Chapter Forty
Ruan had hated having to leave Tammy but she’d insisted he go. Having already lobbed one bombshell into her life, he’d felt terrible that he’d handed over another.
He’d messaged her the previous evening and she’d said she was OK. No matter how strong the urge to go round and comfort her, he had to respect her need for some space to take in the contents of the note.
He also had work to do. Polly Tremain was on his client list that morning so he found himself walking into her stable yard while keeping a safe distance from Lucifer.
Even under his mistress’s firm hand, ‘Lucey’ was stamping and snorting and eyeing Ruan with a look that matched his name.
Several other horses were peering out of their stables to see what all the fuss was about.
An older man in jodhpurs and a teenage girl were brushing the yard.
There was a pungent smell and Ruan tried not to wrinkle his nose.
‘Morning,’ Polly said. ‘This is an unexpected pleasure.’
‘Good morning,’ Ruan said, judging what would be a safe yet discreet distance. He dreaded being invited to give Lucifer an apple or to stroke him. ‘Thanks for taking the time to see me.’
‘I’ve always time for you, and your lovely young woman. How is she? Still basking in the triumph of her designs at the festival? My daughter told me how “cool” they were, and my stable girl waxed lyrical about them too.’
‘Tammy’s too modest to bask,’ Ruan said, fearing that Tammy had never been ‘his’ lovely young woman and certainly didn’t seem to be at the moment. ‘But I’ll pass on your kind comments.’
‘Good. Don’t let her get away, will you?’
‘I’ll try very hard not to.’
Lucifer let out such a loud snort that Ruan almost dropped his laptop bag.
Polly tutted and then soothed the horse. ‘Now, now, Lucey, calm down, it’s only that handsome young lawyer from Gaverne’s.’
Ruan smiled weakly. Polly might be joking but she made him feel embarrassed all the same.
‘Don’t look so nervous,’ she said ominously to Ruan, stroking the horse’s muzzle. ‘Lucey can sense fear. I’ll have my stable girl take him so we can do business. I’m guessing you’ll feel more comfortable if he’s not looking over our shoulders.’
The stable girl took Lucifer away, his hooves ringing on the cobbles.
‘Would you mind if we went somewhere private?’ Ruan asked.
Polly raised her eyebrows. ‘That sounds serious, though I assure you my horses are souls of discretion. You haven’t made some massive bollocks of my affairs already, have you, and Hector’s sent you to grovel?
I thought it was a bit OTT that you came out here to collect some papers I could easily have dropped in the post. I hope I’m not being charged for the privilege of seeing your handsome face? ’
Ruan had to laugh. ‘Nothing like that and no, you aren’t being charged. Hector doesn’t actually know I’m here. I called in on my way from seeing another client.’
‘Come on then. Let’s go in the office and have a chat. If it’s nothing to do with these papers, what can it be? Luckily, I love a mystery.’
Heaving an inner sigh of relief, Ruan followed Polly into the stable office and accepted the coffee Polly insisted on making for him, even though it was so strong it could probably strip paint off the woodwork at Seaspray.
‘Hector tells me you’ve moved into that old wreck down by St Loy Cove?’
‘Yes …’ Ruan said, a little surprised, although he rapidly concluded that everyone in West Cornwall would know soon enough. He’d been foolish to think he could keep it a secret from anyone, but at least it made his questions easier to broach.
‘Hmm,’ she said. ‘Nice place. In its day. One of the best positions in Cornwall, probably in Britain. I haven’t been near it for decades, but I heard it was falling down now. There was a riding school down there once. We used to take the ponies down the track when I was a girl …’
‘Well, that’s partly the reason for my visit. When we were going to the festival, you mentioned something about St Loy and at the time I didn’t say anything about the house – for various reasons – but I was wondering if you knew Walter Cavendish?’
Polly snorted. ‘I wouldn’t say “knew”. Nobody really did.
You encountered Walter rather than knew him.
We’d stop for a picnic and the ponies would drink from the stream.
The streams were clean then … Mind you, old Walter never liked us using the track.
Old dragon. We told him it was a public bridleway but he’d still tell us to bugger off.
