Chapter 11 #2
‘You don’t have to explain to me,’ Corrine said with a reassuring smile. ‘I’m old, but I still remember what it was like to be pregnant.’
‘While I’ve got you both,’ Alex began and went to search through a drawer, ‘I wonder if I could ask you about these?’
He came back to the table and let some tiny pieces of metal clatter onto it.
‘What are they?’ Zoe picked one up and turned it over in her fingers, studying it closely.
‘I think they look like they might be arrowheads or something. Old anyway. I found quite a few when I was digging foundations on the fields today. Is there a lot of that kind of thing around here? I hardly think of the Lake District when I think about archaeology. Not that I think about archaeology on the regular or anything.’
‘I couldn’t say.’ Corrine took one into her hands and examined it.
‘Quite a few years ago, someone found a great load of Bronze Age bits in a burial mound. I think that was closer to Keswick. It would make sense that if people lived there, then they probably lived hereabouts too. Is this all of them?’
‘I don’t know. I’m surprised Ann and her husband didn’t find anything like this when they were farming the land. These weren’t buried all that deep.’
‘I doubt they were looking so close,’ Corrine said. ‘And quite honestly they’d have ignored it – wouldn’t want anything disrupting their work. Having a load of archaeologists traipsing up and down would do that, all right.’
Alex nodded and collected the pieces up again. ‘I have to say, I’m curious to see if there are more. There’s still a kid in me that would love to find something bigger still.’
‘Like a woolly mammoth?’ Zoe quipped.
‘Imagine.’ Alex grinned, and the sight of it did something unexpected and yet not unwelcome to her. It was a tiny thing, but it felt like such a significant shared moment that she didn’t know what to make of it. ‘It would be cool if there were some pots or treasure or something.’
‘Dad,’ Billie cut in with a withering look. ‘There isn’t going to be treasure.’
‘I know, but I’m still going to have a look. It might be good for business if I do find something else.’
‘You won’t be able to carry on building if you find a load more,’ Billie said.
‘I’m no expert,’ said Zoe, ‘but that sounds about right. They were digging foundations for a new office block in Manchester a few years back and they found old factory workings from the Industrial Revolution. Work was stopped on the building until they’d excavated it all.
If that’s what they do for the Industrial Revolution, imagine what they’d do for a load of… what did you think it might be?’
‘Not a clue.’ Alex shook his head. ‘Corrine, you said it was a Bronze Age hoard they found in Keswick?’
Corrine gave the tiniest shrug. ‘I think so, but it was quite a few years ago, so my memory might be failing me.’
‘Well,’ Zoe continued. ‘I would imagine if you found something interesting enough, someone somewhere would want to dig it up to make sure there wasn’t anything more buried deeper down.’
‘Unless you don’t report it,’ Billie said.
‘But like you said’ – Zoe turned back to Alex – ‘a big find like that might be good publicity for your pods. People who are interested in that sort of thing will want to come and stay. You could even make a feature of it, couldn’t you? I mean, I’m not trying to tell you how to run?—’
‘That’s actually not a bad idea,’ Alex said, giving her another one of those smiles that were like jolts of pure desire. ‘That settles it. I’m going to do some more digging tomorrow.’
‘Maybe get those ones checked out first,’ Billie said, angling her head towards the tiny slivers of metal in his hand. ‘They might be a load of old junk, and there’s no point in breaking your back digging up more if they are.’
‘They’re older than that,’ he said, looking at them, his tone giving the impression that he was willing them to be something far more exotic than junk from 1985.
As she looked, Zoe had to agree. She didn’t know anything about archaeology, but even she could see they were very old and crudely fashioned, and looked like the sort of thing she’d seen dug up on Time Team on the rare occasion she’d caught it while flicking through the TV channels.
And his sudden enthusiasm was infectious.
This might be the most animated, the most positive she’d ever seen him.
She wanted it to be something exciting for his sake because she could see what a wonderful effect the notion had on him.
She was suddenly excited for him, and if she’d been in any position to offer help, she’d have been tempted to dig with him.
‘I’d imagine you could find out more online,’ she said.
‘There must be pictures of similar things that have been found. It might help you to figure out if you might have something old or not. I bet there are Facebook groups too for that sort of thing – you could upload some photos to see what people think.’
‘I wouldn’t do that,’ Billie put in. ‘You’ll have every weirdo in the country driving over here to dig around themselves.’
‘You wouldn’t have to say where you found them,’ Zoe said, unable to keep the tone of offence out of her voice.
