Summer at the Star and Sixpence

by Holly Hepburn

  Owen tipped his head. ‘True.’

  They watched in silence for a few seconds. Nessie was aware of Owen shifting restlessly beside her, as though he was trying to decide something. Finally, he spoke. ‘Want to dance?’

  Nessie hesitated. ‘Owen—’

  ‘I’m tired of always trying to work out how I should act and what I should feel,’ he said, his expression unreadable. ‘So I’m going with my gut and right here, right now, it’s telling me to dance with you.’

  She gazed at him in an agony of indecision. There was less than half the song left and they were in a crowd of people. What harm could it do to dance with him? Without another word, she took his hand and led him onto the dance floor.

  Neither spoke as they moved. One of Owen’s hands clasped hers, the other rested lightly on Nessie’s waist. It burned through the cotton of her shirt. Slowly, she slid her fingers up his arm, feeling the curve of his muscles under the fabric of his suit. His eyes seemed darker than ever, stormy and intense as their bodies swayed. Nessie’s gaze slid down to his mouth, reminding her of the last time she’d been this close, near enough to kiss him. Was he remembering too? Or was he thinking of Eliza and the way she’d danced at their wedding. Nessie closed her eyes briefly, her heart aching. This had been a mistake. How could she have thought it wouldn’t affect her?

  The song ended. All around them, people broke into applause. Nessie broke the hold and stepped back, forcing her mouth into an easy smile. ‘I should be getting back to the pub. Thanks for the dance.’

  He watched her for a moment then returned her smile. ‘No problem. Let me know if you need any help over there.’

  Nessie nodded and made her way out of the marquee. Her skin still tingled from where he’d held her.

  The next time Nessie left the Star and Sixpence, the skies had begun to darken. The trees outside had been festooned with fairy lights, giving the approaching twilight a magical, otherworldly feel, so that Nessie half felt as though she had stumbled into A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The music floating across the air from the marquee was quite different, though; Jamie’s family were from Edinburgh and they had organised a traditional Scottish Country dance, complete with ceilidh band and a caller to instruct their guests on the steps. Any other time, Nessie would have loved to join in but after the way half a dance with Owen had made her feel, she wasn’t sure she wanted to risk meeting him on the dance floor again.

  She made her way around the green, collecting the empty glasses that were dotted here and there and loading them into the glass tray she’d brought. The catering company had stopped serving drinks at the end of the meal, passing on the party baton to the Star and Sixpence. Most people were inside the marquee, enjoying the dancing, although the night air was still warm. Later it would be chilly but for now Nessie could see scattered groups and couples seated on hay bales or standing around chatting.

  Luke flew past, his face aglow with happiness as he chased another child across the grass. She looked around, wondering where Owen was. And then she saw him, standing underneath a twinkling tree. She wasn’t sure whether he was watching her or Luke, but she raised a hand to wave anyway. He waved back. Then he started towards her.

  ‘It looks pretty full on in there,’ he said, nodding at the crowded pub at the top of the green, with light spilling from its windows and laughter drifting through its door. ‘How’s it going?’

  ‘Not bad,’ she said. ‘Joss and Tilly are great and the extra staff we hired are a huge help.’

  He nodded. ‘Good. Have you heard from Sam?’

  ‘About ten minutes ago. She’s on her way home.’

  ‘Emergency sorted?’

  Nessie shifted uneasily. ‘I have no idea. All she said was that she was heading home. I’ll have to wait until she gets here to find out more.’

  Owen tipped his head. ‘Again, if there’s anything I can do to help, just shout.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Nessie said with a smile. ‘I’ll keep that in mind.’

  She spotted an empty glass upside down under the next tree and lowered the glass tray to the ground while she collected it. When she straightened up, Owen had picked up the tray. ‘It’s no bother,’ he said, when she protested. ‘It won’t take long if we work together.’

  Nessie didn’t argue. They strolled across the green in silence for a moment then Owen spoke. ‘Has it been hard for you today?’

  Nessie stared at him, wondering what he meant. Having Sam disappear in a fog of uncertainty hadn’t been a picnic but she’d coped. Dancing with him had been harder.

