Brides of Penhally Bay - Vol 2

by Various Authors

  ‘But it didn’t, Eloise,’ he said. ‘We solved this case working together, looking at it from different angles. We could make a great team. Please, take the time to think about it. You have to stay around for the coroner’s inquiry in any case.’

  Eloise felt as if her heart was being clamped by a huge vice. She wanted to say yes to everything, but how could she know it would work out? He had just ended a miserable marriage. It would be unfair of her to expect him to jump straight into a new one if, in fact, he had the intention of asking her, which she very much doubted.

  She would be risking everything she had worked so hard for—her career, her professional reputation, and the one thing she had protected so guardedly for so long. Her heart.

  ‘Please, Eloise,’ he said. ‘At least think about it for a week or two. Don’t you owe me that?’

  Eloise felt as if every part of her was being stitched into a tight knot of pain deep inside her. Her chest felt weighted, as if a stone had settled there, pushing her heart to one side so it couldn’t work properly. ‘I don’t owe you anything, Lachlan,’ she said in the same controlled tone, even though she was as close to tears as she had ever been. ‘We had a brief fling and as far as I’m concerned that’s the end of it.’

  ‘I’m not going to make a fool of myself, begging you to change your mind,’ he said. ‘Neither am I going to tell you I love you because I’m not sure if what I feel is the real thing, but it sure as hell feels like it.’

  ‘You’re still getting over your ex-wife,’ she said, even as her heart gave a sudden leap of hope before settling down again. ‘You’re vulnerable right now. Any man would be. Especially with Poppy in the situation she is in. You’re not able to think clearly.’

  He let out a sigh and sent a hand through his hair. ‘Maybe you’re right,’ he said, giving her a wry smile. ‘I’m not exactly doing this the textbook way, am I?’

  She gave him a small smile in return. ‘Maybe you should book in for some lessons or read a book or something.’

  ‘Dating for Dummies. Now, that just might be the way to go,’ he said with one of his disarming grins.

  She reached up and kissed him on the cheek before her common sense muscled in to stop her. ‘You’re a good man, Chief Inspector D’Ancey. There are a lot of women out there who would give an arm and a leg to be with you.’

  His mouth twisted ruefully. ‘But not you?’

  She let out a heartfelt sigh. ‘What you need is a hearth-and-home type, someone to have your dinner ready when you come home from another tough day at the station. Not someone who is slaving over blood splatter samples and lying awake most nights, having nightmares about the victims’ last moments of life.’

  He reached out and touched her softly on the cheek with the back of his knuckles. ‘You take care of yourself, Dr Eloise Hayden from Australia,’ he said softly.

  She swallowed back the emotion rising in her throat and gave him a stiff little smile. ‘I will,’ she said. Moving out of his embrace, she left the room and closed the door quietly but firmly behind her.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  ‘HOW do you feel now the coroner’s inquiry is over?’ Kate Althorp asked close to three weeks later.

  Eloise slumped as she sank into the nearest sofa chair. She had been staying with Kate and Jem since Trevallyn House had been closed for the repairs to the gas system to be completed. Beatrice and Davey had both recovered and had gone to recuperate with Beatrice’s sister and her husband in Devon. Beatrice had decided to sell the guest-house and move into something smaller with Davey, which seemed a good solution all round.

  ‘I’m fine. I feel a bit sorry for Molly Beale, however,’ Eloise answered. ‘When she goes to court she’ll probably get three years for perverting the course of justice, but she might get out earlier if she behaves herself. She might even benefit from being inside for a short time. No charges were laid against Davey. A psychiatrist declared him unfit to stand trial.’

  ‘What about Ethan Jenson’s parents? How did they seem to handle it all?’ Kate asked.

  Eloise puffed out a sigh and laid her head back on the sofa cushions. ‘I’ve talked to them a few times,’ she said. ‘As you can imagine, it’s agonising for them. They can’t help thinking that if only Molly or Davey had stopped and called for help when they first discovered him, Ethan might be alive today.’

  ‘Everyone is wise in hindsight,’ Kate said. ‘But I guess they panicked at the time.’

  ‘Yes, that’s true, although he was definitely dead when he hit the water. At least he didn’t suffer. Drowning is not a pleasant way to die, although I guess it’s better than some other ways.’

