‘Mum, there’s a train on the bridge. It’s the eleven o’clock from Edinburgh. Want to see through the binoculars? You can see the passengers inside, they’re moving!’

‘No, it’s fine, sweetheart, thanks.’ Fiona tucked her hair behind her ears and stared at the statements. Did those direct debits have something to do with why Pete suddenly disappeared? What had Swansea to do with anything?

‘Can I just borrow these two, Jamie? I’d like them for my room.’

He turned round. ‘If you want, but I could do you better ones now, I was only in P2 then.’

‘No, thank you. I like these. And how about these two for Granny?’ She pointed at one of the house that Jamie had drawn the previous summer. Its Ionic pillars were drawn much larger than they really were but it made the house look more symmetrical. The other picture was of the rail bridge, drawn from her mother’s bedroom window below.

‘Yeah, I think Granny’ll like those. Mum, is it lunchtime yet?’

She looked at her watch. ‘Another hour. Granny said one o’clock.’ I’m going to go for a quick run along Riverside Drive, but tell Granny I’ll be back for lunch. You can help her set the table.’

Fiona went downstairs and into her room where she opened the wardrobe to look for her running shoes. She sat down on the bed to peel off her jeans and pull on her tracksuit bottoms. As she bent down to tie her shoelaces, she thought how little she actually knew about Pete; what else had he been keeping from her?

CHAPTER 15

Chapter 15

Thursday 1 January 1880

‘You can carry the black bun, Lizzie. And James, take the bottle.’

‘Is it the whisky Pappa bought for Dr Donaldson?’

‘Yes, it is his usual Ne’erday gift, but today you must be the man and hand it over, James.’ Ann gave it to her son. ‘Hold it very carefully, please, two hands.’

‘Will you be back for tea, Mrs Craig?’ Mrs Baxter placed her hand on her lower back as she eased herself up from tying the ribbons of Lizzie’s velvet bonnet.

‘Is your back still sore, Mrs Baxter?’

The housekeeper shook her head and scowled. ‘It’s fine.’

Ann wondered why she bothered trying to be nice to the woman, she was always sullen. Baxter was definitely the more pleasant of the pair.

‘Well, I imagine we shall be served tea at the Donaldsons’, but I do not want to overstay our welcome. I cannot contemplate embarking on idle chatter, even though it’s only our two families and Archibald’s mother. They are holding their usual party tonight but I shall not attend.’

‘Bye then,’ said Mrs Baxter at the door. ‘Oh, Lizzie, mind and tell Mrs Donaldson that black bun’s different this year. I used more candied citron peel and some West Indian ginger, but the ginger’s minced fine.’