The Lie of You: I Will Have What Is Mine by Jane Lythell Page B

that Durham Castle and Cathedral were on the list, and the island of St Kilda and Hadrian’s Wall.
    ‘I would like to do the British sites, especially those in the north of England and Scotland,’ I said.
    ‘Are you sure?’ There was sweat on her face, I noticed.
    ‘Quite sure.’
    ‘Well, OK, thank you, Heja, that would be great. I’m sure you’ll bring a fresh perspective to them.’
    She stood up. I remained seated.
    ‘Will you give me more details of the format you want us to follow?’
    ‘Oh, yes. I’ve created a template on Siena – let me make a copy for you now.’
    She grabbed a board from the side of her desk and hurried out of the office. I looked over at her desk. There was a new photo frame by the phone and I could not see the picture from where I was sitting. I got up and walked over to her desk and turned the frame round. It was a medium close-up shot of Markus seated in a chair by a window with Billy on his lap. Markus has his large hands round the baby’s body. Billy is leaning his head back against his father’s chest. Both are looking straight into camera. The baby’s face is serious. Markus has a quizzical, almost embarrassed smile on his face. A shaft of sunlight illuminates the right side of his face and his hair is almost white in its light. I did not recognize the room. I do not think the photo was taken at her flat. I turned the frame back and continued to look out of the window as she walked back into the room.
    ‘You have a good view from here,’ I said.
    ‘I love it. That maple tree is a joy, especially in the autumn. Here’s a copy of the sample board. I’d like us to give some historical background and key details on each building. Not too much text, though, you can use this as a guide.’
    I glanced at the A3 sheet. ‘I see. I’ll get started on it, then.’
    ‘Thank you, Heja.’
     
    Sometimes I talk to Tim when the others are not there. He has been at the magazine a long time and I find him the least irritating of the team members. I was asking him about the Andrea business. He told me it had caused major trouble when Philip started his affair with her. He said Andrea had been one of the gang before that, she was a lot of fun and then she changed. He thought she was very ambitious.
    ‘She started to call herself Arndrea,’ he said.
    ‘Did Kathy get on with her?’ I asked.
    ‘Sort of, I think, until Andrea became the bloody queen bee!’
    Tim looked over towards Philip’s office. The door was closed.
    ‘Bit of a taboo subject, Heja, around the boss.’
     
    This evening it was still warm and I put down the roof on my car and drove to Richmond to sit in the Great Park. I often come here. How quiet it is. The tall and ancient trees are still. There is no breeze to stir even the topmost leaf. The children have all gone home. There are three silver birch trees that stand apart in a triangular formation. Their barks are ivory white and etched with grey horseshoe markings and they gleam in the evening light. I like these trees even better in the winter when the leaves have gone and their delicate branches are silhouetted against a leaden sky.
    There is something resilient about Kathy. She was cast down by her failure at the board meeting. Now she has bounced back. I noticed at our meeting that she seems to have recovered her zest. I think she must have parents who made her feel secure and loved as a child. That is why she does not see the threats around her. She and Philip are going through a bad patch, though. She may have got the team on side. I can make Philip my ally.
    A large crow flaps by the white trees and makes a clumsy landing. He squats on the grass and examines his oily wings, digging with his beak between the black feathers with energy, almost with aggression. Then he lifts up his head and lurches back into the sky. I sit until the light fades.
    I will not go back to Finland this summer. My mother is a carrion crow. She would peck at my body in its weakened