Chapter Twenty-Nine
So here we are, Cat thought, as she looked around the terrace where she sat with Jodie, drinking wine and catching up with all the local news.
A year away had brought very little change both to the hotel and, she suspected, the village.
When they arrived earlier this morning, fresh off their flight from Verona, her father had hugged her so tightly she thought he would never let her go.
He asked her to speak some Italian, which she did in the most theatrical manner, making both étienne and Raphael laugh.
Now settled into their rooms, their unpacking done, Ruan had taken étienne off to meet Gareth for lunch, leaving Raphael and her to have a drink and chat with Jodie and Nathan.
While Raphael was fascinated by the fact that Cat and Nathan were identical twins, Jodie couldn’t keep her eyes off the young Italian.
‘Lordie, he’s simply gorgeous,’ she said with a sigh as she watched Nathan take him off for a tour of the hotel. ‘So tall, and those dark eyes; nice bum too. Yum.’ She licked her lips.
‘Yes he’s lovely, isn’t he?’ Cat agreed. ‘Therefore it’s no surprise he already has a girlfriend. Fiancée, actually. But he’s absolutely wonderful; impeccable manners, a great sense of humour and a dream to work with.’
‘A girlfriend? Typical. Why are all the good ones taken?’ Jodie let out a sigh of disappointment as she watched the object of their conversation disappear.
‘That’s just the way it is, I’m afraid,’ Cat said with a shrug. ‘Anyway, why should you care? You’ve got Nathan.’
‘Yes, and I love him to bits, of course I do.’ Jodie grinned as she took a sip of her wine. ‘What about you, then? Any gorgeous Italian pining away for you back at the lake? I mean, if they’re all like Raphael, you’re spoiled for choice, aren’t you?’
‘Sadly, there aren’t, and anyway I’m not interested. I’m a Trevelyan, remember? The job comes first.’
‘Oh rubbish. You have to have some fun in life.’
‘I do. Lake Garda is the most fabulous place to live. I have a great social life. You and Nathan must come and stay. It’s very romantic too; we have a six month waiting list for weddings, if you’re interested.’
‘Whoa, slow down a minute, who said anything about marriage? It’s early days, Cat, we’re still having fun.’
‘Only teasing.’ Cat laughed as she finished off her wine. ‘I have to go,’ she said, getting to her feet.
‘What, so soon? You’ve only just arrived. We’ve so much to talk about.’
‘I know. I won’t be long. I need to pay a visit to the birthday girl, see how she’s doing.’
‘She’s fine,’ Jodie assured her. ‘And happy. In fact, more contented than I’ve ever seen her. If she was fifty years younger I’d say she had a secret man tucked away somewhere.’
‘That’ll be the day.’ Cat grinned as she stepped away from the table. ‘See you later.’
‘You’ve been doing what?’ Cat drew in an exasperated breath. This was not at all what she expected.
‘I’ve been meeting Luke,’ Em repeated calmly. ‘We often have lunch together. I enjoy his company.’
Cat looked at her great-aunt sitting calmly opposite her, hands resting in her lap, with not a trace of embarrassment on her face.
She had come for a catch up, to chat about her life in Italy.
Instead, after complimenting her on her tan, Em had immediately hijacked the conversation and delivered a below the belt body blow with this revelation. How could she? Talk about traitorous.
‘But why? You know the situation. What he did.’ She got to her feet, feeling furious. Walking to the window, she paced slowly back and forth as she gathered her thoughts.
‘These lunches, they are just with him I hope.’ She swung around to look at Em.
‘You haven’t included her, have you?’ She prayed the answer would be no, otherwise she would walk right out of the door without looking back.
Added to that, she would never speak to her great-aunt again.
Such a betrayal deserved extreme measures.
Em gave a tired sigh and shook her head. ‘Cat, before we go any farther, can we please get something straight? Luke lives alone. He has done since you left.’
‘Oh rubbish,’ Cat spat out as she returned to her seat and settled herself, her brows butting together angrily as she tried to cope with such a ridiculous statement. ‘Why do you think I went away in the first place?’
‘Because you thought he’d lied to you and couldn’t bear to stay here and watch him in a relationship with someone else.’
‘Exactly. And when I left she was definitely here. With him.’
‘No she wasn’t,’ Em argued. ‘She was long gone. She left the evening of your argument. He sent her away. He tried to see you the next day to tell you. But by that time you’d already left with étienne.’
‘You didn’t let him know where I’d gone, I hope?’ Again Cat was on the defensive.
