Chapter Thirty-Eight
Paddy was looking forward to the day ahead. She had a parcel to collect from the house and then she was heading over to Jem’s for lunch, before heading out to a dinner later on. The dinner was an awards ceremony for Cornish charities, and Paddy had received an invitation from the organisers, no doubt at Seb’s instigation. She’d called Jem about it, who said she was also going with a friend who ran a moorland ponies’ sanctuary. It was agreed that Paddy should join their table and she was looking forward to it. If she was honest, she was also hoping Hal might be there, even if it meant that she would almost certainly meet Bianca.
Walking up to the house she was feeling the heat; even though it was September, the fact she was now seven months pregnant hung heavily on her. Her type of pregnancy meant she wasn’t huge with Baby sitting against her backbone, but she could still feel the impact of the little one. Her flexibility was poor, her bladder was buggered, she was always short of breath and her clothes no longer sat on her frame properly. Her tummy had swelled but not as much as her chest and she found the entire thing disconcerting. Unless she was in something close-fitting no one seemed to notice she was pregnant. She found she was getting looks suggesting she was lazy for always puffing about and sitting down.
In a sense, she was disappointed she didn’t look more pregnant. When she had gone out with Jemima to Padstow, she noticed how attentive everyone was to Jem. People were so thoughtful and kind that Paddy had looked on in wonder. When she mentioned it to Jem the girl had groaned and said she would swap their pregnancies in a heartbeat. If Paddy wanted swollen ankles, stretch marks and a belly the size of the moon she was welcome to it. Paddy thought her backache was enough to be going on with, so laughed and paid for the ice creams instead.
She walked into Kensey and headed towards Michelle’s office. Their first guests were due in a few days and the whole thing was running smoothly. Michelle was proving to be a godsend, and she was loving her job and looking forward to her first guests: a group of bankers that Nick had booked in. They were paying reduced rates to act as guinea pigs, so that Michelle could get the staff and systems running smoothly. Now she looked up and smiled as Paddy came in. Paddy went over some details with her, approving some of her suggestions and then, taking her parcel, she headed back down to the cottage. As far as she was concerned that was her exercise for the day. She was glad she had got her swim in first, there were no hills in the sea and it was impossible to overheat.
Running a glass of water she turned the limp parcel over in her hands. She guessed it was clothing but whatever it was it was heavy. Maybe one of the designers had sent her something? She was excited; she was enjoying Cornish life but there were elements she missed, like all the lovely new clothes. Not that anything would currently fit her. She wondered who had sent her this. Opening the package she saw there was a card and she opened that first. Inside was a little handwritten note from Hal.
‘For my shivery mermaid.’
She opened the package and pulled out a two-piece full-length neoprene swim set designed for pregnant women. They were not as warm as a normal suit as they weren’t as close-fitting. But they would keep her skin covered, sparing her from rashes, jellyfish stings and sunburn. Plus, they would be very easy to get on and off. She checked her watch, she didn’t have time to try it out yet. She had spent too much time going through issues with Michelle and was now running late to meet Jemima. Sending Hal a quick text thanking him for his thoughtful gift, she smiled and for the millionth time, wished things were different.
***
Heading over to Jem’s, she couldn’t wait to catch up. Jem had bought a new pregnancy outfit for tonight’s do and wanted Paddy’s opinion on how to make her look less like a whale in a tent and more like a goddess. Pulling up she ignored the geese and noticed the new lad Jem had been telling her about was raking leaves on the lawn. There was something familiar about him, but she just couldn’t place him. He was the first ‘graduate’ from Hal’s charity, although not official. Angus had been talking to Hal, saying he was concerned that Jem was on her own a lot. As they were close neighbours could Hal keep an eye out for her? He did one better and suggested he had a lad who was looking for some manual work.
They had met and Sam thought the geese were hilarious and fell in love with the donkeys; Jem and Angus hired him on the spot. As they only lived five miles apart Sam would cycle over each day and apparently it was all working out. Giving him a friendly nod she headed towards the house and called out as she entered. Jem was sitting in the back garden, a little suntrap of late summer blooms and absolutely no geese.
‘I thought we could have lunch out here before the weather turns. I think this is the last gasp of sunshine for a few days.’
Paddy had got used to looking at the clouds, like Beryl had suggested, but honestly, she was still at the stage of pronouncing it would likely rain soon, based on the sole fact that it was always likely to rain soon. It was certainly a lot wetter than London, but it seemed to be a small price to pay, because when it wasn’t raining, it was God-given, glorious.
Jem agreed it was a lovely garden; sheltered by a tall stone wall, it trapped all the sunshine and kept out the breeze. A small gate on one side led around to the front, and Paddy could see this was going to be a wonderful space for a little one to wander and explore. It was funny; she found herself regularly looking at places with fresh eyes these days. She had spoken to Ari about it, who had laughed and said that it didn’t matter how much you planned, it was never enough. The sound of a mower from the front started up and no doubt the front lawn was being given a tidy up before the rain started.
‘Sam will be mowing around here in a minute, when he does, we’ll move inside if that’s okay? You can tell me what you think of my new dress.’ Jem speared a piece of ham and added it to her melon. ‘Do you know, all this healthy eating is killing me. How’s your yogurt and chips diet going?’ Laughing, the girls chatted about their cravings and then moved on to what both was currently reading. Jem also worked as a virtual PA and was able to help authors with their website, reviews and mailing lists. She was also a blogger in her own right, posting reviews and content across the web. ‘I love it. It means I can do what I love from home and get paid.’ Paddy was used to influencers in the fashion world, but she hadn’t known they existed in the book world as well and it explained why Jem was always lending her great books.
