Austin Gilmour laughed. ‘That’s your English sense of humour, right?’
‘Do you take sugar?’
‘Is that canned milk?’ He said this with distaste.
Cass remembered having canned milk when she had visited before and had really got to like it. His fussiness annoyed her.
‘It’s all there is. It’s fine when you get used to it.’ For some reason she didn’t like her guest. She didn’t know why – he was friendly and good-looking. He wore nice clothes. So what was it that had made her take against him? The fact that he’d brought nothing with him was definitely part of it.
He reached over the piles of boxes for a book on a high shelf.
‘Maybe you should wait until you meet Bastian before you start reading his books.’ Cass kept her tone light and her expression friendly. She imagined someone behaving like this in her father’s study and knew he would hate it. Bastian might well be the same.
Austin Gilmour laughed. ‘Oh, I’m sure he won’t mind. My father was a great friend of his father’s.’
Cass nodded. If she had liked him, she would probably have said that hers had known Bastian’s father too. ‘But you haven’t met Bastian, have you?’
At this moment Friendly the dog came bustling in, greeting Austin and Cass with the same bonhomie he showed to everyone. Bastian was close behind and didn’t seem unduly surprised to find a man he had never met in his sitting room.
‘I’ve made tea,’ Cass said. ‘I’ll take it on to the veranda.’
Cass picked up the tray and left the room. Austin Gilmour made her feel uncomfortable and she wanted to find Ranulph even more urgently.
Ranulph was in the parking area at the side of the house, which was currently acting as a builder’s yard. Fallen branches had been stacked and a large tree had had the larger limbs removed to make a bit more space. He was wearing a tool belt and was looking hot but purposeful and engaged.
‘What are you up to?’ Cass asked.
‘We’re putting some roofs back on and making some houses safe.’
‘Can I help? I’ve got nothing else useful to do.’
‘To be honest, unless you’re very good at building, you might be a bit in the way.’ Ranulph seemed in a hurry and felt the need to be frank.
‘OK!’ said Cass blithely, hoping to hide the hurt his reply had caused her. She wanted to tell him about the trips she had made in Bastian’s pick-up, driving in very difficult circumstances and managing just fine.
She went back into the house and delved into her backpack. Among the more essential things she had slipped in a small pad of drawing paper and a few pencils. She found a space on the veranda and started sketching.
Instantly she began to feel calmer. Focusing on the lines of the plants, the way the light fell, meant other worries evaporated.
She was engrossed in the way a bright pink flower emerged from the leaves when she became aware of someone behind her. It made her jump.
‘Let me know if you want some larger paper,’ said a deep voice. ‘I can give you some.’
Cass looked up, embarrassed. Bastian was standingbehind her, looking at her drawing. Behind the vivid flowers was a fallen branch and the bright optimism of the flower contrasted with the devastation behind.
‘I’m just filling in time.’ Cass stuffed everything back into her backpack. ‘You don’t want the map just yet, do you?’
Bastian shook his head. ‘You keep it safe for me. It’s important. Now, Delphine tells me she’s put you and Ranulph in the spare bedroom.’
‘Yes. It’s so kind of you to give us a bedroom when you must have lots of people who need to stay.’ She didn’t mention Austin, hoping that Bastian would say something that would explain his presence.
Bastian shrugged. ‘“First up, best dressed,” as my father used to say. And as Howard’s daughter, you will always be welcome here.’
Simple words, but they meant a lot to Cass.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Later, as Cass and Delphine were preparing pumpkins for the evening meal, Cass said, ‘Are you worrying about your family?’
