Chapter Twenty-Four
The One With a Little Madness
Suddenly short of breath, Kate raised a hesitant hand. There was no sign of Leigh and, with ten minutes to kill, she grabbed the moment, crossing the street to where he stood.
Willing the easy colour not to invade her skin, she noted Dev’s swift sweep of her appearance, and she reciprocated, trying not to make her admiration too obvious.
‘Hey.’
Kate smiled, despite her inner turmoil. ‘Hey back. How’s… things?’
Dev pulled a face. ‘So-so. Theo’s happy, that’s the most important thing.’
Leigh must still be down. Kate glanced around, half expecting the vision of gorgeousness to materialise.
‘I’m—’ Dev cleared his throat as Kate turned back to meet his gaze. ‘I’m on what I think the young folk call a date.’
‘Oh!’ So maybe Leigh wasn’t still down… or was she babysitting Theo?
‘I’d better go. Don’t want to be late.’ Dev gestured across the road.
Kate’s gaze narrowed. ‘At the bistro?’ Hell, this was going to be fun, on yet another blind date with Dev across the room being all… charming with someone else.
‘Yes, I—’
Kate’s phone pinged and she glanced at it. Anna.
Oh, my God.
Did we forget to tell you that Frederick is Dev’s first name? xx
Her heart ricocheted off her ribs. She’d kill them both! Kate looked up at Dev in embarrassment. This was awkward.
‘Do you mind telling me the name of your date?’
Dev took an understandable step backwards, a defensive look crossing his features, and Kate reached out a hand, then let it drop to her side.
‘I’m not trying to intrude, it’s just…’ She huffed out a breath. ‘Honestly. I’m on a date too. But I think it’s with you.’
His eyes deepened in colour. ‘I’m meeting someone called Rose. She’s a friend of Oliver’s… or so I was told.’
‘Rose is my middle name.’
Dev turned his head to look out over the water, then faced Kate again. ‘It would appear we’ve been set up.’
Kate pursed her lips. ‘My friends, and my daughter, think I need to practice dating. Sadly for you, it seems you’re the next victim.’
Expecting Dev to be unamused and take his leave as fast as dignity allowed, Kate was taken aback when he started to laugh.
He held her gaze for a second, then a hint of a smile tugged at his mouth. ‘I thought you were looking particularly… nice. I like your hair like… that.’ He gestured at the curls resting on her shoulders.
‘Oh! Thank you, I think?’ She glanced over the road at the bistro. ‘Well, best head home. I need time to think about how to deal with a few people. Sorry, Dev.’
‘Don’t be. Look, it’s seven. I don’t suppose you fancy…’
You? Yep.
Kate waited.
‘I mean.’ He ran a hand around the back of his neck. ‘People must eat.’
‘It does seem pointless wasting the reservation.’
They set off across the street, Kate’s mind racing. What on earth were they going to talk about? The only things they had in common were village fayres and failed marriages. As Nicki’s parting shot had been ‘don’t spend all evening talking about kids!’… what else could they possibly find to discuss?
‘This is madness, isn’t it?’
A small sound escaped Dev. ‘Probably. Just promise me, on this practice… date, you’re not doing the role play thing, shake my hand and introduce yourself as if it was a meeting.’
No point in not being honest. ‘It did cross my mind.’
To her surprise, Dev grinned at her, then gestured towards the door. ‘Shall we?’
‘Yes, please! I’m starving!’
They were led to a table near the full-length windows fronting onto the harbourside. A low wall concealed the water, but the tops of a mast were visible and the little passenger ferry could be seen as it bobbed along on its final run for the evening.
An awkward silence descended on them, masked by them both giving the menu far greater attention than was necessary, and Kate barely managed to conceal her relief when a smiling young girl came to tell them the specials and take their drinks order.
‘So.’
‘So,’ Kate echoed as they were left alone again. ‘How do we play this?’
Dev shrugged. ‘Does it matter? It’s not as if it was our choice.’
Ouch.
‘Why did you accept the date?’ There. Why not ask him?
His keen gaze held Kate’s for a moment, until she stirred in her seat and looked away, nervously fiddling with her napkin, straightening cutlery that was perfectly in line.
