Grace had Millie cradled against her, but the little girl had gone quiet now. Grace nodded and didn’t speak further until they were at the cottage gate. ‘Thank you for bringing the pushchair. You can leave it by the porch – I’ll put Millie to bed and then I’ll come back for it.’
She didn’t wait for a response, and hurried upstairs to settle Millie in her cot. The little girl rolled to face the wall without a sound. Grace watched her sleeping for a while, wanting to make sure she was all right, but Millie didn’t move again. By the time Grace headed back downstairs, she was both relieved and exhausted.
She went to collect the pushchair, to discover that Claire was still hovering in the garden.
‘I wanted to check you were both okay.’
‘Really, we’re fine,’ Grace replied wearily.
‘Are you sure?’
Grace took in Claire’s earnest face. This woman was a Blakeney – and she wanted little more to do with them after tonight. But Claire had always seemed different, and Grace felt a sudden need for company, so she found herself saying, ‘You’re welcome to stay for a drink if you like. Then I have to get to bed.’
Claire followed her into the lounge.
‘Tea or something stronger?’
‘Tea is fine.’
Grace made the drinks, then they sat down. Claire fiddled with the handle of her mug for a while before she looked up. ‘I feel I should apologise for my family …’
Grace shook her head. ‘Perhaps I’m overreacting – my head’s a bit all over the place.’
‘Well, at least take no notice of the Timmy comments. He was a bit of a joke among us when we were little, but Mum really believes in him – she gets extremely irate if we push her too far on it.’
‘Well, maybe she’s right. Maybe he does exist, and he scared the hell out of Millie tonight.’
Claire seemed astonished. ‘Do you really believe that?’
Grace ran a hand over her face. ‘I didn’t. If you’d told me a few months ago that I’d be talking seriously to somebody about seeing ghosts, I would have laughed. But since I’ve been here, I’ve been dreaming of black dogs, hearing spooky stories everywhere, and standing in front of a clock that appears to choose when it stops and starts … I don’t know any more …’
‘But Grace, there are perfectly reasonable explanations for those things … The clock might have a fault. And perhaps the dreams about black dogs are happening because you’ve made them significant, so your subconscious keeps throwing them back up again. All the ghost stuff is just hearsay. Until you see some incontrovertible evidence for yourself, don’t believe it.’
Grace smiled at her. ‘You’re probably right.’ She hesitated. ‘You’re different to the rest of your family, Claire. More …’ She wasn’t sure how to finish.
‘I’m hoping you’re going to be the first person ever to say normal,’ Claire chuckled, indicating her piercings as she did so. ‘These usually make me stand out for a start. But I am very different to them. I think Ben and I have more trouble hiding our feelings than the others. And there’s so much going on in our family that I’d rather not know about. You’ll have to excuse Jenny, for a start. She’s all bitter and twisted at the moment because Liza is pregnant. Jenny would love a family, but she had to have an emergency hysterectomy a few years ago. She’s trying to live with it, but she doesn’t do a great job at times … She’s had a tough time of it lately, anyway – she was always Dad’s baby and it hit her particularly hard when he died. No doubt she’s envious of you having Millie – I remember her having a bit of a crush on Adam when he lived here. She always used to tag along when I went out for a sneaky cigarette with him. It annoyed the crap out of me, I quite liked him myself.’
Grace smiled, still having trouble picturing Adam as a chain-smoking teenager.
‘My role in the family is primarily as the dumping ground for everyone else’s stress and problems,’ Claire continued, ‘most of which, if not all, are self-inflicted. You can see why I like to go on long trips away …’ Claire smiled as she said it, but her underlying frustration was clear. ‘And what about you, Grace?’ she asked. ‘What are your plans now?’
‘I have no idea.’ Grace sighed. ‘I’ve only been on my own here for a couple of days, and it feels like everything is getting on top of me again. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to see this out. I’m normally pretty strong – I don’t know why I’m struggling so much …’
‘Well, you’ve been through a lot,’ Claire said. ‘Give yourself a break. Besides, struggling doesn’t make you weak, Grace. Considering what you’re dealing with, it would probably be more of a concern if you weren’t struggling …’