Chapter 51

‘I need to ask you one question,’ said Constance Peverell.

‘OK.’ This was the weirdest meeting Cami had ever experienced. She and Hugo had been walking Boo around the village, Hugo pushing Ellie in her bargain three-in-one pram, when he had taken a call from his mother requesting they pay her a visit at the manor.

Now, in the vast drawing room, Constance was studying Ellie, draped sleepily over Hugo’s shoulder. She switched her gaze to Cami and said abruptly, ‘Is she Hugo’s child?’

‘ What? ’ Cami gave a yelp of disbelief. ‘No!’

‘Quite sure about that?’

Hugo blurted out, ‘Mother, stop it. Ellie isn’t mine. I already told you.’

Constance shrugged. ‘Doesn’t do any harm to double-check. You seem besotted with her.’

‘We’re just friends. I told you that too.’

‘I’m talking about the baby,’ said Constance.

Cami intervened. ‘I was six months pregnant when I moved down here and met Hugo for the first time. My boyfriend turned out to be a liar and a cheat who isn’t remotely interested in having anything to do with Ellie. Not that my situation is anything to do with you,’ she added with a tinge of irritation, because what was going on here?

Hugo looked pained. ‘Cami, let’s not—’

‘It’s fine,’ Constance interjected. ‘Nice to see a bit of fire in her. We don’t want a pushover, do we?’

‘Excuse me?’ Cami frowned. ‘What do you mean by that?’

Hugo flushed. ‘We had a chat last night. I was telling Ma about the caravan in North Wales.’

‘Why?’

‘Because he didn’t think it was a good idea,’ said Constance. ‘And from what he told me about it, I’m inclined to agree. Now, we have a small tied cottage here on the estate that Hugo feels would suit you.’

Cami did a double-take. ‘Tied? But tied property is for estate workers.’

‘Believe it or not, we’re aware of that.’ Constance pointed to the ceiling. ‘This was Hugo’s idea, but I agree that we do need help here in the house. My husband’s arthritis has been making it tricky for him to get around, and his broken ankle has made the situation worse. What we require is someone to help us out when necessary, doing the shopping, running the occasional errand, driving Henry around, that kind of thing. How does that sound?’

‘It sounds . . . unexpected.’ Cami looked across at Hugo, who was swaying side to side and murmuring soothing words to Ellie as he rhythmically patted her back. ‘But good, I think. How much would the rent be?’

‘Modest,’ said Constance.

‘That sounds like my kind of rent.’ It was an out-of-the-blue offer but would be the perfect solution to her immediate problems, even if she only stayed for a few months. It would give her time to reorganise her life and career. Better still, she’d recently become friendly with Janice, a registered childminder who lived on Crow Lane and had already offered her services on an ad hoc basis. ‘You have to understand, though, the baby’s always going to be my first priority,’ she warned.

‘I’m aware of that.’ Constance gave a dismissive shrug. ‘And you have to understand the cottage is small.’

‘That’s fine.’

‘It also needs doing up. But it’ll be a lot better than a run-down caravan in North Wales.’

‘We can get it sorted,’ Hugo chimed in.

‘It’s close enough to the manor for you to be available when needed,’ Constance continued, ‘but far enough away that we don’t have to hear the baby crying. Or the dog barking,’ she added tartly.

‘Ma, don’t say it like that. You love dogs.’

‘Not when they yap . . . Oh no, stop it now, we don’t need any of that.’ Constance wagged a reproving finger at Cami. ‘I don’t hold with crying. Pull yourself together, girl. We need someone who can deal with an irritable old man. Can’t have you dissolving in tears just because I said yapping dogs are annoying.’

‘I’m not.’ Cami wiped her eyes. ‘I don’t hold with crying either. I’m just so happy and I don’t know how to thank you.’

‘By not crying, preferably.’ Constance sniffed. ‘So is that a yes?’

‘It’s a yes please.’ Cami looked over at Hugo again. ‘And a big thank you to you too.’

Twenty minutes later, as they were looking over the cottage, Hugo was called away by one of the estate workers to examine a damaged fence, and Constance said, ‘One more question.’

Cami nodded. ‘Go ahead.’

‘Tell me the truth. What’s the situation between you and my son?’

Oh what? ‘We’re friends,’ said Cami. ‘That’s all.’

‘What kind of friends?’

‘Just ordinary friends. Hugo’s a lovely person. We got on well together from day one. He helped me buy this pram. He’s kind . . .’

‘And do you have your sights set on him?’

‘I do not.’ Cami shook her head firmly.

‘You’re blushing.’

‘Because it’s embarrassing being interrogated like this. We enjoy each other’s company. Nothing’s going on.’

