Free A Family Concern by Anthea Fraser

Robert?’
    Jan shook her head. ‘He’ll hear in due course, but there’s no urgency. Let him enjoy his Saturday off.’
    Since handing over the family home to Lewis, Robert Tarlton had taken up residence in the flat above the shop. Ignoring his family’s cries of protest, he’d insisted it was warm, comfortable, convenient and amply big enough for his needs. He also liked being on Guild Street – in the middle of things, as he put it, and only yards from his club.
    When they were alone, Jan said quietly, ‘Are you going to tell me what happened?’
    Freya’s eyes flew to her face. ‘I – don’t know,’ she faltered.
    â€˜I think you do. You’re not ill; you haven’t a temperature, and you’ve not mentioned a headache. Healthy young women don’t suddenly keel over for no reason.’
    Freya was silent, wondering how much to confide. Only Matthew knew the full extent of the havoc her recurring dreams were causing, and she was unwilling to involve anyone else. But Jan Tarlton wasn’t ‘anyone else’. Freya had been three when her mother left them, and Jan, who’d been able to have only one child herself, had taken both her and Lewis under her maternal wing. She had in effect been a surrogate mother, and Freya loved her accordingly.
    Seeing her hesitation, Jan laid one of her large, capable hands over Freya’s. ‘It won’t go any further, if you don’t want it to.’
    So, stumblingly, Freya told her about the onset of the nightmares, about the way they were slowly developing, little bits seeming to be added on each time, and of the tune, which she’d been sure was a figment of her own imagination.
    â€˜The one the musical box played?’
    Freya nodded. ‘What terrified me was discovering it actually existed, even though I’d never heard it before outside my dreams. Because if the tune’s real, perhaps the rest of it is too.’
    â€˜The most likely explanation is that you
have
heard it somewhere, without being aware of it, and for some reason it lodged in your subconscious.’
    Freya said in a whisper, ‘But
where
did I hear it? That’s the question. What is it, anyway? Do you know?’
    â€˜It’s an old French song, “Auprès de ma blonde”. Ring any bells?’
    Freya shook her head.
    â€˜Well, the thing to do, honeybun, is keep a sense of proportion. Nothing you dream can possibly harm you, so though the nightmares are unpleasant at the time, you mustn’t let them rule your life. And if you can force yourself to react to them calmly, they’ll just fade away, as they did last time.’ She paused. ‘Of course, they might be indicative of some other worry. Is there anything on your mind?’
    Freya shook her head. ‘I love my job and my family, I love living with Matthew, and, as you said, I’m in perfect health. Positively no worries,’ she added in an Australian accent, and Jan laughed.
    â€˜That’s the spirit. Well, it was a nasty little upset, but there’s no lasting harm done. You can tell people it was something you ate. OK?’
    â€˜OK,’ Freya repeated gratefully, and almost believed that it was.
    Freya’s collapse was the subject of several conversations over dinner that evening.
    â€˜You missed quite a drama this afternoon,’ Susie Tarlton told her husband, as he returned from kissing their daughter goodnight.
    â€˜Come to that, the match was pretty dramatic,’ Nicholas countered, pouring wine into their glasses. ‘Murray scored a fantastic try in the last minute of the game, from more than halfway down the pitch. Can you top that?’
    â€˜Freya fainted dead away on the shop floor.’
    â€˜
What?
’ She had his full attention now.
    â€˜Out for the count, with the place full of customers. Believe me, it caused quite a stir.’
    â€˜But – you mean she was taken