‘Will do.’ He patted the top of her head.
He reached the front door and opened it, but before stepping outside turned to her. ‘Don’t let this situation upset you too much.’
Paige went over to her desk and pulled out a lever arch file. It was time to sort through her outstanding invoices. At least she’d always made it her policy to remove her takings from the shop every night. She knelt and pulled back a corner of the lounge carpet to the side of her desk. Opening the small floor safe underneath, she took out the cloth bags containing her cash. Paige placed it onto her desk and began sorting the notes. She bagged up the change in small plastic bags, ready to take it all to the bank later in the morning.
She knew it was going to be difficult to estimate her losses. It depended on how long the shop would be closed, and even though she was going to be able to make a claim for any damaged stock, the cost of restocking her designs lay mainly in the wait for them to be made to order. She would have to be very careful, at least until she knew where she stood financially.
She hoped Sebastian would phone her soon, to let her know when she could go and inspect the damage. It would only be then that she would have an idea what she was dealing with. However dreadful matters were, the bank would still expect her to keep paying for her house, the lease on her shop, her bills.
The phone rang. ‘It was Frank.’ Olly announced breathlessly, without waiting for her to say hello.
‘Frank who?’ Paige shook her head to clear her thoughts.
‘He was one of the messengers.’ When she didn’t speak, he added. ‘The older one, with the broken nose.’
‘He started the fire?’ Paige asked, pushing the blue moneybag into her briefcase.
‘No, he’s the one who spotted it and called the emergency services.’
‘He must have been terrified.’
‘I suppose so, but more to the point, what the hell was he doing there so late at night? He’s a part-time messenger and contracted to finish before three. Why would he be there at seven in the evening?’
Paige tried to come up with a logical answer, but failed. ‘No idea, strange though.’
‘He doesn’t have any family, bit of a loner by all accounts,’ Olly continued, sounding excited by the unexpected drama.
‘Where did you find all this information?’ Paige always teased Olly, when he couldn’t help being nosy, but this time he had surpassed himself.
‘One of the other messengers told me. Couldn’t wait to spread the word,’ he said gleefully. ‘They called him into the station to question him about Frank’s usual duties, and the times he carried them out. Maybe they suspect him of starting the fire. I can’t wait to find out more.’
‘Hey, this isn’t an episode of Bergerac, you know,’ she teased, relieved he had something else to think about other than his relationship with her younger sister. ‘This is real.’
‘Sorry, I forgot. I can’t help getting carried away. It’s interesting though, don’t you think?’
‘Not really. Someone could have deliberately set this fire without knowing if anyone was in the building. Whoever did this has caused difficulties for a lot of people.’
It disturbed her that something suspicious had been going on in the very department store where she worked. She knew without doubt there must be more to this story than they were aware.
She made her excuses. ‘Why don’t you go and carry on your investigations,’ she suggested, checking her watch knowing she should be getting on with things. ‘I’m going to phone the insurance brokers and find out exactly where I stand.’
She wasn’t looking forward to hearing bad news, but couldn’t bear not knowing how serious her situation might be. Paige picked up the phone and keyed in the number.
Chapter Eleven
Arriving home after doing her banking, Paige sent off an email to her suppliers with several sketches and notes for the designs, and an explanation about the fire. She asked them if they could give her the earliest possible date for delivery of the new shoes, and took out her stock list, cross referencing it against her sales.
All she needed to know now was exactly how much of her stock had been affected by the fire. Not wishing to fret unnecessarily about it, she then set out a spreadsheet ready for the day that she could go into her store and check off each item she was unable to salvage. If nothing else, she would be prepared for the inevitable meeting she knew she’d have to endure with the insurance assessor.
Paige ended the call and sat back in her chair. At least she now knew she would be reimbursed for most of her damaged stock. She just had to hope that she would receive the insurance payment soon so that she could pay for the replacement stock her suppliers would be making for her.
With nothing left to do, she vacuumed her cottage to keep from fretting further. She was struggling to cram the vacuum cleaner back into a narrow broom cupboard, when she heard a knock at the door. ‘Come in,’ she shouted, wondering why Olly was back again so soon. ‘What’s happened now?’
‘I’ve jacked in uni,’ Clem announced.
Paige swung round, slamming her fingers in the cupboard door as her bottom bumped it, pushing it shut. ‘Bugger.’ She put her fingers into her mouth and sucked gently to ease the pain. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Nice welcome, sis,’ Clem said. ‘Can I borrow some cash to pay the taxi driver? I didn’t have enough.’
