‘Perhaps he’s got a really bad headache?’ I suggested weakly.
‘And then last night, I was locking up the shop at sunset and it was almost high tide.’
‘Yes?’ I could picture it vividly. The boats in the harbour would have been bobbing up and down in deep water, their masts tinkling, and the beach would be nothing more than a thin golden ribbon curled between the rocks and the waves …
‘And I looked out at the sea wall, and there was a tall figure silhouetted against the red of the setting sun. Would have made a lovely photo,’ she added as an aside.
I frowned. ‘Actually on the sea wall at high tide?’
‘Yes. And it was Theo.’
My eyebrows were knitted together with worry. I’d scrambled up there once myself. The sea had been like a mill pond at the time but the wall was narrow and jutted straight out from the beach towards the west. When the sea was rough, huge waves arced high above it and during high tide the water would be deep and unforgiving. I shuddered to think what would happen if someone fell in.
‘What on earth was he doing out there?’ I murmured.
‘Depression, prescription drugs, excessive pills, erratic behaviour …’ Eliza listed. ‘You tell me.’
He couldn’t be contemplating … what she was suggesting. Things were beginning to pick up for him, the cottages were ready, the holiday business was on the cusp of taking off. Unless … A sudden wave of panic hit me. Had Kate found out that I’d been staying with him and put two and two together and made five? If so, he might feel as if he had nothing to go on for.
‘Did you call the police, or the coastguard?’ I asked.
‘No, I ran down the beach myself and shouted at him to get down. He was very rude, actually,’ she added. ‘Told me I’d frightened the life out of him. But at least he climbed down. He went home after that, as far as I know.’
I let out a breath of relief. ‘Thank you. I’m glad he’s safe.’
‘Till next time,’ she muttered ominously.
Maybe Eliza was making a mountain out of a molehill. But maybe she wasn’t. I wished he’d answered my call last night.
‘Perhaps I should come back,’ I said.
‘Definitely!’ I could almost see her punching the air. ‘And that’s perfect timing because on Friday, Danny is doing a photo shoot of the new mermaid tails, assuming they’ve arrived by then, to say sorry to me for revealing your whereabouts to the press. You can be in it.’
‘He’s apologizing to you? What about me?’ I said.
‘Hold on, he’s here, I’ll ask him.’
I swallowed my last mouthful of coffee as, with a muffled voice, Eliza relayed my message to her brother.
‘Danny says there’s a two-for-one offer on mussels on Saturday night at The Sea Urchin. He’ll take you if you don’t mind going Dutch.’
Despite my worries about Theo, I couldn’t help smiling. No surprise that Danny was single if that was the best he could do. ‘Tell him he’s all heart.’
I vowed to be back as soon as I could and extracted a promise from Eliza to go and check up on Theo straight away and then I ended the call. I was about to ring Archie to see if he could get down there when Maxine entered the canteen and my heart nearly beat its way out of my chest.
Had I really just agreed to run off again? What was my director going to say about that? Also, I hadn’t actually told Eliza that I didn’t want to be in her mermaid photo shoot. The sensible thing would be to call Theo and put my mind at rest. I tried his number but it just rang out and when the answerphone eventually picked up I couldn’t think of anything to say that wasn’t ‘please don’t do anything foolish’. So I hung up.
I had to go back to Brightside Cove. It was what any decent person would do. And actually a tiny part of me acknowledged that it was what I wanted to do more than anything. I might not be needed on set this week, but what if Maxine decided that Nurse Elsie should wake up and I ended up with a full filming schedule next week? I couldn’t let the cast down again. I bit my lip, watching as Maxine helped herself to bottled water from the fridge and selected a banana from the fruit display. I needed advice. If only I had a … mentor.
‘Maxine!’ I called, barging my way back through the glass doors and towards the table where she’d settled down alone to peel her banana. ‘Can I talk to you?’
‘It would seem you already are,’ she said, slicing the banana into circles.
I sat opposite her.
‘I have a dilemma,’ I began.
