Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
I t had felt like an eternity since Dilly had viewed the lighthouse but for the past couple of weeks, she’d kept herself occupied by immersing herself in painting more pieces for the gallery.
‘Today is the day!’ she trilled to herself as she stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her. Standing before the mirror, she gazed at her reflection with a determined expression. There were still a couple of hours before she needed to head over to the auction house in Sea’s End. Then, suddenly, she panicked; she hadn’t even thought about checking the tide times! Grabbing her phone, she checked the local residents’ private Facebook group and was relieved to find that the tide was out.
Next on her mind was the age-old question: what does one wear to an auction? Should she go for a businesslike look, or opt for something more casual to avoid giving off overly eager ‘I’m going to bid’ vibes? Dilly decided on smart attire. She recalled a suit she had worn a few years back to an artist event, where she had felt overdressed amongst the painters in their work gear. She laid out the navy A-line skirt, pairing it with a white blouse and draping a gauzy pink scarf around her neck. She chose pink ballet shoes to complete the outfit.
After slipping into her underwear, Dilly glanced down, noticing her breasts spilling over the top of her bra. She frowned in dismay, acknowledging that she had continued to overindulge in Nutella pancakes from the Cosy Kettle even after swearing she’d take more care in what she ate. She really needed to rein in her constant cravings. Pulling on the skirt, she stared at her expanded waistline. It just about fitted over her thighs… barely… but there was no way it was ever going to fasten.
‘What the hell?’ Dilly muttered, frustrated as the blouse also refused to fasten around her chest.
Suddenly, a thought hit her and Dilly’s heart raced with panic. She grabbed her phone again, fingers trembling, scrolled to her menstrual app and stared at the date. It had been four months since her last period. She slumped on the bed, still staring at the app.
‘Shit, shit, double shit. Don’t panic,’ she muttered to herself, though her pulse had quickened uncontrollably. She tried to convince herself that her periods had been delayed due to stress – after all, she had endured the worst couple of years of her life – but as the image of Giles flashed vividly in her mind she shuddered, recalling his smirk as he exited her life… or so she had thought. The idea of an unplanned pregnancy was daunting enough, but the thought of Giles as the father was unbearable.
Dilly knew she would have some explaining to do. Both Clemmie and her dad believed that Giles had been out of the picture for at least eight months and everyone on the island believed Dilly had uncovered his deceit sooner than she actually had, since she had started downplaying the relationship in the hope that her dad would eventually warm to him. But Clemmie and her dad had been right all along. When Giles suddenly encountered financial difficulties with a property deal in St. Tropez, one that he claimed had been in the works before he even met Dilly, his behaviour became increasingly erratic. He claimed he needed cash immediately to prevent the sellers from pulling out, and put pressure on her to cash out her inheritance and lend him the money. That’s when Dilly’s alarm bells had started ringing. After a heated argument, Giles stormed out for a walk, and Dilly had done a bit of digging, finding the folded article in his suit pocket from a national newspaper detailing her mother’s tragic accident. Giles had highlighted the bit explaining that she had been married to one of the wealthiest antique dealers in the country, and was leaving Dilly a hefty inheritance.
She couldn’t even entertain the possibility of being pregnant right now, let alone pregnant with Giles’s baby. Yes, she had been a bit reckless with contraception, but she had been influenced by their discussions about children and the fact that Giles had sold her a fairytale dream of a family together. A fairytale that was now spiralling into a nightmare.
Right now all Dilly could do was try and push it out of her mind until after the auction. But that was easier said than done. Tears welled up as she told herself not to overthink things because it would all be okay, but she wasn’t convincing herself. All she could do was wait until all the facts were known, then she could make any decisions she needed to. Trying to calm her rapidly beating heart, Dilly tossed her phone into her bag. She needed to focus on the auction, and push aside the looming uncertainty for the next few hours at least.
Grabbing an oversized T-shirt and her trusty dungarees, Dilly hastily got dressed. Then, standing sideways in front of the mirror, she cupped her hands around her stomach, mimicking a pose she had seen pregnant celebrities do in glossy magazines. Dilly had always envisioned becoming a mother, but not like this. She had imagined it happening in a loving relationship, perhaps even marriage, with a lovely family home filled with anticipation and joy upon sharing the news with her partner.
