Norah dozed off when house-buying gravitated into selling antiques, and I spent a relatively pleasant hour immersed in the past. It was only as I came across pictures from Deane River regattas of long ago, including grainy shots of torch lit sailing flotillas, that I was forced to make an unhappy return to the present.
What was I going to do about Pearl’s wedding? The satisfaction of being able to prove that Gerald Kimble did have a legal right to remain a thorn in JJ’s side was overshadowed by an impending sense of doom. When the two tea-time carers came at four-thirty, I had no desire at all to return to Rivermede.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
I didn’t know where I wanted to go when I left Norah Morland’s bungalow, although in reality I did. There was only one place I wanted to be and only one person I wanted to be with.
To my immense disappointment, The Solstice was deserted. More worryingly, even the wellington boots had gone from outside the door, although there was every possibility that Nick was out somewhere on the marsh, conducting surveillance.
As I walked back through the marina, I saw Freddy sweeping excess hose water into a drainage gulley. The pert figure of Kimmi van der Plaast perched nearby on an empty boat trolley. The rest of the workforce looked as if they had packed away for the day.
‘That’s good timing,’ Fred said, looking up. ‘I was just about to call you. I’m going to be late home.’
‘But you look like you’re finishing up here,’ I pointed out.
He reached into his pocket and jangled a keyring at me. ‘I’ve been given the special privilege of parking up The Caprice for JJ. He took her out for a spin earlier and couldn’t be bothered to put her back into her berth. He was basically showing off to a potential customer, pretending Robshaw Marina provides a valet parking service.’
I wondered if JJ was aware Freddy only had a provisional licence? He shouldn’t be left in charge of parking anything, on land or in the water. ‘The Caprice?’
‘The Aqua Riva,’ Freddy said with a grin. ‘Come, I’ll show you.’ I couldn’t believe Freddy had been entrusted with JJ’s pride and joy. Kimmi followed us down onto one of the pontoons, where the glossy wooden speedboat was moored amongst the gleaming white fibreglass hulls of pristine yachts and motor-cruisers. The boat did indeed look as if it had just motored in from the Riviera with Sophia Loren reclining on its white leather seats. ‘Fastest thing on the river, this is,’ Freddy said, somewhat proudly.
‘It looks very smart,’ I admitted. ‘Does JJ know what he’s doing letting you loose in that?’
‘’Course he does,’ Freddy looked indignant. ‘I’ve only got to move it twenty metres.’
‘And when he’s done, we’re heading over to Portdeane for a drink at the Runners,’ Kimmi informed me. ‘Isn’t that right, Freddy?’
I wondered how much Kimmi knew about the Ivy situation. Kimmi’s name had been cropping up a lot less in conversations, but she was obviously still very much on the scene.
‘Will your dad be over in Portdeane, Kimmi?’ I asked. I didn’t want Freddy anywhere near van der Plaast, although it seemed hard to imagine Kimmi herself was involved in any of her father’s dubious activities.
‘Papa’s out of the country for a few days,’ she said, pouting provocatively at Freddy. ‘I’m all on my own.’
Van der Plaast was away, Nick was away. Coincidence? Unlikely.
‘Okay, well don’t be too late,’ I said to Freddy.
‘Sure. I’ll be home by eight,’ he promised. I was about to say something about that being too late for bath and bed, but Freddy shot me such a pleading look that I didn’t. It was impossible to miss Kimmi’s gripe as I walked away.
‘Why do you let her boss you around so much? She’s not your mother, is she?’
I was left with the horrible suspicion that Freddy may not have mentioned Ivy to her at all.
He rolled home at half-eleven. I would leave the admonishment to Pearl. I’d had enough of all of them – of Pearl, of Freddy, although not Ivy; she was the innocent party in all of this. I was fed up of Jack and JJ, Gerry Kimble, van der Plaast and Rivermede, fed up of lies and secrets. I wanted to be gone. I wanted to be the one escaping out of the country for a few days. I longed for a holiday, to sit on a beach and think of nothing, to read a book, to drink cocktails, to swim in the warm sea and not feel like I was drowning under a dead weight of responsibility.
