Page 54 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
‘Yes, of course she can. But this isn’t actually my house, Robin; my house is back in the village.’
Robin looks around at the ruins. ‘I thought this was a bit cold and wet for you,’ he says pragmatically, making me smile.
‘Yes, it is. I’m sure when someone last lived here it was much drier and warmer. I think you might actually be sitting in one of their old fireplaces.’
Robin looks up in surprise.
‘Do you think you should come out?’ I ask, sensing this might be my chance to get him to move.
Robin nods. ‘Can I come to your real house?’ he asks, as he begins to remove himself from the fireplace.
‘I think we should take you to see your mum first.’
‘I want to stay with Merlin!’ he says, sitting back down in the hearth.
‘Okay, sure,’ I agree hurriedly. ‘If you come out, you can come back to my house with me and Merlin, and we’ll meet your mum there. How about that?’
‘What about him, though?’ Robin asks, looking behind me.
I turn and see Callum standing back a little way, watching us.
‘Is he coming to your house too?’ Robin demands.
‘Do you want him to?’
‘Don’t mind.’ Robin shrugs. ‘As long as Merlin is there.’
‘Right, well, let’s all start walking back together and then we can decide when we get there who can come in. How about that?’
Robin nods. He pulls himself to his feet, and with Merlin we walk back towards Callum.
‘Hi, Robin, I’m Callum,’ Callum says, smiling at him. ‘I’m glad we found you.’
‘It’s your fault I’m here,’ Robin says, pouting a little.
Callum looks at me, but I just shrug and shake my head a little. ‘Is it?’ he asks Robin. ‘Why?’
‘Because you were the one she said she lived in the wood to,’ Robin says, happily following Merlin as he begins to make his way across the long grass back towards the wood.
I look at Callum with a mystified expression as we follow on.
‘Oh!’ I suddenly say. ‘At the sale we were talking about what I’d got up to since I’d been here, and I said I virtuallylived in the woodwith Merlin because we were always in there walking! Robin must have heard us when he was browsing the stall, and thought I meant Iactuallylived here.’
Callum shakes his head and then we both grin at each other, partly with amusement, partly with relief, and partly with something else I don’t quite understand just yet.
Sixteen
‘I don’t know how to thank you,’ Linnet says, standing in my sitting room holding a mug of hot chocolate. We’re both watching Robin play happily with Merlin on the rug by the window. ‘If it hadn’t been for you we might never have found him.’
‘Oh, I’m sure you would,’ I say sensibly, keen to play down Callum’s and my part in all this. Linnet had been treating us both like superheroes since we’d appeared from the wood with Robin to an audience of Linnet and the few villagers that Lonan had managed to drum up to form a search party. They’d kindly stuck around to see us emerge from the wood triumphant with Robin.
As promised, I’d allowed Robin to come back to Bluebird Cottage to spend time with Merlin, but I’d insisted he let Linnet put him in some dry clothes first.
Robin had begrudgingly allowed this to take place, and then Linnet, Robin, Lonan and Callum (who has also changed into dry clothes now) had returned to the cottage to partake in mugs of hot chocolate. In fact, it didn’t occur to me until Iwas making said hot chocolate that I had more people in my cottage than I’d ever had before.
But I’m pleased to find this doesn’t bother me as much as I thought it might have done. Actually, I’m quite enjoying having this particular group of people here with me.
Lonan and Callum are currently standing by the window sipping from their mugs and discussing the history of the old ruins where we’d found Robin.
