Chapter Thirty-Two
“Tales of the Unexpected”
As the mundanity of the truth hit Ellie, she paled. ‘How…’ She swallowed hard. ‘How did he get into your emails?’
‘Exactly what I asked. Alex said he’d gone into my room at the house one morning to rant on about something, a few weeks after we’d left Cornwall behind.
I hadn’t told him we’d split up, it was too raw, having happened the day before, but he’d been in a right stew for days because Bella had dumped him.
Foul mood, lashing out at everyone, drinking too much. ’
Will put an arm around Ellie, and she rested her head on his shoulder, trying to take it in.
‘I’d not slept, hadn’t even wanted to get out of bed, so I’d only just gone for a shower, but my laptop was open on the desk. He saw a notification. An email from you. Just arrived. He says he skim-read it, got the gist – saw the read receipt flash up – then deleted them both.’
Ellie’s heart shot upwards and so did her head, as she turned frantic eyes to meet Will’s saddened features.
‘If you hadn’t left the room…’
He leaned forward, pressing a firm kiss against her quivering mouth.
‘Don’t, Ells.’ He brushed away a shimmering tear, then drew her head back onto his shoulder.
‘Would you have… read it?’ she croaked out, closing her eyes in case the answer was unbearable.
‘Without question.’ Will’s voice trembled.
‘My anger had soon dissolved, swept away by such despair and longing. If I’d heard from you at any time in those endless weeks before I went away – if you’d found a way around my stupid idea to block you to tell me you’d changed your mind, that there was a chance…
’ He drew in a shaking breath. ‘I just never dreamt it might happen. Damn, I was such an idiot, if only…’
His voice seemed to fail him, and sitting up, Ellie took Will’s face in both her hands. She could barely speak herself, lashes wet with unshed tears. ‘I love you so much. Please don’t ever let me go again.’
Will lowered his mouth to Ellie’s, kissing her gently at first, his hands moving to her waist, under her shirt and onto her back, pressing her close.
Ellie’s kisses became feverish in return, the pent-up emotion of so many years, the missed opportunities, the hand fate had dealt them, pouring in, wave after wave.
As they drew apart, Ellie’s cheeks damp from her tears, Will raised a hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
‘There’s something else.’
‘I don’t think I can take any more,’ Ellie whispered.
‘You said you came to London, but I’d gone abroad.’
‘I did. Besides, Alex…’ Ellie almost choked on the name as the enormity of lost time struck her. ‘He told me you’d taken someone with you.’
Will’s face was sufficient for the truth to be clear. ‘Damn him. It’s not true. I went alone.’
Confusion deepening, Ellie spoke hesitantly. ‘But why… I mean, he was so nice to me. He could see how upset I was. He was on his way out, walked me to the end of the road, watched me catch the bus.’
Expression darkening, Will pursed his lips. Then his gaze narrowed. ‘When was this, exactly? Do you remember?’
Ellie tried to think. ‘End of October? Yes, I remember all the Hallowe’en decorations in the windows on your street.
It was about a month after I sent the email.
I longed to come earlier but I’d just started my master’s and couldn’t get away.
I wish it had been sooner; I might have caught you before you left. ’
‘I didn’t go to Australia until late November. The visa didn’t come through before then.’
As the reality struck Ellie, her face crumpled, and unable to prevent the tears, Will wrapped her in his arms until the emotion was spent.
‘All these years,’ she quaked through shallow breaths. ‘If I’d known you were still in London, I’d have waited. Stayed, until you heard me out.’
‘And I’d have listened.’
The sound of the doorbell floating up the stairs caused them both to check the time.
Ellie drew in a short breath. ‘It must be him.’
‘Come on. Let’s get this over with. Then we can start the rest of our lives.’
Ellie quickly repaired her face, and Will didn’t release her hand as they fetched up by the kitchen door, but then he turned her to face him.
‘I’ve still been a classic fool.’ He pulled Ellie back into his arms, and she went willingly, resting her head against his chest as he stroked her hair. ‘Fate threw you in my way, after all these years. What did I do? Act like a prize ass and not grasp the opportunity with grateful hands.’
Moved deeply by the emotion throbbing in Will’s voice, Ellie lifted her head to look up at him, then raised her hand to caress the side of his face. ‘But we both blamed the other, and with good reason. You weren’t to know the truth, nor was I.’
He sighed, placing a hand over her own, and her skin tingled in anticipation at his touch. ‘But your anger had dissipated. Despite what you believed, you never acted like a sulky little brat.’
A small sound escaped Ellie, and Will’s lips twitched. ‘I might have. Just not in front of you.’
The man who walked into Westerleigh Cottage that afternoon, Bella on his heels, was definitely Alex Tremayne, but it wasn’t any version Ellie had yet seen, and judging by the confused expressions of those around her, they hadn’t either.
Alex’s golden tan had assumed a grey tinge, and while his arresting good looks were all present, his cocky, assured strut had dimmed.
Oliver took charge, taking Alex to his den while Anna did as she always did, setting out an array of home-made fare as the others busied themselves making pots of tea and coffee.
Nicki – delighted to have a few days off to help get ready for the move to the other cottage – had taken the twins out in the double buggy to fetch the boys from school, so it was an adults-only assembly.
Bella wouldn’t be drawn on anything when Ellie pressed her, merely asking that she wait to hear Alex out first.
It wasn’t long before Oliver and Alex came back. Some of the latter’s confidence seemed to have returned, although he still wouldn’t meet Ellie’s gaze, and she exchanged a look with Will, relieved to see he was struggling to hide a smile as he pulled out a chair for her.
