‘I didn’t lie to you.’ Ned’s tone was desperate.
‘Did I miss the part where you said you were the one leaving the notes?’
‘Sorry. It just felt a bit weird to own up to it. I felt bad about the tone of the early messages. They were writtenby my gran. Well, they were her words, but since she got arthritis she’s not so good with… Anyway, the point is I didn’t know you then. And Gran was quite cross.’
‘Because Elsie was on the tiniest corner of your land.’ A penny dropped. ‘That’s why you offered to help fix her. Just because you wanted to get rid of me!’
‘That’s not true. I was trying to help,’ said Ned.
‘Helping yourself more like.’ Dixie thought she’d found a friend in Ned, a likeminded soul. But now it turned out, like every other man, he was only interested in things that benefited him. She’d been taken for a fool.
‘Dixie. Please can you open the door? I feel silly talking to a curtain.’ There was a pause. ‘You made new curtains. They look good but I’d like to see them from the other side.’
‘Youfeel silly? How do you think I feel? I’ve been such an idiot. This whole time you were only playing the nice working-class guy so you could get rid of me without any fuss.’
‘I never said I was working class.’
‘You have spanners!’ she yelled. ‘But you don’t have to play mechanic any more because Elsie and I won’t be a bother for much longer because I’ll call my friend. And she’ll come and get me.’ Dixie dialled Nora’s number.
‘It’s me,’ said Dixie. ‘I can’t get Elsie going again.’
‘Are you still talking to me?’ said Ned from outside the van.
‘Hang on,’ said Dixie into the phone. ‘Ned’s outside.’
‘Hello, Ned!’ called Nora.
‘Don’t be nice to him. He’s the enemy. The patriarchy. The lord of the manor who wants the serfs off his land. He left threatening messages and then pretended to be my friend.’ The last word caught in her throat and she had to stop speaking or she’d start blubbing. And she was an ugly crier.
‘It’s probably best if I go,’ said Ned.
Dixie whipped back the curtains so that she could glare at him. ‘You should,’ she said, vitriolic. ‘And me and Elsie will be out of your hair any minute now and you’ll never have to see us again.’
‘I can only take you. I’ve no way to tow Elsie,’ said Nora from the phone.
This was embarrassing. Dixie’s dramatic exit had been thwarted. She could hardly leave Elsie behind. ‘But wehaveto go today!’
‘You really don’t. There isn’t any rush,’ said Ned.
Dixie felt oddly relieved by his words. But why would she want to stay? She didn’t even understand herself sometimes. ‘I’ll call someone in the morning and then I’ll be gone for ever,’ she said, but Ned was already walking away.
Dixie watched him go and was surprised when Nora’s voice cut through the silence. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’ She’d never had a friend like Nora before. There were the girls at boarding school but that had all been about knowing who to please, whose pa knew yours, who had the biggest tuck allowance. University had been quite similar. She’d had lots of friends there when she was holding parties in the house Daddy had paid for, butsomehow those friends hadn’t kept in touch. She knew in her heart Nora would always be her friend.
‘Ned’s gone.’
‘That’s good then. What do you want to do now?’
‘I’ll stay here. I’ve been here three weeks so another night won’t kill me. I’ll be fine,’ said Dixie. She needed to find a positive out of all this. ‘I found truffles.’
‘On Ned’s land?’ asked Nora.
‘Yes. But I didn’t know that at the time.’
‘They sort of belong to him then.’
Dixie just couldn’t get a break.
33
