Where the Heart Belongs by Sheila Spencer-Smith Page A

other?’
    â€˜Dendrobuim
or
Sailor Boy.
The same goes for him. Water from the top and allow to drain thoroughly. Anyway, good luck.’ He got up, preparing to leave.
    She smiled as she stood up too. ‘With all your written instructions I should be all right.’
    His eyes lit up as he smiled. ‘Good girl. I’m going off this afternoon, by the way.’

SHONA SEES MORE OF FELIX
    â€˜We’re lost,’ said Rex, a hopeless tone in his voice that sent shivers down Shona’s spine as she stood among the orchids in the conservatory.
    â€˜How can you be lost?’ she cried. ‘Why weren’t you following the route we planned?’
    â€˜It’s all trees round here and we can’t see anything,’ he wailed. ‘Someone went off ahead. When we caught up with him the path ran out and we can’t find the way back.’
    This was ridiculous. ‘You’ve still got your leaflet of the walk with you?’ she asked. ‘Can’t you see where you are on that?’
    â€˜You’ll have to get someone out to find us,’ he gasped out.
    Shona felt a moment’s panic as she visualised the extent of the area. ‘Listen, Rex. How far had you walked when you left the route?’
    He hesitated and she heard the rustle of paper. ‘Three miles, I think.’
    â€˜Did you head off left or right?’
    â€˜My battery’s running out.’
    Too late. Rex had gone. Incredible to think that a party of adults couldn’t suss out where they were between them. Now what was she to do?
    For a moment she stood motionless, aware of the sweet smell from the special orchid nearby and the rustle of foliage against the glass roof from the movement of air from the open door. She had thought looking after the two special plants might be a problem. But that was nothing to this.
    Half closing her eyes in an effort to concentrate fully on the problem she remembered that the spare leaflets of the route were in a pile on the hall table.
    The route was set out so clearly that even Rex shouldn’t have had any trouble, she thought, gazing down at the open leaflet on the hall table before her. At the latest the group would have set off from the starting point before noon and it was now three o’clock. They had covered three miles, Rex said. But he might be wrong about that. She ran her finger along the route until she reached the three-mile point.
    What was Rex doing letting one of the group wander off from the rest? A spurt of anger made her shiver. He was trouble enough when he was here at Ferniehope Castle, but even worse when let alone off into the unknown. Surely someone among the group had a phone with money on it?
    She longed to jump in her car and go after them but leaving her post here with Jack away was definitely out of the question. And how likely was she to locate them on her own anyway? They could be anywhere in that vast expanse of trees and moor land.
    An icy chill ran through her. The trouble for Jack would be huge once the Press got hold of the story. She could see the headlines now . . . GROUP FROM FERNIEHOPE CASTLE LOST IN FOREST. Or worse.
    But what to do for the best? She was on her own in this and she had to cope. Jack had given Ingrid the afternoon off and Mags had gone off home to her cottage for a rest before starting the evening meal. Feeling helpless, Shona wandered into the office to see if by any chance there were instructions anywhere about what to do in any emergency like this. She found nothing.
    She opened the brown folder in search of inspiration. The orchid instruction list was on top and other things Jack kept here such as the accommodation lists she had already seen and the one of suitable tutors to be called on when needed. She looked at the contents in despair and then noticed something that had escaped her attention before. Under
Pottery and Ceramics
was Felix’s name and mobile number.
    She stared at it in surprise. Then