Castle on the Hill

by Agatha Frost

  “Simon?” Liz said suddenly, her tongue feeling like it was quickly swelling in her mouth.

  “Liz,” Simon replied as he steadied the crates, his cheeks reddening more. “How are you?”

  Liz stared at him for a moment, wondering what sort of question it was to ask after what had happened at the farmhouse. She had desperately wanted to know who the woman was and why she had turned up on Simon’s doorstep in a wedding dress, but Simon had not called, and she was not about to make the first move.

  “Can we talk?” Simon asked, glancing at Nancy.

  “Sure,” Liz said, pulling Nancy closer into her side. “About what?”

  Nancy tried to wriggle away, but Liz clung onto her. Simon sighed as a gust of wind rustled his short hair, looking as though he wanted the breeze to sweep him away.

  “I feel like I should explain,” Simon started. “I –”

  “You don’t need to explain anything to me,” Liz said suddenly. “It’s really none of my business.”

  “Natasha is a –” Simon broke off, glancing down at his shoes with furrowed brows. “It’s complicated.”

  “Like I said, it’s none of my business.”

  Simon’s eyes drifted up to meet hers. They were filled with sadness, as though he was about to break up with her, even though they were never an official couple.

  “We need to go,” Liz said quickly, desperate to save herself the embarrassment. “See you around.”

  Liz dropped her head and hurried around Simon, dragging Nancy and Paddy with her. As they passed Tidal Trinkets, she dared to look back, disappointed when she saw Simon climbing into his car. Had she expected him to follow?

  “You know about Natasha?” Nancy asked, her voice small. “I was going to mention something, but I didn’t know how much you knew.”

  “I don’t know anything,” Liz said quickly. “I went to the farmhouse with Simon after the party, and there she was, sitting on his doorstep. It paints its own picture, doesn’t it?”

  “Oh, Liz,” Nancy said with a heavy sigh. “Why didn’t you mention something?”

  “Because I didn’t want pity.”

  “It’s not what it seems,” Nancy said, her voice as unsure as Simon’s had been. “Not really.”

  They walked in silence for almost a full minute, neither of them speaking until they passed the harbour. Nancy pulled her towards a bench, and she reluctantly sat down, unclipping Paddy’s lead extension so he could wander around them.

  “I thought we’d seen the last of Natasha,” Nancy started, her brows tensing behind her thick-rimmed glasses. “It’s been so long.”

  Liz chewed the inside of her cheek, part of her not wanting to hear any more. It almost seemed easier to draw a line under things with Simon if she only had half a picture to work from, but her own curiosity stopped her from cutting Nancy off.

  “It must have been fifteen years,” Nancy said as the wind whistled around them. “Doesn’t feel that long ago when you think about it. One minute you’re eighteen, the next you’re thirty-four.”

  “Is she an ex-girlfriend?” Liz asked bluntly.

  “It was fifteen years ago,” Nancy repeated. “We’ve all known each other since we were kids. It’s a small town. Jack and Simon have been friends for as long as I can remember, but I didn’t really join their thing until I started dating Jack last year. I never really knew Natasha all that much, if I’m being honest. She always thought she was better than this place, that’s why I was so surprised to hear she’d boomeranged back. It’s not like she still has family here. They left years ago.”

  “Well, she came back for some reason,” Liz said. “She came back for Simon.”

  “They were only together for two years,” Nancy said with a forced laugh as she shook her head. “It wasn’t some great romance. They were kids. They broke it off when they were eighteen. Natasha went to university, and Simon didn’t. They tried the long-distance thing for a while, but it just fizzled out. She never came back.”

  “Until now.”

  Nancy rested her head on Liz’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s not like it seems. Simon isn’t like that.”

  Liz knew deep down that Simon was not a bad person, but she knew love, especially long-held love, could change a person’s behaviour in the blink of an eye.

  “Have they not seen each other since then?” Liz asked, her curiosity in the subject piqued. “Fifteen years is a long time to leave it before turning up.”

  “I don’t think so,” Nancy said, her face scrunching up. “Simon never mentioned it.”

