Celia sighed with relief. ‘I’ll give you a lift,’ she said.
‘Thanks, Celia, you’re an absolute gem!’
Celia drank her tea as quickly as she could, then said, ‘I’m going to my room for a rest, and leave you to set up your tent. What time do you want me to drive you to the pub later?’
‘Whatever time suits you. Half past six?’
‘Half past six,’ Celia confirmed. ‘I shall be in the car waiting.’
‘Then I’d better not be late,’ he said with another of his disconcerting grins.
Celia ferried her new acquaintance down to The Portmerryn Arms at six thirty precisely, and said she’d pick him up at nine thirty precisely. ‘And I sincerely hope you won’t be drunk,’ she added.
‘You should join me,’ he said, ‘and that way you could keep an eye on me.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ she said. ‘Anyway, I’m not a pub type of person.’
‘Then what sort of person are you, Celia?’ he asked as he got out of the car, but didn’t wait for an answer as he hobbled towards the door.
* * *
This newcomer – by the name of Mitch – was discussed at length during dinner.
‘Celia found herself a lovely bloke up on the cliff,’ laughed Jackie, causing all eyes to swivel in Celia’s direction. For the second time in one day she felt mortified.
‘I did not “find myself a bloke”,’ she snapped, ‘I merely helped someone who’d twisted his ankle.’
‘And the poor bloke’s out there in a tent in the garden!’ Jackie went on. ‘No room at the inn!’
‘Poor man!’ said Titania. ‘Is he handsome, Celia? Could you mention to him that I’ve got a nice big double bed?’
Celia ignored her.
‘Celia’s got a twin-bedded room, haven’t you, Celia?’ the wretched Jackie went on. ‘You could pop him in the other one and never need to touch him!’ She exploded into gales of laughter.
I rue the day I ever gave her that painting, thought Celia.
‘Enough!’ said Dominic the diplomat. ‘Celia’s a very respectable lady. I must say, though, that I’ve never fancied sleeping in a tent.’
Titania shuddered dramatically. ‘I can’t imagine anything worse, darlings!’
Then Jackie regaled them with countless tales of camping holidays they’d had when the children were small. ‘Wales, Scotland, we went everywhere,’ she said.
Celia glanced at her watch and excused herself from the table. Such a ridiculous conversation! And there was still half an hour to kill before she had to pick up that man from the pub. Why on earth hadn’t she asked Simon or Dominic to collect him? Should she do so now? No, she’d better stick to what she’d promised. Unable to settle to do anything, Celia gazed out of the window and saw the evening sky darkening ominously. It was going to rain. Then she checked her appearance in the mirror, ran the comb through her hair and wondered if she should put on a dab of lipstick. Ridiculous! What was she thinking of! She never wore lipstick! In fact, she’d been carrying round this tube of coral pink for thirty years or more. Still, she put on a tiny amount and then rubbed her lips together. Time to go.
As she sat in her car outside The Portmerryn Arms, Celia could feel her tummy fluttering. What on earth was wrong with her? Was it perhaps something she’d eaten?
On the dot of nine thirty Mitch emerged from the pub.
‘I thought I’d better be on time,’ he said with a wicked grin as he eased himself into the passenger seat. ‘I had a feeling you might rap my knuckles if I was late.’
Celia tried not to smile. As she drove up Seagull Hill she said, ‘It looks like rain.’
‘Yes, it does, doesn’t it? Still, my little tent is completely waterproof, so don’t you go worrying.’
‘I wasn’t in the slightest bit worried,’ she said, as she parked her car next to Dominic’s Jaguar.
‘Good,’ said Mitch. ‘Hey, would you like to see where Simon and I erected the tent?’
Celia hesitated. Perhaps it would be churlish to refuse. ‘I’ll have a quick look,’ she said.
He led the way, hobbling through the trees, to where his tiny tent nestled in a clearing. It was darkening rapidly now and the first drops of rain were beginning to fall.
‘It’s very small,’ Celia said.
‘Don’t forget I have to carry it,’ Mitch pointed out. ‘I can’t go lugging a marquee around with me, Celia, can I?’
