Chapter 19 Elise
Elise
It was late when Elise got back to Marsh House after her trip to London.
It had been a long journey and one hell of a day, and as she crossed the threshold of the house, she let out a sigh of relief.
Strange happenings or not, Marsh House felt like home these days.
As if the rooms embraced her in greeting when she entered.
And she entered them now in a kind of journey of refamiliarisation.
As if she’d been away for weeks rather than for hours.
But, then, since her life had changed so completely in such a short space of time, perhaps in a sense, she had.
The work she’d done on the house so far looked good, which was a relief because now that she and Robbie were splitting up, she needed to make a success of this project.
She would have to become self-sufficient in a way she never had been before, not really, having moved from her grandparents’ house in Sussex to art college in London and meeting and moving in with Robbie very shortly afterwards.
Apart from a year or so living with girlfriends in a shared house, Elise had never been truly independent. Now she needed to be. Strong too.
Letting Lulu out into the garden, Elise closed her eyes and stood, listening, while she waited for the dog to come back indoors.
There was nothing to hear inside the house, and yet, as always, the quiet felt like a waiting silence.
Maybe even a listening silence. So, feeling slightly stupid, but deciding that the appalling craziness of the day gave her the perfect excuse for it, she spoke out loud, thinking of the three figures in the mural Sam had uncovered.
“You want something from me, don’t you?” she said to Lilias.
“Show me what it is. I’m willing to help you, but you have to give me some direction. ”
Upstairs, one of the old floorboards creaked, and her heart beat a little faster. But old houses were renowned for creaking, weren’t they? It didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Other sounds reached her through the open door. A fox calling to its mate. A car passing by on the high street. The gate rattling in the wind. The everyday sounds of life in the countryside, that was all, not someone walking around.
When Elise opened her eyes, it was to find that Lulu had come back in from the garden and was sitting obediently in front of her, her head cocked to one side.
For one very strange moment, the dog’s face seemed wrong.
Surely her snout ought to be more pointed?
More like a Jack Russell? But then Lulu sneezed, and the moment was gone.
Of course she shouldn’t have a pointed snout. She was a pug. What was wrong with her?
Elise sighed, suddenly exhausted. “Come on,” she said to the dog. “Let’s go to bed.”
Next morning, when Elise switched on her phone, there were three missed calls from Robbie and a text from Sam.
Hi Elise. I’ve got to do some work finishing up on another project tomorrow morning, so won’t be in until later on. See you then.
Trying not to think about how she would miss his company, Elise quickly replied, acknowledging his message and saying she would see him later. Then she ate breakfast, took Lulu for a quick walk, and hurried back, keen to crack on with her restorations of the marsh mural.
But when she reached Marsh House, it was to find a petite, dark-haired woman waiting for her on the doorstep. Since Jasmine was at her side, Elise had to assume she was Rachel, Sam’s ex-wife.
“Oh,” she said, “hello. I’m not expecting Sam yet, I’m afraid; he’s been called away to another job.”
Jasmine was looking at her games console, her back turned towards Elise, but Rachel frowned.
“Typical,” she said. “Well, we’ll just come in and wait for him, if you don’t mind? I have a work meeting to go to in Norwich this afternoon.”
“Oh, okay.” Elise opened the front door and stepped back to let them both in.
Let off her leash, Lulu immediately greeted their guests with her usual rapture, a rapture Jasmine responded to, but which made Rachel move back in alarm.
“Could you keep the dog off? Only, these are my work clothes, and I want to stay looking smart for this afternoon’s meeting.”
It was a reasonable enough request, even if it had been delivered in a bossy-sounding voice. “Of course.” Elise picked the dog up, and Lulu promptly gave her several exuberant face kisses, which, judging from her expression, filled Rachel with repulsion.
“I’m working in the room down the hall. I’ll take Lulu with me. Make yourself at home.”
“Haven’t you got time to take me on a tour?
I’ve heard so much about this place. It’s such a ridiculous project, isn’t it?
A criminal waste of money. Still, lucky for you and Sam that some people have money to burn, I guess.
” Rachel was striding on ahead, obviously expecting Elise to fall in with her wishes.
Elise felt a flicker of dislike. She was just about to be assertive when Rachel said, “But that’s so typical of Sam. He always lands on his feet. Everything comes to him without effort. He’s never had to struggle and strive the way the rest of us have.”
