by LK Chapman
Natalie’s skin prickled with irritation. ‘He’s fine,’ she said, in clipped tones. It was Toby who saved his life, she reminded herself. The fact he was like a bull in a china shop didn’t take away from that fact.
At that moment they were interrupted as a young red-haired woman came into the conservatory. ‘Oh, sorry,’ she said as her eyes fell on them. ‘I didn’t realise you were in here.’
‘Chantelle, can you go and make a start on the Orchid room?’ Toby said brusquely. ‘We have a conference there today.’
The young woman hesitated as if she needed to ask for more details but didn’t want to admit that she wasn’t sure what to do.
‘Look, just ask Angelique if you need to,’ he said, and she scurried away, her glossy red ponytail bobbing.
‘Chantelle’s new,’ Toby said once she’d left. Natalie could almost hear an eye-roll in his voice, as if he found new staff incredibly tiresome. It hadn’t stopped him staring at Chantelle’s bum as she’d left the room, though. Natalie tried to brush that observation aside. She had something she wanted to say to Toby. ‘I – I get that no one really talks about this much,’ she said, ‘but I know Josh didn’t have the easiest time as a teenager. He told me about what he tried to do, and how you saved his life–’
Toby looked startled. He swallowed his mouthful of coffee quickly, as if to stop himself spitting it out. ‘He told you I saved him?’
‘Well, didn’t you?’
‘Yes,’ he said, ‘I guess I did. I mean, yeah, I suppose if it wasn’t for me he would have succeeded in… what he was trying to do.’
Natalie tried to conceal her frown. Why was he being so shifty?
‘I think we all feel that we should have realised how much he was hurting,’ Toby continued quickly. ‘It shouldn’t have come to that in the first place.’
‘Sometimes you just can’t see it,’ she said. ‘Especially if he was hiding it.’
‘I don’t know. He was on his computer most of the time; he didn’t really talk to any of us.’
‘Well, I’m so glad you were there.’
‘So he’s all good now, is he?’ Toby asked. ‘Over the years he’s still been a bit down from time to time. But it’s difficult to know how to ask about it.’
‘Josh is … he’s good,’ she said. Was it true? It wasn’t, really, but somehow she sensed telling Toby that wouldn’t help anything.
He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Natalie took the hint and changed the subject back to the hotel. ‘Thanks for showing me around, anyway,’ she said. ‘It’s really a lovely place.’
‘Do you want to ask anything?’
Natalie tried to sort through the barrage of information he’d given her as they walked round. He’d been quite thorough. ‘I think you already answered pretty much everything. I’ll call you if anything occurs to me.’
As she made her way back out to the car park, Natalie thought back over the exhausting meeting. What was it like for the people who worked in this place? Toby’s mind seemed to go at one hundred miles per hour and he clearly didn’t have much patience for staff who didn’t know what they were doing. Still, the hotel was immaculate, and genuinely a nice place to hold a wedding. It will be my turn soon, she thought, I’ll be swishing through the halls of Silverdale House in my dress, surrounded by family and friends, with Josh – with my husband – at my side. She still had a million things to sort out before the big day, but excited butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
At the car, she paused and reached up to her neck. Her scarf – it must still be inside, in the conservatory. She turned with a sigh. Hopefully I won’t bump into Toby and get another monologue about the hotel. Inside, all was quiet, and she paused in the hall as she spotted some more of his photos on the wall. With a start of surprise, she leant in closer. Chedford Lake! It was a beautiful place, and there were photos of other local beauty spots, too, with labels underneath – clearly he was trying to show off the local area to guests. She looked more closely. A couple of the photos of the lake had groups of teenagers in – they were silhouetted, sitting on the grass with their backs to the camera. There was a date next to the caption. These pictures could be from that actual weekend when Mikayla had died! Unsure what to make of it, she gave herself a little shake and made her way towards the back of the hotel and the conservatory. Why shouldn’t he have photos up from that weekend, really? The water looked lovely at sunset; it was easy to see why he’d chosen to display them.
