Page 21 of Echoes on the Wind (Borrowed Time #2)

I managed to go more than a week before Gwyn rumbled me for quitting my job. I’d desperately wanted him to concentrate on getting better without any added stress, so I told him Mr Carter let me take a leave of absence to help in his recovery.

It was during that time that I started to get the distinct feeling that I was being followed.

When I saw Ellis outside the bakery, it wasn’t so unusual. They had a large contract with the farm, and deliveries were daily, so chance may have taken us there at the same time. When I met Lee for lunch at the tearoom the following day and saw Ellis standing outside, chain-smoking, it felt slightly less coincidental.

It also seemed strange when, in the space of a single morning while I was helping Nellie to clean the front windows, Ellis made three separate trips past the house. He’d said previously that he had a friend who lived on the street, but he never appeared to actually go into any of the houses or speak to anyone and seemed more interested in watching what we were doing instead .

I hadn’t even noticed him on the day that I went for a walk with Tish in the park. It had started raining unexpectedly, so we took shelter under the bandstand. She quickly became amused by a man who, she’d said, had taken several laps around the pond, soaked through to the skin. When she pointed him out he had his back to us and it was hard to see him clearly through the downpour, but when he circled around again, there was no mistaking that it was Ellis.

On the day that Nellie gave Gwyn the all-clear to return to work, I’d seen him once more, standing on the corner at the bottom of the hill. He kept his distance, but he didn’t hide the fact that he was staring at me as I headed home, and I resolved that it was finally time to tell Gwyn what had been going on.

I’d not been in the house more than five minutes when a knock came at the door.

“I’ll get it,” Betty shouted, running down the hallway from the kitchen. “Yes, he’s here. Would you like to come in?”

I jumped up and bolted into the hallway, wanting to put a stop to his entry, and nearly bumped head first into Betty as I went.

“Someone is here to see you,” she said, and as she ducked around me and went back to the kitchen, I saw Gerwyn standing on the doorstep holding his cap.

“I can’t stop,” he said. “Is everything alright? You look a bit tense.”

“I’m fine,” I said, smiling. “I just thought you were someone else.”

“Ellis?” he asked, and I nodded as I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I just saw him down the hill. He’s been talking about you a lot. ”

“Saying what?”

“Nothing bad, just that he’s been coming over to play cards a lot, and having nights out with you at the pub. Don’t worry, though. I don’t believe a word that comes out of his mouth.”

I leaned against the door frame, crossing my arms in defiance. “He’s lying,” I said. “The only time I’ve seen him is when he’s following me around. I just want him to leave me alone.”

He shook his head, unsurprised that Ellis was lying. “He’ll get bored soon enough, hopefully.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to come in?” I asked, pointing behind me. As I turned, Gwyn came to stand at the door, and he and Gerwyn exchanged friendly nods.

“No, I really have to get going. I just wanted to bring your bike back.” He pointed across the front yard, and as I leaned out, I saw he’d propped it against the bay window. “I’ve put a new wheel on it, so it should be as good as new. It was just lying around at the farm, and I thought you might want it for your new job. Have you found anything yet?”

I stared at him awkwardly, and though I didn’t turn around, I could tell that Gwyn was boring holes in my back with his stare. “Hopefully soon.”

“Well, good luck,” he said as he headed for the street. “I’ll see you around sometime.”

I stalled in the doorway, watching him walk away, and when I finally turned around, Gwyn was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, eyebrow raised, and a smirk on his face.

“Got anything you want to tell me? ”

“No. Why would you think that?” I replied, failing terribly at acting innocent.

He followed me to the living room and closed the door, giving us some privacy, and I spent the next half an hour laying everything out about Ellis and quitting my job.

“I’m going to kill him.”

“You’re not going to kill him,” I replied.

I tried to play it off as a misunderstanding, hoping to keep his rising temper to a minimum, but his anger was palpable. It was only because he wanted to hear me out fully that he hadn’t already marched to the farm, but by the time I’d told him everything, he was absolutely seething.

