Page 61 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
Ted frowned. ‘No. Why?’
‘Hmm…’ Emerald said, giving a knowing smile.
Tina looked stricken at her partner’s grin. ‘It isn’t funny, Ems.’ Turning to Ted, she went on, ‘You obviously haven’t seen them, but there’s a bunch of mean reviews right at the top of your page.’ Tina had clicked on her phone and scrolled for a bit, then turned the screen so he could see. ‘Here, take a look.’ He’d taken the mobile and begun to read.
Bitter coffee and stale buns. This place is a pretentious con, even if it is in a cool setting. And the preening owner is so offhand, obviously thinks he’s God.
Don’t bother with ‘Henri’. Nice old van, but way overpriced and crap coffee, my sausage roll was really greasy. Plus the man who runs it only chats to his pals. Felt very let down after all the hype in the village about the place.
The other reviews– he counted five– were all in the same vein. He groaned, dismayed.
‘Check the dates they were posted,’ Emerald said– with a continuing amount of glee, Ted thought. ‘All on the same day last week.’ She waited while he confirmed this. ‘You’re under deliberate attack.’
His business had never had anything but four- or five-star rave notices so far. The star rating was still very high, despite the one-stars of the recent posts. But these were the reviews anyone checking out the van would now come to first.
As he read through the posts again, he trawled back inhis mind to his customers the previous week. He couldn’t remember a single person who’d appeared upset or unhappy with their purchases. And he was always– genuinely– happy to chat to anyone and everyone. He loved his customers, their coffee quirks, the snippets of lives offered to him, the compliments about his latest blend and Pam’s delicious homemade treats, the often nerdy interest in Henri– where the van had come from, how it was powered up, if it moved, what sort of coffee machine he favoured… It was his lifeblood.
‘Christ,’ he said, handing back Tina’s phone.Is this connected to Peggy’s trolling? Is someone after us both?None of the reviews mentioned her.
As if Emerald could read his mind, she’d cocked her head and gazed at him for a long second. When she did speak, though, her tone was surprisingly sympathetic. ‘Maybe something to do with those emails people are getting about Peggy bullying her pupils at the hospital.’
‘How do you know about that?’ Ted blurted out.
Tina glared at her partner. ‘For God’s sake, Ems.’
‘Well, he should know– it’s all around the village– shouldn’t he?’
‘Complete lies,’ he’d felt the need to say.
‘I’m sure,’ Tina agreed hastily.
‘Funny someone choosing to say it,’ Emerald mused, although she seemed genuinely puzzled rather than to be needling him. ‘Disaffected youth?’ she queried, with a wry shake of her head.
‘Who told you?’ he asked again, staring hard at Emerald, wanting to see if there was any smidgen of guilt in her eyes.
It was Tina who answered. ‘Gen. Jake told her.’
Ted was puzzled.How the hell did Jake find out?He was baffled, finishing his whisky in one gulp and getting up to order another. Not a good idea– he didn’t have a great head for spirits– but everything seemed to be getting so out of hand in his life.
Now, in the clear light of day, the thing that frightened him most was the insidious rift that appeared to be opening up between him and Peggy. He couldn’t blame Liam– he’d just been fuel to an already established flame. Ted’s initial secrecy over Lindy was when it had all started, he accepted that– although maybe when the truth finally came out about Felix he would be vindicated in Peggy’s eyes.
We’ve always been so solid, right from the off, he thought anxiously, as he walked on down the hill in the fierce morning sunshine, going nowhere. But if Peggy was no longer happy in the village, worrying about what people thought of her, would their love be strong enough to ride out the storm? Strong enough to keep the woman he adored in the place he had come to love with an almost equal passion?Is it even fair to ask her to stay under those circumstances?It felt as if the entire structure of his life was swaying dangerously on its foundations, beyond his control.
Ted suddenly came out of his fugue to notice he was passing Lilac House. He’d had no awareness of his surroundings– he realized he hadn’t even checked the works in the car park as he passed– his head so swimming with worries. But he stopped now, wondering if he should go and check on Lindy. No one was in the garden, but the front door was ajar, so someone must be at home. He nearly kept walking. But then an image of the bruise on Lindy’s wrist flashed into his mind.
‘Hello?’ he called, at the entrance to the house. ‘Anyone home?’
He waited, his heart hammering.If Felix is here, I’ll have to say something, he decided.
‘In the kitchen,’ a voice shouted back: Lindy’s.
Ted found her sitting calmly at the table, eating brown toast and marmalade, a large cup of milky coffee cradled in both hands. She looked fine, although a little surprised to see him.
‘Ted! Come in. To what do I owe the pleasure? It’s barely nine.’
Glancing up at the large kitchen clock, he saw she was right– the day already seemed like such a long one, and he hadn’t had a coffee yet. His stomach rumbled at the sight of the toast.
‘Umm…’ Ted was flummoxed by the calm domestic scene– lurid violence being uppermost in his mind. He couldn’t clear his muddled thoughts sufficiently to reply. Attempting a grin, he noticed Lindy’s face– bare of her usual immaculate makeup so early, but still beautiful– creased with concern. He realized his smile wasn’t quite working.