And I told her how acting had always been the most important thing in my life. That being part of a hit TV series like Victory Road was a dream come true and that I honestly couldn’t imagine another career for myself.
‘But …?’ Maxine posted a piece of banana into her mouth without taking her eyes off me.
‘I’m worried about a friend of mine. The one I’ve been staying with in Devon. He’s been very down recently and his neighbours are concerned about his state of mind. He lives alone and I honestly don’t know what he might be capable of.’
Maxine’s eyes met mine. ‘And you want to go back?’
My heart thumped and I nodded. ‘But I also care about Victory Road. I don’t want to leave you in the lurch.’
‘So I guess it would have been easier if we had killed off Nurse Elsie?’
‘No, no!’ I exclaimed selfishly, and then squirmed when Maxine raised a knowing eyebrow. ‘Yes, I suppose so, but the coma idea is such a good one and puts the suspense back into the storyline which I so idiotically threw away.’
Her eyebrow was still up. ‘So. Any ideas?’
‘Perhaps she could stay comatose for a long time?’
Maxine unscrewed the top of her water bottle and took a sip without breaking eye contact. ‘How long is long?’
I felt a surge of hope. This might actually work. I might be able to get a stay of execution as it were and still keep my job. I wet my lips. ‘Well, I could be back on set by, say … the end of June?’
My mind was forging ahead, thinking of everything we could do by then: Brightside Holidays would be up and running on the Coastal Cottages website; we could have taken some bookings, produced brochures, put together a fabulous marketing plan and Kate would come back from South America to a successful business, make up with Theo and live happily ever after.
Maxine sucked in air and took out her notebook, flicking through the pages. ‘Let me see. The episode where you fall into the coma will air next week. So if we couldn’t film a new scene with you until June, it wouldn’t air until July. That’s a long time to string out a coma plotline.’
‘But just think of the tension,’ I urged. ‘Freddie and Becky can start an affair right under my nose. Literally. The viewers will be horrified!’
‘True.’ She stared at me and I could almost hear the whirring of her brain. ‘That could be a ratings winner. While Nurse Elsie lies there fighting for her life, Ron grows closer to Nurse Marjorie until they begin an inappropriate affair behind the closed curtains of your hospital cubicle.’
I nodded eagerly.
‘And one day your eyes flicker and you raise a hand but no one notices because they’re too busy snogging and then you wake up just as Ron yanks the engagement ring off your finger and pops the question to Marjorie. You go into cardiac arrest and die. Cue credits!’
She sat back in her seat, eyes glittering with ideas.
‘You are brilliant,’ I said, full of admiration. ‘But evil.’
‘And that’s why they pay me the big bucks,’ she said in an American accent and mimed reloading an automatic machine gun.
‘Isn’t that from a film?’
She nodded shiftily. ‘The Holiday. My favourite film.’
I coughed to hide my surprise; I hadn’t been expecting that. Some foreign, subtitled arthouse film, yes, but not Cameron Diaz and Jude Law frolicking in the snow.
A spot of colour pinged on to her cheeks and she gave her papers an unnecessary shuffle as if already regre
tting that momentary glimpse of a softer side. ‘Don’t bandy it about or my reputation will be ruined.’
‘My lips are sealed.’
I felt honoured, as if she’d unzipped her coat on a cold day and let me share her warmth.
‘There are lots of things about me you don’t know,’ she continued. ‘That no one knows.’
Her features took on a brief mask of sadness but in the next second she blinked and when she met my gaze her eyes were as clear and perceptive as ever. ‘You care about him a lot, don’t you? This man.’
‘Yes,’ I said in a gruff voice.
I did care about Theo. What he and Kate had endured, losing their precious baby daughter, broke my heart every time I thought about it. And on that last day in Brightside Cove he’d been so enthusiastic about his plans for the holiday business. He could do it, he could survive this pain and start afresh, and not just for Kate, to win her back, but for himself. Because Theo deserved a bright future too.
Maxine reached across the table and grabbed hold of my hand.
‘Then go. Be there for him,’ she urged. ‘Let him know that you care, because if you don’t, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Take it from one who knows.’
