The Dream Weavers by Barbara Erskine (books you have to read txt) 📕

grimace. ‘No. I’m sorry, darling. I should know better than to question you. You know what you’re talking about. Can you cope?’

‘I hope so. Yes, I’m sure I can, but first I wanted her to rest. I didn’t realise it was so late. I told Simon I would drive her back to the cottage.’

He nodded gravely. ‘Why not keep her here tonight? Then at least we’ll know she’s safe. She can have Anna’s room. I’ve got to go out briefly. The churchwarden at St Mary’s last night told me they normally do a Tenebrae service on Maundy Thursday and he’s asked me to take it for them. I have to run it past the bishop. He said I can pop round for half an hour now.’ He checked his wristwatch. ‘Can you cope with her on your own?’

‘Of course I can. I should be used by now to you popping off to have sherry with the bishop.’ She smiled.

‘Who said anything about sherry?’ And he was gone.

Bea texted Simon and then turned to the cooker. Like Kate, she believed food was a great healer, and above all else it was grounding.

‘There are some other bits here and there in the margins.’ Felix and Simon had picked up some fish and chips to take back to the cottage, then settled once more in front of the laptop. Felix had uploaded his new pictures. ‘He hasn’t rubbed it out. This is in Latin, even I can see that. And this …’

He slid off the chair to let his father sit down. ‘They are records of legal agreements,’ Simon said after a moment. ‘I’ve seen that before in manuscripts. Almost notes about something they were going to deal with later. Such an odd thing to do when they were taking such care with writing up their chronicle.’

‘Perhaps he meant to rub it out when he’d copied it up somewhere else.’ Felix watched with interest as his father’s mobile pinged and Simon reached for it to read the message.

‘It’s from Bea. She’s going to keep Emma overnight and bring her back in the morning.’

Felix wandered away from the desk restlessly and then walked back, his hands shoved down in the pockets of his jeans. ‘What do you make of Emma’s freak-out, Dad?’

They hadn’t really discussed it, even when they were seated in the kitchen, eating their supper. Simon sighed. ‘To be honest I don’t know what to think.’

‘But you trust Bea.’

‘Yes. I do.’

Felix nodded. He squatted down in front of the fire and threw on another log. ‘Bea knows what she’s talking about, doesn’t she.’

Simon nodded. Bea came over as genuine and knowledgeable. Some of the stuff she talked about was truly weird and would be laughed out of court by every rational person he knew, and yet obviously for her it was true and because of that she was taking Emma seriously. As he must. He remembered suddenly Bea’s admission that she had been to Coedmawr, that she had dealt with a poltergeist there. He hadn’t even queried the coincidence.

He swivelled in the chair to face his son. ‘You said Em has told you before about the things she sees?’ he asked.

Felix looked sheepish. He nodded. ‘She tried once or twice, but to be honest,’ he stopped, chewing his lip, ‘well, to be honest I took the mick.’

‘You mocked her?’ Simon remembered the word Bea had used. It seemed so apt now.

Felix looked away.

‘Well, I might have done the same,’ Simon conceded. ‘If I hadn’t seen what happened. Has she told Mum about all this?’

‘No!’ Felix was horrified. ‘Mum wouldn’t understand. You know she wouldn’t, Dad. If she found out she would rush back here and force us to go back to London whether we wanted to or not. Then she would either forbid Em to talk about this and Em would internalise it or she’d take her to see a shrink. Far better Em discusses it with someone who knows what she’s talking about. Bea is not going to turn her into some kind of weird side show; she will help Em come to terms with whatever this is and deal with it.’

‘You sound very certain.’ Simon smiled at his son; he had seldom seen Felix look so intense.

Felix nodded. ‘She can help Em. Em trusts her.’

The two sat in silence for a while, staring into the fire.

‘Are you going to go on staying here, Dad, in spite of the ghosts. For the rest of the summer?’ Felix’s question came out of left field.

Simon stood up and walked over to the front door. He opened it and looked out into the darkness. ‘This is a good place to work. Perfect,’ he said over his shoulder. ‘Most of the time I can concentrate really well.’ He gave a wistful smile.

‘Until you were pestered by your children and a ghostly nun.’

‘The children will be going back to school soon.’

‘Oh great! You had to remind me!’

‘And just as well. You don’t seem to be doing any revision at all. How come?’

Felix grinned. ‘If one learns a subject properly in the first place, there’s no need to revise.’

‘So you’re going to get top marks in every subject?’

‘Probably. Honestly, Dad. There’s no point in going over everything. It’s all in here.’ Felix tapped his temple. ‘After all, I knew all about the Reformation and Henry VIII destroying shrines when Em didn’t. And she’s doing history for A level.’

‘Good point. I suppose.’

‘The best. Let’s forget about it. I’m cool.’

Simon shook his head in despair. ‘OK.’ He changed the subject hastily. ‘Let’s go out and look at the stars. They’re amazing up here. So many! There is almost no sky left between them.’

He felt Felix behind him. ‘Dark skies, they call them, don’t they?’ the boy said thoughtfully. ‘And they are anything but. OK, Dad, so your children are going home soon, but what about the nun?’

Simon smiled. ‘Ghosts can’t hurt one, can they. I’ll get used to her. I’m staying.’

Emma sat and watched while Bea chopped vegetables. When