Six
Now that Naomi’s mugger was no longer a potential threat hanging over the heads of the residents of Betancourt Bay, people felt safe to walk the streets alone at night, once again.
Not that a twelve-year-old girl was ever a real threat, but of course most of the villagers didn’t know that’s who the mugger was, and Griff had said it was better to keep it that way.
‘The fewer people who know about Honesty’s actions, the better,’ he had said when Honesty had come clean about it. ‘We’ll say that I’ve had it on good authority that this was a one-off, that the perpetrator was from London, and that Naomi’s belongings have been recovered. Which is completely true, so none of us will have to lie. Say nothing more than that. Honesty has told us these things herself, and she has returned the items she stole.’
Prior to Honesty’s confession, Pat and Simon Eversley had insisted that they would take Lady E for her final nightly walk and that Grace and Hope must never be out alone after dark. That was a bit of a problem during those last two weeks of January and the first few days of February, because it was dark so early, and Hope had protested vehemently.
‘We’re grown women and we can look after ourselves. We can definitely run faster than either you or Dad if anything did ever happen.’
‘Yes,’ Grace had agreed. ‘Hope’s right.’
‘Really?’ Pat said. ‘Naomi is your age, Grace, and look what happened to her. And that’s not the point. The point is that your dad and I will be sitting here worried sick until you’re home safe. Is that what you want? Your parents going grey with worry just because you two think you’ll be fine?’
‘Grace and I will worry about you and Dad, so what’s the difference?’ Hope had pointed out.
‘The difference is …’ Pat had hesitated and Simon had stepped in.
‘The difference is that we’re your parents and it’s our responsibility to keep you safe. You may be thirty, Hope and you thirty-four, Grace but you’re both still our babies and we love you with all our hearts. Imagine how we’d feel if anything ever happened to either of you. We’d blame ourselves for the rest of our lives. Just do this for us, please.’
Hope had planned to say that people got mugged in daylight too, so did that mean they could never leave the house alone again? But the lines of concern on her dad’s face and the worry in her mum’s eyes stopped her, and both she and Grace acquiesced.
So as soon as they knew that the ‘panic’ was over, Hope was keen to take Lady E for a walk along the beach at night.
She loved the peace and solitude, with only the sound of the waves either gently lapping at the sand or crashing onto the shore, depending on the weather and the tides.
She loved the wide open space and often twirled around on the spot with her arms extended either side and her head raised skywards as she breathed in the stars.
She wished she could breathe them in. Sometimes they felt so close she was sure she could touch them if she tried; sometimes they seemed so far away that it made her feel small and insignificant.
She loved every second of that first walk on Monday night and so did Lady E. Until Hope remembered that she hadn’t phoned Tom Hardy, as she had promised.
How could she have forgotten?
Probably because the day, which had got off to a less than promising start with the Boots rearranged meeting, had turned into the day from Hell.
Her phone had not stopped ringing, she had spilt an entire cup of tea over her laptop, and a restaurant that was booked to host a birthday party for a thirty-year-old woman and twenty female friends that very evening, had called Hope at three p.m. to say a pipe had burst and their toilets were closed due to ‘flooding’.
Finding another suitable venue at such a late stage was nigh on impossible, not forgetting that all the flowers, cards and presents that had been delivered directly to the venue had to be collected from the first and transported to the second, along with the decorations, balloons, a karaoke machine, a four-tier birthday cake, a Pinata filled with specially made sweets in the shape of tiny men, and a Mariachi band.
And yet somehow she had managed it.
She had gone to the new venue minutes before the birthday girl arrived, to make sure everything was perfect, and had been invited to stay for a celebratory drink. She agreed to stay for one, and then she had been dragged to the karaoke platform by five of the thirty-year-old’s friends, and made to join in with an out of tune rendition of, I Will Always Love You – the Whitney Houston version.
Despite several attempts to leave, it was another half an hour after that that she had managed to make her excuses and escape, and had returned to The White House, had something to eat, and then headed to the beach with Lady E.
It was almost ten p.m. now. Was that too late to call?
‘Hello,’ he said, after only two rings. ‘You weren’t joking about the eighteen hours a day, were you?’
‘Sadly not,’ she said, ridiculously pleased to hear his voice even if he did sound a little sleepy. ‘I’m sorry it’s so late. I hope I didn’t wake you up.’