  Owen saw her confusion. ‘The wedding,’ he explained. ‘I wondered whether it made you think about Patrick at all.’

  Nessie pictured the divorce papers lying on her bed, neatly addressed and ready to be posted. ‘A bit,’ she answered warily. ‘There were some good times, and our wedding day was one of them.’

  ‘Of course,’ he said, and Nessie thought he sounded embarrassed. ‘I didn’t mean to imply you and Patrick weren’t happy.’

  They had been neither happy nor unhappy towards the end, Nessie wanted to say, they’d just been. But she swallowed the thought. ‘How about you?’ she said instead. ‘I expect it was harder for you.’

  ‘In some ways,’ Owen said, with a sigh that made Nessie ache for him. ‘Being in the church was tough, although I’ve been in there countless times since Eliza’s funeral. But it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Maybe Kathryn is right. It’s time I got over her.’

  Nessie’s heart started to beat a little faster as she stooped to collect another glass. Did that mean what she thought it meant? ‘I’ve always thought that was an odd thing to say, when someone you love dies,’ she said slowly. ‘Because you never really get over losing a loved one, do you? You come to terms with it, eventually, and you might get used to their absence but you’re never the same person you were before. It’ll always affect you, one way or another.’

  He glanced sideways at her. ‘You’re right. Losing Eliza did change me. It made me more afraid, for one thing, scared of something happening to Luke. Frightened to take risks.’

  ‘I can understand that,’ Nessie said quietly. ‘It’s a perfectly natural reaction.’

  ‘But it’s no way to live your life,’ Owen replied. ‘And what I’ve realised since – well, since last week, is that I don’t want fear to rule me any more. I’m going to take more chances and see where they take me. Do you know what I mean?’

  Nessie thought again of the envelope on her bed. In a way, she was doing exactly the same thing. What had Ruby called it? Reinventing herself. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘I think I do.’

  They reached the entrance of the pub. Owen stopped in a puddle of light from the door and turned to Nessie. ‘So I guess what I’m trying to say is, maybe we could take a few chances together?’

  Nessie smiled. It wasn’t a heady declaration of love but it was a start. ‘I think that sounds like a plan, Owen.’

  ‘What time did Sam say she’d be back?’

  Joss looked tired and stressed, Nessie thought. Sam had been in too much of a hurry to tell him she was going, leaving it to her sister to break the news, and Nessie knew it had bothered him. Then she’d made matters worse by failing to contact him all day. Nessie hadn’t known how much to say, so she’d kept to the same story she’d given Kathryn and Owen, that Sam had some urgent business in London to deal with. The trouble was, Joss was much harder to fob off than everyone else. Sam’s behaviour had been out of character for weeks and her sudden departure had set alarm bells ringing.

  ‘It’s not Nick Borrowdale, is it?’ he’d asked as evening fell, and Nessie had struggled to answer because Nick was involved and she didn’t want to lie. In the end, she’d settled for a half-truth.

  ‘Sam did mention his name but it was only in passing. It’s not him she’s gone to see.’

  Now she gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘She’ll be back around ten-thirty, depending on traffic. Look, why don’t you call it a night?
Go and have a drink, enjoy what’s left of the party. I can manage here.’

  He shook his head. ‘I want to see Sam when she arrives. I want to know what’s going on.’

  Ah, Nessie thought unhappily as he went to serve a customer, but is Sam going to want to see you?

  Chapter Ten

  The fireworks went off just after ten-thirty. Sam could see them exploding into the darkened sky as she drove into the village. In some ways it worked in her favour because it meant hardly anyone was in the Star and Sixpence when she walked in, they were all outside watching the sky, including most of the bar staff. And in other ways it wasn’t so good, because there was nothing to stop Joss from demanding to know where she’d been, before she’d even sat down.

  ‘Let me get you a drink,’ Nessie said, firing a warning glance his way. ‘You must be shattered.’

  ‘God, yes,’ Sam said. ‘Make it a double.’

  She kicked off her shoes and stretched into one of the leather armchairs in front of the unlit fire, resting her head against the back of the chair and closing her eyes. She was bone weary, too exhausted to have to explain herself to Joss, who she could sense was pacing the bar like a caged tiger. She didn’t open her eyes again until Nessie returned with a large vodka and tonic, and then she lifted the glass to her lips and drained it. ‘Thanks,’ she said, handing the glass back to her sister. ‘I think I’m going to need another.’

