‘Oh, yeah—that actually happened to me recently. Everything I did or heard seemed to revolve around islands for some reason. Can’t think why. Spooky though.’
Something would have to be done. Junior and inferior members of any hierarchy had to be kept in their place. Being magnanimous, however, he ignored the entirely unfounded accusation implicit in this and replied, ‘There is apparently nothingspookyabout it. It’sapparentlya fault in the brain—separating out one piece of information to fixate on.’
‘Someone’s brain’s at fault. I agree with you there. Come on—I’m starving; let’s go get a takeaway and head back to the church.’
Aleksey nodded, and kept his thoughts about Austin standing in the window of his apartment surveying the old warehouses to himself.
And the fact that the phenomenon he was apparently experiencing was named after a terrorist.
* * *
Chapter Twelve
The following day, tired and feeling he’d wasted one of the decreasing number of good night’s sleep he might have left in his life, Aleksey sat with Phoebe Mailer at the kitchen table. They had tea and were working their way through the various issues they usually covered in these weekly briefings. Her role had expanded over the years since he’d hired her. She ran the guarding team, but now she also acted as his general estate manager, and had taken on liaison with the old codger and his team, the grooms, and the house cleaners, all of which she did with the same calm efficiency she’d applied to her job as a detective.
They’d just come back from a walk to the site of the proposed guardroom. She’d made the immediate suggestion they call it The Keep, which was such a good idea that it reminded Aleksey why he’d employed her in the first place. The Keep it would be. There were a lot of things he was now keeping in his life—safe or otherwise.
When they were done, he stretched out his long legs and said with a glance out to see if Ben was likely to interrupt them, ‘There is something else I need you to do for me.’
She smiled but only with a tiny quirk of her lips. ‘Anything as long as it’s ethical, boss, you know that.’
Aleksey twitched his lip back, getting her wry sense of humour. She’d used to insist that she would only countenance something if it was legal. She’d apparently had an epiphany, and was now allowing that something (her team being armed, for example) might be illegal yet ethical at the same time.
For once, however, he didn’t require her to do mental gymnastics and only enquired, ‘Are you feeling especially combative?’
Her eyebrows rose. ‘I could be. Who do you need sorting?’
‘The opposite: I don’t want you to be offended and attack me. I am delicate.’
She inclined her head sceptically. ‘Yup. That’s my impression of you. Always has been. Just lay it on me.’ She frowned quickly. ‘Metaphorically.’
‘I need something done that requires a woman’s touch. There, that is the face I anticipated.’
She seemed about to up and leave. Aleksey laid a hand on her arm and told her the task. She instantly relaxed and agreed, with no hesitation, that it did indeed require a woman’s touch.
When Ben arrived back from another trip into Exeter, this time to help clean up the cathedral after its assault the previous night, he too was looking decidedly ragged. They hadn’t slept at all when they’d arrived back from their fish and chips. It had been a long, cold night. The longest stone-vaulted ceiling in Europe had lost some of its initial appeal after being stared at for six hours.
Ben glared around the kitchen. ‘I don’t suppose you’ve done anything about food?’
‘I actually did. I waited for you to get home to cook me some.’
‘Thank you. Excellent. I’m absolutely starving.’
‘Do you want to go out?’
Ben flung himself into one of the chairs and dragged the well-worn takeout menus closer. ‘Too tired.’ He flicked a finger towards the kettle.
Aleksey laughed and got up to switch it on. That much he was prepared to do. ‘I have had an idea. A good one.’
There was a groan, and when he turned around, Ben’s forehead was on the table.
‘I think you will like it.’
‘Go on.’
‘I have decided that it’s time we took the family to the island. All of us.’
Ben’s head snapped up. Aleksey smiled at him. ‘Next week. Em is at a loose end for the summer. Molly would love it. Babushka as well. Miles has many plans. And…I thought Enid would like to see the squirrels.’