‘He likes you.’

‘And I like him, but that’s as far as it goes. I was with my boyfriend for three years,’ Cami said. ‘He left me with no warning when I was almost seven months pregnant. Right now, I’m a single parent just doing the best I can to care for my baby. Emotionally I’m in no state to set my sights on anyone. It’s not on the agenda. So there you go. I hope that answers your question.’ She’d almost called it your impertinent question , but there was the small matter of having somewhere to live to take into consideration. The woman was tricky, no doubt about that.

Constance pursed her lips. ‘Fine. But you can’t blame me for being concerned. What with your financial situation being as it is.’

OK, now she’d gone too far. Opening her mouth to give Hugo’s mother a piece of her mind, Cami said hotly, ‘You know what? Maybe this isn’t such a—’

‘All sorted,’ Hugo called out, hurrying across the grass towards them. Shoving his phone into his pocket, he reached out to retrieve Ellie from Cami’s arms. ‘Hello, gorgeous, I’m back! Did you miss me?’

Ellie’s big blue eyes slowly focused on Hugo’s face and her rosebud mouth began to curve up at the corners.

‘Oh my God, look at that!’ Hugo swung her round. ‘She’s smiling!’

Cami smiled too; he was devoted to her daughter. And yes, of course it was far too soon, but her own feelings towards him were beginning to change and grow. Luckily Constance wasn’t to know that, and it was none of her business anyway. Laughing at the expression of pure joy on Hugo’s face, she said, ‘She really is,’ even though there was every chance it was just wind.

Eight days later, Lizzie punched the air and cried, ‘We did it.’

Cami was beaming. ‘I know. I can’t believe it. We’re actually finished.’

‘I didn’t think we’d ever meet the deadline.’ After four hundred and twenty-six pages, Lizzie felt weirdly emotional. ‘But we have.’

The final round of edits had been completed with hours to spare. She watched as Cami attached the finished typescript to the email, then slid the laptop across the table towards her. ‘You can do the honours.’

Ding , sang the laptop as Lizzie pressed send and the story of her life flew up into the stratosphere, winging its way to Carla at the publishing house in London. She gave Cami a hug and said with a break in her voice, ‘I definitely couldn’t have done it without you.’

‘Same.’ Cami was sounding wobbly too. ‘Where would I be now if you hadn’t found me?’

The tied cottage had been cleaned up and repainted in record time, and Cami, along with Ellie and Boo, had moved into it three days ago. Now she was packing away her laptop and notebooks, ready to head back there this evening, leaving Lizzie to finish emptying the wardrobe and chest of drawers in her own bedroom, because her stay here at Pine Lodge was about to come to an end.

It still didn’t seem possible to Lizzie that tomorrow she’d be travelling up to London, then stepping onto a plane and flying back to LA. On her first day here, the hours had stretched endlessly ahead and the prospect of spending the next three months in Starbourne had felt like the world’s most terrible mistake.

But so much had happened since then. She felt her ribcage expand as the memories came flooding back. Now that her time was up, the weeks seemed to have passed in a flash. She’d met so many people, made new friends, got entangled in their dramas and discovered things about herself that had never occurred to her before.

Her gaze drifted to the script on the table, of the movie that was due to start shooting in a matter of days. She knew and liked her director and co-stars, and should be looking forward to arriving on set, but the usual adrenalin rush wasn’t happening. Instead all she felt was a kind of low-level weary dread.

It was fine, she knew she could do it. She wouldn’t think about that now.

‘I have wine.’ She gestured hopefully at the fridge, as if Cami didn’t know where it was kept. ‘If you want to stay for a drink.’

‘Thanks, but I need to get this one home and into her cot.’ Cami was already adjusting the thin white blanket covering Ellie’s bare legs. Glancing up at the sound of footsteps on the gravel outside, she added with a grin, ‘Besides, you have a visitor. Who’s probably going to miss you even more than I will.’

Matthew watched through the full-length glass as Lizzie chatted happily to Cami. He’d had plenty of practice when it came to concealing his emotions. After Amanda’s death, concerned friends and acquaintances had asked him daily how he was and he’d always said he was doing OK, thanks, because he knew it was what they wanted to hear. Blurting out that he’d lost the love of his life and couldn’t begin to imagine carrying on without her because the grief was too much to bear . . . well, it just wasn’t the done thing. Everyone had wanted him to be strong and he’d known he had to be, because he had a teenage daughter who’d lost her beloved mum and needed him to help her through her own overwhelming grief.

Putting on a brave face was something Matthew had been good at, and it was a skill that had come in handy over the past weeks too. Because maybe inevitably, he’d made a monumental mistake and done what he’d told himself he mustn’t do. Despite his best efforts, he’d ended up falling hopelessly in love with Lizzie Rafferty.

