A Week in Winter: A Novel Read Online Free PDF Page A

along in a minute. Pull her into the yard.’
    He opened the gate for her and went away to put the kettle on for some tea. Maudie backed carefully through the gateway and parked beside the pick-up, and by the time she arrived in the kitchen the kettle was boiling and Rob was putting tea bags into mugs. She paused inside the door, looking around. The kitchen faced northwest, stretching almost the whole width of the house, and looked out across the moor, beyond distant farmland to the sea. Empty, except for some built-in cupboards, the sink unit and the Esse range, it looked enormous, cavernous.
    ‘It needs really big, old-fashioned farm furniture,’ Maudie said, accepting her mug. ‘Huge dressers and a big refectory table. The odd thing is that it doesn’t feel as cold as I’d expected. There’s a warm atmosphere,’ she sniffed at the air, ‘and what’s that smell … Bacon?’ She shook her head. ‘I’m imagining things.’
    Rob was looking at her oddly. ‘It’s funny you should say that. I’ve had the same impression once or twice. I’m on my own here now, tidying up, and the lads have moved on to the next job, but I sometimes get the feeling that I’m not alone.’ He chuckled, almost embarrassed. ‘No stories of ghosts or hauntings, are there?’
    She stared at him, watching him as he turned away, sipping his tea, staring out across the moor, and felt a twinge of uneasiness. Rob Abbot wasthe last person in the world to let his imagination run away with him but he seemed rather distant today, unresponsive, not at all his usual joking self.
    ‘Of course not,’ she said briskly. ‘What nonsense. Anyway, ghosts don’t cook bacon. Are you absolutely certain that none of your men could have taken the keys, Rob? I have this feeling that there were several keys on a smaller ring, attached to the big one. Could you have taken them off and put them down somewhere?’
    He turned back to her, frowning. ‘Don’t think I haven’t thought it over. It’s possible, of course. A lot of keys pass through my hands, and I’m usually very careful, but I suppose it’s possible that I may have taken them off and left them lying about. But why should anyone take them? I’ve asked the boys, of course, and they’re all as puzzled as I am. I certainly can’t imagine any of them having any use for them. The house is empty, nothing to take, and it’s clear that nobody’s squatting in it. At the same time …’
    ‘It’s odd, isn’t it?’ She grimaced. ‘Rather creepy. Come and show me the sitting room—I haven’t seen it since it was finished—and then we’ll decide what’s to be done about the office. How annoying it is. Not that it will take long to get it decorated. I hope you won’t abandon me before it’s done.’
    ‘No, I shan’t do that.’ He put his mug down on the draining board. ‘It’s always good to have some indoor work as the winter comes on and I wouldn’t want to leave a job unfinished.’
    ‘It’s taken rather longer than you thought, hasn’t it?’ Maudie asked as they passed into the hall and she paused to look appreciatively at the oak staircase, restored now to its simple, natural state. ‘You’ve done well, Rob. It looks right. Not like some tacky conversion. It’s retained its dignity.’
    He looked about him. ‘She’s like an elderly countrywoman,’ he said affectionately. ‘Strong, kindly, sheltering. She’s not some passing fad for a pseudo townie who wants to pretend he’s living the good life.’
    Maudie glanced at him, touched by his warmth. ‘The trouble is, now that the farmland has been sold off, Moorgate isn’t really a farmhouse any more. And she’s right off the beaten track. I’m not certain exactly who would buy it.’
    ‘No offers yet, then?’ He led the way into the sitting room. ‘Mr Cruikshank seems very keen.’
    She laughed. ‘He’s young,’ she said tolerandy. ‘He’ll get a lot of interest from the type of people you’ve just described