Lorna narrowed her eyes. ‘You sound like you’re speaking from experience.’
Robin laughed. ‘I got to do a solo rendition of “Once in Royal David’s City”, aged ten, in the school Christmas concert. I’m definitely not an expert, but I remember that I felt less terrified because I was sandwiched between the school band and the reception class doing the Nativity. The band was great and all the parents wanted to see their youngest children being Wise Men or sheep, so the heat was off me a bit.’
‘I always wanted to be an angel,’ Lorna said. ‘It never happened though – I was a carol singer every year.’
‘That seems like it’s stood you in good stead at least.’ She pointed at Lorna’s guitar case, and then handed her a leaflet of Things to do in Campion Bay. ‘Have a look at this as well. I’m heading out too, so I’ll come with you.’ She opened the door for Lorna, gave Eclipse a little wave and then followed the younger woman outside.
The air was filled with a strong scent of candyfloss, the wind circulating the smells from the ice-cream stall next to Skull Island. Even before eleven, the greens were busy with people taking advantage of the bright, blustery day, the pavements having long since dried from the rain the night before. Robin said goodbye to Lorna and watched her cross the road and walk up the promenade, her guitar case slung across her body, her hand trailing along the railings. She couldn’t help but notice that Tim’s Audi had already gone from outside, and wondered how early he’d picked it up, and how bad his headache was.
Maggie spotted Robin and gave her a wave, which Robin returned, remembering something from the fateful day she’d taken Will to show him her golfing prowess. When they’d handed in their clubs and gone running and laughing back to the guesthouse, soaked from the rain, Maggie had mouthed to her to be careful. After what had happened next, Robin had believed that Maggie was in on Molly’s charm offensive, and that was the reason behind her warning. But now, she realised, that couldn’t have been it. Had Maggie simply been looking out for her, as a friend? Had she seen the kiss, and wanted Robin to be wary about falling for someone so quickly? She realised she was still waving idiotically and, giving a little self-conscious laugh, shrugged and hurried down the steps.
She glanced up at number four, and then stopped. The doorstep was empty, the hamper gone. Triumph, and a small glimmer of hope, made her bound up the stairs. She rubbed her palms on her trousers and then, giving a quick glance at the shiny blue plaque, balled her right hand into a fist and knocked on the door.
She couldn’t hear any sounds from inside over the pounding of her heart, so when the door was flung open she jumped back, surprised.
Will didn’t shut the door on her immediately, which she took as a good sign, but maybe that was because he wasn’t fully functioning yet. At least she didn’t have to put her foot in the door today. He was clean-shaven this time, his clothes weren’t covered in grime from the house, but there were dark smudges under his eyes, a slight sallowness to his skin that Robin knew well from the occasions she’d had too much to drink the night before. But despite all that, his green eyes bore into her in a way that, at that moment, made her feel incredibly small.
‘Hi,’ she said. Her voice was high, her apprehension on show.
‘Robin,’ Will said, his tone slightly wary. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I wanted to talk to you. I know that before you said—’
‘No,’ he cut in. ‘Not now.’
‘But I need to explain. I need you to see where I was coming from. I thought that now, after a few days, you might be prepared to talk to me.’
He didn’t look delighted to see her, but there was still a connection when their eyes met. Robin felt a rush of warmth. She waited, hopefully, while he seemed to ponder something.
‘Thank you for what you left,’ he said eventually, gesturing towards the step where she had placed the hamper the night before, then running a hand through his hair. ‘How did you know?’
She had to work hard not to smile. ‘That coffee and Alka-Seltzer might be your preferred breakfast?’
He nodded. ‘Did you see me coming back from the pub?’
‘I had a visitor last night. It was a bit of a shock to see Tim Lewis, master of all that he surveys, a little worse for wear.’
Will stared at her, his eyes suddenly hard. ‘He talked to you – about what we’d discussed?’
Robin shook her head quickly. ‘No. One thing Tim won’t do is betray a professional confidence. And it’s none of my business,’ she added quietly. ‘I know that.’
‘But he came to see you?’
