Page 9 of The Moon Sister
‘The pleasure was all mine. And talkin’ o’ learning, you be sure to visit Chilly while you’re there. He’s an old gypsy who lives on the estate, and a regular goldmine about herbal remedies for animals an’ humans.’
‘I will. Goodbye for now, darling Margaret.’ I stood up and, knowing I was about to cry too, walked swiftly towards the gate. Cal appeared by my side.
‘You just make sure those cats o’ ours beget a few bonnie kittens, won’t you?’ Margaret called out as, with one last wave, I climbed up into Beryl and headed into the next chapter of my life.
*
‘This is your bedroom, Tig,’ said Cal, dumping my rucksack on the floor.
I looked around the small room, its low ceiling threaded with veiny cracks and bulges in the plaster, as if it was exhausted from holding up the roof above it. It was a) freezing cold and b) spartan, even in terms of what I was used to, but at least it contained a bed. And a chest of drawers, on top of which I placed Alice the hedgehog, still in her travelling box.
‘Can I bring her cage in here too?’ Cal offered. ‘I can’t cope wi’ her in the sitting room. If she escapes in the night, I might step on her an’ squash her by mistake on the way to the lavvy! Isn’t she meant tae be hibernatin’?’
‘She would be in the wild, but I can’t risk it,’ I explained. ‘She’s not put on enough weight since I rescued her and she’d never make it through the winter. I’ve got to keep her nice and warm, make sure she keeps feeding.’
Cal brought in her cage, and having settled Alice back into her home and given her a sachet of her favourite cat food, I felt so tired that I sat heavily on my bed, wishing I could lie down on it.
‘Thanks so much for your help today, Cal. I couldn’t have got those cats down the slope to the enclosures by myself.’
‘Aye.’ Cal’s eyes swept over me. ‘You’re a wee fairy, aren’t you? Doubt I’ll be askin’ you tae help me mend fences or chop the wood for the fires this winter.’
‘I’m stronger than I look,’ I lied defensively, because I really wasn’t. Physically anyway.
‘Aye, well, I’m sure yae have other strengths, Tig.’ Cal indicated the cold, bare room. ‘This cottage needs a woman’s touch,’ he hinted. ‘I haven’t a clue.’
‘I’m sure we can make it more cosy.’
‘You want something tae eat? There’s some venison stew in the fridge.’
‘Er, no thank you, I’m a vegan actually, if you remember—’
‘O’ course. Well.’ He shrugged as I gave an enormous yawn. ‘Mebbe you need some sleep.’
‘I think I do.’
‘There’s a tub in the bathroom if you want a soak. I’ll wait until you’ve had the first hot water.’
‘Really, don’t worry. I’m for my bed now,’ I replied. ‘Night, Cal.’
‘Night, Tig.’
Finally the door closed behind him and I sank backwards onto what was a deceivingly comfortable and well-broken-in mattress, pulled the duvet over myself and fell asleep instantly.
*
I woke up at six o’clock – heeding both the freezing temperature and the call of my internal alarm. Turning on the light, I saw it was still pitch black outside and the inside of the windowpanes had frozen over.
Not needing to dress, because I was still in my jumper and filthy jeans, I pulled on an extra cardigan, my boots, beanie and ski jacket. I walked into the heavily beamed sitting room, which also housed a generous inglenook fireplace. Grabbing the torch that Cal had shown me hung on a hook by the front door, I switched it on and braced myself to venture outside. Navigating my way by torchlight and memory, I went to the large barn that contained a cold room, to fetch the pigeon and rabbit carcasses to feed the cats. As I entered, I noticed Thistle, asleep on a bale of straw in one corner. At my approach, he roused himself and stretched sleepily before ambling across to greet me on his impossibly long legs and shoving his pointed nose into the palm of my outstretched hand. As I looked into his intelligent brown eyes, fringed with grey fur that gave the almost comical impression of shaggy overgrown eyebrows, my heart melted.
‘Come on, boy. Let’s see if we can find you something to eat too.’
After retrieving the cats’ food and selecting a juicy bone from the slab for Thistle, I made my way outside again. Thistle attempted to follow me, but I reluctantly pushed him back into the barn.
‘Maybe another day, darling,’ I told him. I couldn’t risk spooking the cats when they’d only just arrived.
I walked across the frosted lawn and down the slope towards the enclosures. The inky blackness of the sky was the most intense I’d ever seen – without a chink of human-made light. Using the torch to guide me down the slope, I reached the entrance to the enclosures.
‘Molly?’ I whispered into the darkness. ‘Igor? Posy? Polson?’ I turned the handle out of habit, then I remembered that here, where visitors might come in the future, there was a keypad above the lock to prevent people entering the enclosures at random and disturbing the cats. Forcing my brain to remember the code that Cal had told me, I pressed what I thought was the right combination, and on the third try there was a small click and the gate finally slid open. I closed it behind me.
