Chapter Five
“Have I Got News for You”
It took a while for the teacups to be drained, but then there was a flurry of goodbyes and see you drecklys, Old Patrick ribbing Ryther about something from their school days.
Nicki touched Ellie’s arm, and she roused. ‘What’s up? You’ve gone all funny again, like you did the other day.’
Anna began brushing crumbs into her hand. ‘Would you like some water?’
‘No, I’m fine, honestly.’
Nicki sent her an assessing look. ‘You said as much last time as well. Come on. Fess up.’
Anna disposed of the crumbs and came to join them again.
‘Would you rather I disappeared?’
Ellie hesitated, then shook her head. She liked Anna, and she needed people around her she could turn to should Will turn up again. Nicki had so much on her plate, it would help to have Anna in on the loop.
‘I saw Alex the last time he was down,’ she explained. ‘There was someone with him, someone I used to… know.’
‘More than.’ Nicki turned to Anna. ‘Ellie and Will – he’s the ‘someone’ – had a summer fling many years ago here in the cove. He was friends with Alex at the time, and they were both in Polkerran Point the other day.’
‘I’m so sorry,’ Anna said softly, her kind hazel eyes on Ellie.
She didn’t want to remember that devastating day when they’d split, or the fraught time that followed as she’d tried to mend things…
Anna’s dark gaze hadn’t moved from Ellie’s face, and she stirred in her seat.
‘Something about it still hurts, doesn’t it?’ She spoke gently, placing a comforting hand on Ellie’s arm.
‘I knew there’d be memories but didn’t expect it to feel so raw.
He…’ Ellie rested a hand on her rib cage, where a dull ache had formed, as though she’d just gone several rounds with a kangaroo.
‘Will cut me dead the other day. I don’t know if he’s still angry, or simply didn’t want to remember me.
It was more than a decade ago… people change… ’
‘But he hadn’t?’
Ellie swallowed with difficulty. ‘No. I mean, he’s older, of course. I suppose he must be late thirties now. But there’s no way I’d not know his face.’ She smiled ruefully. ‘Even with a hat low over his eyes and a shadow of a beard.’
When someone has haunted your dreams, is nestled in the deepest recesses of your heart, you don’t forget…
Once Nicki left for the hotel, Ellie resumed her work on a Christmas card collection.
Playing suitably festive tunes to get her in the mood, she hoped to shut out the burgeoning remembrance of the past, and when Anna popped her head around the door to ask if she wanted a cuppa, Ellie willingly put down her pens and joined her in the kitchen.
‘The twins are taking a nap, so it seemed a good time for a spot of adulting.’
‘Is Oliver not around?’
Anna poured hot water into two mugs. ‘He’s got a video thing with Bella and his agent. I’ll be so glad when she comes back.’
‘I hope I’m still here when…’ Ellie’s voice tailed away in awkwardness. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean here here. In your home.’
‘Nonsense!’ Anna declared, passing a mug to Ellie.
‘It’s exactly what I’ve been wanting to have a chat about and now seems a good time.
My brother, Matty, and Gemma can’t both be here to pet-sit when we’re away as there are animals to look after at Rivermills.
Oliver and I hoped we might be able to persuade you to stay a bit longer and help us out?
We’re popping over tonight to stay with them, too.
Normally, Nicki helps out with the pets when we do, only I don’t like to ask at the moment.
You can have a practice run, if you like? ’
A rush of affection for Anna robbed Ellie of her voice for a moment, but then she smiled.
‘I’d love to. It would be a lifesaver, to be honest. I couldn’t afford one of the holiday lets, so I’d resigned myself to my having to sleep on Nicki’s sofa.’
‘Please stay in your room! It’s no trouble at all, and as I say, we won’t even be here for a couple of weeks. You don’t mind looking after Dougal and Heathcliff? I hate putting them in the kennels.’
‘More than happy.’ Ellie hesitated. ‘There’s just one small problem, Anna.
I have to head home to cover a wedding at the weekend, but I need to bring the rest of my photography equipment back with me.