They were in the middle of discussing who was the best literary detective, when the side gate rattled and Sam came through with the mower.
Paddy began to stack the plates when Sam smiled directly at her and said hello. She smiled and said hello and carried on stacking the plates. He tried again.
‘You don’t remember me, do you?’
Paddy looked at Jem for guidance but she just shrugged looking quizzical.
‘Sorry, I’m fairly new around here,’ she tipped her head to one side staring at him closely. ‘I don’t think we’ve met?’ There was something about him that rang a bell, but for the life of her she couldn’t place him.
‘We met in London. You bought me a Burger King?’
Paddy peered at him and then jumped up, running over to give him a hug. ‘My god! Look at you! What are you doing here? This is incredible!!’ She was so excited that the geese came running around squawking their heads off, and Jem had to shoo them back out. She was determined to have one place free of goose shit.
‘This is incredible. I’m so sorry I didn’t recognise you. How did you end up in Cornwall?’
Sam was laughing now at her enthusiasm and he explained how her simple gesture had prompted Hal to do the same and that that had grown into a bit of a snowball. ‘Honestly, when I saw you get out of the car just now, I couldn’t believe it; mind, you look a bit different now.’ He pretended to stagger like a heavily pregnant woman and both Jem and Paddy laughed. He was not a convincing actor. ‘So did you and Hal get it together then, if you’re down here as well?’
Paddy shrugged refusing to let the question spoil her good mood. ‘He’s married, so no, we are not an item.’
Sam looked at Jemima confused. ‘He’s not married, is he, Jem?’
Both Sam and Jem now looked at Paddy in confusion.
‘No, absolutely not. Paddy, we’re talking about Hal, Henry Ferguson.’
‘Yes, I know,’ said Paddy equally confused, ‘but he is married. I saw the wedding photos of Bianca in that horrible dress with her awful bridesmaids.’
‘No, that’s— wow.’ Jem paused trying to work out how Paddy could have got it so wrong. ‘Hal didn’t marry her; she went ahead with the wedding but married some bit on the side she’d been seeing. It was a huge scandal. Didn’t you know?’ Alarmed by Paddy’s lack of response she told Sam to go and put the kettle on and made Paddy sit down.
‘But I thought he was married. When I left the party, he went off to fix things with Bianca?’
‘He dumped Bianca. You saw that.’
‘But I thought he was going to go back and sort things out…’
‘No, not a bit of it. He told us all there and then the wedding was off. Only it turns out she’d been two-timing Hal with some super rich polo player, so she just went ahead with the wedding but with a different groom. It was incredible. Same church, same photographer, same reception. Everything. And when she told Hal that she was pregnant and that she lost the baby, that was a lie too, just to get him to propose.’ Jem placed her hand on her stomach, instinctively warding off bad thoughts.
Sam came back with two cups and a pot of tea and told Jem that he’d sweep down the stables instead. Saying goodbye to a thunderstruck Paddy, he grinned, ‘It’s brilliant to see you again but you seriously need to get yourself over to Vollen, that bloke is besotted with you. All he did in London was talk about you. Plus you know, that’s his baby in there!’
‘Oh my god!’ said Jem. ‘I wondered, but I didn’t dare ask. Paddy, that’s amazing.’
Paddy watched Sam’s retreating back and then turned to Jem. ‘Besotted?’
‘That sounds about right. He never stops talking about you.’
‘What!?’
‘All the bloody time. He always manages to find a way to bring any conversation back to you and always asks after you.’
‘Well, that’s just because of the baby.’
Jem poured them both a cup of tea. ‘No, it’s really not. But I don’t understand your interest. You’ve always asked me not to talk about him. I thought you couldn’t stand him?’
‘Because he was married,’ wailed Paddy. ‘It was too painful to talk about him, because he was married.’
Jem grinned. ‘But he’s not married.’
Paddy couldn’t believe it. She tried to replay every conversation they had had and realised everything was coloured by the fact she had insisted they didn’t discuss anything personal. Oh God, she was a fool.
‘Are you alright? You’ve gone a very funny colour.’
‘Shock I think.’ She needed to sit down and have a proper conversation with Hal and try and sort everything out. ‘Oh my god, Jem, this is brilliant.’
Jem was beaming from ear to ear. ‘He’s at tonight’s award ceremony. What are you going to wear?’
It dawned on Paddy that she had nothing special to wear, and hugging Jem she said she had to get home and start getting her hair ready. Giggling, she felt like the first night she had met him. What if he wasn’t actually besotted with her? What if he was only interested in the baby? Too many questions! She wanted a bath and to shave her legs and look as good as she could possibly get at seven months pregnant.
As she drove home the heavens opened and she had to battle the wind as she made her way there. Throwing open the door she tried to run up the stairs and managed a lumbering shuffle instead. She ran the taps and then went through her wardrobe. The dress she had been planning to wear was now totally out of order. The problem was she didn’t have a great deal of options at the moment.
Eventually, she settled on a pink satin dress that was cut on the bias. Clem had sent it down to her, saying she could do with some nice things to wear while she was twisting into new shapes. It showed her small bump off nicely whilst still looking really attractive. She had dismissed it earlier as being too eye-catching but now she didn’t care who saw her, so long as Hal did. Laughing she filled the bath with bubbles and texted Jem that she would meet her at the venue.