A sudden growl came from the hearth, and Anna hurried over to stroke Dougal, who’d barred his teeth at the new arrival. Heathcliff wasn’t in any mood to be consoled, however, scooting over to the cat flap into the boot room, hissing at Alex as she went.
‘Alex and I have just had an interesting conversation,’ Oliver began as everyone settled around the table. ‘Which will remain between us, but let’s just say, hostilities between Tremayne Estates and the Seymour Trust are on hold.’
‘Permanently?’ Anna essayed, her expression quizzical.
‘We can hope,’ Oliver concluded. ‘Alex, you said you had a few other things to say?’
Alex got to his feet, looking around the table, but a pointed stare from Bella had him hastily reclaiming his seat.
‘Yes. Of course. Sorry.’ His look wasn’t so much contrite as more humble than usual, and Ellie glanced at Will to find his gaze fixed intently on his old friend.
‘This is long overdue,’ Alex began, pausing to run a finger between his shirt collar and his neck.
He cleared his throat, casting a fleeting look at Bella beside him, before his eyes roamed around the rapt faces staring back at him.
‘I’ve an apology— ow!’ He bent to rub at his ankle.
‘Sorry. Apologies. Several of them. To make. For various…’ he cast around for a word, and Bella did a good impression of a gangster, muttering ‘transgressions’ out of the side of her mouth.
Ellie’s head dipped as she strove to conceal her amusement, only to see Will’s hand reaching for hers. As his fingers encircled her own, her heart swelled, and she struggled to listen to Alex, thinking only of being alone with Will again once this show was over.
‘I— er, I’ve spoken to Kate and Dev about last year.
And Matt,’ he added, addressing Anna, before turning to Will.
‘I threw my toys out of the pram over a deal Matt secured for Oliver and took it out on the others by putting the village fayre at risk. It’s all connected to a bit of a…
’ He huffed on a breath. ‘Vendetta – is probably the best word – I waged with Oliver over the selling and purchasing of estate properties.’
Will’s brow furrowed. ‘Why, Alex? What’s been driving it?’
Alex slumped back in his seat, then looked to Anna and Oliver. ‘This is your home, and you’ve kindly allowed me in to try and sort things out, but I’d really like to talk to Will… and Ellie.’ He threw a quick, culpable look towards her. ‘In private.’
‘Seems fair enough.’ Oliver stood, Anna at his side. ‘We’ll talk more in a few days, Alex.’
‘Yes, that would be great.’ Alex sent Oliver a grateful smile.
‘We’ll go for a walk,’ Anna said, tucking her arm into her husband’s. ‘See if we can find Nicki and the twins.’
A profound silence fell as the boot room door closed behind them, Dougal trotting at their heels. Then, Alex turned to Will as Ellie grasped his hand more tightly.
‘You asked why. Stupidly, two things, but they’re connected.
I’ve always been a player. You know that, Will, from years ago.
Not just at work, standing on anyone I could to get to the top, but in relationships as well.
Too much attention from the fairer sex. Vanity working on a weak head produces every sort of mischief.
’ He stopped, drew in a short breath. ‘Well, about six years ago, I brought my jaded temperament here, to the cove. A place I hated for everything it stood for, except there was a property.’ He scanned the beautiful room. ‘This one.’
He outlined how he’d been after securing it from the then owner, Meg, for a rich client desperate to own it, but she’d refused outright to sell.
Frustrated by both the failure to earn a substantial commission and to force an elderly lady to do his bidding, he’d set out to gain it by other means – namely romancing the person who inherited it from Meg when she passed away: Anna.
‘You’re joking,’ Will exclaimed. ‘Please tell me you’re making this up.’
‘He’s not,’ Bella interjected. ‘He told me all of this earlier. Oliver confirmed it to me.’
Struggling to take it in after everything she’d learned about Alex recently, Ellie busied herself pouring teas and coffees as Alex continued to outline how he’d started to feud with Oliver, who had around that time commenced his philanthropic property venture.
When Oliver and Anna had got together, and he’d moved into the house that had lost Alex so much – not just in terms of financial gain but in reputation and kudos at work – his resolve only hardened.
Never would a Tremayne asset – several of which he’d sold off over subsequent years – benefit the community by becoming part of Oliver’s property portfolio.
This had led to last year’s spat with Matt, and by default, Dev and Kate.
Ellie’s stunned gaze met Bella’s resigned one, and the latter shook her head.
‘I had no idea any of this had happened, Ellie. Like you, I vowed never to come back here after Alex and I split. Then, when Matt reached out a couple of years ago to help Oliver with his research, I decided to risk it. It had all been so long ago, and it seemed general knowledge that Alex still had an aversion to the cove.’
‘What she didn’t realise was that my father decided to retire last year,’ Alex continued. ‘Hand the estate over to me. I ended up coming back more than usual, and that’s when I saw Bella again. The first time since that summer all those years ago.’
The look he sent Bella gave Ellie pause as her sympathies were unexpectedly roused. Whoever he was, whatever he’d done, one thing was clear: Alex Tremayne was deeply in love with her friend.
‘And so, we come to the second reason I’ve behaved as I have lately.’ Alex drew in a long breath, and Ellie’s brow creased as she noticed his hands shaking before he clasped them together on the table.
‘It’s taken me a long time to work out why, aside from being who I was at work, I also became the boyfriend from hell.
And I take full responsibility for it. I did something I hadn’t believed possible: I fell in love.
A long time ago.’ He flicked an imploring glance at Bella, but her attention remained with Ellie.
‘I didn’t realise at the time. It was an amazing few months, but it wasn’t until we went back to our own lives, mine in London and Bella heading off on her teacher training, that I realised how much I wanted to be with her. ’
‘So what happened?’ Will looked from Alex to Bella and back. ‘What split you up?’