‘Of course not. Believe it or not, I do have some family loyalty.’ Now it was Em’s turn to be annoyed. ‘Although, after hearing his side of the story I have to say I was tempted.’
‘What do you mean, his side?’ At Em’s words, annoyance upgraded to anger. ‘Em, why have you meddled? There is no point. You should know when to leave well enough alone.’
‘Well, that’s the problem, Cat.’ Her great-aunt clasped her hands together dramatically. ‘I can’t.’
‘Can’t or won’t?’
‘He deserves to be heard. It isn’t fair.’ She tilted her chin indignantly. ‘Look, I’m not trying to get you two back together again … well, actually, I am because he’s lost and he needs you.’
‘He does not.’ Cat rolled her eyes. ‘And besides, even if I did believe you about him not being with Tanya, after the lies he told I could never trust him again.’
Aunt Em gave a disapproving sniff. ‘I’ll allow the fact he should have been more open with you about that Marika girl, but Tanya was different.’
‘And how exactly have you come to that conclusion?’ Cat challenged. ‘Ah, of course, through his version of the truth, which he’s clearly managed to convince you of in my absence. And how did that happen? No doubt he came knocking on your door one evening, stirring up trouble.’
‘Actually, I knocked on his.’
‘What? How dare you interfere.’
‘Will you please give me a chance to explain?’ Em pushed herself upright in her seat, her calm voice upping a few octaves.
‘When I discovered you’d gone, I wanted to give Luke a piece of my mind.
It seemed to me we’d all worked so hard to support him, getting Liam on board, and he’d simply brushed all of that aside when this new woman turned up.
I was outraged and I turned up at his door ready to take on both of them.
However, when I arrived at the cottage he was alone.
He explained the events of the previous day and how he’d been too late to see you that morning. ’
‘No doubt he bowled you over with his charm,’ Cat interrupted, unable to resist having a dig. Everyone, it seemed, was a pushover where Luke Carrack was concerned, and given Em’s attitude towards him, even feisty old ladies seemed to have little immunity.
‘Certainly not,’ Em protested. ‘Yes, he was very charming but I could see he was also very upset about something.’
‘Because Tanya had gone, no doubt.’
‘Will you stop it, Cat?’ Em glared at her irritably. ‘She was never there in the first place.’
‘So what caused this supposed upset?’
‘After his unsuccessful attempt to see you,’ Em continued, ‘he drove up to Arcadia to meet his uncle. Gareth confirmed his offer of the director’s job. Luke accepted and then thanked him for hiring Liam.’
‘Oh no.’ Cat pressed her fingers against her lips imagining what had followed.
‘I won’t go into detail but it appears Gareth handled things badly. As you know he’s never been much of a diplomat but there we are,’ Em said with a shrug. ‘There was an argument, Luke handed in his notice and left. He hasn’t seen his uncle since.’
‘Luke’s no longer at Arcadia?’
‘No.’
‘So where is he now?’
‘Well, first he went back on the trawlers.’
‘What?’
‘Don’t worry, I managed to talk him out of it … he helped Davyd Coleman for a couple of months because one of his men was off sick. However, he’s now working at Boscawen’s.’
‘The boatyard at Port Morwen?’
Em nodded. ‘I think he’s happy there. Ruan said he’s always been a natural with anything mechanical. Certainly the last time we chatted he seemed quite settled. Of course, there is one loose end—’
‘Please, we are not having this conversation, Em,’ Cat interrupted, raising her hands in protest. ‘I have made a new life for myself in Italy, that’s where my future is now.’
‘My dear girl.’ Em looked at her sadly. ‘Do you want some advice from one who has been there? Don’t walk away. Please, talk to him.’
‘I’m sorry, I can’t. You’re asking too much,’ Cat said, leaning forward to grab her bag.
She had to leave and it had to be now. ‘If you trace all this back to its roots, Luke was the one who kept secrets from me in the first place. And I would have thought after Tristan, you of all people would have understood about how dishonest men can be.’
Em didn’t answer. She simply sat there silently, sad eyes fixed on Cat.
‘Oh God, I’m sorry.’ Cat scooted over to her side, slipping an arm around her great-aunt’s shoulder. ‘I didn’t mean that.’
‘No need to apologise.’ Em’s hand stretched out to cover hers. ‘But you’re wrong about Tristan. You see, he didn’t break off our engagement. I did.’
