The Secrets of the Glen (Scottish Highlands #2)

Chapter 36

Robyn sat at the table by the window in Joe and Annie’s lounge-diner, which overlooked the small patch of grass they called a back garden. She thought of Marty and how he could transform their sorry excuse for a garden into a little oasis, with decking, and a patio, perhaps some artificial grass they didn’t have to take care of, along with a little water feature, and maybe some pretty potted plants and some hanging baskets along their fencing.

‘She’s pretty,’ Evie said, holding the angel that they had just decorated to go on her cake. Evie liked angels, Robyn had discovered. She didn’t just like angels; she believed in them. Robyn turned her attention from the garden and smiled at her. Robyn started filling the small party bags – one for each of Evie’s little friends who were coming to her party.

Joe stood on a ladder by the bay window in their lounge area, securing a string of letters along the curtain pole which spelt out the words Happy Birthday in bright colours. Annie was in the kitchen, preparing the party food.

Robyn looked across the room at David, who was sitting in an easy chair by the window, half-heartedly blowing up party balloons. He could at least make an effort, she thought crossly. Everyone else was mucking in. Why had he even bothered to come? She watched him staring out of the window until Evie tugged on her arm to start decorating another angel for her cake.

‘That’s very good, Evie. Do you think you can do this all by yourself while I go and talk to Uncle David?’ Evie wanted to make more angels, so Robyn drew an outline of one on a piece of coloured card and handed her a pair of child-friendly scissors, making sure Evie was holding the scissors correctly. There were crayons, glue and white crepe paper screwed up into little balls for her to draw the angel’s faces and decorate the angel wings.

Joe got down from the ladder and took it out of the room.

Her eyes fixed on David, Robyn walked up to him and stood next to his chair with her arms folded. David was still looking out of the window. He turned his head towards her. She crouched in front of the chair, lowering her voice so Evie wouldn’t hear.

‘I know you don’t want to be here. Well, neither do I.’ Robyn paused to look over at Evie, who was still studiously cutting the coloured card, a look of stern concentration etched on her face.

‘Actually, that’s not true. I do want to be here. So … so stop being an ass, get those balloons blown up, and stop spreading an atmosphere.’ She made to get up, but David caught her forearm, holding it gently.

She looked into his gorgeous brown eyes. He opened his mouth to say something.

Was he about to apologise?

‘Auntie Robyn – look at my angel!’

David looked over at his niece. He shut his mouth. The moment was lost.

Robyn looked over at Evie too. ‘That’s wonderful, sweetie.’

‘Come and help me decorate the angel.’

‘Hold on, I’ll be over in a minute.’ Robyn had one final thing to say to David. ‘You are not,’ she whispered vehemently, ‘going to spoil your niece’s party. Do you understand?’ She wagged her finger.

David stared at her.

Robyn stood up. ‘Now, are you going to get busy like everybody else and make this a party to remember?’ She folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for a response.

‘What do you expect me to do?’ David said helplessly. ‘Just blow up these balloons?’

‘That would be a start.’

Robyn picked up the bag of balloons on the side table by the window. ‘Here.’

David picked out a red balloon and put it to his lips. He looked up at her. ‘Are you going to stand there and watch me?’

Robyn cocked her head to one side. ‘Maybe.’

He frowned at her.

‘I want to see you put some enthusiasm into it.’

David made a show of blowing up the balloon as hard as he could, before tying the end. ‘There – satisfied?’

‘Now the rest.’

‘All of them?’

‘Oh, yes.’

When Robyn turned around, she caught Joe and Annie standing in the doorway with plates of party food, smiling at her.

She walked over, and shrugged. ‘What?’

Annie handed her plate of party food over to Joe and took Robyn’s hand. ‘Come help me in the kitchen.’

Evie heard that. ‘But I want Robyn to help me with my angels.’

Joe said, ‘Uncle David will help you when he’s finished blowing up the balloons.’

There was a groan from the chair in the window.

Annie led her down the little hallway into their small kitchen, where Robyn asked her, ‘What were you two smiling about?’

‘I think David needs a kick up the backside. I’m afraid that after his accident—’

‘Are you talking about the accident when his career ended?’

‘I am. We all pussy-footed around him. It’s about time someone came along and gave him what for.’ Annie smiled at her as she slipped on a pair of oven gloves. ‘Now, are you any good at icing fairy cakes?’

Robyn stared at her as she turned to the cooker and took out a tray of freshly baked little cakes. She hadn’t thought to ask Annie about the burglary at the shop. Annie had brought it up – David’s so-called accident. Now would be the perfect time to ask her what exactly had happened.

Annie said, ‘We’ll have to wait for them to cool a little, but it shouldn’t take long. In fact, I could slip them in the fridge for a bit – what do you think?’ She did it anyway before Robyn had a chance to reply.

‘I’m probably overdoing it,’ said Annie, as she reached in the cupboard for a box of icing sugar. ‘She’s already got a birthday cake, I know.’ She shrugged. ‘Well … it is her birthday.’ Annie turned around with the icing sugar and had obviously noticed that Robyn was very quiet.

She put the box on the kitchen counter. ‘What is it, Robyn? I noticed an atmosphere around you and David. Is something going on with you two?’

‘Yeah, you could say that.’

‘What happened? If you don’t mind me asking?’

Robyn didn’t mind at all. ‘I asked David about his accident, the one that wrecked his career.’

‘Ah, well, um …’ Annie let out a nervous laugh. ‘What did he say?’

‘Nothing – that’s the point. He won’t talk about it at all.’

‘Well, it’s all water under the bridge now. I expect he just wants to move on.’ Annie turned around and put the kettle on, busying herself with preparing the icing sugar. ‘As do we all.’

Robyn stared at her back, thinking that it was a peculiar thing to say – as do we all.

Robyn wasn’t going to drop it. ‘Can you tell me what happened?’

Annie was just spooning some icing sugar into a glass bowl on the kitchen counter. She stopped what she was doing and turned around. ‘Look, Robyn, that’s all in the past.’

Robyn blurted, ‘I know about the burglary at his father’s shop.’

‘What?’ Annie nearly dropped the bag of icing sugar in her hand. ‘Did Duncan tell you?’

Joe walked into the kitchen at that moment. He stopped in the doorway and looked from Robyn to Annie. ‘What’s going on?’

Annie said, ‘Nothing. We were just icing some fairy cakes.’

‘I thought I heard you talking about my dad …’

Robyn looked at him. He must have overheard a snippet of the conversation behind the door before he walked in. ‘He is still coming to the party – isn’t he?’

Annie laughed nervously again. ‘Of course he is.’

‘Then what were you two girls talking about?’

‘Honestly, Joe. You know better than to ask that – just girl talk, that’s all.’

Robyn stood there, staring at Annie.

Annie avoided eye contact with her as she scooted her husband out of the kitchen. ‘Unless you want to help us ice some cakes, you’d better skedaddle.’

‘Um, no thanks.’ Joe backed out of the kitchen but not before Annie passed him a plate of sausage rolls. ‘You can put those on the coffee table. Can you start clearing the dining table of Evie’s arts and crafts bits and bobs? She’ll have to stop making angels now. I’ve got a tablecloth I want to put on the table for the rest of the party food.’

‘Evie is going to play up when I tell her it’s all going away.’

‘Well, read her a story, or something, keep her occupied until her friends arrive.’

Joe left them alone in the kitchen again.

Robyn turned from the door to look at Annie. She narrowed her eyes. What was she hiding?

‘What really happened the night of the burglary, Annie?’