He’d also introduced special staff-training programmes that ensured customers were treated courteously, and that every member of staff was knowledgeable about all the lines they carried. Before long, working at Betterbuys became a status symbol among retail employees, and there were always many more applicants than there were jobs.
“Come on, love, get a move on! No time for daydreaming!”
“Oh, sorry,” said Ivy, jumping up from her dressing table and slipping on her dress.
Danny stood behind her and zipped her up, taking the opportunity to kiss her bare shoulders as he did so.
“I love you, Mrs Heartley,” he whispered, slipping his hand inside her bra. “Maybe we could …”
“I love you too, but there’s no time for any of that,” said Ivy, laughing. “We really need to get moving –”
Danny laughed. “You’ve a nerve – you were the one who was wasting time daydreaming a few minutes ago!” He slipped his arm around her. “You look wonderful! Every man at the dinner tonight will envy me. I’m the luckiest man in the world!”
Ivy smiled in acknowledgement, leaning forward to plant an affectionate kiss on his cheek, but she felt a cold stab of fear in her chest. How long would he love her if he learned the truth? Very soon, her whole life could come tumbling down around her.
Grabbing her sequinned evening bag, she hurried out the bedroom door and down the marble staircase after Danny. For tonight, at least, she’d act as though she’d nothing to lose.
Chapter 4
Outside the gates of the girls’ school, pupils from the local boys’ school had gathered to chat and flirt, and test out their attractiveness on the opposite sex. There was a lot of giggling, jostling and occasional touching. Rosa was centre-stage as usual, laughing and flicking her halo of blonde hair at the boys, although none of them took her flirting seriously, since they all knew that Danny Heartley was the only one she wanted.
As Rosa, Danny, Clara Bellingham and groups of other boys and girls walked in the direction of the lake, Ivy lagged behind, chatting quietly to Joe Heartley. Joe was a year older than his brother Danny and to Ivy he seemed much more mature. He was an interesting and intelligent boy, and Ivy liked the way his freckles were flecked across the bridge of his nose, and the way the sun glinted on the blond locks of hair that curled around his ears. Ivy knew that a senior like Joe would never regard her as girlfriend material, which meant she could behave in a friendly and natural way with him, without feeling the need to attract his attention by pushing out her chest, flicking her hair or repeatedly licking her lips, as most of the other girls did.
Amazingly, Joe seemed to enjoy her company too, and they often walked home from school together. While the other girls flaunted their newly developing womanly charms, Joe was more interested in discussing science, history and geography with Ivy. He was taking his final school exams that summer, and was hoping to study architecture at university. Unfortunately, his father had other plans for him – he wanted Joe to study retail technology and eventually take over Heartley’s Stores.
“No way am I going to spend my life in this village,” Joe told Ivy vehemently. “I’m sick of fighting with Dad – it just seems to be one argument after another.” Angrily he swung his schoolbag over his shoulder. “I’m not going to be stuck in Willow Haven forever! I want to be an architect, not run a grocery store – that may have been fine for Dad, but it’s not what I want to do!”
Ivy nodded. She understood how Joe felt. She intended applying to RADA the following year, and she was lucky in having her parents’ full support.
“What are you going to do?” she asked. “I mean, if your dad won’t let you study architecture?”
“Then I’ll leave home,” said Joe determinedly. “There’s a big world out there, Ivy – and I intend to see some of it!”
“Hey, you two – get a move on!” Clara called back, as the main group began walking up the steep incline in the road that ran beside Harper’s Lake on the outskirts of the village. Further on, where the road sloped downwards again, there was an entrance to the lake that led along a well-worn pathway to a secluded area. It was quite a distance from the main road, and out of reach of prying adult eyes. All the senior school students in the area congregated there during the spring and summer months and, although it was now only February, the weather was already unseasonably warm. Which was a signal for all of them to head for the lake, where they enjoyed sitting in groups at the water’s edge, chatting and flirting, as relationships began and ended amid the tranquil surroundings.
