by Lucy Gordon
And what a journey that might be!
She recovered enough to say, ‘But if people knew he could be as generous as this they’d see him differently.’
‘Perhaps he doesn’t want them to,’ Kate said wisely.
That silenced Harriet. This was too much to take in all in one go. She needed space and solitude.
It was time to see how he was managing. Opening the door, they looked out into the hall and saw Darius sitting so still that they thought the call was ended, but then he said, ‘All right,’ in a hard voice.
After a pause he added, ‘You’d better go back to bed now-yes, all right. Goodbye.’
He set the phone down and leaned back against the wood, eyes closed, face exhausted. Something told Harriet the call hadn’t gone well.
‘Time for bed,’ Kate told him. ‘Shall we help you up the stairs?’
‘Thank you, but there’s no need,’ he growled.
He hauled himself slowly to his feet and began the weary trek, stair by stair, but waving the two women away if they seemed to get too close. They contented themselves with keeping a respectful distance, following him up and into his room, where he sat heavily on the bed.
‘It’s all right,’ he said. ‘I can manage.’
‘No, you can’t,’ Harriet firmly. ‘If we leave now you’ll just stretch out and go to sleep in your freezing wet clothes. Next stop, pneumonia.’
‘Now, look-’
‘No, you look. I didn’t give up my evening to come out to sea and fetch you to have you throw your life away through carelessness. You’re going to take off those wet clothes and put on dry ones.’
Darius looked warily from one to the other, and seemed to decide against argument. His eyes closed and Harriet thought for a moment he would lose consciousness. But when he opened them again an incredible change seemed to come over him.
Astonished, Harriet saw a faint grin that might almost have been good-natured, or at least resigned. Then he shrugged.
‘I’m in your hands, ladies.’
He unbuttoned his own shirt and shrugged it off, then unzipped his trousers and stood while they removed them. Kate fetched towels and a bathrobe that Harriet helped him put on. He tried to draw the edges together before removing his underpants, but his grip was weak and they fell open at the crucial moment.
Harriet quickly averted her eyes, but not before she’d seen his nakedness. Just a brief glimpse, but it told her what she didn’t want to know, that his personal magnificence measured up to his reputation in business.
Hastily, she began opening drawers, asking, ‘Where are your pyjamas?’
‘I don’t have any. Sleeping in the nude is more comfortable.’ He raised an eyebrow at her. ‘Don’t you find that?’
‘I really wouldn’t know,’ she said primly. It was incredible to her that he’d chosen this moment to tease her. He was half dead, for pity’s sake! Did nothing crush him?
‘I’m making you a hot tea,’ she declared, ‘and when I come back I expect to find you in bed.’
‘Yes, ma’am,’ he said meekly.
Now Harriet was sure she could see a gleam of humour far back in his eyes, but she couldn’t be sure.
‘I’ll leave you in Kate’s capable hands.’ Some defensive instinct made her add, ‘Don’t stand any nonsense from him, Kate.’
‘Don’t you worry,’ Kate said significantly.
‘Harriet!’ She turned at the door in response to Darius’s voice. ‘Thank you,’ he said quietly.
‘Don’t mention it.’
She departed hurriedly. Downstairs, she made the tea but only took it halfway up the stairs before calling Kate and handing it to her. Suddenly it was important to escape him, above all to escape his knowing look that said he would tease her if he wanted to, and what was she going to do about it?
There was nothing to be done, except get back home-a place of safety, where she knew what was what.
When she got there safety greeted her in the form of Phantom. As they snuggled down under the covers she discussed the matter with him, as she discussed everything.
‘What a night! Him of all people. And it seems he’s not like… Well, I don’t know what he’s like any more. He was nice to Kate, I’ll admit that. Maybe we were wrong about him. No, not we. Just me. You always liked him, didn’t you?
‘If you could have seen him getting undressed tonight. It was an honest accident-at least, I think it was. But what I saw was impressive and maybe he meant me to see and maybe he didn’t.
