‘Close enough,’ Grace nodded, with signs of relief. ‘You know the saying “We fear those we hurt”? Well, it’s a bit like that. In a way.’ She frowned. ‘Except—’ She stopped herself. ‘No, I’m not saying any more. I need to have a proper think about it all before it makes much sense, anyway.’

‘All right,’ said Thea reluctantly, still not inclined to trust this very odd person, who virtually admitted to having at least some criminal tendencies. ‘But I really don’t want you to stay more than one night. That’s what you said. You can’t foist yourself on me for any more than that.’ She took a long breath, and bit back any further words. It was all her own fault, after all, and there was no real reason to throw her visitor out at this stage. She could easily call Gladwin if necessary. Grace presented no physical threat, with her injured shoulder. Even if she was a karate expert or something of the sort, Thea was confident she could defend herself. Besides, what good would it do the woman to render her host incapacitated? Looked at logically, there seemed little to fear other than considerable inconvenience and perhaps 53embarrassment. On the plus side, she could see she wasn’t going to be bored.

‘Please don’t worry,’ Grace urged her. ‘Nothing’s going to happen to either of us now. If I can just have a bit of something to eat, I’ll go and lie down somewhere and not bother you any more. Where can I sleep?’

Thea spent ten minutes warming soup, making a banana sandwich and refreshing the tea. Grace ate everything she was given, and then repeated her wish to lie down.

Here was another unforeseen difficulty. Only two of the rooms had beds in them – Tabitha’s and the one Thea was using. Tabitha’s was locked and explicitly stated as out of bounds; no way was Thea going to share or give up hers.

‘Perhaps we can make some sort of nest for you in one of the bedrooms, but they’re not at all cosy. Actually, you might be better up in the attic,’ she said. ‘It’s got a rug on the floor, and we can find cushions and probably a blanket somewhere.’ Visions of Anne Frank floated up, adding a range of new emotions to the situation.

‘An attic would be perfect,’ Grace enthused. ‘It will keep me out of your way, and I can have a long quiet sleep.’

‘Okay, then,’ said Thea.

54

Chapter Four

Gathering cushions, a sheet from the airing cupboard and a blanket from a shelf in Thea’s room, they slowly climbed the steep stairway to the top storey of the house. It was clean and light, but uncomfortably hot. Thea managed to push the dormer window open. The room was small and completely empty, but the rug on the floor made it a tolerable place to sleep. ‘Will you be all right?’ Thea asked doubtfully. ‘It’s very hot up here.’ It seemed perverse and unkind to banish Grace like this, when she could curl up on the sofa far more comfortably. But that would leave Thea herself with nowhere to spend the evening, having to keep quiet and still − which would be annoying. Besides, Grace herself obviously wanted somewhere private. ‘At least nobody would ever think to look for you up here,’ Thea said, as much to reassure herself as her guest. Again, she imagined Anne Frank, and other terrified fugitives from hostile forces. There was a romantic kind of heroism to the providing of sanctuary like this. She just hoped the woman was a worthy recipient of her benevolence.55