Page 62 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
‘Has something happened? You look upset.’ She bustled him into a seat. ‘Coffee?’ She cocked an eyebrow. ‘Or don’t you trust me with a brew? It’s only a pod, I’m afraid.’
‘Pod’s good,’ he replied, feeling a little queasy, his head pounding, the whisky from the night before taking its toll.
She got together a large cup of black coffee with extreme efficiency. ‘Toast?’
He nodded. ‘Thank you.’
After she’d supplied him with crockery, cutlery, a cloth napkin from a drawer in the table, delivered the toast and pushed the butter and marmalade across to him, she sat down, hands folded in front of her and eyed him keenly.
Ted didn’t know what to say. He took a gulp of coffee– he was gasping, so any port in a storm– and began to butter his hot toast, taking a large bite before he’d even spread the marmalade he was so hungry. Then he found himself, quite unintentionally, telling her all the things he’d heard in the pub that he hadn’t dared tell Peggy.
Lindy looked horrified. ‘Goodness me.’ She frowned.
‘And everyone knows about Peggy.’
Her eyes widened. ‘I haven’t told a soul. So nobody heard it from me.’
‘Oh, God, of course not, Lindy.’
In the quiet that descended, he was suddenly aware of the silent house. ‘Where are the others?’
Lindy seemed far away for a moment. When she answered it was almost dismissively. ‘Ada’s at school, of course. A friend of a friend who started a winery near Penzance has taken Felix and Kim off for the day. They’ll probably come back drunk and foolish.’
Ted was slightly relieved to hear Felix wasn’t at home.No need to confront him today, then, he thought, knowing he wasn’t in a fit state for such a delicate mission. He felt a bit guilty, too, sitting there eating Lindy’s toast and spilling the beans to her instead of Peggy. Lindy didn’t appear threatened or anxious this morning, he noted.Perhaps because she has the house to herself.
‘I worry Peggy might not want to stay here, if she doesn’t find out who’s behind all this soon,’ Lindy was saying, hertone thoughtful. ‘I wouldn’t blame her. It must be horrible not knowing.’
Shocked, Ted felt his body jolt at the articulation of his own misgivings.
‘What would you do if she does want to go?’ Lindy persisted, when he didn’t reply. She gave him a sympathetic smile. ‘I mean, your life is here now, isn’t it, Ted? I can’t imagine you giving all this up– the house, dear Henri, your friends… Everyone loves you both, of course.’
Alarmingly, her eyes seemed to mist as she spoke.
‘Not everyone, clearly,’ he said tersely. It was eating him up, the idea that people were thinking the service he so lovingly provided might be in any way substandard. It was deeply personal. This was his home now, as Lindy suggested, and he never, ever– to his dying day– wanted to live anywhere else. Never thought he’d have to.
Lindy waved a hand imperiously. ‘Oh, don’t panic about those ludicrous reviews. I’ll get on to it this morning. Tell everyone to post good ones so they supersede that negative rubbish. I won’t let anything bad affect your business, sweetheart. Believe me.’
Her unwavering support buoyed Ted. He was really touched that she should offer to undertake such an arduous task. ‘Really? You’d do that?’ He was certain, with the influence she wielded in the village, that she’d be able to achieve what she promised.
She nodded.
‘That would be amazing, Lindy,’ he said. ‘It’s incredibly kind of you.’ He thought for a moment. ‘Maybe you could tell them at the same time that the rumours about Peggy are rubbish.’
‘Oh, absolutely,’ Lindy said, giving him a bright smile. ‘Right, well, better get going.’ She began to clear the table, whisking the remains of breakfast onto the side and into the dishwasher.
Ted felt as if he were being taken over, his life suddenly– and soothingly– in Lindy’s hands. It felt strangely reassuring. Then his thoughts returned to Felix. ‘How are things?’ he asked as he stood.
Lindy turned to him. Her smile was brave as she said, ‘Much the same. I willnever, while there is breath left in my body, let Felix get his hands on a single penny of my money. I’m signing nothing!’ She broke off, her chin wobbling as she tried not to cry.
Ted was stricken. Despite her assertion, he felt he had done nothing to improve her situation. And here was Lindy, enduring with such fortitude the cuckoo in her nest, who was attempting to trick her out of her savings, possibly even her home, her family, her life.
He strode across the kitchen and, on the spur of the moment, gave Lindy a fierce hug. ‘God, Lindy, I’m so sorry I haven’t been more of a help. I can’t bear what Felix is doing to you.’
She clung to him, turning a tear-stained face up to his. ‘You’ve been a hero, Ted. My absolute hero.’ Then she placed a long, soft kiss on his lips.Fullon his lips.
28
Peggy went to Liam’s room after Ted had left for the car park. She wanted the truth from her son, as to whether the job offer was real, or he was leaving because he thought Ted was trying to run him off. She knocked gently on his door. When there was silence, she called to him, to receive a muffled response.
