Part 17 (1/2)

Snowdonia Now After her encounter with Gabriel at the lake, Hannah hurried back to the farhter to feed Moses, checked on Nate, and quickly returned outside Slate clouds still tumbled towards the valley from the mountains The air was heavy with the electric scent of ozone

Unlocking the Discovery, Hannah slid behind the steering wheel and pulled the door shut The 4x4's fath reassuring Until she reer seat was soaked with it, the grey upholstery stained brohere it had dried, and a sticky black where it had pooled so thickly it had still not fully congealed It made her ill to look at it and she averted her eyes Nate should have died in this car How her husband still lived, she could not explain How anyone could lose thatAll she could do was thank God that Nate had clung on

Hannah leaned over the ruined passenger seat and hooked the binoculars out of the door cavity Crawling on to the back seats, she pointed them out of the rearand raised the rubberised ried out of a blur She panned the binoculars across its surface No boat rocked on its waters now No uninvited visitors fished its depths Sweeping around, she spotted the rowing boat on the far shore, pulled up on to the stony beach and slewed over on its side Its oars had gone She could see no sign of Gabriel Hannah scouted the rest of the valley, angling the binoculars at the slopes No one lurked in the trees that she could see

Hearing the sound of an engine, she shi+fted her position and lowered the glasses as a battered Defender drove around the corner of the farmhouse A steel trailer trundled behind it Sebastien As his vehicle approached, Hannah opened the back door of the Discovery and juravel

The old ain,' he said, looking up at the clouds 'Least it ht keep the cold off us for a while How's our patient?'

'Just like you said he'd be Stiff, in pain, unable to runted 'That's the roceries As much diesel as I could Wood for the fire'

'You're an angel from heaven, Seb'

His erin lit his face 'An angel of death, ht aroceries into the house: vegetables, e slab of Cadbury's chocolate Lastly, Sebastien handed her two freshly shot ducks, which she hung on a hook outside

In the kitchen, she put a kettle on the stove and busied herself putting away the groceries while Sebastien introduced hiot down on all fours and taught her how to make Moses roll over and bare his stomach for a rub

On the sofa, Nate watched the of tea, s his hair as he drank it 'We met someone on our walk,' she said When both men looked up sharply, she indicated with a flick of her head that they should talk carefully in front of Leah 'Just now, on the lake'

Sebastien one,' she said 'He was in a rowing boat Had a couple of fishi+ng rods with him'

'What did he look like?' the old man asked

'Tall, curly black hair Irish accent'

'Gabriel'

Hannah sagged with relief 'You know him He said he lived across the valley Coood at it'

'I've bu Sociable felloays cracking jokes Irritating as hell'

'I wouldn't say that But we don't want him around here all the saave him pretty short shrift Told him he'd better find another lake to fish'

'Good Gabriel's harh, and he'll be over here poking his head into things that don't concern hi into the living roos His stitches had held, and the wounds looked free of infection They cleaned thees

Outside, as raindrops began a slow beat on the car roofs, they unloaded logs and brought the the room and master bedroom They unhooked the trailer and wheeled it to one of the outbuildings Lifting out a full druenerator's reservoir

Noticing that Sebastien was beco breathless, she forced hi away his protests They watched the raindrops fall with gathering pace as wind began to stir the trees across the valley

'I brought you so into the pocket of his Barbour When he reon-shaped brooch Its scales were red enaasped when she saw it She took it from him and turned it over in her hands 'This is ht it was lost'

'Your father left it with me once Said he didn't want to carry it around any ht persuade you to trust ers over the buon's ena her 'I do trust you, Seb I don't knoould have happened if you hadn't been here'

The lines of his face creased 'You would have coped You've been doing it all your life You'll go on doing it'

'I don't feel like I'ot Nate and Leah here safely They're alive thanks to you, so don't forget it This , Hannah You all are There'll be an end to this We need to get your husband back on his feet But then you'llabout that There's another place I need to eo There's no link back Not eventrip And until Nate's ready to travel, we'll have to sit things out here'

Sebastien smiled 'See? Just what I said'

Hannah dropped the brooch into her pocket She ran her fingers through her hair, stared at the concrete floor 'My father-'

'Don't torture yourself, Hannah You don't know I don't know Maybe we'll find out, o He loved you loves you, I mean'

'Don't write him off,' she said

'I won't But you need to accept-'

Hannah stood up and stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans 'Let's go inside'

That afternoon, she taught Leah how to prepare the waterfowl Sebastien had brought the feathers, cutting off heads and feet and reans, entrails and crop

As the clouds purpled and the day surrendered its light, Hannah cooked a dinner of roasted duck, dauphinoise potatoes, green beans and thick buttered slabs of granary bread

Because Nate could not move from the sofa, Sebastien cleared the circular table in the kitchen and laid it with an odd assortlassware He built up the fire fro pile, lit two candles, opened a dusty bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and helped Hannah dish up four plates of food While Nate, head propped behind cushi+ons, fed himself from a tray balanced on his chest, Hannah sat with the others at the table

Over dinner, Sebastien entertained Leah with folk tales Hannah was thankful to hi for her husband, talking and playing with her daughter, andplans She had made a few calls that afternoon, in preparation for their move to the hideaway in southern France She wanted to put as much distance, and as many obstacles, between Jakab and her faht herself thinking about her father and wondering where he hether he was alive, whether she would ever see hi but she forced herself to bury those thoughts She could not allow herself to lose focus, to lose sight of her ultihter and her husband safe

After dinner, Sebastien allowed Leah to fill a boith leftovers so that Moses could feed Shortly after that, Hannah took the girl upstairs, filled the bath with hot water and scrubbed her until her skin glowed In the master bedroom, she tucked Leah under the covers

'Sebastien's funny, isn't he, Mu He's a very sweet ht he was the Bad Man'

Hannah stroked her hair The quiet fear in her daughter's voice filled her with sorrow What kind of childhood was she giving the girl, that the sier created so much anxiety? If a parent's success was measured in the confidence they instilled in their children, she had failed utterly Yet as her alternative? Bring up Leah ignorant of the threat she faced? Grant her the happy childhood that she herself had craved, but leave the girl coreater betrayal?

'He's not the Bad Man, Leah,' she said 'He's got a dog called Moses'

'Daddy looks better'

'Yes, he does I think he's going to be all right'

'Are you all right?'