Page 73 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay
Ada nodded enthusiastically. ‘I love Sugar,’ she breathed, clearly smitten with Marilyn, like everyone else. ‘She’ssooobeautiful and funny.’
‘For a dumb blonde,’ Lindy said, with a dry laugh.
Felix stared at her, then said, mildly, ‘For God’s sake, Lindy. Knock the cynicism on the head for once, will you?’ His eyes swished left, silently indicating his daughter.
The group, which consisted of Quentin and Rory, Ted, Peggy, Liam and Lindy’s gang, fell instantly quiet. It wasn’t Felix’s words that were the cause, Peggy thought. More the astonishingly angry look Lindy sent her son-in-law, the way her whole body seemed to go rigid, began almost toshake. Peggy caught Quentin’s gaze, saw his eyes widening in puzzlement.
‘“Nobody’s perfect.”’ Lindy quoted the last line of the film with heavy sarcasm.
Felix, perhaps aware of the group watching, especially Ada, did not reply. Peggy could see the muscle in his cheek bunching, as if he had a mouthful of anger he was desperate not to splurge.
Then, without warning, Lindy picked up the last paper cup of red wine from the trestle table and hurled it straight at her son-in-law. ‘You bastard.You vicious, vicious bastard.’ As the wine dripped off his chin and spread across his white T-shirt– Felix clearly too stunned to do anything but step back, his face a mask of shock– Lindy lunged at him and began pounding his chest with her fists, screaming at him, hitting his cheek with her open hand, the slaps increasingly violent, the sound ringing out in the darkness. ‘I hate you.I hate you.I know what you’re trying to do. You’re trying to kill me.’
Everyone in the group froze in horror. It was Liam who recovered himself first. ‘Hey, hey, stop,’ he said, his voice firm but gentle as he came up behind Lindy and put his arms around her, dragging her off his friend.
Lindy turned on him. Tears ran down her face, and her mouth twisted in a rictus sneer of rage. ‘Get off me!’ she snarled, and Liam let her go abruptly.
Then Lindy turned to Ted. Rushing to him, pulling him in for a hug, she began to emit loud agonizing sobs. ‘He doesn’t believe me. No one believes me,’ she cried. ‘But you know the truth. Tell them, Teddy. Please, please, tell them.’
Peggy watched transfixed, breath caught in her throat.Ted seemed panic-stricken as he held Lindy awkwardly in his arms– he didn’t have much choice.
‘Lindy, please…’ he muttered, as he attempted to untangle himself from her.
Lindy’s head jerked up. ‘You don’t have to pretend any more,’ she said fiercely. ‘It’s okay, you can admit it now, sweetheart…We love each other,’ she crooned sweetly, to the stunned group around her.
Ted jolted. Peggy noticed his face flushing in the darkness.
Lindy gave him a strange, slightly crazed smile as she straightened and turned to the others, grabbing Ted’s hand tightly, trying to snuggle into his side. ‘I can’t keep the secret any more.’ She cast a sorrowful glance at Peggy. ‘I’m so, so sorry. We honestly never meant to hurt you.’ Her words sounded completely genuine to Peggy.
Ted snapped out of his daze, pulling his hand free with difficulty. ‘Lindy,stop it. You know you’ve got this all wrong.’
But Lindy wasn’t listening. It was as if she were speaking only to herself as she went on, ‘Felix won’t believe me. He says I’m demented.’ She swung her gaze around the group, eyes wide, almost childlike, as if looking for sympathy, for an ally. ‘He’s been so cruel to me– he actually hurt my arm, you wouldn’t believe. He’s been making out I’m losing my mind,gaslightingme, just because he doesn’t want to accept I’ve fallen in love.’ She sighed. ‘No one understands. It’s been absolute hell.’ She sounded like a child now.
Quentin was the first of the stunned group to respond. ‘Lindy, dear, I don’t know quite what’s going on, but you’re clearly in a bad way. Why don’t we take you home and see if we can get you some help?’
She frowned at him. ‘Help? For what?’
Nobody knew how to reply, so they didn’t.
Ted was staring at her. ‘Pegs,’ he said, his voice trembling.
Peggy gave him a small, sympathetic smile. She wanted him to know she understood, that she didn’t believe Lindy’s ludicrous claims. She watched as he tried to prise Lindy’s hand from his own, the woman’s grip strengthened by madness.
‘Please,’ he begged, at last loosening her fingers and gently pushing her away, holding her at a distance from his body.
Lindy stiffened, her eyes wild as she stared at him, uncomprehending. She gave a strange, strangled gasp, then began to cry in earnest, her hands clamped over her mouth as if to stop more sounds coming out. It was as if the fugue that had allowed her to attack Felix was dispersing and she was beginning to realize what she’d done.
Shaking and seeming confused, Lindy stood there, a small, lonely, abject figure– her presentation light years away from the confident vote of thanks she’d given Paul, only moments before. It was like a tableau as Peggy glanced round, no one moving or speaking, no one with a clue as to how to proceed, faces barely lit by the glow from the chain of bulbs around the car park.
Then Rory stepped forward and put his arm around Lindy’s shoulders.
Peggy was suddenly aware of Ada, cowering behind her father, her face radiating utter disbelief and bewilderment. ‘Felix, please take Ada home,’ she murmured. ‘We’ll deal with things here.’
Felix, having been reminded of his responsibilities butstill apparently in shock, hesitated a moment longer, then took his daughter’s hand and led her away. He said nothing to any of them.
It was clear no one knew quite what to do next. Then Rory asked, ‘Shall I ring Chris?’ He’d seated a now quiescent Lindy on one of the benches. But he was still at her side, still retained his arm around her shaking body.
Quentin nodded. ‘I’ll do it.’
