‘I don’t believe you should be overly concerned by that,’ Sam said. ‘It is only a matter of hours since she was found. Unwillingness to talk about what happened should be expected. It will be some time before she feels safe enough to let go.’
‘I’m sure you’re right, Professor. I am just passing on the information that I have been given. Naturally, I am hoping for something concrete that will incriminate Grove. I don’t want that man to get away with anything, anything at all. He avoided prison once before because of lack of evidence. I don’t want that happening again.’ Fenner leaned closer to the fire and held out a hand to the heat. Will noticed that it was white and slender. ‘I don’t know how you feel about this, Mr Stonebridge, but it has been suggested that as soon as we can allow it, the child should be sent home to Canada. Her own doctor believes she should be reintegrated into the family environment as soon as possible. Captain Fauve has agreed to accept a permanent post in Saskatchewan so as to give her the stability that she will need.’
‘That is one hell of a lot to ask of the Fauves when she’s not even their own flesh and blood,’ Will said.
‘No one is asking it of them, Mr Stonebridge. They have offered it freely. Are you objecting?’ The gaze wrapped its icy cloak around him.
‘No, of course not. It’s just that, well, she is all I have left of my sister. In fact, Sophie is all I have left of my entire family. Maybe I hoped that she would want to stay here — not now, not after everything that has happened, of course. I just . . .’
‘I think you know that your niece will never set foot on this fen again, don’t you? Something here has petrified her, and all I can hope is that Canada is far enough away for her to be able to forget it.’
‘Whatever is best for Sophie. That is all I want,’ Will said weakly.
‘Good. Now I need to go. And I’m glad to see the flood stopped short of Holland House.’
Will wasn’t so sure. He was starting to wish that the North Sea tide had swept it off the fens.
The car purred off. Will returned to the living room, massaging his arm. The pain was radiating in short sharp bursts right down to his fingers. ‘I have to turn in, guys. I’ve had enough for today. Help yourselves to another brandy. I’m going to take one up with me.’
The doctor nodded. ‘Please. I don’t think I’ll need any rocking, but perhaps the cognac will help soothe my overactive brain.’
‘I think it would take morphine to soothe mine,’ muttered Will.
‘She’s alive, dear boy, just hang on to that. Children are remarkably resilient. You said yourself how brave she was. I’m willing to bet she’ll surprise you. Just give it time.’
Matt yawned. ‘And I must phone Liz and ask her to pick me up. I daren’t drive with two brandies inside me and all these coppers in the vicinity. What a day!’
* * *
In the early hours of the morning, Will woke up in tears. They hadn’t stopped an hour later when he finally drifted back to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
At breakfast the following day, Sam told Will that he had risen early and taken a walk to the remains of the mill. There was still a police cordon around the building, which had sustained significant damage. The tower had completely caved in, scattering rubble and other detritus across the boggy ground. He had not been allowed too close, but one particular scrap of debris had caught his eye. Along with some other pieces of rubbish that had been collected up by the officers and piled in a heap, was the broken remains of Isaac Berridge’s oil lamp.
They concluded that Grove had taken it from the cottage to the secret storeroom at the mill to provide a source of lighting. To have noticed the lamp, Kate, at some time or another, must have gone there, either with Grove, or alone. Will had seen her walking near the mill many times, and was inclined to believe that she had watched Grove, and then after he left, gone inside herself. Surely he had far too much to hide to risk inviting a copper’s wife into his Aladdin’s cave, although after one of his consignments had arrived, he would have shipped it all out as soon as possible, so maybe she’d found the gallery room, and there was nothing incriminating to see anyway?
Will went to phone the clinic. Thinking of Kate wandering the marsh made him feel terribly lonely. He missed her and longed for her to be back with him. With Sophie safe and Grove in custody, he could concentrate on his wife and her recovery.
He was told that Lawrence Hassel was with a patient and unable to come to the phone. Will said he would ring again later, but apparently the doctor was doing assessments all afternoon. Perhaps Mr Stonebridge would leave it until the evening, or better still, the next day? He was assured that his wife was settling in “just fine,” but they would prefer it if he didn’t speak with her for a while. ‘She has just started Dr Hassel’s medication regime, sir. It would be very unsettling for her. I’m sure you understand.’
He said that he did and hung up, realising that he had needed to talk to her for his own sake, not hers. He wondered how Sophie was. Had she slept? Had she had nightmares? Would someone have stayed with her through the night? He hoped so. He was concerned that he had heard nothing from Philip Fauve.
‘It must have been like bedlam at the hospital yesterday,’ Sam said, reassuring him. ‘It’s no wonder the poor chap didn’t call. I’ve been involved in something like this before, and the man would have been inundated with questions. They need to know everything they can about Sophie, in order to assess her properly. He probably didn’t get any rest until the early hours, if then.’
Will nodded miserably. ‘I don’t like to bother him. He has enough on his plate right now. I would just like him to know that I am thinking of them. I wish we could go there.’
‘Not a good idea. We wouldn’t be allowed within a mile of the child. I’m sure he’ll ring when he can. Meanwhile, I suggest we keep busy. Give me some jobs to do, young man. Cleaning, shopping, anything you please, just to get me moving.’
Will looked around him in dismay. The house was a tip. The laundry had overflowed its basket and lay on the bathroom floor. Dust had gathered on every surface and dried mud from the boots of countless policemen caked the carpet and the kitchen floor. How could it have got so bad so quickly?
‘Come on, lad. The two of us can get this sorted by lunchtime. It’ll do you good.’
* * *
By half past one, the washing machine was on its third load, and the house was looking acceptable once more. Sam was busy ironing shirts and doing a perfect job of it. This was nothing less than a miracle considering that a year ago he had been shot and badly injured. To see him now you would never have known it had happened.
Will was checking the fridge and making a list of the provisions that Sam had volunteered to go and fetch that afternoon when the phone rang.
Will was slightly disappointed to hear the guttural tones of Emilia Swain. This soon vanished amid her exclamations of delight that his niece had been found safe, and that the man who had been the cause of all her distress had been apprehended. She confessed to missing her home and was planning to return the following day. ‘I will give it another chance, Mr Stonebridge. See how I go, as they say. At least there is no permanent damage, I must be thankful for that, and with those awful men behind bars, maybe I’ll be able to regain my old love for the place.’ She took a long breath. ‘Although I doubt the garden will ever look quite as good again in my lifetime. I don’t know. You nurture it and feed it, and then some animal tears it to shreds.’