Almost involuntarily Bella sat down on a pile of wet rubble, shocked by what lay before her.
She wondered what on earth she had expected after such a catastrophic fire? But, in spite of what she had been told, she certainly hadn’t expected anything as extreme as this. If any part of the storeroom and its contents still existed, it would probably require a bulldozer to remove what lay on top. Her father had clearly been wrong in his prediction that the basement room would withstand a nuclear explosion. And it appeared, from William Watkins’ account, that he had relied even more on the invincibility of the storeroom than Bella had realised.
She lowered her face into her hands. There was nothing more to see here, and nothing that could be done. She was just about to stand up and begin her return journey when she heard a slight noise behind her. Was it the sound of a footstep, or just a further movement of the ruins?
Before she could turn she felt strong hands around her throat and a knee in her back.
‘Don’t move, don’t even think about moving, or I’ll bleddy kill you,’ said a male voice.
Bella tried to scream, but no sound came out of her. She could barely breathe. The fingers pressing against her windpipe were like steel. It seemed like Janice Grey had been right about one thing. She was in danger now, that was for sure. Danger of dying perhaps, in the ruins of what had once been her home.
‘Right,’ said the voice. ‘Now don’t do nothing stupid. I’m going to relax my grip, because I want you to tell me who you are, and what the hell you’re doing here?’
One hand was removed from Bella’s throat. An arm now encased her upper body. The knee was still in her back. As promised, the grip of the second hand, still around her throat, slackened. Bella struggled to catch her breath.
‘OK,’ said the voice. ‘That’s it. Just take it easy, and answer my questions. Who are you, and what are you doing here?’
Bella no longer thought she was going to die. Not at that very second anyway. As her lungs became able to work normally again, so did her brain. She knew that voice. Surely, she knew that voice.
‘Come on, get on with it.’
Yes, she knew the voice all right. She had grown up with it, after all. But it didn’t make sense. What would he be doing here?
‘Jack?’ she queried tremulously. ‘Jack, never mind me, what are you doing here?’
The second hand was removed at once from around her throat, and the knee dropped away from her back. She was aware of sudden movement. Then the beam of a flashlight shone straight into her eyes, blinding her.
‘Miss Bella, it’s you. For God’s sake.’
The beam was shifted away from her eyes. The man holding it diverted it fleetingly to shine at his own face. ‘Yes, it’s me, Miss Bella,’ said Jack Kivel.
‘You frightened the life out of me,’ said Bella, managing a nervous laugh.
‘I’m sorry about that,’ said Jack. ‘I wanted to know who you were and what you were up to, didn’t I?’ He paused. ‘And what are you up to?’ he asked.
‘It seems that my father had ultimately stored almost everything of real importance, to the bank, and so much else, here, in his blessed storeroom. It’s all such a mess. I thought if I could salvage stuff, get to his papers, maybe it would help... and I might even find some of the paintings intact... I can see now there’s fat chance of that...’
‘But why the sneaky stuff, creeping in after dark. You’m Bella Fairbrother. This is, or rather was, your home.’
‘The place is still a crime scene, Jack, and considered unsafe, could be days before they let me in officially, and I couldn’t wait, I don’t have time to waste.’
She peered at Jack through the gloom. ‘But, come on, what the hell are you doing here?’
‘I was lamping up the four acre.’ Jack gestured towards a rifle propped against a length of crumbling black wall. ‘Somebody’s got to keep they rabbits down. There’s a new copse up there on the edge of Top Wood. Young saplings. Treat for bleddy rabbits, they be. I was just about to switch me lamp on when I caught a glimpse of torchlight. Only a few feet away. I hunkered down to let you pass, then I followed you here.’
‘Jack, why would you care about the rabbits and the trees, or what I or anyone else was doing up here? My father sacked you. He treated you appallingly. Turned you and Martha out of your home.’
‘To tell the truth, Miss Bella, coming up here after dark with me rifle calms me down, makes me feel better about things. More than ever tonight, after what’s happened. None of what you’ve just said makes any difference, you see. I love this land, and I never stopped being your father’s man. He still looked after us, me and my Martha, didn’t he? He gave us a place of our own, Miss Bella. Just a small cottage, but it’s a home, a real home, that nobody will ever be able to take from us. We’ll always have to thank him for that.’
‘I suppose that’s one way of looking at it. But, oh Jack, I was afraid you were going to kill me.’
‘To tell the truth, I thought you was one of the armed intruders come back, didn’t I? I had no idea it was you, Miss Bella. How could I ’ave done. In all that gear you’ve got on.’
‘You terrified me, Jack.’
‘I’m that sorry, Miss Bella.’
‘I know, Jack. Anyway, it’s been a wasted journey as far as I’m concerned. Are you going back to your lamping?’
‘Perhaps. Seeing the state this place is in has put me off doing anything much, that’s for certain.’
‘I know how you feel.’
‘Yep. I may just go home. My Land Rover’s up by the four acre. How did you get here, Miss Bella, I don’t like you being out here on your own.’
‘I’ve got my car parked as far as I could up the farm track. We can walk back up that way together, if you like. But Jack, for God’s sake, why am I suddenly “Miss”? You were part of my growing up. Call me Bella, will you, like you always used to.’
‘Ah, I did, didn’t I?’ Jack smiled, suddenly the gentle kindly man Bella remembered. ‘Those were the days. It seems like a lifetime ago, though, doesn’t it? Me and Martha, we haven’t seen nor heard of you in so long. And now, ah well, it’s all gone. All of it.’
Bella took a last lingering look around the ruins of the grand old house that had been her family home, fleetingly allowing herself to remember again the best times, before her mother had left, when she and her brother had not had a care in the world.
‘Yes, Jack, it’s all gone,’ she said. ‘Gone for good.’
The walk back to the car seemed quicker to Bella than the walk to the manor had done. But the territory was even more familiar now, and she had Jack by her side. He had always made her feel at ease and given her confidence.
Ever since she’d learned of the fire, Bella had been battling her own anger and frustration. They still lurked just beneath the surface. But it was only after parting company with Jack, and manoeuvring her car back along the farm track onto the road, that she gave in to her feelings. She pulled into the side and allowed her tears to flow. Tears of near rage. She had been horrified by the fire and the resulting deaths. She was now almost equally horrified by the aftermath. In both practical and emotional terms everything that had happened was a total disaster. A disaster, which, at that moment, she felt quite incapable of dealing with.