Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
A t eight o’clock in the morning, before she got out of bed, Laura reached for her phone and sent Spencer a text: I’m coming over this morning. Please be in. I need to talk to you.
As she lay back on the pillows, his reply pinged through: Great. I’m in all morning. Love you. x
Typical, Laura thought. He hadn’t spotted any signs in her curt message that all might not be well, which to anyone else would have been as plain as daylight. Speaking of which… Laura studied the strangely luminous brightness of the slice of ceiling above the window. In seconds she was out of bed, and throwing back the curtains. Snow! Her eyes widened at the astonishing spectacle of the garden, transformed overnight into a white wonderland. The bedroom door burst open and Holly bounced in wearing pyjama shorts and an ancient Snoopy sweatshirt she’d had since she was thirteen.
‘It’s snowed!’ She leapt across the room, via Laura’s bed, to land next to her at the window.
‘Yep, it’s snowed. And it still is, a bit. See those tiny flakes?’
‘Snow fairies,’ Holly said. ‘We must tell Cynthia.’
Laura put an arm round Holly and squeezed her shoulders. ‘I’m so glad you’re here.’
Holly raised her eyes. ‘Where else would I be? Don’t go all soft on me in your old age, Mother.’
They stood together at the window, in awe of the brand-new landscape. The sudden arrival of the snow seemed appropriate somehow, Laura thought, as if it had been sent to blank out all the bad stuff. Yesterday, she’d allowed herself time and space to let her thoughts run free as she’d acclimatised to the new situation. She’d spent the day with her daughter, taking her shopping and for lunch; enjoying having her home again. Today it was time for action. Time to face up to what was to come.
But how was she to get to Spencer’s house, way across the other side of Charnley Acre? She wouldn’t be driving in this, that was for sure. She wished she’d looked out of the window before she’d told him to expect her but there was nothing she could do about that now.
‘Mum, what about the Christmas trees?’ Holly said suddenly. ‘There’s so much snow down there I could hardly make out where they were from my window.’
Laura’s window overlooked the back garden; she’d been so caught up in the beauty of the snowy scene that for the moment she’d forgotten about the tree plot. She looked at Holly, then dived for her phone.
‘Clayton? It’s me. It’s been snowing!’
A muffled laugh, then: ‘Funnily enough it’s done it here, too. Who’d have thought?’
‘Yes, but it’s really deep up here. Everything’s smothered. What about the Christmas trees?’
‘I know. I’ll be there as soon as I can.’
Laura and Holly had breakfast, then layered up in warm clothes and wellington boots before heading outside. The further down the drive they walked, the thicker the snow became. Great mounds of it were banked up around the shrubs, and there was no distinction between the drive, the lawn and the flower beds. The Green and Fragrant van was just turning slowly in at the gate, with Clayton and Saul inside. Snow chains had been fitted to the van’s wheels. As it stopped and Clayton jumped out, Laura’s stomach swerved. She’d thought she was okay, but now, seeing Clayton, she felt wobbly and hollowed out, as if she’d been crying all night.
Clayton, Saul and Holly tramped around the remaining Christmas trees, the snow almost up to the tops of their boots. Holly stumbled, reached for one of the trees for support and almost pulled it down on top of her, snow from its branches cascading onto her red pom-pom hat. She shrieked with laughter. Laughing too, Saul stood the tree up again, whilst holding onto Holly’s arm at the same time. The pair of them slid around in the snow, clutching arms, still laughing. Clayton grinned at Laura, widening his eyes. Feeling more settled, she smiled back.
‘I’ve listened to the forecast on Cuckmere Sounds ,’ Saul said, finally putting some space between him and Holly, ‘and there’s a weather warning out for more snow later. Nobody in their right mind’s going to tackle the hill even if the gritters do manage to get here which means we’re stuck with this lot.’ He nodded at the trees.
There weren’t too many left, Laura noted, but the cost of them mounted up. If Clayton didn’t shift his entire stock, she suspected it would cut significantly into his profits.
‘No problem, we’ll take them back to my place,’ he said, rubbing his gloved hands together. ‘Anybody who wants one can walk round. I can fit in what’s left at the side of my house, in front of the garage.’
Laura, Saul and Holly looked doubtfully at one another, and then at the former sales pitch, now knee-deep in snow. And then they all turned, including Clayton, to see Emily scrunching up from the gate, her face all pink and her breath puffing out in clouds.
‘What the…?’ Laura began.
Emily came up to her side. ‘I didn’t hear from you yesterday and I wanted to make sure you were all right, after…’ she half-whispered.
‘Oh, Em, that’s so sweet of you to trek all the way up here. I’m okay though, honestly.’
She hadn’t lowered her voice. The others, Clayton included, turned interested faces in her direction.
‘Mum?’ Holly said.
‘I’m fine. It’s nothing.’ Laura pasted on a smile, and looked pointedly at Emily. ‘Now you’re here, you can lend a hand shifting this lot.’
