Chapter 19
The following morning, Beth’s head was thumping from the combined effects of wine and remorse.
Creeping onto the balcony, she prayed that Jake would be long gone. She had considered giving breakfast a miss altogether but decided her stomach needed something to fill the void.
He was sitting in his usual place, eyes as ever concealed behind his sunglasses, body relaxed as he stared out to sea.
‘Good morning,’ he offered, his voice neutral as she sat opposite him.
‘Good morning.’
After bathing Matthew in Chardonnay, Beth had stalked out of the room and turned in the direction of the next flight of steps that would take her to her room in the eaves. Her hideaway.
Maybe it was the emotion of the moment or maybe it was the wine she had recklessly consumed on an empty stomach, but as she had taken the first step, her knees had buckled and she had crashed against the wall. Or she would have, if a strong arm hadn’t slid around her waist and held her tight against an equally strong chest until the moment of dizziness had passed and she stood upright, pulling herself away.
‘Are you okay?’ a voice had asked close to her ear and she’d nodded, listening to the sounds of a furious Matthew berating Lavinia, quite unjustly, for his mishap.
‘Yes,’ she’d whispered, not able to meet his eyes and reluctantly he’d released her, remaining at the bottom of the stairs and watching her progress until she reached her bedroom door and retreated inside in search of sanctuary.
Flushing, she remembered his kindness to her and her unkindness to him, when she had taunted him about Portia’s absence.
‘I’m sorry,’ she offered, taking a piece of toast and concentrating hard on buttering every centimetre of its surface rather than looking in his direction.
‘Sorry? For?’
He wasn’t going to make it easy, thought Beth with a sigh. There again, had she expected any different?
‘I was very rude. I said that Portia hadn’t… that she wouldn’t…’
She sighed deeply, putting the butter knife down and lifting her chin. ‘It was an unforgivable thing to say.’
‘Forget it.’
Taking the teapot, he poured them both a cup of tea.
Beth waited until the tea was poured and Jake settled back into his seat.
‘But I shouldn’t have…’
‘Really, forget it. Matthew was the only one who acted badly last night.’
Beth took a bite of her toast and contemplated the man sitting opposite. She would have bet her last penny that he would have taken advantage of the moment to crow about her lack of judgment.
But as far as Jake was concerned the subject seemed to be over and sitting back in his chair, he took a lungful of the salty air and smiled.
‘Ready to carry on with the hut today?’ he asked, smirking just a little. ‘Or is your head not up to it?’
Beth tossed her hair and immediately regretted it. ‘My head is fine,’ she lied. ‘And I’m looking forward to another day of work.’
‘Good. Lots to do today. We need to get that roof sorted. Hopefully, Sam will be along to help as well. An extra pair of hands is always welcome.’
Just the thought of spending the day in the heat of the sun, nailing planks and climbing up and down ladders was enough to make Beth want to retreat straight back to her bed. Not that she would ever admit that to Jake. Not under pain of torture.
‘Can’t wait,’ she advised him airily, ignoring her heaving stomach and the throbbing of her head.
‘Is Sam likely to be at the hut again today then?’ asked Lavinia casually as she appeared bearing a mountain of bacon and sausage.
Beth felt her stomach contract as she stared at the food and quickly averted her eyes.
‘I think so,’ she answered faintly, putting down her toast. ‘He’s come along to help out most days.’
‘When is he leaving?’
‘I don’t really know.’
Perhaps she would just stick to tea and toast this morning. At least until the effects of the wine had dissipated.
‘He was talking about having left it too late and going back home,’ she added, wondering if she would be able to lift a piece of wood without being sick all over Jake.
‘Too late for what?’
Beth shook her head and declined any bacon, leaving Lavinia to load most of the food onto Jake’s plate.
‘Er, love, I think.’
Beth thought back to her last conversation with Sam. He hadn’t been in love with Lizzie, as Beth had suspected. But he’d also left it too late to declare his feelings and now they were happily married to someone else. It would seem that the thorny issue of love didn’t get any easier with the passing of years.
‘He loved someone but didn’t say anything.’
‘Lizzie?’
‘Oh no. I don’t know who it was but it wasn’t Lizzie.’ She smiled at Lavinia. ‘I keep forgetting that you knew him as well. Can you remember someone he was fond of?’
‘No!’ It was the closest Lavinia came to snapping and both Jake and Beth looked at her in surprise. ‘I had better things to do than wonder who Sam Westmoreland was in love with!’
‘Well, whoever it was is now happy with someone else and Sam regrets leaving Welby. I think it’s proving painful being back. He’s only sticking around to help with the hut, a sort of homage to Aunt Lizzie,’ said Beth as Lavinia bustled off, leaving the distinct impression she and Sam had not been the greatest of friends in their youth.
