Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Back at Grasmere Heights, Ashley carried Rosie into the lounge-library. It was empty, apart from a black cat sitting on one of the armchairs. He deposited Rosie on a sofa and fetched a footstool and cushion.
‘Now, what can I get you, sweetheart?’ he asked. ‘A hot drink? A sandwich? Soup! How about soup?’
‘I don’t want anything, thanks,’ she said, ‘except a hot bath. But how will I get upstairs?’
‘There’s a lift,’ said Ashley.
‘I’ll take you up,’ said Dale. He grinned. ‘And run you a bath. You’ll need help.’
‘Chrissakes, Dale,’ said Ashley, not looking remotely amused.
‘Is Madison around? Or Kayleigh?’ said Rosie. ‘Just to help me in.’
‘You got an ice pack, Ash?’ asked Dale.
‘Yes. I’ll bring it, and I’ll see about the soup. And I’ll find out if Madison’s available. Is chicken and vegetable okay, Rosie?’
‘I don’t really want soup.’
‘You need soup.’ Off he went.
Dale sat down beside her and took her hand; she pulled it free.
‘Look, Dale,’ she said. ‘I’ve had a pretty scary time, my ankle’s hurting, and I’m extremely tired. But I wouldn’t have welcomed whatever it is you think you want from me, anyway.’
‘You were properly up for it last night,’ he said, a little sulkily.
‘I was drunk last night. And I was vulnerable, and you took advantage of that. But most importantly, I didn’t know you’d …
you know. With Madison. And then you massively disrespected her, to Jono, and me, and anyone else who might have heard, before moving on immediately to me. That’s not nice behaviour.’
At least he blushed. ‘Sorry.’ He blew out a breath.
‘Look – you live down south,’ he said, ‘so I get you think this is a non-starter. But … I like you, Rosie. You’re cool.
And you’re not going to be leaving any time soon, right?
So can I see you? I could maybe show you some more of the Lakes? By car, obviously.’
She wondered why he seemed so keen. Perhaps they were short on girls around here. The ones he hadn’t burned through already, anyway.
Ashley returned with a breakfast tray on which sat a bowl of soup and a plate with a hunk of bread. There was also an ice pack and a tea towel. He put the tray down on a coffee table.
‘I’ll do that,’ said Dale. He perched on the edge of the footstool and carefully removed the sock from Rosie’s left foot. His touch was as gentle as Ant’s, but she wanted the hand to be Ant’s.
Dale undid the bandage, saying a quiet ‘ouch’ as the puffy ankle was revealed.
Ashley watched, peering at her foot.
‘No worries, Beautiful,’ said Dale. ‘I’ve seen a lot worse.
It should improve in a day or two – call the doc if it doesn’t.
’ He folded the tea towel and laid it across her ankle, then rested the cold pack on top.
‘Twenty minutes of this, then we’ll put a compression bandage on after your bath. I’ll go get one from the shop.’
Rosie smiled at Dale. ‘Thank you.’ She had to admit, he too made an appealing rescuer.
‘We have those bandages here,’ said Ashley.
‘Cool,’ said Dale. He picked up the tray and placed it across her lap. ‘Now eat.’
The smell of the warm bread tickled Rosie’s nose, and she realised she was ravenous. Ashley sat in a nearby armchair, and the black cat jumped onto his lap.
‘I think I saw this cat in the churchyard,’ said Rosie, breaking off a piece of bread and dipping it into the soup. ‘Wainwright took off after it; that’s why we dropped behind you and Madison,’ she said to Dale.
‘Her name’s Tabitha,’ said Ashley, as she began to purr.
‘Rosie!’ Madison had appeared in the doorway, still in the silvery leggings and turquoise top. ‘What the fuck happened to you?’ she said, coming over.
‘Long story,’ said Rosie, pointing to her foot. ‘I sprained this.’
‘Oh, that sucks. Well – I’m here for bathtime, apparently.’
Dale stood up. ‘I’ll drop by later,’ he said to Rosie, not meeting Madison’s eye. ‘What room are you in?’
‘She’ll be in this one,’ answered Ashley. ‘By the fire with snacks and a good book.’
Dale left, and Rosie updated Madison on the day’s drama, saying she’d wanted to climb the rest of Loughrigg Fell to impress Ashley.
‘I feel bad now,’ said Ashley. ‘Madison – can you come along to Rosie’s room – it’s Tennyson – in say ten minutes? There’s something I want to talk to her about first.’