Signs warned of the danger of swimming, because there was a sheer drop into the water, which was close to thirty-five feet deep. But this element of danger made it all the more attractive to local teenagers. It was where they all liked to swim unbeknown to their parents. Splashing about in the water and doing dangerous acrobatics guaranteed attention, and increased the swimmer’s chances of scoring with the opposite sex.
Today, however, the water was still far too cold to consider swimming, so everyone sat along the bank, chatting in groups. Many of them had brought drinks or sweets, and banter flowed between the groups.
“Hey, Smithy – we saw you looking up the English teacher’s skirt this morning!”
“Don’t be daft – she’s about a hundred!”
“Didn’t look that way to me – maybe you fancy older women?”
Everyone laughed as the embarrassed boy turned a deep shade of red. They all found comfort in disconcerting someone else – it made them feel a little more powerful and a little less vulnerable themselves.
Ivy felt sorry for the boy who’d been embarrassed. She longed to be one of the crowd, but found it impossible to draw attention to herself by being nasty or embarrassing others, yet that seemed to be the preferred method of getting yourself noticed.
Ivy and Joe sat on the periphery of the groups, beneath one of the trees, a little further back from the shore. It was darker there, and Ivy felt comfortable leaning her back against the large sycamore, largely out of sight of the others.
Joe turned towards her. “Danny likes you, you know.”
Ivy’s cheeks flamed. “Don’t be daft – he’s just fooling around, to make Rosa jealous.”
“No, he really likes you – he told me so. He’s not interested in Rosa.” Joe paused. “Do you like Danny, Ivy?”
Ivy shook her head vehemently. “No, not in that way. I mean, I like him as a friend, but I don’t fancy him.”
Joe nodded, and Ivy thought she saw him smile.
“Ivy –”
“Yes?”
Joe’s cheeks turned the colour of beetroot and his voice came out as a croak. “I really like you.”
“I like you too, Joe.”
“No, I mean, I really like you, Ivy.”
Ivy waited, holding her breath, hoping but not believing that Joe might be interested in her.
In the darkness of the trees, Joe took her hand. “Would you go out with me?”
She could hardly speak with excitement. “Yes, I’d like that.”
The silence between them lengthened, and Ivy began to wonder if she’d said the wrong thing, or sounded too eager.
“There’s just one problem, Ivy.”
Her heart sank. She might have guessed that things weren’t going to be plain sailing.
“Dad would have a fit if he knew I was seeing anyone. He thinks that when I’m not studying, I should be working in the shop.”
Ivy said nothing.
“And Danny would be furious if he knew I’d asked you out. All that flirting with Rosa is only a distraction. He told me he was going to ask you out soon – I didn’t know what to say to him, because I wanted to ask you out myself.”
Ivy knew that Danny fancied her but, in deference to Rosa, she’d always been quick to dismiss his advances. She wasn’t remotely interested in him, even though he was extremely good-looking, and lots of the other girls found him very attractive. She was also determined Danny wouldn’t use he
r to hurt Rosa’s feelings.
“Well, I suppose it’s flattering to be so popular,” she said with a shy smile. “So you don’t want Danny to know?”
“Would you mind keeping it a secret for a while?” Joe whispered, slipping his arm around her. “If Danny found out, he’d be livid with me, and he’d tell Dad – then I’d be grounded and we’d never get to see each other.”
“Of course,” said Ivy, disappointed she couldn’t trumpet their new relationship from the top of a mountain. On the other hand, she didn’t want Joe getting into trouble.
Checking to make sure that no one was watching, Joe quickly kissed her. As their lips met, Ivy felt a surge of joy. Joe was the nicest boy in the village, and he wanted to be with her! Besides, there was something quite exciting about keeping their relationship a secret. One day, when they were able to go public on their relationship, Ivy would watch the incredulous faces of her friends as she revealed how long they’d actually been a couple.
“You’re beautiful, Ivy,” he whispered. “I can’t wait to make you mine!”
