The Lost Man(62)

‘I didn’t know they’d been out to the grave.’ Xander pointed at the sling on the painted girl’s arm. ‘Not recently, anyway.’

‘Me neither.’ Nathan raised his voice and called out, ‘Girls.’ His tone made them pull up their horses immediately. ‘Come here. I need to talk to you.’

‘Are we in trouble?’ Sophie said, as she cantered over and drew to a halt in front of him in a swirl of dust.

‘No. I wanted to ask about this picture, Lo.’

Lo leaned in, but as he held it up her face changed. She didn’t reach out to take it. Behind her, Sophie craned her neck to see. Her horse was disturbed, turning in tight circles. Nathan could see the reins wrapped tight around Sophie’s good hand, the leather biting into her knuckles.

‘What’s this painting of, Lo?’ Nathan prompted.

‘It’s obviously the stockman’s grave,’ Sophie snapped. The chatty girl from the previous evening was gone. Her expression was wary, and Nathan could see her good hand grip the reins even more tightly.

‘I didn’t know you’d been out there.’

‘Once. With Mummy.’

Nathan pointed at the shadowy woman. ‘That’s your mum there?’

‘Of course,’ Sophie cut in before Lo could answer. ‘Who else would it be?’

‘I don’t know,’ Nathan said, truthfully. ‘Maybe a friend of hers?’

‘Mummy doesn’t have any friends. What?’ Lo said as Sophie scowled at her. ‘None of us do.’

‘So you went out there with your mum?’ Xander said. ‘When?’

‘Ages ago,’ Lo said.

‘No, not ages ago. Just after I hurt my arm.’ Sophie’s horse twisted again and she was forced to whip her head around to look at Nathan.

‘What did you do there?’

The sisters glanced at each other, but Nathan had the sense they were not being deliberately evasive.

‘Nothing. We got there but then –’ Sophie frowned. ‘We just drove home again. Mum said it was supposed to be a picnic.’

‘But we didn’t have any food,’ Lo said.

‘We did. Later, remember? We had it by the stables instead.’

Lo frowned, her tiny face creasing.

‘We only stayed at the grave for a few minutes,’ Sophie said.

‘Yeah.’ Lo nodded. ‘I didn’t like it.’

‘And nothing else happened? At all?’ Nathan watched his nieces shake their heads. ‘All right. Thanks, girls.’

Sophie’s horse was still straining and Nathan could see the whites of its eyes as they rolled. She loosened the reins and shot off across the yard.

Lo remained behind, her pony more docile. ‘Is Mummy going to be in trouble?’

‘No. Why would she be?’

‘Because you look sad.’

Did he? ‘Sorry.’ Nathan rearranged his face into what he hoped was a more neutral expression. He started to close the sketchbook, then stopped. ‘Why didn’t you finish drawing your mum in the picture?’

Lo, suddenly unsure, looked for her sister, who was out of earshot across the yard. She faltered, then leaned in on her pony.

‘Daddy didn’t like it,’ she whispered.

‘What do you mean?’

‘He saw my picture and was cross with Mummy. I didn’t want to make it worse.’

Ilse was no longer in the stables by the time Nathan had walked the girls’ horses back. Lo had been distracted, losing concentration and control of her pony a couple of times. She didn’t know why Daddy was upset, she’d said, she just thought that he was. Nathan and Xander had exchanged a look as Lo grew increasingly worried, and hadn’t pushed it. After Lo nearly fell off for a second time, Nathan asked Xander to take the girls inside and find something safer to do. He had led the horses to the stables and taken his time settling them in as he thought about things.

It was as he was walking the long way back that he heard the sound. He was under a window outside one of the cabins and stopped. The soft catch of breath. Someone was crying. He walked around the front and up the steps.

The inside of the cabin was a surprise. It had been converted into a proper schoolroom, with a whiteboard and small desks, and alphabet posters covering the walls. A lot of it appeared homemade, and Nathan thought he recognised Ilse’s handiwork on much of it.

Katy was sitting in a large beanbag in the reading corner. She wiped her eyes as Nathan came in.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘I heard you outside.’

‘It’s okay.’ Katy blew her nose on a shredded tissue. With a little difficulty she pulled herself out of the beanbag and stood up. ‘I should be getting back anyway.’

‘What’s wrong?’

‘Nothing.’

‘Do you want me to get Simon?’

‘No. I’m fine.’

Nathan found a roll of paper towel by the art station and handed her a sheet. ‘Just take a minute.’

‘Thanks.’ Katy took it gratefully and wiped her eyes.

Nathan wandered around while she gathered herself. The classroom was a lot nicer than anything he and Cam and Bub had had when they were kids. Their schoolwork was mostly done at the kitchen table or not at all. On the teacher’s desk was a laptop with some post-it notes written in what he presumed was Katy’s handwriting.