by Jane Holland
I smile. ‘No, you haven’t.’
‘And I’m never going to. I’d move continents in a heartbeat if you couldn’t stomach the craziness that’s Hollywood any longer. And I know you don’t want to go back to Chateau Tamsin, any more than I do. Like you said, too many bad memories.’ He’s smiling, but I know he’s not joking. ‘I want you to be happy. Nothing else matters.’
‘I should sell Chateau Tamsin, really. Except my aunt would turn in her grave. She loved that house. And where would Lucille live?’
He makes an angry noise under his breath. ‘Do you care?’
‘Lucille never helped Jean-Luc do what he did. She just turned a blind eye. And she did try hard to keep me away from him. Anyway, Tamsin may have left me the chateau. But her will made it clear she wanted Lucille to remain there if she wanted, in recognition of their long friendship. Rather sweet, really. Those two were devoted to each other, in a prickly sort of way.’ I shrug. ‘At least it means the place is being looked after by someone who cares, rather than left to fall apart. Tamsin would have liked that.’
By mutual accord, we start to walk out through the churchyard, heading for the wild cliff walk towards Tintagel Castle. The reddish-gold sun shines on the water below, half dazzling me. I bend my head, the wind making my eyes tear up.
‘His original plan was to kill me,’ I say as we walk hand-in-hand along the cliff path. ‘I’m sure of it now.’
‘Jean-Luc?’
I nod, remembering.
Recently, my mind has been going back more and more. Back to that last day at Les Baux. I’d been looking down at the terrifying drop from the medieval fortress, and thinking about what Jean-Luc had said to me only minutes before, half-mocking, half-serious. Hell of a way to die. Then there was the sound of footsteps behind me. By the time I’d rubbed the grit out of my eyes, there was nobody there.
‘He changed his mind, you see.’ I watch a gull circle effortlessly on the sea thermals above the cliffs. ‘He took me up to the top of Les Baux to kill me. I expect he was going to make it look like an accident, that I’d fallen to my death. The way he did with Emily, luring her out into the water when she was drunk and then drowning her. But he must have changed his mind at the last minute with me.’
‘Why?’
‘I guess he thought it might be possible to keep up the pretence long enough to marry me. To get the money and the chateau legitimately.’ I hesitate. ‘He was tempted.’
‘By what?’
‘By the possibility of love.’
Robin has been studying my profile. I sense rather than see his worried frown, and stop on the path, turning to smile at him.
‘It’s okay, you know,’ I say, and cup his rough cheek, then stand on tiptoe to kiss his lips. ‘It’s you I’m in love with, Robin. It was always you. Even when I thought Jean-Luc was you, my heart knew instinctively. Deep down all my senses were screaming at me that something was badly wrong. That’s why I could never quite let go. Never quite trust him.’
‘Oh, Caitlin. Despite all my failures?’
I hear the unsteady note in his voice. ‘That was then. This is now. A new beginning.’
‘I love you,’ he says.
‘I love you too, Robin, and not just because of this.’ I take his hand and place it low down on my belly, where a tiny seed is growing. ‘Our little secret.’
‘Our not-so-little secret soon.’
‘Good,’ I say firmly, and we link hands as we stroll on towards the castle, turning our backs on the setting sun. It’s been a lovely day, but the night is looking even more promising. ‘I’ve had enough of secrets.’
Thank you for reading this Jane Holland thriller!
Other thrillers by Jane Holland you might like to try include:
GIRL NUMBER ONE
LOCK THE DOOR
FORGET HER NAME (out early 2018)
GIRL NUMBER ONE (UK Amazon)
GIRL NUMBER ONE (US Amazon)
LOCK THE DOOR (UK Amazon)
LOCK THE DOOR (US Amazon)
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
CHAPTER FORTY
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