‘What?’ It took a moment for Cat to take in the implication of what she’d just heard. ‘No,’ she shook her head, ‘that can’t be right, we’ve always known …’
‘No, it was me. I made a mistake … a huge mistake. I met Tristan Noble at a party when I was twenty-one. He seemed perfect in every way; he was funny, witty and kind; so easy to fall in love with. He also came from a wealthy family. All in all he was perfect husband material and I knew your great-grandfather would approve. Oh, how much I wanted to be someone’s wife, and mistress of my own home.
Tristan adored me and nine months after we met he asked me to marry him.
Everything was fine, until Eleanor Harrison and her parents moved into Waterston Grange.
We moved in the same circles and soon became friends.
I didn’t realise that friendship was merely a means to an end.
You see, she’d seen Tristan and wanted him for herself. ’
‘So what happened?’ Cat’s curiosity was piqued.
‘Eleanor was very clever. She began to plant doubts in my mind about him. And when someone who you consider a good friend is constantly whispering in your ear and alerting you to things you realise you hadn’t noticed before, if you hear it long enough you begin to believe it’s true.
I did. She played on my fears of losing him.
The arguments began and then one evening at a dance I found him out on the terrace with another girl.
She’d felt unwell and, being the kind-hearted soul he was, he’d accompanied her out there to get some fresh air.
But Eleanor’s whispers turned an innocent action into something sordid.
I lost my temper, threw my ring at him and said I never wanted to see him again. ’
‘So Eleanor got what she wanted?’
‘No, he was never interested in her but, just like Tanya, she decided if she couldn’t have him then neither would I.
I realised afterwards what I’d done. I’d thrown away my chance of happiness with a good, kind man I adored.
I went to see him to apologise. I hoped he might take me back but it was too late, the damage was done.
Of course, we can all be wiser with the benefit of hindsight.
’ She gave a wry smile. ‘I could … should have handled it differently, but I didn’t.
And there we are. I’ve paid for my mistake.
All I’m asking is that you don’t do the same.
See him, Cat, talk to him. He deserves that at least.’
Cat walked back across the causeway, the conversation she’d just had with Em still buzzing around her head.
She couldn’t accept her story about wrecking her own engagement.
No way did that happen. No, it was merely a devious attempt to get her to patch things up with Luke.
But what was the point? Even though she now accepted she might have been wrong about Tanya, there was still the issue of Luke’s lack of honesty.
Seeing him wouldn’t change anything; in fact it would probably make things worse.
The plain fact of the matter was she didn’t want to see him.
In fact she planned to avoid him at all costs.
She reached the hotel to find Raphael on the terrace with Jodie and heard the sound of their laughter as they shared a joke.
‘Aunt Em okay?’ Jodie asked as she sat down just in time to see the waiter arrive with three glasses of Pimms.
‘Yes, fine, looking forward to her party,’ she lied. They hadn’t even touched on that; it had all been about Luke.
‘How are the preparations going?’
‘Dad tells me Siobhan has everything in hand. I’m not even going to take a look at what she’s done,’ Cat insisted. ‘This is her project and the last thing I want her to feel is that I’m muscling in.’
‘I do so enjoy Pimms,’ Jodie said, taking a sip of the dark liquid before fishing about in her glass for a slice of strawberry. ‘So very English. Do you have anything in Italy like this?’ she asked Raphael.
‘We have a refreshing cocktail called Aperol Spritz,’ he answered as he took a mouthful of Pimms and smiled. ‘Mmm this is good.’
‘And how do you make Aperol Spritz?’ Jodie asked, still busy fishing fruit from her glass.
Raphael thought for a moment. ‘It is made from Prosecco, Aperol and soda … oh, and we add ice and an orange slice, too.’
‘What’s Aperol?’
‘Like Campari but darker and not as bitter,’ Cat answered. ‘I’ve been to many of the towns on the lake this summer and everyone is drinking it.’
‘Sounds wonderful.’ Jodie took another sip. ‘Would it be an idea to add it to the party drinks selection, maybe?’
‘I think that would be a great idea,’ Cat agreed. ‘I’ll organise it later.’
‘Raphael has a request.’ Jodie eyed him conspiratorially. ‘He would like us to take him for a walk around Carrenporth.’
‘A genuine Cornish village.’ He smiled enthusiastically. ‘I have seen it from the end of the gardens here. It looks very beautiful. I would very much like to visit.’
‘Right, well no time like the present.’ Cat got to her feet, eager for a distraction that would help blot out the memory of her disconcerting conversation with Em. ‘Let’s go.’