  Sighing, she wiggled her toes and risked a glance at Joss. ‘How has it been here? Okay?’

  He stopped walking to scowl at her, tight-lipped and furious. ‘Fine. But maybe next time you decide to take off without so much as goodbye, don’t do it on the busiest day of the year.’

  ‘Joss!’ Nessie exclaimed, crossing the pub with a second vodka and tonic. ‘That’s enough.’

  Sam ran a tired hand over her face. ‘No, he’s got a right to be angry. You both do. I let you down and I’m sorry.’ She looked at Joss and took a deep breath. ‘But I promise there was a good reason for it, although you’re not going to like what it is.’

  Joss’s face darkened. She pointed at the seats beside her. ‘You should both probably sit down.’

  For a moment, she thought he would refuse, but then he seemed to realise how unreasonable he was being and sat down. Nessie looked grave as she perched on the edge of another chair. ‘Is it as bad as you expected?’

  Sam sighed. ‘Worse. But before I get into that, I owe Joss an explanation.’ She cleared her throat, suddenly nervous all over again. She’d rehearsed this moment many times in the car on her drive back from London but now she came to deliver the speech she’d decided on, she was certain it would only make him more furious. ‘There’s something I’ve never told you, the reason I came to the Star and Sixpence with Nessie last December.’

  Joss went still, his gaze wary. ‘Go on.’

  ‘It happened before I met you, a stupid one-night stand that blew up in my face and cost me my job and my career. I thought it was done with, all in the past, until a few weeks ago when I got a phone call from the man I’d spent the night with.’

  ‘Nick Borrowdale,’ Joss said, his tone grim.

  ‘No,’ Sam said, trying not to sound impatient. ‘Of course it wasn’t Nick. It was . . . someone else, a man with important friends. Someone with a lot to lose if the night we’d spent together ever got out. I thought that meant he’d work as hard as me to make sure that didn’t happen. I found out today I was wrong.’

  Slowly, she explained. Nessie’s mouth fell open when she heard Will’s name and Sam’s explanation of who he was. Joss’s face grew more and more closed. By the time she’d finished, he looked angrier than Sam had ever seen him.

  ‘Did you manage to stop the story going to press?’ Nessie asked.

  Sam shook her head. ‘We couldn’t. It’ll be headline news tomorrow. Everyone is going to know the sordid details.’

  ‘I knew there was something going on,’ Joss exploded. ‘Why didn’t you tell me the truth when I asked? Why did you lie and say you were stressed about the wedding preparations?’

  Sam hung her head. She didn’t know how to answer because he was right – she should have told him. ‘I suppose I was hoping I wouldn’t have to explain anything. Things have been better here than I ever dreamed possible and I guess I just stuck my head in the sand and hoped Will Pargeter would go away.’

  ‘But who leaked the story?’ Nessie asked. ‘Was it his wife?’

  ‘That’s the worst part,’ Sam said, fighting to keep her voice steady. ‘Will and Myles leaked it in exchange for the chance to paint Will as a repenting husband, someone who made a mistake and is willing to apologise for it. Nick suggested we try—’

  She stopped talking, suddenly aware of what she’d been about to say. It was too late, though; Joss had heard Nick’s name.

  ‘He was there?’ he said incredulously. ‘You couldn’t tell me or your sister what was going on but Nick bloody Borrowdale knew everything?’

  Sam shook her head. ‘It wasn’t like that. Nick’s one of my closest friends; he’s known about Will from the beginning. I went to meet with his PR advisor today, to get her take on things. In fact, he was the one who tipped me off that the story was going to break.’

  ‘And how did he know?’ Joss demanded.

  Sam felt her temper start to slip. It had been a long hellish day and the last thing she needed were accusations and an interrogation to round it off. ‘A journalist called to ask him how he felt about it, if you must know.’

  ‘Of course they did,’ Joss snarled, getting to his feet. ‘Because everyone knows you and him have a thing going on. Christ, Sam, has one man ever been enough for you? Or are there more dirty little secrets waiting to fall out of the closet?’

