Rites of Spring Anders Motte (classic children's novels txt) 📖

‘And will you be burning the Green Man?’

‘It was Mum’s idea. She’s got some local experts to make an effigy for us. It’ll be here in a few hours – it’s going to be brilliant!’

David is pretending that everything is fine. He almost succeeds, but not quite.

Walpurgis Night is here at last. Nature is hungry, and the Green Man is riding through the forests.

And nothing will ever be the same again.

*

Thea heads for the west wing and uses the heavy knocker on Hubert’s door. He doesn’t answer. The car is there, so she knows he’s home. She tries again, knocks a little louder this time. She suddenly feels nervous. It’s only a few hours since they were sitting in the same car, and yet it’s as if the way she looks at him has changed.

She knocks again; he appears after the fourth attempt, an irritated furrow between his eyebrows. Maybe he was lying down, recovering from last night’s adventures.

‘Hi – sorry to disturb you. Were you sleeping?’ She makes an effort to sound normal.

Hubert shakes his head.

Thea holds out the poetry book. ‘I just wanted to return this. I think I’ve worked out which is your favourite.’

‘Oh yes?’

‘“I Dreamed That I was Old”.’

‘Good guess.’

She wants to ask about Elita, whether the unrequited love he wrote about in the inscription refers to her, but then she realises he still hasn’t invited her in. He also seems uneasy, almost as if he’s been caught out doing something he shouldn’t.

She looks over his shoulder and up the stairs. The door of the chapel is open. He follows her gaze.

‘If there’s nothing else, I’m a little tired . . .’ He begins to close the door, which piques her curiosity.

‘I wanted to ask you . . .’

He stops.

‘Won’t you come to the dinner? Please? Give me a chance to thank you for your help with Emee?’

The frown disappears. ‘Have you heard any more from the hospital?’

‘I can bring her home in a couple of days.’

‘That’s great.’ His relief seems genuine.

‘So how about it? Will you come? Please say yes!’

She manages to coax a smile out of him.

‘OK, I’ll come.’

‘Brilliant – see you there.’

The door closes with a heavy, metallic thud that echoes through the building.

74

‘Things have been set in motion, Margaux. It’s as if we’re waiting for something. A spark that will ignite the bonfire.’

Thea is putting on her make-up in front of the bathroom mirror. She’s picked out a dress that she knows David likes.

And yet it’s not him she’s thinking about. Her head is buzzing, there are more questions now, not fewer. The puzzle fills her mind.

Where did the money come from that Leo used to move overseas? Was it a bribe, or maybe some kind of compensation? What happened to the rest of his family? And where does Hubert Gordon fit into the picture?

She has no answers. Not yet. Which leads her to the next question: who is so afraid of Thea’s digging that he or she locked her in the cellar at Svartgården, placed nasty little Green Man figures on her car, and maybe even tried to poison her dog?

Arne is the main suspect, especially after the discovery she made at his house. There is no statute of limitations for murder, which means that if Arne or someone else killed Elita, then he or she is still in danger of being sent to prison for life. A good reason to do whatever it takes to keep the past where it belongs.

The problem is that the conclusions in the case file appear to hold, in spite of all the question marks. Even if Leo’s confession is discounted, a number of key facts remain.

The children all identified Leo as the rider disguised as the Green Man, and David insists that he clearly saw Leo bending over Elita on the sacrificial stone. The cap badge and Bill’s hoof prints also tie Leo to the scene.

But what has happened to the missing items from that night – the tape player, the masks, Elita’s suitcase?

Thea takes one last look in the mirror. There is one important piece of the puzzle somewhere, she’s sure of it. A vital piece that will complete the picture.

Maybe there’s a chance that she’ll find it tonight.

*

The castle looks fantastic. Huge metal baskets of wood are blazing out at the front. A red carpet has been rolled out down the steps, and moving spotlights sweep across the façade. The bonfire is finished, the Green Man attached to his frame.

David is at the door ready to greet the guests. He looks good in his smoking jacket. He seems less tense, more like the David she once fell in love with.

‘Wow!’ Thea says as she joins him. ‘You’ve really outdone yourselves – it’s amazing!’

‘Thanks!’ His smile is warm and genuine.

David’s parents arrive ten minutes early. Bertil also looks stylish in his smoking jacket, and Ingrid is wearing a dress that is a little too garish. Her attitude toward Thea is rather chilly, presumably because of their conversation after the information meeting. Bertil, however, is in an excellent mood.

‘Darling Thea, what a fantastic evening. It’s going to be so much fun!’

Nettan is the next to arrive, closely followed by Sebastian. They engage David in a quiet conversation while Thea is left to entertain Sebastian’s girlfriend Bianca, who has lived in the USA and travelled all over the world.

‘Tornaby is much cuter than the way Sebastian described it.’

‘Is this your first visit?’

‘Yes – weird, right? We’ve been together for almost three years, visited so many places – Singapore, Los Angeles, Moscow – but we’ve never been to his home village. Not until now.’

‘How did you meet?’

‘At something as boring as a technology fair. Not very romantic. How about you and David?’

‘A charity event for Doctors Without Borders. David was doing the catering. After that we saw each other from time to time, when I wasn’t away.’

She breaks off, doesn’t want to talk about Idlib and Margaux, or to say any more about her relationship