Page 33 of The Island Villa

A conversation with Adeline was like strolling down a road full of potholes whilst wearing a blindfold.

“I’m sure whoever he is, he’s a great guy. He must be, if she wants to marry him.”

There was a pause. “Or maybe he’s a convincing con man, trying to take advantage of her money, like the last man she married.”

Her mother’s marriage to Gordon Pelling, husband number three, had been short-lived and ended acrimoniously when Catherine discovered his secret gambling habit and refused to provide financial support for that particular addiction.

“That was an unfortunate mistake. She’s very trusting. And I’m totally sure she wouldn’t make the mistake again.” Or would she? The thought hadn’t entered her head. But now it was there, burrowing into her brain. “No, surely not. She’d spot a fake.”

Adeline said nothing, but she didn’t have to.

This is her fourth marriage.

Cassie pressed her foot to the floor and headed out of town. “I’m sure this time he’s not a fake.” She said it to convince herself as much as her sister. “He’s back tonight and we’re all having a special dinner, so we can get to know each other then. There’s no secret. No surprise. Just a question of timing, that’s all. I’m looking forward to it.”

Still, Adeline said nothing. Presumably that meant she wasn’t looking forward to it.

And now Cassie was starting to feel uneasy too. Why hadn’t her mother told them anything about him?

She coaxed the Jeep up the steep hill that wound its way to the top of the mountain, retracing the route she’d taken on the way.

At the top, she glanced again at her sister because surely no one could fail to be moved by the stunning view.

Adeline said nothing so Cassie did what she always did and filled the silence.

“Did you know there are around four million olive trees on Corfu?” The olive groves stretched into the distance, plunging down to rocky coves and crystalline waters that sparkled like a jeweler’s window. Dotted across the landscape were clusters of pastel cottages and the occasional ancient church. “Whenever I see this view, I immediately rethink my life. I tell myself I’m going to leave Oxford and start afresh here, but somehow once I’m back in the swing of things the urge fades.”

Maybe it felt so appealing precisely because it was a dream. Whenever she visited the island, she was basically stepping out of her life for a little while. That was what a holiday was, wasn’t it? A break from real life. If this became real life, if she made it permanent, would she feel the need to escape from this too? Would it feel different?

She couldn’t imagine ever wanting to escape from here. This was her place; she felt it in her bones.

She sneaked a glance at her sister, but Adeline was staring out the window, her expression revealing nothing. There was no smile, no wow, look at that view, no indication at all that this was anything other than a painful experience to be endured.

Was she traumatized by the place?

Giving up trying to figure out what her sister was thinking, Cassie headed for home. Whoever her mother’s new husband was, she hoped he was chatty, otherwise dinner was going to be a painful experience for everyone concerned.

9

Catherine

Catherine gazed through the open doors of her office. From her desk, she could just see the roof of the guest cottage that nestled at the far end of her property. What were the girls doing? Were they chatting? Catching up? Wondering who their mother was marrying this time?

They’d arrived a few hours ago. She’d heard the squeak of the gates opening, the crunch of tires on gravel and then the slamming of car doors. Two doors, which meant that Adeline hadn’t had a last-minute change of heart about coming.

The relief was intense.

Only now did she acknowledge just how nervous she’d been that Adeline might not come. She’d been afraid that the idea of her mother getting married yet again would repel her to the extent that she would want no part of it. And if that had happened, then Catherine would have lost this opportunity to finally mend the rift between them.

Because they were going to mend it.

Catherine was confident that this time her daughter was going to approve of her choice.

How could her daughter not love Andrew? She couldn’t. It was impossible. She was so sure of it she hadn’t allowed herself to consider an alternative.

Tonight was a new beginning. She’d planned it all so carefully and Andrew, even though he hadn’t agreed with her decision not to tell the girls about him until they were on the island, had gone along with it because he loved her.

Because he loved her.

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