“I don’t want you going up there starting something, especially while you’re still recovering. He’s just a stupid kid who tried his luck. He won’t do it again.”

“Damn right he won’t,” he said, pointing a finger at me. “He’s lucky I don’t leather him.”

He paced the floor, shouting in Welsh. Every now and then he’d look over at me, then huff and look away again, annoyed that I wouldn’t let him go up there.

“Will you calm down,” I said, coming to my feet to try and stop his pacing.

“No I will not,” he snapped. “He doesn’t get to put his hands on you. He doesn’t get to threaten you. I won’t have it. I’m going up there.”

“No, Gwyn,” I shouted, putting myself between him and the door. “You’re not getting yourself into trouble over him. Leave it be. I mean it. ”

He clenched his jaw, breathing heavily through his nose, but he made no move to get past me. Instead, he brought his hands to my shoulders.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his tone slightly calmer. “I didn’t ask, and I should have. I’m sorry. Are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” I said, reaching up for his hands. “I promise. I’m going to find another job, hopefully with better pay, then we can forget all about it.”

He brought his head down, resting his forehead against mine. “I can’t stand the idea of him touching you.”

“I know,” I whispered.

A knock came at the door that made both of us jump, and I moved from against it to find Betty on the other side, smiling at us. “I’ve made tea,” she said. “Would you like some?”

I looked to Gwyn to check he’d calmed down enough for company, and when he gave a friendly nod to Betty, she rushed off back to the kitchen.

As we followed behind her, Nellie burst through the front door, red-faced and out of breath. She looked at us wide-eyed, then slammed it closed and pressed her back up against it.

“Everything alright?” I asked, and she clutched her chest and nodded.

“Mrs Bowen,” she said through laboured breaths. “I spotted her coming up the hill, and I just know she’s going to try and rope me into one of those ghastly meetings.”

She’d barely caught her breath before a firm knock echoed from the door, and Mrs Bowen called out from the other side. “Mrs Evans, are you home? ”

A second knock came, this time at the living room window, and Gwyn peeked through from the hallway to take a look. When he turned back to us, he shrugged, looking awkwardly at Nellie. “She had her face at the glass. She saw me.”

Nellie closed her eyes and let out a resigned sigh, then straightened out her dress, forced a smile, and turned for the door.

“Mrs Bowen, what a surprise,” she said, greeting her warmly. “What can I do for you?”

“I called to you on the street,” she replied, her expression sour. “Didn’t you hear me?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t,” Nellie lied, really quite convincingly. “Is everything alright?”

Mrs Bowen stepped back through the gate onto the pavement, her overly large skirts billowing behind her, and motioned down behind the garden wall. Nellie followed her, and curious as to what was going on, so did Gwyn and I, and we all leaned over the railings to take a look.

Low on the pavement was a small trolley with two boxes on top, that she must have pulled all the way up the hill. She reached down into one of them and retrieved three flyers, then handed one to each of us.

“An evening to honour the glorious work of the noble businessmen of Bryncoed,” Gwyn read aloud.

“But this is only a week away,” Nellie said, still glancing over the flyer. “That’s very short notice. I think we may already have plans that evening.”

Mrs Bowen looked sternly at Nellie, seeing through her excuse. “I’ve already called at the school, and Mr Evans has confirmed your attendance. The Lord Mayor will be there. I know Mr Evans is looking to assume a place on the council, so it really is quite important for all involved.”

I grinned as Nellie squirmed, trying to think of reasons to get out of it, and as her eyes landed on me for help, I looked away, laughing. As I turned, I spotted Ellis walking along the pavement towards us, and all traces of my smile faded.

“Come on,” I said, turning Gwyn towards the door. “Betty has tea waiting. Let’s go inside.”

He folded the flyer and tucked it into his top pocket, then, as he looked up to speak, he spotted the one thing I was trying to make him avoid. His whole demeanour changed, and he balled his fists up, clenching his jaw tightly.

“Not here,” I whispered through gritted teeth. “I mean it.”

Ellis walked towards us, his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face, and greeted both Nellie and Mrs Bowen with a nod.

