Chapter Twenty-Three #2
‘I’ll carry her,’ Grace told her, grinning. ‘Piggyback-style.’
But when they reached the cottage, Mrs Dymock flatly refused to ride piggyback on Grace’s back.
‘I’m staying here, thank you,’ she said with dignity, leaning out of the upstairs window.
‘You girls should go back while you still can. The ground floor may be flooded, but I doubt the water will reach me up here.’
Tilly was shaking violently, her teeth chattering. ‘Gosh, this water is so cold. I … I wish I could get warm. Can’t we go inside?’
‘We can’t risk opening the front door of the cottage,’ Caroline pointed out unhappily, ‘it would only make the water inside rise higher.’ She rubbed Tilly’s arms to warm her up, and then gave her a quick hug.
‘Maybe Mrs Dymock’s right and we should go back.
’ She turned her gaze to Grace, silently urging her to agree. But Grace was deep in thought.
‘There’s a flat roof over the kitchen, with a window into my spare room,’ Mrs Dymock called down helpfully. ‘You can climb up there if you want to get out of the water. I’ll go and open the window for you.’
‘Oh, yes please,’ Tilly moaned, very pale now.
Grace looked up into the driving rain, frustrated. ‘We need to get the old lady out of here,’ she whispered to Caroline. ‘If this water rises any further …’ She left the words unspoken.
‘But you heard her.’ Caroline’s nerves were at full strain. ‘She won’t budge, and I don’t think Tilly’s strong enough to go back across that blasted bridge. What else can we do?’
‘You stay here and look after Tilly and Mrs Dymock,’ Grace said decisively. ‘I’m going back to get help. Though not by the road. I bet it’s quicker cross-country.’ She pointed across the wet fields to where a few village roofs could be seen through the rain mist. ‘That way.’
Before Caroline could stop her, Grace had already set off, splashing briskly through the knee-high water. ‘Oh, do be careful!’ she called after her, but her voice was drowned out by the rushing river.
It was almost an hour later when Caroline, sitting with Tilly and Mrs Dymock, finally heard the tractor engine and leapt up.
‘Thank goodness,’ she gasped. She’d begun to fear Grace had lost her way and come to grief in the waterlogged fields.
But when she poked her head out of the window, seeing Joe jump down from his tractor on the other side of the footbridge, there was no sign of Grace with him.
No doubt she’d sensibly stayed at the village shop to dry off.
‘The water’s gone down a little,’ she told the farmer, ‘so I think you can risk carrying Mrs Dymock out of the front door.’
Joe took Mrs Dymock safely across to the tractor and returned for Tilly, who was still too cold and shaky to walk. ‘Where’s Grace?’ he asked, frowning.
‘Didn’t she send you to find us?’ Caroline asked, her heart stuttering with fear. ‘She set off for the village over an hour ago.’
Joe shook his head, looking grave. ‘That old dog of Mrs Dymock’s turned up at the shop without her, so Mrs Newton sent me to check on her.
’ He carried Tilly across the flooded bridge with difficulty, wading through the strong current, with Caroline following close behind. ‘I’ve not seen hide nor hair of Grace.’
‘But where can she be? Oh God, she must have lost her way crossing the fields, or … or …’ Unable to finish such an impossible thought, Caroline pointed out the way Grace had taken across the fields. ‘It’ll be dark in a few hours. We have to look for her.’
‘And we shall. First, hop into the trailer, and we’ll take these two back to the shop to get warm and dry,’ Joe told her. ‘Once they’re safe, I’ll bring men and dogs back to search for Grace.’
‘I want to help,’ Caroline pleaded.
‘No, you should stay with Tilly and Mrs Dymock at the shop,’ Joe said stubbornly, helping her climb into the trailer. ‘No point you getting cold and wet too. Don’t fret now … We’ll find Grace.’
Caroline felt sick with fear. She wanted to go with him, convinced they wouldn’t find Grace without her help.
Yet she was so terrified of stumbling across Grace’s lifeless body, drowned in the icy waters, it was almost a relief to accept his decision and wait with the others at the shop.