  Kate fiddled with her watch for a moment. ‘I thought you might like to know Lachlan is back from London. He brought Poppy with him.’

  Eloise gave her an offhand glance. ‘I don’t see what that has to do with me.’

  ‘She had a miscarriage while she was in London with her mother,’ Kate said. ‘That’s why Lachlan wasn’t at the inquiry. He sent a signed affidavit instead.’

  Eloise had assumed he had taken leave to avoid running into her at the inquiry where she had been called to present her evidence. She hadn’t thought for a moment there might be some other reason he hadn’t shown up. She’d been so angry that he hadn’t even bothered to phone her, but now she realised he would have been totally preoccupied with his daughter, offering his support and trying to help her get over an extremely traumatic time.

  ‘Is Poppy all right?’ she asked.

  ‘Physically, yes, but a bit fragile emotionally, or so Lachlan said. No one in the village knows about it, of course, apart from Nick and Robert, who has been a real sweetheart to her. I’m only telling you because she wants to see you before you leave tomorrow.’

  Eloise looked at Kate in surprise. ‘She wants to see me? But what on earth for?’

  ‘I don’t know, but she called a few minutes ago, before you came home. I think Robert is driving her over right now.’

  Eloise chewed at her lip and frowned.

  ‘Are you going to see Lachlan before you leave tomorrow?’ Kate asked into the silence.

  Eloise shifted her gaze. ‘I don’t really see the point.’

  Kate gave her a lengthy look. ‘Are you sure you’re doing the right thing by leaving with things so up in the air between you?’

  Eloise got to her feet and began to pace the room. ‘I can’t stay here without some sort of commitment from him, Kate. I don’t know what he’s told you, but we had a brief fling. It was little more than a one-night stand,’ she said, trying to convince herself that was all it had been.

  ‘He didn’t speak of it in quite those terms,’ Kate said.

  Eloise swung around to look at her. ‘What did he say?’

  ‘Not much. He didn’t betray any confidences or anything. He just said how much he had enjoyed being with you and that he was going to miss you. Also that you made him realise what he had been missing out on in his marriage to Margaret.’

  Eloise frowned. ‘Nothing else?’

  Kate shook her head. ‘Why, were you expecting something else?’

  Eloise whooshed out a breath and crossed her arms over her chest. ‘I don’t know…I guess a marriage proposal might have made me think twice about leaving.’

  Kate’s eyes went wide. ‘I thought you were a careerwoman to the backbone? No marriage, no kids—or have I got it wrong somewhere?’

  ‘Yes, well, I was totally career focused until I met Chief Inspector Lachlan D’Ancey,’ Eloise confessed. ‘Ever since then I keep having these crazy thoughts about a white dress and a long veil and…and…’

  ‘And?’

  Eloise scowled. ‘Never mind. It’s stupid anyway. My flight’s booked and I’m almost packed.’

  ‘You can always cancel the flight and unpack your bag.’

  ‘I could but I won’t.’ The doorbell rang and Eloise added as she went to answer it, ‘Kate, you’ve been so kind over the last couple of weeks. I reall
y appreciate it, especially as you’ve got your own issues to deal with right now.’

  ‘They’ve waited several years,’ Kate said resignedly. ‘I guess they can wait a little longer.’

  Poppy was standing on the doorstep looking pale and thin, nothing like the surly street-wise teenager Eloise had met four weeks ago.

  ‘Hello, Dr Hayden,’ she said with a wavering smile. ‘I hope this isn’t an inconvenient time for you?’

  ‘No, it’s fine. I wasn’t doing anything special tonight, just packing.’

  ‘You’re leaving tomorrow, right?’ Poppy asked, her brown eyes containing a flicker of worry.

  ‘That’s the plan.’

  Poppy shifted from foot to foot. ‘Um…are you free to come for a little walk? Robert’s waiting in the car for me. It won’t take long.’

  Eloise looked to where Robert was sitting behind the wheel of his run-down car. He lifted his hand in a small wave and turned back to the car magazine he was reading. ‘Sure. Why not?’ she said. ‘You lead the way.’

