Chapter Twenty-Four
‘You have got to be kidding.’
It was a bore, Hector wrote, but incumbent on ‘us’ – meaning Ruan – to accommodate the Tremain estate’s requirements.
Ruan snorted. Even in texts, Hector’s style was from a bygone age, but this morning he didn’t find his boss’s quirks entertaining or amusing.
The change of plan meant there was no way he could meet Lady T and make it to the festival, especially with the amount of traffic that was sure to be on the roads.
He cursed and cursed again. He’d just put the power tools away, showered and changed into smart jeans, a polo shirt and a pair of Timberland boots, which felt far more appropriate for meeting a former equestrian champion than a suit and tie.
‘I’m not doing it, Hector,’ he declared, ready to call Hector to tell him exactly that.
Before his thumb made contact with the phone screen, he stopped.
Hold on, he thought. He didn’t want to leave a message explaining that he was ditching an important client for a festival, no matter how unreasonable it was to expect him to rearrange his plans twice at short notice.
He supposed he could have lied and said his appointment was medical or urgent … but Hector would probably smell a rat.
There was only one thing for it: he’d turn up at the Tremains anyway and pretend he hadn’t seen Hector’s message. He’d blame his signal – far more believable as Hector was always complaining Ruan lived in the middle of nowhere and was terrified of tech himself.
If Polly was in, and he assumed she was if the farrier was calling round, she might still see him anyway and at least he’d shown his willingness to her ladyship and his boss.
There was no way on earth Ruan was going to let Tammy down on one of the most important days of her career.
The Tremain estate was approached up a long drive across pastureland where cows and sheep grazed under the shade of majestic oaks.
Tremain House itself was a substantial pile made of Cornish granite with outbuildings galore. An old Land Rover was parked in front of the entrance, where the oak door seemed almost crushed by the stone lintel above it.
Ruan parked the Audi next to the Land Rover, wincing at how slight and urban it looked compared to the muddy workhorse of a vehicle. He hoped he didn’t come across in the same vein as his car.
He headed for the front door when he was hailed by a woman. She wasn’t in jodhpurs and a headscarf as he might have expected, but she did have jeans and wellies on, and her ash-blond hair was tied back with a ribbon. All the evidence pointed to her being Polly, but Ruan didn’t dare to presume.
‘Hello! Are you lorst?’ she bellowed.
He hurried to meet her. ‘I’m Ruan Mitchell from Gaverne’s. Here to see Mrs Tremain.’
The woman burst out laughing. ‘Did Hector tell you to call me that? It’s Polly.’ She frowned. ‘But you’re hours early. Didn’t Hector give you my message?’
‘He – er – I saw it after I set off. I’m sorry if it’s inconvenient.’
‘Hmm.’ She twisted her lips as she looked at him like a Roman emperor deciding a gladiator’s fate. He held his breath, dreading having to tell her the meeting had to be then or not at all.
‘Well, it is inconvenient as a matter of fact, but as you’re here, I suppose I could fit you in.
My farrier’s late anyway. He’s caught up in this bloody festival traffic.
’ She rolled her eyes. ‘You’d better come inside – and, for future reference, we don’t bother with the front door.
Only people we don’t like use the front door.
Come round the back to the yard office.’
Ruan did as he was told, thanking his lucky stars that Polly had accepted his white lie about the message and agreed to see him anyway.
They discussed her business over a mug of tea, which he hadn’t wanted to refuse, but regretted accepting when he saw it was the colour of mud. He tried not to gag when he tasted it. It must have been brewing for a century.
‘Now, I suppose I ought to give you a quick tour of the place so you can see what you’re dealing with. Hector thought that was a good idea.’
Ruan’s phone pinged with a message. He couldn’t help glancing at it when he saw Tammy’s name flash up.
‘Am I boring you?’ Polly said, peering at him over the rim of her Horse however, you also came highly recommended. Top of your year in law school at Exeter, according to Hector. Claims he had to move mountains to lure you away from the bright lights of Bristol, eh?’
‘Well, I wouldn’t describe it that way myself,’ Ruan said, embarrassed.
Polly rolled her eyes. ‘No false modesty, please. It’s boring.’
‘I got a decent enough First, yes,’ he said.
‘I’ll take that as admitting you were brilliant.
Now, I appreciate you coming over here anyway.
Why don’t you answer your phone while I collect up that dratted paperwork we discussed?
Then you can be released from your torment and go off to do whatever a handsome young man like you is longing to do when the weekend looms. Judging by the way you’re desperate to answer that message, I expect it involves a girlfriend? ’
Fortunately, Polly walked off, chuckling, towards the house, leaving him alone to call Tammy back.
She answered him almost immediately in a voice that was taut with stress. ‘Ruan. Thank God I’ve got you.’
‘Are you OK?’ he blurted out, alarmed by her panicky tone.
‘No. I mean, yes. I’m not hurt but there’s been an accident.’
His stomach turned over. ‘Jesus. What happened?’
‘Well, first I got a puncture, but I changed the wheel and then I was behind a hay lorry and it shed a bale! Somehow, I missed it by swerving into a ditch.’
A horrific picture sprang into Ruan’s mind of Tammy’s van crushed like a tin can. ‘You’re OK though?’
‘Yeah. I’m OK … but now the road’s blocked and the van’s out of action. The front wing is completely bashed in.’ He heard a tremor in her voice. ‘There’s no way I’m going to make it to the festival.’
Ruan’s mind whirled. ‘Yes there is. I’ll come and pick you up now.’
‘Thanks, but you won’t be able to reach me. The main roads are blocked and all the lanes around are gridlocked with festival traffic.’
Ruan had guessed this might be her answer, but he wasn’t going to give up. ‘How far away are you from the festival site?’
