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POLLY

If Polly had still had a functioning body, she was convinced she would have fainted clear away. As it was, she couldn’t move. She stared at her brother, hardly able to believe he was really there.

‘I know this is a shock to you,’ Harmony said quietly, ‘but it’s not easy for Ray either. Remember that.’

‘Ray?’ Callie gasped. ‘This is your brother? The one who…’

‘Ray,’ Polly murmured. ‘Is it really you?’

‘Pol.’

That was Ray’s voice, but the voice she remembered from before the war. Before the pain. When Ray had been her beloved little brother, and he’d laughed and worked and joked and hugged. Not scarred any more. Not broken. Whole.

‘Ray!’

In that moment, Polly forgot all about the terrible events that had overtaken them both. She only knew that the brother she had loved and missed so much was standing there before her, and without a second thought, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

He squeezed her tentatively then she stepped back, gripping his shoulders and examining him, drinking in all those much-missed features that she’d once known as well as her own.

He looked tired and nervous, but he was her little brother again, not that angry man.

She could see it in his dark eyes. Her beautiful brother!

‘I’ve missed you so much,’ she told him, pulling him close again.

‘How can you say that?’ he mumbled into her hair. ‘After everything I did?’

‘It wasn’t your fault, darling. I knew that. I always knew that. You were ill! Oh, Ray, have you been here all this time? Why didn’t you come and find me? Why did you hide away?’

‘I think we should leave them to it,’ Callie said tactfully. ‘Would you two like to come and look at the King’s Court with me?’

‘Sure,’ Harmony said. She turned to Quintus. ‘Coming?’

‘I’ll wait here,’ he told her firmly. ‘I’m on guard duty, remember?’

‘You don’t have to guard my brother,’ Polly told him. ‘I’m not going to hurt him. I’m just so pleased to see him.’

‘I’m here to ensure you feel safe,’ Quintus informed her. ‘You are a woman alone with a man who treated you brutally. I will wait with you.’

‘But there’s no need,’ Polly protested. ‘Ray wouldn’t?—’

‘It’s all right, Pol,’ Ray said gently. ‘He doesn’t mean anything by it. It’s just his way. He’s a good man.’

‘You know him?’ Polly was confused. ‘Where have you been, Ray? All this time!’

As Callie and Harmony wandered away, Quintus took up position a little further back nearer the trees, and Polly and Ray linked arms and walked closer to the Penitent King.

‘Pol, first thing’s first. I’ve got to say how sorry I am. I can’t believe what I did. I don’t know why it happened, I swear I don’t. It’s all a fog, but I do remember stepping out of my body and seeing what I’d done and realising what had happened, even though I couldn’t tell you why.’

‘Because you weren’t yourself,’ she told him. ‘You were ill. After everything you’d been through, your mind was damaged. You couldn’t help it.’

‘I would never have hurt you if I’d been myself. You do know that?’

‘Of course I do! And I don’t think you’d have hurt Gerhard either, would you? Leastways, the Ray I knew before the war wouldn’t have waved a shotgun at some defenceless man.’

‘I never would have,’ Ray said fervently.

‘I don’t even remember most of it. I can’t remember most of the war, to be honest, though I suppose that’s a blessing.

And then, after I left my body behind, it was like the fog just cleared, and I could see it all, and I was so ashamed.

So bitterly ashamed. I can still see you lying there on the ground, all cold and bloody.

And yet, you were also sitting there next to that German fella, and he was sobbing his heart out, and you were trying to comfort him.

He couldn’t hear you. You couldn’t let him know you were there. It broke my heart.’

‘I didn’t see you,’ Polly told him. ‘I didn’t know you were like me. I thought you’d passed over, Ray. If I’d known, I’d have gone looking for you so I could tell you it was okay.’

He shook his head. ‘I didn’t want you to know.

I didn’t want any of you to know. I couldn’t face you, or Norman, or Mum and Dad.

It was too much. I didn’t know what to do.

I just stumbled into the woods and sat on the ground, crying and shaking.

’ He nodded towards Quintus Severus. ‘And then he came and rescued me.’

‘Quintus did?’ Polly asked incredulously.

‘Yeah. He took me to that place everyone was scared of when we were kids. You remember, Pol? The big old house in the woods.’

‘Not The Monastery?’ Polly shuddered. ‘Please tell me you’ve not been living there!’

‘I have, but it’s not like you think. I wasn’t on my own.

There are others there. People who want to stay away from the village for reasons of their own.