Why did it always come back to me? Why was I the sensible one who had to keep a check on Pearl, to monitor Freddy? Now Nick had added to the burden by dumping this huge responsibility on me to ensure the wedding went ahead without a hitch. Did he not realise the risk he was putting us, me, all under? I now had the additional task of protecting twenty teenagers from Kerridge sea scouts from imminent danger. Why should it all fall on me?
Why on earth was Pearl insisting on this stupid sailing flotilla idea anyway? When had she ever had an affinity to the sea? This had to be Pete’s idea. Stupid Pete from the stupid yacht club, and he deserved to be shot, or even worse hung, drawn, and quartered, or strung up from the mizzen mast or some other nautical term, cast overboard with several hundredweight of stones in his pockets.
‘Mum, what do you know about Pete?’
‘Pete who, dear?’
I was on my way into the house to take charge of Ivy for the day, and Pearl was off for her final dress-fitting. I’d already had mine. Both Vera and I were resigned to the fact that those last few extra pounds were not going to come off.
‘Yacht club Pete, the one who suggested you should have this flotilla light show thing for your wedding.’
‘What do you mean what do I know about him? He’s Natalie’s husband.’
‘Do they live here in Kerridge?’
‘Yes, you know they do. Natalie is best friends with Rita. Why are you asking me all these questions, Becca? What’s come over you?’ She was waiting for Nev to reverse the Range Rover out of the garage.
‘Is it safe, this flotilla thing he’s organising for you?’
‘Of course it is. Ask Jack. Jack knows him better than me. Oh, by the way, Jack was asking after Norah. How did you get on yesterday afternoon?’
‘Norah’s fine,’ I snapped, and stormed into the house to interrogate Jack. I’d had enough.
‘Pete Wendle? The harbourmaster? What do you want to know about him for?’ Jack said, looking up from his crossword. Ivy was in her baby bouncer beside him.
‘It’s this flotilla thing,’ I said. ‘Are you sure it’s going to be safe?’
Jack laughed. ‘Of course it’s safe. Pete’s got it all under control. He used to organise it back in the day when we had a regatta. You’ve met him, haven’t you? You should go down and see the yacht he’s doing up at Helme Point. Wonderful old girl. Of course he knows what he’s doing. He’s got years of experience.’
‘You say he’s a harbourmaster? What does that entail?’
‘Not much in a little place like this. Just has to keep an eye on things on the water, logs everyone in and out of the estuary, makes sure we all stick to the regulations on the river and obey maritime safety rules. Perfect chap to organise the flotilla.’
My mind should have been put at rest, but of course it wasn’t. Why was Pete taking such an interest in my mother’s wedding arrangements?
I pulled up a chair. There was no pleasant way of doing this, and I had to offload at least some of my responsibilities before I cracked under the weight.
‘Jack, I went to see Norah Morland yesterday.’
‘Oh yes, Pearl mentioned it. How was she?’ He put his crossword to one side.
‘Recovering, slowly.’ I took a deep breath. ‘The thing is, she told me quite a lot about the history of Rivermede, and about Mary and her brother as they were growing up.’
Jack paused. ‘Ah. I see. You do know that Norah is confused a lot of the time, doesn’t know what day of the week it is, or what year we’re in, or who we are.’
‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I realised that, but
it was very interesting, listening to her.’
‘I’m sure it was.’ Jack’s smile was quite forced.
I retrieved my phone and found the relevant picture. ‘The thing is, I also found this.’
Jack took my phone for a closer inspection. It took a few moments for the implications of the picture to register. His shoulders sagged a little. ‘Ah, I see. I should have guessed. Not that Norah would have told me. There wasn’t a great deal of love lost there.’
‘She was devoted to Mary,’ I pointed out.
Jack nodded. ‘Yes, she was. Mary had many qualities. It was very easy to become devoted to her.’ His grey eyes looked sad and tired. ‘So, what are you intending to do with this, young lady?’
‘That’s up to you, isn’t it?’ I said. ‘You know Gerry has a right to stay where he is, and JJ needs to stop this campaign to have him moved on. You’ve always known this paperwork existed, haven’t you?’