He was so litigious too. Always involved in some legal dispute or other if he thought someone was trying to graze their animals on his land or build an access track. ’
‘He was definitely quite a character,’ Ruan said cautiously.
‘You can say that again!’ Polly said with a loud huff. ‘He never spent a penny he didn’t absolutely have to. He bought land and properties when he could – usually from broke farmers or desperate neighbours – and sold some of them when prices rose. He knew exactly what he was doing, of course.’
‘Oh?’ Ruan said, intrigued by the comment.
‘Oh yes, his father was a solicitor. Had his own firm. Walter went into it for a while, but he gave it up suddenly and decided to try extortion and blackmail instead.’
‘Not really?’
Polly sniggered. ‘I don’t know for sure, but I wouldn’t put it past him. From what I heard from local gossip, his father was a vile individual too. A dreadful tyrant to Walter and his mother. He sent Walter to some God-awful boarding school on Dartmoor when he was seven.’
‘Jesus. Sorry, I mean, how horrible.’
Polly burst out laughing. ‘Don’t mind me.
I swear like a trooper when I don’t have young people here.
I don’t want to be a bad influence. Anyway, Walter was a right shit but with that upbringing, I’m not surprised he turned out to be a wrong ’un.
Then when Kathleen took off, that tipped him over the edge. ’
‘Kathleen? You knew her? She was Walter’s girlfriend, right?’
‘I didn’t know her very well but when I was a girl I met her half a dozen times on social occasions, although she was a good decade older than me. She seemed very glamorous – natural but gilded, like a girl in a Lamorna Birch painting …’ She peered at Ruan. ‘You do know who Lamorna Birch is?’
‘I’ve heard of him. I know he painted a lot of scenes around the area where the house is.’
‘Yes, so evocative,’ Polly said dreamily. ‘Anyway. Back to Walter and Kathleen. She loved horses too. So that sent her even higher in my estimation.’
‘You said Walter was even worse after she left?’
‘Oh yes. That’s what I heard. My mother and Kathleen’s were acquaintances.
They were both on some committee or other.
I can’t remember what it was for. My mother’s not with us now, of course …
’ Polly said wistfully. ‘Mustn’t get maudlin.
Has no one ever told you about Walter or the house?
’ she went on briskly, and then stared at him hard.
‘How on earth did he come to leave the place to you? Why don’t you know all this already? ’
‘Because I only ever met him once … and I’m not sure why he left it to me,’ Ruan said, unwilling to mention Walter’s cryptic note to him.
‘How very odd. Aren’t you gagging to find out?’
‘You could say that.’ Impulse seized him. ‘Do you mind if I show you something? It’s to do with Walter and Kathleen. Maybe you can shed some light on the mystery?’
‘Is this some sort of secret?’ Her eyes lit up. ‘I love a secret.’
‘Well, I’d appreciate you keeping it to yourself,’ he said. ‘Especially from Hector because it’s absolutely nothing to do with work. Or anyone else for now. You know how gossip spreads in a small community.’
‘Ruan, my dear, I swear I won’t tell Hector or anyone. Fella doesn’t have a romantic bone in his body anyway.’
Ruan tended to agree. By the fiery zeal in Polly’s eye, he now had no choice but to show her the letter.
‘Come on, then. I presume you have this missive about your person? Let’s see what’s got you all worked up.’
Ruan had to explain that while he didn’t have the missive with him, he did have a photo, which he showed Polly.
After carefully looking at the photo and expanding parts of it, Polly returned Ruan’s phone to him. ‘Oh dear. What a terribly sad story. I almost feel sorry for the old devil.’
‘Does any of it make any sense to you?’ Ruan said.
‘It’s obvious poor Walter blew his chances with Kathleen, though we already knew that from the way she took off. However, it doesn’t shed light on why he left the house to you.’
‘No. I asked my parents if they have any more clues, but they don’t really.’
‘Hmm.’ Polly heaved a deep sigh. ‘I wish I could help more but, as I say, he wasn’t even an acquaintance and my dear mum, who knew Kathleen, left us fifteen years ago.
’ She narrowed her eyes, obviously thinking hard for a moment before clapping her hands together.