They let me find my own way. They didn’t ask questions or push me for answers.

They just left me to deal with the shock in my own time.

If I wanted to talk, they’d listen. If I wanted to be alone, they left me in peace. ’

‘Does Quintus live there, too?’ she asked.

‘No.’ Ray cast a look at the Roman and gave her a slight smile. ‘He’s a one off, that fella. I have no idea where he sleeps, but I’ll bet it’s not very comfortable.’

‘And Harmony? You know her?’

His eyes brightened. ‘She’s amazing! Fancy me knowing a famous film star, eh?

She comes to The Monastery every day. She calls it “entertaining the troops”.

’ He grinned. ‘Sings, dances, puts on little plays for those of us who want to get involved. She says it’s therapy.

I mean, I’m not one for all that palaver, and at first, I stayed well away, but after a bit, I started to join in.

It’s something to do, isn’t it? And it turned out to be fun.

She’s done a lot of us a power of good, Pol, she really has. ’

Polly couldn’t believe it. ‘We knew she went somewhere during the day, but we had no idea what she was up to. Fancy that! She hardly ever comes into the village to mix with us, you know.’

‘No, well.’ Ray sighed. ‘We’ve all got our secrets and our burdens, haven’t we, Pol?’

‘I suppose so.’ Polly’s smile returned and she cupped his face in her hands.

‘Oh, Ray! It’s so bloody good to see you.

I never thought I’d feel this happy again, but I’ve got my little brother back!

Wait till you meet our Norman’s lad, Jimmy.

And there’s Shona – she’s Jimmy’s daughter.

And she’s got two daughters of her own and?—’

He shook his head. ‘They might not want to know me, Pol, and it’s okay. I get it. It’s enough that you’ve forgiven me. More than I ever dreamed or hoped for. I can’t tell you what it means to me. But when they find out?—’

‘Ray, you daft ha’porth,’ she told him, dropping a kiss on his forehead.

‘They already know. And it’s okay. They understand, too.

You’re family. They’ll be over the moon if they can see you, especially our Jimmy.

He’s grown up hearing all about his wonderful Uncle Ray from his dad. Oh, I hope they can see you!’

Ray blinked. ‘Our Norman told him that? Even after everything…’

‘What don’t you get, lovely?’ Polly said, her eyes blurry with tears. ‘We all love you. You’re back with your family now. You can come home.’

Ray gave a muffled sob and threw his arms around his sister, who hugged him so tightly in return that even if he’d been able to breathe, she’d have stopped him anyway.

It had been a long, lonely road for Polly and Ray. But now they’d found their way back to each other. It was all going to be okay.

* * *

‘Why here?’ Callie asked. ‘Why did we have to meet at the Wyrd Stones, of all places?’

She and Harmony had joined Ray and Polly by The Penitent King and now that the two of them were obviously reconciled, Callie had questions.

Polly didn’t really care. She had her arm through Ray’s and had made up her mind that she was never going to let him go again. She kept looking up at him, hardly able to believe he was there. Oh, Jimmy was going to be ecstatic!

But Ray was looking at Quintus, and Quintus was looking back at him, and his eyes held an enquiry.

‘You can tell them,’ Ray said at last. ‘They have a right to know.’

Quintus nodded. ‘This is where he lies,’ he said bluntly. ‘This is where Sir Edward and the man, Carstairs, put him.’

‘Where who lies?’ Polly’s eyes widened suddenly as understanding dawned. ‘Our Ray?’ She gazed up at her brother in horror. ‘They put you under there?’

All eyes turned to The Penitent King and the ground around it.

‘Does Lawrie know about this?’ Callie asked.

‘No. No one knows. Only Sir Edward and Carstairs.’

‘Who’s Carstairs?’ Harmony asked.

‘He was Sir Edward’s estate manager,’ Polly remembered. ‘He was in on it, too then.’

‘So many people putting themselves at risk to save our family, Pol,’ Ray said shakily. ‘Covering up what I did so Mum and Dad wouldn’t suffer. So people wouldn’t know I was a murderer.’

‘It wasn’t murder,’ Polly said gently. ‘Not really. You weren’t of sound mind. And besides, I think they were also trying to keep it quiet that I was about to marry a German. Can you imagine if that had got out?’

‘It would have given Ray a motive,’ Quintus said simply.

‘Everyone knew he refused to work with the Germans, and if they had discovered you were going to marry one, they would have begun to ask if that was why you’d been killed.

They might have looked more closely at Ray’s alibi.

