‘I’m coming in, Aunt Mary!’
She pushed the door open and stepped inside. Her aunt’s room was at the front of the cottage overlooking the yard. It was normally bright and airy, but this morning, with the curtains closed and the morning dark with the threat of a storm, it seemed small and stuffy. ‘Sorry to wake you, but I was worried. I thought you might like some tea.’ She placed the mug on the bedside table closest to where there was a shape under the duvet, then stood there waiting for a response.
Nothing.
‘Aunt Mary? Are you all right?’
‘Yes, dear. Thanks for the tea,’ Mary mumbled from under the duvet.
‘It’s just that you’re always up and about so early and this morning, well …’
Eve looked around the room, suddenly feeling awkward. This was her aunt’s house and if Mary wanted to sleep in then that was up to her. But something about this wasn’t right.
‘Can I get you anything else? Some toast perhaps.’
‘No thank you. I’ll be down in a bit. I’m just tired, Eve.’ Her aunt kept the quilt over her head and it muffled her voice.
‘Really? Um … could you just let me see your face? I need to know you’re okay. I’m getting worried.’
‘Umphh!’ came from beneath the duvet.
‘Please?’
‘Oh all right.’
The bed moved as Mary wriggled upright and sat against the headboard. Her hair was ruffled and she sniffed as she pushed it from her face.
Eve moved closer. ‘Oh Aunt Mary, what happened?’
Mary shrugged as she rearranged the covers.
‘Can I let some light in?’
‘If you like, dear.’
‘And some air?’ Eve pulled the curtains apart then cracked the window open. The breeze blew in through the gap, fresh and cool, carrying with it the scents of salt and cut grass. She breathed deeply then turned back to Mary.
And gasped.
‘I’m fine, dear. Really.’ Mary lifted her mug and took a sip of tea. As she lowered it again, Eve saw that her hands were trembling.
‘You are not! What on earth is wrong?’ Eve approached the bed then perched on the edge and stared at her aunt. Mary’s face was red and her eyes were swollen, their edges white and puffy. ‘Have you been crying?’
Mary nodded. ‘Silly old fool that I am.’
‘No. You’re not old and you’re no fool. But why are you so upset?’
Mary lifted her chin and met Eve’s eyes. ‘Men, eh?’
‘What?’ Eve was filled with sudden anger. ‘Edward did this to you?’
‘Not his fault.’
‘Well if he’s upset you this much, I think I’d better go and speak to him. I mean … how dare he? How bloody dare he?’ As Eve stood up, she realized she didn’t actually know what had happened, so she sat back down and took Mary’s hand instead.
‘Ah, love, it’s just life, you know?’ Mary gave a half-hearted chuckle. ‘These things happen.’
‘But what happened? What was so bad?’
‘Edward … proposed.’
‘He proposed?’ Eve chewed a ragged fingernail. ‘But that’s a good thing. That’s sweet and romantic and … not what you want?’
‘Oh Eve, I’m too long in the tooth for all that.’
Eve paused for a moment. So her aunt was upset because the man she’d been seeing had asked her to marry him. She hadn’t seen much of Mary and Edward together, but surely a proposal was evidence that they cared about each other. They clearly had that intimacy of a couple in love; it was clear for all around to see. ‘But don’t you love him?’
Mary drained her mug then placed it carefully on the bedside table. ‘I do care for him very much. If we’d been younger, then maybe it would have been different.’ She lowered her eyes to her hands then rubbed the fingers of the one over the raised veins on the other. ‘But time has gone by so quickly, Eve. Too quickly if I’m honest. The time for such … stuff has passed for me.’
‘Now that is absolute nonsense!’ Eve snapped as she covered Mary’s hands with her own. ‘There’s no age limit on love. You and Edward are in a relationship. You obviously care about each other, so why not get married?’
Mary lifted her head and smiled sadly. ‘Eve, I do love him, I know that much. But getting married? That’s for you youngsters.’
