You understand.’
‘Of course, Jimmy. That’s the work that you do. Just give me a moment.’ She rolled the dough into a ball, lifted it into a cream china bowl and covered it with a clean tea towel, before setting it on the Rayburn. He wondered if she always answered for the two of them. ‘Do you want tea, or are you swimming in it?’
‘I’m fine.’ He sat with her at the table.
She smiled. ‘So, drowning in tea already, Jimmy. The Shetland way.’
‘How well did you both know Eleanor Longstaff?’
‘We’d met her a few times.’ Grusche still seemed to do the talking for them both. ‘In Durham, when Lowrie was there. And more recently when they were all living in London. They were good friends, I think. They were all at Lowrie’s wedding in Kent a few weeks ago and Eleanor was one of the bridesmaids. Such a bonny young woman. She almost stole the show.’
‘What made your son decide on an English university?’ For many Shetlanders Glasgow or Stirling seemed enough of an adventure.
‘Me!’ She grinned. ‘I’d always brought him up to believe that there was a big wide world out there for him to explore. And I’m ambitious for my son. You know these women with only children, Jimmy – how ferocious we are on their behalf! I’d planned for him to go to Oxford or Cambridge, but he thought he might be out of his depth there. Durham was a compromise.’
And George? Perez wondered. What did he make of having his only son so far away?
‘What did you think of Eleanor Longstaff?’
‘I liked her! She was full of fun, a performer. One of those people who are always acting. Entertaining. I enjoyed talking to her about art and politics.’ She paused. ‘But I was glad when Lowrie went for Caroline.’ Another pause. ‘Some people are like a rich chocolate cake, don’t you think, Jimmy? You’d only enjoy them in small mouthfuls. I could never imagine Eleanor setting up home in Unst.’
‘But you think Lowrie and Caroline will come back?’
‘Maybe. We’d like that, wouldn’t we, George?’
The man smiled from his chair. ‘Yes, it’d be good to see our grand-bairns growing up. And to have some help on the croft.’
‘We could make no assumptions about either of those things.’ Grusche’s voice was sharp. ‘Not about children, or what Lowrie and Caroline would do when they were here. But I missed him when he left home and it would be wonderful to see him back.’
‘Was there ever a possibility that Lowrie would settle with Eleanor then? Did he go out with her?’ Perez hadn’t been told about that. Did it mean the English people were keeping information from him? Or had it happened so long ago – a brief student fling – that they’d forgotten about it? Perhaps Shetlanders had longer memories than other folk.
Grusche shrugged. ‘He went out with Eleanor a couple of times. She was an attractive woman.’
George stood up and leaned his back against the range. ‘Yon woman broke his heart,’ he said. ‘We need to be honest with Jimmy. He’ll find out these things anyway. It’s impossible to keep a thing like that hidden.’
‘Lowrie was nineteen,’ Grusche said. ‘A boy. Away from home for the first time. It’s not surprising that he took rejection so seriously.’
‘But he came home threatening to leave the university,’ George said. ‘You even thought he might kill himself! You called her a witch.’
‘I was overreacting,’ Grusche said. ‘And so was he. He found Caroline, who is sensible and not given to games.’
‘But that was the sort of woman Eleanor was, Jimmy.’ It seemed to Perez that George thought carefully about every word before he spoke it, that he was trying to convey a special message hidden behind the words. ‘She was a generous person and warm and funny. But she wasn’t very kind. She wasn’t aware of anyone’s pleasure but her own, and she was always after excitement.’
Perez looked at the man. He thought George had been brooding about
‘Of course, Jimmy. That’s the work that you do. Just give me a moment.’ She rolled the dough into a ball, lifted it into a cream china bowl and covered it with a clean tea towel, before setting it on the Rayburn. He wondered if she always answered for the two of them. ‘Do you want tea, or are you swimming in it?’
‘I’m fine.’ He sat with her at the table.
She smiled. ‘So, drowning in tea already, Jimmy. The Shetland way.’
‘How well did you both know Eleanor Longstaff?’
‘We’d met her a few times.’ Grusche still seemed to do the talking for them both. ‘In Durham, when Lowrie was there. And more recently when they were all living in London. They were good friends, I think. They were all at Lowrie’s wedding in Kent a few weeks ago and Eleanor was one of the bridesmaids. Such a bonny young woman. She almost stole the show.’
‘What made your son decide on an English university?’ For many Shetlanders Glasgow or Stirling seemed enough of an adventure.
‘Me!’ She grinned. ‘I’d always brought him up to believe that there was a big wide world out there for him to explore. And I’m ambitious for my son. You know these women with only children, Jimmy – how ferocious we are on their behalf! I’d planned for him to go to Oxford or Cambridge, but he thought he might be out of his depth there. Durham was a compromise.’
And George? Perez wondered. What did he make of having his only son so far away?
‘What did you think of Eleanor Longstaff?’
‘I liked her! She was full of fun, a performer. One of those people who are always acting. Entertaining. I enjoyed talking to her about art and politics.’ She paused. ‘But I was glad when Lowrie went for Caroline.’ Another pause. ‘Some people are like a rich chocolate cake, don’t you think, Jimmy? You’d only enjoy them in small mouthfuls. I could never imagine Eleanor setting up home in Unst.’
‘But you think Lowrie and Caroline will come back?’
‘Maybe. We’d like that, wouldn’t we, George?’
The man smiled from his chair. ‘Yes, it’d be good to see our grand-bairns growing up. And to have some help on the croft.’
‘We could make no assumptions about either of those things.’ Grusche’s voice was sharp. ‘Not about children, or what Lowrie and Caroline would do when they were here. But I missed him when he left home and it would be wonderful to see him back.’
‘Was there ever a possibility that Lowrie would settle with Eleanor then? Did he go out with her?’ Perez hadn’t been told about that. Did it mean the English people were keeping information from him? Or had it happened so long ago – a brief student fling – that they’d forgotten about it? Perhaps Shetlanders had longer memories than other folk.
Grusche shrugged. ‘He went out with Eleanor a couple of times. She was an attractive woman.’
George stood up and leaned his back against the range. ‘Yon woman broke his heart,’ he said. ‘We need to be honest with Jimmy. He’ll find out these things anyway. It’s impossible to keep a thing like that hidden.’
‘Lowrie was nineteen,’ Grusche said. ‘A boy. Away from home for the first time. It’s not surprising that he took rejection so seriously.’
‘But he came home threatening to leave the university,’ George said. ‘You even thought he might kill himself! You called her a witch.’
‘I was overreacting,’ Grusche said. ‘And so was he. He found Caroline, who is sensible and not given to games.’
‘But that was the sort of woman Eleanor was, Jimmy.’ It seemed to Perez that George thought carefully about every word before he spoke it, that he was trying to convey a special message hidden behind the words. ‘She was a generous person and warm and funny. But she wasn’t very kind. She wasn’t aware of anyone’s pleasure but her own, and she was always after excitement.’
Perez looked at the man. He thought George had been brooding about
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