‘Grandy’s on some sort of mission to move me on in life. I came out to forestall his nagging.’
Kate laughed, but then he continued.
‘I was also asked to not let someone down.’
Touched, Kate was unsure how to respond, but thankfully, their drinks arrived, and they gave their food order, as Kate’s mind swirled. It had to be either Anna or Nicki, but what had they meant?
‘Cheers. Here’s to being well and truly set up. By so-called friends, no less.’
There was a faint smile tugging at his mouth as he raised his glass, and Kate clinked hers against it, taking a sip of gin and wishing she’d asked for a double.
‘What shall we talk about then? Not the fayre.’
Kate almost choked on her drink. ‘Definitely not. And not the children,’ she added, recalling Nicki’s caution.
‘I’m not sure that leaves us with much.’
‘Are we also vetoing anything personal?’ Kate knew she had so much curiosity about the Devonshires and their connections to Polkerran Point.
Dev’s expression was speculative. ‘It depends.’
‘On?’
‘How personal you want to get.’
‘I don’t want to pry into your life, if that’s what you mean.’ Liar! ‘Nor do I want to talk about mine particularly.’
‘Okay. Rules laid down. Off you go.’
‘Would you mind telling me a bit more about your family roots – locally, that is? I’ll admit to curiosity over your grandfather’s connection to the cove. He seems very attached to it, but yet he doesn’t live here.’
As they ate their way through their meal – fish and chips for Dev and a spicy pasta dish for Kate – Dev spoke matter-of-factly about his family and how they had been – and still were – extensive landowners in the region, to the apparent envy of the Tremaynes whose entire estate portfolio was tied up within the village. There had been a, mostly, friendly rivalry between Ryther’s parents and those of the then incumbents of the manor house, until the Devonshires had outbid the Tremaynes on two prominent properties: Harbourwatch and Westerleigh.
‘Wow.’ Kate drained her glass and placed her napkin to her lips briefly before returning it to her lap. ‘I’ve heard from Oliver how that rivalry, along with the desire to certainly reacquire the latter, has driven the present generation too. So did your grandfather live in one of the houses?’
Dev placed his knife and fork together. ‘At first, then he went off to university and didn’t return for many years, busy making a name for himself in the music industry. You know he was a bit of a giant in the music world some years ago? Has his own record label which he established in the eighties – the main rival to Stock, Aitken & Waterman?’
Kate nodded. ‘Matt Locksley told me a little, because he and Gemma are writing songs for some of the label’s artists.’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Surely Ryther isn’t still working at… sorry. I was going to say his age, but he doesn’t strike me as someone who wants to sit back.’
Dev let out a small grunt. ‘No, he doesn’t. Even these last few months, when he’s not been well, he still insists on getting the low down on his companies. Secret Gem Records is the one he treasures most, though.’
‘The locals said Harbourwatch fell into disrepair for many years. A few of them think you bought it and don’t seem to realise it never left the family.’
Dev shifted in his seat, then began folding and refolding his napkin.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch on sensitive matters.’
He met Kate’s anxious gaze. ‘What people don’t know for certain, they like to make up.’
They changed the subject, ordered coffee and it was Dev’s turn to ask a few questions, but as Kate had banned any discussion of her life before Polkerran, there wasn’t much to say beyond talking about the job and how much she loved The Lookout.
‘Do you know Daniel and Lauren?’
‘Not really. I haven’t done much mixing in the village since we… I came back. That was Leigh’s thing, getting involved. I knew Oliver, obviously, because he was my tenant after I’d completed the renovations on the house, and we had a few dealings last year over property in the village.’
‘And you allowed them to use your beautiful room for their wedding reception. That was a thoughtful gesture towards people you’re not exactly calling friends.’
Was he blushing ?
Concealing her smile, Kate waited, and her patience paid off.
‘I like Oliver. I may not seem like a romantic, but when he explained how disappointed Anna was over the wedding becoming a local circus, it seemed the perfect solution. Especially as the house is where they first met each other.’
‘You’re a softie inside, really, aren’t you?’ Kate bit her lip, wondering if she was pushing it.
