‘That’s the Lakes, they put a spell on you,’ he said. ‘The same weekend I set eyes on the Hall, the estate agent invited me to a party and I met Tash. So I fell in love twice within the space of twenty-four hours.’
The upper floors of the tower had been converted into offices and a library. As they climbed to the roof, Daniel thought that the Dumelows were not like a couple who had been together a decade. They kept touching each other, brushing against each other, like lovers in the early days of infatuation, still acclimatising to each other’s bodies. He took it as a good omen for his new life with Miranda. Maybe Brackdale really was a Shangri-La for lovers, removed from the everyday world where romance died all too soon.
The evening air was cool as they stepped out on to the flat roof of the tower and Miranda shivered as she peered over the edge of the battlements. The ground seemed such a long way down. ‘So this was where the locals stood to fire arrows or hurl missiles at their enemies?’
‘That’s right,’ Tash said. ‘Simon has this fantasy that he might do the same if ever any of his business rivals turn up outside our front door.’
‘They’d never be fast enough to catch up with me,’ her husband said. ‘Now, how about that? Beautiful or what?’
Daniel surveyed the panorama beyond the cobbled courtyard and grounds of the Hall. From the gravelled drive, a track led to the farmhouse and a string of outbuildings. A separate lane linked the farmstead to the main road into the village. From the point where the lane petered out, the coffin trail led past fields where the sheep grazed quietly, towards Underfell. His gaze travelled along Priest Edge. The Sacrifice Stone, there was no getting away from the Sacrifice Stone. It stood on top of the ridge, an anvil awaiting a giant blacksmith.
‘I met Tom Allardyce in The Moon under Water,’ Daniel said.
Simon chuckled. ‘Let me guess. He didn’t buy you a pint and make you feel welcome.’
‘Someone said he likes animals more than people.’
‘That’s about right. Although maybe it’s not such a bad fault in a farmer. If foot and mouth had touched Brackdale, I’m sure Tom would have shot the men from the ministry rather than see his beasts destroyed. Allardyces have farmed in Brackdale for centuries, but he’d do better if he was less bloody-minded. We have had a few run-ins over the years. At least his wife’s a treasure. We appreciate her even if he doesn’t.’
‘I gather he has a temper.’
‘Poor Jean,’ Tash said. ‘She’s such a decent woman. You’ll meet her soon, she’s cooking a wonderful meal for us. They’re chalk and cheese, the Allardyces. Jean wouldn’t say boo to a goose. As for Tom, one of these days I’m sure he’ll square up to Simon, and then he’ll have gone too far.’
‘I’ve coped with worse in the building trade,’ Simon said.
‘Let’s not talk about him,’ his wife said. ‘Welcome to Brackdale. I only hope you two will be as happy here as Simon and I have been.’
‘So how are you settling in to Tarn Cottage?’ Tash asked as Jean Allardyce served blueberry swirl cheesecake.
The farm manager’s wife kept scuttling in and out of the dining room like a nervy mouse. She was an excellent cook with a predilection for dishes that made Daniel put on weight simply by looking at them. That Tash retained her lithe figure was a tribute to her gym regime. The workouts must be ferocious to compensate for such a calorie-laden diet.
‘Fine,’ Miranda said. ‘Of course, there’s so much to do and we keep debating the choice of decor. Our tastes aren’t exactly the same, but it would be boring to live with someone who had identical tastes. Like putting yourself through a Xerox machine.’
Daniel said, ‘At least the place is habitable, after weeks of builders coming and going. God knows how the old woman who used to live there coped. It was so primitive.’
‘Mrs Gilpin spent all her life in the valley,’ Tash said. ‘A trip to Lancaster would have been like a visit to a foreign country. She didn’t like change, did she, Jean?’
The housekeeper shook her head. ‘She — she liked to keep herself to herself.’
‘You grew up in the valley?’ Daniel asked her.
‘Yes, but we never had much to do with the Gilpins. The father died when Barrie was a baby. Barrie was a few years younger than me. His mother doted on him but tried not to let it show. She didn’t want him to grow up spoiled and anyway, he had…problems. Everyone thought he was a weirdo, kept a distance. Though I couldn’t help feeling sorry for him.’
Daniel nodded. ‘He was likeable, once you got used to him. And no fool, just a bit naive.’
Tash’s eyes widened. ‘You talk as though you met him.’
‘I stayed here when I was a boy,’ he said. ‘For a couple of weeks, Barrie and I became friends. I enjoyed his company. He was gentle, wouldn’t hurt a fly. I find it hard to imagine how he could ever have committed any act of violence. Let alone such a barbaric killing.’
‘Coffee?’ Jean Allardyce asked. Her voice was croaky, as if the mere mention of the murder was enough to bring back distressing memories.
‘Black for me, please,’ Miranda said. ‘So you knew the Gilpins too, Tash? Before the girl was murdered, I mean?’
‘Well.’ Tash nibbled at her lower lip, as if regretting having said too much. ‘We’ve tried to become part of the local scene.’
‘It’s taken ten years to make our neighbours realise that we don’t want the place bulldozed to make room for a leisure centre or hypermarket,’ her husband said. ‘Even if only for selfish reasons, there’s no way we’d ever want to spoil the valley.’
‘And Barrie Gilpin,’ Daniel said, dragging the conversation back. ‘You came across him?’
‘An oddball,’ Simon said.
Tash frowned. ‘That’s unfair, darling. He was different, that’s all.’
‘Oh yeah? I remember you saying…’
‘Look, I admit I found it difficult when you were away and there was no one else around here but Barrie. He could be scary.’
‘He was a voyeur. He made you feel uncomfortable.’
Tash coloured. ‘Even so, I didn’t dislike him, not at all. He was — well, naive. Child-like. I felt sorry for him. That’s why I was happy for him to work here.’
‘He worked for you?’ Daniel asked. ‘Doing what?’
‘This and that,’ Simon said. ‘Painting and decorating. Helping Tom to clear out the pond every now and then. You could call it cheap labour, but it suited us and it suited him.’
Tash shook her head. ‘You could say the murder was my fault.’
Daniel stared at her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Listen, the truth is that Barrie Gilpin was pretty much unemployable, but I persuaded Simon to find him work to do. Big mistake. If he hadn’t been hanging around here when Gabrielle Anders came calling, she’d be alive to this day.’
‘Gabrielle was a friend of mine.’ Tash gave a little shiver. They had moved from the dining area into the sitting room that adjoined the tower and were washing down a splendid meal with strong coffee. ‘Even now, I hate to think about what happened to her — up on the fellside.’
‘Sorry if I’m raking up bad memories,’ Daniel said. ‘It’s just that I don’t know the full story and from the fragments I’ve heard, I’m bound to be curious.’
Simon produced bottles of Drambuie and Irish Mist. When Miranda said that she was driving, he laughed and said, ‘Don’t worry. You won’t find any speed traps or lurking panda cars in Brackdale. The police are putting up cameras on all the main roads, the bastards. One more way to take money from us. But you’re safe in the valley.’
‘No thanks,’ she said. ‘I need my wits about me if I’m to negotiate all the bends and narrow lanes on the way home. I’ve already developed a habit of catching my wing mirror against the dry stone walls.’
‘You’ll keep us company, Daniel?’
Daniel hadn’t tried to keep pace with his host’s consumption of booze during the meal. Even so, he could feel his eyelids drooping. But alcohol might loosen tongues.
‘Sure.’
As he filled each glass to the brim, Simon said, ‘Tash hadn’t seen Gaby for years until she showed up here.’