Celia couldn’t begin to imagine crawling into that tiny space. But she supposed he was more sheltered here than he would be out on the cliffs somewhere. Did he undress? Where did he go to the toilet?
‘Simon’s given me a key to the laundry room,’ he said, as if sensing her thoughts, ‘and I can use the loo in there.’
‘All right,’ she said, turning back towards the house, ‘I hope you sleep well.’
‘You, too, Celia,’ he said.
* * *
Celia woke up at 1 a.m. to a clap of thunder, so loud it must have been directly overhead. Then the heavens opened and the rain descended in torrents. She’d never known such a storm in Dudley so perhaps it was something to do with Cornwall being a peninsula? Lightning flashed, followed by another deafening clap of thunder. She could even hear the rain hammering on the roof, above the attic.
Then she remembered Mitch. How could he possibly sleep, or even keep dry, in this dreadful storm? She hoped it would move away, and indeed the next clap of thunder did seem to come from further away. Just as she began to relax it rolled right back overhead again. It was impossible to sleep. Celia switched on the light and got out of bed. She wondered if the tent might have collapsed and, even if it hadn’t, could it survive in such a storm? Should she offer him a towel or something? She should have driven him somewhere to find a B&B, so why hadn’t she? And he had an injured ankle.
Celia headed towards the door, hesitated and walked back towards the window just as there was a spectacular flash of lightning and another deafening crash of thunder. And torrential rain. It was no good; she felt responsible for this man so perhaps she’d just have a quick look to make sure he was OK. Just a peep. She pulled on her waterproof over her nightie and stuck her feet into her old leather sandals. They’d get soaked, but they’d dry. She tiptoed to the door and opened it an inch. She could see no lights anywhere. She opened the door fully so she could see her way down the stairs. Now, would she be able to open the front door without waking up the entire household?
The key was in the lock and turned easily, but there was a bolt which made a clonking sound. She stopped, listened, her heart thumping. There was no sound anywhere apart from the lashing of the rain. Leaving the door ajar she let her eyes become accustomed to the darkness and then she padded, through the storm and between the parked cars, into the trees, and hoping she was heading in the right direction. Then she saw him, and the tent, which appeared to have collapsed.
‘Mitch!’ she said. ‘You can’t stay outside in this! And you’re supposed to be resting that foot!’
He straightened up and looked at her in bewilderment. ‘What on earth are you doing out here?’
‘I was worried about you,’ she said, wiping the rain from her face, ‘and no wonder.’
‘Oh, Celia!’ He seemed genuinely touched. ‘I told you there was no need to worry about me. I’m OK. Just a bit wet.’
‘You’re not OK,’ she snapped. ‘And I expect your sleeping bag is wet now.’ She looked around. ‘Bring it in with you and we’ll get it dry, and yourself dry, too.’
‘I can’t let you—’
‘Hurry up!’ she commanded. ‘I can’t stand here drowning all night!’
‘All right! All right! Keep your hair on,’ he said.
‘And don’t shout; you’ll wake everyone up. Come on!’
Celia led the way back to the door of the house, Mitch a few steps behind.
‘Shsh!’ she said, pressing her finger to her lips as she locked and bolted the door behind them and led the way upstairs. Sh
e prayed they weren’t leaving a trail of wet footprints behind, but that couldn’t be helped and hopefully they would have dried by the morning.
Celia closed the door quietly behind them and looked at Mitch, who was dripping from head to foot. ‘Have a shower,’ she ordered, ‘and get out of those wet clothes.’ She opened the bathroom door. ‘Although I’ve no idea what you’re going to wear.’
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘because I’ll pop down later and put everything in the dryer. In the meantime, Celia, I fear I’m going to have to cover my modesty with your bath towels.’
This situation was becoming more and more complicated. If it would only stop raining she’d send him straight down to get his things dried. She could hear him showering. Dear lord, a strange man in her bathroom and her standing there in only her nightie. Mummy would have another heart attack if she could see this debacle.