Robin chewed the inside of her cheek, remembering again the smell of whisky and coffee on Tim’s breath as he’d leaned in to kiss her. ‘He was drunk – as you know – and I gave him a cup of coffee. He called a taxi as soon as he arrived, and ten minutes later he was gone. I can’t control who turns up on my doorstep, Will.’
He didn’t reply, but instead crouched as Darcy appeared, ruffling her fur with both hands. Robin stared at the top of his head, wondering what would come next, feeling more confused than ever. He hadn’t rejected her, he had thanked her, but she could see he wasn’t happy that Tim had visited her, though his silence suggested that he knew he wasn’t in a position to question it. He still seemed weary and out of sorts, so unlike the Will she had been getting to know.
‘It doesn’t just have to be hampers of goodies, you know,’ she said softly. ‘You could come back to Starcross – I wouldn’t even try to talk to you. I could be your faceless guesthouse landlady.’
‘That wouldn’t work though, would it?’ He didn’t look up at her, his attention focused on Darcy.
‘You can’t be comfortable, staying here. How are you supposed to do a full day working through Tabitha’s things when you’re having sleepless nights? Come back with me, let me fix you a proper breakfast – an even better hangover cure than coffee or pills.’
‘Not today, Robin. It isn’t a good time.’
She swallowed. ‘Why not?’
He slowly pulled himself up to standing, and she could see the tension in his broad shoulders.
‘I have to go to work,’ he said.
‘Work? Where are you working? Why? What – what about the house?’
‘You knew I’d have to do this,’ he said. ‘Even without paying for my sleeping arrangements – and believe me, I wouldn’t pay a fiver for the conditions here – I can’t survive forever.’
So come back to me then, Robin said to herself. Don’t stay here and suffer. Come back to Starcross. ‘Where are you working?’ she asked.
‘Eldridge House,’ he said. ‘As a tour guide.’
‘Oh.’ Robin knew Eldridge House. It was a small, fifteenth-century manor house not too far from Campion Bay that was open to the public. Her parents had dragged her round it when she was small, and more recently, when she’d been visiting from London, she’d gone there to get inspiration for a Once in a Blue Moon Days customer who wanted the full Downton Abbey experience. It hadn’t clicked until that moment that Will wasn’t dressed in his usual scruffy T-shirt. He wore a smart, dark pair of jeans and a slate-grey, short-sleeved shirt. ‘Well, that’s great. You’ll be brilliant, obviously.’
‘Thanks. Not feeling at my brightest, as you can imagine. Despite your thoughtful gift.’ He caught her eye, glanced away again. ‘Thank you for leaving it for me, but I need to get going.’
‘Can I – can I come and see you later?’
‘No. Not right now, Robin. Let me get on with things here. I’ve got a lot to sort through.’
‘Please, I want a chance to explain.’ She held her hands out in front of her, pleading. ‘I need you to know that Tim and I – we’re just friends. Not even that. He doesn’t mean anything to me any more.’
His jaw muscles worked. ‘I have to go. I don’t want to be late on my first day.’ He took a step back and moved to close the door.
‘Please, Will. You have to know that everything I did, all my inte
ntions – I really like you. I never meant to hurt you or lie to you.’
He paused in the doorway, and when she saw the look in his eyes she realised that things weren’t quite as hopeful as she’d first thought. ‘But you did,’ he said quietly, and closed the door.
Paige and Adam were leaning on the promenade railings eating Mr Whippy ice creams when Robin pulled up to the kerb after a largely fruitless trip into Bridport. She had stocked up on breakfast and afternoon tea ingredients, but had caught herself wandering aimlessly down the pet-food aisle, staring at a packet of dry dog food with a photo of a Darcy-like dog on the side, thinking of Will’s last words to her, and the disappointment in his eyes. She’d bought a fresh packet of dog treats anyway, telling herself that there would be more canine visitors to the Campion Bay Guesthouse, while secretly hoping she would have the opportunity to treat Darcy again in the not too distant future.
She waved at the young lovebirds and hauled her bags out of the boot, and in a moment Paige and Adam had crossed the road to greet her. Adam finished his cone in record time and took the bags from her, and Robin grinned, thinking how lucky Paige was to have found such a caring, polite boyfriend at her age, and then realised the thought alone made her feel old.