Ivy found herself experiencing sensations she’d never known before and she shivered with excitement. It was wonderful to have a boyfriend of her very own, and especially a gorgeous one like Joe Heartley!
No one seemed to have noticed them kissing, since all attention was focused on Rosa and Danny. Rosa, as usual, was making herself the centre of attention by dancing around Danny and stopping at intervals to press up against him. Everyone was laughing at Danny’s good-natured embarrassment, and cheering at Rosa’s bravado.
As the groups disbanded, and everyone began heading home for dinner, Joe surreptitiously grabbed Ivy’s hand.
“See you after school tomorrow?” he whispered, and Ivy nodded happily.
As she reached home and let herself into the house, she found her mother baking in the kitchen. The atmosphere was warm and cosy, and Ivy could smell apple-pies already cooking in the oven.
“Have a good day, pet?” her mother asked, rolling out pastry for an additional batch of pies. “You look a bit flushed – you’re not catching something, are you?”
Ivy laughed. She supposed her feelings for Joe Heartley were a bit like a disease – she certainly felt as though she was suffering from a serious case of something or other. And it felt wonderful.
“No, Mum – I’m fine.”
Up in her room, Ivy changed out of her school uniform and, as she stood in her underwear, she surveyed herself in the mirror. Joe had said she was beautiful, but she certainly couldn’t see it. She was reasonably well proportioned, with a pale, slightly freckled face and long straight blonde hair. What was beautiful about that? Yet inside, she could feel an inner glow that filled her with joy and made her want to smile all the time – maybe being Joe’s girlfriend was what made her beautiful.
Ivy longed to tell her mother and father about her new boyfriend, but she had to respect Joe’s wishes. Still smiling to herself as she dressed in jeans and a sweater and went downstairs, she hugged her secret to her like a warm cosy blanket.
In the kitchen, her mother surveyed her daughter’s flushed smiling face again.
“Are you sure you’re all right, Ivy?” she asked, looking worried.
Much to her mother’s surprise, Ivy threw her arms around her and hugged her.
“Mum, I’m fine – in fact, I’ve never felt better.”
Her mother sighed, recognising that faraway look on her daughter’s face. Could Ivy be in the throes of first love? She could only hope her daughter would come through it unscathed. First love could be so painful, and she hoped the object of Ivy’s affections would treat her kindly.
Eleanor grimaced. It was probably time to remind Ivy about contraception – on the other hand, would it seem that she was condoning teenage sex if she did? Maybe it would be better to say nothing – after all, Ivy had received sex education in school, and mother and daughter had had several rather embarrassing discussions about condoms and the pill. As a result, she felt confident that Ivy was too sensible to ruin her chances of an acting career by getting pregnant …
Chapter 5
Ivy was shivering as they returned by taxi from the dinner and auction. She’d had far too much to drink, and knew she’d have a monumental hangover in the morning. Somewhere in the deep recesses of her brain she knew she’d deliberately drunk too much to take the edge off the worries that seemed to be taking over her mind.
She’d laughed and joked her way through the evening, and had cheered wildly when Danny became the final bidder for Anton’s painting. He’d bid a ridiculously high amount of money, but it was all in aid of the children’s hospital, so that was all that mattered.
Carrying the painting into the house, Danny grinned at Ivy. “It’s dreadful, isn’t it?” he said. “If I saw it in a charity shop, I wouldn’t even pay a tenner for it.”
Ivy looked at the childish squiggles and splashes of colour with obvious distaste. “On the other hand, if he can make all that money for the hospital, maybe I should try my hand at painting myself?” she said, smiling as she turned to her husband. “I certainly couldn’t do any worse than this!”
Danny grinned, nodding in agreement.
Taking the painting from him, Ivy carried it into the drawing room. “Hmmm – be a love, will you, Danny? Take down the Canaletto and hang Anton’s painting there. He’ll be thrilled to see it there on Saturday night.”