‘It’s still raining,’ he said as he appeared several minutes later, a large white bath towel wrapped round his body and a second draped over his shoulder. It emphasised his tan and made him look like a Greek god. She noticed his muscles and the patch of hair on his chest. ‘You wouldn’t send me out again in this, would you?’
She blushed and swallowed. ‘I suppose you could use the other bed for a few hours,’ she said, indicating the pristine twin divan next to hers.
Why was he staring at her like that?
‘I will if you really want me to, Celia,’ he said, ‘but I’m not at all sure that you do.’
Part Three
32
CALM AFTER THE STORM
It was the quiet after the stormy night, a day of sunshine with a pleasant breeze. Everyone appeared to be out, so Tess decided to sunbathe on the terrace for a couple of hours. She’d not slept well with the thunder and lightning, and both she and Simon had been agog to see Celia venturing out into the night to see her new friend. Unbelievable! Even more unbelievable was the fact that she then brought him in! Fortunately, Celia was keeping a very low profile this morning because Tess was none too sure how to handle this. Best to say nothing.
‘I think I might stretch out for a bit, too,’ Simon said, coming round the corner. He’d been hoeing the vegetable plot and swearing that something nasty was eating the carrots. He sank himself down wearily on the other sun bed and was about to say something when a little voice called out, ‘Coo-ee!’
‘Oh, God!’ he muttered as Jackie came into view. He stood up again. ‘I was just going.’
‘Not on account of me, I hope!’ Jackie said gaily.
‘Not at all,’ he lied. ‘I think I’ll lie down indoors for an hour or two.’
‘Mind if I join you?’ Jackie plonked herself down on the sun bed vacated by Simon.
‘Of course not,’ Tess said, all ideas of a siesta dissipating
‘Wasn’t that storm awful last night?’ Jackie stretched out languidly and adjusted her bosoms which looked close to escaping from her sun top.
‘Yes, it certainly was,’ Tess agreed. ‘Did you manage to sleep?’
‘Well, I did, a little, but I was a bit scared, being on my own. It’s the only time I’ve missed Joe.’
‘That’s understandable,’ Tess said, wondering how far to continue this conversation.
‘I’ve always meant to thank you for being so kind to me that day Joe left,’ Jackie continued.
Tess had to think for a moment. ‘I didn’t do anything much—’ she began.
‘Oh yes, you did,’ Jackie interrupted. ‘You gave me the strength to face that first awful evening that turned out to be not so awful after all.’
‘It must have been very upsetting for you, though.’
‘It was, Tess, but it isn’t now. Do you know something? Coming here was the best thing we ever did. I’d probably still be with him if we’d stayed at home, ’cos all my friends would say things like, “Well, you’ve put up with him for forty years, why rock the boat now?” And I’d think they were probably right and I’d look round the house and think of the upheaval and the upset and all that.’
‘Won’t there still be an upheaval and upset?’ Tess asked, propping herself up on one elbow.
‘Yeah, but I’ve thought everything through now. I’ve had the space and time to work out how to handle it, and I’ve phoned my sons and told them.’
‘How have they reacted, Jackie?’
‘Well, Frank hasn’t spoken to his father in years, so all he said was, “What took you so long, Mum?” He’s up in Newcastle but he said I can go and stay there anytime. And then Phil’s running a pub locally, and he gets on OK with his dad, but even he said he wasn’t surprised.’
‘But you’ll have to go home to sort things out, won’t you?’
‘Yes, of course. But I’m going to look for somewhere to rent, and I’m going to see that the house gets sold so I can buy a place eventually.’
‘And how’s Joe likely to react to all this?’ Tess asked.
‘He’ll go ballistic. But I don’t care, and I’m going to get myself a good solicitor.’
‘I hope it all goes well for you, Jackie,’ Tess said sincerely. ‘Let me know, won’t you?’
‘I’ll email you, and I’d like to come back here sometime. Maybe just for a week though, ’cos I’ll be paying for it myself!’
‘You’d be very welcome.’
‘I’ll always think of here as a little piece of paradise where I soothed my soul! Now, ain’t that poetic?’
‘I’d like you to write that in the visitors’ book,’ Tess said, and they both laughed.