‘I can’t believe you would say that, Aunt Mary. You’re normally so sensible and practical and …’ Eve bit her lip as realization dawned. She’d always thought of Mary simply as her aunt, her caring, practical older relation who just got on with things. But she was also a person, a woman, and, it seemed, just as stubborn and irrational at times as Eve could be herself. Just because her aunt was older, it didn’t mean that she had all the answers or all the common sense. She was a woman who’d once been a girl and who was now facing a big decision that could take her life in a very different direction. She needed help and advice, love and support, and Eve would do what she could to help her through this.
‘I told him last night that I didn’t want to get married and he asked if I’d at least think about it, but I shall meet him later today and tell him no. It won’t work. We’re too old.’
‘Aunt Mary … Edward makes you happy when you’re with him, right?’
Mary nodded.
‘And do you miss him when he’s not with you?’
‘Well, you know me, Eve, always so busy and—’
Eve shook her head. ‘Do you miss him when he’s not here? Or you’re not there?’
Mary sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘Then why not make it official? Life’s too short to miss opportunities to be happy. You have to seize them when they come along.’
‘But what about the practicalities?’
‘Such as?’
‘Where would we live? I’ve been here for years.’
‘You could both live here, or even move into his house.’
‘It’s a bit small. It’s a fisherman’s cottage, what you might call a bachelor pad down in the village.’
‘Well, move him in here then.’
‘You think this could work?’
‘Of course I do!’ Eve said, her heart filled with hope and happiness for her aunt. ‘Twenty-somethings don’t have the monopoly on love, you know. What have you got to lose?’
Mary’s expression turned serious. ‘I lost a lot before, Eve. A long, long time ago. It makes one wary, you know?’
Eve didn’t know what her aunt was referring to but she knew that everyone had scars from their pasts. ‘But that shouldn’t stop you seizing happiness now.’
Mary nodded. ‘You’ve given me things to consider, Eve. In fact now that I’ve slept on it and spoken to you about it, I’m starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake. I do love Edward, old fool that I am. And the thought of being without him is just awful.’
‘So if he knocked on the door right now and asked you again, what would you say?’ Eve held her breath. Perhaps she was being too pushy, but it was worth a shot.
Aunt Mary licked her lips and closed her eyes for a moment.
Take a chance!
‘If he asked me again …’ she opened her eyes and held Eve’s gaze, ‘I would say … “I’ll seriously consider it.”’
‘Seriously consider it? But Aunt Mary, you’ve turned him down once. You can’t toy with his emotions.’
‘Eve, dear, he might not even want to ask me again, so there’s no point in me getting my hopes up.’
‘So you would consider saying yes, then?’
Aunt Mary pursed her lips. ‘Oh all right then. Have it your way. I love him, and yes, I would say yes. I don’t want to be without him.’
Eve’s stomach flipped. Now we just have to hope he will ask you again.
‘You’re quite wise, you know, Eve.’
‘Perhaps.’
‘If only you’d take some of your own advice, though.’ Aunt Mary pushed back the duvet and swung her legs over the edge of the bed.
‘Sor
ry?’ Eve watched as her aunt slid her feet into her pink moccasins then pushed her arms into her dressing gown.
‘Well you’ve been hurt too but there are new opportunities opening up for you right now. You just need to know where to look and be prepared to take a risk.’
Mary picked up her mug and crossed the room. ‘Let’s have some breakfast and I’ll talk you through what happened last night. It was actually all rather romantic until my silly stubbornness got in the way and scared the hell out of me.’
Eve stood up and followed her aunt downstairs, Mary’s words ringing in her ears: … there are new opportunities opening up for you right now. You just need to know where to look and be prepared to take a risk.
* * *
‘So he proposed and she turned him down?’ Jack handed Eve a mug of coffee then led her into his lounge. It was smaller than Mary’s and only boasted one chair and a two-seater sofa. Eve sat on the sofa and swallowed her pleasure as Jack took the seat next to her. As he placed his mug on a side table, their knees brushed and she experienced the delicious electric shock that his touch always caused.