Jack pushed his crossword to one side and rubbed his temple. ‘You’re a clever girl, Becca, and I think we understand each other. I don’t need to see the original document, it’s probably best to keep it where it is, but perhaps you could send me a picture. I’ll have to have some evidence to show JJ.’
‘Of course,’ I said.
Ivy gurgled and wriggled. Her eyes opened and then squeezed shut again. I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder, rubbing her back for comfort.
‘She’s a dear little thing,’ Jack said. ‘Babies always bring such joy. It doesn’t really matter where they’re from, or who they belong to. They just worm their way into your hearts and you love them, whatever.’
His eyes were moist with emotion. I had a feeling he wasn’t thinking about Ivy at all.
Chapter Thirty
I paid two more visits to The Solstice and there was still no sign of Nick. Freddy stayed out two nights in quick succession with Kimmi van der Plaast. I was at my wits’ end. The marquee arrived. The table and chairs were delivered. Vera dropped off the dresses, including a version of mine in miniature for Ivy, together with matching frilly knickers. Where was Ivy in the seating plan? Who was going to be responsible for her throughout the day? Had Pearl given this any thought at all?
‘Don’t be daft, of course I have,’ she bristled. ‘Phoebe will look after her.’
Phoebe was unmarried and childless, with even less maternal instinct than Pearl.
An evening escape to the quiz with the Twitchers provided a welcome distraction, although the wedding at Rivermede was the main topic of conversation. Halfway through the evening, Nick walked through the door. My heart gave such a lurch I physically jumped from my seat. I could have cried with relief.
He made a big show of putting his jacket on the back of his chair so that he could bend his head close to mine to speak. ‘Are you okay?’ he whispered.
‘No,’ I whispered back. ‘I’m going crazy.’
‘I have the perfect cure for craziness,’ he promised. ‘Don’t rush off when the quiz ends.’
I had no intention of rushing off anywhere. I really was going crazy. Throughout the evening, our legs touched under the table, he brushed his hand occasionally across mine, innocent physical touches which sent pulses of electricity surging through my body.
We lost the quiz to the close rivals, the Bloodhounds, much to Chrissie’s disgust, but as the regulars began to filter out of the pub, I received lots of good wishes for the happy couple and several shouts of ‘see you on Saturday’. It seemed as if the entire population of the Kerridge really would be at Rivermede on Saturday evening. My mother had made herself very popular, or was the lure of a free party too good for anyone to miss?
‘Oh Nick,’ I sighed, when we were at last alone in the car park. ‘I’m so glad to see you.’
‘I never thought I’d hear you say that again,’ he smiled, a gorgeous, old familiar Nick smile, despite the beard and untidy hair and the unfamiliar casual clothes. ‘What’s brought all this on?’
I wanted to say it was the look on his face when he saw me in the pub, when I watched him searching through the crowded bar, seeking me out. That was the look my mother had told me I would see on his face at the altar. It was his touch, his tenderness, his everything. It was just being with him and knowing that he wanted to be with me.
‘Stress,’ I said.
‘Don’t be stressed,’ he said. ‘I’m here now.’
It was the most natural thing in the world to fall into an embrace. The tension had been mounting all evening. He held me close, and then he kissed the top of my head, and then I lifted my face to his and our mouths met. I soaked him up, wanting that kiss to last forever, feeling so safe in his arms. Finally, breathlessly, he released me.
‘I wish you hadn’t headed off so quickly the other evening,’ I said. ‘I’m going completely mad with worry. I don’t think I can do this.’
‘You don’t have to do anything,’ he told me. ‘Just carry on as normal. Tell me more about this wedding. What time is the ceremony?’
‘Registry office in Southampton at 11am, then lunch in town, some restaurant or other. It’s just Jack and Mum, JJ, Rita, me and Freddy, the baby, and my aunt Phoebe and Uncle Laurie.’
‘You called her Mum. I don’t ever recall you calling her anything but Pearl,’ Nick interrupted.
I shook my head. ‘It keeps slipping out. She doesn’t seem to mind.’
