Bee held Violet tightly until the crying subsided, and then she looked at the little girl with the most reassuring face she could muster. This was the moment. Everything had to change.
‘Shall we go on an adventure, Letty?’ Boyce hated her calling Violet Letty.
Violet looked wary at first, but then nodded. ‘Will Daddy come, too?’
‘No. You can see that Daddy isn’t feeling very well,’ Bee’s voice was as quiet as it could be without actually whispering, ‘I think we’ll let Daddy have some time to himself, to get better. Okay?’ Bee smiled, ‘Shall we make it a special adventure?’
Violet was intrigued and her shiny eyes widened, ‘What’s a special adventure?’
Bee put a finger to her lips for emphasis, ‘A secret one, just you and me. You mustn’t tell. Not even Daddy. Especially Daddy. It will spoil it. Can you do that?’
Violet nodded and seemed to forget she had been upset. ‘Can I take Pappy?’
‘Pappy your teddy, or Pappy your grandpa?’ Bee smiled tenderly.
‘My teddy.’
Bee kneeled down on the picnic blanket and pulled Violet onto her lap, her mouth gently touching the little girl’s ear. ‘We can take Pappy, and a few other things, but we can’t take much. You can’t take much on a special adventure.’ She turned Violet and looked into her eyes, ‘Can you wait here, sweet pea, just for a moment? I want to make Daddy a cup of tea.’
‘Will he hit you?’
Bee laughed, ‘No, of course not. I told you, he isn’t feeling very well. He didn’t mean it, Letty, really he didn’t.’
‘Daddy hits you.’ Violet strained against new tears.
Bee was stunned. ‘Well, we can talk about that later, once we are on our adventure. Okay?’
‘Can I play picnics while you’re gone?’
Bee kissed her, ‘Yes. Lay out the picnic and I’ll bring some biscuits. Stay right here. Okay? Until I come back.’
Inside, Bee did not speak at first but filled the kettle in silence. The house felt different, but it always felt different when Boyce was home. She walked away without switching it on.
He was sat at the dining table, laptop open. Clearly his mind had already moved to other matters.
‘Something interesting?’ She kept her distance.
‘Just work stuff,’ he muttered. ‘Sorry about Violet.’ His face was sullen, ‘But she really should have better manners, Bee.’
‘My fault. She’ll be fine. Will you be going back out today?’
‘No, why?’
‘I was hoping to borrow the car.’
‘The car? What for?’
Bee paused, knowing she would have to make the idea more his than hers for it to work. ‘It doesn’t matter. Let’s just stay in together.’ She tidied away some stray crayons. ‘I think Pappy might be planning to come over later anyway.’
This got his full attention, ‘Here? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.’
‘Yes. It’s only a maybe. He phoned earlier on. I said no but he insisted so I promised I would confirm it one way or another. After you and I had spoken.’
‘So what do you want the car for?’
‘Oh, nothing that can’t wait. It’s only that I told Violet we could go to Nana’s grave and put some flowers on it.’
‘Violet’s never met Nana, and it’s bloody miles from here.’ Boyce closed his laptop.
‘I know. That’s what I said. But she feels as if she knew her. I’ve told so many stories, and you know the stories Pappy tells. Actually, if we’re going to be in, then I’d better let him know we’re definitely here. Perhaps he can take us there, although he’ll need to eat first. I think he’s been travelling.’
‘Where?’
‘No idea. We didn’t talk for long.’ Bee braced herself. ‘Hmm…’
‘What?’
‘Well, if we went to Nana’s grave we could meet him there, I suppose. Then he wouldn’t have to come here at all. I’d take a little picnic.’
Boyce tossed her the keys, ‘That would kill two birds with one stone. Better if you go out. Just don’t crash. You know what you’re like.’
She didn’t. She was a far better driver than he was, but she smiled meekly in agreement. Then she picked up the phone. Only at that moment did she see how much her hands were trembling.
It took three attempts to key in the number correctly, and there was no response except the answering machine. Bee couldn’t hang up; the time had come. There would be no turning back: ‘Hi Pappy,’ she swallowed hard and moved away from Boyce, ‘Yes, it’s fine, but I thought we could go to Nana’s grave instead,’ a pause, ‘No. It’s not a problem. I’ve got the car.’ A small laugh, ‘The grave? Violet keeps nagging me about it. I thought we could have a picnic…’ she paused again, ‘Uh… hang on a minute.’ She went back to Boyce, and looked at him questioningly; mouthing the words he wants to go out for dinner. Her heart thumped violently. Boyce scowled at first and then nodded. ‘Yes, that would be wonderful. Ian? Oh…’ she looked again for guidance and he shook his head, ‘No. He’s very busy. It will be Violet and me. Okay. See you later. What time? Sure. Okay. In that case we’ll just gather some things and head off. See you. Bye. Yep. Bye.’ Bee replaced the receiver. Her hands were clammy. She felt faint.
Very casually she passed Boyce by and went up to Violet’s bedroom to collect Pappy, and once back downstairs she took her precious book on Southeast Asia from the shelf and went outside. Kneeling next to Violet she could feel blood pulsing in her mouth.
