Page 80 of The Little Island Flower Stall
Celestine was right – Bella didn’t know the facts. She’d leaped to conclusions, perhaps coloured by her past experiences. It was only natural she’d react as she had done, but perhaps she’d been hasty in her judgement. She needed to speak to Rory and she didn’t know how she was going to wait without goingmad, but she had to. It occurred to her as she followed the curve of the bay that she could try to phone him again, but she was afraid of the woman answering and didn’t know what she would say if she did.
She heard the voice before she saw them. It was Rory’s – of that she was certain. Ducking across the promenade again, she moved back into the shadow of a building and watched the couple walk towards where she’d just been. They were deep in conversation. The woman sounded defiant but upset. Bella couldn’t be sure – she’d only heard her voice for a few minutes on the phone that day – but it did sound like the same woman who’d answered when she’d called to speak to Rory. He was calm but using a tone Bella had never heard from him before. Whatever their conversation was about, Bella got the impression it was a difficult one. He seemed frustrated, maybe even angry. Was it something to do with her call earlier that day? Was the woman grilling him about who Bella was? She’d been courteous enough then and hadn’t seemed too concerned about Bella, but perhaps that had been a front for what she’d really felt. Perhaps she’d done the same as Bella was doing now, reserved judgement until she’d managed to speak to Rory about it. And perhaps she was coming to a conclusion she didn’t like, just as Bella had done.
Bella strained to hear the exact conversation, but she could only make out the odd word, and even that wasn’t helpful. It was the tone of each voice that told her more than anything.
She froze. What if they looked across the road and saw her? She was weighing up her options when they stopped on the pavement, lit by the glow of a nearby streetlamp. Rory said something and then folded her into his arms. They were silent then, frozen like this for perhaps thirty seconds. Then Rory let her go and they went on their way, still silent, her head down and his gaze straight ahead. She folded her arms to wrap herselfand seemed so much smaller for it. Rory’s step was agitated too – Bella could see it in the way his hands were dug into his coat pockets, as if he might be able to dig his way through them.
What had she witnessed? Bella wanted to cry, but she wasn’t going to let that happen. She still didn’t know the truth, but the evidence wasn’t looking good. Whatever the connection between Rory and this woman was, clearly it was something intimate.
She stepped out from the shadows, glanced back once, and at the same time so did Rory. His expression of surprise was matched only by her mortification as he recognised her.
The rest of the scene played out as if in slow motion. He hesitated, seemed torn on his next action, but then he bid the woman he was with to wait and ran across to her.
‘Bella…what are you doing here?’
‘I came to see…’ She angled her head to the far side of the promenade. Rory’s companion was watching them. ‘Who’s that?’
‘Bella, it’s not like you think; it’s?—’
‘Rory!’ the woman called to him.
‘Give me a minute!’ he replied, but as he turned back to Bella, she began to walk over to them.
Rory seemed to wither in front of Bella’s eyes, a look of defeat in his expression.
‘Hello,’ the woman said to Bella. She sounded cheerful enough, but Bella had spent enough hours of her own life putting a brave face on a situation to recognise it. All wasn’t well here.
‘Lisa,’ Rory said awkwardly. ‘This is Bella. Bella…Lisa.’
‘Oh,’ Lisa said. ‘I spoke to you on the phone. So you live on Jersey? Rory’s been telling me all about how helpful you’ve been. I wouldn’t know where to start as a genealogist. I bet it’s fascinating though.’
‘A what?’ Bella stared at her.
‘You trace family trees. That’s right, isn’t it?’
Rory threw Bella such a pleading look that she fell into the lie without even realising what she was doing. ‘Yes, that’s right. I help trace families. That’s what I do.’
‘I’ve been saying to him for years he ought to find out about his great-grandparents. It’s good news about the DNA, isn’t it?’
Bella nodded, her thoughts racing. ‘How are you enjoying Jersey?’ she asked.
‘I only arrived here this morning.’
‘Oh.’
‘I didn’t know you were coming, did I?’ Rory said to her, something strained and deliberate in his tone. ‘I wasn’t expecting?—’
‘I know you weren’t. I didn’t know myself until I’d booked the flight, did I? I told you about that…’
‘Yes.’
He gave Bella another look loaded with significance. She couldn’t work out what it meant, and she was beginning not to care. She turned back to Lisa. ‘So you’re Rory’s…family?’
‘Only by marriage,’ Lisa said. She put her hand on Rory’s arm and tugged. ‘I think we should get back.’
‘I just need to talk to Bella; it won’t take?—’
‘I won’t keep you,’ Bella said stiffly. She’d heard all she wanted to hear.
