot for a youngster to cope with. Losing one parent is bad enough — Eva and I lost our dad when she was really tiny. Luckily, our mum was a tower of strength, but not a day goes by that I don’t think about him and wonder . . .’ He paused. ‘So, what will happen after tomorrow? The air force chap who rang me in England said she should stay with you for a while longer, but is that okay? I mean, it’s quite an undertaking, isn’t it?’
‘We wanted to speak to you about this, Will.’ Philip looked at him directly. ‘We wondered if you were wanting to take her back to live with you. Apart from her grandparents, who are in their seventies and both in poor health, you are her closest relative.’
Will said nothing. For a second, all he could hear was Kate saying, ‘Holland House doesn’t like children, they must never come here!’ With an effort he pushed the memory away.