‘Sure.’ Madison sashayed out of the room, and Rosie smiled to herself. Would Madison really be Madison without that bottom?
She hoped Ashley wasn’t going to quiz her about the article, and whether she’d like to experience the spa facilities, now that the other guests had departed. She didn’t have the energy to discuss any of that.
‘Tell me to mind my own beeswax if you like,’ he began, ‘but I’m …
kind of invested in you. It’s hard to explain, so I’m not going to try, but would you mind if I asked – Jono said he thought you going off by yourself might have had something to do with Dale.
He said you were starry eyed one minute, angry the next.
I’m wondering if I should tell Dale, diplomatically, to stay away?
’ He put his head on one side. ‘You seemed quite into him yesterday, and then … well, not.’
Rosie sighed. ‘It’s not complicated,’ she said. ‘I was hurting badly, because of the worst week ever, including my boyfriend dumping me. My self-esteem was shot, my dreams were shattered. Sounds overdramatic, but that’s how I felt.’
‘Oh that’s awful, poor you,’ he said.
‘I had two of your Xanadus – and wine – on an empty stomach, drowning my sorrows I guess, and Dale was coming on to me. I was pretty happy about that, yes. But then I felt queasy and went outside for a breath of air. Dale followed me and made his move.’ She paused, going a little warm as she remembered.
‘Ant interrupted us because they’d been called out on a rescue. That’s it. End of.’
‘But it’s not end of, right? He’s obviously still keen?’
‘I don’t know why. He can’t be short on options.’
Rosie had been expecting something more about Dale, but instead Ashley said, ‘And Ant?’
Her heart skipped a beat, but she didn’t want Ashley to know that within a day, she’d gone from crushing on Dale to falling for Hill. It was embarrassing.
‘Ant said he thought Dale’s intentions weren’t entirely dishonourable,’ she said.
Ashley nodded. ‘And is that all he said?’
‘He shared some survival stories, his thoughts on the usefulness of chocolate in a rescue situation but … that’s about it. Oh – and he was kind about my failed book. Said he’d like to read it.’
Ashley smiled. ‘Ant’s very kind. Really, Rosie, he’s the loveliest man.’
Rosie grinned. ‘I thought it was Jono you liked.’
‘The loveliest straight man.’ His face grew serious, and she was drawn into the intense gaze of those strange, glittery green eyes. ‘There’s something I think it might be helpful for you to know.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes. Something dreadful happened to Ant, just over two years ago now. Up on Helvellyn – that’s one of the highest mountains in the Lakes. It’s not far from here. It’s why he got involved with mountain rescue. Dale, too. They’ve always been close, those two lads.’
Rosie’s heart sank. She had a very bad feeling about what Ashley was going to share.
‘Ant was up on Striding Edge – it’s a ridge on Helvellyn with steep drops – with his girlfriend, Gemma.
It was winter; a cold, bright day, and they were on their way to the summit.
Both were experienced walkers and well prepared for the conditions.
It was just bad luck. She slipped on a patch of ice, overbalanced, fell off. She died almost immediately.’
Rosie inhaled sharply. ‘Oh no; oh my god, Ashley.’
‘Poor Ant was heartbroken. Numb with shock. He hardly spoke for weeks afterwards. He was still at uni, doing his PhD, home for Christmas. He went back, finished his studies, then did nothing much for a year or so, just worked here in the bar a couple of nights a week. He lived with his parents, who didn’t know how to help him out of it.
He and Gemma had been about to get engaged, apparently. ’
‘That’s so, so sad.’ Tears brimmed in Rosie’s eyes as she pictured quiet, kind, serious Ant.
‘His mum and dad adopted the dog – he’d belonged to a relative who’d moved into a rest home. Poor Wainwright was really sad too, losing his master, but he and Ant bonded, and Ant began to come out of his shell once he had the dog to look after.’
Rosie nodded, a tear rolling down her cheek as she remembered those photos of Ant and Wainwright on the fell tops. Those two sad boys.
‘Last year Dale and Ant opened the shop. They’re both on the mountain rescue team – they joined after Gemma died – and wanted to do more to teach people about mountain safety. The accident didn’t in any way diminish Ant’s love for the fells.’
Rosie removed the tray from her lap and set it on the coffee table. Her ankle was cold and throbbing, and her appetite had flown.
‘So the reason Ant’s so loyal to Dale,’ she said, ‘is because his old friend helped him through that difficult time?’
‘Oh, Dale was equally devastated,’ said Ashley. ‘You see, Gemma was his twin sister.’