‘It was, but not now. There won’t be any more public meetings. I’m only required to have one now.’ He was looking only at Lucy. ‘I’m sorry.’
She shook her head, unable to voice the confusion of feelings which filled her and walked away, her chair falling back behind her with a clatter. She stopped once inside and out of sight. But she could still hear everything that was being said.
‘I’m sorry, Kate. I shouldn’t have accepted your invitation.’
‘Well, that’s one thing you’ve got right! How could you Oliver? When you know how much it means to all of us, especially Lucy. It’s bound to have a negative impact on her business and all the other businesses in our village. Not to mention changing its character.’
Lucy didn’t wait to hear his reply; she had to get away. As a sob tore through her throat, she went running into the drawing room — her father’s domain which still held a feeling of refuge and calm. But she heard footsteps follow her.
‘Lucy,’ called Oliver.
She remained quiet, waiting for him to leave.
Then he pushed open the door. ‘Your mother said you might be here.’
’Why the hell did she tell you?’
‘Because she knew I couldn’t leave it like this.’
‘Well, she was wrong. You can. I know all I need to know about you. Please just go.’ She hated how her voice broke.
He closed his eyes briefly as if he’d been wounded. ‘Lucy, when I started this project, I hadn’t met you, or your family, or ever been to MacLeod’s Cove. But now I’ve started, I have to finish. It’s one part in a big plan which is extremely important to me and which I’m so near to achieving, I can taste it. Don’t you see?’
She suddenly felt calm. ‘I see more than you think I do. I want you to leave.’
‘Won’t you hear me out?’
‘No. You lost any right to that when you entered my home, talked to my family, and lied to us.’
‘I didn’t lie.’
‘You didn’t come clean. You let us make assumptions about you, knowing they were wrong.’
‘I didn’t tell you because…’ he trailed off, wincing.
‘Because you knew you wouldn’t be welcome here.’
‘No, because I wanted to have the chance to get to know you before I told you the truth. I hadn’t expected to be beaten to it. Hadn’t anticipated you’d employ someone to research me.’
‘Just as well I did. Otherwise I wouldn’t have known how absolutely without honour you are. How absolutely without a heart you are.’ She shook her head. ‘And yet here you are, in the heart of my family, pretending you have one when you don’t.’
He closed his eyes as if he’d been struck. When he opened them again, there was a change in them, a difference she refused to analyse. It was too late.
‘Lucy, please, give me another chance.’
‘No. You don’t deserve one. Go. Just go. Now. And just do me one favour.’
‘Name it.’
‘Never return to MacLeod’s Cove again.’
She pushed past him to the front door which she held open for him. After he’d stepped through, just as he was about to turn to her, she slammed it closed and leant back against it. And in that moment, for all her thoughts of lingering mistrust she realised, by the depth of her hurt, that trust and hope had bloomed even though she hadn’t meant them to.
* * *
Oliver walked slowly up the path to his car. He’d got what he wanted. She was right. He had won. One telephone call and he could have the contractors on site within twenty-four hours.
So why did winning feel like losing?