That didn’t seem fair. Or accurate.
Rachel was soon busy poking round at everything, her gaze casting critically over Sam’s handiwork and Elise’s decorations.
“People always think Sam’s perfect,” she said, turning away from Sam’s carefully crafted window shutters. “He’s so talented, Rachel. He’s so handsome, Rachel. He’s such a good dad. Tosh. He’s just as much to blame for our marriage breaking up as I am.”
There had been so much malevolence in Rachel’s voice that Elise flushed, furious on Sam’s behalf, instinctively looking round for Jasmine, hoping she hadn’t heard her mother’s words.
Rachel flapped a hand. “Oh, don’t worry, Jas’ll be playing some game or other.”
Lulu was struggling in Elise’s arms now, so Elise put her down on the floor, where she immediately trotted over to try to make friends with Rachel again. Tough luck. If the dog encouraged Rachel to make a quick exit, so much the better.
When Rachel flashed an irritated look in her direction, Elise smiled. “Do help yourself to a tea or coffee while you’re waiting. The kitchen is at the end of the hallway on the right. Come, Lulu.”
As soon as she was alone, Elise dashed off a quick text to Sam to tell him his ex-wife and his daughter had arrived. His reply came almost immediately.
Hell. Am in Norwich but will be there ASAP.
Then she sat down with Lulu on her lap to think about what Rachel had said.
What had Rachel meant about the breakup of their marriage being as much Sam’s fault as hers?
It didn’t seem likely if, as Sam had told her, Rachel had had an affair.
But then it didn’t seem likely to her, now having met Rachel, that the two of them had ever been married in the first place. Maybe Rachel had changed?
Around ten minutes later, the dining room door opened, and Rachel strolled in, hitching her bag onto her shoulder.
“Listen, I really do have to get to my meeting,” she said. “Jasmine’s still playing games. She won’t surface for hours, believe me. Can I leave her with you? She won’t be any trouble.” And she rattled the car keys in her hand, nothing about her expression expecting Elise to go against her wishes.
When Elise didn’t answer straightaway, Rachel asked again, “Is that all right?” looking at Elise now with a little frown. And Elise nodded.
“Yes, that’s fine. Sam’s on his way now.”
Rachel barely waited for her to finish speaking before she headed for the door. “Okay, cheers.” Elise heard her call goodbye to Jasmine. Then the front door slammed shut and Rachel was gone.
Sighing, Elise looked in on Jasmine. “Hi. I’m in the dining room if you want anything, okay?”
Jasmine didn’t look up. “Okay.”
Thirty minutes went by. Then Elise heard Jasmine moving about and went to find her.
“Everything all right?”
“My DS is dead. Mum forgot to bring the charger.” Jasmine’s voice was filled with disgust at the hopelessness of adults, but when Lulu greeted her rapturously, the girl smiled and sank to her knees to give her a fuss.
Poor kid.
Elise stifled a sigh, abandoning any plans to work. “How about taking Lulu out for a walk with me? We could go across the fields and pop into the village shop to get some ice creams. By the time we get back, your dad will probably be here.”
“Okay.”
Elise smiled. “Can you clip Lulu’s lead on for me then? It’s over by the window.”
Jasmine clipped on the lead, walking ahead as they left the house.
Elise called to her. “Can you wait, please, Jasmine? I’ll take Lulu until we get to the field.”
“I’m not a little girl any longer, you know.”
“I know that. But the main road’s busy, and dogs can get nervous in traffic.” This wasn’t true as far as Lulu was concerned, but Jasmine wasn’t to know that. And Elise wouldn’t even have let Charlie hold the lead across the busy main road.
Once they were safely across, Elise led the way through a gate onto the footpath across the field, and here she handed Jasmine the lead. But the dog was soon pulling, anxious to explore new smells.
“You can let her off, if you like. There aren’t any sheep or cows in this field.”
Soon both dog and child were running free, Jasmine calling out happily to Lulu, and Elise smiled, pleased to see a different child than the computer game?obsessed girl at the kitchen table. She’d just needed to be set free.
And there, suddenly, was the pain, returning like a dagger in her guts because the child running along so happily with Lulu wasn’t Charlie.
This was exactly what she’d sought to escape by giving the little dog away. But you couldn’t give away all ten-year-old children. Or the sun shining through suncatchers to make rainbows. There would always be something to remind her of her loss.