Voices in one of the function rooms drifted to her – Toby, and a woman. It sounded like the young woman who had interrupted them, Chantelle. But it didn’t seem like a work conversation, and out of curiosity Natalie stepped closer and peeked around the door. Sure enough, Toby was standing close to Chantelle as she set up the table, his hand brushing her arm, as she tried to move away.
‘Come on,’ he said, ‘one drink after work won’t hurt, will it?’
Chantelle laughed nervously, and Toby moved in even closer. ‘With your boyfriend in prison and two little mouths to feed, I would have thought you'd be keen to keep this job,’ he said.
Natalie’s breath caught in her throat. Had she heard that right? Toby’s voice had been low, but his words had carried to her clearly enough. She only just managed to stop herself marching in and giving Toby a piece of her mind.
‘Who told you about my family?’ Chantelle asked Toby as she turned to face him, her voice rising.
‘I have my ways of finding things out,’ he said. ‘It seems to me like you don't want to go making enemies right now.’
Initially Chantelle looked like she was going to argue back – or even give Toby a slap – but she apparently thought better of it. She edged away from Toby fearfully, muttering about needing to get some water glasses. As she approached the door, Natalie quickly darted off towards the conservatory, sickened by Toby’s behaviour.
24
‘So, tell me all about Hartbury Hotel,’ Verity said once they’d finished their first meeting of the morning – a couple planning a big do for their tenth wedding anniversary – and they had a chance to catch their breath after a rather dizzying list of demands. ‘Is it good, bad, or ugly?’
Natalie smiled. ‘It’s certainly not bad, or ugly,’ she said. ‘The refurbished rooms are all lovely, really tasteful. It’s got one large formal room option for the ceremony – it would seat about one hundred and twenty people, and another smaller and more intimate room for fifty or so. Maybe sixty at a push.’
‘Okay,’ Verity said, making a note.
‘And there’s a beautiful conservatory for the reception. It’s exactly the kind of thing everyone asks for. The prices are good, too, and there’s a discount for winter weddings. I think it will be popular.’
‘Great,’ Verity said. ‘I might drop round myself sometime and check it out. I’d like to see it for myself.’
‘It’s well run, too,’ Natalie said, a little grudgingly. She was still disturbed by how Toby had treated Chantelle. And yet she couldn’t deny the hotel was well kept and well organised.
‘But?’ Verity said, immediately picking up on Natalie’s unease.
‘It’s just the manager … how he behaves with some of the staff, that’s all.’
‘This is the hotel Josh’s brother manages?’
‘Step-brother, yes. Toby Johnson.’
Verity was waiting for her to elaborate about her comment, and she tried to think how best to explain what she’d seen. ‘He was hassling a young woman,’ she said finally, ‘he didn’t realise I could hear their conversation. It wasn’t very pleasant.’
‘Nothing new there then,’ Verity said, her voice bitter all of a sudden.
‘V? What–’
‘No, sorry. It’s nothing. I’m – I’m not having the best time right now.’
‘I’ll make us a coffee,’ Natalie said, beginning to stand. ‘We can have a chat.’
Verity shut the notebook where she’d jotted down some points about Hartbury Hotel, and r
ested her hands on its floral cover. ‘Thanks, Nat, but I don’t need coffee,’ she said. ‘I need to talk to you about something. And it’s not good news, I’m afraid.’
‘Okay,’ Natalie said uneasily as she sat back down in her chair.
Verity pushed a cascade of chestnut curls back from her face and then laced her fingers together on top of the notebook again. The way their chat had suddenly begun to feel official and businesslike made Natalie’s hairs stand on end. What was this all about? Verity never usually behaved like this, and the change in mood was alarming.
‘How is everything with you?’ Verity asked. ‘Are you doing okay?’
‘Well, the trolling hasn’t stopped, if that’s what you mean,’ Natalie said, wondering what she was really getting at. ‘And I’m having to pretend it has to Josh because I’m not sure he could handle it otherwise.’
‘I’m so sorry. I wish I could help–’
‘It – I’m just getting fed up, to be honest. It feels like it will never end. I just want my life to be normal again.’ She met Verity’s eyes. ‘Please, just say whatever it is you want to say to me. Don’t keep me in suspense.’
