‘Is that a compliment?’
‘Just an observation,’ he replied. ‘You’ve got a better figure than half the girls in my year. They eat a load of junk, drink too much and then wonder why their waist measures the same as their bum!’
‘Is that your way of telling me that you haven’t got a girlfriend yet?’
‘No time at the moment, Mum, and no one I fancy to be honest, so don’t go getting any ideas about being a grandma anytime soon.’
Holly was sure she had coloured up so she kept her back to her son. What an awful thought that she could potentially have a grandchild that would be older than the baby she was carrying.
‘There you go, one delicious piece of dry toast,’ Harry said pushing a plate across the work surface towards her.
She nibbled the corner of her toast and sipped at her drink, trying to keep the feelings of nausea at bay.
Chapter 64
Robert was sitting in his car which was illegally parked on a single yellow line, keeping an eye out for traffic wardens in his rear-view mirror. He had driven round the block in Caterham several times looking for a parking space but none had become available, so he pulled up outside Renato’s Hair and Beauty in the hope that his wife would soon be finished. He had been surprised the previous afternoon, after Harry and Holly had left, when Rosemary had asked him to pop in to the beauty salon and book an appointment for her to have a manicure and her hair coloured and blow-dried. He was pleased. It was obviously a sign that she was feeling much better if she was taking such an interest in her appearance again.
Maybe this trip to Switzerland wasn’t such a bad idea after all, although why she was in such an almighty rush he couldn’t imagine.
Holly was making all the travel and accommodation arrangements, all he needed to do was drive. He had even put Holly on his car insurance, at her suggestion, in case he got tired and needed a break. What a lovely young woman she is, he thought, and what a shame it didn’t work out for her and Philippe. She had asked him not to pass on any of her contact details should Philippe try to get in touch with her through them, but there had been no word from the Frenchman, which, both surprised and disappointed Robert.
The door to Renato’s opened and Rosemary emerged looking beautiful, followed by a small portly Italian man who was planting air kisses either side of her face and saying, ‘Ciao, Bella.’
She looked happy and relaxed as she climbed into the waiting car. ‘Have you been waiting long?’
‘Just a couple of minutes. I didn’t want you hanging around in case someone else whisked you away.’
‘Bobby, you’re such a charmer. Do you fancy going to the Harrow for a pub lunch, like we used to before I got ill, instead of going straight home?’
‘Great idea, gives me a chance to show you off.’
Chapter 65
Incident? What type of bloody incident, thought Jo, as she reread the email from Delphine for the umpteenth time. She had emailed back after first reading the message three hours ago but there was still no response.
The phone call to the Dr AG Jeetoo Hospital in Port Louis had told her nothing except that Philippe was indeed a patient there and that he was in Intensive Care.
She tapped her long gel-manicured fingernails on the desk trying to decide what to do next. The publicity machine was ready and waiting for the big reveal. She had managed to pull a few favours with the features editor of the biggest circulating Sunday supplement magazine, in which there was supposed to be a four-page spread, revealing the identity of Veronica Phillips, followed by excerpts from the new book, Tiffany, that weekend. In fact, at that very moment, a photographer was waiting in a studio in Holborn for the ‘mystery lady’ to appear.
She couldn’t delay any longer.
‘Alice,’ she called to her PA, ‘get Mike Rowbotham on the phone please, and then Susie at the magazine.’ The phone connected almost immediately. ‘Mike, I’m really sorry but the shoot is off. Of course we’ll pay for your time and the hire of the studio. I’ll make sure I put a nice juicy autobiography cover your way and you can invoice double on it. Sorry, Mike.’
The next call was much trickier, but in the end Jo was able to persuade Susie, the magazine features editor, that the book was so good, the excerpts alone would leave the readers wanting more without the added bonus of the author reveal. Not a pleasant phone call but at this late stage Susie didn’t really have any other option and Jo knew that as a consequence she would have favours to repay at a later date.
‘Alice,’ she called again, ‘call the airlines and get me on the next flight to Mauritius.’
Chapter 66
Delphine arrived back at the hospital a little after 2 p.m. She was hot and bothered, not only because of the soaring midday temperatures in Mauritius in May, but also because of the grid-locked traffic which meant she had spent the last two hours cooped up in her little car without the benefit of air-conditioning. The fresh clothes, which she had changed into when she called briefly at her home on her way back from Philippe’s, were now sticking to her in large damp patches.
Throughout the drive back she had been trying to establish a link between Holly’s email, her brother Jacques, and Philippe’s accusations, but she couldn’t piece things together. She hoped Candice would still be at the hospital as she wanted to ask her a couple of questions, including whether or not Philippe had his phone with him when he had left her in the upstairs room of the Dolphin on Wednesday lunchtime.
She walked briskly along the corridor towards Philippe’s room, grateful for the blast of cool air from the air-conditioning units, and pushed open the door to his room. Candice was sat at Philippe’s bedside stroking his hand. Although Delphine didn’t necessarily approve of Candice’s chosen profession she liked the girl and had introduced her to Philippe because she had thought he would treat her kindly.
‘How has he been?’ Delphine asked anxiously.
