Page 83 of The Diary at the Last House Before the Sea

She turned back and smiled. ‘I do hope so, but that’s entirely your decision to make.’

River and Clara went out into the hall with Audrey and the door banged shut behind them. Geoffrey was alone. He stared out of the window, hardly registering the children running towards the cove who were trampling over his prized petunias.

There was so much for him to process. So many assumptions to rewrite in his head. But all he could think about was Audrey being wrong when she’d said that she’d given him nothing as a child. In fact she’d given him so much that was precious: comfort, support and love. Which was why her disappearance had hurt so much. But he could understand why she’d had to flee.

Geoffrey looked down at the diamonds nestling in his palm. Today had focused on the past. But tomorrow, knowing what he knew now, perhaps he could focus on the future.

35

RIVER

The sun had only recently peeped above the horizon and the pearly sky was a vibrant palette of pinks, yellow and gold.

River had seen many wonderful sunrises in Australia but this one, over the Devon coast, seemed more beautiful, and more fragile. As if it might shatter into a million shards of light.

He walked quietly through the trees that lay between the manor house and the sea, until he reached the cove. But he came to an abrupt halt when he realised that he wasn’t the only one up early after yesterday’s fete and unexpected visitor.

His father was sitting on a jacket that he’d spread across the sand. Staring out to sea, he cut a lonely figure lit by the rays of the rising sun.

River’s immediate reaction was to turn tail and creep away. Geoffrey might not want company, particularly the company of his son. He hadn’t wanted to talk to him after Audrey’s departure and had spent the rest of the day shut away in his bedroom.

But there was something about him there on the cool sand that drew River towards him. Perhaps it was the slump of his shoulders and the tilt of his head. Or perhaps it was the fact that their time together was coming to an end that propelled River across the cove.

Geoffrey glanced up when his son reached him. ‘You’re out and about early, River.’

‘I could say the same of you.’ River hesitated for a second and then sat down beside him. ‘Couldn’t sleep either, huh?’

Geoffrey gave a half-smile. ‘My mind was busy with the goings-on of yesterday. A ghost rising from the grave does interfere somewhat with one’s sleep pattern.’

‘Tell me about it,’ said River, although his sleep had been interrupted more by thoughts of Clara than Audrey. The warmth of her hand in his as they walked through Dorking. The way she wrinkled her nose when she laughed.

He turned his face to the sun, a blazing ball of energy in the dawn sky. ‘I’m sorry that you found out about Audrey that way. Clara and I didn’t like keeping it from you but we weren’t sure what to do for the best, and Audrey was adamant that it should stay a secret. I think she was trying to protect you, in her own way.’

Geoffrey breathed out slowly. ‘It was a huge shock, of course. But the more I think about it, the more I can understand her reasoning. I can understand a lot, actually.’ His snort of laughter took River by surprise. ‘Do you know what the funny thing is in all of this? It struck me in the middle of the night that my father went on to marry again, twice – which means he was a bigamist.’

River blinked. ‘Is that funny?’

‘Oh yes. If you knew how proper he was. How much of a stickler for keeping up appearances. He would have been horrified at the thought that he, Edwin Brellasham, was a bigamist.’

‘A double bigamist, actually.’

The corner of Geoffrey’s mouth turned upwards. ‘Quite.’

The two men sat for a while in what felt like companionable silence until River asked: ‘Would you like to see Audrey again?’

Geoffrey continued gazing out to sea as he replied: ‘Yes, I would. I’d like to know more about her life after leaving this place. Where did she live? Does she have children?’

‘She told us that she’d lived in Ireland for a long time and has no family, but that’s all I know.’ River hesitated before asking: ‘Did what she told you about her life at the manor with your father come as a complete surprise?’

His father was likely to snap and tell him to mind his own business. But Geoffrey answered calmly, as seagulls screeched and wheeled in the pale morning light.

‘I knew nothing about the physical abuse. At least I don’t think I did. So many memories from that time are incomplete or indistinct. But I do remember hearing him shouting at her over nothing and hearing her sob. He was a possessive, probably quite insecure, man who demanded absolute loyalty on his own terms. It must have been difficult for Audrey, who was such a vibrant young woman and so full of life. She must have felt like a bird in a gilded cage.’

‘So she left and took the diamonds with her.’

Geoffrey nodded. ‘Ah, yes, the diamonds. Quite apart from their financial value, they meant a great deal to my father because they linked his family with the monarchy and he always was quite the snob. I rather think he missed the diamonds as much as he did Audrey.’

‘And now they’re back, too.’

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