‘You did.’ He laughed. ‘But it’s fine. I fell asleep on the sofa while watching some crime series or other. Don’t ask me which one because I don’t know. They all seem the same to me. That makes me sound pretty boring, doesn’t it? Asleep on the sofa before ten. But it’s been one of those Mondays.’
‘Same here. But I haven’t made it to the sofa yet.’
‘Oh? Bad day?’
‘Very.’
‘Erm. Is that why this call’s so late? Is this going to be where you tell me that you can’t do Della’s event after all? Were you trying to think of the best way to break it to me?’
‘No! We’re doing the event. I confirmed that with Della today … Oh. I’m not sure I was meant to tell you that. She called me to apologise.’
‘I know. She told me.’
‘That’s a relief. I’d hate to be a snitch. Then she must’ve told you that I’d agreed to do it. And I had as good as said yes to you yesterday.’ Hope’s voice rose an octave. ‘She told me that you’re coming to Folkestone.’
‘I am.’ His was deliciously deep. And he was definitely smiling, she could hear it in his tone. ‘I’m looking forward to it. Especially as I’m told we might be meeting up with you for a drink.’
Hope’s breathing quickened and her heart fluttered in her chest. How could such an innocent sentence sound so incredibly seductive?
This man was a client. She must remain professional.
‘Yes. Me too. Erm. I always like to meet clients in person before the big day, but sometimes it’s not possible. We organise events throughout Sussex and beyond and we’re so incredibly busy. And if there’s an emergency, we have to change our plans at the last minute to deal with that.’
‘I understand. I realise you’ve had to squeeze us in, so if you can’t make it, that’s fine.’ His tone had changed. It was cooler now.
Forget being professional; Hope didn’t want to upset this man.
‘I … I didn’t mean it like that. I just wanted to let you know that things happen at short notice in this business. Take today for example. My first meeting was in Folkestone so I left early to give myself plenty of time. Then I got a call from the client to say they were somewhere else, so I had to turn around and go there. My phone’s been ringing all day with minor emergencies and then at three I got a call saying the restaurant that’s been booked for months for a party tonight had a pipe burst and all the loos were full of sh … were flooded. I had to find another venue and then transport all the party decorations, a massive cake, loads of presents, a karaoke machine, a pinata, and a Mariachi band to the new one. It took three van-loads, all of which had to be loaded and unloaded and the new venue decorated and looking sensational by seven-thirty this evening. I got home at nine, had something to eat and now I’m walking our dog. If we’d arranged to meet tonight, it would’ve been a problem. And that’s why I’m calling you so late.’
‘And I thought my day was bad,’ he said after a moment’s silence. ‘I’m sorry, Hope.’
‘It’s not your fault. I’m sorry for dumping all that on you. Why was your day bad?’
‘Compared to yours, it wasn’t. I’m dealing with a messy divorce that–’
‘You’re married!’ Why hadn’t it occurred to her that he might be?
‘What? No. Not my divorce. I’m not married. Or dating. I’m single. Totally single. Erm. It’s a divorce that’s stopping the sale of a small business that I’m trying to buy. It means I’m having to negotiate with both the wife and the husband as they jointly own it. They hate one another so it’s a total pain and I decided today that I may have to walk away from it.’
‘I see.’ She hoped he hadn’t heard the sigh of relief. ‘I’m sorry. That must be annoying.’
‘It is. But these things happen. Erm. What about you?’
‘Me?’
‘Married? Dating? Single? You said earlier, ‘our dog’. Are you living with someone?’
‘Yes,’ she teased. ‘My entire family and our dog. Although my sister will be moving in with her boyfriend this week. But no significant other for me.’
‘So we’re both single.’
‘Living miles apart.’
‘Distance, like age, is just a number, Hope. How old are you by the way? Or is it rude to ask a woman her age?’
‘It’s incredibly rude.’ She laughed. ‘But I’m thirty. You?’
‘Thirty-three. I’m thirteen years older than Della.’ He gave a small cough. ‘I’d better let you go. Can I … can I call you tomorrow? For an update of course.’
‘An update? Oh. The proposal. Yes. I’m afraid we haven’t been able to find a white horse yet but we’re still looking. My sister’s boyfriend may be able to help. He’s got a lot of contacts. Whatever happens, I’ll make sure that Della’s day is magical. You can trust me on that.’
‘I do. Sleep well, Hope.’
‘And you, Tom. Goodnight.’
Hope rang off, held her phone to her chest, and gave a little scream of delight.
It was only then that she realised she couldn’t see Lady E.