‘He has been sleeping mostly but he did open his eyes at one point and was talking about holly? I called the nurse and she said it was a plant used to decorate at Christmas time in England and that he was obviously still delirious.’
Delphine decided nothing would be gained by mentioning that Holly was actually the name of his girlfriend, or rather his former girlfriend. She saw no reason to upset Candice who clearly had a soft spot for him.
‘What happened, Delphine? Why would Philippe attack your brother? He always seemed such a gentleman to me.’
‘I was hoping you may have the answer. Was he angry when he left you on Wednesday lunchtime?’
‘No, but he did seem very anxious to leave. I think he was surprised to wake up at the Dolphin. He was very very drunk the night before, we didn’t even... you know. Maybe he doesn’t like me any more,’ she said, looking sadly at Philippe.
There was a little piece of Delphine that was relieved that Philippe hadn’t had sex with Candice at the Dolphin, even though he had slept with her on several previous occasions. Although Holly’s email was breaking off their relationship, it could just be a lover’s tiff that would all be sorted when Philippe got back to England. Delphine was pretty sure he would have resisted Jacques’ suggestion of Candice spending the night with him had he not been almost comatose from drink. Was that what this was all about? she wondered. Had he attacked Jacques because he had set him up with a prostitute for the night?
Candice was looking up at her with tears starting to form in her huge brown eyes. ‘He likes you just fine,’ reassured Delphine, ‘although you do know he is leaving to go back to England soon so you probably won’t see him again.’
‘I know. I wish he had liked me enough to take me with him away from the life I lead here.’
‘I don’t suppose you noticed if he had his mobile phone with him at the Dolphin?’
Candice furrowed her brow. ‘I remember him picking up his keys and leaving me some money but I don’t think I saw his phone. I paid Dennis for the room and I’ve brought the rest of the money back,’ she s
aid, indicating a pile of notes on Philippe’s bedside table. ‘It didn’t seem right to take money for doing nothing.’
‘Take the money,’ Delphine said, acutely aware of how difficult it was for girls like Candice to make ends meet. ‘Philippe gave it to you because he wanted you to have it.’
Candice looked doubtful but she picked up the money anyway as she rose to leave. ‘Please let me know how he is doing.’
‘I will, don’t you worry, and thank you for coming to sit with him. You’re a good girl.’
Candice turned away but not before Delphine saw tears rolling down her beautiful young face.
Chapter 67
Holly stared down at the word written in blue on the white pregnancy test stick she was holding. Not only did it say ‘pregnant’ it also confirmed that she was three-plus weeks, which she already knew, as the only opportunity for her to have become pregnant were the two days she had spent with Philippe in Mauritius. She couldn’t believe that her body was still so fertile at her age.
Memories came flooding back from the only other time, almost twenty years ago, that she had experienced what she was feeling now. Her boyfriend, Gareth, had left for America two weeks previously and she had heard no word from him. Initially she had thought the feelings of nausea were because she was afraid he had dumped her until, after checking her diary, she realised her period was late. She could still remember the cold fear that crept through her body as, sitting on the edge of the bath, she waited a couple of minutes for the test to develop. She had sat staring at the thin blue line that confirmed she was pregnant until her mother had banged on the bathroom door telling her to hurry up because other people needed to use the toilet.
She had kept the pregnancy to herself for the whole of the summer believing, or simply hoping, that it would all be all right when Gareth came back from America, but he hadn’t come back. There had been no long-distance phone call, no letter sent via airmail, in fact, no contact at all. Two days before she was due back at university, and with her bags already packed in readiness, she had finally told her parents and things had turned ugly.
Holly shuddered. At least this time there was no one she needed to ask for help, and although she was unsure how Harry would take the news she knew in her heart that he would eventually accept it and give her the emotional support she was going to need. She rested her hands protectively on her tummy and allowed herself to wonder whether the baby would be a little brother or sister for Harry.
Once again there was never a moment when she considered a termination. True, she was furious with Philippe for the total disregard he had shown for her feelings when writing about their most intimate moments but the tiny person growing inside her was not responsible for the shortcomings of its father.
There was of course the question as to whether or not she should tell Philippe about the baby. Part of her believed he had a right to know but the other part of her decided that someone who could thoughtlessly reveal to the world the very act that had led to the conception, deserved no consideration from her at all.
At least she had been through all this before, and at a time when she was not financially self-sufficient, so she knew how lonely but rewarding being a single mum could be. Holly smiled. Although she would never have planned to have another baby under the same circumstances, she loved being a mum and had always yearned for more children. Maybe it was simply the cosmos granting her unspoken request.
Chapter 68
Philippe was aware of voices that seemed to be coming from a long way away. Why were there people in his bedroom when he was trying to sleep? he thought. His eyelids fluttered open and he struggled to focus on the two people who were talking in lowered tones by his bedroom door. Realisation began to dawn on him. This was not his bedroom.
‘Where am I?’ he asked, surprised by the croaking sound that came out of his own mouth.
The two people by the door turned.
‘I’ll get the nurse,’ said Delphine, hurrying from the room, while the other woman approached his bed.