  “But they could have?”

  “Maybe,” Nancy admitted. “But I doubt it. He’s never spoken about her. I’d forgotten she even existed!”

  “It doesn’t mean Simon had,” Liz said. “To turn up in a wedding dress like that is just –”

  “A wedding dress?” Nancy jumped in. “Jack left that part out. You don’t think she –”

  “Ran away from her wedding to be with Simon?” Liz finished. “It looked too expensive to just be a Halloween costume.”

  They stared out at the road as Paddy wandered past, his nose grazing the ground. Liz glanced back towards The Sea Platter; Simon’s car had gone.

  “Have you seen her?” Liz asked.

  “Not since she’s been back,” Nancy said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. “Jack went up to the farm last night to hang out with Simon. He said she looked like she was making herself at home.”

  “She’s still there?” Liz mumbled, her eyes flickering as she imagined the runaway bride wandering around the farmhouse in Simon’s shirts and laughing with Simon’s parents. “I guess she’s sticking around.”

  “I’m sorry, Liz,” Nancy said as she stood up, tucking her phone back into her pocket. “I need to go. It’s date night with Jack. I can cancel if you need me to? I feel bad leaving you like this.”

  “I’m fine,” Liz lied, pushing forward a smile. “Nothing was really happening with me and Simon, was it? We never even kissed.”

  Nancy looked as though she was about to say, ‘but you wanted to’, but she stopped herself. They hugged their goodbyes, Nancy squeezing even tighter than usual before she scurried off down the seafront, darting down a back alley and out of view.

  “Come on, boy,” Liz said as she reattached Paddy’s extendable lead. “Let’s go home.”

  As they passed The Sea Platter, Liz glanced through the window. She spotted Daniel setting tables, but much like his drunken appearance at the castle on the night of the beheading, he looked less like his professional self and a little worse for wear. Even through the window, Liz could see the bags under his eyes. Remembering what Simon had said about Nathan working at the restaurant, Liz tied Paddy’s lead around a lamppost before heading into the warm interior.

  “Table for one, Liz?” he asked, forcing a polite tone, but clearly exhausted. “It’s a bit quiet today. The weather is keeping the tourists away.”

  Liz looked around the restaurant, which was unusually empty compared to what she had seen on her regular visits with Nancy. She glanced at the clock, surprised that it was almost five in the evening.

  “I can’t stay,” she said, noticing his instant disappointment. “I was just wondering if I could ask you some questions.”

  “Questions?” he replied, letting go of the cutlery to cross his arms. “About what?”

  Liz wondered if she could dance around the subject, but from the firm look in the man’s tired eyes, it seemed he knew what she was about to say.

  “It’s about Nathan,” she said with an unsure smile, remembering how much easier it was to question people when she could flash them her police badge. “I heard that he was a chef here?”

  “I’ve already answered the police’s questions more than once,” he said quickly, dropping his arms, and turning to start setting another table. “If you don’t mind, I have a family booked in, and they’ll be here any minute.”

  “I just wanted to know what might have happened t
o him,” Liz said, running around the table so they were face to face again. “I was the one to find him, and nobody seems to know much about him.”

  “I don’t know any more than you do,” he said dismissively, his jaw tightening. “It’s not like we were friends. He was my employee. I really do need to get to work. I can’t afford not to, especially now that I’m juggling the front of house and the kitchen.”

  “Surely you can’t do both jobs at once?” Liz asked, arching a brow. “Maybe you should hire another chef?”

  “With what money?” he snapped, suddenly straightening up to stare at Liz as though she was the source of all his problems. “I could barely afford Nathan as it was. It’s coming up to the winter season. People don’t come here when it’s like this. I usually save up, but the summer wasn’t much better. It doesn’t help that the fish prices keep going up.”

  “The fish?” Liz said, her brow crinkling. “Have you spoke to Chris about this? Surely he’ll-”

  Before Liz could finish her sentence, and as though he had known he was being spoken about, Christopher Monroe, the owner of the harbour, strode into the restaurant, the collar of his trench coat turned up to his jaw. He scanned the empty restaurant, his eyes lighting up when they landed on Liz.