“Afternoon,” he called out before stopping next to her cart. “I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, Gwyn.”

I rooted myself to the spot between Gwyn and everyone else. I could feel his whole body go tense against mine, and his breath came heavy on my neck. I had visions of him hopping the fence and knocking Ellis to the ground right there in front of everyone, but for the moment, he was managing to restrain himself.

Both ladies looked at Gwyn, confused why he’d ignored the well-wishes, but Mrs Bowen used the temporary silence to offer one of her flyers to Ellis.

“I’m sorry,” Nellie said. She looked down at the flyer again, then back up to Mrs Bowen, shaking her head. “If my husband has already confirmed our attendance, what exactly is the nature of your call?”

For the first time since she arrived, Mrs Bowen smiled brightly at having the upper hand. “Mr Evans has volunteered you to help with the catering. Two hundred should do it.”

“He has?” Nellie asked, making no effort to mask her annoyance. “Two hundred what?”

“Cakes. Mini sponges. We need two hundred. Iced.”

With Nellie stunned silent, Mrs Bowen narrowed in on me and Gwyn. “You look like strapping gentlemen. You can help set up the tables in the hall. Be there for 5 pm sharp.”

“I can’t,” I said, thinking fast. “I’ll be working.”

Ellis cast me a curious glance, clearly surprised to hear about my fictitious new job. Mrs Bowen was unperturbed, however, and turned her focus entirely to Gwyn.

“I really must insist. You’d be doing a service to the community.”

“I’ll do it,” Gwyn said, not taking his eyes off Ellis for even a second. “5 pm. I’ll be there.”

“And you?” Mrs Bowen said, turning to Ellis. “Can I count on you to help?”

“No, sorry,” he replied bluntly, without any further explanation.

Unimpressed with his curt response, she pulled the flyer from his hand and tossed it back in the box. “Good day, all,” she said, and with a huff, she grabbed the handle of her trolley and wheeled it off down the pavement .

“Brilliant,” Nellie said sarcastically, and she threw her arms up and went back inside, leaving me alone between Gwyn and Ellis.

“I’m glad to hear you’ve got a new job, Tom,” he said, leaning against the railings. “Where is it?”

“Go,” Gwyn said, angrier than I’d ever heard him. “Now. Before I do something I regret.”

“What’s gotten into you?” Ellis asked.

I couldn’t tell if he was spectacularly good at playing dumb or if he genuinely had no idea why Gwyn might be annoyed, but as he stood there smirking, I had the urge to hit him myself.

“I warned you,” Gwyn yelled, and before I could react, he grabbed Ellis by the collar, yanking him over the railings until his toes were barely scraping the ground.

“Gwyn!” I shouted, grabbing at his shoulder, but there was no moving him.

He brought his head close to Ellis’ and dropped his voice to a menacing whisper. “I know what you did,” he snarled, and Ellis’ smile finally faded. “If I see you around here again, there’ll be hell to pay.” He shoved Ellis away so hard that he came right off his feet, landing hard on his arse in the road. “Now fuck off.”

His language took me by surprise. I was no stranger to swearing, and neither was Gwyn, but it was rare for him to be so blatant about it, especially at the risk of one of the women hearing him.

“You’ll regret that,” Ellis shouted as he got up and dusted down. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Gwyn moved like lightning to the gate, swinging it open with such force that it slammed against the wall and rebounded, but as soon as his feet touched the pavement, Ellis turned and ran towards the hill.

“Hopefully, that’ll be the end of that.”

Nellie was so overwhelmed with baking duties the following week that she had to take an unpaid day off from the infirmary to get it all done. Despite volunteering her, Gethin claimed to have been asked to cover at a school in Ogmore Vale, so had done nothing to help her.

She didn’t seem particularly fussed about his absence, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that his excuse was a lie. Ogmore Vale was two valleys over, and there must have been a dozen schools in between to pull teachers from. If she suspected anything, though, she kept it to herself and soldiered on.

“Smells good in here,” Gwyn called out as he returned home that afternoon.