‘I’m a hundred yards from the crossroads by the Jolly Sailor pub?’
‘I know it.’
‘It’s five miles away from the festival site. It’s too far. I need to get through security and check in at the festival office too. I should ideally have been on the beach by now. Are you in the office?’
‘No, I’m actually at the Tremain estate … I think that’s only a couple of miles from you. If I set out now, I might be able to pick you up from the pub car park?’
‘You can try, but the whole area is jammed.’
Polly walked in on him. She was carrying several bulging document wallets. ‘Sorry, bit of a mess. Filing is not my strong point, but you can sift through it, I expect?’
Ruan was torn in two but had to make a decision. ‘Can I call you back in a minute, Tammy?’ he murmured into the phone. ‘I’m with a client.’
‘Oh. Yes …’ Tammy replied, sounding completely defeated.
‘I promise I’ll call you in a minute,’ Ruan insisted before reluctantly ending the call. Shit. He couldn’t leave Tammy stranded at the side of the road. He was desperate to make sure she really was OK.
Polly handed over the folders with a shrewd glance. ‘Look. We can sort out the rest of this business another time. I can see you straining at the leash to be orf. Are you going to this festival too?’
‘As a matter of fact, I am. Or I’m supposed to be.
I’m helping a friend who’s doing a sand art installation.
Or I was. She’s late because a hay lorry shed a bale right in front of her.
She’s lucky it didn’t hit her van, but she had to swerve to avoid it.
Now her van’s out of action, she’s stuck by the Jolly Sailor, and all the roads around are blocked. It looks like she’ll miss the tide.’
‘Miss the tide? Oh dear. This festival thing means a lot to her, does it?’
‘It’s her big break. Or could be. She’s incredibly talented and OceanFest’s a major opportunity for more exposure. She deserves it. If she’s late, it’ll be a huge letdown for her.’
Polly thought for a moment. ‘Hmm. She must be quite special, the way you talk about her. And you’re bang on.
Time and tide wait for no one and if you were planning on being there this afternoon, you’d have missed it too if you’d turned up here at the correct time.
I presume that’s also why you didn’t happen to see Hector’s message? ’
Ruan’s heart sank, but it was useless lying to Polly, and unfair when she’d been very open with him.
He was also desperate to be on his way. ‘I did see it, but not until I was about to get in my car and set off to make our original meeting time. I couldn’t let Tammy down and I didn’t want to disappoint you or Hector either.
Turning up early was the best solution I could come up with.
I apologise for being slightly economical with the truth.
It probably wasn’t the greatest decision I’ve ever made. ’
She laughed again. ‘You’re a lawyer. I expect you to be slightly economical with the truth when it matters.
’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Being serious, I appreciate the candour and, more than that, your loyalty to your friend. You clearly have your priorities right. I know what a once-in-a-lifetime chance means from my eventing past. Carpe diem and all those clichés … they happen to be true.’ She twisted her lips, clearly thinking hard.
‘I have to try and reach her. I can’t let her down.’ The desperation in his voice surprised even him.
‘Hmm. Hold your horses. I can’t make any promises, but I may be able to help.’
‘If you could, I’d be very grateful.’
‘No need for that. Tell Hector I’ll expect a twenty per cent discount off your fees.’
Before Ruan could open his mouth in dismay, Polly guffawed. ‘Only joking! Hector never gives discounts. Call your friend and tell her to sit tight.’
She left him in the stable yard while he phoned Tammy and explained that Polly was going to try and sort something out. Understandably, Tammy was sceptical. He hated hearing the defeat in her voice.
‘I hate doing this, especially for my first time. It looks really bad.’
‘The organisers will know there was an incident. They will be dealing with lots of suppliers and visitors who are stuck.’
‘Maybe, but I wanted this one thing to go right!’ Her voice rose in frustration. ‘I’ve worked so hard on it and I hoped it would be perfect. Your friend Polly is kind to offer to help, but I don’t see how she can.’
Ruan agreed. He couldn’t see how Polly could help him rescue Tammy and unblock a major road, but he also had no choice but to cross his fingers and hope.
‘You never know,’ he said, hearing a rhythmic sound from the behind the house. ‘Hang on, she’s on her way into the yard. I’ll call you back in a sec.’
The noise grew louder and he realised it was the ringing of hooves on cobbles. A moment later, Polly appeared on the back of a very large and quite lively grey horse.
‘Sh … it,’ he murmured under his breath. Surely she wasn’t expecting him to ride to Tammy’s rescue?
‘Hurrah!’ Polly declared, dismounting in front of Ruan, who kept a wary distance from the snorting creature. ‘Think I’ve got the answer.’
‘Er … I’m sorry, Mrs – Polly – I can’t ride,’ he said.
She slapped him on the back and exploded with mirth. ‘Young man, I wasn’t expecting you to. Lucifer here would chuck you off the moment you tried to mount him. He’ll only have me on his back and no one else. No, I’m going to ride and you’re going to take my other trusty steed.’
Ruan braced himself for the appearance of a donkey.
‘Don’t look so scared. You can follow me in the Land Rover. That ridiculous sports car of yours is useless where we’re going.’
While Ruan was full of relief that he would be on four wheels not four hooves, he was wary as to Polly’s cryptic statement. ‘Where are we going?’ he asked as she led the skittish Lucifer round to the front of the house while Ruan kept a safe distance.
‘You’ll find out,’ Polly said with a grin. ‘Tell your friend – what’s her name?’
‘Tamara. Tammy.’
‘Tell Tammy we’ll be with her in ten minutes tops and have her at the festival in time for the tide. I’ve called in a few favours. Now let’s get a shift on.’