Page 63 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
‘Grace?’ There was a noise that sounded a bit like a sigh. ‘Oh, Grace… is this you?’
And despite herself Grace laughed. There was such hope in that voice, such longing.
‘Yes,’ she said. ‘Yes, it’s me.’ She laughed again at the absurdity of the situation and was relieved to hear Maria laughing too.
‘It’s me, Maria,’ she said. ‘Amos’s friend. Oh, how silly, you know that,you’reringingme… Oh, but it’s so lovely to hear your voice. I wondered what you would sound like…’ But then she broke off and Grace could hear the quick intake of breath. ‘Is everything all right? Is Amos…?’
‘He’s fine,’ reassured Grace. ‘At least I think he is… It’s so lovely to talk to you, I didn’t know what to do… but we found your number and I…’
And from nowhere a rising tide of emotion threatened to engulf her. She swallowed, trying to gather herself.
‘Maria, Amos has gone… he just upped and left and… I’m sorry,’ she paused to wipe away a tear that had suddenly spilled down her cheek. ‘I need to find him… I was hoping he was with you.’
‘No, but oh, Grace, you don’t know how happy that makes me, hearing that. I’ve wanted someone to find Amos for such a long time…’ There was real emotion in Maria’s voice too. ‘And he’s spent so long trying to avoid being found he hasn’t realised yet that it’s the one thing he wants… more than anything.’ She paused to think. ‘Where are you?’
‘I’m at home,’ Grace replied. ‘Well, at the farm where Amos was staying, but we don’t know when he left exactly, or which direction he went in. All I know is that when he had finished working here he said he would make his way back to you.’
‘Yes, he told me that too. It was the day he rang me to tell me about you. And I’ve been wondering about it ever since, hoping… Well, if he is on his way, he’s not here yet, so… But I’d love to meet you. Can you come here, Grace? Come and stay with me and we can wait together.’
Grace could feel the warmth of Maria’s words wrapping itself around her and she couldn’t think of anything she would rather do. ‘I can come straight away… Would that be all right?’
‘Perfect, let me tell you how to get here…’
The call ended a few minutes later and Grace hugged her phone to her chest. She had no idea what was going to happen next but, for once in her life, not knowing where she was going or what she was doing felt completely and utterly wonderful.
Her head was awhirl with things she needed to think about, but most of them could wait. There was just one other thing she needed to do now.
She found the contacts list in her phone and dialled another number.
‘Hello, Grace…’ Bill’s voice was hesitant with worry. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Yes, I’m fine, and I’m so sorry to call you on a Sunday, Bill, but something rather important has come up. I’m really sorry but I won’t be able to come into the shop tomorrow. It’s hideously short notice, I know, but…’
‘No, no, don’t worry… but you sound a little… I don’t know, anxious? Are you sure you’re all right?’
‘Bill, I’m honestly fine, I’m sorry to have to ask.’ She smiled to herself at the thoughts in her head, wondering what to say next. ‘And the thing is, well, I’m going to visit someone, only I’m not sure how long I’m going to be away…’
‘Grace, you never take any holiday, I’ll manage. Take a week, two even if it helps, and—’
‘Bill, you’re a darling, thank you so much.’ She could almost see his cheeks colouring down the phone. ‘Erm, there is just one more thing… You know how you’ve always said you’d do anything for me, I only had to ask?’
‘Yes?’
‘Well, I wondered if I might ask a massive favour…’
Maria’s directions were wonderfully precise and not quite two hours after they had spoken on the phone, Grace pulled up outside her house. Her head had swivelled from left to right as she drove, scouring the lanes and the countryside for any sign of Amos, but there was none. Once or twice her heart had quickened at the sight of someone walking but, within seconds, she’d see that the person’s gait was different, that they were the wrong height, or with a dog, but it still didn’t stop a rush of excitement from churning her stomach.
The door to Maria’s cottage opened as Grace was still walking up the path and she suddenly realised that it was in fact, Amos’s house. She stopped to look at it, feeling odd to be seeing something that was such a part of Amos without him being present.
Maria laughed, opening her arms wide. ‘Isn’t it beautiful?’ she called. ‘Just like Amos!’
The cottage was red-brick, low and perfectly symmetrical, almost like a child’s drawing. A bright-red front door stood between a window on either side, both upstairs and downstairs and a chimney pot stood on the right-hand end of the roof. The garden was beautiful, filled with waving stems of hollyhocks and roses, and a small bench sat to one side, surrounded by pretty tubs. It was friendly and welcoming, and absolutely perfect.
Maria herself was probably in her late twenties, with rich auburn hair that bloomed in a cloud around a petite face. It was tied back with a vividly coloured headscarf, the ends of which trailed onto the tops of dungarees printed with an equally loud pattern. Grace could see instantly why she and Amos were friends. She held out her arms as Grace approached and the two women hugged as if they had known one another their whole lives.
‘Come in, come in,’ beamed Maria. ‘And no, he’s not here yet,’ she added in response to Grace’s unspoken question. ‘But I’m sure he will be.’ She squinted up at the sky. ‘It’s such a beautiful day.’
It was cool and dim inside by comparison and it took Grace a moment for her eyes to adjust. The front door opened directly into the living room, a space that was filled with plants against a backdrop of soft creams and mellow yellows, and Grace felt instantly at home.