A few hours later, Jemima’s hut was once again heaving with activity, champagne and over-affected laughter. Used to seeing Jemima quite by herself during the week, Beth found it strange to see someone else clearly in charge with her husband snapping his fingers and expecting Jemima to do his instant bidding, laughing at her unfortunate attempts to open a jar of BBQ sauce, and taking her to task for not having the foresight to order sufficient sardines for him to toast over the grill. Far from the confident, slightly bored woman Beth had become used to, this was a very different Jemima, struggling to keep up with her husband’s demands and often the butt of the joke from the group of hooraying Henry’s lounging around her immaculate mahogany decking.
But too busy to worry about Jemima’s day, Beth was kept insanely busy by a demanding man of her own as Jake barked out orders, issued instructions and generally kept her so busy that last night’s humiliation soon became a thing of the past.
The handful of paracetamols supplied discreetly by Lavinia had helped with her head and her stomach had reduced its complaint to a discreet lurch every now and then, as long as she didn’t think of Matthew, food and especially wine.
Her heart was quite another matter. It would be some time before that healed.
‘It’s coming along, isn’t it?’
Looking up in confusion, Beth took a moment to place the voice and found herself staring into the eyes of a very pretty young woman leaning over the balcony to the other side of Number 4.
‘My name’s Sarah,’ she offered with a smile.
Taking the moment to ease the ache in her shoulders, Beth put down the nail gun she had been using and stepped closer. ‘Hi. I’m Beth.’
‘Yes, I know!’ laughed the woman. ’You’re Lizzie’s niece. You used to spend your summers in Welby with your aunt and she left you the hut.’
She chuckled at Beth’s surprise. ‘I’m afraid there are few secrets in Welby. Jemima brought us all up to date with everything that’s been going on with Number 4.’
And no doubt, very little of it was in any way complimentary.
‘I’m doing my best,’ began Beth defensively. ‘It will pass the health and safety inspection, I’m sure.’
‘You’re doing a wonderful job,’ said Sarah kindly. ‘It looks so much better already. I admit I have been a little worried about the roof,’ she giggled. ‘I half expected to find it on the beach after a windy night!’
Beth smiled stiffly. ‘I can see why you would all be worried about how safe it was,’ she admitted diplomatically. ‘But I will make sure the council are happy.’
Sarah grinned sympathetically. ‘Has Jemima been giving you a hard time?’ she asked. ‘She does have a bit of a bee in her bonnet about this hut, always has. She’s managed to convince herself that it’s your hut that makes Dom so crabby. If it didn't look so shabby, Dom would stop moaning about everything and be nicer to her on a weekend.’ She gave a snort of laughter at the expression on Beth’s face. ‘Yes, I know! But she believes it. She wants their friend David to buy it and make it look identical to every other hut. She doesn’t see the charm of a simple beach hut, like yours.’
Beth gave Sarah’s hut a quick glance. It was painted the same shade of grey as many of the other huts, had the same over-elaborate decking area and no doubt, there was a chandelier hanging in the kitchen.
‘I’m afraid my husband has the same sort of taste,’ said Sarah, apologetically.
‘Oh, I didn’t mean… I wasn’t… Your hut looks lovely.’
‘It looks like every other one on the row,’ shrugged Sarah. ‘When we first bought our hut, lots were still owned by locals and they were a rainbow of different colours and styles. I always loved your aunt’s. It was such a lovely shade of pink it reminded me of an ice cream.’
‘ Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink ,’ murmured Beth.
At Sarah’s bewildered expression, she explained. ‘That was the colour it was painted. Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink .’
Sarah grinned. ‘Aptly named. But not many residents these days go for pink.’
Beth looked around at the row of dark grey huts. In her opinion, the huts had lost a lot of their charm since they’d been upgraded to cabanas by Jemima.
‘Who knows,’ suggested Sarah with a twinkle in her eye, ‘maybe Jem is right and Dom would cheer up if he had Ice Cream Sprinkle Pink next door. Surely even he couldn't stay grouchy.’
From the little she had seen of him, Beth felt that Dominic Carrington-Smythe would stay grouchy regardless of what was next door to him. He hadn't said a kind word to Jemima all morning, and she had noticed that the common thread of every conversation he started was his displeasure about something. Even the waves had been too noisy earlier!
‘When’s the inspection?’ asked Sarah, casting her eyes over the now sturdy but still bare walls.
‘At the end of this week.’ Beth’s stomach lurched at the prospect. If she failed the inspection, she would lose Aunt Lizzie’s hut. She was determined to do everything she could to stop that happening, it was something that kept her awake at night, interrupting her dreams and leaving her anxious and tense each morning.
‘I'm sure it will be okay,’ said Sarah. ‘And you've got lots of helpers.’
