‘For how long?’ she asked, adding. ‘And when were you thinking of going back to uni? You can’t miss too much of the term, you’ll never catch up again.’ Paige felt a sneaking suspicion creep slowly through her brain.
‘That’s just it,’ Clem smiled, hands on her hips. ‘I’m not going back.’ She held up a hand when Paige went to say something. ‘And I’m not in the mood to talk about it at the moment, if you don’t mind.’
‘Open the door.’ Olly shouted up at her window. Paige groaned. She had enough to contend with without getting mixed up in Olly’s dramas with Clem. Paige pretended she couldn’t hear him, hoping he’d get bored and leave her alone. No such luck. ‘Bugger off, Olly,’ she shouted her voice croaky with sleep.
‘I’m not going anywhere, so you may as well let me in.’
Paige groaned. Her head hurt, probably, she presumed from so much thinking and tension. ‘Can’t this wait?’ she asked, opening the window and flinching at the bright light outside as memories of the night before filtered through to her. She and Clem had sat up talking for a couple of hours, until Paige relented, agreeing that she could move in on the understanding Clem phoned their parents as soon as they’d settled back in after their trip.
‘No,’ Olly argued. ‘I need to speak to you. Let me in.’ He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of his parents’ house. ‘Unless you want my mother coming to find out what’s going on?’
‘All right, I’m coming.’ She dragged on her dressing gown, pushed her feet into her slippers, and ambled downstairs to let him in.
‘What do you want?’ she asked, pulling open the front door, hoping not to wake Clem. She didn’t want her sister to make an appearance just yet. She wasn’t ready to be caught in the middle of any row Clem and Olly were bound to have.
‘Blimey, is that a birds’ nest on your head?’ Olly teased. ‘And why were you still asleep this late?’
She put her hands up to her head. Paige sighed. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s almost ten, so you can stop giving me the evils and offer me a coffee.’
‘What?’ She felt sick, and supposed it must be the lack of food. ‘If you insist on being here, go and make yourself useful in the kitchen. Then you can tell me why you woke me up.’
‘Your mother couldn’t get through to you on your landline, and your mobile’s turned off,’ he said, filling the kettle from the tap and pressing it on.
Paige nodded. ‘I needed a little peace,’ she fibbed.
‘She said something about the fire at De Greys. They’ve been catching up by reading the gazettes their neighbour kept for them when they were away. They were upset you didn’t tell them about your predicament, and that they had to read about it.’ He pulled a scared face. ‘She also mentioned Clemmie but I’ve no idea what she has to do with it, and your mother wouldn’t elaborate when I asked her. They should be here by noon.’
Paige rubbed her eyes. ‘I was hoping to have a bit more time before they found out about everything. Why do they have to come racing round here?’
‘They love you,’ he said. ‘I thought I’d come and rouse you from your pit, give you a chance to smarten yourself up and look remotely human for when they get here. You know what your mother’s like about these things. If she sees you looking like this, she’ll assume the worst, and I’m sure the last thing you need right now is to have your parents involving themselves in everything.’
‘True,’ she said, imagining how her mother would have ranted on to Olly when he had answered his phone. ‘You’re right, of course. Sorry for growling at you.’
‘No problem, I’m used to your grouchiness in the morning. You always took ages to come to life when we were at uni and you obviously haven’t improved since then.’
He took her by the shoulders, turning her towards the staircase. ‘Now, I suggest you make the most of this achingly slow kettle and get your butt up to the bathroom and take a shower. Be prepared, as they say.’
Paige frowned. ‘What?’
He shook his head in defeat. ‘Just hurry up and get dressed.’
She finished drying her hair, dragging it into some semblance of a ponytail, just as her parents’ Jaguar pulled in to the driveway, giving her enough time to run downstairs to greet them. Paige couldn’t understand how Clem managed to sleep through all the noise in the house.
‘Mum, Dad, come in,’ Paige called, more cheerily than she felt, as she waited for them by the front door. She noticed her mother’s frown and knew she was going to have her work cut out, if she was to convince them Clem would be fine. It was obviously the real reason they were at her house. She doubted their visit had much to do with the fire.
