NINETY-NINE
Saturday 20 March
James pulled the cork out of the wine bottle with a satisfying pop. He breathed in the scent of the Chilean Malbec. Then he poured himself a glass, the rippling sound of the wine leaving the bottle putting him in a good place. Carol had taken her grandchildren to the Straw Bear Festival and the rest of the evening was his alone. He intended to drink his wine in front of the television, and watch the rugby.
He eased himself into the leather armchair and pointed the remote control at the TV. It burst into life and the lead-up to the match was on. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. He lifted his glass, ready to savour the first sip of ruby liquid when his phone rang. The glass paused halfway to his lips. He looked at the screen of his phone. It was Esther, from the school office. On a Saturday. He frowned.
‘Hello, Esther,’ he answered, already knowing he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.
‘Sorry to disturb you at the weekend,’ said Esther. ‘I wasn’t sure whether to call or not but then I thought I had better, just in case.’
‘Go on.’
‘I’m at the school. The caretaker rang me because the alarms had gone off.’
‘Everything all right?’ asked James.
‘Oh yes, everything’s fine. That is, there was no break-in.’
‘Did you check the CCTV?’
‘Now you know I’m not the most technical—’
‘Esther, you really need to get yourself on a course or some—’
‘If you’ll let me finish,’ said Esther. ‘I eventually found the footage for today. There was nothing untoward. But while I was working it out, I found something else.’ She paused meaningfully.
James put aside his mild frustration. ‘What?’
‘I think you’d better come and see for yourself,’ said Esther.
James wasn’t in the best of moods as he walked into the school office. His evening had been interrupted and he didn’t much like Esther’s insistence on mystery. But she had refused to explain what had made her ask him to come in.
She was sitting in front of the computer and when he arrived, she got up and indicated he should take her place. Then she clicked a button on the keyboard. In front of him, CCTV footage began to play out.
He didn’t understand at first. There was Lorna Fielding – his wife’s daughter – sitting at a table in the staffroom. Alone.
‘We were scrolling through the footage to get to this evening,’ said Esther. ‘And we saw this.’
‘What’s she doing?’ asked James impatiently. Then his jaw dropped as he realized.
ONE HUNDRED
Saturday 20 March
Nancy came out into the courtyard and immediately saw Rosie next to her horse. Notherhorse, she mentally corrected. Someone else’s horse now. Rosie stepped away when Nancy came out. Lara and Dylan were now also in the courtyard. The village brass band was gathered near the road, warming up. A small crowd was watching the start of the procession.
Nancy looked at the horse: Lupin. A woman called Olivia came to introduce herself to Lara and shook Nancy’s hand too. She helped Lara mount Lupin and showed her how to hold the reins. She reassured Lara she would have hold of Lupin at all times – even though there was nothing to worry about as he was the calmest pony.
The line-up got into place. The band was at the front, followed by Lara and Lupin. Alongside them were a number of torchbearers, then behind them, it was the turn of the straw bear. Someone came round and lit the torches one by one, the wax bursting into life, lighting up the darkening evening.
Nancy looked up at Lara, sitting on the pony. Her daughter flashed her an excited smile and Nancy’s heart swelled. Sam would have loved to have seen this, she thought, Beth too. She suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness that was physically painful.Not tonight, she told herself quickly,don’t go falling apart now. Not on Lara’s special evening.
‘I’ll see you down by the water,’ she said with a smile, and Lara nodded. Nancy was going on ahead to get a good spot right near the yew tree, where Lara would finish this odd, ancient ritual.
The band started up and the procession set off. Nancy gave Lara one last wave as she rode down the high street. The deep orange flames of the torches rippled skywards, dense black smoke reeling off them into the air. The straw bear, from a safe distance, brought up the rear. Soon everyone had left.
Nancy had forgotten all about Rosie and it was a surprise to turn and see her still there. Rosie stared at her, her expression bordering on insolence. Nancy was taken aback. She was about to say something but then Rosie walked off.