Paige nodded towards her red handbag on the sideboard. Hurrying over to the tap, she turned it on and held her purple-tipped fingers under the running cold water. ‘Ooh, that hurt.’ She listened as Clem closed the front door and returned to join her.
‘Well?’ Clem said, standing just inside the kitchen doorway. ‘Are you going to give me a hug, or what?’
Paige turned off the tap, and without thinking did as her sister asked. ‘Come here then,’ she said, concern coursing through her. ‘Why would you pack in your studies now?’
Clem didn’t answer. Paige could see by the look on her face that she was in some sort of trouble. ‘Does this have anything to do with you finishing with Olly?’
‘No,’ she said defensively, taking a seat on one of the high stools by Paige’s short breakfast bar.
‘What is it then?’
‘It’s nothing really.’ She shrugged, reminding Paige of a naughty schoolgirl trying to avoid getting a telling off. ‘I’d just had enough and wanted to come home.’
‘Fine.’ Paige didn’t believe her, but filled the kettle and switched it on. ‘So, why are you here and not at home with Mum and Dad?’
Clem pushed a lose strand of her auburn bob behind her ear. ‘They’re not back from their cruise until tomorrow, and anyway, I was hoping I could move in with you for a bit. Help you out at the shop when you go on buying trips, that sort of thing.’
‘For how long?’ she asked, adding. ‘And when were you thinking of going back to uni? You can’t miss too much of the term, you’ll never catch up again.’ Paige felt a sneaking suspicion creep slowly through her brain.
‘That’s just it,’ Clem smiled, hands on her hips. ‘I’m not going back.’ She held up a hand when Paige went to say something. ‘And I’m not in the mood to talk about it now, if you don’t mind.’
‘Open the door.’ Olly shouted up at her window. Paige groaned. She had enough to contend with without getting mixed up in Olly’s dramas with Clem. Paige pretended she couldn’t hear him, hoping he’d get bored and leave her alone. No such luck. ‘Bugger off, Olly,’ she shouted her voice croaky with sleep.
‘I’m not going anywhere, so you may as well let me in.’
Paige groaned. Her head hurt, probably, she presumed from so much thinking and tension. ‘Can’t this wait?’ she asked, opening the window and flinching at the bright light outside as memories of the night before filtered through to her. She and Clem had sat up talking for a couple of hours, until Paige relented, agreeing that she could move in on the understanding Clem phoned their parents as soon as they’d settled
back in after their trip.
‘No,’ Olly argued. ‘I need to speak to you. Let me in.’ He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of his parents’ house. ‘Unless you want my mother coming to find out what’s going on?’
‘All right, I’m coming.’ She dragged on her dressing gown, pushed her feet into her slippers, and ambled downstairs to let him in.
‘What do you want?’ she asked, pulling open the front door, hoping not to wake Clem. She didn’t want her sister to make an appearance just yet. She wasn’t ready to be caught in the middle of any row Clem and Olly were bound to have.
‘Blimey, is that a birds’ nest on your head?’ Olly teased. ‘And why were you still asleep this late?’
She put her hands up to her head. Paige sighed. ‘What time is it?’
‘It’s almost ten, so you can stop giving me the evils and offer me a coffee.’
‘What?’ She felt sick. She supposed it must be the lack of food. ‘If you insist on being here, go and make yourself useful in the kitchen. Then you can tell me why you woke me up.’
‘Your mother couldn’t get through to you on your landline, and your mobile is turned off,’ he said, filling the kettle from the tap and pressing it on.
Paige nodded. ‘I needed a little peace,’ she fibbed.
‘She said something about the fire at De Greys. They’ve been catching up by reading the gazettes their neighbour kept for them when they were away. They were upset you didn’t tell them about your predicament, and that they had to read about it.’ He pulled a scared face. ‘She also mentioned Clemmie but I’ve no idea what she has to do with it, and your mother wouldn’t elaborate when I asked her. They should be here by noon.’
Paige rubbed her eyes. ‘I was hoping to have a bit more time before they found out about everything. Why do they have to come racing round here?’
‘They love you,’ he said. ‘I thought I’d come and rouse you from your pit, give you a chance to smarten yourself up and look remotely human for when they get here. You know what your mother’s like about these things. If she sees you looking like this, she’ll assume the worst, and I’m sure the last thing you need right now is to have your parents involving themselves in everything.’
‘True,’ she said, imagining how her mother would have ranted on to Olly when he had answered his phone. ‘You’re right, of course. Sorry for growling at you.’