‘Where is she? I’ve barely unpacked. I haven’t even started the washing machine. Well?’ her mother asked, shaking her head, stopping instantly the moment she noticed Olly. ‘Oliver, you’re here,’ she declared, looking a little taken aback when he stepped out from the kitchen in front of her.
‘You phoned him, remember?’ Paige smiled at Olly apologetically.
‘Did we? I’m still recovering from my trip.’ She sighed heavily.
‘Marion, we’ve flown in from Southampton. You don’t have jetlag after a half-hour flight.’
‘George,’ she said glaring at him, narrowing her heavily made-up eyes. ‘I’m exhausted from our cruise. I haven’t had a chance to acclimatize back into the swing of things yet,’ she said before marching down the hallway towards the living room without waiting for him to retaliate.
George focused his attention on Paige. ‘I’m sure you can understand why we felt the need to come here.’ He glanced down the corridor at her mother’s receding back and gave Paige a quick hug. ‘Are your phones not working?’
‘Sorry, I turned them off.’ She pulled her Blackberry out of her handbag and quickly switched it back on. ‘There.’
Paige prayed they didn’t say anything about Clem before she could speak to Olly and let him know what was going on. First though, she needed to get him to leave so she could deal with her parents. She would explain everything to him soon. It was not something she was particularly looking forward to.
‘Go through. I’ll make us all a coffee and then we can have a chat.’
Olly touched her lightly on the shoulder. ‘Would you rather I stayed?’ he whispered from behind.
Hell, no, she thought. ‘No thanks. I’ll catch up with you later.’ She looked in the direction of the lounge where she could hear her mother’s voice getting louder by the second. ‘Thanks for waking me up.’
‘No problem. I’ll leave you to do your thing.’
‘Thanks, Ol,’ she said, unable to stop feeling guilty.
Deciding to begin with telling her parents about the fire, she explained that as soon as she received a call from Sebastian, she’d go and survey the damage to her stock and take it from there. She couldn’t miss the meaningful tilt of her mother’s head to her father when she mentioned Sebastian’s name, but chose to ignore it. Dealing with the fire incident and Clem’s unexpected return was enough for one day.
‘I’ve gone through all my paperwork and thankfully, as I had a sale on, my new stock is either still in storage, or hasn’t yet arrived on the island.’
‘So it could have been far worse?’ her father asked, pointedly looking in her mother’s direction.
‘Yes, much worse,’ Paige assured him.
‘I hope you took on board everything I’ve said about that Fielding character?’
Paige nodded.
He didn’t look convinced. ‘I know many of you youngsters aspire to the celebrity lifestyle,’ he patted her shoulder. ‘I don’t mean you, of course, but you’re not used to the sort of life he has with all those paparazzi nutters hanging about on his doorstep to get pictures of him whenever he sets foot outside.’
‘Really?’ She had no idea Sebastian had to put up with such an intrusion into his life.
‘Oh there was some big thing about his marriage, or engagement, a fe
w years back.’
It was the first she’d heard of Sebastian being famous in any way.
Her father shook his head. ‘OK, so he’s not one of these footballer types, but he’s a well-known entrepreneur and his reputation is increasing by the year. You don’t need to be involved with those sorts of issues.’
She smiled, and shook her head. ‘I’m fine; you don’t have to worry about me.’
He stared at her in silence and seemed to be making up his mind whether or not to believe her. ‘Fine,’ he said satisfied with her assurances. ‘Don’t forget that he’ll be far more experienced in the cut-throat ways of the world than you are.’
God, this was getting a bit much. ‘I’m not a teenager. Please stop fretting about me.’
He pushed his hands in his pockets and stood by her mother’s chair. ‘OK. Now we’re convinced you’re bearing up, I think we should have a word with your sister, if she’s still here.’
‘Yes, where is she?’ her mother asked, animated once more. ‘I have a few things to say to her before I leave. George,’ she said waving at him. ‘Make sure you speak to Clementine.’