The one saving grace was that no one else knew. He hadn’t told a living soul, especially not Maeve. His daughter hadn’t been at all happy about the relationship and he’d had to reassure her that it was nothing remotely serious, just a bit of harmless fun as he eased himself back into the idea of dating again. He wasn’t emotionally involved with Lizzie, he’d insisted, and now that her time here was up, the chances were that they’d never even see each other again. Furthermore, he was absolutely fine with that.

And since she couldn’t stop his pocket money nor lock him in his room, Maeve had been forced to accept the situation – just a harmless dalliance! – and put her own feelings to one side while it continued.

The other person who wasn’t aware of his true feelings for Lizzie Rafferty was Lizzie herself. Since he was a realist and there could be no future for them as a couple, it was easier all round to hide his emotions and avoid the humiliation of being left heartbroken when she jetted back to her home and real life in LA.

Which was now happening – oh God – tomorrow.

Putting on a brave, carefree face was growing harder by the hour, but if it killed him he was going to see it through.

Matthew held the door open so Cami could wheel the pushchair out, and gave her his practised smile.

Lizzie said, ‘We’ve just sent the book off to my editor.’

‘Well done.’ He closed the door. ‘Now, are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport tomorrow? Because I can move my meeting.’

She shook her head vigorously. ‘No. It’s fine. I’ve already booked the car to pick me up. Saying goodbye to people at airports is overrated. It’s always weird.’

‘You’re so right.’ He nodded in agreement. ‘You do the hugging thing, then say goodbye over and over again, and it just feels awkward because you don’t know when to actually turn around and leave.’

‘Exactly! And you know people are watching you the whole time. It’s just so . . . embarrassing .’

‘You definitely don’t need that.’ Matthew told himself he was doing well, then smiled because he just couldn’t help it. ‘It’s going to be strange here without you.’

‘Will you miss me?’ Lizzie searched his face.

‘Of course I’ll miss you.’ He said it casually, like a rock star telling an arena full of screaming fans that he loved them all.

‘You must come over sometime for a visit.’ She ran her fingers teasingly down the front of his shirt.

He knew that this too was the kind of thing people said when they had no intention of it happening. If you actually tried it, they’d be horrified and pretend not to be in.

‘Maybe,’ he replied, in the manner of someone who had no intention of doing so. Her hand was hovering on the buckle of his belt now . . . Oh, Lizzie knew what she was doing.

But this was their last night together. Whatever else happened, he mustn’t give himself away now.

Linking his fingers through hers, he said, ‘Come on then. I don’t know why we’re wasting time down here. Let’s go upstairs.’

Lizzie gave him a look he couldn’t begin to decipher. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

Sitting in the back of the chauffeur-driven car as it sped along the M4 to Heathrow, Lizzie closed her eyes and told herself she could do this. Saying goodbye to the friends she’d made in Starbourne had been emotional. Maeve, Nella, Cami, Jed and Esme (who could ever have seen that coming?), not to mention Marvyn and Jerry at the Angel, and of course Nick and Hugo.

She would miss them all, so much. But she was an actress, it was her job to conceal her true feelings, and she’d succeeded where it mattered most, with Matthew. As far as he was concerned, she’d been his stepping stone back to normality, that was all. They were adults, they both understood this, and the last few weeks had been a fun holiday romance that would be remembered with fondness but nothing more.

It was why she’d booked this limo. Last night had been blissful, but saying goodbye to Matthew this morning had taken all the acting ability she possessed. It had helped that the others had been there too, gathering in the sunshine on the grass outside Pine Lodge, and she’d carried off the challenge with Oscar-worthy aplomb.

If he’d driven her up to Heathrow, though, she wouldn’t have been able to hold it together. She would have burst into tears and clung to him like a koala, making a public spectacle of herself in the airport whilst hundreds of strangers stared in fascination and no doubt reached for their phones in order to record her humiliation whilst Matthew, visibly alarmed, attempted to edge away and peel her off him.

‘Everything OK?’ said the chauffeur, who’d been glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. ‘There are tissues in the side pocket if you need them, or I can stop at the next service station if you want a break.’

Tomorrow she’d be back in her home in LA. Three days after that, she was due on set to make a movie that would eventually be seen by millions of people all over the world. Back in Starbourne, life would continue without her, and in due course Matthew Morgan would meet a wonderful, uncomplicated woman and fall in love with her.

‘No need to stop.’ Having located the packet of tissues, Lizzie wiped her eyes and pulled her dark glasses out of her bag. ‘It’s OK. I’m fine.’

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