Beth nodded, trying to look quietly confident and saying goodbye to Sarah, she went back inside. After an intense few hours, the roof was now sitting squarely back in place and Jake was busy ensuring that the next puff of wind did not take it sailing down the beach.
Sam was taking a breather on one of the chairs, and Beth thought how nice it would be to strip off her sweaty t-shirt and run into the waves like she used to do when she was a child. She could forget about council inspections and Jemima and Matthew and let the cold waves take her breath away.
‘Everything okay?’ asked Sam who was sitting on a stool inside, admiring their handiwork.
Beth nodded, ‘I’m sure it will be,’ she said reassuringly for her own benefit. ‘I’m just anxious not to lose the hut. It meant so much to Lizzie. And to me,’ she added.
‘You deserve to keep it, after all this hard work.’
‘Let’s hope so,’ muttered Beth.
‘And you? Are you okay?’
Beth gave him a blank look and he smiled sympathetically.
‘Jake told me what happened yesterday. Oh,’ he held up his hand at Beth’s protests, ‘he wasn’t gossiping. He just brought me up to date. Asked me to keep my eye on you because you were feeling a little upset.’
‘He did?’
‘Yes. He was very angry with Matthew. Felt he’d treated you shabbily.’
‘Really?’
‘Oh yes. I think he was tempted to punch some sense into him, he just didn’t think you’d approve.’
Of course she wouldn’t. Although watching Jake deliver a punch to Matthew might have been worth suspending her disapproval.
‘He was worried about me?’
Sam smiled. He slid from the stool and took his stick in his hand as he approached.
‘More than you realise, my dear,’ he said softly. ‘And take some advice from a foolish old man. Don’t let pride or doubt get in your way where love is concerned. Let your heart be your guide.’
For a moment Beth wondered if he was referring to herself and Jake. But there was no love there. Not even friendship. Not really. Just a mutual ceasing of hostilities in the interests of Aunt Lizzie’s hut. But of course, he must be talking about his lost love of yesteryear and his youth in Welby.
‘Have you seen her since you left?’ she asked gently and immediately regretted her intrusion as his eyes became cloudy and unfocused.
‘No. Never.’
‘Maybe she would enjoy meeting you again, after all this time.’
He shook his head, hurt and regret reflected across his face. ‘I doubt it. And I’m sure her husband won’t relish me turning up out of the blue and reminding them both how much I used to love her.’
He was probably right, some things were best left alone and she reached out a sympathetic hand to squeeze his fingers.
‘How are we getting on in here?’ asked a cheerful voice and Jake appeared in the doorway, noticing Beth and Sam’s joined hands and lifting his eyebrows slightly. ‘Everything okay?’
‘It will be,’ said Sam stoically.
‘Maybe we should call it a day,’ suggested Jake. ‘It’s been a tiring morning.’
He didn’t look remotely tired and Beth felt he was probably making allowances for her hangover.
‘I can carry on,’ she said defiantly. ‘I am perfectly okay.’
‘I’m sure you are but…’
‘You don’t always know best!’ she snapped, stung by the kindly smile. Instead of making her feel comforted, it left her feeling decidedly ruffled. ‘I can work all afternoon.’
He grinned and Beth dropped her head. Why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut where Jake Balfour was concerned, she thought with a groan. They both knew she was exhausted.
‘Hello! Hello?’
It was Lavinia and sending a prayer of thanks winging upwards, Beth abandoned Jake to walk outside.
‘Lavinia! What are you doing here?’
‘I thought you might be in need of some refreshments. It’s such a hot day and I know you didn’t eat much at breakfast,’ said Lavinia diplomatically.
Over her arm was a wicker basket and Beth could see the top of one of the bottles Lavinia used for her homemade lemonade. Nestled beside it were sandwiches, biscuits and scones, all wafting a delicious scent in Beth’s direction.
‘Oh, how thoughtful! That’s wonderful and very welcome.’
Taking the basket, Beth waved Lavinia into the hut.
‘Come in, it’s quite safe now. No fear of disappearing down a hole,’ she giggled. ‘And it’s perfect timing because Sam is here and you two can say hello.’
She turned to make the introductions. Sam had never mentioned Lavinia’s name and it had been many, many years since they would have last seen each other. He may not even remember who she was.
‘Sam,’ she began. ‘This is one of my aunt’s oldest friends. Her very best friend actually, this is…’
She paused, her words trailing away. Sam had stood up and taken a step forward, his trembling hands gripping his walking stick as though his life depended on it, his face blazing with emotion.
He was looking past Beth to the figure standing hesitantly on the decking, her face watching him warily.
‘Hello, Lavinia,’ he said, his voice husky and cracked. ‘Hello, my darling, darling girl.’