William said, ‘The police came yesterday and took lots of pictures away.’
‘They were paintings, William,’ Maisie corrected him.
Elspeth nodded.
‘They took Daddy, and … and all of them away too.’
Lili glanced at William. She realised that the events of the previous day must be the reason that Elspeth had turned up. She didn’t seem surprised about the paintings, Lili noticed.
Maisie took Elspeth’s hand. ‘You must see the old summerhouse in the garden. It’s amazing.’
‘Yes, come on.’ William took her other hand. ‘The police broke the lock, so I got to see inside.’
Something told Lili that Elspeth knew all about the summerhouse.
Lili joined them. She had questions about the artefacts, about Joseph, about her mum. She still had the photo in her pocket that she’d found the night before.
Lili caught sight of Elspeth staring at the flowerbeds as they walked towards the summerhouse. ‘This isn’t what I expected,’ she commented. ‘Joseph always loved his orchids, but he was never one for gardening. I assumed that when I left, it would—’
‘Lili is a horticulturist,’ Maisie said, sounding very grown up.
‘She looks after the garden.’
Lili thought she saw tears in Elspeth’s eyes. ‘You’ve done an amazing job.’
Lili shrugged. ‘Not as much as I would have liked. I wasn’t here long, so I feel I only just got started. There’s so much more to do.’
Elspeth smiled. ‘I can see that, but what you’ve achieved is wonderful. I never had a chance to make something of the garden before …’ She trailed off.
Lili had many unanswered questions she wanted to ask, especially about why they had divorced. Curiosity got the better of her. ‘What happened?’ Lili asked in a small voice, aware that it was none of her business. She didn’t expect Elspeth to tell her.
Elspeth fell silent.
As they approached the summerhouse, the two children ran ahead.
Elspeth turned to Lili. ‘I’m afraid I felt I had no choice but to leave Joseph. I didn’t want to get sucked into it.’
‘Into what?’
She hesitated as though it was something she wasn’t sure she should share with Lili. ‘Who are you, exactly?’
‘I’m a friend of Maisie’s mother. She’s my best friend.’At least, she was until she took advantage of me, she thought. She changed the subject. ‘I knew Nate a long time ago. We went to the same school, but I was a boarder. So was Hannah.’
‘Hannah?’
‘Maisie’s mum. She got to know Nate at a house party here when we were all in sixth form.’ Lili hoped Elspeth understood the euphemism, so that she didn’t have to spell out that they’d had drunken sex at the party.
Elspeth nodded her head. ‘I see.’ Lili guessed that she got the picture.
As they approached the summerhouse, Elspeth said, ‘I heard about the arrests on the news and was worried about William. That’s why I came. I live in London, so I see William often. Imagine my surprised when my grandson decided to relocate here. I never envisaged Nathaniel would move back into the house.’
‘He’s looking for somewhere else to live.’ Lili added in a hushed voice, ‘I imagine The Summerhouse reminds him of when his parents sent him away to live with his grandfather.’
Elspeth shook her head. ‘I’m afraid my daughter was too intent on righting the wrongs of the past. I told her not to work at the Art Loss Register, chasing ghosts. It wouldn’t bring them back.’
‘Who?’
Elspeth looked at her in surprise. ‘The Jews, of course, the ones whose paintings and antiques were confiscated by the Nazis. I’m glad Nate didn’t go into the family business.’