  “Elizabeth,” Christopher said with a tight smile. “A pleasure as always.”

  As though he could tell they were in the middle of a conversation, Christopher sat at his usual table by the window. Liz recognised it as the one she had sat at with him on their failed ‘date’ when she had first moved to Scarlet Cove.

  “How are you managing to do everything yourself?” Liz asked quietly, one eye trained on Christopher as he glanced over the menu. “It can’t be easy for you.”

  “It’s not,” Daniel said, glancing over his shoulder in Christopher’s direction. “Especially since someone keeps jacking up the price of fish!”

  “Was that directed at me?” Christopher asked, laying the menu on the table to smooth down his pale blond hair. “It’s just inflation, my friend. A by-product of business.”

  “Well, I won’t have a business left if the season keeps on like this.” Daniel hurried behind the small bar in the corner and flicked on the music. “We’re in for a long winter.”

  “Aren’t you a little upset that he’s not here?” Liz asked, following him across the restaurant, desperate to gauge Daniel’s reaction to his chef’s murder. “I know you said you weren’t friends, but you must have been a little close to him working here.”

  “I don’t have time for this,” Daniel snapped finally. “I’ve told you, I’m busy. Go to the police if you have any questions.”

  Liz stared at the man, shocked by his tone. She abandoned plans to move her questioning onto the night at the castle, his sharpness leaving her speechless.

  Realising she had overstayed her welcome, Liz left The Sea Platter, avoiding Christopher’s gaze as she went. Her hopes of untying Paddy and hurrying back to her flat were dashed when Christopher slipped out of the restaurant after her.

  “How are you feeling, Elizabeth?” Christopher asked, his brows dropping down at the sides while a smirk lingered behind faux sadness. “I heard about Simon’s blast from the past coming back to town. I suppose that’s put a dampener on your romance?”

  Christopher reached out to rest a hand on Liz’s shoulder, but she doubled back, avoiding his touch. Did he really think they were suddenly going to become an item because his competition was no longer in the picture? She thought back to their date again; they were painfully incompatible.

  “I have to go,” she said quickly as she wrapped Paddy’s lead around her hand. “See you later.”

  She hurried down the street, not turning back to see if Christopher was watching her, even though she could feel his eyes burning into her back. She rounded the corner, letting out a frustrated sigh. Simon’s face pushed forward in her mind, but she forced it back, not wanting to acknowledge her own disappointment.

  “You didn’t even kiss him,” she reminded herself as she slotted the key into the flat door next to her shop, ready to go upstairs and paint the night away.

  5

  Early the next morning, Liz flipped her shop’s sign from ‘CLOSED’ to ‘OPEN’. She unlocked the door, wishing she could do nothing more than go back to bed with Paddy, but as things currently stood with the shop, she knew she had no option but to open. It was not that sales were bad, but they could have been better.

  Standing on the doorstep, she inhaled the cool morning air, its freshness waking her up in an instant. She looked towards the town square where the stallholders were setting up for the day. When she spotted Simon setting up his homemade cheese and ice cream stall, she took a step back into the comfort of the shop as she wrapped her thick cardigan protectively around her shoulders.

  She watched him silently for a moment as he unloaded giant blocks of cheese onto his stall. Ellie, his little sister, was helping him arrange the display. She was so wrapped up in her scarf and hat, she was nothing more than a tiny pale face with golden pigtails poking out of the sides.

  Liz smiled to herself, and for a moment, pretended everything was back to normal. As she watched Simon work, she could almost pretend they were back in that awkward place of talking about the weather and work without the obvious elephant in the room between them. As though she knew Liz was thinking about her, Natasha popped up from behind the stall, her dark hair curled beautifully away from her fresh face. Liz took another step back, scratching at the bun on her head, which was currently held together with two old paintbrushes.

