‘Help me, Ella, please, I don’t know where Lily and Arlo have gone.’ Noelle’s voice was high-pitched and frantic with worry, and she was without a coat, shivering in the harsh winter air. ‘Help me, please.’
‘Of course I will.’ A sharp stab of alarm was already prickling Ella’s skin as Noelle clutched at her arm. ‘Are you saying they’re not in your flat?’
‘Oui,oui. I was working and I told them to amuse themselves for half an hour and then we would eat. But they’ve run away, I don’t know where.’ Noelle’s mouth opened again, then closed, as though she was grasping for meaning beyond her reach. ‘What will I do if they are gone? Where could they be? They do not usually wander. Max will be frantic and it’s all my fault. What if they have gone to the tarn or run along the lane alone, in the dark? Ohnon,non, what will I do?’
‘Noelle, try and stay calm, okay.’ Ella thought of the glimpse she’d had of the children only half an hour ago. ‘They’ll be here somewhere; I don’t think they’d go down to the tarn on their own. Go and check your flat in case they’re hiding, playing a game. Is Max’s office locked? Can they get in there?’
‘I do not know.’ Noelle suddenly looked frail and much older in the glare of the security light as her terrified gaze rested on Ella’s, her usual confidence in tatters.
‘Then check the door on your way past. I’ll start in the courtyard.’
‘Should I call Max?’
‘No, not for a few minutes. I think we should look first. I don’t want to worry him if they’re hiding under your bed. What about the cottage?’
‘It is locked, they do not have keys. They cannot get in.’
‘Right. And the house is locked as well, so I can’t see them being in there.’ The spike of anxiety was now lodged in Ella’s stomach, and she felt for car keys and phone in her coat pocket. If she didn’t find them in the next five minutes, she’d call Stan; he knew the place backwards and would be here in a shot to help. She raced off through the arch without waiting for Noelle and tried the studios first. She didn’t find the children in there and hadn’t expected to; she’d seen Pete locking them before Lily and Arlo had returned. She checked the one she’d been working in and again there was no sign.
The barn was a possibility, and she dragged the heavy doors apart, using the torch on her phone to search as the electricity was still disconnected, calling the children without trying to panic them, telling them their tea was ready. That at least, she was certain, would bring Arlo from any hiding place he’d lodged himself in. Please let them be safe, she prayed, please let them be here. How would Max go on if one of them was lost, hurt, worse? Ella was just wondering about fetching Prim to see if the intuitive and clever dog could lead her to the children, when—
‘Ella! Help, please. Ella!’
At Lily’s terrified scream, she flew out of the barn into the courtyard. The little girl was teetering at the top of the steps to the flat, the yellow front door lying open behind her.
‘Lily, get back from the edge,’ Ella roared. ‘I’m coming to get you right now.’
‘It’s Arlo,’ Lily screamed again, backing away from the drop and pointing inside the flat. ‘He’s hurt his arm and he’s crying.’
Ella’s relief at finding them was laced with a new worry as she raced up the steps and caught Lily, hurrying her back into the darkened room. Ella’s pulse was roaring in her ears as she hit the light switch, and an icy dart shot into her heart as she saw Arlo lying on the floor beneath the remains of the broken ladder. He was clutching his left arm as tears streaked his face beneath eyes wild and frightened. He was pale and she let Lily go to him and followed. Ella touched his forehead with a gentle hand. It was cold and she knew he was in shock.
‘Hey, you, what have you been up to?’ She gave him a smile, keeping her voice very calm, and was mightily relieved to see his own tremulous one as she looked him over for signs of bleeding or obvious trauma beyond the way he was holding his arm and the long scratch on one side of his face. ‘Don’t tell me you were trying to drive your tractor in here.’
‘We were playing hide-and-seek. I wanted to go upstairs and the ladder broke.’
‘I can see that.’ Ella yanked off her coat and covered Arlo, pulling the splintered rungs away from him as she did so. Something caught her hand and she winced at the flash of pain and saw blood but focused back on him. He was trembling and she was certain it wasn’t just because of the cold. ‘Where does it hurt, Arlo?’
‘My arm.’
‘Where else?’
‘Just my arm. I feel sick.’
‘That’s because you’ve had a nasty fall and it surprised you. I’m going to leave you for a second to bring the table across, okay. We need to lift your legs and I promise I’ll be careful. If they hurt at all I’ll stop.’
Lily helped and they soon had Arlo’s legs raised to help increase blood supply to his vital organs. Ella loosened the polo shirt he wore under his coat and he wanted to sit up.
‘Not yet, sweetheart.’ She fumbled for her phone as she heard Noelle calling outside, her panic and fear even greater than before. ‘Lily, go to the door and absolutely no further and shout Mamie, okay. Tell her we’re here and to call an ambulance.’
Ella stroked Arlo’s forehead as she waited for a response. Noelle’s frightened cries continued as Lily came back in a few minutes later, her voice a worried whisper. ‘Mamie says the ambulance will take a long time. I don’t think she knows what to do, Ella. She was busy when we got home, and we thought we’d explore for a bit.’
Lily edged backwards until she was on Ella’s other side and Ella snuggled her too, feeling the dampness of the little girl’s tears as Lily wound her arms round her neck. Ella wasn’t expecting the sudden blast of love and tenderness that rushed into her heart. She pressed a kiss against Lily’s forehead. ‘I’ve got you both, I promise. I’ll look after you.’
‘Are we in trouble?’
‘No, my love, you’re not.’ Ella was thinking rapidly and still trying to process the rush of emotions filling her senses. She could see Arlo’s colour was already improving. ‘We just need to get Arlo to hospital so they can check him over. I think his arm might need some help and he can probably get up now.’
‘I feel sick,’ he said again, and proved it when he shifted his legs and vomited all over Ella’s coat. She helped him stand and he stared at her with wide eyes swimming with tears, clutching his arm. ‘It hurts.’
