‘Really?’
‘Well … they’re definitely all pointing in the same direction.’
Chapter Seven
Carly loved going to the hairdresser’s. Danny had been keeping her style on trend for the last few years and he was full of gossip, so it was an indulgent couple of hours that she always looked forward to. As she expected, Danny was on form and he got completely carried away when she told him about the treehouse getaway and the imminent proposal.
‘OMG. That is the epitome of romantic. This boy’s a keeper,’ said Danny as he snipped confidently. ‘You know, there was an amazing article in one of the mags only the other day about treehouses and one of them was like this microcosm of luxury. I bet that’s where he’s taking you. Lucky bitch.’
Carly giggled.
‘You should look it up on the internet,’ he said with a wave of his scissors. Carly wrinkled her nose. ‘Dear God, have you still not joined the twenty-first century. Carly darling, you need to catch up with the human race. Here,’ he handed her his phone – the latest from Apple.
‘It’s okay, thanks. It’s just not my thing.’ She gave the phone back.
‘You sound like one of those people that said a hundred years ago “planes will never take off!”’
Carly wasn’t sure if the pun was intended but it made her laugh anyway. She was feeling good about things. She was over the whole non-proposal upset and it was only a couple of weeks to the weekend away and she was now convinced that the idea of a proposal in a treehouse was so much more romantic than the Whispering Gallery.
While Carly was paying at the reception desk, Danny hunted for the magazine. ‘I can’t find it, darling, but I will if I have to turn this place into Primark. I will leave no surface unturned. I’ll drop it round to the flat when I uncover it.’
‘Are you sure? That’s really kind, thanks.’
‘Ooh, looks like someone is getting another surprise.’ Danny pointed to the door. As it opened a large bouquet of yellow and white roses came in and a smidge of dark hair was barely visible above them. Carly’s stomach did a little flip although at the same time her brain was telling her that the roses’ deliverer wasn’t tall enough to be Fergus. The roses came towards her, obscuring her view of the holder as Danny vigorously nodded his approval at her side. As she took the flowers she saw who was holding them.
‘Nick?’
She immediately pushed away the flowers. ‘I don’t know where she is.’
‘These are not for Elizabeth. They’re for you to say I’m sorry for being a jerk the other night. It’s all getting on top of me. I love her, Carly. I need her back.’ He handed her the flowers.
Carly shooed Nick out of the salon and away from the open mouths of clients and stylists alike. ‘Here,’ she thrust the flowers back at him crushing them slightly. ‘I don’t want your flowers.’ She turned and started to walk purposefully away. Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction of the flat and at some point she was either going to have to turn round and look like the numpty she felt or walk miles out of her way.
Nick caught up with her. ‘Can I walk with you?’
Carly stopped. ‘How did you know I’d be here? Are you stalking me? Because there are laws against that.’
Nick looked contrite. ‘I came here earlier in the week to see if Elizabeth had booked herself in.’ He cast his eyes downward at the same time as Carly’s jumped up. This was proper resourceful stalker territory. ‘And I saw your name on the screen. I figured there weren’t two of you in the area. I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped a line.’ He looked sorry. He looked lovely. Carly had always liked Nick; he was funny and easy on the eye – everybody liked Nick. On some level she felt he had hurt her too by doing what he had done to Beth.
‘You overstepped the line when you hit my friend.’ Carly’s jaw tightened.
‘Can we talk somewhere? Can I get you a coffee? Can I at least explain? Please.’ His eyes looked full of remorse and, against her better judgement, Carly said yes.
Carly sipped her black chai tea and eyed Nick wearily. It was difficult to reconcile what she had heard from Beth with the calm and worried-looking man who sat opposite her. Nick was looking his usual immaculate self. Black hair in a neat but trendy short style. He was wearing a fitted white shirt, his suit jacket neatly placed on the back of his chair. He didn’t look the type to hit anyone but there was rarely a typical look for someone that dished out domestic violence. That was the problem, you just didn’t know. Carly glanced around at the other hotchpotch of London life catching a few minutes respite from the busy world outside. They all looked pretty ordinary but who was to know what any of them were capable of when under pressure.