‘Let me help,’ Adam said.
‘And I can unpack,’ Paige added. ‘I know my way around the kitchen pretty well.’
Robin closed the boot, locked her car and narrowed her eyes. ‘That’s very kind, thank you.’
She led the way into the house, Adam and Paige following her to the kitchen. She put the kettle on, then checked the telephone and the inbox for messages while half-listening to the young couple chatting. When she looked up from the computer screen, Paige was standing in front of her, her hands clasped together like a choirgirl.
Robin frowned. ‘Are you OK?’
Paige nodded. ‘I have something I wanted to ask you.’
‘Shoot.’
Paige exhaled, and gave Robin a nervous smile. She had her long blonde hair tied up in a plait that circled her head, her simple grey top and skinny jeans somehow making her look effortlessly stylish. ‘Do you think …’ she started.
Robin waited.
‘Could we – I mean, Adam and I … Will’s moved out, hasn’t he?’
Robin swallowed and nodded, hoping her regret didn’t show on her face.
‘I’m so sorry, because I know you liked him.’
‘Things don’t always work out,’ Robin said gently, trying not to blush at the thought of Paige seeing her and Will kissing. ‘He made the decision and I have to respect that. What were you going to ask me?’
‘It means that Starcross is free, right?’
‘For the moment,’ Robin admitted. ‘Though it’s back on the market, as it were. It could have new bookings any day now. Why do you ask?’
‘I was wondering if … if Adam and I could – could stay in it? I’ve saved up, and I think that—’
‘No,’ Robin shook her head, cutting in. ‘No, Paige. Not unless I have Molly’s word that it’s OK. From her, not you.’
Paige squeezed her eyes closed, and Robin could tell she was trying hard not to let her disappointment show. ‘You know Adam and I love each other,’ she said quietly.
Robin wondered if Adam was listening from the kitchen, if Paige had told him to stay there while she asked the question. ‘I do,’ Robin said softly, trying to be understanding, trying to treat Paige like a grown-up. ‘I can see that, and I know that Adam is a great guy, that he cares a lot about you.’
‘So what’s the problem?’
‘The problem is that you’re sixteen, and unless I am one hundred per cent sure that your mum is fine with you and Adam staying in my guesthouse together, I can’t agree to it.’ She leaned forward. ‘I don’t want to sound harsh or unprogressive, but you know your mum would kill me.’
Paige folded her arms. ‘You and Tim were my age.’
Robin paused, wondering how Paige knew that. ‘We were, and it was probably a mistake, taking that step so young. Our relationship didn’t exactly have the best outcome.’
‘But that had nothing to do with what happened when you were sixteen! Anyway, I’ll be seventeen in a couple of months.’
‘I’m sorry, Paige,’ she said. ‘I can’t, not without speaking to Molly first. Do you want me to do that?’
Paige shook her head. ‘No.’
Robin nodded, wishing she could find a way to ease the tension. In the end, she didn’t have to.
‘Oh, I saw Lorna in town. You know, the girl staying in Rockpool? She was busking.’
Robin sat up. ‘Busking? Are you sure it was her?’
‘Yup. She had her guitar, and she was singing. She sounded amazing, but she wouldn’t look at me – at anyone. It was like she was in her own little world.’
‘Wow,’ Robin said. ‘Where was she?’
‘Seagull Street, outside that coffee shop – Cool Beans. I waved, but she didn’t look like she wanted to talk, so we left her to it. Why would you come on holiday to busk?’
‘I have no idea,’ Robin said softly, wondering how this fitted in with what little she knew about the young woman who was staying with her, and if she could ask without scaring her off. ‘Do you and Adam want to stay for tea? I’ve got Tunnock’s teacakes.’