As soon as the auction was over, Dilly planned to drop Max back on the island before driving swiftly back to Sea’s End to visit the pharmacy. There was a pharmacy on the island, but Dilly was determined to keep her visit discreet. Living in a small community like Puffin Island meant that everyone knew everyone’s business, and this was something she didn’t want spreading around until she was ready, especially if it turned out she was pregnant.
Just as she finished putting on her shoes, a knock echoed through the gallery. Dilly hurried down the stairs. Through the gallery’s window, she saw Clemmie smiling back at her and opened the door. In one hand, Clemmie gripped a newspaper, in the other, a white paper bag that bulged with the promise of breakfast. ‘I thought you’d be rushing around this morning, so I’ve popped over with a bacon cob with brown sauce.’
‘That’s why I have friends like you! Thank you,’ Dilly said, accepting the bag and peeking inside.
‘How are you feeling about the auction?’
‘Excited, nervous,’ Dilly admitted, the mix of anticipation and apprehension evident in her voice. She pulled out the bacon cob and took a satisfying bite. Swallowing, she added. ‘This is good! I needed this.’
‘My grandmother is at the tearoom so I’m available if you need someone holding your hand, but I know your dad is probably going with you.’
Dilly shook her head. ‘My dad is away on business.’
‘I’m your girl then…’ Clemmie interjected eagerly, ready to offer her support.
Dilly hesitated for a moment before admitting, ‘I actually do have someone holding my hand.’
Clemmie’s curiosity spiked, and she narrowed her eyes playfully. ‘You look very cagey. Who?’
‘Max.’
‘Max? Who is Max?’
‘Max Harrington.’
Clemmie’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Woah! How did that come about?’
‘I wanted an independent opinion on buying the lighthouse and he’s helped me work out my financials. He’s also familiar with building work and he’s working at the boat house with Dad.’
Taken aback, Clemmie leaned against the desk. ‘Since when has Mr Harrington been familiar with building work? He’s an art teacher.’
‘Not anymore, and we don’t need to call him Mr Harrington any longer. It’s Max. He’s not our teacher and he’s only a few years older than us.’
‘Oh my gosh.’ Clemmie’s eyes widened with realisation.
‘What?’ Dilly asked, sensing Clemmie’s scrutiny.
‘You fancy Max Harrington.’
‘Don’t be ridiculous!’
‘You do! I can see that glint in your eye. There’s something going on between you.’
‘There isn’t.’
‘But you want there to be.’
Dilly smiled. ‘I can’t deny I had a crush on him at college.’
‘Didn’t we all?’
‘Yes, but I don’t think your crush was like my crush…’
Clemmie’s eyes widened. ‘You didn’t have an affair with the teacher? Tell me you didn’t. In fact, tell me you did. It’s always the quiet ones.’
Dilly rolled her eyes. ‘Of course I didn’t have an affair with the teacher. Max would have never crossed that line. He was always professional… and also very married.’
‘Did you try?’
‘No, of course not, but he was one of my inspirations.’ She gestured around the gallery. ‘He believed in me and encouraged me to paint for a living.’
‘And now… you want him to cross that line, don’t you? I can tell by that smitten look on your face.’
‘You are like a dog with a bone.’ Dilly wasn’t going to admit that, after Max had left on the night they’d shared food and wine, she had lain in bed, wondering if she could have – should have, even – persuaded him to stay. ‘I think after Giles, I need to stay away from men,’ she added, playing things down. She knew that if the pregnancy test confirmed she was expecting Giles’s baby, then being wrapped up in Max’s arms was only ever going to be an unfulfilled dream.
‘Except Max.’
Dilly gave her friend an exasperated look.
‘I knew it!’
‘But there’s nothing going on.’
‘Yet!’
Suddenly, Clemmie’s demeanour shifted from jovial to serious as she set the newspaper down on Dilly’s desk. Even though the morning sunlight filtered through the gallery window, casting a soft glow over the room, the atmosphere had suddenly grown tense.
‘What is it?’ Dilly asked.
‘I know you never look at the news on your phone.’
‘Way too depressing for my liking.’