Besides, Tilly needed her support. The poor girl looked quite exhausted.
Back at the village shop, Caroline saw Tilly and Mrs Dymock comfortably installed in the upstairs flat.
Looking rather woebegone, they sat huddled together on the sofa in front of a two-bar heater, wrapped in blankets and warming themselves with hot cocoa prepared by Margaret.
Caroline couldn’t bring herself to sit down even for a minute though, pacing back and forth under an old coat that Mrs Newton had flung about her shoulders, her ears straining for the sound of the tractor returning.
At last, she heard a muffled shout and dashed back downstairs, throwing open the shop door.
A dark figure emerged from the rain, cradling something in his arms.
‘Grace,’ she choked, tears running down her cheek. ‘Oh, Mr Postbridge … Please say she’s still alive.’
‘Of course she’s alive, love,’ he reassured her, but with concern etched on his features. ‘And she’ll be fine, mark my words, so long as we get her up to the farm as quick as possible, and into a warm bed with a hot toddy. But first, some blankets to dry her off would be a good idea.’
Grace lay huddled in his arms, limp and wet, her eyes closed. She’d lost her hat and her clothes were dripping, her beautiful hair bedraggled.
‘I’m here, Grace. Please try to … to hang on,’ Caroline gasped, fearful and broken-hearted as she draped her own blanket over Grace. ‘What can I do to help?’ she begged as Mrs Newton hurried forward with more blankets and a thick towel to dry her face and hair.
‘Run up to the farm,’ Mrs Newton told her firmly. ‘Tell Violet to run the girl a hot bath and warm some brandy for her. Hurry now!’
Caroline thudded up the muddy track to the farm, slipping in her haste, terrified that her friend would die before they could get her back to safety, that she would never have a chance to tell Grace how much she cared …
How much she loved her, in fact.
Tilly peeked around the door of the attic bedroom and shook her head. ‘Caro, you look exhausted,’ she whispered, since Grace was still sleeping. ‘It’s gone midnight, why don’t you get to bed? The doctor said she’d be fine, so you really don’t need to sit with her.’
But Caroline refused, still too emotional to leave Grace’s side. ‘I’m fine here, honestly.’ She usually shared with Tilly but had decided to move into Grace’s room for the night. ‘How are you?’
‘Much better, thanks. That hot brandy tasted awful, but it worked wonders.’ Tilly eyed her, concerned. ‘I say, have you been crying?’
Caroline drew herself up, instantly wary. ‘Of course not.’
But Tilly wasn’t so easily deterred. She sat on the end of Grace’s bed, peering into Caroline’s averted face. ‘What’s the matter? Come on … I know I’m miles younger than you, but I can keep a secret.’
After such a terrible day, Caroline was tempted to pour out her feelings. But it was time she grew up and stopped wearing her heart on her sleeve. ‘You’re a sweet girl, Tilly, but this is private.’
‘I’m not blind, you know.’ Tilly gave her a lopsided smile. ‘You and Grace are …’ She pulled a face. ‘Good friends, isn’t that the common phrase?’
Caroline froze, hardly daring to breathe.
‘Look, if it makes you feel better, I’m dating Benny now, but …’ Tilly blushed. ‘I once had a secret pash for a girl at school.’
‘This isn’t a schoolgirl passion,’ Caroline choked, abruptly losing her stiffness. ‘I love her.’
‘Of course you do,’ Tilly agreed, stealing a hurried look at the sleeping girl between them. ‘But does Grace feel the same?’ she whispered. ‘Does she love you too, I mean?’
‘I thought she did. But I was wrong.’ She knew a moment of panic. ‘Tilly, you won’t repeat any of this, will you? Because it’s top secret.’
‘I understand … Mum’s the word.’ Tilly yawned behind her hand, getting up again. ‘Gosh, I’m bushed. What a day! Time for bed for me. I think it’s jolly romantic, though.’ She started humming a popular tune from the wireless. ‘You and Grace, two hearts beating as one … Like Cathy and Heathcliff.’