I’m hoping to find some local business to tide me over.
The constant charging will up your electricity bill, so let me know the damage and I’ll contribute. ’
‘Definitely not,’ Anna dismissed the offer gently. ‘You are saving us the hassle and cost of boarding Dougal and Heathcliff. And Oliver knows I’ll just fret all the time we’re away about how sad they will be in a pen rather than free to roam. Let’s call it quits.’
When Nicki came home and began prepping dinner, Ellie headed back to Westerleigh Cottage to feed the animals and take Dougal for a quick walk.
On their return, she made a cup of tea, looking around at the homely, open-plan room. It would be lonely in the evenings, with no one to talk to or laugh with, but she had plenty to keep her occupied, between looking after the pets and continuing to help Nicki with the boys and housework.
Speculating over when Hamish would be able to come home was pointless. Even Nicki seemed to have calmed down now, accepting fate for what it was and simply hoping daily to hear of some improvement now he’d arrived at his parents’ home in Wadebridge.
It was a mild evening with no breeze, so Ellie walked out onto the terrace, hands clasped around the mug.
The tide was incoming, and gentle waves slapped against the cliffs below Westerleigh Cottage.
Settling onto the wall, Ellie sipped her tea, closing her eyes and letting the gentle rays of the setting sun caress her skin.
Aside from the lapping water, the only sounds were the distant call of seabirds and the faint throbbing of the little red-and-white passenger ferry as it neared the jetty further down the lane.
The moment of peace was disturbed by a message notification.
Nicki.
When are you coming back over? There’s something you need to see.
‘You’re not going to share a photo of Hamish’s stitches, are you?’ Ellie half joked as she walked into Nicki’s kitchen five minutes later.
‘Hah. Not likely. I’ve never forgotten how squeamish you are! Fancy a glass?’ She raised the one she held.
‘Always. Where are the boys?’
Nicki rolled her eyes. ‘Gaming still. Come and look at this.’
She indicated an open newspaper on the kitchen table, and Ellie’s gaze flew to the image.
Will’s handsome features stared back at her – did he but know it.
He looked awkward, sullen almost, and Ellie’s heart clenched as she read the headline above the feature: Revealed.
Surprise Producer Takes the Helm for Cornish Docu-drama .
There was another man in the photo, perhaps a tad shorter than Will – who was well over six feet tall – and seemed mildly familiar, and Ellie read the line below the picture: Will Farmer and Matt Locksley met up at Secret Gem Records HQ last month .
Ellie’s heart lurched like a buoy on choppy seas as realisation dawned. ‘This is what the filming’s all about? The Daphne du Maurier thing Anna’s so excited about?’
Why did her voice sound faint? She all but flopped into a chair at the kitchen table.
‘Looks like it.’ Nicki seemed to notice Ellie’s pallor, grabbing a glass and sloshing wine into it. ‘Here, take a slurp.’
Doing as she was bid, Ellie reached for the paper with a hand that wasn’t quite steady. Eyes fixed on the black-and-white image, she was thankful – despite the unpleasantness – that she’d seen Will already. She tried to skim the words, but a hint of tears clouded her vision.
‘I don’t understand… I mean, Will’s an actor.’
Nicki shrugged. ‘They often step behind the lens, don’t they? Maybe he’s giving it a go on something low key.’
Oh God. And she was trapped in the cove…
Nicki leaned towards her. ‘Ellie, your skin’s ashen. It’s an ancient history holiday romance.’
Eyes wide to prevent the wetness clinging to her lashes from falling, Ellie tried to clear her throat.
‘It…’ She swallowed hard. ‘It was an awful break-up. I struggled to get over it at the time.’
Sinking into the chair beside Ellie, Nicki held her gaze solemnly. ‘I remember my mum saying your mum had been upset when you dropped out of your masters in the first term. This was why?’ She tapped Will’s image on the table.
Ellie’s expression spoke for her.
‘Oh, Ellie!’ Nicki flung her arms around her cousin. ‘How could I not know how much you were suffering?’