‘He ticks the boxes-great thighs, narrow hips and the rest-well, never mind. But Brad also ticked the boxes, and he knew he ticked them. A man like that wasn’t going to confine himself to me, was he? And he didn’t. So if His Majesty Falcon is expecting me to be impressed he can just think again.
‘You agree with me, don’t you? Well, you do if you want that new stuff I bought for your breakfast tomorrow. Yes-yes-that’s a lovely lick. Can I have another? Thank you. Now, let’s go to sleep. And move over. Give me some room.’
CHAPTER FOUR
H ARRIET spent the next morning at her shop, which was doing well. She’d recently taken on a new assistant who was good at the job, something she was glad of when Kate rang, sounding frantic. ‘Darius is driving me crazy wanting to do all sorts of daft things.’
‘Hah! Surprise me.’
‘He’s got a nasty cold, but he insists on getting up. He says he’s got to go out and buy another cellphone. He’s ordered a fancy one online but it’ll take a few days to arrive so he’s determined to get something basic to fill in. And then he wants to come and see you.’
‘All right, I’m on my way. Don’t let him out. Tie him to the bed if you have to.’
Distantly, she heard Kate say, ‘She says I’m to tie you to the bed,’ followed by a sound that might have been a snort of laughter, followed by coughing.
‘You hear that?’ Kate demanded into the phone. ‘If you-’
Her voice vanished, replaced by a loud burr. Harriet hung up, very thoughtful.
Before leaving, she took out an object that until then she’d kept hidden away and looked at it for a long time. At last she sighed and replaced it. But then, heading for the door, she stopped, returned and retrieved it from its hiding place. Again, she gazed at it for several moments, a yearning expression haunting her eyes. Her hand tightened on it and for a moment she seemed resolute. But then she returned it firmly to its hiding place, ran out of the room and downstairs, where she got into her car and began the journey to Giant’s Beacon.
Halfway there she stopped, turned the car and swiftly headed back to streak up the stairs, snatch the precious object, ram it into her pocket and flee.
She’d done it now, the thing she’d vowed never to do, and that was that. She told herself it was time to be sensible, but she made the journey with her face set as though resisting pain
Kate was waiting for her on the doorstep, calling, ‘Thank goodness you’re here!’
‘Kate, is that her?’ cried a hoarse voice from the back of the house.
‘I’m coming,’ she called, hurrying into the room he’d turned into an office.
At first she was bewildered by the array of machinery, all of it obviously state-of-the-art. Kate had spoken of wonderful things, but still the variety and magnificence came as a surprise. And one man could control all this?
Darius, in his dressing gown, was sitting at a large screen, his fingers hovering over a keyboard.
‘Don’t come near me,’ he croaked. ‘I’m full of germs.’
‘You shouldn’t be up at all,’ she scolded him, sitting down at a distance. ‘And Kate says you want to go out. That’s madness. It’s far too cold.’
‘I thought summer was supposed to be coming. Is it always like this in May?’
‘The weather can be a bit temperamental. It’s been colder than usual the last few days. It’ll warm up soon, and then we’ll be flooded with tourists. In the meantime, take care.’
‘
I just need a new cellphone to replace the one I lost last night. I have a thousand calls to make, and the house phone keeps going dead.’
‘Yes, the line’s faulty and they don’t seem able to repair it. You were lucky it held out last night when you were calling your children. All right, you need one to tide you over. Try this.’
Reaching into her pocket, she handed over the object that had given her such anguish earlier.
‘You’re lending me yours?’ he asked.
‘No, it’s not mine, it…belonged to my husband.’
He took it from her left hand, realising for the first time that she wore a wedding ring.
‘Husband?’ he echoed.
‘He died a year ago. He hadn’t used this for some time because he’d replaced it with a better one. But it might get you through the next few days.’
He seemed uncertain what to say.
‘That’s very kind of you,’ he murmured at last. ‘But-are you sure?’
