Ghostly Echoes
her extremities and she eventually lowered the windows again to
reverse to the main thoroughfare.
Clarrie was more than upset. She was thoroughly annoyed
that she hadn’t stuck to her original plan, to paint in Henley. If
only …but regrets were futile. She drove slowly away, ignoring
the impatient drivers who collected behind her on the narrow
road – reluctant to abandon the area – determined to explore even
a footpath, if it went in the right direction. Her natural optimism
was rewarded when, within a few hundred yards she was able to
pull into a lay-by, where the river could actually be glimpsed
beyond a small copse.
A footpath led down to the water and although the bank was
narrow it was wide enough for her to work. Cigarette ends and
scuffed grass showed that others had used the secluded inlet –
probably anglers. Clarrie decided to stake her claim immediately
as the view was almost identical to the other. The location was
actually better as it was not hidden from passing traffic. Her
mother would certainly approve. Sarah always worried about her
working alone; such monstrous things happened nowadays.
With little loss of time Clarrie began work again, satisfied
that the painting already started needed few alterations.
Occasionally, in spite of her concentration, her gaze was drawn
to the place, less than a hundred yards distant, where she had first
stopped. Could she have heard a voice? No, it must have been
the wind moaning lightly. But if someone had been lurking in the
shadows beneath the trees, could they be watching her still? No!
How ridiculous she was being.
Gradually her insecurity faded as she became engrossed in
her painting. By four-thirty, the sun was losing its brilliance, so
she stopped work to photograph the view. She preferred working
on location but photographs were a worthwhile insurance in case
the weather changed. The wide-angle lens revealed the bank she
had had to abandon and when it came into focus she could
scarcely believe her eyes. In a small inlet just beyond it, surely
visible from there, a small cabin cruiser swayed at anchor – but
she had neither seen nor heard it arrive!
It must have approached down-river, from Henley, during
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