‘How have you and Fergus been?’
‘We’re fine, Nick.’ Carly felt she had to ask the responding question. ‘And how about you?’
‘Awful. Devastated. I think I was in shock at first when she left. Now I’m just sick with worry.’ Carly didn’t speak but she hoped her expression conveyed her lack of sympathy. ‘I love her, Carly. I can’t believe this has happened and I need to get her back.’
‘I don’t think that’s going to happen, Nick.’
Nick briefly put his head in his hands. ‘I keep going over and over it.’ He looked up slowly and held Carly’s gaze. ‘Leo was being so testing …’
‘He’s six, that’s kind of his job,’ pointed out Carly.
‘Yes, I know, but he was pushing all the boundaries and with Elizabeth not there he seemed to think he could do what he liked. All I did was tell him off and he went crazy.’ Nick emphasized his point with his palms spread wide. ‘I had to restrain him or he would have hurt himself. That was all I was doing. I swear to you.’
Carly sipped her tea as Nick awaited her response. ‘Beth saw you hurting Leo.’
‘No, no, she didn’t. She thought she did but I was grappling with him and trying to catch hold of his hands so he would stop lashing out.’
Carly was quiet while she mulled over Nick’s new version of events. ‘Even if she did misunderstand what she saw, I’m not saying that she did but if she did, then how do you explain you hitting Beth?’ Carly stared at him unblinking, watching his face, studying his response, trying very hard like all the TV detectives she’d ever watched to spot a sign that he was lying.
Nick blew the air out of his cheeks and shook his head, then stared at his hands for a bit as if they held the answer. Finally he looked up and made eye contact. ‘I don’t know.’
Carly’s eyes widened. ‘You don’t know how you hit her?’
‘No. I’ve no idea how it happened but the important thing is that it wasn’t intentional.’
Carly snorted and wished she hadn’t as it irritated her throat and now she was coughing uncontrollably.
‘You okay?’ He looked concerned.
‘Fine, carry on,’ she croaked.
‘One minute it was just me and Leo and he was screaming and, God, can that kid scream.’ He gave a half-laugh. Carly sipped her tea carefully which soothed her throat as she waited for him to explain further. ‘I think Elizabeth came up behind me as I stood up and somehow she got knocked into the wall. But, honestly, I don’t know exactly how it happened.’ He shook his head. ‘Carly, what do I do?’
Carly didn’t like this. Nick’s version of events did sound plausible but then so had Beth’s, and Beth had the bruises to prove her account. However much she hated herself for it, Carly couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Nick. It all seemed so out of character. She studied his face – was that a tear in his eye?
Carly wasn’t sure what to say. She would always be steadfastly loyal to Beth but was there even the smallest possibility that Beth had misread the situation?
‘I don’t know what you should do, Nick. But I guess if you really love her you try to put things right.’
‘That’s exactly what I intend to do. Whatever it takes. But first I need to know where she is.’
By the time Beth was safely at the b
ottom of the ladder Jack had finally stopped laughing. Beth was breathing heavily through her nostrils and was aware that she sounded a little like a cranky horse.
‘What is so funny?’ Her stern face seemed to set Jack off again.
He took a deep breath to quell the laughter. ‘Come on, I’ll buy you one of Rhonda’s famous bacon butties.’
Beth didn’t like being laughed at. At school she had never quite fitted in and had frequently been the butt of jokes she never quite understood and, right now, she felt exactly the same – self-conscious and awkward. Having made a concerted effort after Leo was born to carve out a successful career for herself, she was filled with dread at the thought of shrinking back into the uncomfortable and unsure person she had once been. It appeared all the old doubts had never actually gone away; they were just dormant awaiting a situation like this to reawaken them and bring them flooding back at full force.
‘Thanks, but I don’t think so,’ said Beth as she looked around for something to busy herself with. Jack had stopped laughing and was watching her closely and Beth found she was grinding her teeth so she stopped.
‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘You’ve not.’ Beth took hold of the ladder and, finding the catch that released the upper sections, she pushed it into place with her thumbs. The ladder slid down at speed.
‘Noooo!’ Jack lunged at the ladder and managed to grab the first rung, only just stopping the rest of it from sliding into Beth’s face.
She looked startled and stumbled backwards.
‘Bloody hell, Beth, what did you do that for?’ He was still clutching the rung of the ladder and he looked cross.
‘Well, not for fun! It was an accident!’ She felt foolish enough without him pointing it out.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked, as he finished the job and laid the ladder on the grass. Beth nodded. She daren’t speak because for some ridiculous reason she felt like crying and if she opened her mouth she feared it may be a great blubbing sob that escaped rather than something coherent. ‘Come on, I need a bacon butty. Okay?’
Beth nodded.
‘I’ll take Doris home, and you and Leo can meet me at the tearoom.’ His voice was still gruff. She knew he was still cross with her but his eyes seemed to convey concern.
The tearoom was teeming with the Dumbleford lunchtime rush but Rhonda quickly cleared them a table by the window and Beth was soon staring at the biggest pile of bacon slapped between two halves of a white roll that she had ever seen. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten white bread; living in London there were always lots of options and Nick had had wheat intolerance so they’d mainly eaten rye. Beth and Jack reached for the ketchup at the same time and when their fingers touched they both recoiled in a flood of apologies. Beth didn’t like how her body had reacted to the contact.
Jack quickly turned his attention to his butty. ‘Dive in,’ he said, his bouncing eyebrows giving away his enthusiasm.
Leo didn’t need telling twice. He grabbed his and stuffed as much as he could into his mouth, making his mother wince at his lack of table manners.
Beth gave her plate a sideways look. ‘There’s like half a pig in there.’
‘I know, it’s fabulous!’ Jack took a huge bite out of his.
Beth wanted to ask for a knife and fork but even then she wasn’t sure how exactly to tackle the teetering tower, the smell of which was making her senses tingle. Sod it, she thought as she picked it up, opened her mouth as wide as it would go and bit into it. Leo grinned at her.
Beth closed her eyes as she chewed. It was crispy bacon heaven. Without speaking Beth and Leo communicated their mutual enjoyment with a series of exaggerated facial expressions and eye rolls. Beth popped the last morsel into her mouth and almost felt sad – she didn’t want the bacon butty to end.
‘I told you they were the best.’ Jack’s expression conveyed that he was pleased with himself.
‘Amazing,’ said Leo. ‘I’m bored now. Can I play outside?’ He looked to Beth for her approval.
‘Well, okay,’ she said reluctantly, ‘but stay on this side of the village green where I can see you.’ Leo didn’t respond – he was already running for the door and artfully dodging Maureen and a laden tray.
‘I’m sorry about laughing earlier,’ said Jack.
‘It’s okay. I’m not used to this sort of renovation so it’s …’
‘I don’t think you’re used to renovation at all,’ stated Jack over the top of Beth’s explanation. She was about to protest but he continued. ‘Pointing is the cement-like filler between tiles or bricks and over time it crumbles and therefore lets in moisture.’
‘Right,’ said Beth, feeling embarrassment flush in her cheeks.
‘And when I said I liked the Flemish bond I meant the wall, it’s a style of brickwork.’
‘Right, not James Bond then?’
‘Nope.’
Beth looked at Jack and into his pale grey-blue eyes. He looked sympathetic rather than mocking but she felt stupid all the same. She sighed. ‘Look, I might not have been entirely truthful, but the thing is …’
A wheelie trolley suddenly appeared at the side of their table interrupting Beth’s flow.
‘Hello, Jack. Hello again, crazy lady,’ said the old woman, with a chuckle.
‘Shirley, this is Beth. Beth this is Shirley, one of Dumbleford’s oldest residents.’
‘Aye, cheeky!’ said Shirley, giving him a pretend clip round the head.
‘I mean you’ve lived here the longest.’
