Her mother.
Sara Taylor had been a beautiful woman, taken too young by a man whose obsession had driven him mad. Anna’s childhood was riddled with memories of domestic abuse and drunken scenes. She and her sister had grown up with the spectre of shame hanging over their heads and, on a small island community, it had been hard to hide from it. She had felt a terrible sense of relief when her father died, his body smashed against the rocks at the foot of Lindisfarne Castle many years ago.
Inexplicably, she still mourned him; more so in the last couple of years since she’d found out that he hadn’t been responsible for her mother’s death, or his own, for that matter. Andy Taylor might have been a big man with hard hands, but he hadn’t killed her mother and he hadn’t killed himself.
Small comfort.
When she walked down the aisle in just over a week, it struck her that she would have no father to cling to for support. There would be no mother to help her to dress and pin her veil, no sister to laugh and drink champagne with beforehand. She had friends, of course, but it wasn’t the same.
Anna stood up and smoothed a hand over the dress hanging on the back of the door and, for the first time in a long while, felt utterly alone.
CHAPTER 23
It was just before five o’clock when Ryan excused himself and took an hour’s personal time to tend to something very important. He was pleased to see the weather was still holding and fluffy white clouds made their slow journey across an otherwise clear sky. He left Lowerson and Yates in charge of telecommunications while they awaited news from the financial investigation unit, and MacKenzie and Phillips took charge of all other business in his absence. That included forensic updates and wading through the ever-growing pile of paperwork that had been generated over the past few days. They would continue to delve into the history of each person of interest and contact him as soon as there was any development.
With that reassurance, Ryan drove back to the rental cottage at Cragside. It was tempting to stop for a word with Faulkner to check how the groundwork was coming along but he deliberately steered the car away from the main house and took the smaller access road directly to the cottage. If there was any news, Faulkner would get in touch.
Anna looked up in surprise when the front door opened and automatically checked her watch.
“You’re home early,” she said, searching his face to see if anything was wrong.
Ryan smiled enigmatically.
“Put your shoes on, I’m taking you out,” he said.
Anna waved at the piles of books on the kitchen table.
“I’d really love to but I’ve been tied up with wedding nonsense all morning and I need to get down to some work.”
“Well, I’ve got some more wedding nonsense for you.”
“Have we forgotten to book something?”
For the life of her, she couldn’t think what. Ryan’s mother had been invaluable over the past few months, helping to replace so many of the things that had been lost in the fire at Anna’s cottage, as well as dealing with the bureaucracy of planning a large event. Ryan’s parents had stayed with them for over a month, primarily so that Eve Finlay-Ryan could hold her son close and thank whichever higher power had kept him safe from The Hacker.
“It’s nothing like that,” Ryan told her but didn’t elaborate. “Now, woman, are you going to obey your soon-to-be-husband or do I need to drag you barefoot?”
Anna gave him an eloquent look and he laughed appreciatively.
“Chance would be a fine thing.”
Anna rose to find her shoes but took her time about it, on principle.
A few minutes later when they were driving toward Rothbury, she turned to him again.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
Ryan smiled to himself.
“Nope.”
She watched his hard profile as he steered the car and folded her arms.
“I don’t like surprises,” she said, although that was possibly because she’d never had any.
“I hope you’ll like this one,” he said softly.
*
Ryan drove through the handsome town of Rothbury and followed the road which ran parallel to the Coquet river. They wound through the valley and through villages with names straight out of Tolkien; they passed Thropton, Flotterton and Caistron, skirting around the Northumberland National Park until they reached the ancient village of Elsdon. It was a favourite place of Anna’s to visit, not only because it was chocolate-box pretty but because of its rich local history. They had spent many a happy Sunday afternoon wandering the motte and bailey castle while Anna chattered about fortifications against Border reivers and Ryan looked forward to lunch at the pub. The landscape undulated gently and, when the light fell in a certain way against the hillside, the village looked almost ethereal.
“Oh, this is a nice idea,” Anna said happily. “Did you want to have dinner nearby?”
Ryan held his tongue.
Anna gave him a frustrated glare and wondered what he was up to.
Ryan didn’t stop and park the car in any of the usual places but carried on a little further past the village until they came to an unmarked turning. He took it and began to climb, the road shielded by tall hedgerows on either side.
“I need to think about getting a more practical car,” he said under his breath.
Suddenly they emerged onto a plateau of higher ground and Ryan slowed to watch out for another unmarked turn.
“Need to get some lights up here,” he added and was grateful it was summer so there was another hour or two of sunlight left in the day.
Anna barely had time to wonder what had come over him when Ryan let out a small sound of relief and stopped the car to jump out beside a plain wooden gate. He fished out a set of keys and pushed it open before jogging back to the car and turning inside.
Seated beside him, she watched as the scenery came slowly into view. She could see Elsdon nestled in the valley beneath, like a model village with its peel tower and church spire. As Ryan pulled the car to a stop, the clouds shifted and long beams of light fell upon the village, turning its stone into a soft, apricot hue.
“It’s beautiful up here,” she murmured.
Ryan watched her face soften, then reached over to squeeze her hand.
“Let’s go for a walk.”
Anna was happy to comply and they began to stroll further along the wide ridge of land with panoramic views across the dale. When they had walked a little further, Ryan slung his arm around her shoulder and tugged her against his body.
“Thank you for bringing me up here,” she said. “I always find this area so restful.”
“Me too,” he said and took a deep breath.
“What do you think about buying a place here?”
Anna twisted and looked up into his earnest face.
“Really? Isn’t the commute a bit inconvenient for you?”
“I don’t mind the drive,” Ryan said. “But it’s further away from Durham and your work at the university.”