Page 55 of The Cornish Cream Tea Holiday
‘It’s a beautiful building,’ she went on. ‘It’s full of history, isn’t it? Especially as the remains of the post office are still there. It’s as if it’s never really moved forwards. I lovebuildings like that. I wanted to explore so many with Esme while I was here. You know, all those National Trust and English Heritage houses, with creepy taxidermy and horrible legends that the guides try and make more palatable.’ She ran her finger up the side of her glass, collecting the condensation. When she glanced at Ben, he seemed mesmerised by the movement, and she could almost feel the tiredness radiating off him.
‘Have you heard about the old lighthouse?’ he asked.
She shook her head. ‘I didn’t even know therewasa lighthouse. I haven’t seen one.’
‘It’s a bit further down the coast,’ he explained. ‘It’s not in use any more; one of those buildings that’s been completely abandoned, partly because it’s out on a spit and gets cut off by the tide. If you’re interested in places full of history, there’s nowhere better. It’s pretty bloody spooky, though.’
‘You’ve been?’
Ben nodded. ‘Finn took me, soon after I moved here. His aunt knows all about it – they used shots of it in a television drama recently, I think. Maybe even that one that Sam and Delilah are in –Estelle?’
‘Could you take me?’ Thea asked, the reminder of Sam and Lila, and the chance of seeing another piece of Cornwall’s unvarnished history, setting her pulse racing.
‘We’d have to time it right, but yeah, I can take you.’
‘And can we get inside? I suppose we probably shouldn’t, but …’
He gave her a slow smile, and she could see her own excitement reflected in his eyes, temporarily banishing his exhaustion. ‘I think, for the sake of getting the most out of your holiday, we could bend a couple of rules and go inside. It’s not as if I’m short of tools.’
‘Great,’ Thea said. ‘I mean, thank you. I’d love that. A lot.’
‘Me too.’ He sat up and finished his Prosecco. ‘I feel bad throwing you into the path of bats, taking your food and drink, and then abandoning you, but if I stay here much longer, you’ll have a snoring man and his dog in your living room. It’s far too comfortable in here, and I’ll be a dead weight once I’m asleep. I should go.’
‘Of course.’ Thea stood up when Ben did, watching as he gently shook Scooter awake and gestured towards the door.
As they said goodbye, Thea realised she wouldn’t have minded if she’d ended up with them asleep on her sofa: Ben and his dog made her feel safe. That, and the fact that the more time she spent in Ben’s company, the less she felt she’d had enough of it.
