Sixteen
On Gwyn’s insistence, I agreed that I would wait until the following morning before heading out in my search for Arthur and my belongings. He’d spent over an hour sitting in the barn trying to calm me down and though I knew he was right, he wasn’t making me feel any less anxious. When he was finally sure that I wouldn’t rush off into the night, he said his goodbyes and left for home.
When I got back to the house, Mr and Mrs Hopkin were sitting at the table with Nellie and Teddy, and all discussion ceased upon my arrival. I immediately made my apologies to Mrs Hopkin, who ushered me into a seat and began boiling a pot on the stove for tea.
“So, you’re a crook now?” Teddy asked, barely able to contain his excitement over the subject.
“Enough of that,” Mrs Hopkin said, slapping him over the back of the head with her tea towel. Even Mr Hopkin let out a little snigger, amused at the predicament I’d found myself in.
“Does everyone know?” I asked. I felt embarrassed and unable to find much humour in the situation.
“There’s been words in the village,” Nellie said. “They were discussing it in the post office. I came straight home to let everyone know where you were.”
“We were worried sick,” Mrs Hopkin said. She placed a cup down on the table in front of me and scooped in a spoonful of tea leaves. “We’re just glad you’re alright.”
“It was Arthur,” I said, feeling no shame in pointing the finger firmly in his direction. “He set the whole thing up. We didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I’m just glad it was only you and not Gethin as well,” Nellie said as she took a sip of tea. She immediately glanced up over the rim and looked horrified. “I don’t mean…”
“It’s ok,” I said. “I’m glad he wasn’t involved, too. But I swear, we did nothing.”
“We know, son,” Mr Hopkin said.
“So, you didn’t smash the pub up?” Teddy asked, disappointed that I wasn’t a master criminal.
“Where on earth did you hear that?” Mrs Hopkin asked.
“That’s what Mrs Wilkes told Nan,” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Nothing was smashed up. And Mrs Wilkes needs to learn to mind her own business.”
“She’s always been close to the Morgan’s,” Mrs Hopkin said. “Got a real soft spot for Arthur.”
“I don’t know why,” I replied. “He’s awful.”
“It was probably him that broke into the barn,” Teddy said. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, his mind already made up on the matter.
“I was meaning to ask about that,” I said. “What happened?”
“We came back from church yesterday and the lock was broken off.” Mr Hopkin shifted in his seat, angry with the situation. “Nothing gone, as far as I can tell, but it’s me that’ll have to pay to fix that lock.”
“Like we haven’t got enough to be worrying about as it is,” Mrs Hopkin chimed in.
I didn’t tell them that my things had gone missing and he made no mention of the ring or wallet which reassured me that nobody from the house had taken it, but it didn’t make me feel any less anxious about the fact that it was even more likely to be in the hands of Arthur.
“If you don’t mind,” I said, setting my cup down on the table, “I could do with getting some sleep. I’m going to go up to bed.”
My sleep was restless. My mind raced with panic about the situation and I laid there trying to dream up more lies that I could tell to cover my tracks should Arthur decide to reveal my secrets. I tossed and turned, struggling to get comfortable and shut my mind off until finally I heard the birds begin to chirp outside and wondered if I’d even managed to get any sleep at all.
I’d promised Gwyn that I would wait for him to come with me to Felin Fawr to confront Arthur, but I couldn’t wait any longer. The anxiety was driving me mad so I got up from the bed and got dressed. I was going to go there immediately.
I could hear Mrs Hopkin down in the kitchen preparing breakfast but I had no appetite for food. I needed to get this done. I crept slowly down the stairs so that I didn’t wake anyone up, and tiptoed through the living room while trying to work out an excuse as to why I needed to leave before eating.
Seemingly wise to my intentions, I pushed through the door into the kitchen and was faced with Gwyn, who was sitting at the table drinking tea and awaiting my early arrival.
“Here he is,” he said. His tone was neutral but he looked less than impressed with me.
I sat on the chair nearest the door and started putting my boots on, and Mrs Hopkin flashed me a smile and put a cup down beside me before disappearing into the pantry, leaving us alone for a moment.