‘And I’ve made a friend of Celia, too – well, I think I have! She’s not the easiest person to get close to but, hey, it takes all sorts to make a world!’
‘You can say that again!’ said Tess with feeling. She’d warmed over the weeks to this little woman and was flattered that Jackie had chosen to confide in her. ‘Tell you what,’ she said, ‘how do you fancy a glass of wine? On the house. I’m going to have one.’ There was no chance whatsoever of a catnap now.
‘Ooh, lovely!’ said Jackie.
* * *
An hour later Tess found Simon sleeping peacefully on top of their bed. She might be lacking sleep but Tess was glad she’d had some time with Jackie, who plainly considered The Sparrows’ Nest as some sort of a therapeutic counselling retreat. As Tess changed back into her jeans, Simon stirred.
‘Come here!’ he commanded.
‘I’ve got to start preparing dinner,’ Tess said, zipping up her jeans, ‘and if I lie down now there’s a good chance I won’t wake up till midnight.’
Simon yawned and sat up. ‘I gather you didn’t manage to get a doze outside with Jackie jabbering away?’
‘No, I didn’t,’ Tess replied, ‘but I couldn’t really leave her once she got into full flow. She seems to think that being here has helped her to sort out her life.’
‘Can we charge extra for sorting out lives?’ Simon asked as he eased himself off the bed.
‘Seriously, Simon, I do feel for her. After all those years it can’t be easy to decide to leave your husband, even if he is a horrid bully.’
‘Point taken. Do you suppose we’ve sorted Celia out as well? Or does she always venture out in thunderstorms in the middle of the night looking for blokes?’
Tess giggled. ‘We don’t know for sure that they got up to any hanky-panky.’
Simon raised one eyebrow. ‘Why else would she sneak him inside?’
‘Because he was cold and wet?’
‘So where did he sleep? Gina said the other bed hadn’t been slept in.’
‘Yes, well.’ Tess thought for a moment. ‘But I still can’t believe they got up to anything.’
‘And now we have Dominic lusting after Gideon! Are we turning into a dating agency or what?’
‘And none of them are a day under sixty!’ Tess exclaimed.
‘Next thing we know Titania will be crawling into my bed in the middle of the night. Hope you’re prepared to move over?’
‘L
ike I said, we’ve become a Mecca for ancients looking to change their lives,’ said Tess.
‘Not ancients, darling – golden oldies!’ Simon laughed. ‘That’s us, the golden oldies guesthouse!’
33
THE FIERY WITCH
Titania left The Sparrows’ Nest at eight o’clock for her second trip to the Lizard peninsula, determined to find Black Rock Cove and The Hideaway today, one way or the other. She didn’t have the time or the energy to keep trailing down there. Would Clarice be in residence?
She’d refused a cooked breakfast, settling for cereal and tea. She’d treat herself to lunch later, when she found a suitable pub.
‘So where are you off to today?’ Tess asked.
‘Oh, just exploring,’ she’d replied. ‘Perhaps Penzance or Land’s End.’
It was better to be vague, and she certainly didn’t want anyone to associate her with the Lizard. Now, as she drove across Cornwall, Titania knew without a doubt that country life was not for her. She’d not hang around for long after she’d completed her mission; she’d make some excuse about having to get back. Back to civilisation! She couldn’t cope with the huge expanses of sky, the bleak moors, the narrow roads. And isolated villages with no one around. Where did they all go? The traffic was horrendous this morning so they were probably all in their cars going somewhere else.
‘It’ll be worse in a few weeks’ time,’ Simon had said cheerfully when she’d complained about the traffic earlier. ‘When the schools break up and all the families come down on holiday.’ She most certainly would not be sticking around for that. She’d be back in London, checking with her agent and perhaps even auditioning for something. She’d be eating out in restaurants and bistros run by interesting people from every corner of the globe. She’d be going to galleries, the cinema, the theatre. How could the lovely Simon have given all that up to exist on the side of a cliff in the middle of nowhere?
The Golden Oldies Guesthouse (ARC) Page 22