I could hardly believe my luck. ‘For two months?’
‘Yes, now go before I change my mind.’
Impulsively, I darted around the table and held her tight, muttering my thanks.
‘If you fancy getting away from it all,’ I said, hoisting my bag on to my shoulder, ‘we’re taking bookings for the holiday cottages. Come and enjoy the peace and quiet of Devon.’
And right on cue her phone buzzed into life.
‘Don’t tempt me,’ she said, stabbing the phone with an impatient finger. ‘Maxine Pearce?’
And while she barked instructions to the caller, I ran for the exit, hoping that whatever was going on at Brightside Cove was not as drastic as we thought.
Chapter 13
Six hours later, I was hefting my suitcase over the potholes towards Driftwood Lodge. I’d called Archie to fill him in on Theo’s odd behaviour and he’d promised to get down here too as soon as he could get away from work.
‘He’s your friend,’ I’d reminded him sternly, ‘don’t leave it too long.’
I stopped in the courtyard to catch my breath, anxious and hot from the journey, but despite my worries about Theo, my stomach swooped with joy. The late afternoon was warm, the sky was cornflower blue and the smell of the sea mixed with the sweet scent of yellow gorse flowers was as heady and beguiling as any perfume.
I knocked on the door and tried the handle. It was unlocked as usual.
‘Hello?’ I called, pushing it open.
‘Nina?’ Theo appeared at the kitchen door, typically dishevelled in scruffy jeans and a holey jumper. His curls didn’t look as if they’d been brushed since I’d left on Friday evening and his chin was bristly with stubble. And his eyes … red-rimmed and puffy.
‘Oh Theo!’ I dropped my case and ran at him, throwing my arms round his neck. ‘I’m here and everything’s going to be okay.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ Theo looked at me, alarmed, and tried to fight me off. ‘You’re back sooner than I expected. Are you on the run again? What did you do this time, pick a fight with the Queen?’
‘I came back to be with you.’ I gave him a watery smile.
‘You don’t look too happy about it, if you don’t mind me saying,’ he said, passing me a tissue from his pocket. ‘It’s clean.’
‘I am,’ I confirmed, keen to make sure he didn’t think he was a burden. ‘I’m very happy. I’ve arranged time off work. All above board this time. I won’t leave you alone for a second. And between us, you and me, we’re going to take the ultimatum from Kate and we’re going to smash it …’ My voice petered out. That was insensitive of me; the ultimatum may well be off by now. ‘If that’s what you still want?’
I peered up at him. His eyes were red, but there was no sign of any recent crying. In fact, if anything he seemed more confused than upset. I stepped closer to check.
‘I do want. Careful,’ he warned, ‘you’ll squash Mittens.’
He bent down and scooped up the kitten that was sitting on his foot and showed me the little white mittens on his paws.
‘Although I should have called him Limpet: he clings to my leg all the time. I’ve even taken to walking with a straight leg to avoid flicking him off. I started doing it automatically when I was out yesterday and he wasn’t even there. People must have thought I was a right weirdo.’
They thought far worse than that.
He kept the kitten at arm’s length and rubbed a finger under its chin until it purred. ‘You’re ticklish under there, aren’t you, little fella?’
The sight of this big hulk of a man cradling the tiny creature in his hands made me want to cry again.
Theo sneezed and I rubbed his arm.
‘I’m glad you’ve bonded,’ I said.
‘Yes, in spite of—’ He broke off and waggled his eyebrows.
I raised my own eyebrow questioningly. ‘In spite of …?’
He gave me a stern look that I couldn’t quite interpret. ‘I nearly gave up yesterday. It’s no good, I thought. I can’t go on like this.’
‘So Eliza was right,’ I said sadly, rubbing his arm.
‘She saw the state I was in?’
I nodded, biting my lip.
He frowned, set the kitten down and walked into the kitchen. ‘Eliza keeps turning up here like some sort of phantom door-knocker. Except she doesn’t actually knock, she presses her face against the window, and when I catch her, she runs away. Clearly doesn’t trust me to look after one of her kittens. Cup of tea, or something stronger?’