‘Tilly, please!’ Caroline hissed. ‘Someone will hear you.’
‘Sorry.’ Tilly went away with an irrepressible chuckle, and Caroline rose to make up the spare bed, moving quiet as a mouse, not wanting to disturb her friend. All the same, when she tiptoed back to turn out the lamp, she saw that Grace had opened her eyes and was watching her.
‘Oh, thank goodness, you’re awake. No, don’t try to get up. Do you want some water?’ Caroline helped Grace sit up against the pillows. ‘How are you feeling?’
‘Like I could sleep for a week.’ Grace was blinking at her surroundings. ‘What … What happened? I don’t remember coming to bed.’
‘Joe carried you up here.’ Caroline drew a chair to the bed, explaining briefly how she’d been found in a waterlogged field and brought back up to the farm.
‘You were unconscious when they found you. Half-drowned, in fact. Mrs Postbridge gave you hot brandy with honey, and rang the doctor. He said to let you sleep, and he’ll give you a proper check-over tomorrow.
’ She offered Grace a few sips of water, and gently brushed the hair back from her forehead. ‘Do you remember what happened?’
‘Yes …’ Grace closed her eyes, frowning. ‘I tried cutting through the field to the village. Only, the water was even deeper there. It got so cold, I couldn’t go on. I tried to turn back, but I must have fallen, because I don’t remember much after that.’
Caroline struggled against fresh tears. ‘We nearly lost you,’ she whispered, holding on to her self-control with difficulty. ‘I thought I had lost you.’
‘I’m sorry. It was stupid of me. I wanted to prove myself, I suppose … I didn’t want to let you down.’
‘Oh, Grace …’ Caroline gave a broken laugh. ‘You could never let me down.’
‘But I did, didn’t I? And I let Tilly and Mrs Dymock down too. You must have been waiting for ages …’ Grace’s lip trembled as she too fought tears. ‘I caused everyone so much trouble.’
‘Nobody’s upset with you.’
‘And I was so horrible to you after Penzance too … I could see you were hurting. But I couldn’t stop.’
‘We can talk about this later.’
‘No, this is important.’ Grace gulped. ‘I nearly drowned today, acting like an idiot, and I know why. Because I’ve been so … so miserable.’ She sought Caroline’s gaze, her face intense. ‘I love you,’ she blurted out. ‘I wanted to tell you that night at Lily’s. Only I didn’t dare.’
Caroline’s eyes widened, fixing on her beloved’s face. Her heart thumped wildly. Grace loved her? Then the rest of what she’d said filtered through to her whirling brain …
‘Didn’t dare? I don’t understand.’
‘That’s because I haven’t told you everything,’ Grace whispered.
‘You see, you’re not my first girlfriend.
I met someone at the last farm where I was working and we fell in love.
Head over heels, we were. There was a boy at the farm who fancied me too.
I told him I wasn’t interested, but he still followed me everywhere.
One day, he … he caught us together and told everyone what he’d seen.
’ A tear trickled down her cheek. ‘For weeks, nobody would speak to us. It was so awful.’
‘Oh, darling.’ Caroline’s heart clenched in pain.
‘In the end, the farmer told us to leave. My girlfriend went home to her family, said she never wanted to see me again, and I … I came to Cornwall, somewhere nobody knew about me.’ Grace touched her cheek.
‘I promised myself I’d never let myself have feelings for another girl again.
But I couldn’t stop looking at you … And then, in Penzance, I knew it was too late.
I was already in love with you.’ Her voice shook and she began to tremble.
‘Will you hold me, Caroline? I know I don’t deserve it, but just for tonight? ’
‘Of course I will.’ Turning off the light, Caroline climbed under the blankets with her, and they held each other tight.
Now that she understood why Grace had been so stand-offish after Penzance, her heart was full to bursting.
There were no words for what she was feeling, she thought. Or maybe four words, at least.
‘I love you too,’ she whispered, and closed her eyes.