‘Really?’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t really explain it. It’s like I didn’t used to be able to distinguish between Pearl the writer and Pearl the mother, but now I can. We seem to have grown a lot closer, even though she infuriates me and has done me out of my job, and my home—’
‘But brought you here,’ Nick pointed out. ‘To me.’
‘Yes well, she doesn’t know that bit yet, does she?’ I smiled. ‘You’re just Alex the Twitcher, the loner from the pub.’
‘Yeah well, to be honest I’ll be quite glad to see the back of him,’ Nick said, fingering his beard. ‘So then what, what happens after the ceremony?’
‘Rivermede for the vow and ring ceremony at 4pm. Guests have been told to arrive from 3.30 onwards. Then there’s the buffet, dancing, and of course, once it gets dark, the boat parade and the fireworks. Can’t you at least tell me what to expect?’
‘We don’t know what to expect,’ Nick said. ‘We don’t even know if it’s going to happen, okay? So just try and relax.’
‘Help me relax,’ I said, seizing hold of him again, ‘come to Rivermede with me, Nick, and help me relax.’
‘Are you being serious?’
I broke off again. ‘I don’t know.’
‘Listen, Becs, I’m more than happy to come back to Rivermede and have sex with you, in fact there’s nothing I’d like more, but…’
‘Who said anything about sex? I thought we could do a jigsaw puzzle.’
Nick shook his head, smiling through the darkness. ‘Sneaking into Rivermede would be like crossing the lines into enemy territory. It could be fun.’
‘It would be fun,’ I promised him. ‘When we’ve finished doing jigsaws, we could move on to Jenga.’
‘What about this baby?’ His voice was serious again, that air of caution. ‘Don’t you have to look after it?’
‘It’s Pearl’s night on, and my night off.’ I sneaked my hand under his baggy sweatshirt and onto the bare skin of his torso. I could hear and feel his breath quickening. ‘It would just be you and me and the games chest.’
‘That’s decided then,’ he said. He grabbed my hand playfully, entwining our fingers. ‘Your car or mine?’
In the end, we took both cars, because neither of us wanted to have to trudge back to The Ship in the small hours or at dawn. Nick left his in the lane outside Honeypot Cottage.
The sense of intrigue was a strong aphrodisiac. I felt reckless, intoxicated, yet I’d only had one glass of wine and a large soda water. I didn’t switch on the lights – partly because I didn’t want to attract any attention from across the d
rive, but also because I wanted to create a cloak of mystery. Nick hadn’t seen me naked for fifteen years and my body had changed an awful lot in that time. I’d aged and widened, and because I hadn’t given any thought to this situation occurring prior to setting out for the quiz, I was wearing very practical underwear. I’d never felt less tempting.
I needn’t have worried. We were two people who hadn’t had sex for a very long time, and any qualms I’d had about a lengthy sensual seduction were rapidly put aside. Nick threw me onto the bed and we were both scrambling out of our clothes within seconds, barely able to contain our passion. His touch burnt through my skin. My desire was intense, our lovemaking urgent, and over far too quickly.
Afterwards, we lay together, my head resting on his chest, piecing together the fragments of our separate lives over the last fifteen years. Nick, too, carried a little extra weight, although his was muscle as opposed to my blubber, and I felt scar tissue on his thigh that hadn’t been there before, perhaps injuries picked up in the line of duty.
Nick confessed he had not had another long-term relationship after our break-up. ‘I dedicated myself to my job,’ he said. ‘It took over my life, to be honest. I’ve not been without flings, but I never met anyone quite like you, Becca. You were the one, you know that, don’t you? The one that got away. The one I let get away.’
I could easily have said the same about him, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. I suspected he knew it anyway. I told him I, too, had thrown myself into my career.
‘I concentrated on building Pearl’s brand as an author,’ I told him. ‘It’s big business these days. It’s not just about the writing.’
‘And romance?’ Nick asked.
I confessed to my affair with Declan. ‘A married man who already had kids and a vasectomy,’ I said. ‘Every career girl’s dream.’
Your Secret's Safe With Me Page 22
