Chapter Four #2
‘The kettle’s just boiled.’ Anna’s brow furrowed as she surveyed Ellie under the brighter lights of the kitchen. ‘Unless you’d prefer coffee. You look like you need it.’
‘I forgot to put my toothbrush on charge. I don’t suppose—’
‘I have everything. Left over from the B&B days. I’ll dig you one out in a minute.’
‘Brilliant. Are you expecting the usual crowd?’ Ellie asked over her shoulder as she made a welcome cup of tea.
‘Sadly,’ Oliver muttered, placing the bowl and spoon on the table and exchanging babies with Anna. ‘Thankfully, there is growing evidence I am needed to do a nappy change.’
Anna sent him a loving look as he left the room, Emma nestled against his broad chest, then cleaned Bertie up before sitting him on the play mat and handing him his favourite teether.
‘There are cakes in the usual place,’ she added to Ellie, who opened the cupboard and soon had an array of Anna’s home-made treats on the cake stand, which she placed on the table in the bay window.
An hour later – Oliver and the babies accompanying their dog, Dougal, on his morning walk – Ellie emerged from the orangery to find the locals around the table in the window indulging in their favourite things: a free coffee morning and plenty of village gossip.
Anna beckoned her over to the kitchen where she was making a fresh pot of tea, when the door to the boot room opened and another elderly gentleman entered, tall and with an erect frame which belied his age.
‘Ryther!’ Anna exclaimed, hurrying over to welcome him, and Ellie watched on in amusement as he kissed her hand with a flourish.
‘Ellie, come and meet Ryther. He grew up at Harbourwatch across the water. His record company has been a lifeline for my brother.’
She shook hands politely, receiving a charming smile from a still-handsome face, aware of the elderlies at the table ribbing Ryther as they questioned where he’d been lately. Once Anna had installed him at the table, taking his coat to hang it up, she joined Ellie back at the island.
‘He’s not been well lately. It’s lovely to see him back in the cove and looking so much better.’ Anna poured boiling water into the pot. ‘Come and join us.’
Sipping her tea, Ellie’s attention drifted, not knowing any of the people being discussed, and she watched as two fishing boats headed out of the entrance to the harbour, furls of white icing trailing behind them.
Poor Hamish , she mused silently. He must be so frustrated —
‘—they fillim folk, and I says to Cleggie, here, I says, didn’t I, Cleggie? They’m no regard for us locals. Parking they gurt trucks any old where. Tommy the Boat was proper jumping.’ Mrs Lovelace looked around the table, as though garnering support.
‘Aye,’ Mrs Clegg added, dipping a biscuit into her mug, which promptly broke and sank into the murky depths of her very strong tea. ‘Bugger.’
‘It was a small van, Mum,’ Jean Lovelace interjected from where she sat between the two elderly ladies.
She took a spoon and rescued the disintegrating biscuit, placing it on a side plate.
‘And they won’t be in Polkerran when they’re filming, will they?
Rumour has it, it’ll all be down beyond Fowey. ’
Two silver-haired heads peered at each other around Jean, then both ladies folded their arms in sequence and let out respective ‘humphs’.
Ellie exchanged a grin with Phoenix.
‘This is news to me,’ Ryther said as he stirred his tea. ‘But then I only returned yesterday.’
‘Kate – she works at the hotel on events,’ Jean explained to Ellie, ‘says it’s to do with Daphne du Maurier, so they’ll be down that way.’
‘I can’t wait to see it,’ Anna exclaimed, eyes shining. ‘I love her books, and so much of Cornwall inspired them. I wish I still had the B&B.’
Mrs Lovelace sent her an affectionate look. ‘You’d have been in your element, young’un, loving they classics as you do.’
Phoenix turned to Jean. ‘What’s the schedule, do you know? I’d heard it was the spring.’
‘Those young’uns in the pub, they’m in the know.’ Mrs Lovelace tapped her nose.
Mrs Clegg let out an inelegant snort. ‘Spent half their time in The Lugger, and more than half their money, I reckons.’
Nicki, who had just arrived, joined them at the table. ‘Gavin says the pre-production gang pretty much drank them out of stock last weekend.’
‘Aye, truth ’tis.’ Mrs Clegg took a slurp of tea, then fished up her sleeve for a tissue to pat her mouth. ‘Saw the bins. Overflowing, they was, with empties.’
Mrs Lovelace nodded firmly. ‘Right teasy, they was, when Seb ran out of obsolete.’
Ellie’s brow furrowed, but Ryther mouthed, ‘Absolut.’
Ah.
‘The producer person’s due in the area next week,’ Anna added, beginning to stack the side plates. ‘Dev – he’s Kate’s other half and Ryther’s grandson – reckons he or she’s an acquaintance of Alex Tremayne’s.’
The mention of Alex brought her brief sighting of Will into full focus, and Ellie’s gaze dropped to her clasped hands, conscious of movement around her as people began to stir and make moving noises. Why couldn’t she control her reaction? This was ridiculous. It had all been so long ago…
But I’ve never forgotten him, have I?