Page 39 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
‘This is wonderful, sweetheart. You should have phoned. I’d have helped.’
Dumping his bag on the floor with a groan, Liam noticed the table with the bottle of wine, the remains of the cheese and fruit, the guests, and was immediately apologetic. ‘Oh, no! I’ve interrupted your evening. I’m really sorry.’
Peggy, still clinging to his arm– she was so thrilled to see him– was quick to reassure him. ‘Nonsense. I’m delighted you’re here.’
Liam smiled and went over to Quentin, offering him his hand before Peggy or Ted had had time to introduce him. ‘Liam,’ he said, with a charming smile. Peggy realized her son hadn’t greeted Ted with quite the sameenthusiasm– and hoped Ted hadn’t noticed. She pushed the thought away.
‘Peggy’s boy, I presume?’ Quentin said, as he took Liam’s hand, clearly intrigued, his eyes alight at the sudden arrival of this tall, blond, handsome young man with the hooded blue eyes and well-modulated vowels– however ragged Liam’s current appearance.
Ted had been standing by the front door, preoccupied, but now he raised an eyebrow at Peggy. ‘Let me get you a glass, Liam. Wine okay?’
‘After the drive I’ve had, wine is very much okay, thank you. But I feel bad, barging in on your dinner party like this.’ He looked at his mum with a shy smile. ‘I wanted to surprise you.’
Peggy pulled out a chair and bustled about setting a place for him. ‘It’s a lovely surprise, sweetheart. Sit, sit. We’ve got plenty of food, as you can see. Tuck in. There’s even a tiny bit of crab salad left, and a few potatoes,’ she suggested, still stunned to see her son sitting in her house.
‘This looks perfect, thanks, Mum,’ Liam said, indicating the bowl with a few strawberries left, the remains of the Camembert and Cornish Yarg, the selection of oatcakes and crackers Peggy had laid out earlier.
‘We should get home,’ Rory said to Peggy. ‘Don’t want to intrude on a family reunion.’
Quentin, who seemed to be rather enjoying intruding, looked as if he were about to object, but in the end he didn’t argue when Rory went over to help him up.
‘Ah, your buggy in the porch, is it?’ Liam asked Quentin, through a mouthful of Yarg. ‘Worried it was Mum’s,’ he added, with a cheeky grin.
‘Got badly shot up in Bosnia in the nineties, buggered my spine,’ Quentin said, with pained heroism.
‘God, poor you.’ Liam looked genuinely concerned.
Peggy gave Quentin a disapproving frown– she knew he was joking: his painful back was caused by a severe case of spinal stenosis– but her friend just grinned mischievously and gave her a warm hug as he thanked her for supper and said goodbye.
Later, when the bed had been made up and Liam was ensconced in the guest suite they’d built on the side of the house for just this eventuality, Peggy and Ted lay on their backs beside each other in bed.
‘Did you notice?’ Ted asked. ‘He didn’t even say hello to me.’
Peggy sighed. ‘I know. Sorry. I’ll have a word.’
‘No, don’t do that. I don’t want him to think I’m upset or anything.’
‘Well, you are. And I quite understand.’
‘There he was, friendliness itself with Quentin…’
Her gut clenched. The last thing she could cope with was a row about her son’s manners. Turning, she moved in to Ted’s side. ‘I’m sure he was just exhausted from the trip and didn’t think. Please, don’t overreact. I’m so glad he’s here.’ She wanted to add that there were more important things to worry about, but she didn’t want to start another conversation about the dreadful email.
Ted hugged her close. ‘Sorry, sweetheart. I’m just tired and grumpy. It’s been a worrying day… although you did such a lovely supper tonight. Thank you.’
‘It was fun. I enjoyed it too.’ She kissed his cheek. ‘Love you. Sleep well.’
‘You too,’ he replied, before rolling onto his side.
But Peggy was pretty sure she wouldn’t sleep.
The next thing she was aware of was the sound of Ted getting dressed for work. He’d obviously already been for his run. As predicted, she hadn’t slept until nearly dawn, then crashed into a deep, dreamless slumber. Now she blinked at the brightness of the sunlight slanting across the white duvet, disoriented. ‘What’s the time?’
‘Nearly seven thirty,’ Ted replied. ‘You were out cold.’
For a split second, Peggy thought it was a normal morning, then Liam’s unexpected arrival, quickly followed by the cruel events of the previous day, came crashing back into her consciousness and brought her fully awake.
He came over and sat on the bed, gently stroking her bare arm. ‘Are you going to be all right?’ he asked.