‘You’ve done a wonderful job with this picnic. It looks beautiful.’
‘Did you forget the biscuits, Mummy? I’m hungry.’
‘There aren’t any. We’ll have to go to the shops.’
‘But I saw some. In the kitchen.’
Bee stroked Violet’s face, ‘Oh, those. They’re stale. Gone soft. They’d be yucky to eat. Why don’t we go shopping now? Then we can begin our adventure at the same time.’
‘What’s that for?’ Violet pointed at the book, and Bee was about to say it was for her to look at, when from the house she could hear the phone ringing.
‘What is it, Mummy?’ Violet looked concerned.
‘Nothing. Come on. Stand up. Good girl. You can look at this in the car. We should be on our way. The biscuits won’t buy themselves, will they?’ She forced a smile. ‘Quick, come on, I’ll race you.’
Just as Violet ran towards the car Boyce wandered out of the house, and with the coldest look Bee had ever seen handed her the telephone. Violet returned to the safety of the picnic blanket.
‘It’s Felix, Say’s he’s a bit confused. The answer machine ran out of space before you’d finished. I told him you weren’t feeling too well, but he insists on speaking to you.’
It had taken every ounce of courage to get this far, and just when a final spurt of inventiveness would have carried things through, Bee’s nerve failed. She thought she would vomit. Unable to hide her fear she shakily took the phone.
‘Hi Pappy. What? Oh, I know… sorry… I what? Did I? Yes, I was a bit confused.’ Boyce took the phone and told Felix she would call back when she was feeling better.
‘Violet. Go up to your room. Come on Bee, darling. Let’s go inside and get to the bottom of this, shall we?’
His words sent tears tumbling, and Bee looked at the house fearing that if she entered it she may never leave again. ‘You know, you’re right, as always… I’m really not feeling too well.’ Her words were too breathy, she looked like a woman panicking, ‘I think I need to lie down or something… in the fresh air. I need air…’
Violet had gone inside.
Boyce looked at Bee for a moment, then pulled back his arm and punched her square in the face.
The pace of the world entered a surreal motion. The drawing back of the fist and the speed with which it came were rapid, but the impact slowed Bee’s perceptions, and as she fell so everything around her seemed to drift into the distance, the
entire valley packed into a tiny dot in the centre of blackness. Sound faded as the dot became smaller and smaller, until Boyce, the house, the trees, were gone.
*
Forced into a sleep that felt like oblivion, Bee dreamed of the voices she could hear. The sound bounced painfully from one side of her brain to the other through a series of diversions, like the pinging of a squash ball. Slowly her subconscious began to create pictures to match, erratic images of people she had never met: people in white coats crowded into the very top of a palm tree; people insisting she answer a question she had not been asked; people trying to persuade her to reabsorb her baby. The dream distorted with changes in sound, focusing on a crying Violet surrounded by a tight circle of hairless monkeys, standing on glowing sand, too hot for Violet’s delicate feet. And then something changed, a new noise, a touch. Slowly Bee opened her eyes. Beside her, on the grass, an enormous figure kneeled.
‘Hello Bee.’ Tuan gently cradled her head.
It was not a hot beach and there were no monkeys. She lay where she fell, in her own garden. It seemed forever before Bee could find a single word. ‘Violet.’
‘Misses P is with her, inside the house.’ He smiled reassuringly.
‘Misses P?’ It was like trying to function through treacle. Nothing made sense.
‘You’ve been unconscious. Everything is okay now.’
Bee was unsure.
‘You’re safe, Bee. So is Violet.’
Very slowly, fragments began to reassemble in Bee’s mind, ‘Ian?’
‘Misses P was using my telescope and saw what happened to Violet.’
Bee gazed at Tuan through glassy eyes, perplexed. A flash of doubt made her wonder if she was still caught up in a dream.
‘Misses P, Bee. She saw what happened to Violet. She’s got some explaining to do about that.’ He frowned affectionately, ‘She’s not been practicing what she preaches.’
Bee was bewildered.
‘The telescope. Never mind. Just rest.’
‘Telescope?’
‘Shush now, Bee, don’t talk.’
‘I didn’t know you had a telescope.’
‘I said don’t talk.’ He bent over her, his long black hair surrounding her face.
‘Did you say telescope?’ Bee felt sick with confusion, the smell of stale alcohol on Tuan’s breath adding to it. ‘Why have you got a telescope?’
Tuan pulled off his frock coat and spread it over Bee before gently stroking her face. ‘Lie still.’
‘Why are you here?’ she asked.
He kissed her forehead, ‘Felix called. He was worried.’
‘Pappy?
‘He phoned for the police, an ambulance too, after he spoke to you. We’d already called them, though.’
Bee said nothing.
‘He said you left such a strange message it worried him and when he called you back you were obviously alarmed. He thought that bastard Boyce was too detached and calm given how upset you sounded. You know Felix. He loves you so much, Bee. He said it became clear to him what you were doing when you left the message, but couldn’t figure it out before dropping you in it. He called and asked me to come over, but Misses P had already seen what was happening.’
‘I am so sorry.’
