Four
Two months later La Canette, 1pm
Millie stood on the flat rock near the top of East Hill. Tall pine and sweet chestnut trees behind her capped the only real hill on the island. It was her favourite spot because she could see the whole of La Canette from here. Her eyes scanned the sunny coast until she found it. Beyond the field of purple fireweed, the white sands and blue-green sea sparkling in the sun, there it was. A tiny dilapidated cottage with its own disused wooden jetty; she never tired of looking at it. Maybe one day, she’d have a chance to go there and take a closer look.
She loved the idea of living in a cottage by the sea.She could plant flowers and herbs in little pots, perfect in a sunny patch like that. Maybe boats would dock at the end of the jetty, and people would come to visit. Maybe one of them would be anice man.
Stop it.
She always rebuked herself when her thoughts went in that direction. She should focus on the present and be thankful for what she had. She was happy, she loved her job and her new life, and she’d made friends. Even old Lord Du Montfort—Mr, she corrected herself—her grumpy, demanding, impossible-to-please boss, had started tolike her.
“I don’t know how you put up with him and still smile.” Nurse Ann had asked her a month ago. The women had finally managed to sit down to have their own dinner after he’d made Joanie cook three different dishes, none of which had been good enough.
“He’s like a spoilt child who likes to scream a lot.” Joanie had been at her wit’s end. “We could feed whole families on the food he sends back down without even tasting. If Millie didn’t convince him to eat the omelette, I would still be cooking atmidnight.”
“And you mark my words,” Mrs B had said. “She’ll be up to his room tomorrow morning with a bunch of flowers and smiling like he didn’t just call her a useless woman who doesn’t know anything about eggs.”
Millie had laughed. “Actually, what he said was that I didn’t know my eggs from my elbows.”
“Well, whatever you told him,” Mrs B had said, “it worked. Where do you find the patience to humour him?”
Joanie had pretended to look in Millie’s pockets and under the tablecloth in an exaggerated show of searching for patience. Both Millie and Nurse Ann had laughed.
What no one guessed was that a cantankerous old man feeling sorry for himself was nothing compared to the heartless husband she’d left behind. At least she didn’t expect old Mr Du Montfort to love her, so it didn’t hurt much when he found faultwith her.
Then today, she’d bent over the window table and put some late-blooming bluebells in the vase. Bluebells she had picked on her regular early-morning walk.
Suddenly, he’d looked up from his morning newspaper. “My God, you’ve bloomed, girl.”
She’d glanced back at him and smiled.
“And you smile all the time now. I like that.”
She wanted to laugh out loud.If I’ve bloomed, it’s because I don’t live with a husband who doesn’t love me.
The sun helped, of course. After years of sitting in a basement office, Millie had discovered the joy of walking in the open air. She loved running to the small forest to pick flowers before breakfast. She’d explored most of the island, but her favourite was taking a packed lunch to the top of East Hill. From here, she could look at the pretty cove with the cottage,and dream.
She pulled out the wrapped box Joanie had given her, cold ricotta and spinach pie, two oranges and a bottle of water. She sat down, hitching her skirt up. It kept sliding roundher hips.
Mrs B had told her to take Saturday off and go on the early ferry to Guernsey to buy new clothes that fit her properly. Everyone was tired, Mrs B told her, of watching her hunt for safety pins.
They were right. Walking or cycling everywhere on an island with no transport had changed her figure. Everything she owned hung loose now and had to be cinched with safety pins.
But buying new clothes was a scary prospect. The fashion had not been invented that could make her forget the wordsfrumpy-dumpy Miss Beige. So even if she could break the habit of years and allow herself to spend money on nice clothes, would they look nice onher?
OceanofPDF.com
Five
Four days later. London, the Gherkin building, Saturday, 12pm
He was supposed to be impartial, not allow his personal feelings to affect how he settled the case. However, one look at the employees had changed his mind. Those were not ruthless negotiators but tired men and women scared for their jobs.
He on the other hand, was a ruthless negotiator, and this time he had used all his tricks to manoeuvre the company directors into a corner where they were forcedto settle.
He pushed his chair back from the conference table and stood up signalling the end of the meeting. The overpaid, overconfident directors shook his hand on their way out. They obviously thought he’d helped them quash the little people. Instead, he’d worked out a fair deal and made it look like a win-win. Two-million-pounds wasn’t a fortune when divided among fifty employees, but at least they would all keep their jobs, and get their fullpensions.
The phone trilled. One of Vicky’s tricks, programming different ringtones for different call types, so he could be prepared. This ringtone meant a personal message.
