Chapter 32
32
The heathland where they’d decided to release Carmelita was about a mile square. It was a pocket of scrappy common land dotted with trees and bushes, crisscrossed with narrow tracks, and squashed between two newish red-brick housing estates. It hadn’t been developed for housing so far, according to local knowledge anyway, because it was home to a population of sand lizards, a protected species.
They’d been chatting about building houses on the way over, along with the revelation that the survey for the planning application for Farmer John’s land had thrown up some invasive plant species. At least it had been a revelation to Finn and Ben.
‘What are invasive plants, Dad?’ Ben asked from the back of the Land Rover, where he was keeping an eye on Carmelita, who was securely in the transporter, her russet-gold coat visible through the bars.
‘They’re plants that can grow through the floor of your house and wreck it,’ Finn told him. ‘So they’d all need to be dug up and moved before any building can be done.’
‘But weren’t the plants there first?’ Ben asked with a frown. ‘Can’t we just leave the plants alone and build the houses in another place?’
‘We haven’t got that many places we can build on. And we need lots of houses.’
‘OK.’ It was clear from Ben’s voice that he’d lost interest. ‘Will we see the sand lizards today, Auntie Jade?’
‘I don’t think so, love. They’ll probably all have gone to bed.’
‘Maybe one of them will be having a late night,’ Ben said hopefully.
‘You never know.’ Jade suppressed a smile and thought that any self-respecting sand lizard would be long gone as soon as the Land Rover drew up, even if it did happen to be having a late night!
They’d just arrived, and she parked on a patch of ochre sandy ground that served as a car park for the locals who came here. According to Sarah, it was mostly dog walkers who used the heath, but luckily they had the place to themselves tonight. The sun had set a few minutes ago and the sky was already a deep lilac, deepening in places into navy blue. High above their heads, a sliver of silver moon hung like a night light waiting to greet the first few stars.
Finn and Ben hopped out and they went round to open the back of the Land Rover. Jade had backed up close to the tangle of olive and brown undergrowth and they’d positioned the transporter so when they opened its doors, it would be possible for Carmelita to go straight out into the heathland. A ramp led from the back of the Land Rover down to the ground – not that the little vixen couldn’t jump, but Jade wanted to make it as easy as possible for her.
Just in case she was wary, Jade had brought along a bribe. Some small pieces of meat, which she now used to lay a trail down the ramp and into the undergrowth.
‘Right then, are you ready?’ she said to Ben. ‘We’ll need to give her plenty of space, so you and your dad can stand well clear. Then I’m going to open the transporter and let her out.’
Ben nodded, and Finn made sure the boy was close to him as Jade leaned in and unlatched the transporter. For a few seconds, the vixen stared out at her freedom without moving. Her brown eyes were round with curiosity and her russet black-tipped ears pricked on full alert.
‘I don’t think she wants to go,’ Ben said in a stage whisper.
But as he spoke, Carmelita raised her auburn snout and scented the air.
‘She can smell home,’ Jade murmured, wondering if she should throw a piece of meat down onto the ground. There were already some bits on the ramp. She decided to give it a minute.
They all waited. Except for a few nocturnal rustlings, it was quiet in the dusk. There was a very slight breeze that shivered through the trees and sent a handful of yellow and gold leaves swirling down from on high, a reminder that autumn was well and truly on its way.
The sky had grown a little darker and the slice of moon was brighter and more lemony now. Several more stars had come out, pricking the dark like tiny diamonds.
Then, all at once, Carmelita seemed to make up her mind. She took a few tentative steps, putting all four pads firmly onto the ramp, delicately took the first bribe, then ignored the second and leapt suddenly into the undergrowth and was gone with a flick of her bushy black-tipped tail.
‘She didn’t hang around long,’ Ben said, and his voice wobbled a bit.
‘I expect she’s pleased to be home,’ Finn told him. ‘She’s probably got friends round here.’
‘So she won’t be too lonely without us?’ There was a note of wistfulness in Ben’s voice as he looked from his father back to Jade. His long-lashed eyes were bright with tears.
‘She won’t be lonely, love. She’ll be with all of her fox friends.’
‘Do you think she’ll ever come back to the garden to see me and Mum? Will she remember that we made her better?’
‘You never know,’ Jade said. ‘You might see her again. But the main thing is that she’s with her own kind, which is where she should be.’
Ben digested this for a moment before wiping his eyes with his coat sleeve. ‘One of the kids at school said some people keep foxes as pets. Is that true, Auntie Jade?’
‘It might be true, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do, love. Foxes are wild creatures and they need to be in the wild, looking after themselves.’
‘That’s what I told him.’ Ben sounded half relieved and half upset.
Finn put an arm around his son’s shoulders and for a few seconds Ben leaned against him before standing tall again and putting his hands in his coat pockets. Jade found she was blinking back a few tears herself. Letting go was such a hard lesson to learn.
The only thing that had ever made it better for her was being surrounded with love. Like Ben was now. She moved across to where man and boy stood, and for a little while they all stayed where they were, wrapped in darkness and listening to the nighttime rustlings of the heathland beneath the quiet beauty of the stars.