Paige paused, and Robin could see she was weighing up whether to stay annoyed with her. In the end she relented, and Robin went into the kitchen to reboil the kettle. She felt off-kilter about the whole thing, torn between keeping Paige’s confidence, being loyal to a friend and employee who had been unwaveringly trustworthy and sensible, and telling Molly, her closest friend. As she took mugs out of the cupboard, she saw that Adam was sitting at the table, his fingers moving rapidly over his iPhone screen. It didn’t escape Robin’s notice that he was in the chair closest to the door.
Molly was furious. Sitting across from Robin in the Artichoke, the pub in town that Will and Tim had got drunk in the night before, she clasped her wine glass with both hands and stared into it, as if she wanted to divine the future in the pale liquid. Robin could almost see her anger bubbling under the surface.
‘She actually asked you if she could book Starcross? For her and Adam?’
‘She did,’ Robin said quietly for what must have been the fifth time. She still didn’t know if she’d made the right decision, and had been thinking about it since Paige had asked her. She had realised she couldn’t win either way, bound to end up with fury and accusations from either mother or daughter, and while she completely understood where Paige was coming from – the desire at that age to have independence, to have self-control and not answer to parents for every single thing – she couldn’t keep it from Molly. There were more risks, more potential for disaster for all involved, if she kept quiet.
Seeing how angry Molly was unnerved her further, but then she imagined her friend’s fury at Paige if she found out after the fact, and decided that she had made the right decision. Besides, she’d had enough of hiding the truth to last her a lifetime, so – as much as she knew Paige wouldn’t thank her for it – she’d had to tell her.
‘She actually thought she would get away with it?’ Molly asked, incredulous.
‘Maybe she thought that, as she works for me, I wouldn’t betray her confidence. I feel bad about it, but I know she’s not old enough yet. Not really.’ Robin chewed the inside of her cheek. Was she a hypocrite? If Paige hadn’t been her friend’s daughter, would she have allowed it? Was she doing it for purely selfish reasons – for the sake of her own friendship? She realised that, lately, she’d been questioning a lot of her motivations. She needed to make decisions and be confident with them, otherwise she’d drive herself round the twist with whats and ifs.
‘No, she is not,’ Molly said passionately. ‘I don’t care how much of a saint Adam is – he’s a sixteen-year-old boy, and she’s my daughter. God, Robin, thank you for telling me.’
‘What are you going to do?’
�
�I’m going to keep an eye on her. I won’t come down like a ton of bricks. I know how it works – I was a master of doing the opposite of what I was told, and if I treat her like a child she’ll only rebel. No, best not to say anything, but it’s good to know that this is in the front of her mind.’
‘She’s very grown up,’ Robin said. ‘They both are.’
‘Not for that.’ Molly shook her head. ‘Anyway, distract me – come on, tell me about your day. The parts that don’t involve my errant daughter.’
Robin paused, wondering whether to reveal that she’d been to see Will again. She stared around the pub. It was old-fashioned inside, with dark wood wall panelling and tables, and sage-green soft furnishings that gave it a cosy, if slightly gloomy, atmosphere. A stray set of white fairy lights lay along the back of the bar, and Robin wondered if they had been left there after Christmas, the landlord deciding that a bit of sparkle was needed to lift the space. The lights glinted against the bottles and reflected off the mirror behind them.
She was about to answer her friend, to tell her about her second, confusing visit with Will – Tell the truth, remember – when she was distracted by a figure entering the pub with a guitar case slung over her shoulder. Lorna walked purposefully up to the bar, pressing her palms on it and leaning forward to speak to the barman. Robin thought the young woman had a spring in her step that she hadn’t seen previously, and when she turned around, taking a sip of her drink, Robin raised a hand and waved at her.
Lorna hesitated for a moment, and then wove through the tables towards them.
‘Who’s this?’ Molly hissed.
‘Lorna. She’s staying at the guesthouse. Lorna – hi.’ Robin took her jacket and handbag off the back of the chair next to her. Lorna lifted her guitar case over her head and leaned it against the table, shrugging off her coat as she sat down.
‘Hi,’ she said, smiling.
‘This is Molly. She runs Groom with a View, two doors from the guesthouse.’
‘The one with pink trim,’ Lorna said, nodding. ‘I noticed it this morning. Hello.’ She held her hand out and Molly shook it.
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