As she came closer Philippe could see it was Jo from his publisher’s.
Confused, Philippe asked, ‘What are you doing in Mauritius?’ and then added, ‘I am still in Mauritius, aren’t I?’
Jo perched on the edge of the chair at his bedside and said soothingly, ‘You’re in the hospital in Port Louis. Do you remember what happened?’
‘Hospital? Am I sick?’ he croaked.
At that moment a nurse bustled into the room. ‘I’ll have to ask you to wait outside for a few moments please,’ she said to Jo who immediately obliged. She then turned her attention to Philippe. ‘How are you feeling?’ she asked, lifting his arm from the bed to take his pulse. ‘You’ve had us all quite worried.’
‘Why am I here?’
The nurse chose her words carefully. ‘You were involved in an incident in a bar in Flic en Flac and you were seriously injured.’
Philippe closed his eyes to try and think and in front of him he could see Jacques’ face taunting him.
‘I think I punched someone,’ Philippe said.
‘Don’t try to talk now,’ instructed the nurse, whose badge said her name was Grace. ‘Once the doctor has checked you over your sister can come back in and maybe she can help you piece things together.’
Philippe was about to say that he didn’t have a sister but realised just in time that Jo must have claimed to be his sibling thinking she would need to be a relative in order to visit out of hours. He smiled weakly, wondering if Delphine had claimed to be his half-sister.
‘It’s good to see you smile,’ said Grace. ‘There hasn’t been much to smile about since you were rushed here on Wednesday.’
‘What day is it?’
‘It’s Saturday,’ Grace replied.
‘Did anyone tell Holly?’ he asked.
‘I think your friend Delphine contacted as many people as she could.’
‘Is Holly here?’ he asked hopefully.
‘No, only Delphine and your sister, although yesterday there was another young lady here, Candice.’
The door opened and a man in a white coat entered the room. ‘I’m Dr Lamb,’ he said, ‘and you are a very lucky man.’
He explained to Philippe how the broken glass he had fallen onto had missed puncturing his heart by a fraction of a millimetre. It had however caused a massive internal bleed which had required urgent life-saving surgery upon his arrival at the hospital. All the time Dr Lamb was speaking he was checking the various monitoring devices that were hooked up to Philippe and also the chart on the end of his bed listing the medication that was being administered.
Philippe’s eyes were getting heavy again with sleep. He wanted to speak to Jo and Delphine but he could feel himself drifting off.
‘Sleep is the best thing for him at this point,’ Doctor Lamb said to Grace. ‘Please keep his visitors out until he wakes of his own accord,’ he added as he left the room.
Chapter 69
It was barely light as Holly pulled into the driveway of the Forresters’ home. Robert was already outside, loading two small suitcases into the boot of his Jaguar. Holly pulled up behind his car and climbed out with her small overnight bag.
‘You travel light, Holly,’ said Robert, greeting her with a kiss to each cheek. ‘Something Rosie and I have never quite mastered,’ he added with a rueful glance towards the luggage in their car boot.
Holly’s face flushed slightly as she realised she had almost given the game away by only packing for a couple of days when they were supposed to be away for a week. ‘You’d be surprised how much I have in that little bag. I guess it’s one of the bonuses of constantly travelling for work. I’ve learnt to only take what I’m actually going to need.’
‘Rosie is just finishing her tea and toast, have you eaten?’
‘It was a bit too early when I left so I think I’ll wait until we are on the ferry,’ she said, not wanting to risk her fragile stomach until she could make an excuse of sea sic
kness to Robert who, she assumed, knew nothing of her condition.
‘We should be setting off really,’ she added, checking her watch. ‘It’s almost six.’
Three hours later, with Robert’s Jaguar safely parked on the lower deck of the ferry, the three of them stood on the upper deck as the boat left the English coast bound for France.
Rosemary was gripping the rail so hard that her knuckles had turned white. She was fighting back the urge to cry as she watched the towering white cliffs of Dover receding into the distance while the ferry ploughed inexorably forward out into the open but crowded water of the English Channel. She hadn’t expected to feel quite so emotional leaving England. She had spent almost as much of her life in foreign climes as she had in the country of her birth but there was a finality to this departure. She shivered.
‘You’re cold, Rosie, let’s get you inside. We don’t want you coming down with anything while we’re away, and besides, Holly hasn’t had any breakfast yet.’
The two women exchanged a look as they followed Robert to the cafeteria. Fortunately Holly had remembered to bring some of her camomile tea bags with her as the insipid liquid Robert was sipping would almost certainly have made her feel queasy. She nibbled the corner of a piece of toast while she listened to Rosemary making the comparison between the ferry and the cruise ships she had danced on for so many years.
‘As you can imagine the ships were much bigger than this, although quite small by today’s standards. I sometimes wonder how those enormous vessels stay afloat. The decor was opulent, similar to a five-star hotel, and you had to dress in evening gowns for dinner every night, not just for the Captain’s cocktail party.’
‘Did you ever get sea sick?’ Holly asked.
Life's a Beach and Then... (The Liberty Sands Trilogy Book 1) Page 22