‘Oh, okay, I’ll give you that.’ She eyed their mugs of tea and winked at them dramatically. Shirley bent over and rummaged in her trolley before producing a hip flask. ‘Just the thing to liven up tea,’ she said unscrewing the top.
‘We’re okay, thanks, Shirley,’ said Jack, and Beth looked relieved at not having to refuse whatever was in the flask. The woman was a mobile off-licence although it could be poison for all Beth knew – she was clearly potty. Shirley looked disappointed but returned the flask to the trolley and patted the lid affectionately. She then shuffled next to Beth. ‘Budge up,’ she said, as she lowered herself onto Beth’s chair. Beth only had a moment’s notice to move over to Leo’s vacated seat. Beth recoiled and tried very hard not to breathe in through her nose but when she did she wasn’t expecting the gust of lily of the valley thrust up her nasal passages. She was surprised; not pleasantly surprised as she loathed the smell, but it was better than she had been expecting from the bag lady.
‘So you’ve heard about Wilf’s place?’ Shirley said to Jack.
‘Yes, I’m giving Beth here a hand,’ said Jack, trying to pull Beth into the conversation.
‘Huh, she’ll need more than that! More like a miracle!’ Shirley started to giggle.
‘I think the property is sound, Shirley. Did the survey throw up much?’ asked Jack, turning to Beth.
Beth blinked hard and failed to hide her annoyance, which was mainly with herself at the rash bidding decision that had landed her here, but also at being interrogated.
‘I didn’t actually have a survey done but there was one I received when I got the keys and …’ Beth tailed off as Shirley had slowly swivelled round and was staring at her from an altogether far too close proximity.
‘And?’ prompted Jack.
‘And I started to read it but it was all a bit overwhelming.’ Beth shuddered at the memory of how many times the report mentioned the words ‘significant defects’, ‘overhauling’, ‘upgrading’ and ‘inadequate’.
‘I could look at it for you?’ offered Jack.
Beth felt a stab of humiliation as Jack gave her a pitying look. How had she gone from being a totally in control sought-after individual in the business world to this? Nick, that was how and she hated him even more for it.
Chapter Eight
Beth had the survey report clutched in her hand and she put it on the B&B kitchen table before answering her mobile.
‘Before I forge
t, Danny says you’re due a cut and colour,’ said Carly as soon as Beth picked up.
‘Hiya, I don’t know where I’ll go for that.’ There was no hairdresser in the village and nobody she had come across had a haircut that would prompt her to ask where they got theirs done.
‘Anyway, Danny had seen this article on treehouses in a magazine in the salon and, love him, he dropped it round to the flat and they are simply stunning. Beth, you want to see them, they’re amazing. They’re like the best hotel suites up in a tree and some are catered, so they deliver this gourmet meal for you to have by candlelight. One of them was full of flowers; flower garlands, arrangements and even flowers threaded around the bed headboard.’
‘They sound lovely.’
‘Eek, I can’t wait,’ said Carly, her excitement obvious. ‘They are the perfect place for a proposal. He is such a sweetheart. We both love the outdoors and we like a touch of luxury, so this combines the two perfectly.’
Beth loved her friend and the last thing she wanted to do was burst her bubble of happy expectation but she did feel that, although it all sounded very plausible, she was setting herself up for another possible disappointment.
‘That does all sound fabulous. Are they expensive, these tree-house breaks?’
‘Yeah, hundreds, but when you are looking at something so unique then that’s what you have to pay.’
Beth hesitated before she spoke. ‘And do you think this is the sort of thing that Fergus could afford on his income?’
There was silence and Beth felt awful for having brought Carly crashing back to reality. Eventually Carly spoke but a lot of her previous gusto had dissipated. ‘Perhaps he’s been saving up.’
‘Yeah,’ said Beth, trying to sound enthusiastic, ‘you’re right, he could have been building up to this for ages. I’m sure it will be totally brilliant.’ There was a silence that went on a fraction too long.
‘Nick has been in touch again.’
Beth could tell by Carly’s voice that there was more she wanted to impart. ‘And?’
Escape to Willow Cottage Page 7