  Sam was on her feet within milliseconds, her hand ringing against his cheek so hard it left a white imprint. ‘How dare you?’

  ‘How dare I? You need to take a long hard look at yourself, Sam,’ Joss said, his eyes blazing. ‘Because from where I’m standing, you look pretty cheap.’

  ‘Get out.’ Sam’s voice was flat.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’m going.’ In one fluid movement, he pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and hurled them to the floor. ‘And don’t expect me back in the morning.’

  He turned and stormed from the pub, just as the fireworks outside reached a crescendo of noise. Sam and Nessie stared after him, silent and shocked. Then Sam sank to the floor, her head buried in her hands, and all the tears she’d suppressed over the last few weeks came flooding out of her.

  Nessie wrapped her arms around her and let her cry. ‘We’ll get through this, Sam, don’t worry.’

  Sam shook her head. ‘I don’t know, Ness. We’ve got a plan in place but it’ll take time to start working. And Joss is—’ Her throat closed up on the word gone. She sighed. ‘It feels like Will’s already won.’

  A shape loomed in the doorway. Sam looked up through her tears and saw it was Owen, his face a mask of concern. ‘Everyone’s heading this way,’ he warned. ‘I’ll buy you some time.’

  Nessie flashed him a grateful look. ‘Thanks.’ Gently, she pulled Sam to her feet. ‘Come on, let’s get you to bed. Things will look better in the morning.’

  ‘They won’t,’ Sam said with a shudder. ‘They’re going to look much, much worse.’

  ‘Then they’ll look better the morning after that,’ Nessie insisted. ‘Nobody even reads the papers these days, anyway.’

  Sam knew she was trying to make her feel better. ‘You’d better hope Franny doesn’t,’ she said, as Nessie helped her up the stairs and into her bedroom. ‘She’ll probably have us run out of Little Monkham for bringing the village into disrepute.’

  ‘Leave Franny to me,’ Nessie said firmly. ‘In fact, leave everything to me. We’ve made more friends than you think since we’ve moved in, I’m sure they’ll all rally round when we need them.’

  Sam sat forlornly on her bed. ‘I’m sorry, Ness. I’ve made a real mess of things.’
<
br />   ‘You haven’t,’ Nessie said, wrapping her in a hug. ‘None of this is your fault. And like I said, we’ll get through this. Together, just like we always have.’

  When Nessie got downstairs, she found Owen behind the bar, serving up pints like he’d worked there all his life. He flashed her a quizzical look. ‘Is Sam all right? I saw Joss go flying out with a face like thunder and guessed they must have argued.’

  ‘It’s a bit more complicated than that,’ Nessie said in a low voice. ‘I’ll explain everything later but let’s just say the next few days are going to be a challenge.’

  ‘Ah,’ Owen said soberly. ‘Well, I like a challenge. And I quite fancy myself as a bartender, so if you’re in the market for a temp until he calms down, let me know.’

  Nessie smiled and felt some of the stress fall away from her. ‘Be careful what you wish for, Owen. I might just take you up on that.’

  Chapter Eleven

  Nessie let Sam sleep the next morning. The party had gone on until midnight, although JoJo and Jamie had gone up to their room not long after the firework display. Nessie was grateful to Tilly, who’d remembered to put the vintage champagne on ice in their room and chocolates on the pillows. She’d already planned to pay the barmaid for a few extra hours, by way of a thank-you, but with Joss at least temporarily out of the picture she’d be relying on Tilly even more and it wouldn’t hurt to make her feel appreciated.

  At nine o’clock, Nessie carried breakfast up to JoJo and Jamie. It took her two trips: the first tray was laden with tea, coffee and orange juice, the second had two sizzling full English breakfasts complete with local bacon and sausages, eggs from Martha’s hens and bread Nessie had got up at six-thirty to make. She slid the trays onto the stands outside the room and tapped on the door.

  ‘Room service,’ she called, listening for signs of movement. Once she was sure she could hear someone heading for the door, she slipped unobtrusively down the stairs. What was the point in breakfast in bed if you had to get dressed to collect it?