Clayton started to protest that he and Saul could manage. But it was snowing again, fat flakes curling out of an iron-grey sky. If the van was going to make it up and down the hill several times, they’d have to work fast. Holly was already on the end of one of the bigger trees, with Saul at the other, and they were loading it into the back of the van. Laura and Emily stumped through the snow and fetched another.
‘Hang on,’ Laura said, dropping the trunk end and sending up an icy shower, ‘how will people know to go to Mistletoe Cottage?’
‘Ah.’ Clayton rubbed his chin. ‘We could change the notices?’
‘No, we couldn’t,’ Saul said, coming up beside him.
‘Leave this with me.’ Emily produced her mobile phone from her coat pocket. She looked at Laura. ‘I’ll nip up to the house and make a couple of calls. It’s perishing out here.’
‘The back door’s open. But what…?’
Emily was off, tramping purposefully up the drive.
Laura stoked up the fire in the living room, then held out her hands to warm them. Around the room sat Holly, Saul and Clayton. Mugs of tomato soup were clutched in freezing hands or stood on the coffee table, along with a plate of thick, buttered slices of crusty bread, and wedges of cheese. Saul was sitting on the floor in front of Holly’s chair; he couldn’t have got much closer to her unless he’d sat on her lap. Clayton was on the big sofa, legs stretched out in front of him. The sight of his socked feet seemed almost too intimate and Laura had to look away.
Emily came back from the kitchen with Laura’s portable radio. She dropped onto the rug in front of the fire, setting the radio down beside her.
‘Listen, it’s on again.’
Clayton’s face broke into a smile as they listened to the Cuckmere Sounds presenter announcing, for the third time in the last hour, the relocation of Charnley Acre’s Christmas tree sales from Spindlewood to Mistletoe Cottage, Squirrel Lane.
‘Amazing,’ he said. ‘I’m eternally grateful to you, Emily.’
She shrugged. ‘What’s the good of having contacts if you don’t use them now and again?’
‘I’m glad you said we won’t be there till after two,’ Saul said to Emily. ‘I’m exhausted after humping trees about in the snow.’
Clayton shook his head and winked at Laura. ‘The young have no stamina.’
‘I can’t imagine,’ Laura said, ‘why anyone would want to leave buying their tree until the day before Christmas Eve. I like plenty of time to enjoy mine.’
‘Yes, but if you want to be traditional about it, Christmas Eve’s the correct time to put the tree up,’ Emily said.
‘And take it down on Twelfth Night,’ added Holly. ‘We do that bit, and then the house looks so bare for ages, without the lights and the sparkle.’
Laura glanced at Clayton to see how he was coping with the Christmassy chat. He met her gaze and held it for a long moment. ‘ I’m fine ,’ his eyes seemed to say.
Laura gave a little nod, and smiled. Then, realising Holly had taken in this silent exchange and was gazing curiously at the pair of them, she busied herself with clearing away the soup mugs.
In the corner of the kitchen stood the hot chestnut brazier and the pan of leftover chestnuts, as well as rolls of twine and other rescued bits and pieces. The netting machine had gone in the van with the last of the trees. Turning round from the sink, Laura realised Clayton had come into the kitchen, silent on socked feet. He’d closed the door behind him.
‘Laura, I don’t know what I’d have done without you today – Holly and Emily, too, of course. You’ve been great over this whole tree thing, considering…’
He glanced down, clearly a little embarrassed.
‘Considering I was in a relationship with Spencer Jennings. Or should I say, Marcus Dartnell?’ she added softly. Clayton looked up in surprise. ‘Yes, I know all about him and what happened,’ Laura said. ‘I know how Louise died, and I’m so very sorry, I can’t begin to tell you how much.’
Her voice caught in her throat. She felt tears prick her lids. One squeezed its way out.
‘Hey, no, Laura, please don’t be upset.’
A second’s hesitation, then Clayton was there, gathering her into a hug. They stood, holding one another, for what seemed like an age. When they parted, Clayton kept hold of her hand.
‘I don’t know how you found out – I can’t imagine it was from Spencer – but you don’t have to tell me. I just want to say that I’m glad you know, and I hope the two of you can work through it and be happy.’
Clayton’s voice was gruff, full of emotion. Laura had to fight back the tears again.
‘Clayton,’ she said, ‘I don’t think you heard what I said, that I was with Spencer. That was then. Not now. He doesn’t know that yet, but he soon will, once I’ve spoken to him.’
Clayton’s brown eyes were intense, narrowed. ‘You’re letting him go because of what he did. Because of me?’
‘Of course,’ Laura said. ‘What else would I do? Clayton, I care about you far too much to have stayed with Spencer, now that I know what happened. And it’s not just that. I couldn’t be with a man who kept that big a secret from me, forever hoping I’d never find out. How could I ever trust him over anything after that?’
The kitchen door opened. They sprung apart and Clayton let go of Laura’s hand, but not before Saul had noticed, judging by the amused look on his face.
‘I just came to say we should probably get going,’ Saul said. ‘It’s only snowing a bit but it’ll be icy on the hill, the colder it gets.’
‘That’s me told.’ Clayton laughed, and, casting a private glance at Laura, fetched his boots from beside the back door.