‘People have a way of working it out,’ Billie replied flatly. ‘You wouldn’t have to say where you’d found them. I’d bet there’d be a load of metal detectors up and down that field the day after you’d posted.’
‘I think you might be right,’ Alex told her. ‘But there must be some expert somewhere who can tell me.’
‘I can ask Victor,’ Corrine said. ‘He might remember more about that other find than me, and he might know who to ask.’
‘Could you?’ Alex dropped the bits back into the drawer and returned to the table. ‘That would be amazing.’
‘I should warn you,’ Corrine added with a wry smile, ‘when I do tell him, he might be one of those metal detectorists going up and down your land. He’s got one, you know.
Hasn’t had it out in years, but it’s there at the back of the shed, and I don’t think he’d need much encouragement to dust it off. ’
‘Boys and their toys, eh?’ Zoe said, and Corrine rolled her eyes.
‘Enough to drive a sane woman mad.’
‘I’d better put the kettle on again,’ Alex said. ‘Totally forgot about it.’
Zoe was about to make a joke about it when her phone bleeped a message. She pulled it out to see Ritchie’s name. With a frown and a curse under her breath, she switched it to silent and slipped it back into her pocket.
‘Everything all right?’ Corrine asked.
‘Yes,’ Zoe said briskly. ‘Something and nothing. Someone I can’t speak to right now.’
‘Ah…’ Corrine gave a knowing look.
She glanced up to see Billie still hovering at the doorway. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘I’m fine.’ Billie looked at the table, as if deciding whether to join them. ‘All good. I’m bored, mostly, because Dad won’t let me do anything around here.’
‘Good,’ Zoe said. ‘Depends what it is you’re wanting to do, but if your dad doesn’t want you to do it, then it’s probably something I wouldn’t want you doing either.’
‘I think I’m meant to be flattered by your trust,’ Alex said from the kettle. ‘I’m not sure I deserve it, though.’
‘You don’t even know what it is,’ Billie said.
‘It’s decorating, Zoe,’ Alex said. ‘Up ladders. With paint and fumes. Even I know that’s not a good idea, and I’m a useless man.’
Corrine laughed. ‘I’m sure you’re not useless because you’re a man!’
‘You’d think so, to listen to my daughter. I know nothing about pregnancy, is all I get from her. Like I wasn’t there when her mother was carrying her. I might be a man, but I have a good-enough memory.’
Zoe could imagine him being a considerate, solicitous partner.
She hadn’t known him long, but what she did know had already convinced her that he’d looked out for his pregnant wife and done everything in his power to make things easier for her.
When she’d come to see Billie and he’d refused to get her, Zoe had imagined all sorts of bad things, but now she realised it was simply him doing his best to look out for his daughter, even if it was a little misguided.
She glanced at Billie but didn’t see the reaction she’d been expecting. Instead of smiling, or even teasing her dad, she looked desperately sad. Without another word, she turned and left the room. Zoe looked up at Alex. He’d seen her go, and now he looked awkward and sad too.
‘Is she all right?’ Zoe asked quietly.
‘Yes,’ he said, though he didn’t look as if he really believed that. ‘She’s probably had enough of me going on.’
‘Her partner,’ Zoe began carefully, at once convinced she shouldn’t be asking her next question but too far down the line to take it back, ‘the baby’s father. Billie told me he’d never be involved.’
‘He’s not around.’ Alex paused as he opened a cupboard, staring into it as if he couldn’t see the mugs that were right in front of his face. ‘He died just before she found out she was pregnant.’
‘Oh, the poor thing.’
Zoe turned to see Corrine tearing up. Lost in the moment, she’d almost forgotten her landlady was there.
‘I see,’ Zoe said. ‘I’m not prying for the sake of it,’ she added. ‘It helps me to understand what she needs, and she didn’t exactly want to tell me at clinic…at least, it didn’t seem as if she did.’
‘I think there’s an element of denial,’ Alex said. ‘If she doesn’t say it, it’s not true. It came out of the blue, and then we left Spain so quickly that I don’t think she’s really processed it yet.’
‘I’m sorry.’ Zoe forced a bleak smile. The mood in the room had deteriorated in seconds, and she couldn’t help but feel it was her fault.
And that she ought to have saved a conversation like this for clinic, where Billie could say it for herself.
Zoe suddenly felt guilty, as if she’d gone behind Billie’s back and betrayed her trust. ‘I shouldn’t have asked. ’