The Time Beside Her Name

The pedestrian gate had already been locked when Merrit tried it.

She had followed the gravel path from the guest house with her phone in one hand and the room key in the other. The gate stood between two brick pillars, its ironwork neat enough to belong in a garden catalogue. Beyond it, the lane was empty. A small red light glowed on the keypad.

The guard came out of the booth. He was the same man who had challenged Jory that afternoon.

“Could you open it for a moment?” Merrit asked. “I need to get a signal.”

“Gate opens at seven-thirty.”

“I’m not asking to take a car through. I need to make a call.”

“There’s a telephone in the house.”

“Can you let me use yours?”

His eyes moved to her phone, then to the key in her hand. “You’re staying overnight.”

Merrit looked at the gate’s lock. “I know. I signed in.”

“Then you’re expected in the house.” He did not raise his voice. He didn’t need to. “The gate’s shut for the night.”

She put the phone away. On the walk back, she tried it twice. The screen showed no service.

The telephone in the house was on a narrow table in the hall, beside a vase of white roses. When she lifted the receiver, a woman’s voice answered from somewhere deeper in the house.

“Greenvale Estate. How may I help?”

Merrit hesitated. “I’m looking for an outside line.”

“Of course. May I ask who you need to speak to?”

She set the receiver down. She hadn’t decided what to say, and the question had made her feel as if she’d already said too much.

Dinner was served in a room with tall windows and a view of the garden. Maudren had invited Merrit to sit at her right. The place opposite them was empty until a man entered near the end of the first course.

“Dr Pell,” Maudren said. “You’ve met Merrit, of course.”

“I haven’t,” he replied, taking the offered chair. “Good evening, Miss Shaw.”

He looked younger than Merrit had expected a retired senior surgeon to look. His skin was smooth at the throat, but his hands, when he unfolded his napkin, had faint brown spots along the knuckles. He noticed her looking and turned them palm down on the table.

“Have you settled in?” Maudren asked.

“Thank you. I’m comfortable.”

“And you’ll have a proper look at the grounds tomorrow,” Maudren said. “It’s difficult to understand the position from the drive.”