“I was thinking horse. Nobody else seems much interested. Hattie has discovered your Steinway, and she wants to work on some ideas she has for the score of the film, and I think Ben plans to spend the afternoon screwing his girl.”
“You’re on, kiddo.”
They rode across the meadow in front of the house and into the woods, along a well-beaten trail. It was cool under the trees, and they slowed to a walk to better enjoy the air.
“Dad, what’s that?” Peter asked. He was pointing at a small structure.
“That,” Stone said, “is the hermitage, where the hermit lived.”
“Hermit?”
Stone turned his horse and rode slowly toward the little house, while he told Peter about the killing of Sir Richard Curtis and the confession and suicide of the hermit, Wilfred Burns. He gave him all the background on the service in the Royal Marines of Burns, Curtis, and Sir Charles Bourne.
“That’s fascinating,” Peter said as he dismounted and tied his reins to a bush. “I think I can use that story.”
Stone tied his horse, and they tried the door to the house. It was unlocked, and they walked in. Stone had expected a hovel, and he was surprised to see how well the space was used and how neat the place was. It was, essentially, one room; there was a kitchenette in a corner, a woodstove, a small desk, and a single comfortable chair. There were built-in bookcases holding volumes that seemed mostly about military history. There was a tiny cupboard that held some military uniforms and a Squadron mess kit, along with some rougher clothing, and a sleeping loft had been built at one end, with a small bathroom underneath.
“This is what I call simple living,” Peter said. “I don’t think I could ever get along with so few possessions.”
“Nor I,” Stone said, “but I admire him for doing it. I think it must be part of his penance for the behavior that ruined his career.”
“What did the police think was the brigadier’s motive for killing Richard Curtis?” Peter asked.
“I don’t know, and the police inspector never mentioned one. His suicide seemed to bring the investigation to a screeching halt, and when I last spoke to Inspector Holmes, I thought I detected a note of relief in his voice.”
“Are you going to seek out a new hermit for the place?”
“No, I think I’ll wait and see if one comes to me.”
They had a look around the exterior and found a shed containing a couple of chain saws and some hand tools.
“He earned his keep here as a woodcutter,” Stone explained to Peter.
They went back to their horses and mounted up, then rode on. As they passed within sight of the airfield, a twin-engine Piper Navajo came in and touched down, and Sir Charles and the new Lady Bourne got out, as Stan arrived with the Land Rover.
Stone rode over to meet them and introduced Peter. “I hope the honeymoon went well,” he said. Charles, he thought, looked a little tired and perhaps a bit thinner, but then, the groom was supposed to be worn out after the honeymoon.
“We had a wonderful time, Stone,” Elizabeth said, “and Marie was very kind to us, as well. We can’t thank you enough.”
They got into the Land Rover and drove toward Charles’s cottage, and the airplane started up, took off, and headed south, toward France.
Stone and Peter rode on, passing the cemetery and the Norman church beyond. They had a good view of Curtis Hall from there.
“Why don’t we jump that wall and ride around the Curtis estate?” Peter asked.
“I think it would be more neighborly to ask permission first,” Stone said, and as they watched, Lady Curtis came out the front door with four people who, somehow, looked American. She waved at Stone and Peter, and they waved back, then she beckoned to them and waved her arm in a sweep, as if to say, “Come ride on my property.”
They jumped the horses over the wall and walked on, as the group got into a limousine and drove away, passing a few yards ahead of their path.
“They looked American,” Peter said.
“I thought so, too,” Stone replied, “and the tall one looked like pictures I’ve seen of Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun.”
“Oh, shit,” Peter said.
26
They spent a good two hours covering the whole of the Curtis estate, which was indeed larger than Stone’s property, and then they rode along the Beaulieu River toward the dock of Windward Hall. Stone’s cell phone vibrated.
“Hello?”
“It’s Felicity.”
“I know what you’re going to tell me.”
“Okay, what?”
“That Dr. Don Beverly Calhoun somehow got into the country.”
“How could you know that?”
“Because I just saw him leaving Curtis Hall.”
“He flew private, into Biggin Hill.”
“I figured.”
“We didn’t cover private airfields; there are too many.”
“I figured. Why don’t you get your friend the Home Secretary to throw him out of the country?”
“Oh, no, it’s easy to block someone from entering, and that way, you deny him the media, but arresting and deporting him is much more complicated and could even be appealed, and we’d have the papers and TV all over us.”
“I see your point.”
“Did you actually see Calhoun and Glynnis together?”
“I saw her saying goodbye to him and three others, then they got into a limo and passed within a few yards of us.”
“Did they look as though they had concluded a deal?”
“Oh, come on, Felicity, what sort of look is that?”
“Oh, all right, I’ll call her. Goodbye.”
Stone hung up. “The river runs down to the Solent,” he said to Peter. “Very convenient for boating.”
“Are you going to get a boat?”
“I don’t have a crew — maybe a powerboat.”
“Another Hinckley?”
“That’s a good thought — it could be shipped to Southampton. I’m not really in the mood to research British boats. I’d know what I’m getting with a Hinckley.”
“Good. The next time we visit, I’ll expect a Hinckley ride.”
“It sounds to me as though you’re going to be spending the rest of the year here, and why not? You can finish your script, do a deal with a British production house for a crew and equipment, and get your casting done. What sort of schedule are you thinking about?”
“I’ll have to work it up. We’ll need to finish the script, do production drawings, and run it by the studio. Then preproduction and a few weeks of shooting. We’d want to do postproduction at home, since we have all the equipment in our offices. I think we could be ready for release in December, in time for Academy Awards qualification and screenings.”
“Sounds like you’ve given it a lot of thought.”
“I’ve hardly thought about anything else. It would be a new experience, having a film go from inspiration to completion so quickly.”
“Maybe I’ll figure out a way to get my New York work done over here. I’d love to watch your film happen. I’d promise not to get in the way.”
“Nonsense, you’ve been nothing but helpful. This film wouldn’t have happened but for you.”
“You sound as if it’s already made.”
They were back at Windward Hall in time for tea in the library, which turned out to be more of a production meeting, as Peter brought Ben and Billy up to date on what he’d seen and planned.
Felicity called again. “It’s all right, Glynnis hasn’t accepted the Calhoun offer yet.”
“Swell.”
“You don’t sound pleased.”
“It’s nothing to do with me.”
“So you’re looking forward to having Dr. Don and his tribe as neighbors?”
“You have a point.”
“You’d better get interested.”