‘Yes! Can you believe it?’
Jack shook his head. ‘I knew they were close but I didn’t know it was heading that way. It makes sense, though. Mary is very fond of him but she doesn’t say too much; she tends to keep things close to her chest. It’s habit, I guess.’
‘Habit?’
‘Well, when someone’s been hurt, they protect themselves in a variety of ways, and not talking about a relationship can be one of those ways. As if keeping it low-key can prevent it becoming too serious.’
‘Aunt Mary’s been hurt? What, by a lover, do you think? She did mention that she’d suffered a loss a long time ago, but I didn’t want to pry.’
‘Seems we’ve all been hurt in the past.’ Jack sipped his coffee thoughtfully.
‘You were hurt? I know you told me about Jodie, but you said that … that it was for the best.’
‘Still hurt, though, even if it was mainly my pride. I wanted it to be more than it was, and I did marry her after all, so I guess I was hoping it would work. No one really gets married thinking they’ll divorce.’
‘No, they don’t. That would be madness.’ Eve’s thoughts strayed to Darryl and the solicitor’s letter. She needed to visit her own solicitor to get the paperwork sorted. Why had she been delaying? It wasn’t as if there was a chance they could work things out – it had gone too far for that – but her heart still ached when she thought of how hurt Darryl had been by it all. How angry he had become. He hadn’t gone into their marriage believing it would end as it had, and neither had she. But then she hadn’t ever fully committed either, had she? And why not? What exactly was she protecting herself from?
Rejection? Relying on someone else?
‘But Aunt Mary’s never been married before.’
Jack shook his head. ‘Not that I know of, but I think there’s something in her past that she’s not telling us. I mean, I have no right to ask her about it, but you’re family. You could ask.’
‘Jack, I’m pretty certain that she sees you as family now; kind of the son she never had.’
‘What if that’s it?’
‘A child?’
He nodded. ‘Could be.’
‘But she never said.’
‘Why would she? Things were different years ago. Having a child if you were unmarried wasn’t as commonplace as it is today. It would have been more likely to have been frowned upon.’
‘You think she might have had a child then had it … him or her adopted?’
‘It’s possible.’
‘Or perhaps she lost the baby?’ Eve went cold all over. She knew how that felt but she’d had her job to keep her busy. What had Mary had? Had her lovely aunt lost a child in her past? Was there a secret there that she was hiding?
‘Again, anything’s possible. But I’m assuming that whatever it was happened before you came along, otherwise you’d know about it. Didn’t your parents ever say anything about it to you?’
‘No. But then … we’re not close.’
Jack finished his coffee then placed his mug on the table.
‘So what’re we going to do about Mary and Edward?’
‘I think you should go and talk to him, invite him for dinner, and I’ll take care of things here. I did get her to admit that if he asked her again, she would say yes. Perhaps if we get them together they can talk, and if need be, you could give him a nudge. Mary clearly isn’t happy about declining his offer. I’m certain that she really loves him.’
‘Then they should be together. It’s ridiculous that two people who have fallen in love should deny themselves that happiness …’ Jack stopped speaking and stared at Eve. She gazed back into the unfathomable depths of his eyes, conscious of her pulse racing and her body trembling.
Say something, Eve. Break the spell.
Instead she scratched her head furiously and the moment was over. Jack coughed and looked away and she had another good scratch.
‘You need to get some after-sun or something on your scalp, Eve. All that scratching’s going to make your head sore.’
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with it. I’ve never had such an itchy head before.’
What a way to ruin an intense moment packed with romantic possibilities, Eve. You might just as well have gone and farted!
‘I’ll go and get Edward, then, and you sort Mary. Shall we reconvene at eighteen hundred hours?’
‘Getting all military on me now? Should I expect you to start drilling me and putting me through my paces?’ Eve held out a hand and he pulled her to her feet. She stumbled forward with the force of his tug and raised her free hand instinctively. Beneath her palm, his heartbeat was strong, powerful, fast.
