Blood in the Cotswolds Read Free

dying breed.’
    ‘Must be. Sounds as if she’s in the wrong generation entirely. Apart from the dyed hair. That doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of it. Not to mention the snake.’
    ‘Oh, that’s Archie’s. The wife kicked it out as well. But Miss Deacon has always liked them, and bought in a consignment of mice for it to eat.’
    Phil gulped. ‘Mice?’
    ‘Dead ones – they’re in the freezer. They breed them specially, apparently, for people to feed to exotic reptiles.’
    ‘That’s disgusting!’
    ‘Yes,’ said Thea equably.
    ‘What time is it?’
    ‘No idea. Nearly twelve, I guess. We could go somewhere for lunch.’
    ‘Just what I was thinking,’ he said, with only a flicker of disappointment.
        
    Thea had not fully researched local pubs, apart from establishing that Temple Guiting did not possess one. ‘Just a shop and a church,’ she said. ‘The shop’s a bonus, although it’s not open all the time. A local collective runs it on a rota system.’
    ‘Quaint,’ said Phil.
    ‘Oh, yes. Everything round here is quaint,’ Thea confirmed.
    They used his car to drive to the next village, which was Guiting Power. There, the Hollow Bottom offered an acceptable bill of fare, and they ate outside, chatting easily. The pub had an unmistakable affinity with horse racing, which neither Phil nor Thea found particularly atmospheric. ‘We’ll try the Farmer’s Arms next time,’ he ordained. ‘It has a much better view of the village. Which, I have to say, is quite a lot prettier than Temple Guiting, unless there’s a part I haven’t seen yet.’
    Thea tilted her head. ‘They’re completely different. Temple Guiting’s got a lot of trees. It must be very dark on a dull day. And there’s not really a proper centre like this one has. But it feels older , somehow. More history. Not least the Knights Templar, of course.’
    Phil sighed gently. ‘You mean all that tedious Dan Brown stuff, I suppose.’
    ‘It can be tedious, but not in the way you mean. The mythology that’s grown up around them is completely idiotic. But if you research them properly, as a real historian, you get a whole new angle on the Middle Ages.’
    ‘And you’ve done that? Researched them properly?’
    She shook her head. ‘Not my period, but I did have a bit of a trawl on the Internet, just to get myself clued up. And Miss Deacon’s got stacks of books and magazines all about it. I’ll be able to sit outside in the sun, reading for long lazy afternoons. It’ll be blissful.’
    ‘You’re right about the oldness,’ he said, after a pause. ‘I felt it right away. As if the trees are the real inhabitants and the people are just recent intruders.’
    ‘Very romantic,’ she approved. ‘And exactly how I felt when I first saw it. Guiting Power is quite different from Temple Guiting – there it’s all about the people and their buildings. I suppose they both feel a need to be different – given how confusingly similar their names are.’
    Phil nodded and changed the subject.
    ‘And that Janey – is she going to be a regular visitor? She seemed to think you were best buddies already.’
    ‘She’s been twice so far. She likes Miss Deacon’s horses. She’s one of those people you find yourself talking to about personal stuff after ten minutes.’
    ‘She doesn’t ride , does she?’ He entertaineda grim image of the wretched animal sagging helplessly as the vast woman landed on its back. ‘Or are they Shire horses? That might just work, I suppose.’
    Thea giggled. ‘Stop it,’ she said. ‘Don’t be so nasty.’
    He looked at her steadily, making her giggle again. ‘It isn’t really something you can just ignore,’ he said. ‘Is it?’
    ‘Maybe not. But there’s a lot more to her than her size. She’s a very nice person.’
    ‘Well, as a local friend, I’m sure she has much to commend her,’ he said primly.
    Thea turned her attention to the spaniel sitting patiently in the shade under their