  Poppy led the way to the bay past the lifeboat station and down onto the sand. ‘I always like to take my shoes off on the sand, don’t you?’ she asked. ‘I like the feel of it squishing between my toes.’

  ‘Yes,’ Eloise said, wondering what this was all about. Poppy seemed as if she wanted to get something off her chest and although Eloise hadn’t been expecting any last-minute friendly overtures, she thought that as the young girl had been through a rather traumatic time, she at least deserved a hearing.

  Poppy took off her sandals and looked at them for a moment. ‘I have a huge apology to make,’ she said, dragging her gaze up to meet Eloise’s. ‘I was so rude to you the first time I met you. And that day at the café when I totally ignored you. I know you probably think I’m a horrible person, but really I’m not. I was just very confused and upset.’

  Eloise smiled. ‘You’re a teenager, Poppy. Sixteen is a tough age. I remember it all too well. You’re not quite an adult but you want to be one.’

  ‘I had a taste of being an adult and I can tell you I’m not quite ready for it,’ Poppy said, biting down on her lip. ‘I’m not sure if you know, but I had a miscarriage. I made Dad promise not to tell anyone. Only Mrs Althorp and Dr Tremayne know…and Robert, of course…’

  Eloise saw the glisten of moisture in the young girl’s eyes and placed a gentle hand on her arm. ‘Do you want to talk about it? It sometimes helps to talk to someone other than a family member.’

  Poppy sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of the sleeve of her light cotton shirt. ‘It’s OK. Dad’s been great,’ she said. ‘Mum’s been better since…since…I…lost it. She was so angry at me. I wanted her to hold me and tell me things were going to be OK, but all she could do was shout at me for wasting my life and throwing my career options away. She wanted me to have an abortion. She kept pressuring me. She even made me an appointment at a clinic. I was so confused. I just wanted to turn back the clock and make it all go away…And then I started to bleed…’

  ‘You poor darling,’ Eloise said softly.

  Poppy gave her a wobbly smile. ‘I wish you would stay a little longer and give my father a chance. He pretends he’s OK but I know he’s not. It’s my fault, isn’t it? If I’d been nicer to you from the start, maybe you wouldn’t be flying back to Australia tomorrow.’

  ‘Poppy, it’s not your fault at all,’ Eloise insisted. ‘Things just…just didn’t work out.’

  ‘Why? Don’t you like him or something?’ Poppy asked, looking at her intently.

  Eloise gave her a crooked smile touched with regret. ‘I like him, Poppy,’ she said. ‘I like him a lot.’

  ‘Enough to marry him?’

  ‘That’s a completely hypothetical question.’

  ‘Because he hasn’t asked you?’

  Eloise let out a breath in a slow but uneven stream. ‘No, no, he hasn’t.’

  ‘Would it make a difference if he did?’ Poppy asked.

  ‘Listen, Poppy, your father’s just come out of his marriage to your mother. The last thing he needs right now is a new wife.’

  Poppy poked at a bit of seaweed with her big toe. ‘It’d be all right with me, you know…if he did ask you, I mean. I know I said I didn’t want another mother but I like you. You make my dad smile. I love my mum and all that, but I can see now why they couldn’t make a go of things. Mum’s too driven. She can’t stop and look at the big picture. She’s really happy with Roger. They’re both as career mad as each other. Dad loves his work, he would never have gone as far as he has without some sort of dedication and ambition, but he still always finds time for me. When he heard I was losing the baby, he dropped everything to come to me, even though the inquiry had just started.’

  ‘You’re a very lucky girl to have such a wonderful father,’ Eloise said, feeling wretchedly guilty for misjudging him so badly.

  Poppy smiled. ‘I think so, too. I just want him to be happy. He’s only thirty-nine, that’s not really old.’

  ‘No, it’s not.’

  Another little silence passed, broken only by the whisper of the water lapping gently at the shore.

  ‘I feel so guilty about the miscarriage,’ Poppy said after another few paces. ‘Guilty but relieved.’ She stopped and looked at Eloise again. ‘Do you think that’s terribly wrong of me?’

  ‘No, of course it’s not wrong to feel that way,’ Eloise answered. ‘It must have been such a difficult time for you. You need to put it behind you now and get on with your life.’

