Chapter Five
Hay Lane
The day Nathanial Rochester was due to return
to Thornton, Sophie and I followed our usual schedule. We began by speaking
together in English and then I decided on a swim before lunch. In the afternoon,
while Sophie attended her riding lessons, I prepared to go into the village. I
waved to Sophie as I opened the gates. I was told I was welcome to take the
car, but since I’d never learnt how to drive properly, I thought I’d better
not. I left Sophie with her riding instructor and decided to go for a walk to the
bus stop.
‘Oh Anne,’ Mrs Fairfax said, ‘would you
take these to the post office for me if you are going into town? One of the
workmen will give you a lift.’
I nodded, adding ‘It’s alright, I prefer to
walk, and I need the exercise.’
The afternoon grew overcast as I made my
way down Hay Lane towards the main road that led to the bus stop, a walk of at
least half an hour. I was enjoying the solitude, having time to myself. I wore
my favourite jeans rolled to my calves and had borrowed a pair of Wellington
boots from the scullery. It was breezy but warm enough to go outside wearing the
light floral shirt I’d packed for fine weather.
I wore sunglasses to shade me from the
glare and had my favourite album blasting from my headphones as I walked in the
sun. I’d taken off my summer coat and had it tied around my hips as I walked. I
looked like a typical eighteen year old holidaying out of my comfort zone and I
was tied up in my music as I veered slightly off the park and wandered more on
the edge of the road. From nowhere, or so it seemed, a black sports car sped up
and swerved towards me, skidding close by and very near my feet. The driver, a
man in his twenties or thereabouts, slammed on the brakes.
The car was motionless, missing both me and
a tree by seconds.
‘Careful!’ the man shouted. ‘You need to
look where you are going.’
‘And you shouldn’t be driving this fast
down country lanes,’ I replied, haughtily.
The driver got out and loomed above me.
He was tall with very dark hair that
looked unruly and messy. He wore designer sunglasses and an unironed shirt and
I could not see his eyes. His shoulders were broad and his boots covered in mud.
His
expression softened, ‘You’re right, I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there. You were
camouflaged by the glare and sunlight.’
It was true but not a good enough excuse
for almost killing me. I pulled my ear
phones over my head and tried to walk past him. He walked towards me.
Instantly, I took a step back into the mud.
‘I’m sorry if I startled you. You’re new
around these parts, am I right?’
‘Yes,’ I said hesitantly. In London, I’d
never stop to speak but they did things differently here. ‘I… I’m the new governess
at Thornton Hall.’
‘The new governess?’
‘Yes.’
‘What’s that - a glorified nanny?’
‘I suppose so,’ I said, annoyed by his
questions and keen to move on.
‘But you hardly look old enough to have
finished school…’
‘I’m eighteen.’
‘Oh.’
He considered this for a moment as I
adjusted the volume on my speakers, irritated by his tall and overbearing
presence. Men like this thought they were so it: tall, fast car, hot, rich, older; I walked on.
‘Just a minute,’ he said.
‘I’m in a hurry; I’ve got to send these
letters before the post office closes.’ Did he think I had all day to talk to a
complete stranger and a rude one at that? I’d show him who was boss.
‘What do you want?’ I asked
impatiently.
‘Oh, nothing,’ he added, ‘I think I’m
on London time – fast.’
‘Probably,’ I said dismissively.
‘I might see you soon.’
‘Where? At the local pub? I don’t go
out much at night.’ I laughed.
‘Right,’ he said with a sarcastic,
superior look on his face.
‘So, see you when I see you,’ I added
finally, sure I wouldn’t.
‘Not if I see you first,’ he mumbled. ‘The
tutors at Thornton don’t tend to last too long,’ he added as his parting shot.
‘What would you know?’ I replied under
my breath.
I could have asked him how he knew all
of this, but by then I’d turned my back on him and heard his car start. I raised
the volume on my speakers. He drove slower in the opposite direction to me but
then I heard him speed up in the distance; typical. He was exactly like the
arrogant men that existed in most of my schoolgirl novels.
