Page 35 of The Summer Swap

“I—Yes.” Why was that a shock? Had Cecilia not said her name? Lily had introduced herself, but it hadn’t occurred to Lily until now that Cecilia hadn’t done the same.

“When you first walked in, I thought you looked familiar,” Cecilia said. “We know each other?”

Lily wished she’d kept her mouth shut. Maybe Cecilia would change her mind now and call the police.

“We don’t exactly know each other. We met once, but I don’t expect you to remember. I’m a friend of Hannah’s.” Or maybe she wasn’t. Maybe that friendship was now in the past.

“A friend of—” Cecilia stared at her for a moment. “Oh dear. Lily. You’re Hannah’s Lily. Her best friend. Growing up you two were inseparable.”

Lily felt something stab her insides. She wasn’t Hannah’s Lily anymore.

“Is that a problem?”

“I’m not sure,” Cecilia said. “Since we’re being honest here, I’ll tell you that I came here to have some space from everyone, including family. No one knows where I am. And I don’t want them to know. That probably sounds strange to you.”

“Not really.” The confidence touched her. And as someone who had come here to escape her own family, Lily didn’t think it sounded strange at all. You could love your family and still need distance from them. She felt a rush of sympathy for Cecilia. “Won’t they guess where you are?”

“No one knows about this place,” Cecilia said. “Cameron and I bought it a long time ago. Right at the beginning, before we had children.”

The cottage had been a hideaway. Somewhere special. She’d sensed it the moment she’d stepped through the door the first time.

“No one knows? Not even Hannah and—” She almost said Todd, but stopped herself. She’d vowed that she was going to stop saying his name and thinking about him. “How about the rest of your family?”

“None of them know. We never brought the children here, or the grandchildren. It was our place.” Cecilia paused. “I thought Cameron had sold it, years ago. That was what he told me. It was only recently that I discovered he hadn’t. My lawyer knows. And now you.”

And now her. The fact that she knew Cecilia’s secret, and Cecilia knew hers bonded them in some way.

“This is the first time you’ve been back since he died?”

“Longer than that.” Cecilia stared into the distance. “It has been many years.”

Lily tried to imagine how it must feel to be back here after so much time. After so much had changed. Was that why she’d smashed the paintings? Had looking at them made her sad? “I’m sorry for your loss.” It was hard to know what to say, but she felt she had to say something. “It must be difficult to be here without him when the place was special to you both.”

“Yes.” Cecilia spoke quietly. “It is difficult.”

And Lily was intruding on her private grief.

“I should never have stayed here. I never planned to. I’ve been maintaining the place for months, coming here weekly to check on things—that’s my job, or part of it. In April I lost my accommodation. I was going to find somewhere else, but this place is always empty and—”

“And it isn’t easy finding accommodation on the Cape in the summer. I understand. You said that this place is always empty. That no one ever uses it.” Cecilia looked at her. “Do you know when it was last used?”

Lily shook her head. She’d expected Cecilia to be angry with her and instead she was asking about the cottage.

“The management company I work for has been in business for decades. It’s family run. This place has been on their books since the beginning, and there is no record of anyone ever staying here.”

“Never?” Cecilia’s hands were clasped tightly in her lap. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yes. I asked them specifically because I thought it was strange. And I wouldn’t have stayed here if I’d thought there was a chance someone might use it.” It seemed important to try and explain. “It wasn’t only about the money. This place was a comfort to me. I was having a difficult time and being here made me feel better. Calmer. Happier. It has been a sanctuary.”

Cecilia looked distracted, as if she was going over something in her head.

“Never.”

“Excuse me?”

“No one ever stayed here.”

Lily wondered why that was so important to Cecilia. “Apart from me.”

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