Verity nodded sympathetically. ‘So, Nat, this–’ She paused. ‘God, I really don’t know how to say this. Believe me, if there was any other way–’
‘V? What is it?’ Natalie said, growing frustrated. ‘Just tell me! It can’t be that bad.’
‘The business is in trouble,’ Verity said. ‘It has been for a while. You know they put the rent up on the shop, and I – I’ve made a few bad decisions. I’m not sure if I can really afford to have the shop any more. I’m thinking of cutting back, just running the events business from home.’
‘I–’ Natalie stared at her, stunned. ‘V, I had no idea.’
‘Please,’ she said, holding up a hand. ‘Don’t be sympathetic. A lot of it’s my own stupid fault.’
‘Don’t say that.’
‘I just overstretched myself. I spent too much on things for the business that I shouldn’t have done–.’ Verity shook her head. ‘Anyway, the thing of it is–’
‘You can’t afford to pay me any more,’ Natalie said.
Verity’s brow creased. ‘I can pay you up until mid-January to cover the Christmas parties and the winter weddings we’ve got planned,’ she said. ‘But after that…’
‘I need to find a new job,’ Natalie said, her words coming out unsteadily as the reality hit her.
‘I really am so sorry, Natalie. The timing is awful. I know you’re already under pressure, and you’re planning your wedding…’ Verity trailed off hopelessly.
‘Just give me a minute,’ Natalie said, abruptly getting up from the table as her emotions began to swirl dangerously inside her. She felt like she could scream. ‘I need to get some air.’
She fled from the shop, tears bubbling up, though she didn’t want to shed them. She was already lying to Josh, trying to hold him together while she was falling apart – buried under the unceasing abuse. Her vlogging held little joy for her any more. Even the wedding planning was losing its shine. The one thing she had been holding on to was coming to Verity’s Events, losing herself in other people’s weddings and celebrations – in their dreams and plans and dramas. But come the new year, she wouldn’t even have that. Her pace slowed as she passed the pretty shopfronts of Yetley’s high street, glittering with Christmas sparkle, and she sank down onto a bench.
It wasn’t long before Verity joined her. ‘I’ve brought you your coat,’ she said as she sat down.
Natalie took it gratefully and wrapped it around herself, a shield against the icy wind that was chilling her through her fluffy purple jumper. ‘I’m sorry for running off like that,’ she said. ‘I’m not angry with you, or anything. I’m just overwhelmed and it was a shock.’
‘It’s okay,’ Verity said, as Natalie let out a sob. ‘Look, come round for dinner after work tonight. Spend some time with Rob and the girls. We’re all still here for you, Natalie, you’re not suddenly going to be on your own.’
‘I’m not on my own, I have Josh.’
‘You said yourself Josh isn’t in a great place right now. You need your family around you. Let us make a fuss of you later.’
‘How bad is it, V? The business–’
‘It’s salvageable, I think. I just need to downsize and then build it back up.’
Natalie nodded as a couple of tears splashed onto her cheeks. ‘I just feel like my life is out of control right now,’ she said, her words coming in shaky bursts.
‘Like I said, it’s horrible timing.’ Verity put her arm around her. ‘It’ll be okay, though. Things will work out one way or another. Me and Rob will look out for you, okay?’
25
Natalie stepped inside Rob and Verity’s house, and was almost knocked off of her feet when her two nieces launched themselves at her for cuddles. Their exuberance broke through her bleak mood and she managed a laugh as she quickly pulled off her boots and joined them in the kitchen. It was nice to be here, the house homely and comforting – it had a reassuringly permanent feel to it, when everything else kept changing.
It wasn’t until after dinner, when the girls were in bed, that Natalie was able to talk about her troubles – how uncertain she felt about the future, how worried she was about Josh, and how much she was being hurt by the constant attacks on her appearance, and her relationship with Josh.
Rob and Verity listened sympathetically, until she finally stumbled to a halt. Then the couple gave each other a look.
‘What?’ Natalie said. ‘Do you know something about it?’
