It was pitch dark now, though there were some lights in the quadrangle and concealed on the castle roof, which lit it up, standing proud upon its hill above the village.
‘We won’t stay long, Simon must have lots to do,’ Anna said firmly to Freddie as they set off.
Following Simon’s instructions, they soon arrived at his cottage beside the large holly tree and Anna’s headlights picked up the sign ‘Holly Tree Cottages’ as she parked the car.
Freddie darted out of the car, turning round to call to her to hurry up. He reached Simon’s door and jumped up to ring the bell.
‘Hi, come in out of the cold,’ Simon ushered them into a small hall with a partition of wood with glass panels and a glass door leading to the inside, the door now shut to keep in the puppy, who was standing on his hind legs peering at them and wagging his tail.
When Simon opened the door, the puppy ran at them, sniffing and licking and almost wagging his bottom off with excitement.
‘Calm down,’ Simon scooped him up. He was a small, brown terrier and Freddie bounced round him, following Simon into the living room. Simon put the puppy down and shut the door behind them. ‘I got him from a rescue place, three puppies left to fend for themselves. He chose me,’ he smiled.
‘What happened to the others?’ Freddie looked worried.
‘They were soon found homes too,’ Simon said. ‘Sit where you can,’ he went on cheerfully, pointing out a small faded sofa and a couple of armchairs. A desk stood in the corner overflowing with papers with an iPad open among them. There was a pile of newspapers and magazines on the floor, a bookcase crammed with books and a sound system, and a few large photographs dotted over the walls: some of trees, one of a pretty little girl and another of an elderly couple leaning on a gate watching a horse in the field. The mantelpiece held a clock and Christmas cards, haphazardly arranged; one, Anna noticed, was upside down.
The room seemed to suggest a single man; there were no flowers or plants around, only a small Christmas tree in the corner decked with lights that had not been switched on. After all, Simon worked on the estate and he probably spent more time outside than indoors.
‘Would you like a glass of wine or something else,’ Simon asked, ‘and Freddie, what about you? I’ve some Coke and…’
‘No Coke, thanks Simon, that will keep him up all night; he’ll be fine with water,’ Anna said, choosing not to see Freddie frowning at her. Fortunately, he was far more occupied playing on the floor with the puppy than worrying about what he would drink.
‘So any ideas of a name yet?’ Simon asked Freddie when they were settled.
‘He’s sort of brown, but not like chocolate,’ Freddie said. ‘Brownie, Toffee, no… I don’t know.’ He studied the puppy who was now lying flat on his front chewing one of his dog toys.
Before any more names were thrown into the ring, the doorbell disturbed them. Simon got up, asking Freddie to hold on tight to the puppy while he answered it otherwise he might run out into the dark and get lost.
Anna was not surprised to see Cathie appear carrying a plate of flaky biscuits. She was wearing make-up and her hair was newly washed, she wore jeans and a pretty shirt.
‘Hello,’ she smiled at them, slightly smugly, Anna thought. ‘I saw you arriving and thought you might like some of my cheese biscuits, I’ve been experimenting with them for a party I’m going to on New Year’s Eve.’
‘Lovely, thank you,’ Anna said, thinking that perhaps she and Simon were together after all and he’d asked her to bring over something to eat.
‘Have a glass of wine, Freddie is choosing a name for the puppy,’ Simon said, in a friendly way.
‘Do you live close by?’ Anna asked her.
‘Yes, the next-door but one cottage. They belong to the estate and as we work here we can live in them. We pay a small rent and our bills for gas and such.’
She sat down on one of the chairs as if she was used to being here, and perhaps she was. Maybe she shared Simon’s bed, after all he was only a few steps away from her cottage, though it was none of her business, Anna told herself firmly. She and Freddie were not fixtures, as Cathie clearly was, and she’d obviously set her cap at Simon.
Names for the puppy were bandied about, Cathie taking it very seriously. ‘Think how it sounds if you have to call it out to get him back,’ she said, ‘so why not something like Charlie, or Nelson?’
‘Or Rocky, or… p’haps Lucky?’ Freddie suggested.
‘Both of those are good,’ Simon said, seemingly ignoring Cathie’s choice.
‘Or Buster, we had a dog called Buster,’ Cathie went on.
Freddie, his head on one side, studied the puppy now lying under the light from a nearby lamp. ‘He’s sort of rusty, isn’t he? Rusty?’ He looked at Simon, his face flushed. ‘That’s a good name isn’t it?’