‘Quite sure. You’ll find it blank. I’ve wiped off every trace of him.’
Something in her voice made him glance at her quickly, but she was looking out of the window.
‘I appreciate this,’ he said. ‘Now I can call my children again. I’ll be in touch as soon as I’m a bit more normal. I still have to thank you properly for saving me. Perhaps we could have dinner.’
‘You don’t need to thank me. I was just doing what I do and I wasn’t alone. What about all the others on the lifeboat?’
‘I’ll show my gratitude by making a donation. But I think you can tell me a lot about Herringdean that I need to know, so I’d appreciate it if you’d agree to dinner.’
‘All right, I’ll look forward to it.’
‘By the way,’ he added as she reached the door, ‘how’s my ghostly friend?’
‘Who?’
‘His name is Phantom, isn’t it?’
She gave an uncertain laugh. ‘You call him your friend?’
‘You assured me he was only being friendly. Tell him I look forward to our next meeting. What kind of bones does he like?’
‘Any kind.’
‘I’ll remember.’
As she left the house Harriet was saying to herself, ‘I don’t believe it. I imagined that conversation. I must have done.’
That evening she poured out her thoughts again to the one friend she knew she could always trust.
‘I don’t know what to think any more. He’s different-well, all right, he nearly died and that changes people-but they change back. In a few days he’ll be talking about showing no mercy again. Hey, don’t do that! Phantom, put that down!-oh, all right, just this once.’
Three days later she looked up from serving in the shop to find Darius standing there.
‘It’s a nice day so I managed to escape,’ he said with a smile. ‘I wanted to bring you this.’ He held out the phone. ‘I’ve got my new one now, but this was invaluable. Thank you. There seems no end to what I owe you.’
‘Did you manage to call your sons?’
‘My son and daughter, yes.’
‘Oh, I thought-Mark and Frank.’
‘Frankie. Her name’s Francesca, but we call her Frankie. It’s a bit like calling you Harry.’
She laughed. ‘Yes, I suppose it is.’
‘And there’s also this,’ he said, reaching into a bag and drawing out a huge bone. ‘This is for Phantom, by the way, not you.’
Her lips twitched. ‘I’m glad you explained that.’
‘About our dinner. Kate’s set her heart on cooking it for us.’
‘Good idea. She’s a great cook, and it would be better for you.’
‘If you say I need to stay indoors for a few more days I shall do something desperate,’ he warned. ‘You two mother hens are driving me crazy.’
‘No, I was only going to say that anywhere else you’ll get stared at. I’ll come to Giant’s Beacon.’
‘You and Phantom.’
‘He’s included?’
‘It wouldn’t be the same without him. Friday evening.’
‘I look forward to it. We’ll look forward to it.’
He thanked her and departed. Outside the shop, he hesitated a moment, then headed for the harbour and the lifeboat station, but after a moment his attention was claimed by a man watching him from across the road with an air of nervousness. Enlightenment dawned, and he crossed over.
‘I know you, don’t I? You were part of the team that saved me from drowning.’
‘I’m glad you remember that,’ Walter said, ‘and not the other thing.’
‘You mean when you advised Harriet to let me drown?’ Darius said, grinning.
‘Ah, yes-’
‘It’s in the past,’ Darius assured him. ‘Look, do you have a moment? There’s a pub over there.’
When they were settled with glasses of ale, Darius said, ‘I want to show my gratitude in a practical way, with a donation to the lifeboat.’ He took out his chequebook. ‘Who do I make it out to?’
Walter told him, then looked, wide-eyed, at the amount. ‘That’s very generous.’
‘It’s not too much for my life. Will you make sure this reaches the right part of your organisation?’
‘It’ll be a pleasure. It’s good to see you on your feet again. Harry said you were in a bad way.’
‘All that time in the cold water. I reckon I was bound to go down with something. But Harriet got me home and took wonderful care of me.’