‘I tell you what though. There is someone who might possibly be able to help …’
‘Really?’ Ruan said.
‘My cousin, Deidre, also knew Kathleen. She’s a lot older than me though she’s still going strong. I could call her and ask if she remembers anything.’
‘I don’t want to put you to any more trouble,’ Ruan said, conscious that Polly was an important client and he’d already crossed several boundaries in asking her to help him with his personal life.
‘Oh, don’t worry about that! As I said, I love a mystery and I haven’t spoken to Deidre in ages. She has a memory like an elephant and I’m sure she’ll be able to shed some light on the situation.’
The yard manager hovered in the open doorway of the office.
‘Yes? What is it?’ Polly barked.
‘The rep from the Equine Centre is here, Polly. Shall I ask him to wait?’
‘Hmm. Thanks. Tell them I’ll be with them as soon as I can.’
‘The rep wants me to offer Lucifer up for stud,’ Polly said after her manager had gone to deal with the rep. ‘Mind you, it’s all done with syringes and what have you these days so Lucifer will miss out on the fun part.’
Feeling this was a topic he’d rather remain ignorant of, Ruan gathered up his laptop bag. ‘I’ll let you get on.’
‘I’m sorry I have to deal with this business. Would it be all right if I had a copy of this letter? I promise it will go no further than my phone. I’ll read it to Deidre.’
Though reluctant, Ruan had no choice but to forward the photo to Polly. ‘Thanks for your discretion. I’d hate it to get any further when it might impact anyone local.’
‘Deidre won’t blab. Anyway, she lives in Basingstoke now.’
That’s all right then, thought Ruan, imagining the phone cables between Basingstoke and Cornwall glowing red hot as Deidre phoned all her old Cornish pals. However, he had to trust Polly if he wanted to find out the answers.
Later, Polly flashed up on a WhatsApp video. She was wearing a riding helmet and the wind was buffeting against the microphone, making it hard to hear.
‘Ruan. Can’t hang about but I thought you’d want to hear this as soon as possible. Deidre got back to me. She did keep in touch with Kathleen and get this: she’s still alive.’
‘She is?’
‘Oh, yes. Deidre says Kathleen is very well, apart from having mobility issues. She lives in Scotland in one of these retirement communities where everyone’s planning to bump each other off.’
Ruan chuckled. He needed a laugh. ‘Will she speak to me? I’m a stranger and this might be a delicate subject – to say the least.’
‘Deidre told her about you and she was very interested. She didn’t know about Walter and she was very upset, as you can imagine, but pleased he’d left the house to a nice young man. Those were Kathleen’s words, not mine, before you complain.’
‘How did she know I’d inherited it?’
‘We told her, or she would have wondered why you’d got hold of her letter,’ Polly explained patiently.
Ruan had to smile to himself. ‘Of course. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly.’
‘No matter. The upshot is that Kathleen only knows that Walter has passed away and that you’d been to the nursing home and found a letter from her to him. Deidre felt she owed it to Kathleen to tell her that much.’
The knowledge that Kathleen was still here made Ruan feel very uncomfortable about having read her private thoughts, especially those from an intimate moment in her life which must have been very painful.
‘I feel as if I’ve trampled all over her private life with my muddy boots.’
‘Not trampled, and it’s too late to unsee the letter now.’
‘I think I have to go and see Kathleen. I need to return her letter.’
‘And find out more about the house and Walter – and you?’ Polly said.
‘If I can … but most of all, I need to return what is hers. I can’t keep it. I wonder if she’ll see me. Could you sound Deidre out and if Kathleen agrees, pass on her phone number?’
‘Of course. I’ll do it as soon as I get back to the manor. In the meantime, sort out whatever is going on between you and that lovely girl. Any man who gets me to ride across half of Cornwall to get to a music festival must be very persuasive.’
From Ruan’s memory, Polly had needed no persuasion, but she’d ended the call before he could say as much.
He went back to the house and opened Walter’s box. He was sure that the pressed rose was intended for Kathleen. He could now see why Walter had been so rude to poor old Hicks the gardener – making a mess of Walter’s precious rambler.
He messaged Tammy to ask again if she was OK and was amazed when she called him back.