  She turned to head back to the counter, but an amber leaf caught her attention as it drifted down from one of the trees dotted along the edge of the road. She watched its soft descent to the ground, the gentle morning breeze swirling it in the air. It landed in the middle of the road, its beauty maintaining her attention for an impossibly long time. It was technically dead, nothing more than a husk of its former self, but its beauty was at its peak; she wanted to paint it. Her attention was only broken when a car sped down the road, crunching the leaf into dust under its heavy tyre.

  “Liz!” a tiny voice cried, dragging Liz’s attention back to the market as she once again tried to head back into the safety of her shop.

  With her pigtails fluttering in the wind, Ellie ran across the road, her fresh skin pink in the cold November air. Liz pushed forward a smile as she pulled her cardigan tighter across her body.

  “Hello, Ellie,” Liz said softly. “How’s things?”

  “I’m helping Simon on the stall today!” she exclaimed, her youthful excitement almost contagious. “He said I could have all the ice cream I wanted if I worked hard.”

  Liz looked back at the stall, her heart tightening when she saw Simon and Natasha looking in her direction. Liz widened her smile, hoping they could not see her discomfort from across the road.

  “What’s your favourite flavour?” Liz asked, turning her attention back to Ellie as she kicked up a cloud of dead leaves. “I like the vanilla.”

  “Chocolate with sprinkles,” Ellie announced. “The leaves are the same colour as your hair. They’re so pretty.”

  “They are,” Liz agreed, bending down to pick one up. “Do you think I should have a go at painting one?”

  Ellie nodded enthusiastically as she rubbed her runny nose with the back of her mitten. Liz carefully pocketed the leaf in the baggy pocket of her cardigan, knowing the shop would probably be quiet enough to spend the afternoon painting; it might even help her encourage some of her customers to buy paint.

  Liz looked at the market again, her attention spiking when she saw Natasha resting a hand on Simon’s shoulder. They looked as though they were disagreeing about something, making Liz wish she had supersonic hearing. Simon pulled away and continued to unbox the cheese, but Natasha set off towards Liz and Ellie. Panic surged through her as she wondered if she could feasibly retreat into the shop without having to face the woman, who was no less beautiful without
her wedding dress, but when Natasha’s eyes met Liz’s, she knew she had to face her.

  “Why don’t you come to the farm anymore?” Ellie asked as she swung around a tree. “I miss you.”

  “Oh,” Liz said, her voice shaking as Natasha grew closer. “I – erm –”

  Natasha looked both ways before crossing the road, her feet seeming to slow down, as though she were approaching a dangerous animal. She was the complete opposite to Liz in every way possible. Without the disguise of the wedding dress and mascara streaks, Liz was able to look at her properly, and she was even more beautiful than she remembered. She was short in height in comparison to Liz’s tall frame. She was also extremely tanned with thick, sleek dark hair. She wore a figure-hugging knee length dress with a leather jacket, and stylish boots with silver heels. Liz felt an unusual pang of jealousy.

  “Ellie, you shouldn’t run across the road without looking,” Natasha said, her voice soft. “You always need to look.”

  “I know,” Ellie said with a shrug as she sniffed. “I just wanted to come and see Liz.”

  Natasha threaded her hand around Ellie’s as she turned her attention to Liz. Liz attempted to smile, but she was sure her lips were doing their best to snarl at the woman.

  “I know you,” Natasha said, her surprise unconvincing as she pointed a lazy finger at Liz. “You were at the farm.”

  A dry lump rose up in Liz’s throat. She attempted to nod, but she felt like every muscle in her body had stiffened to stone.

  “Yes,” was all she could muster.

  “Elizabeth, right?” she said with a curious smile. “Simon mentioned you.”

  “I prefer Liz,” she replied bluntly. “I should really get back to my shop.”

  “Of course,” Natasha said, her smile growing even more curious. “Simon’s a great guy,” she blurted out. “I don’t know what I would do without him.”

  Natasha tossed her curls over her shoulder, wafting her sickly-sweet perfume in Liz’s direction. It reminded her of Misty’s dressing room.

  “Simon is a good guy,” Liz found herself saying with an agreeing nod. “I should really get back.”