Chapter Twenty
The days passed and Paddy stayed close to home; she read through her books, swam with the seals and generally hid from the rest of the world. She had loved meeting Jemima but something she had said had rung alarm bells in Paddy’s head and she discovered she had a whole new problem to deal with. One morning she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror and laughed weakly, then burst into tears. How had she ignored the signs? A minute later her phone rang and she saw it was Nick. Typical twin energy. Knowing she wouldn’t be able to hide anything from her she sent a quick text saying she was in a beauty salon and would call later. And then she started crying again.
So far all she had done in Cornwall was screw things up. And now she had a text from the production company forcing her to wake up. Her presence was requested at the London offices. No doubt they had managed to get the annulment papers drawn up, obviously they would require her signature. It had been less than three months since she had first met Hal and he had changed her world completely.
Paddy took a deep breath and picked up the phone. Some things were best not handled via texts. She may have been prepared to lie but it was time she faced the music and stopped trying to please everyone else.
‘Duncan. When I said I’d told you everything and not kept a thing back? I may have kept something back.’
***
The conference room featured a large round table and sitting around it were Hal, Tony Harper and at least six unnamed functionaries. Hal figured that at least some of them were lawyers. Hal hadn’t instructed a solicitor yet, he decided he would wait to see how the land lay. The situation was uncomfortable enough as it was and he wanted as few people as possible to be party to his stupidity. As yet there was no sign of Paddy and he wondered how he would feel about her when he saw her again. He felt ashamed of the way he had treated her when they last met and he was beginning to see this was something of a trend. It was just he had been having such a lovely time chatting with her at the bar and all along she had just been trying to get some intel for the bloody hunt sabs. He found it hard to believe he had got her so wrong.
Tony Harper seemed particularly buoyant and Hal assumed the man’s lawyers had managed to find a simple way to get them out of this mess. He was a little surprised to discover this made him feel sad. He tried to work out why, when the door opened and two men walked in. Both were sombre in demeanour and had a watchful air; he assumed they were solicitors or agents but their attitude made him think of private security. As Paddy walked in behind them, they gravitated to her side, flanking her as the three of them sat down. None of them spoke. Hal wasn’t sure why, but his instincts told him that something was wrong. Looking at her now he was shocked by how pale she was; her freckles were very obvious today and she looked exhausted. Her hair looked greasy and there were bags under her eyes. She was clearly ill and was wrapped in a large coat.
Both parties were tense and Hal could see the production company was not fooling around. Their reputation rested on protecting Paddy’s reputation.
One of the lawyers for Harper Productions welcomed everyone, smiling expansively and then passed around the forms for everyone to have a look. Before anyone had a chance to look at the documents Paddy muttered quietly to the man to her left, and then a little louder she said to Hal, ‘I’m sorry. I can’t do this.’
Hal was thunderstruck. What couldn’t she do? He was getting married in just over a month. She had to do this. What the hell was she playing at? He groaned, was this a bargaining ploy for a financial settlement? He hadn’t expected her to behave like this. Every time he thought he knew her she confounded him. Presumably, the paperwork in front of them was details of their annulment. Why wasn’t she delighted?
The man sitting next to Paddy stood up and addressed the room. ‘Gentlemen, could we give my client and Mr Ferguson some privacy?’ Everyone looked confused but Hal shrugged his shoulders and gave his assent.
As soon as the door was closed Hal looked at Paddy. The ball was in her court but as he watched her, he could see whatever the problem was, it was causing her genuine concern. He didn’t think this was a shake down. Taking pity, he stood up and poured her a glass of water, making light of their situation and then, because it was bugging him so much, he apologised for his behaviour when they last met.
Paddy looked up and gave him a tired smile. ‘God, that was horrible but it seems so distant now. I don’t blame you for being angry. I’ve read about what some of those people do and it’s terrible. If it helps, I genuinely wasn’t with them. Or at least I was, but I thought we were all attending a meeting to discuss land access rights. I’m just so sorry you thought I was one of them.’ She drank the water, her mouth was dry with nerves and her fingers kept picking at imaginary bits of fluff.
Hal looked bashful. He was a first-class idiot and should learn to trust his instincts; everything about her felt right and yet here they were again on opposite sides. Why on earth didn’t she just sign the papers?
‘Now look. About these forms, if it’s about money just name your price. I’m getting married soon and I think Bianca might have kittens if she found out I was technically already wed.’ He tried a smile to make light of it but Paddy’s face had hardened.
‘Wow. Is that what you think of me? You think this is a hustle? I’d sign the forms in a heartbeat. Christ, I was even prepared to lie about the consummation, in order to speed things along for you, but I’m afraid that lie won’t hold any water now.’
Hal put his glass down. ‘What the hell are you on about? It’s a simple white lie; it’s hardly Go To Jail stuff.’
She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears.
‘I’m pregnant.’