Paige pulled a face at her father. Did she think Dad was some sort of tyrant they were frightened of, Paige wondered. He might bellow occasionally, but they all knew he was a softie underneath all that bluster.
‘Go on, you’d better bring her down,’ he said.
She ran up the stairs to fetch Clem, knocking on the door, before opening it a fraction. ‘Hi,’ she said, a little taken aback to find Clem sitting, freshly showed and dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. ‘You OK?’
She nodded. ‘I was just building myself up to face Mum.’ She looked up at Paige. ‘I heard Olly earlier. You haven’t told him anything, have you?’
‘Not yet,’ Paige was relieved to admit. ‘But you do know I can’t keep this from him for long. He’s my closest friend, and living next door he’s bound to see you at some point.’
‘I know.’
Paige couldn’t help feeling sorry for her and knew her sister hadn’t told her the real reason for her return to the island. Clem had always wanted to go to university and study History. Even when she and Olly had got together, no matter how devastated she’d been to leave him behind, she still never considered giving up her degree. Paige studied her for a moment.
‘I’ll leave you in peace,’ Paige said, as her sister entered the lounge to greet their parents.
‘Don’t feel you have to,’ Clem said, attempting a smile that didn’t quite make her it to her eyes. ‘I have nothing to say.’
‘But your degree,’ Marion cried, one hand to her throat as if someone had just threatened to harm her. ‘All that studying wasted. Not to mention the fees. If only we could get student loans in Jersey for further education like they do on the mainland,’ she said. ‘I’d rather have time to pay off a loan than have to struggle to find the fees at the beginning of each year.’ She shook her head. ‘We’ve already paid this year’s fees.’
‘Marion,’ their father glared at her. ‘Never mind the fees. I’m sure Clementine has her reasons for this decision.’ He turned to focus his attention on his youngest daughter. ‘And as soon as she’s had time to think things through, she’ll be returning to England to carry on with her studies.’
‘But, Dad,’ Clem said, before being interrupted.
He held up his hand. ‘No. Enough now.’ He shook his head. ‘I’ll speak to you in a few days; see if you’ve come to your senses by then.’
Both girls knew better than to argue with their father when he was in this mood.
‘Marion.’ He held out his hand to help their mother stand. ‘Come along, let’s go.’
‘We’re going to lunch at Samsons,’ she said, trying to distract him like she always did when she felt he’d gone on long enough. ‘I think I’ll try the scallops.’
‘You always have the scallops, Mum,’ Paige said, glad not to have to listen to more advice from her father. She gave her mother a peck on her cheek. ‘You go and enjoy yourselves.’
‘Thank God that’s over with,’ Clem said, falling back into the large armchair, when Paige returned to the lounge having seen their parents out.
Paige was about to agree when she heard her phone bleep from inside her handbag. Saved by the phone, she thought, and went to check the message.
‘I can meet you at 9 2moro @ yr shop, Seb.’ Her heart skipped as she read it. He could have phoned her, she thought, conveniently forgetting that she was the one who had unplugged her landline and switched off her mobile.
‘I can go in to the shop at nine tomorrow morning to check everything out,’ she relayed to Clem. ‘I’d better go next-door and let Olly know, otherwise he’ll be over here to find out.’
Before she had time to knock at his front door, Olly pulled it open with a flourish. ‘Has anyone contacted you yet?’ she asked, as he poked his head out.
‘Just now,’ Olly held up his latest phone. ‘I was just about to come and tell you. I suppose we’ve all received the same message.’
Paige looked at his screen. It seemed like they had, she thought miserably. That said it all.
‘Mine’s from my manager,’ he added, as if reading her mind. ‘I was hoping for more time off, but I suppose they need the computers up and running as soon as possible.’
‘They’ll need you to make sure the cash registers are working too.’ Paige felt a little cheered Seb hadn’t been the one to contact every member of staff, after all. Then feeling foolish for being so immature, she added. ‘Why don’t you call for me in the morning? We can go in together to see the state of the place.’