‘What for?’
‘For all this.’ Bee looked to the grass nearby ‘Ian. Is he okay?’
The faint sound of sirens echoed in the valley.
‘I think your nose is broken, and you’ve lost a tooth.’
Bee’s fingers tentatively felt for the gap.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ He shook his head, a single tear breaking free, ‘How could I have not seen?’
‘Not now, I don’t want to talk about it.’
‘But I love you so much. Bee’
‘And I love you too.’ She looked again at Boyce.
‘He won’t hurt you anymore.’
Blue eyes suddenly locked with black, ‘What do you mean?’
The sound of wailing sirens grew louder.
Tuan moved fine strands of fair hair from her eyes, ‘Not long and you will be checked over by the professionals. And then we’ll have you home.’
‘What have you done?’ Once more Bee turned away to stare at Violet’s father.
‘Nothing that anyone else wouldn’t have done.’ Tuan said, after what seemed a long silence.
Bee glanced at Tuan briefly, ‘That’s a strange look you have on your face.’ Her gaze returned to Boyce.
From nearby, Wilson interrupted, ‘He defended himself. He defended you, Miss. I saw it all...’ he looked at Tuan and shrugged, ‘…if anyone asks.’
Tuan displayed his thanks to his driver before returning his attention to Bee. ‘Pappy and your parents are on their way.’
‘But what did you do?’ Bee continued to stare at Boyce.
‘I put him out of his misery, Bee.’
‘Oh my God. Like the macaque?’
Tuan’s lips trembled. ‘I suppose so.’
EPILOGUE
‘Side by side, they stretch out on the short mown grass. Wrapped around them are the formal gardens of the magnificent Hall, a place of loss and now of love. Above, the sky is sapphire blue, empty of cloud save for a single thinly strewn white wisp. A lone buzzard drifts, mewing without urgency as two crows mob it.’
‘What about: In the skies of Southeast Asia, the crescent Moon hangs in the sky like a swinging cradle stopped mid-motion? That’s marginally more cheerful.’
‘Uh. Excuse me, Tuan. Who’s writing this book?’ Bee put the single sheet of printed A4 down onto her stomach and switched off the light of her phone. Kinsman Hall gardens fell into complete darkness. The grass around the couple was becoming damp with dew. Bee did not want to move.
‘I am just trying to help.’
‘It’s very poetic, but not what I am after. Perhaps you should help me out with my next book.’
‘So you like the crescent moon thing…how it hangs?’
‘I remember seeing it. Pappy pointed it out.’
‘Really?’ said Tuan, surprised, ‘Because I had forgotten all about it until just then.’
‘You know Misses P watches Pappy through the telescope, don’t you? I’m so glad he took the house, but I doubt he expected to have a stalker thrown into the bargain.’
Tuan, shifted his head a little as it rested on his hand, body stretched out close to Bee. ‘And I’m glad he took it too. Just as well he is a fit old fella. Where’s Violet?’
‘Up in her tree house, with her new torch, playing some game where she has to avoid capture. No idea how that might seem to you, of course.’
‘It doesn’t bother me at all. Sounds like a great game. No fear, that one.’ Tuan smiled proudly, ‘And how are you feeling?’
‘Oh, you know…. Better. Mostly. Tonight is perfect, though.’
‘Purrfect, you mean?’ He leaned over to kiss her. ‘Like the cream that got the cat?’
She laughed, ‘I am not kissing you now. That was a terrible joke! Let me up.’
‘Never. The Moon won’t be happy if you make me wait for my kiss, Bee.’ He smiled, moving his face towards hers once more until their lips touched.
‘I gave up waiting,’ she said, running her fingers over the ever-deepening lines of his face, before softly kissing a black stripe. ‘And I wouldn’t have it any other way.’ She gazed at him, happiness as complete as it could ever be. Now all she could do was treasure the few years left to them.
###
About the author
Life has so many possible outcomes. From the simple question what if? a thousand stories can evolve. This is how novelist, Barbara Jaques, finds inspiration, through questions of coincidence, uncertainty, superstition and faith.
Born in a tiny town in Alberta to wandering parents before their return to Bristol, Barbara has also wandered a little, although is now settled in Wiltshire with her family, close to her childhood home.
Barbara is also the author of:
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The Cult of Following (Novel)
Nathaniel’s Waiting Room (Novel)
Love of Grace & Angels (Novel)
The Front Door (Short Story)
If you want to receive an automatic email when Barbara’s next book is released, sign up at www.barbarajaques.co.uk. You will only be contacted when a new book is released, your email address will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review at the bookstore you bought this book from. You don’t have to write much, even a line or two would be a massive help.
SPECIAL THANKS
To all those people whose comments either made a difference to The Last Tiger or to how I felt; or both.
Sam Barber
Alexandra Bockfeldt
Frances Jaques
Susannah Knox
Lydia Davis
Elizabeth Freeman
Useful links:
Barbara’s website: www.barbarajaques.co.uk
Barbara’s Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/jmovllr
Editor:
[email protected] Cover: www.thedesigncooperative.com.au
Formatting: www.elizabethfreemanweb.com
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