Chapter 20: Cora - The Foster Child

‘That looks fantastic,’ Elliot says as he watches me put some more brandy in the Christmas cake on Sunday morning. ‘I can’t wait to taste it.’

‘I’ll marzipan it later, when I come back from visiting my parents,’ I tell him. Elliot is going to stay at home and get on with a couple of jobs. ‘Fancy going for a walk this morning? I’m not seeing Mum and Dad until after lunch and it’s a beautiful day, bright and crisp.’

‘Sure. Let’s grab a bite to eat then we can go.’

So, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast we pull on our coats, boots, gloves and scarves and set off. We link arms as we walk through the wood and I can feel myself relaxing. It’s a bit chilly but the crisp air is invigorating. ‘I hope it snows for Christmas. That will make it look really magical,’ I say.

Elliot turns towards me, his eyes wrinkling as he smiles. ‘It might also mean that Lori and Jacob won’t be able to drive down,’ he reminds me gently.

‘Then we need it to snow on Christmas Day only,’ I reply. I might not be too fond of Jacob coming but I definitely want to spend Christmas with Lori.

The woods are popular with the villagers but surprisingly we don’t come across anyone else. I guess that most people have an afternoon walk on Sundays rather than a morning one.

We’re on our way back when we see a familiar figure walking towards us with a brown Dobermann. It’s Violet. She waves. ‘Hello. Fancy bumping into you here. How are you?’

Her cheeks are flushed and she looks bright and breezy. She looks cosy in a thick red duffle coat, black gloves, beanie and black flat boots.

‘Hello, Violet. How are you? We’re taking a stroll, brush the cobwebs away,’ I tell her.

The dog whines and wags its tail as if to remind us it’s there, and Elliot bends down to stroke it. ‘Hello, girl, aren’t you beautiful,’ he says.

‘She’s gorgeous, aren’t you, Duchess?’ Violet fusses the dog too, and Elliot stands up again.

‘She must be good company for you,’ I say.

‘She’s not mine. I’m not allowed to keep a pet in the flat, she belongs to Anita and Chester. I often take her for a walk, they don’t have much time and I adore her.’

She really must be friendly with the Taylor-Browns for them to allow her to walk their expensive dog.

Duchess pulls at the lead, eager to go off exploring again.

‘Oops, someone wants to go. So lovely to see you again, Aunty Cora. We must meet up for a coffee and a chat. I’ve got a Christmas card for you,’ she calls as Duchess tugs on the lead again, eager to get off exploring. ‘Bye!’

‘Bye,’ Elliot and I both call.

As I watch Violet go off with the dog a thought slips into my mind. Duchess is a big dog, she could easily jump over the garden gate. Or Violet could have opened it to let the dog in.

Why would she do that though? I know it must have been hard for her when we had to let her go as a child but it was years ago. She doesn’t seem to bear any grudges and is always very friendly when she sees me, and she was to Lori too.

And she stuck up for me over that incident with Tilly.

An uncomfortable thought worms its way into my mind. All this has only started since I moved in. Elliot has lived here for years with no trouble. And nothing happened for the first few weeks that I moved in either, not until I met Violet. My mind flashes back to the day I saw her standing at the gate, as if she was about to open it and go in, although she said she had stopped to admire the Virginia Creeper. I’d wondered then if she’d discovered I lived in the village and come to see me. It wouldn’t have been difficult for her to find my address being so close to the Taylor-Browns and Tilly going to the school.

I almost come to a halt as another thought shakes me. I had no trouble with Tilly until I met Violet again, then suddenly Tilly starts playing up. She deliberately defied me, as if she was trying to cause trouble. Could Violet have set her up to do that, to make things awkward for me? Is Violet behind everything? Is it payback for us sending her away?