Page 109 of The Guest House at Shingle Cove

‘Is something going on?’ Clarissa asked.

‘I don’t know. My mum is being weird.’

‘Really – what about?’

Emily glanced at Freya. She might overhear their conversation. ‘I’ll tell you later. Want a refill?’

‘I’m fine, thanks.’

‘Have you made that call yet?’

Emily shook her head. ‘I haven’t had a chance.’

‘What about now?’

Emily cast her gaze around the room. The cooked breakfasts had been served, and toast, tea and coffee had been provided, so she really didn’t have much to do right now until the guests had eaten, and she could clear some plates and dishes, and offer more toast or refills of tea and coffee.

‘Go on, Emily. Ring the number.’

‘Oh, all right.’ Emily got out her mobile phone from the back pocket of her jeans as she walked to the door. She rang the number on the way out. She did an about-turn in the doorway when she heard a mobile phone ring tone in the conservatory. Coincidence? Emily ended the call. The other mobile phone belonging to one of the guests at breakfast immediately stopped ringing.

Emily’s eyes locked with Clarissa’s. Her friend was gesticulating with her phone for Emily to ring the number again.

Emily pressed the icon on her phone to call the number again. This time she stood in the doorway, waiting for someone to answer their phone.

She could see Clarissa looking around the conservatory. Joss was sitting at another table. He looked about him too. Omar and Alice just exchanged glances and shrugged; it clearly wasn’t their mobile phones. Emily shifted her attention to the young couple. Freya took out her mobile phone and put it to her ear. Emily heard her voice down the phone. ‘Hello?’

Emily was about to step forward when she spotted Alice turning around, looking in Freya’s direction.

‘Hello?’ Freya said again.

Alice said, ‘Freya, what on earth are you doing here?’

Freya turned in her seat.

Emily didn’t reply. She caught Clarissa staring at her, holding her hands up as if to say,What are you doing? Answer her!

But Emily could see that Clarissa’s attention was quickly being drawn back to Freya, who still had the mobile phone in her hand. Emily overhead Freya say, ‘Mum, what are you doing here – with him?’

The young man with Freya said, ‘Wait – that’s your mother?’

Omar looked just as shocked as Alice, as he exclaimed, ‘Tarek, what areyoudoing here?’

‘We came to see you. Freya is doing a PhD in archaeology. She wanted to meet you. So, I thought I’d surprise you. It seems I’m the one who got the surprise.’

Emily could hear all this down her phone, although no one, apart from Clarissa, had spotted Emily standing in the doorway holding her mobile to her ear.

‘It is not what you think, Tarek.’

Tarek asked Freya, ‘Did you know?’

‘Of course I didn’t. I had no idea my mum was here. I came to find Wendy.’

Emily froze. So itwastrue – her mum did know Freya. But from where? And how come, according to the AncestryDNA website, they were related? Her relations were in America – weren’t they?

Alice asked, ‘What are you talking about, Freya?’

‘Wendy, the woman who phoned my dad the other night. I think I used to meet Wendy and her daughter who was around my age, when Dad took me to London on day trips at the weekend.’

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