‘I don’t believe you.’
‘She did. She had no idea where to start but she knew Jock was from Dorset. She took off not so long after you left. She didn’t want to be with me; she knew she’d hurt you by getting together with me. She came to find you; she wanted to make amends. She was over here for eight weeks, scoured the county by the sounds of it – the details of where she’d been didn’t come out for a long time. When she came back to Switzerland, she wouldn’t even talk to me. She pushed me away at first; she wouldn’t let me or anyone else help. I thought…’ His voice caught. ‘I thought she might do something really stupid. I thought she was going to take her own life.’
‘You’re saying that to shock me.’ Was his expression forced or was he telling the truth?
‘I promise you I’m not.’
She stood there, the evening warm enough that she shouldn’t be shivering and yet she was.
‘Can we at least exchange numbers, in case either of us gets news? Give me that, please, Nadia.’
She reluctantly put his number into her phone and he gave his in return.
‘You know, she might not even be here in Dorset. She could be anywhere; she could’ve gone to London – she always talked about the big smoke and the theatres and the excitement. Maybe you should try there if you don’t have any luck with the police. Perhaps she’s travelled home by now; you could check with a neighbour.’ And before she walked away, she added, ‘Wherever she is, I hope you find her and that she and the baby are safe.’
Somehow, her legs had carried her back into the marquee, back to the music, the laughter, the fun, the celebrations and coming together. And never had she felt quite so alone as shebypassed everyone to slip out and through the front door of the country house.
In the shower, after she recalled the events and conversation from last night, Nadia still couldn’t believe any of it. The water still running, she leaned her forehead against the cool tiles. Monica. Archie. Lena. It was all too much.
She wanted to hear from Archie to know her sister was safe and yet at the same time, she never wanted to hear from him ever again.
She wanted all of this to go away.
But it wasn’t going to, was it?
13
‘The dinner dance feels like a distant memory.’ Kate leaned against the sink in the kitchen after she passed Nadia a mug of tea.
The fundraiser less than forty-eight hours ago might feel like a distant memory to some of the team, but not to Nadia, who wished it was only the dancing with Hudson that she had to focus on in the aftermath.
‘What made you rush off and give up that gorgeous room, not to mention the breakfast fit for kings and queens?’ said Kate. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Everything is fine. I remembered an important appointment the morning after, that’s all.’ It sounded plausible, didn’t it? ‘And I wasn’t feeling all that great either – probably too much food and a mixture of drinks that I’m not used to, so I decided I’d hitch a lift with the bus, no harm done.’ And now she was going too far, doubling up the excuses which sounded fake even to her own ears.
Nadia began to lead the way out of the kitchen. ‘Tell me more about the breakfast; was it as good as the dinner?’ She wasn’t really interested but it was a semi-normal conversationshe could cope with rather than the turmoil going on inside of her head.
‘It was – pastries, fully cooked breakfast, pancakes… so much to choose from.’
‘I can’t believe you had room after the feast the night before.’
‘Nadia, let me tell you how the human body works…’
But Nadia laughed, shook her head.
‘It’ll be us on duty next year,’ said Kate as they reached the main office and she sat at the end desk. She wiggled the computer mouse to bring the screen alive. ‘Had to make the most of it.’
Nadia picked up the paperwork she needed and didn’t let her smile fade until she was out of Kate’s vicinity. And moments later, she tried to put it right back in place when she bumped into Hudson. She hadn’t seen him since the dinner dance and he was bound to have questions she wasn’t sure she was ready to answer yet.
‘I’ve got a meeting with the Turner family,’ he told her without preamble. Maybe he didn’t know what to say either. ‘They’ve agreed to share their story to promote The Skylarks and the work we do here.’
‘That’s wonderful, well done.’
He wasn’t looking at her – since when had he been one to avoid eye contact?
‘Hudson, about last night.’
‘You don’t owe me any explanation.’
