“Oh, aye,” said Roddie, nodding. “Like a swan’s. Only much, much larger. And its eyes—”
“Were they prominent?” Hank asked. “Round and dark? Like a creature of the deep?”
“Oh aye,” Roddie said, nodding again. “It had a fearsome look about it, like it wouldn’t think twice about carrying you off.”
“How big was the fin on its back?” asked Ellis.
Roddie cackled and slapped his thigh. “And how were you knowing it had a fin?”
“We’ve been doing some research,” Ellis said, glancing at Hank, and I suddenly understood. Interviewing doctors and visiting the courthouse was not all they’d been up to while they were away.
“Indeed, it did have a fin, and that alone was at least four feet long…”
In due course, Roddie confirmed that the monster’s body was “dark olive, with signet brown on the flanks, and a sort of speckling on the belly.” He’d gone from claiming he’d seen the head and neck of the beast from a distance of fifty yards to describing its whole body.
“Excuse me, darling,” I said. “I think I’m going to head up now.”
Ellis looked at me with surprise. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d called him “darling,” and was sure he couldn’t either. It was all I could do to force the word past my lips.
“But you haven’t touched your dinner,” he said.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m still a little queasy. I’m sure I’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.”
“Of course,” he said, rising. “I’ll walk you up.”
“No, please stay.” I laid a hand on his arm. “This is important. Get as many details as you can. The sooner you flush the beast out, the sooner we can go home, and then everything can get back to normal.”
He watched with a curious expression as I bade good night to Roddie and Hank, and then continued to watch as I rounded the couch and headed for the stairwell.
He was not the only one watching. I nearly crumbled under the weight of Angus’s scrutiny.
—
As soon as I closed the door, I threw myself on the bed. The scent of Angus lingered on my pillow. I buried my face in it and cried.
Hank and Ellis either had built a model or were planning to, and because of the description they’d coaxed out of Roddie, I knew exactly what it would look like. If they’d already built it, they would obtain their footage in a matter of days, and arrange to go home. But first, Ellis would have my brain scrambled, because he would be returning triumphant, with clear footage that confirmed the Colonel’s pictures.
Father, son, and bank account would be reunited, and Ellis would not let anything on earth get in the way of that—especially something of as little consequence as me.
Chapter Forty-one
I spent the night tossing and thrashing, twisting the quilts until they were a tangled pile. Every time the chimney whistled or the window rattled—every time I heard anything at all—I was sure Angus was coming to me, and then what would I do? Tell him everything, and hope to God he’d come up with a solution that hadn’t occurred to me? Or just hope to God that what I told him wouldn’t make him go straight down the hall and murder Ellis?
Eventually, I couldn’t stand it anymore and snuck down to the kitchen, feeling my way along the wooden doors of his bed until I reached the seam where they met. He’d shut himself in.
I leaned my forehead against the crack, thinking that he must know I was there—I felt his presence behind the doors as strongly as I felt the heart beating in my own chest, and even if he didn’t sense me in the same way, surely he’d heard the shushing of my fingers running along the wooden panels, or the tiny clicks as the doors pushed against their tracks under the weight of my head.
If he did know I was there, he gave no indication. It was just as well, I told myself. Nothing could save me, and there was nothing I could do to Angus but harm him. I pressed my lips against the wooden door in a silent kiss, and crept back upstairs.
—
I heard Ellis and Hank talking downstairs the moment I stepped out of my room, and took a few breaths, steeling myself.
Being my mother’s daughter, placating them should have come easily even if it was the last thing I wanted to do. Instead, I felt nauseated, lethargic, numb. It was as though my brain had already been compromised and nobody had bothered to tell me. I wondered what the procedure was like, and if I would retain any memories afterward. I wondered if I would be able to form new ones.
Anna was sitting by the fire, polishing a full set of silverware that was laid out on a length of felt. She glanced up when I passed, making brief eye contact, and I wondered what Meg had told her.
“Good morning, my dear,” said Ellis, standing and pulling out a chair.
“Good morning, darling,” I said.
When I uttered the endearment, a flash of surprise crossed Ellis’s face, just as it had the night before. Hank looked up and said nothing. His empty expression terrified me.
“You’re obviously feeling better,” Ellis said, sitting back down. “You look like Rita Hayworth going on safari. Got plans?”
“Yes,” I said, smoothing my dungarees over my thighs as though they were made of the finest silk. “I thought I’d come with you today.”
“Really? Why?”
“Because I haven’t seen you in ages,” I said. “I’ve missed you.”
Hank and Ellis exchanged glances.
“This is probably not the best day for you to come along,” Ellis said.
“A girl could take that the wrong way, you know,” I said. “I promise I won’t make you waste any film.”
“The weather’s terrible,” Hank said.
“He’s right,” said Ellis. “Have you seen what it’s doing outside? The sky is gray as far as the eye can see. No chance of it clearing up.”
Either they were ready to mount the hoax, or Ellis had already pulled the trigger and the ambulance was on its way.
Angus walked out from the kitchen, saw me at the table with Hank and Ellis, and spun on his heel with a disdainful bark.
Ellis stared after him. “I honestly think he’s the most unpleasant man I’ve ever met.”
Meg poked her head out from the kitchen. “Will the three of you be joining us for dinner tonight? Only we’re having a fine stew, and we’ve some proper bread for once.”
“Don’t we always join you for dinner?” Hank asked with an amused smirk.
Ellis rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“Yes—when you’re here, that is,” said Meg, “but this is a local specialty and we’ve only the one good loaf for dipping—fluffy and white, and baked just this morning. There won’t be anywhere near enough for everyone. Come down early, or I’ll bring it up, because the rest will be getting beetroot sandwiches on National Loaf.”
“Why the special treatment?” asked Hank.
“Think of it as a welcome back,” she said, before disappearing.
“I think that lumberjack may have knocked a screw loose,” said Hank.
Ellis laughed. “I think she always had a screw loose.”
A local specialty.
I wish I could say I dismissed the thought out of hand, but if my suspicions were correct, Meg was cooking up, quite literally, the only solution to my problem.
Could I let her? Could I live with myself?
I wondered if Rhona and Mhàthair were out foraging, or if they were already in the kitchen.