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask for a glass of wine. Until I remembered that taking anti-depressants with alcohol was probably forbidden and I didn’t want to make him feel awkward.
‘Tea would be lovely.’
I followed him into the kitchen. It was amazingly tidy and my heart swelled when I noticed two tiny silver cat bowls and a little tartan cat bed in front of the Aga. Mittens tiptoed over to it and immediately curled up into a contented ball.
‘The doc said the tablets would take a couple of days to kick in,’ he said, rootling around in the cupboard for mugs.
‘And you’ll feel so much better then,’ I assured him. ‘You did the right thing going to the doctor. I only wish I’d been here to support you. We’re all here for you: me, Eliza, Archie, even Raquel from the pub and Jethro have been worried.’
‘That’s thoughtful of everyone.’ He gave me a bemused smile, dropping teabags into two large mugs. ‘But I think I can manage an allergic reaction by myself, even if it has made me a bit tetchy.’
He motioned towards a box of tablets on the kitchen table. Antihistamines.
‘That’s what the doctor gave you?’
He nodded and sneezed again and the penny dropped: the puffy eyes, the sneezing, Theo holding the kitten at arm’s length.
‘You’re allergic to Mittens?’ A smile crept across my face.
‘Apparently so. It started almost immediately. Why did you think I had beetroots for eyeballs?’
I let out a giggle of relief; he wasn’t on Prozac at all. Theo folded his arms and leaned back against the Aga.
‘Hey, don’t mock the afflicted.’ He grinned. ‘It’s very uncomfortable, you know.’
We gave up on the tea and opened a bottle of wine and I confessed that Eliza had put him on suicide watch and he laughed, but I could see he was quite touched that she had cared enough to keep an eye on him.
Then he showed me how hard he had been working in my absence. He’d started collecting leaflets from places of interest to make visitor packs, he’d been busy in the garden and was building a brick barbecue for the cottages to share and he showed me the neat little first-aid boxes he was compiling for each cottage with antiseptic wipes, bandages, plasters, tweezers and … paracetamol.
‘Although Jethro wouldn’t sell me enough tablets for a whole box for each cottage, which was a nuisance,’ he said, pointing to the gap in one of the boxes.
Mystery solved.
‘So you weren’t stockpiling pills in preparation for a suicide attempt.’
‘Definitely not.’ He ran a hand through his hair and blinked incredulously. ‘No offence, but if I can survive losing my child to a cruel illness and endure my wife flying to South America to get away from me, I think I can cope with you going home after a two-week stay.’
‘Well, if you put it like that,’ I said, feeling a bit silly, ‘perhaps I was over-reacting.’
He reached across the table and covered my hand with his. ‘Nina, I’m grateful, really. I don’t have any family of my own and relations with Kate’s parents are strained at the moment, to say the least. Apart from Archie, I lost touch with most of my friends when Ivy died, and since moving down here … Well, let’s just say I haven’t been very sociable. So thank you. For caring.’
We looked at each other then and his dark eyes were warm and brimming with gratitude. There was still one thing that bothered me.
‘Eliza said you were on the sea wall last night?’
Theo broke eye contact and shifted in his seat. ‘That was embarrassing. It sounds ridiculous, but I was talking to Kate. It was a clear evening, a glorious sunset and I wanted to feel close to her. The sea wall faces west, which is where she is. Argentina now, I think, and I just … I miss her.’
I nodded and squeezed his hand.
‘Have you heard from her since Danny posted my whereabouts on Facebook?’
He shook his head. ‘Not a word. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.’
I smiled sadly and for a moment neither of us spoke until I picked up the wine bottle.
‘But you’re okay, that’s the main thing, which means that basically,’ I said, topping up our glasses, ‘I’ve just managed to get two months’ leave of absence because you have itchy eyes.’
‘Yep.’ He slurped his wine and smacked his lips together with satisfaction.
‘Then we’d better make the most of it. Cheers.’ And I chinked my glass against his.
A Match Made in Devon Page 13