Sir Edward explained it all to me. He put it all together like a puzzle. ’

‘And he buried me here, in the shade of the stone,’ Ray said, staring down at the ground.

It must have been a strange feeling. Polly always felt weird when she passed the churchyard, knowing her body was lying there. But at least it was a proper grave with a headstone and everything. This…

‘At first, they put him in the tomb,’ Quintus said.

His tone was expressionless. He was simply relaying facts and seemed to have no opinion on the subject either way.

‘The ground was too hard. It would have been obvious that someone had been digging. No one was looking for a body, but even so. Sir Edward decided the tomb was the safest place.’

‘You mean the barrow?’ Callie asked. She shivered. ‘And how long was he there?’

Quintus shrugged. ‘Until the rains came. When the ground was soft and churned up, they brought him here. They put the fence around the stone and said it was to protect it from thieves and vandals. Then Sir Edward told me to guard the stone and make sure no one got too close. I was to tell him at once if there was any danger of discovery.’

Callie’s expression softened. ‘Oh, Quintus! That’s why you’re always patrolling the boundaries and watching the stones. You were put on guard by Sir Edward.’

‘But Sir Edward’s dead,’ Polly said, feeling nothing but compassion for this noble Roman soldier. ‘He died years ago.’

‘No one relieved me of my duty,’ Quintus said simply. ‘Until I am given new orders, I will continue to guard the stones.’

Callie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘But there’s no need! Not now! Quintus, I’m the owner of the estate, and I hereby relieve you of your duty.’

Quintus looked staggered. ‘But – but what shall I do?’

‘Maybe get yourself a decent afterlife,’ Harmony suggested. ‘You’ve certainly earned it after all this time.’

‘What do we do about Ray’s body?’ Polly asked. ‘We can’t leave it here. He should be in a churchyard. This isn’t decent.’

‘But if we exhume the body, there’s a risk people will find out,’ Callie pointed out. ‘And then Lawrie and Brodie will be questioned as to how much they knew from Sir Edward, and the whole sorry case will be dragged up again. None of us wants that, do we?’

They all agreed they didn’t.

‘Besides,’ Callie added, ‘if we bring the body to the churchyard, Amelia will have to know, and that wouldn’t be fair on her. It would put her in an awful position. We couldn’t ask her to allow a secret burial. Morally, it would be indefensible.’

‘But we can’t just leave him in unconsecrated ground,’ Polly said tearfully.

‘To be fair, Pol, I don’t think it’s made any difference, do you?’ Ray asked reasonably.

‘I don’t care! You deserve better than that!’ she said fiercely.

Callie nodded. ‘Okay, I have an idea. Just leave it with me, okay? In the meantime, I need to get back to Harling Hall to thank everyone for coming to the tea dance. You’re all very welcome to join me.’

‘Not me, honey, but thanks,’ Harmony said. ‘I’m going home. Too much excitement for one day.’

‘Me and Ray are going back to the flat,’ Polly told them all. ‘I know all the family will want to know what’s going on and they’ll want to meet him, naturally, but for tonight, we just want to be together, to catch up and talk. Right, Ray?’

‘Are you sure you’re all right with me being in the flat with you alone?’ he asked, sounding troubled. ‘You’re not – you’re not scared of me?’

‘Don’t be daft,’ Polly said. She squeezed his arm. ‘You’re yourself again now. We both know that. Anyway, there’s a spare bedroom in the flat if you want it. It’s up to you. No pressure but the offer’s there. It would be good to have company of an evening again.’

He looked down at the ground. ‘Give me a bit of time, eh, Pol? This is all overwhelming. I need to meet the rest of the family first. See how the land lies. I know you said they were okay, but I want to see it for myself. And then… Well, maybe then I’ll move into the flat. Is that all right?’

‘Whatever you want, lovey. Whatever you want.’

They began to move off, but Callie stopped suddenly and called, ‘You go on ahead. I want a word with Quintus.’

‘Gee, I hope she persuades him to give up this patrolling the boundaries business,’ Harmony said as they made their way back through the woods. ‘Poor guy. Can you believe he’s been on guard duty all this time?’

‘He’s one in a million,’ Ray said. ‘I dread to think what would have happened to me if he hadn’t been there to pick me up. Literally. I couldn’t even walk, I was that shocked. He actually slung me over his shoulder and carried me to The Monastery. Can you believe that?’

Harmony laughed. ‘Nothing would surprise me about him.’

‘Bless him,’ Polly said. ‘Our family owes him a lot. I hope one day, we can repay him.’