Ghostly Echoes
2 – Saturday August 4th…
Clarrie Hunter was upset. She regretted the impulse that had
made her pull off the main road, although actually heading for
Henley. Within thirty yards, the stony track narrowed and ended
abruptly, with no space to turn the car, and the undergrowth
ahead looked impenetrable. How could she have been so stupid
– she should have left the car near the road and explored on foot,
but being certain the river was near, she switched off the engine.
With the air-conditioning off and the windows down, the running
water sounded very close; she wouldn’t drive down this far again
but it was certainly worth investigating now.
Picking her way through a patch of shrubs, glad to be
wearing jeans, she soon reached a roughly grassed clearing at the
edge of the water. The view across the river and to her left was
stunning. No buildings, pylons or billboards spoiled the
expansive sweep of the fields and a line of overhanging trees on
the nearer bank provided interesting detail in the foreground.
Clarrie had been dubious about agreeing to paint “a quiet
str