Page 93 of The Moon Sister
There was another knock on the cottage door, which made us all jump. Cal went to open it.
‘So this is where you all are,’ said the tall man, Fraser, whom I’d last seen on Christmas Eve outside the Lodge. He ducked his head to step inside.
‘For once you might be glad to see me,’ he said to Cal, as he gave a tug on the female hand he was holding and Zara stumbled over the threshold. ‘I found her on the side of the road, trying to change a tyre on that ancient vehicle she was driving. She hadn’t a clue how, of course. I would have done it for her, but I thought it was more important to bring her back first to defrost. She could have died out there if I hadn’t found her,’ he added.
‘Zara, thank heavens you’re okay!’ The Valkyrie walked towards the pair. ‘Thank you so much.’ I saw Fraser and Ulrika make eye contact and a glimmer of a smile passed between them before Ulrika’s attention moved to her daughter. ‘Where have you been, darling? We’ve been worried sick.’ She embraced Zara, whose ramrod posture did not soften in her mother’s arms. She glanced at me over her mother’s shoulder, her expression beseeching me to help. The problem was, I didn’t know how.
‘We need to get her into a warm bath quickly,’ said Ulrika, rubbing her daughter’s arms ineffectually. ‘We’re not going to find that here, are we? It’s an absolute hovel, and of course, we can’t even go to the Lodge.’
‘You can both come down to my cottage,’ suggested Fraser. ‘I have central heating and plenty of hot water.’
‘Then thank you, we will.’
‘Mum, I—’
‘Not a word from you, miss!’ Ulrika snapped and Zara shut her mouth.
‘Right,’ said Fraser, ‘let’s be off then.’
When they’d left – without Zara uttering another word – Cal shut the door behind them and turned to me.
‘Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m treating myself to a dram from my Christmas whisky stash after all that excitement. Want one?’
‘Actually, yes please. I’m definitely feeling shaky. Poor Zara,’ I groaned as my heart gave a weird palpitation and I collapsed onto the sofa.
‘There you go, Tig.’ Cal handed me a glass and we toasted each other before knocking back the whisky. The liquid made my heart bump and bounce, but finally steadied it, and I began to feel calmer.
‘Here’s to mother and daughter, safely reunited,’ Cal said.
‘Who exactlyisFraser, Cal? I’ve been meaning to ask you since I saw him at Christmas.’
‘He’s Beryl’s son.’
‘Beryl’sson?’ I squeaked. ‘Why on earth has she never mentioned that to me?’
‘It’s . . . complicated, Tig; there’s a lot o’ bad blood from the past, if you know what I mean, and it’s not for me tae tell the story. Suffice to say, she’s not pleased tae see him back from Canada, and nor is anyone else at Kinnaird. Lord knows why he’s here, but I’ve an idea.’ Cal tapped his nose.
‘So Fraser doesn’t live with his mother?’
‘Och no, not after what he did. Anyway, yae know I’m not one for gossip, so let’s just leave it be, shall we? Fraser is back for reasons best known to himself and I for one will hold my breath until he’s gone again. Now, I’m off out tae fill in some more potholes. I’ll see you later.’
*
Just as I’d settled down on the sofa for a nap after lunch, still feeling worn out from my cold and the early mornings with Pegasus, there was yet another knock on the door.
‘Hi, Charlie, come in,’ I said, my heart rate rising again at the unexpected sight of him.
‘Hi, Tiggy. Beryl told me Ulrika came to see you earlier to find out where Zara was.’
As he stepped inside and stood there, I noticed the purple shadows under his eyes and the deep contours of his features. He looked as though he’d lost weight since the last time I’d seen him.
‘Zara’s fine, Charlie. She and Ulrika left to go and get Zara a hot bath.’ I then explained about his daughter taking Beryl and having a puncture.
‘So, who found her?’
‘That man Fraser. He brought her back here to Kinnaird.’
‘Right.’ Charlie’s expression darkened. ‘Where are they now? Up at the Lodge?’