I could hear Nellie’s footsteps coming down the hallway, and she slumped into the chair opposite me, further interrupting my attempts to nap. “You keep your hands to yourself,” she shouted back. “They’re for the event tonight.”

“Ah, I completely forgot,” he said, coming into the living room with Lee close behind. “So now I need to ask a favour.”

“You can blame me,” Lee said.

“I normally do,” I replied, opening one eye to stare at them. “What’ve you done?”

“Will you go to the hall for me tonight?” Gwyn asked. “I forgot all about it, and now we’ve made plans. ”

I closed my eyes again and rested my head back against the chair. “I already made plans.”

“Yes, but your plans were a lie to get out of helping.”

“Exactly. If you’d been quicker, you could have come up with something, too. What are you two up to, anyway?”

“Rugby,” Lee replied, and I sat upright again, laughing.

“Rugby? You haven’t played for years. Do they even have rugby in this… town?”

I corrected myself before I could slip up and glanced over at Nellie, but she had her head back and a hand over her eyes, not paying attention.

“They do now,” Lee replied. “If we can get a full team together, anyway. I’ve roped in some of the men from the mine. Bridgend and Ponty have had teams for years. It’s about time Bryncoed stepped up. We’re going to use the field behind the houses on the high street. Awbrey owns it.”

“Maybe you could join us,” Gwyn suggested, and this time it was Lee who burst out laughing.

I’d played at school, but only because I’d been forced to. My lasting memory was of running around, soaking, freezing, and covered in mud; all things I hated. I stuck to tennis after that.

“I’m a better spectator,” I admitted as I kicked Lee to make him shut up. “Is it really wise for you to be playing rugby with a head injury?”

“That’s a good point,” Nellie said, having seemingly been listening after all. “It’s only been a few weeks. Let me take a look at that scar. ”

Gwyn removed his cap as Nellie got up and combed her fingers through his hair. Within seconds, she was shaking her head at him.

“No, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said. “The wound has healed, but the skin will still be weak. One bad knock could split it right open.”

“We won’t actually be playing,” Lee interjected. “We’ll just be going over some things and doing a few exercises. No physical contact, I promise.”

“Well, I can’t stop you,” she said as she headed to the door. “But please be careful. If anything happens, I won’t be around this evening to fix you again.”

“So will you cover for me?” Gwyn asked, pouting his lips at me for extra effect.

“Fine,” I said, closing my eyes again. “But please be careful.”

The Bryncoed Miners Hall was a small stone building off the high street that stood out from its surroundings only because it was detached from the houses that ran along either side of it. According to the engraving above the double doors, it was built in 1877, and judging by the look of its interiors, the last fifteen years had not been kind to it.

Mrs Bowen called out to Nellie across the hall and rushed over with her arms outstretched, but she neither hugged her nor made an effort to take a box of cakes she was holding.

“I was worried that you wouldn’t make it.”

“You did say to come at five,” Nellie replied.

She clasped her hands together and looked Nellie up and down. “And so informal, too. ”

“Well I won’t be wearing my aprons tonight, Mrs Bowen,” Nellie said, cocking an eyebrow at the older woman. “I couldn’t very well bake in an evening gown.”

“I’m just glad you had the time,” she replied. “I know that you’re ever so busy, what with your… job.”

“Where should we put the cakes, Mrs Bowen?” I asked, wanting to bring a stop to her snipes. “They’re heavier than you’d imagine, given how many Mrs Evans has made for you. For free. On short notice.”

She turned her gaze to me and gave me a once over, too, grinning as she did, then turned her body slightly and held an arm up towards a door at the back.

“I hope they put up some decorations or something,” I whispered to Nellie as we walked off. “It all looks a bit sad, doesn’t it?”

The walls were all painted magnolia, but years of smoking in there had stained them yellow and made the ceiling almost orange. The paint had also blistered, chipped and peeled to expose the concrete around all of the windows.

At the back of the hall, on either side of a curtained stage, stood two doors. Mrs Bowen had directed us to the one on the left, which led to a small, cramped kitchen that could barely fit us both inside. A whiff of damp hung in the air, and boxes covered almost every available surface, but we found a space for Nellie's offerings and quickly backed out again, pulling the door closed.

