Revenge in the Cotswolds by Rebecca Tope Read Free Book Online Page B

looking at Thea, but plainly addressing her. There was something rather dreamy about her delivery, as if events were taking place that she had no part in, but nonetheless found fascinating. At the same time, she could not resist asserting their aims, perhaps in the lingering hope that Thea would become a signed-up member, after all. ‘The cops, that is,’ she elaborated. ‘We’re always a few steps ahead of them, you see. Although we’ve had a few narrow escapes lately.’ She finally accorded Thea a long scrutiny, albeit with a strange lack of focus. ‘You’re not working for them, are you?’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘The cops, of course.’
    ‘No.’ Thea thought it diplomatic to avoid revealing that her daughter was a cop, as were others among her friends and relations. ‘Do I look like I am?’
    ‘They come in all shapes and sizes. Anyway, let’s get on with it. Tiffany – are you coming?’
    The girl sighed and spoke to her mother. ‘Just an hour, Mum, okay? The essay’s nearly finished and I’ve got nothing else to do.’
    ‘How’re you getting home?’
    ‘Somebody’ll give me a lift.’ She looked round. ‘Sophie? Nella?’
    The others all looked vague. ‘I walked,’ said Nella.
    ‘I’m going to be out here all day,’ said Sophie.
    Nobody else appeared to be willing or able to volunteer. ‘I can’t leave you the car – I need to get back,’ said her mother.
    Tiffany looked at Thea. ‘You’re that way, aren’t you? Could you take my mum home, do you think? She’s in Baunton. That’s pretty well on your way. Then I can have the car.’
    Thea had no idea where Baunton was, but saw no reason to object. She was even quite gratified to be so readily included, merely by virtue of standing there with the objectionable dogs. She must, after all, inadvertently have ticked a box marked
One of us
, which gave her a small glow. The idea of joining a band of eco-warriors held some appeal, as she mentally ran through the list of hated targets that Sophie had produced the previous day. Wind farms – absolutely. She would quite cheerfully support any efforts to remove every one of them, onshore and off, for reasons that had evolved over recent years almost without her conscious awareness. But she was far less exercised about fracking. From the odd bits she’d gleaned, there seemed very littlereason to oppose it. If the land had recovered from coal mining, there could not be much lasting damage from extracting shale gas, as far as she could see. And as for shooting badgers in the thousands, on the basis of some very unfair and one-sided findings, she was wholeheartedly on the side of Sophie and her friends. But even there, she suspected she would never be quite certain enough to qualify as an activist. She had met a few dairy farmers in her time, and knew there was genuine distress every time a cow developed TB.
    ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘My car’s just up there.’
    With some final words to her daughter, the woman followed Thea and the dogs to the car. ‘My name’s Sheila,’ she said. ‘Sheila Whiteacre. It’s the early form of Whittaker,’ she added, as if answering an unspoken question.
    ‘Thea Osborne. I’m house-sitting in Daglingworth. I don’t know the area terribly well, but I’m good with a map.’
    ‘What’re you doing in Bagendon, then?’
    ‘They asked me to water some plants in a house here, as well as minding the other one. Just for a few days. I walked over yesterday and met your daughter. They seem to be up to a lot of exciting stuff.’
    The woman made a tutting noise, seeming to want to downgrade the activities of her daughter and her friends. ‘Strictly weekends, pet. Most of the time, they’re just ordinary citizens. Reminds me of the eighties all the same, when I was their age and wewere fanatically CND. Well, Tiff’s dad was. Not me so much. It always seemed to be cold and wet when there was a march. I got out of it when I could. I did go to Greenham Common once.’
    Thea