Summoning a watery smile as Nicki released her, Ellie shook her head. ‘You were too busy being loved up down here and fighting your own battle with your parents over giving everything up to be with Hamish.’
Nicki gave Ellie’s arm a squeeze.
‘Well, the good news is they aren’t filming until the spring, according to this.’ She tugged the paper round so it faced them.
A slither of relief eased the tension gripping Ellie. The spring! That’s what they’d been saying round Anna’s table. Months away. Next year. Plenty of time for Ellie to be long gone.
‘That’s Anna’s brother.’ Nicki pointed to the figure beside Will.
Pulling herself together, Ellie studied the image of the two men, then frowned.
‘But I haven’t met him yet. Why does he seem familiar?’
Nicki spluttered as she lowered her glass. ‘Come on, Ells. They were all the rage when we were leaving school. You had a massive crush on the drummer, remember?’
‘Oh my God!’ Ellie scanned the face of the man beside Will. ‘You’re right. BorderLine Beat. Wasn’t he the guitarist everyone fell in love with? Silent, brooding, always in the shadows, letting that posturing lead vocalist grab the spotlight. What was the singer’s name?’
‘Harry. Bella was mad for him .’
Now she’d managed to control the quivering, Ellie read the article in the regional paper.
It seemed Matt had been hired to provide the soundtrack for the credits and the dramatised elements of the programme.
There was very little about Will beyond mentioning the globally successful films and series that had brought him fame and fortune.
The paper claimed it had reached out to Will’s agent for a comment, but none had been forthcoming.
‘Anna mentioned a brother,’ Ellie mused as she closed the paper on the unsettling news.
‘He and Gemma live upriver in a converted old mill – very secluded – with its own recording studio. Anna and Oliver go over and stay now and again, so Matt gets more time with the twins.’ Nicki topped up their glasses. ‘Suppose we ought to eat. The boys had theirs earlier.’
Ellie glanced over at the empty hob. ‘What’s on offer?’
Nicki shrugged, then sighed heavily. ‘I’m fed up, Ells.
I loved my life, working part time, being here for Liam and Jason, trips to the beach after school, cosy evenings with Hamish.
It’s not just the worry over our income; the boys would eat chips every day if I let them.
Without Hamish to cook for, I can’t work up any enthusiasm. ’
‘At least he’s at his parents’ house now and out of the hospital environment. Come on, let’s get a takeaway and then we can watch some mindless TV together.’
Hours later, Ellie returned to Westerleigh, relieved to leave Nicki in better spirits after back-to-back episodes of Married at First Sight . She settled Dougal, then headed up to bed, Heathcliff on her heels.
‘I’m not sure you’re allowed—’
Heathcliff jumped onto the bed and began kneading the soft throw furiously.
‘Okay. I won’t tell if you won’t.’
She busied herself preparing for bed, striving to close her mind to the recent revelations in the newspaper.
Yes, but what if Will turns up in Polkerran again? It isn’t far from Fowey…
‘Damn it,’ Ellie muttered as she clambered onto the bed, careful to avoid where Heathcliff had now curled into a ball. ‘Stop imagining it. Besides, what would you say to him after all this time?’
Nothing. And based on that first sighting, conversation is the last thing on his mind. At least with me, anyway…
‘But—’ she whispered, tugging the duvet up to her chin and switching off the bedside lamp.
No buts. I can’t run away and desert Nicki. I promised. If I see him, he won’t try to speak.
Accepting the facts didn’t make it any easier. As if Polkerran wasn’t already seducing her, lulling her back to those wonderful weeks when she’d fallen in love. The only time. Once and forever.
Ellie pummelled the innocent pillows into submission, curling up on her side, her cheek tucked into the soft mound.
‘Just keep counting the days,’ she murmured as her eyes closed, refusing to face up to the truth already staring her in the face. The recollections were stronger, more intense, than she’d anticipated. ‘But I’m over it, aren’t I? Over him ?’
Unsurprisingly, the darkness held no answer, and Ellie fell asleep, memories curling around her like smoke rising from smouldering ashes.