“I don’t think I’ll want to eat anything that’s been in there,” Nellie said as she wafted the air around her face. “I’m glad I left some extra at home. ”

One of the ladies helping to set up the room shot Nellie a disapproving glance, then reached for a long stick that was hanging on the wall. She hooked it into the window latch and pushed it open a few inches until it hit the bars on the outside, letting some air into the room.

I stared at Nellie and smirked at the lady’s passive aggressiveness. “Well, I can’t guarantee there’ll be any food left by the time you get home. I’m going to be starving once I move that lot.”

If foldable tables had been invented yet, they hadn’t made their way to the miners' hall in Bryncoed. Near the door, stacked dangerously high, were about three dozen heavy-looking wooden tables piled on top of each other, and on the other side of the entrance were at least a hundred stacked chairs. Given that the only other people in the room were three old ladies, it seemed the job of moving them all was solely mine.

Nellie looked apprehensively at the tower of tables, then offered a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’ll be done in no time, and Betty will have food ready when you get home. I really should be leaving. I don’t have long to get ready, and it seems I’ll need to impress Mrs Bowen.”

We headed for the door but came to a stop as Will came through it, letting it slam behind him with a bang that echoed around the room. He was carrying two huge boxes that he could barely see over, despite his height, but upon spotting us, a huge smile spread across his face.

“Mrs Evans,” he said, turning his body so that he could look at her without the obstruction. “It’s nice to see you. Evening, Tom. ”

“Hello, Will,” she said back. She’d dropped the formalities but kept her voice quiet enough that the others in the room wouldn’t hear. “It’s lovely to see you, too. What brings you here?”

“Tablecloths,” he replied, giving the boxes a little shake. “I was sent collecting. Are you coming this evening?”

“I am,” she replied. “I was just heading home to change.”

“Let me put these down, and I’ll walk you out.”

He rushed over to a space under one of the windows and dropped the boxes to the floor with a thump, then turned back to us and smiled again.

“I’m glad I don’t have to stay long,” he said as he approached us. “The smell is terrible.”

“It's damp,” I replied, screwing my nose up.

“No, I don’t think so,” he said, and he sniffed the air, trying to work it out. “Anyway, good luck to you having to put up with it.”

He tapped me hard on the shoulder with a friendly grin, then followed Nellie to the door as I made a start on unstacking the chairs.

“Mrs Bowen,” she called out, and I looked up between them. “The door appears to have become stuck.”

Mrs Bowen let out a sigh, then stopped what she was doing to go over and look. “Let me see.”

Why she thought she would be more capable of getting it open than the others, I wasn’t sure, but she barged Will out of the way with her shoulder and began to twist it herself.

“It’s stuck,” she said, as though she only now believed it. She grabbed the handles of both doors together, but instead of twisting, she shook them back and forth, trying to loosen them.

When she moved away, I stepped in and knelt down to peer into the crack between the doors. “It’s not stuck,” I said, noticing the thick wedge of metal connecting them. “It’s locked.”

“It can’t be. I have the key right here.” She pulled her purse from her shoulder and began to rummage through it. Despite its small size, she seemed to fit most of her arm inside while searching, but it quickly became obvious that she did not, in fact, have it right there.

“I must have left it in the door,” she said, bringing a hand to her mouth.

“Then I’d wager we’ve got some children playing games,” Will replied, shaking his head.

“There’s another exit at the back,” one of the women said, leaving the table where she’d been organising flowers and hurrying towards the door to the right of the stage.

The rest of us followed, but we’d only made it a few feet when she threw the door open and screamed. A wave of heat and smoke hit us instantly, and the woman staggered back, covering her mouth as flames licked at the top of the doorframe, creeping into the hall.

The back room was completely engulfed, blocking any chance of us making it to the exit. Panic set in as the women started to cry out, but the sound of shattering glass brought everyone’s attention to the side of the building.

A second later, a lit torch came through the freshly broken window, right into the boxes below.