‘No problem, I’m used to your grouchiness in the morning. You always took ages to come to life when we were at uni and you obviously haven’t improved since then.’
He took her by the shoulders, turning her towards the staircase. ‘Now, I suggest you make the most of this achingly slow kettle and get your butt up to the bathroom and take a shower. Be prepared, as they say.’
Paige frowned. ‘What?’
He shook his head in defeat. ‘Just hurry up and get dressed.’
She finished drying her hair, dragging it into some semblance of a ponytail, just as her parents’ Jaguar pulled in to the driveway, giving her enough time to run downstairs to greet them. Paige couldn’t understand how Clem managed to sleep through all the noise in the house.
‘Mum, Dad, come in,’ Paige called, more cheerily than she felt, as she waited for them by the front door. She noticed her mother’s frown and knew she was going to have her work cut out, if she was to convince them Clem would be fine. It was obviously the real reason they were at her house. She doubted their visit had much to do with the fire.
‘Where is she? I’ve barely unpacked. I haven’t even started the washing machine. Well?’ her mother asked, shaking her head, stopping instantly the moment she noticed Olly. ‘Oliver, you’re here,’ she declared, looking a little taken aback when he stepped out from the kitchen in front of her.
‘You phoned him, remember?’ Paige smiled at Olly apologetically.
‘Did we? I’m still recovering from my trip.’ She sighed heavily.
‘Marion, we’ve flown in from Southampton. You don’t have jetlag after a half-hour flight.’
‘George,’ she said glaring at him, narrowing her heavily made-up eyes. ‘I’m exhausted from our cruise. I haven’t had a chance to acclimatize back into the swing of things yet,’ she said before marching down the hallway towards the living room without waiting for him to retaliate.
George focused his attention on Paige. ‘I’m sure you can understand why we felt the need to come here.’ He glanced down the corridor at her mother’s receding back and gave Paige a quick hug. ‘Are your phones not working?’
‘Sorry, I turned them off.’ She pulled her Blackberry out of her handbag and quickly switched it back on. ‘There.’
Paige prayed they didn’t say anything about Clem before she could speak to Olly and let him know what was going on. First though, she needed to get him to leave so she could deal with her parents. She would explain everything to him soon. It was not something she was particularly looking forward to.
‘Go through. I’ll make us all a coffee and then we can have a chat.’
Olly touched her lightly on the shoulder. ‘Would you rather I stayed?’ he whispered from behind.
Hell, no, she thought. ‘No thanks. I’ll catch up with you later.’ She looked in the direction of the lounge where she could hear her mother’s voice getting louder by the second. ‘Thanks for waking me up.’
‘No problem. I’ll leave you to do your thing.’
‘Thanks, Ol,’ she said, unable to stop feeling guilty.
Deciding to begin with telling her parents about the fire, she explained that as soon as she received a call from Sebastian, she’d go and survey the damage to her stock and take it from there. She couldn’t miss the meaningful tilt of her mother’s head to her father when she mentioned Sebastian’s name, but chose to ignore it. Dealing with the fire incident and Clem’s unexpected return was enough for one day.
‘I’ve gone through all my paperwork and thankfully, as I had a sale on, my new stock is either still in storage, or hasn’t yet arrived on the island.’
‘So, it could have been far worse?’ her father asked, pointedly looking in her mother’s direction.
‘Yes, much worse,’ Paige assured him.
‘I hope you took on board everything I’ve said about that Fielding character?’
Paige nodded.
He didn’t look convinced. ‘I know many of you youngsters aspire to the celebrity lifestyle,’ he patted her shoulder. ‘I don’t mean you, of course, but you’re not used to the sort of life he has with all those paparazzi nutters hanging about on his doorstep to get pictures of him whenever he sets foot outside.’
‘Really?’ She had no idea Sebastian had to put up with such an intrusion into his life.
‘Oh, there was some big thing about his marriage, or engagement, a few years back.’
It was the first she’d heard of Sebastian being famous in any way.
Her father shook his head. ‘OK, so he’s not one of these footballer types, but he’s a well-known entrepreneur and his reputation is increasing by the year. You don’t need to be involved with those sorts of issues.’
She smiled, shaking her head. ‘I’m fine; you don’t have to worry about me.’
He stared at her in silence and seemed to be making up his mind whether to believe her. ‘Fine,’ he said satisfied with her assurances. ‘Don’t forget he’ll be far more experienced in the cut-throat ways of the world than you.’
God, this was getting a bit much. ‘I’m not a teenager. Please stop fretting about me.’
The Jersey Scene series box set Page 42
