5. Ellie
5
ELLIE
E llie’s plans had not quite worked out the way she had expected, and it took her several weeks to leave London. For starters, the day after Barnaby had informed Ellie of his plans, he had called a house meeting. His parents had expressed their dismay that (a) he intended to go away for so long and (b) that he was going without Ellie. As much as they usually seemed indifferent towards her, Ellie thought, they seemed to enjoy knowing she was there for Barnaby. Kind of like a babysitter, or the way she constantly tidied up after him, more like an au pair.
Barnaby, however, had explained to his parents, without any desire to spare Ellie’s blushes, that he didn’t want to be tied down to a life in England without having first experienced the wonders of the world for himself. This had left Ellie somewhat shocked, as growing up, Barnaby had holidayed in exotic and interesting locations, and had never been tied down to his life in England. He had continued to holiday with friends even after he’d started dating Ellie, rarely inviting her along. But now, Barnaby complained that he felt confined and trapped by his relationship with Ellie, and that he needed to escape to discover himself. Diana and Harold Beauchamp had listened. They had initially seemed somewhat shocked, but as their only son told them he felt he was being suffocated by his life, they had decided on the spot that he should indeed go away and find himself. There had been little consideration for Ellie’s feelings and she had sat in the kitchen feeling like an outcast. It was very unpleasant, quite humiliating in fact, and something she hoped never to experience again. She would never want to put anyone through the complete cringe fest of being made to feel like she was ruining Barnaby’s life — which she had not thought she was doing. According to Barnaby, however, she was not the person he wanted to spend his life with for many reasons. After all, she could never afford to travel the world without worrying about money, debt and how she would manage when she returned to the UK. His parents did not jump to defend her honour at all. It was like she had been there to fulfil a role and they were all disappointed in her performance, so now she would be let go by them in exactly the same way that Ramona had done. The only difference was that Ramona had fired her via text and Barnaby was doing so in the family home in front of his parents. The house meeting had added nothing to Ellie’s feelings about what Barnaby had already told her, but it had rubbed salt into the wound. And made her glad that she’d decided to leave.
Mortification complete, she had trudged upstairs to continue her packing, only to be approached by Diana who had asked for a quiet word. Diana had informed Ellie that they were going away on a Caribbean cruise, and therefore their home would be empty for a few weeks. Not wanting to worry about security, they would be very grateful if Ellie would stay there and keep an eye on things. Diana seemed to feel no shame at all in asking and Ellie realised she was not surprised. It made it crystal clear to Ellie that she was nothing more than hired help. She had been hired as Barnaby’s girlfriend while it suited them, and now she was being hired as home security.
However, she’d had things that she needed to sort out before she left London — like resigning from her bar job — and so she accepted the role of home security. It would provide the breathing space she needed before she returned to Cornwall. The last thing Ellie wanted was to return to Cornwall before she’d had a chance to take stock of her new situation. Her gran had been more of a mother to her than her biological mother had been and Ellie loved her deeply. Pearl was Ellie’s family, her confidante, and the one person she could rely on. Pearl was, in fact, Ellie’s home. While in London Ellie had missed her grand desperately, but they stayed in contact via video calls several times a week and via daily text message. Ellie went home when she could, which wasn’t often because she was so busy in London, and Pearl rarely left Cornwall because she had her café to run. Despite this, Ellie knew her gran loved her and she knew her gran felt loved. True family loved you no matter what.
But now, at last, she was packed and ready to leave, waiting for her Uber to arrive and transport her to the train station. She let herself out of Barnaby’s home for what she knew was the last time, and she dragged her two large suitcases along the winding path. Spring was in the air, and it gave her a sense of hope because it heralded in a new beginning for her. This was a fresh start in her life, a leaving behind of the dreams she used to have as she moved forwards to embrace a new adventure.
Ellie Cordwell was going home, and spring was on the way.