‘But I thought I’d come back with you to your cottage now,’ he said, looking confused.
‘Not today, Ol.’ She moved back from his doorstep.
‘Is everything OK?’
Paige smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way. ‘Fine, really. I just need some time out, that’s all.’
Chapter Twelve
‘It’s not as bad as I thought.’ Paige glanced around her shoe display and at the shelves at the back of her shop.
Sebastian could hear the relief in her voice as he walked up to the partition at the beginning of her concession.
‘It all looks fine to me,’ agreed Olly. ‘I’m pleased for you. At least now you won’t have to take out another loan to pay for new stock.’
Sebastian stepped past a pillar. He saw Olly pull back the sleeve of his sweatshirt and checked his watch. ‘I’d better get up to the office before he notices I’m missing and has me shot.’
‘Fine, see you later. Oh, and don’t forget to find me before going home. I don’t want to have to walk back.’
‘Um, hi,’ Olly said awkwardly, spotting Sebastian standing there.
‘Hi,’ Sebastian said, irritated by Olly’s comment about him and envious of the closeness between Paige and this man. He stood back to let Olly leave. ‘They may not look as if they’ve been affected, but I think you’ll find some of them will be smoke-damaged.’
‘I didn’t see you there,’ Paige said.
‘You’ll need to smell them,’ Sebastian continued, ignoring her obvious contempt for him.
Paige frowned. ‘Smell them?’
‘There was a lot of smoke in the building, although more at the front rather than back this way, but you don’t want to sell anything to your customers and have it returned later as soiled goods, do you?’
She stepped forward, and picking up a purple leather boot with skyscraper heels and tiny chains across the ankle, she breathed in deeply. Sebastian couldn’t imagine anyone being able to balance on such thin heels, let alone walk in them. She seemed unsure and sniffed again.
‘Mmm, there’s only a slight smell. Thankfully, it’s only the stock on display that’s been badly affected. The rest are locked away, in tissue paper and boxes, so they’ve been spared. I think I’ll take the ones that have been affected home to air for a few days. Hopefully, then they’ll be all right.’ She turned
to face him. ‘How’s the rest of the building?’
‘Not as bad as we first thought,’ he said, surprised she was engaging in conversation with him. He watched her full mouth as she spoke for a moment before realizing he hadn’t heard a word of what she was saying. Sebastian shook his head. ‘Sorry, what was that?’
‘Don’t worry,’ Paige said, sarcasm filling her voice. ‘It wasn’t anything important.’
Sebastian stepped closer to her and went to take her hand. Paige moved away from him. ‘Paige, I know what you must think of me.’
She narrowed her eyes. ‘If you did, I’m sure you wouldn’t waste your time talking to me.’
‘You don’t have any intention of forgiving me for what I’ve done, do you?’
Paige shook her head. ‘Not yet. Can I ask when I’m likely to discover, let me see,’ she said holding a finger up against the side of her jaw. ‘Oh yes, whether I’m surplus to requirements, or not?’
‘Are you serious?’
‘Don’t you recall telling me in Sorrento how you have to categorise the concessions and decide which you’ll keep and those that are surplus to the company’s requirements?’
He couldn’t make up his mind if he wanted to shake her, or kiss her. ‘I’ve a feeling it won’t matter what I say to you. I think you’ve already made up your mind about me. However, if you need any help removing stock from the store, let me know.’
‘Thank you,’ she snapped. ‘But I’ll be fine.’
‘I’ll leave you to it then,’ he said, trying not to smile as he watched her silently before turning and walking away.
With her father’s words ringing in her ears, Paige knew she was right not to ask for Sebastian’s help. Olly stayed behind after work to help her move her stock in his car, making her feel even guiltier about keeping her sister’s presence from him. Back at the cottage, she took each pair of boots and shoes from their boxes and lined them up in her small conservatory, covering the whole floor space with them.
Paige opened the two windows. ‘Hopefully they’ll get enough of an airing this way.’
A Jersey Affair Page 10