Page 37 of The Cornish Cream Tea Bookshop
‘That’s not what I mean. I just need to help them see … what’sthisword? Oh, hang on. Parsimonious? Parmesan? Parliamentarian?’
‘Let me see.’
‘Oh no, I’ve got it!Partridge. That makes much more sense, considering you’re talking about growing up on the farm, hiking in the countryside as a boy.’
‘It would be somewhat off the wall if parmesan had suddenly come into it,’ Liam said drily.
‘You could have been having big, Italian-style farmhouse dinners. Gnocchi and spaghetti, pesto and bolognese, all topped with flurries of parmesan.’
‘In rural Cornwall in the Fifties?’
‘Fair enough. OK, so. Getting back to it.’ She kept typing, one half of her focus on the notes, the other half on what she was saying. ‘Of course I don’t think Thea’s clueless –orBecky. They know what they’re doing, but they have set ideas about what’s achievable. I just need to show them what’s possible, then they’ll see I’m not talking out of my backside.’
‘And Sophia Forsythe-Hartley’s the woman you’re going to use to do it?’
‘Exactly. There’s no reason why A New Chapter shouldn’t have a slice of the big pie. Why should it get stuck with the dry little canapés? Oh – speaking of authors with Cornish books, have you heard of Bryan Mailer?’
There was a moment’s silence, then Liam said, ‘Who?’
‘He wrote a series of Cornish mysteries in the Seventies. I found some in a charity shop, and you willneverguess what one of his books is based around?’
‘If I’ll never guess, you’d better tell me.’
Ollie looked up from her laptop. ‘Kerensa’s handprint! Can you believe it? This Bryan Mailer has written a series of fictional mysteries, with two characters called Roskilly and Faith, and they’re all based around genuine local legends. He hasn’t written anything for years, but he was popular when the books came out.’
Liam shifted slightly on the sofa. ‘What does this mean for your programme of events?’
Ollie shrugged. ‘Nothing, really. It’s just interesting, don’t you think?’
‘It’s certainly that. Cornwall is full of places with hidden meaning, so it’s not a huge surprise that an author –especially several decades ago, before every other writer used our fair county as inspiration – took their beginnings from what was already here: Kerensa, the Lost Fisherman, all those stories.’
‘Oh my God,’ Ollie said, laughter bubbling out of her. ‘Speaking of the Lost Fisherman, I have to tell you what happened on Monday night!’
‘I’m all ears,’ Liam replied, taking a sip of wine. ‘But before you do – about Thea.’
‘What about her?’
‘Perhaps her caution about the events is twofold. She might be protecting you, as much as her and her bookshop.’
‘What do you mean?’
The quiet before he replied was punctuated by the sizzle of logs collapsing into embers as the flames licked at them, and the tap-tap-tap of Ollie’s fingers on the keyboard. The window was covered with heavy, emerald-green curtains, keeping out the night, and it felt like the safest, cosiest cocoon.
‘Thea is a kind-hearted soul,’ Liam said eventually. ‘She moved here from Bristol, started a business, and to begin with not everybody was enthusiastic. Some folk are fully on board with the regeneration of Port Karadow, but I’d wager that most would prefer it to come from locals. Thea and the council worked together on the Old Post House, which was in her favour, but she still got some nasty comments directed at her, and some said behind her back. Her fella, Ben, is also a relative newcomer to the area. She knows what it feels like to be welcomed with less than open arms.’
Ollie rubbed her cheek. ‘So if I go in all guns blazing with promises of Sophia Forsythe-Hartley, people will thinkI’m trying to shake things up: that I don’t think Port Karadow, or A New Chapter, are good enough as they are?’
‘I’m playing devil’s advocate, but some locals might see it that way.’
‘I get that,’ Ollie said. ‘But I’ve read more than one article where Sophia’s been seen as a hero of sorts, in the way she portrays the county; how accurate her history is. Cornish peopleloveher.’
‘Aye, that they do. So, on the other side of the argument, if you promise to bring her here, then it all goes wrong, you’ll have a bit more than egg on your face.’
‘A whole omelette?’ Ollie laughed.
‘With mushrooms and cheese, and chips to accompany it.’
Ollie pointed a finger at him, her shoulder giving a brief twinge and then settling, perhaps calmed by the warmth in the room. ‘Got it. I will tread exceptionally carefully, and if Thea says it’s a no-go, then I’ll stop.’
