Page 34 of The Key to the Last House Before the Sea

‘Quite soon, for a few days,’ said Nessa, being deliberately vague because a thought had just struck her.

It was all very well declaring to Gabriel that she was going to do up the cottage, but she didn’t have the money to improve anything right now. She couldn’t afford paint and other supplies, which meant her crazy plan would fall at the first hurdle, unless…

‘Are you all right?’ asked Valerie, peering into her face. ‘You seem very odd today. Why do you need Lily to stay for longer? Have you got a new job?’

‘Not yet,’ answered Nessa, deciding to keep her plans quiet for now. What was the point in broadcasting them, if they might not happen?

All she’d do was give Valerie ammunition for the future. ‘Do you remember when you entertained the idea of taking Lily to live in a derelict cottage?’ She’d spread it around the village, using it as proof that Nessa was a terrible mother.

Did it mean she was a terrible mother?

Valerie frowned. ‘Are you quite sure you’re all right?’

‘Absolutely. Anyway, I must go. Perhaps we can talk about you having Lily for longer some other time? Thank you so much for having her tonight. I do appreciate you looking after her so well.’

Nessa stopped gabbling, having done nothing to dispel the impression that she was being ‘odd’ this afternoon.

Valerie sniffed. ‘I look after her so well because she’s my granddaughter and I care a great deal about her welfare. Driftwood House isn’t the best place to bring up a child, with all the comings and goings. So, however long you’d like Lily to stay here will be fine, for us and for her.’

However long you’d like Lily to stay here.Cold dread clutched at Nessa’s heart.

This wasn’t the first time Valerie had intimated that Lily would be better off living with her. And sometimes, in the dead of night, with Lily gently snoring nearby, Nessa wondered if it might be best for her beloved daughter. Especially now she’d lost her job and the two of them were sleeping in a tiny room filled with boxes.

But the thought of losing Lily was too much to bear. She was the reason Nessa dragged herself out of bed in the morning and was fighting for a better life.

‘Thank you,’ said Nessa. ‘Our stay at Driftwood House is only temporary. I’m sorting out something more permanent at the moment. Anyway, I’m not sure Alan would be keen on having Lily in the house too much.’

‘You don’t need to worry about Alan,’ said Valerie, holding the front door open wide. ‘I doubt he’d even notice.’

That hadn’t gone swimmingly, Nessa thought wryly, walking through the village. Valerie’s opinion of her was low to begin with and now the woman had her marked down as odd into the bargain. She so wished that things were different.

She’d been excited about marrying into Jake’s family. It was small, but bigger than hers, and the prospect of being a daughter-in-law had seemed wonderful at first.

Nessa had even secretly hoped that Valerie, though never taking the place of her own mother, might step into the void her mum had left behind.

But it wasn’t to be. Valerie had never been particularly welcoming and their relationship had deteriorated in parallel with Jake’s growing desire to be shot of his new wife and child.

‘Where do you think he gets it from?’ her gran had muttered while consoling a heartbroken Nessa after their split. ‘That damn woman has indulged him and turned him into a selfish young man.’

It was the only time Nessa ever heard her gran speak badly of Valerie. Ruth had had a sunny nature and rarely spoke ill of anyone. She usually gave people the benefit of the doubt – and Nessa had been the same once, before life became overwhelming.

Nessa missed who she once was. Now, her trust in people had all but disappeared and she wasn’t sure she liked the person she’d become. Sometimes, she worried that she was becoming too hard and uncompromising.

For example, should she be giving Gabriel the benefit of the doubt? After all, he was only doing his job and there was no reason why he should care hugely about the Ghost Village.

Nessa squashed down the treacherous thought before, heaven forbid, she started feeling any sympathy for him. Being tough was necessary when life threw curveballs, and she needed to stay strong and focused if her plan had any chance of succeeding.

She also needed the help of a person who’d walked out of her life more recently than Jake.

Nessa stopped in front of the village’s ancient church and pushed open the gate to the churchyard. She’d sit here in peace and make the call that would either propel her crazy scheme forward or put the kybosh on it before it had even begun.

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