‘No, of course we don’t,’ her brother said, ‘it’s just…’ He turned to Verity, who nodded at him. ‘We were having a chat about it before you came round tonight. It’s not easy for us to say this, Nat, but how well do you really know Josh?’
‘What do you mean?’ she asked, genuinely confused.
‘Well, none of this started until the two of you were together. The allegations about Mikayla first, and now this really nasty personal stuff.’
Natalie was silent for a while as she struggled to grasp what they were getting at. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said at last. ‘Surely you don’t think there’s any truth to what’s being said about Mikayla’s death?’
‘I think, we think, that someone somewhere has suspicions, and maybe they are on to something.’
Natalie was about to explode in anger at what Rob was implying, but he quickly held his hands up. ‘I don’t mean Josh hurt her, of course I don’t. It’s just … well.’ He frowned. ‘Mikayla was going out with Josh’s stepbrother, wasn’t she? Couldn’t there have been more to that weekend than anyone is letting on? You said how weird Josh is being; he’s obviously got something to hide.’
‘He’s hurt that anyone would think this about him, and he’s angry that someone is using his past to upset me. But I’ve told him it’s stopped, anyway, and he’s less stressed now.’
‘Why is he so upset, though?’ Rob said. ‘Unless he thinks you’re going to leave him. And now the messages have turned more personal … well, maybe he wanted a way to make you stay.’
‘You think Josh is doing it?’ she said incredulously. ‘You think it’s him saying these things about my appearance to make me feel insecure?’
‘If he’s a jealous kind of guy, yeah, maybe. He was freaked out by whoever it is who knows what happened at the lake, and he’s terrified you’ll leave unless he makes you feel that he’s the best you can do.’
‘Verity, do you believe this crap?’ Natalie said, turning to face her.
Verity couldn’t meet her eyes. ‘I am a little worried about you,’ she said. ‘I feel like you’ve changed, and it doesn’t seem like a good sign when people are in a new relationship and they start to change.’
‘I haven’t changed! I’m stressed out, yes. I’m unsettled. And I’ve just lost my job. But I’m still me.’
Verity recoiled at the mention of the job. ‘Look, I know the job�
�s not your fault,’ Natalie said. ‘But I don’t like what’s going on here. You and Rob don’t know anything about mine and Josh’s relationship and yet you’re making these wild claims–’
‘We’re just saying, be careful,’ Rob said. ‘We hope we’re wrong, but we’re just trying to look out for you. Josh is obviously troubled. He had some sort of run-in with the police, didn’t he?’
‘You mean when he turned himself in,’ Natalie said. ‘He hacked the exam board to try to change his stepbrother’s grades, but he didn’t actually alter them. He owned up almost straight away.’
‘So you do know about the hacking.’
‘Yes. He had a tricky time when he was a teenager. Everyone does, to some extent.’
Rob looked at Verity and then back to Natalie.
‘Okay,’ he said, ‘so, the other thing. We heard Josh tried to kill himself not long after Mikayla’s death. He took an overdose. You have to question the timing…’
There was a long pause. ‘I know you mean well,’ Natalie said, ‘but I already know this. He told me he tried to kill himself.’ She got to her feet, stung by the way they were treating her. ‘I thought this evening would take my mind off of everything but all you’ve done is ambush me with a load of half-baked ideas about Josh. I’m going to leave now because I don’t want to fall out with you. I love Josh, and I’d trust him with my life, okay?’
‘But you’ve lied to him about what’s happening to you!’ Verity said. ‘You told him the trolling has stopped, but it’s worse than ever! How can you say you trust him when you don’t even talk to him? I don’t have any secrets from Rob.’ She paused. ‘And he doesn’t have any from me,’ she added, though the fact she said this with less certainty wasn’t lost on Natalie.
‘I can’t … I can’t deal with this right now,’ Natalie said. ‘I’m going home.’
As she left, Rob caught up with her on the doorstep. ‘Nat, I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘That didn’t really go how I was hoping.’
‘What did you hope for?’ she said. ‘That I’d be grateful?’