A Trick of the Light by Ali Carter (surface ebook reader txt) 📕

as Louis bent to perch on the step he reached out his hand and caught a drip from the peak of my hood.

‘Controversial subject these wind farms,’ bored on Rupert.

‘You should try talking to Fergus about it,’ said Louis.

‘Waste of time, there’d be no point applying for one here.’

‘Why?’ said Jane.

‘The ornithologist would have a field day.’

‘Who’s he when he’s at home?’ said Shane.

‘A bird expert,’ said Jane.

‘Of course, you’d know that.’

‘Come on, enough of this.’ I tried to stop the conversation but it continued.

‘Why would an ornithologist have a field day?’ said Giles, and Rupert opened a discussion.

‘All of you must have seen the big black birds swooping around the house?’

‘I told you, Jane,’ said Felicity. ‘There was one on our window sill the other night.’

‘Do they make an eeeee, eeeee, eeeee noise?’ screeched Lianne.

‘Yes.’

‘Well, that’s been keeping me awake.’

‘Me too,’ said Minty. ‘It’s a horrible haunting sound.’

‘They’re ravens,’ said Rupert, ‘a protected species. There’s a swell of them here.’

‘And?’ said Louis, clearly not well versed in wind farm regulations.

‘Even without the necessary step in the application, they’d win the case for the antis.’

‘How?’ said Felicity.

‘They’re protected and any disruption to their flight path such as a collision with turbines,’ Rupert could hardly sound smugger, ‘would instantly put an end to an application.’

‘Please,’ I begged. ‘We must get started.’

‘What do you have in store for us this afternoon then?’ lorded Rupert.

‘Yesterday, we covered mixing colours and the basics of beginning a picture. Today we’re going to focus on one colour.’

‘Yellow,’ said Shane.

‘No. What’s the dominant colour in the view behind me?’

‘Bleurgh.’ Shane’s tongue followed the word out of his mouth.

‘Blue,’ said Rupert.

‘Depends how much of the sky you’re looking at,’ said Jane.

‘As a photographer I can tell you everything fading into the horizon is a varying shade of blue.’

‘He’s right,’ said Minty.

‘Yes, and this afternoon I want to try and teach you to create perspective using one colour.’

‘Must we go out in the rain?’ grumbled Felicity.

‘If you’re happy working on your knees you don’t have to.’

‘I’m going to sit here.’ Shane plonked himself down next to Louis.

‘And I’m going to brave the drizzle,’ said Rupert. ‘Nothing like a blast of bad weather to get one out of the post-lunch slumber.’

‘There are easels in the bus.’

‘Please grab one for me too,’ said Minty.

‘Won’t their pictures smudge?’ asked Felicity.

‘No, water and oil don’t mix.’

‘So, you could paint in pouring rain?’

‘I wouldn’t recommend it.’

‘It will only add to my picture,’ said Rupert.

‘What are we painting, Miss?’

‘A view of the horizon.’

‘None of this foreground?’ said Giles.

‘Not today. I’d like you to start your picture in the far distance, where things begin to turn blue.’

‘I can’t paint the lake?’ said Lianne.

‘Loch,’ corrected Jane.

‘If you really want to you can, but I was hoping you’d try this exercise first.’

‘Anything for you, Miss.’

‘Please can you talk us through it?’ asked Rupert.

‘Okay. Here goes…’

The endless questions were driving me mad but I kept my patience, just, and the class eventually began.

Jane and Felicity both tried really hard and Minty and Rupert stuck it out until the drizzle stopped, the temperature rose and hundreds of midges descended on us. Tiny little black dots bite, bite, biting any exposed bit of flesh. It was ghastly. The session fell apart, everyone rushed inside the bothy and, last in, I banged the door shut.

‘I’m never coming to Scotland again,’ said Lianne. ‘That was the worst experience of my life.’

Felicity nudged Jane who was rubbing mosquito repellent all over her wrists. ‘Give her some of your spray.’

‘Hey, give us all some of that,’ said Shane, stretching an arm out for the bottle.

‘Please,’ said Jane.

‘Please.’

‘Ladies first,’ said Rupert and Jane handed the bottle to Lianne who took some and handed it to Minty who then handed it to me. I gave my neck and wrists a good spray and passed it on to Louis, he passed it to Rupert, on to Giles and eventually it got to Shane who thankfully saw the funny side.

BANG went the door and in stumbled Ewen with a bottle of sloe gin in his hand.

‘Where did you come from?’ said Rupert.

‘Close the door, close the door,’ squealed Lianne, reaching to push it shut.

‘Thought I’d come see how you’re getting on.’

Judging by the amount of mud on Ewen’s boots he’d clearly walked here.

‘I knew you’d appreciate some of this.’ He held the sloe-gin bottle high in the air. I think he drank some on the way.

‘Get in there,’ said Shane, holding out his lunch mug.

‘Yes please,’ said Lianne, thrusting her mug at him too.

‘Anyone else?’ Ewen wobbled the bottle and, resigned to the fact the class had come to a crashing end, I thought why not round it off with a shot of sloe gin.

‘Well, if the tutor’s having some,’ said Giles, ‘I’ll have some too.’

It wasn’t ideal Ewen appearing like this but I had to hand it to him, he’d lifted the mood. Absolutely everyone accepted a shot and although it was not part of the curriculum, he couldn’t have appeared at a better moment.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ said Fergus, bursting through the doorway completely drenched.

‘Uh-oh.’ Ewen clenched his teeth for comic effect.

I was rather alarmed by Fergus’s sudden strength of character. But nothing could have stopped the others charging for the bus, desperate to be off the moor and back at the house. Fergus, Ewen and I were soon alone.

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, taking the blame. ‘The class ended early because of the midges.’

It sounded a bit pathetic out loud but it was the truth.

‘Yeah, bro, I promise I didn’t interrupt them, they were already in here when I turned up.’

‘Okay,’ Fergus said, then turned and left the bothy. Zoe was right, fundamentally he’s wet.

‘Susie?’ said Ewen, his eyebrows raised like a cheeky little child. ‘Do you think there’s room for me on the bus?’

I couldn’t hold back a smile, this man was a charmer. ‘I’m sure there is, let’s go see.’

He squeezed in the back, pretty much sitting on Louis’ knee. I hopped