  ‘Yes…that’s what Robert said.’

  They walked a little further in silence until Poppy looked down at the sand near her toes. ‘Hey, look,’ she said. ‘Someone’s written a message on the sand with shells.’

  Eloise looked at the first couple of letters and wrinkled her brow. ‘It doesn’t make sense. What does aila mean?’ She peered a little closer and asked, ‘Is that next letter to it r or n?’

  Poppy looked down. ‘It’s definitely r,’ she said, and then, visibly brightening, added, ‘Hey, this is fun. Robert and I used to do this. We’d leave coded messages for each other on the beach. Here’s another one. I think that’s t—or is it f?’

  Eloise crouched down. ‘I’m not sure. I think someone’s walked across that section.’ She straightened and walked a bit further to where the shells began again and started reading the rest of the letters out loud. ‘Susmorf…’ She looked up at Poppy again with a puzzled expression. ‘What does susmorf mean?’

  ‘Um…I think there’s meant to be a gap between the s and the m,’ Poppy said, suddenly biting her lip.

  Eloise frowned again. ‘It still doesn’t make sense.’

  ‘There’s more over here,’ Poppy said. ‘Look.’

  Eloise looked, her eyes narrowing slightly. ‘Hang on a minute…’ She leant down a little closer. ‘nedyaH…esiolE.’ She straightened and met Poppy’s gaze. ‘That’s my name spelt backwards.’

  ‘Oh, yes.’ Poppy looked back at her with big innocent brown eyes. ‘So it is.’

  ‘And there’s an r and D for Doctor.’ Eloise looked at Poppy again. ‘What’s going on?’

  Poppy gave her a sheepish look. ‘Maybe we should have started at the other end,’ she said. ‘I think I might have got Dad’s directions wrong.’

  Eloise’s eyes narrowed even further. ‘Your father wrote this?’

  Poppy nodded and started to walk quickly back the way they had come. ‘I think I can hear Robert calling me,’ she called over her shoulder. ‘I’ll meet you back at the car.’

  Eloise would have gone after her but the need to read the rest of the message was too great. She walked along and mentally rotated the words so they made sense. ‘Question mark…me…marry…you…will…’ She stopped when she came to a large pair of bare feet and slowly looked upwards into a pair of whisky-brown eyes.

  ‘Someone went for a jog over the last bit,’ Lachlan said with a rueful smile. ‘I’m not sure if it makes sense any more.’

>   Eloise blinked at him, her heart starting to race and her legs feeling as if they were as soggy and waterlogged as the sand at the water’s edge a few feet away.

  He stepped closer and took both of her hands in each of his. ‘Will you marry me, Dr Eloise Hayden from Australia?’ And with a boyish grin added, ‘Or is it Ausfnalia?’

  She laughed and threw herself into his arms, her heart feeling as if it was going to burst with joy. ‘I don’t care what or where it is—I’m staying here with you.’

  He swept her off her feet and swung her around, the shells of his proposal crunching under his feet. ‘Do you mean it? Do you really mean it?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes.’ She was crying and laughing all at the same time. ‘Of course I mean it. I know it’s crazy and too soon for you and too soon for me and my career is probably going to take a nosedive, but I love you. I think I’ve been fighting it from the start, but I can’t stop how I feel any more.’

  ‘I love you too, darling,’ he said. ‘I should have told you earlier but I only realised it today. The thought of you getting on that plane and never coming back was too much to bear. I suddenly realised I was in love with you, really in love with you, which meant I had to find a way to ask you to marry me in a hurry.’

  She hugged him around the neck and showered his face and mouth with kisses. ‘That was a very creative way to propose.’

  ‘Actually, it was Poppy who gave me the idea,’ he said. ‘And all was going well until that wretched jogger went past. He had feet like planks.’

  ‘Just as well the tide didn’t come in,’ she said, smiling at him delightedly.

  ‘I had already covered that contingency, although I must confess I had a bit of trouble locating enough shells. There must have been a few kids down here today, collecting them.’

  ‘At least I saw it and answered it,’ she said with a heartfelt sigh. ‘That’s all that matters.’

  His brown eyes twinkled. ‘Yes, but do you know what they say about messages written in the sand, Dr Hayden?’