The Secrets of Saffron Hall by Clare Marchant

Author:Clare Marchant [Marchant, Clare]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2020-06-30T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty

2019

Amber had read Eleanor’s plea so often, she knew it off by heart. But still it didn’t make sense.

‘I still don’t understand what you’re asking me to do,’ she said into the empty office, her words echoing off the walls. ‘Please, show me what it is you want.’ There was no stirring of the air, no acrid trace to indicate that Eleanor was there.

‘Grandad, can you think of any clues? Anything I’ve missed?’ she asked.

‘None at all. There’s no helpful family folklore or tales passed down through time I’m afraid. Nothing. I’m sorry I can’t help you,’ he replied.

‘It’s okay. I’ve only got five months left here though, and I feel I can’t move on with my life, with this unresolved.’

‘Amber.’ His voice was unexpectedly sharp. ‘You came here because of the huge sorrow in your life. You need to resolve that and move on, not merely swap it for a potentially five-hundred-year-old tragedy belonging to somebody else. You may have to just let it go. When I suggested you came here to help with my books it was to give you space to grieve and then be able to move on with your life with Jonathan. That is the most important thing to concentrate on.’ He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before adding in a gentler tone, ‘Don’t you have an appointment with the consultant today?’

‘Yes, I do. But no I can’t let it go. Eleanor needs me to resolve something vital for her, for her baby Mary. I just need to find out what it is.’ But, she acknowledged silently, her confused state of mind and unanswered questions about Mary was only part of the problem. She had just as many unanswered questions about her own baby, and her relationship with Jonathan. She had to admit Grandad was right: they were the people now, in the present, who really mattered and she needed to remember that, and prioritise them.

‘Anyway, I must get ready; Jonathan and I are meeting early to have a chat, so I’d better get dressed or I’ll be late.’ She poured the tea she’d been making down the sink, and rinsed her cup out.

The hospital car park was as usual completely full, and cursing under her breath, Amber drove round and around watching for someone about to leave. Already wound up like a tight spring, teeth gritted and a fine sheen of sweat steadily washing away her hastily applied make-up, a battle to find a parking space was the last thing she needed.

‘Bingo,’ she muttered as an old couple she’d been watching totter across the car park finally got into their car almost right beside her. She slid her car into the space. After a quick check that she still had lipstick on her lips and none on her teeth, she grabbed her bag and hurried to the coffee shop. They had just over an hour before their appointment and already her legs felt shaky. She tried to walk as

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