Page 51 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
Peggy felt tears threatening and swallowed hard. It wasso good finally to share some of what had gone on, to have it acknowledged and accepted by one of the only two people who really mattered. ‘It was a long time ago now,’ she said.
‘I’m glad you told me,’ Liam said sincerely. ‘Come here,’ he added, pulling her to her feet and into a strong, loving embrace. ‘Love you to bits, Mum. You were a brilliant mother, you know. Dan and I have always, always recognized that and loved you for it… even if we sometimes gave you a hard time.’ She laughed, Liam grinned, and they stepped apart, slightly self-conscious now about what had been said.
Neither spoke again, as Liam finished his coffee and wandered off to his room– Peggy reckoned he’d sleep till at least lunchtime. She sat there, shaken by the emotions that had risen from her recounting of the past to her son, although, like Liam, she was happy she had done so.He will tell his brother, she thought. It felt like a significant moment, not one they could ever have had in a noisy restaurant surrounded by people.
But gradually, in the hot morning sunshine, the present– painful in a different way– reasserted itself. The name her son had come up with, ‘Ori Tafa’, began to chafe at her brain, like a persistent itch she couldn’t scratch. It wasn’t even a name that was hovering in the memory files refusing to come out– like so much else these days. She had, unequivocally, never heard of him. The man didn’t sound real at all.
A buzz from her mobile on the table dragged her from her thoughts.
Beach? Bring coffee pls, if poss xxx
She smiled. Quentin.Just who I need to distract me.She sent a thumbs-up emoji, withOn my way xxxand received three smiley faces plus a heart in response.
On the way down the hill with the coffees, she bumped into Gen, dressed in colourful shorts and a bright vest, with serious walking boots and a knapsack, a navy cap pulled low over her sunglasses.
‘Going for a hike?’ Peggy asked, after they’d greeted each other– unable, on seeing her friend, to blot out thoughts of what might have gone on last Friday night.
‘Yup. Meeting Jake at Ted’s and we’re off along the coast,’ Gen said.
‘He’s up there now. I just saw him when I got these,’ Peggy said, waving the cardboard tray with the two coffees she was taking to the beach. ‘Have fun. It’s such a beautiful day.’
Gen nodded. ‘Don’t forget yoga tomorrow, if you’re still up for it. Dust off your Lycra,’ she joked, having previously assured Peggy there wasn’t a shred to be seen at Joyce’s classes.
The class had gone completely out of Peggy’s head. She had contacted Joyce and agreed to try it out, but now she wasn’t sure she felt up to it. ‘Umm, I… Tomorrow’s not so good,’ she stammered. ‘My son’s here–’ She stopped, not wanting to acknowledge that she knew about Friday night, not wanting to embarrass Gen. It was none of Peggy’s business what her new friend got up to. ‘I’m not sure how long he’s staying, so I want to make the most of it,’ she added.
‘Oh, goodness, of course. How lovely,’ Gen said witha bright smile, obviously having no idea that Peggy’s son was the man with whom she’d spent the night.
They must have been really drunk for even that standard piece of information not to have filtered through, Peggy thought, amused and also mightily relieved. They could cross that bridge when they came to it,ifthey came to it. But her friendship with Gen was more important than raking over a moment that would be awkward for both of them. ‘I’ll definitely come next week,’ she assured Gen.
Peggy and Quentin sat with their takeaway coffees on a rug on the sand at the top of the beach. The tide was only recently on the turn and the waves were still splashing close. Quentin had brought a thick foam cushion on which he perched, his legs stretched out awkwardly in front of him. It was a warm day, and there was no shade, but both wore sunhats and Peggy had slathered cream over her bare arms and legs.
‘Hmm, goodness, I can’t imagine anyone round here doing something so mean,’ Quentin said, sounding shocked, when Peggy– sick of keeping the secret she was sure was already flowing up and down Shore Road like a high spring tide– told him what had been happening. Then he quickly started imagining. ‘That Tommy Hicks is always trying to get rid of us emmets, though, despite us regularly eating his pasties and sliced white… Or maybe mad Ken, or Morton, is making non-believers in piskies and mermaids pay the price.’ He saw she wasn’t laughing and patted her shoulder. ‘Sorry, Peggy, shouldn’t joke. Not a laughing matter. But this is really puzzling… Has anyone in the village ever been specifically unpleasant to you?’
Peggy shrugged. ‘No, totally not. I mean, the only person who’s offhand– rude, even– is Emerald at the crab shack. But she doesn’t really know me– we don’t talk about anything but crab sandwiches– so I can’t see how it’s personal.’
Quentin seemed to consider this. ‘Hmm. You know it was Emerald’s brother who inherited your house?’
Peggy frowned. ‘No. No, I didn’t. But what does that signify?’
‘Don’t know the details. But there was definitely some falling-out between the siblings, according to Rory, who heard it– rather indiscreetly it must be said– from a solicitor friend he helps sometimes with tax advice for wills… It’s possible that Emerald assumed she would get the house, for instance… Then her father cuts her out…’ He paused. ‘All conjecture, of course.’
‘Goodness… Is that a genuine motive for the email?’ Peggy asked, amazed she hadn’t known this about Emerald before.
‘Could be. Think about it. She sees you all cosy in a place she thought would be hers. Feels like wreaking revenge onsomeone, even if it’s not the people responsible.’
They sat in silence for a moment. Peggy didn’t know quite what to make of this new information. ‘Liam’s been doing some investigating. He’s come up with the name of a hacker in Albania. But it doesn’t really help.’ She pulled a slip of paper out of her shorts pocket and handed it to Quentin– he seemed to know everything about everyone in the area, even her house’s history. ‘Have you ever heard of any of these companies in relation to someone local? The Albanian has some unspecified association with them all, according to Liam.’
Quentin squinted at the names. ‘Redmayne Capital… rings a faint bell.’ But he shook his head. ‘Not ringing loud enough, I’m afraid. But it might pop back at a later stage.’
‘Never mind. Long shot anyway.’ Peggy groaned. ‘God, let’s change the subject. I’m sick to death of thinking about it.’ She flopped back on the rug with a sigh and closed her eyes. She couldn’t help going over in her mind, though, the various times she’d been in contact with Tina’s partner, trying to remember anything sinister about her. But despite Emerald’s manner being brusque, it didn’t quite follow she’d go to the extraordinary lengths of employing a geek to torment Peggy and Ted.We’re not to blame, after all.
‘So how’s it going with the prodigal son?’ Quentin interrupted her thoughts.
‘Wonderful,’ Peggy said quickly, then added, ‘Well, it’s lovely to see him, of course. But he and Ted don’t really see eye to eye. Things have been a little tense, to say the least.’
Quentin muttered sympathetically and they lapsed into silence again, Peggy’s mind elsewhere.
After a while, she sat up, pulling her knees to her chest. ‘To be honest, I’m panicking about how I’m going to survive in Pencarrow, if people hear about the emails. It’s so embarrassing. Suppose they… I don’t know… believe I’m a bully and begin to avoid me.’