To her surprise, however, Dev laughed. ‘That’s what Grandy keeps telling me, though Lord knows why.’
He insisted on getting the bill, and when Kate offered to cover the tip, he refused.
‘Isn’t it right for the gentleman to settle when on a date?’
‘I’d forgotten we were!’
Of course you had…
‘Besides…’ Flustered, Kate grasped for her bag as they stood, knocking the strap off her chair and it fell to the floor. ‘Damn.’
She bent down to gather the contents, stuffing them unceremoniously into the bag.
‘Thanks.’ She took the pen Dev had retrieved from his hand, wishing the simple contact with his skin didn’t impact on her own so fiercely.
Dev said nothing, holding the door ajar so she could emerge into the cool evening air, a crisp breeze blowing in off the river.
Kate fell into step with Dev as they left the quayside behind and made their way along the front, uncertain how to end a date which wasn’t really a date. The man at her side must have been unsure too, because as they reached the harbour, he gestured over to the benches beside the wall.
‘Sit for a minute?’
They settled on a bench facing across the harbour. Waves lapped gently against the stonework. Night had fallen and the water reflected the street lamps, glistening on the dark water, an owl hooting in the trees on the far side of the bay.
Kate was very aware of Dev at her side, his hand resting on the bench between them. The urge to cover it with her own was so strong, she had to clasp her own in her lap to prevent anything quite so stupid.
‘Something happened. In Grandy’s past.’ Dev spoke softly.
‘You don’t have to tell me. I was prying a bit too much.’
‘No. It’s okay. I don’t know the full story. I’m not sure anyone does. He and my father fell out over something. It seems to stem from when Dad was very young. They were estranged into adulthood for many years, but after my grandmother passed away, they made their way towards a reconciliation.’
‘Do you know when this “something” happened?’
‘Not really, except Grandy came to Polkerran for some reason in the seventies and took to spending a lot of time here. In Harbourwatch. The family still owned all the land, farms and the two houses in the cove, but the cottage was let out to a woman who taught in the village school. I’ve no idea who. Then, all of a sudden – according to my dad, who was a child at the time – Grandy stopped visiting Polkerran. Over time, Harbourwatch fell into disrepair from neglect and was boarded up.’
‘What about the cottage?’
‘The same lady lived there always, as far as I know.’
‘Anna inherited Westerleigh from her aunt Meg, who was a teacher. It seems like she and your grandfather knew each other.’
She was prodding, but Dev didn’t seem to mind.
‘Interesting. Anyway, after my grandmother passed away, Grandy offered Harbourwatch to my dad, but he wasn’t interested, so it was made over to me.’
‘And you did it up.’
‘It was a labour of love. It’s such a beautiful house. I’d hoped to make a home there for Theo. For the family, but Leigh hated it here, took a post in the US, so we moved away. I thought once we were back in the UK, she might…’ He lowered his head. ‘She kept saying she’d had enough, left to take this job and that until last year, when she declared it was finally over and walked out, taking Theo with her.’
Dev’s air of desolation as he pronounced these words was heartbreaking. Her heart going out to the man beside her, Kate got to her feet and held out her hand.
Dev stared at it, then up at Kate.
‘Come on.’
He placed his hand in hers and she tried to suppress a sudden tremor as it shot through her body. Senses on high alert, she summoned a bright smile.
‘Let’s call at the Lugger for a nightcap. At least then we’ve fulfilled our practice date duties.’
As they headed out of the pub an hour later, Dev paused on the threshold and Kate almost ran into his back.
‘Look,’ he said, turning around. He hesitated, shoving his hands in his pockets. ‘I’m sorry, Kate. I haven’t been entirely honest with you.’
Her mind fizzing with all the things they’d talked about, Kate’s senses were on high alert. What the hell did he mean?
‘I knew you were Rose.’
Kate’s lips parted but no words came to help her as she took in the implication.
‘Oliver doesn’t like subterfuge,’ Dev explained. ‘And nor do I.’
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, and then he was gone, soon shrouded by the darkness outside the reach of the lamps on the bridge, and Kate fell back against the wall of the pub, a hand to her warm face.
Well, that was unexpected…