‘A very good name, Rusty he shall be,’ Simon said with a smile.
They had arrived just after six and now it was past seven and Anna wanted to get Freddie back to bed. She got up, ‘We’d better get on, don’t want you to go to bed too late,’ Anna said. ‘Thank you for the wine, Simon, and I’m glad Rusty has a name.’
‘Well, thank you for coming and giving him such a good one, Freddie.’ He got up too, smiling at him. Cathie stayed where she was, and Simon said, ‘Thank you for your delicious biscuits, but you’ll excuse me if I get back to work. The flood took up so much time and I’ve so much more to do.’
Cathie got up reluctantly, ‘I could always bring you some supper later,’ she said.
‘That’s kind of you, but no thanks, I’ve lots to eat here.’ He put out his arm as if to corral them all out like sheep and Cathie hesitantly left and, for some ridiculous reason, Anna felt glad Cathie was not staying any longer.
They went out into the dark and Freddie got into the car and was putting on his seat belt when he said, ‘My hat, I’ve left it inside.’ He struggled to get out again.
‘Oh, Freddie, I’d better get it, you need it in this cold.’
She went back and rang the bell.
‘Sorry, Simon, Freddie’s left his hat here, we put it on that chair.’ She pointed to it just beyond the glass door.
Simon leant down and picked it up from where it had fallen behind the chair. They were standing very close in the tiny hall and Simon said quietly, ‘I’m so glad you’re here in the castle, Anna, and…’
For a second she thought he’d kiss her, which she would not have minded, and she almost lifted her face to him, when Cathie came back into the cottage, her voice from the open door behind them, cut through the moment like a knife.
‘Simon, just to say, I’ll be late to work tomorrow, I’ve a doctor’s appointment as I’ve hurt my wrist.’
‘OK, but I thought it was better,’ Simon said, and Anna took the hat from him and turned round to leave.
‘Still hurts sometimes,’ Cathie said, coming into the hall.
‘Thanks, Simon, see you,’ Anna said, quickly squeezing past Cathie and going back to the car.
Just before they drove off, Anna’s mobile rang; it was Lucy, asking is she could come round to put her second layer of icing on the cake. ‘If it’s too late be sure to say, I meant to ask before, but the day’s just run away with me,’ she said, sounding frantic, and Anna had not the heart to refuse.
‘Will Benny come too?’ Freddie asked hopefully when the call ended.
‘I don’t think so as he’ll be in bed soon, as will you,’ Anna said, ‘but I’ll ask Lucy if he can come round tomorrow.’
They got back to the castle and Anna ran Freddie his bath. He was all pink and clean in his pyjamas when Lucy appeared.
‘Oh, and before I forget, I do hope you and Freddie can come round on New Year’s Eve, we have a sort of drop-in party, just come when you want,’ Lucy said.
‘How kind, we’d love that, wouldn’t we Freddie,’ she said. She was usually still at her brother’s house to celebrate it and hadn’t let herself think about it this year. Not that she minded staying in with Freddie. ‘Can we bring anything?’
‘Only if you’ve got time. I never know how many people will turn up,’ Lucy said. ‘Oh, great flowerpot,’ she enthused seeing Freddie’s effort holding the plant they’d just bought. ‘I’d love one like that.’
‘I’ll make you one if you like,’ Freddie said, pink with delight at her praise.
Allowing him a few more minutes’ play, Anna watched Lucy with admiration as she deftly iced the cake. ‘That’s it for now,’ Lucy put down her tools. ‘Can I come back in a couple of days to put the finishing touches?’
‘Of course, any time.’ Anna said, then wanting to know more about him she said carelessly; ‘We’ve just had a drink with Simon; Freddie has named his puppy, Rusty. Cathie, his girlfriend, came round.’
‘She’s not his girlfriend, though she longs to be,’ Lucy said, clearing up her things.
‘Oh… I just thought…’
‘He’s probably got someone, but it’s not her,’ Lucy said. ‘I haven’t seen him with anyone, but then he might prefer to keep his love life a secret. Everyone has an opinion on everyone else around here and it could be the death of a relationship before it hardly started. Far better to keep it under wraps.’
‘I suppose so,’ Anna said, feeling curiously light-hearted before reminding herself that just because he wasn’t with Cathie didn’t mean he wasn’t in a relationship with someone else.