“I think he should be appalled!” said Danny, laughing as he gave a mock shudder. “If I was him, I’d be too embarrassed to put my name to something as ghastly as that!”
Unlocking the safe in the drawing room, Danny placed the Canaletto inside, then hung Anton’s painting in its place.
He turned to his wife. “I’ll ring the hospital tomorrow and tell them it’s theirs – hopefully, they might be able to raise some more money from it – or perhaps they could hang it in the foyer.”
“And make the patients even more ill?”
Danny laughed. “Anyway, they can’t have it until after your dinner party – I want to see everyone’s reaction – I bet they’ll all be gob-smacked in the worst possible way!”
Tenderly, Ivy returned her husband’s smile. Her love for Danny had developed over time, helped by Danny’s own devotion to her, and his desire to please her in every possible way. As she looked at his golden hair, now flecked with grey at the temples, she thought of how much she loved him. And how much he looked like someone else she’d once loved …
Right from the start, Danny had professed his love for her. It had taken her longer to feel the same way, but she’d needed him, and gradually that need had turned into love. How could she not respond to a man who clearly adored her? Over time, she’d learned to revel in his kindness and attentiveness, the way his eyes lit up every time she entered a room, the way they could communicate across a crowded room with simply the lift of an eyebrow or a wink, the way they both knew exactly what the other was thinking. Then there were the thoughtful gifts he always chose for her while he was away on business trips. Danny was almost too good to be true, and she liked it that way!
Ivy smiled to herself. Even when they were together at parties and public functions, other women often made a play for him, and she would watch, amused, as Danny charmingly and tactfully disengaged himself, never leaving any of these women feeling angry or embarrassed by his rejection. And she always felt a surge of pride and overwhelming love for him when he hurried back to her side after such encounters. He’d raise his eyes to heaven and smile, saying: “Well, it’s nice to be wanted, but the only woman I want is you,” and she’d feel like a million dollars as he slipped his arm around her.
Seeing the way she looked at him now, Danny’s expression softened. “Come on, my love – let’s go to bed. I want to hold you in my arms, but I don’t know if I’m capable of anything else after all the wine I drank …”
Arm in arm, they stumbled up the stairs. As she climbed each step, Ivy recalled all the happy years they�
�d had together. And she thought of Joseph, who was the centre of their world, and of the career successes they’d both enjoyed. They’d led a charmed life together, and neither of them wanted for anything financially. In addition to the Canaletto, they had a house full of beautiful antiques, several top-of-the-range cars garaged at the back of their large country mansion, twenty acres of pasture and woodland, and a 40-foot motor yacht in the marina at Brighton.
Each time she looked at Danny’s handsome face, his hazel eyes flecked with gold, his blond hair falling over his left eye, Ivy realised how lucky she’d been. Life could have dealt with her more harshly, but instead she and Danny had survived many ups and downs together, and come through it all still loving each other.
Yet now, it was likely to end. For twenty years, she’d hoped and prayed that this day would never come, and all that time her secret had lain hidden in the cold and murky depths of Harper’s Lake.
Well, I’m not going to go down without a fight, Ivy vowed as she cleaned her teeth in the ensuite bathroom. In the bedroom, Danny was already asleep, his legs sprawled diagonally across the bed, and snoring heavily. Ivy gazed down at him and felt a surge of love and affection. Leaning down, she tenderly kissed his cheek, feeling the stubble that was already forming. She had so much to lose. They all had so much to lose.
As she climbed into bed, Danny reached for her in his sleep, pulling her body close to him and wrapping his arms around her. She returned his sleepy embrace, clinging to him tightly, wanting never to let him go. That was when Ivy made a decision. She had no other choice but to confront her demons head-on. Which meant there was only one thing she could do. She’d have to go back to Harper’s Lake.
Chapter 6
It was Danny Heartley’s birthday, and after school the usual crowd of senior school students gathered at the lakeside, where Danny was showing off his new camcorder.
Still Waters Page 2