‘She’s a great girl, isn’t she? Sometimes I wonder how she survived after what she’s been through.’
‘Been through?’
‘Losing her husband. Oh, I know she’s not the only widow in the world, but they had a fantastic marriage. Everyone who gets married hopes they’re going to have what those two had. We all envied them. When he died we thought she might die too, she was so crushed. But she came back fighting. I don’t reckon she’ll ever really get over him, though.’
‘But she’s a young woman, with plenty of time to find someone else.’
‘Yes, if she really wants to. But you only get something as good as that once in your life. It wouldn’t surprise me if she stayed single now.’ He drained his glass. ‘Got to be going. Nice to meet you.’
They parted on good terms.
On Friday Darius came in the late afternoon to collect both his guests. Phantom leapt into the back seat of the car as though being chauffeured was no more than his right.
‘Don’t worry, I’ve washed him,’ Harriet said.
Darius grinned over his shoulder at his four-pawed guest, who nuzzled his ear.
‘Wait,’ Harriet said suddenly, bouncing out of the car. ‘I’ll be back.’
He watched as she ran into her home, then out again a moment later, clutching a small black box.
‘My pager,’ she said, settling into the front seat. ‘It has to go with me everywhere in case the lifeboat gets called out.’
‘You’re on call tonight?’
‘Lifeboat volunteers are always on call. The only time that’s not true is if we’re ill, or have to leave the island for some reason. Then we give them notice of the dates and report back as soon as we return. But normally we take the pager everywhere and have to be ready to drop everything.’
‘Everything? You mean…even if…suppose you were…?’
‘At work or in the bath,’ she supplied innocently. ‘Yes, even then.’
That wasn’t quite what he’d meant, and her mischievous look showed that she understood perfectly. For a moment another memory danced between them, when the edges of his robe had fallen open just long enough to be tantalising. By mutual consent they decided to leave it there.
‘What made you want to be a lifeboat volunteer?’ he asked as he started the car.
‘My father. My mother died when I was very young and Dad raised me alone. When he went out on a call I used to love watching the boat go down the slipway into the water. All that spray coming up seemed so thrilling. He was a fisherman an
d I often went out with him. He taught me to be a sailor and bought me my first boat. My happiest times were spent on the water with him, and it was natural to follow him onto the lifeboats.’
‘A fisherman? You mean herring?’
She laughed, ‘Yes. There have always been shoals of herring in the water around here. Other fish too, but that’s how the island got its name.’
‘You’ve never wanted to leave it behind and move to the mainland?’
She made a face. ‘Never! There’s nowhere better in the world.’
‘You sound very sure? As simple as that?’
‘As simple as that. It’s the best place on earth, and it always will be; unless something happens to spoil it.’
Darius didn’t need to ask what she meant. He had the power to do the damage she mentioned, and they both knew it. But this wasn’t the right moment.
The drive ran along the shoreline, from where they could see the sun beginning to set.
‘I’d never seen anything like that before I came here,’ he said.
‘Never seen a sunset?’
‘Not like a Herringdean sunset. I haven’t been much by the sea. It’s usually something I see looking down on from a plane.’
‘Stop the car,’ she urged.
He did as she asked and the three of them walked to the edge of the beach and stood watching as the water turned crimson, glittering as tiny waves broke softly. None of them made a sound. There was no need. Harriet glanced at Darius and saw on his face a look akin to the one she’d first seen when they met-absorbed, ecstatic. At last he gave a regretful sigh.
‘We’d better go.’
‘You can see it from the house,’ she reassured him.
‘In a way. But somehow it’s different when you’re out here with it.’
As they walked back to the car he glanced appreciatively at her appearance. Her soft blue dress wasn’t expensive nor glamorous, but neither did it send out the warning he’d sensed from her functional bathing gear. Her light brown shoulder length hair flowed freely in soft waves. She looked relaxed and ready to enjoy herself and he found himself relaxing in turn.