‘So I wasn’t sure if you knew or had seen this.’ Clemmie opened the newspaper and turned to page four.
Dilly’s eyes immediately fell upon the photograph of Giles staring back at her, before turning to the bold headline blared across the page.
FAKE CELEbrITY BODYGUARD SWINDLES MILLIONS FROM VULNERABLE WOMEN.
Dilly’s heart raced as she read the damning article. She sank into the chair behind her desk, clutching the bacon cob in one hand while she absorbed the shocking revelations. Clemmie stood silently beside her, giving her the space to process it all.
‘He’s been very busy! According to this he was seeing multiple women at the same time he was living here with me. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.’ Her voice was tinged with disbelief mixed with a hint of lingering hurt. She rubbed her hand protectively over her stomach, a subconscious gesture. ‘It says here that over the last five years he’s swindled hundreds of women out of their inheritance,’ she continued, her eyes flitting up and down the article, grasping the magnitude of Giles’s deceit. ‘He had it all worked out in my case,’ she said.
‘But thankfully he’s been caught and sentenced,’ said Clemmie gently, attempting to offer some reassurance amongst the turmoil.
Dilly remained in shock. While part of her felt a grim satisfaction that Giles had been brought to justice, seeing the scale of his deception was staggering. ‘How would you even manage that? Remembering which lies you told to whom, which house you were supposed to be at each night… It’s exhausting just thinking about it.’
Clemmie placed a comforting hand on Dilly’s shoulder, offering silent support as her friend grappled with the aftermath of his betrayal and deception. The weight of Giles’s actions had shaken Dilly’s trust and left her questioning not just him but perhaps her own judgment as well. ‘How are you feeling about it?’ Clemmie asked gently.
‘A mixture of relief and disbelief. How must all those other women feel? And how did he get away with so much money?’
‘Because he’s a professional, it’s what he does. But not anymore. He’s been caught and thankfully is now going to be serving time,’ Clemmie stated solemnly, her voice carrying a note of finality.
Dilly took a deep breath, trying to reconcile her emotions. ‘I actually thought I was the only one. That he’d just targeted me because he’d read about my mother’s death and saw my rising success as an artist. I thought he was a chancer, and there was still a part of me, which I know is daft, that thought he actually liked me. But according to this…’ She trailed off, her finger tracing the damning words in the newspaper.
‘He’s been at it for years,’ Clemmie said, nodding her understanding. ‘They’ve caught him now though and hopefully he won’t be out of prison anytime soon,’ she added, trying to inject some optimism into the conversation.
‘At least I’ll never have to set eyes on him again.’
‘You won’t,’ Clemmie affirmed, her voice filled with reassurance. ‘I’d better get back to the tearoom now but I wish you all the luck in the world today. Hopefully, in a few hours’ time, you will be the proud owner of the Puffin Island Lighthouse!’ Clemmie opened her arms wide, and Dilly stood up and they hugged tightly.
‘Let me know the news as soon as you have any, and we will all see you tomorrow night for our first art class,’ Clemmie added with a smile.
‘I will, I promise.’
As soon as Clemmie left, Dilly locked the door behind her and placed a sign on the window announcing the closure of the gallery for the day. She returned to her desk and reread the newspaper article, the reality of Giles’s betrayal sinking in deeper.
‘How did I ever fall for you?’ Dilly muttered to herself. Tears welled up in her eyes and blurred the words on the page as she swallowed a lump in her throat. The weight of possibly carrying Giles’s child felt like a heavy burden, tying her to him in ways she’d never imagined.
Swamped with a thousand thoughts, Dilly tried to calm herself, but one fear persisted. If I’m pregnant and Giles is the father… What if the baby takes after him? Her mind raced with worries about the future, imagining the challenges of raising a child of a conman.
That fear overwhelmed her. Dilly lunged for the wastepaper bin beneath her desk and promptly threw up.
After wiping her mouth with a tissue, she felt utterly drained. Despite the support of her community on Puffin Island, Dilly knew the road ahead would be fraught with challenges. But in that moment, she clung to the hope that she would find the strength, somehow, to navigate this unexpected chapter of her life if the pregnancy test showed a positive result.