As fast as hers.
He covered her hand with his and leaned towards her. For a moment she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he stopped with his mouth just millimetres from hers. He was so close she could smell the vanilla aroma of the coffee on his lips and feel his warm breath on her skin.
‘You have no idea,’ he whispered before gently releasing her hand and taking a step backwards. ‘If I started, Eve, I wouldn’t want to stop.’
Chapter 17
Jack marched down to the village, cut across the main street then headed off along a small cobbled street to Fisherman’s Row. The cottages were tightly packed together with tiny yards behind and front doors that opened straight onto the narrow pavement. The low windows set into the thick walls had small panes and some of the inhabitants had adorned the sills with window boxes of colourful flowers and sweet-smelling herbs.
When he reached Edward’s small white cottage, he stood outside and waited to catch his breath. He couldn’t see through the front window because it was dark inside but he did admire the way Edward had painted the window frames blue to match his door. As he peered more closely, he realized it was the same forget-me-not blue as Mary’s door and window frames. Had they bought the paint together then? A seagull screeched, making him jump, and he glanced up to see its beady eyes glaring at him from the chimneypot on the slanting roof.
Was he doing the right thing here, interfering in someone else’s relationship? Did he have the right to get involved? He paused, his hand raised above the door, ready to knock.
He cared about Mary; she’d been so good to him since his arrival in Conwenna. So yes, he should help out if he could. It was the right thing to do. He lifted his hand to knock and brought it down hard, but just before it hit the blue-painted wood, the door swung open and his fist met with human flesh.
‘Ah!’ Edward cried out as his nose was crushed under Jack’s knuckles.
‘Oh shit! Edward! I’m sorry!’
‘Ahhhh!’ Edward doubled over, his hands pressed to his face as blood gushed from between his fingers.
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘You didn’t need to do this!’ Edward slurred from behind his hands. ‘I did nothing wrong!’
‘Quick, let me help you!’ Jack took the older man’s arm and ushered him back into the cottage, ducking to avoid the low beam as he entered the doorway. As he shut the door behind them, he caught a glimpse of Mrs Bringle next door peering out with concern written all over her face.
Jack managed to get Edward into his small kitchen then sat him on a bench and went to the sink. He ran the cold tap then grabbed a tea towel and pushed it under the flow. When it was wet, he wrung it out and handed it to Edward. ‘Here. Hold this over your nose for a bit to stem the bleeding.’
Edward removed his hands and Jack bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself gasping. There was so much blood and Edward’s eyes were already swelling.
‘Why did you hit me?’ Edward asked, dabbing cautiously at his nose with the towel.
‘It was an accident. I went to knock on the door but I was distracted and when my hand came down your face was there instead.’
Edward shook his head. ‘Not exactly a fair fight with you being an ex-marine.’
‘No, I know that. And I would never hit you deliberately.’ He stepped closer to Edward and gently removed the towel. ‘There you go. It’s not as bad as it looks.’ Bile curdled in his gut at the lie.
‘It’s not you with your nose plastered all over your face.’ Edward sounded as if he had a heavy cold.
Jack shook his head. ‘It’s just a nosebleed caused by the impact. But I’m afraid you’re going to have two shiners. God, Edward, I really am sorry.’
Edward shrugged. ‘Whisky?’
Jack nodded. ‘Good plan.’
He opened the cupboard that Edward pointed at and found a bottle of Scotch, then took two tumblers from a glass-fronted cupboard and set them on the table. He poured a finger’s worth into each glass and handed one to Edward, then sat on the bench next to him.
‘So why’re you here?’ Edward said as he removed the towel and took a sip of his whisky.
‘To try to help.’
‘Help be buggered! You just smashed my face in. I’ll never pull looking like this.’ Edward sounded shocked but his eyes twinkled.
‘Pull?’
‘Well … now that I’m single again.’
Summer at Conwenna Cove Page 17