‘Let me help you.’
Twizzling her head as far as she could, she caught sight of legs encased in black ski trousers. A green jacket, a gloved hand outstretched towards her, a smile behind that. She held up her own hand and gravity was no match for the strength with which he pulled her to her feet.
‘Thank you.’ She brushed the worst of the snow from herself. ‘Hugely embarrassing,’ she muttered, glancing at the smiley woman who stood beside him.
The man laughed, told her not to worry about it and continued onto the decking, taking the woman’s hand as he walked. It took her a second or two to decide that there was something familiar about him. Something familiar in the lines of his face, and that distinctive green jacket. It took Madeleine a couple more seconds to work out why.
‘Excuse me,’ she called after him. ‘This is a bit random, but do you know someone called Gull?’
Lines formed between his eyes, he nodded slowly. ‘My brother’s called Gull. Why?’
Madeleine’s heart began to thud against her chest. Yes, she could see the resemblance properly now. Should she do this, or should she just let sleeping dogs lie? His expectant expression left her no room for manoeuvre. Too late to worry about the dog’s nap now, she decided, as she asked Gull’s brother if he could pass on a message.
‘What’s it about?’ he said.
‘It’s about my friend. She’s called Tania.’
Chapter 20
‘You didwhat?’ Rose said, her voice escalating high enough to pique the interest of the local huskies, as she looked at Madeleine in disbelief, the soft pale-blue jersey zip-through she’d been about to pull on dangling forgotten from her hand.
Madeleine set down her mug of tea, shifting on the sofa she had inhabited almost non-stop since she’d arrived back at the lodge a few hours ago.
‘Keep your hair on,’ she said, swinging her feet to the floor and sitting up.
The others had been back for little more than half an hour. Tania and Clara had headed for the hot tub; Rose had opted for a shower. Now she stood in front of the sofa, the curls of her dark hair still damp as they framed her face, her incredulous expression making Madeleine smile. She reiterated what she’d already said. ‘Just after you left the Cocoon, I ran into Gull’s brother, so I asked him to tell Gull that it wasn’t Tania’s fault she didn’t catch up with him yesterday, and that she was sorry to miss him. I suggested he might want to take a walk back to the lodge this evening to see her.’ She looked at Rose in mock innocence. ‘What’s wrong with that?’
‘You and your inability to keep your nose out.’ Rose shook her head.
‘I checked with Tom, we’re having beef and red wine casserole for supper, so there will be plenty to go around, if he does turn up.’ She grinned.
‘I’m not sure about this.’ Rose crossed her arms, the jersey still dangling from one of her hands. ‘I’m not sure Tania’s going to appreciate you meddling in her life. And it’s not like she’s serious about this bloke. She’s never serious about them. She could have met him yesterday if she wanted to. She chose not to.’
‘I know, but I think she regrets the decision.’
Rose shook her head. ‘Men are like takeaway coffee as far as Tania is concerned. Always available, but completely disposable.’
Madeleine frowned. ‘Really?’
‘Really.’
‘Why?’
‘She’s always said she isn’t going to fall in love. It’s just not for her.’
Madeleine shook her head. ‘That’s crazy.’
‘You wouldn’t say that if you’d grown up in her family.’
‘Oh.’ She hadn’t thought about that. Like most people, she’d read the kiss-me-quick magazines which promised celebrity gossip you couldn’t get anywhere else, and then fed you the celebrity gossip you’d already read somewhere else– usually on Twitter– and Tania’s family had featured in those cringe-binge fests on more than one occasion. But that still didn’t quite match with the expression on Tania’s face when she pushed Gull’s note further into her pocket, nor her reaction to Madeleine’s crazy lunch scheme.
Which, by the way, had worked. Sort of.
‘You should be patting me on the back,’ she said. ‘Not berating me for trying to help.’
Rose relaxed her frame a little, noticing her jersey as if for the first time and pulling it on. ‘Listen, Maddy, I know you mean well. I know you want to fix everything for everyone. And I love that about you. But I think this might be a step too far. Even if he does come back, even if they are attracted to one another …’ Rose shook her head. ‘She’ll eat him for breakfast.’
Madeleine didn’t agree. She didn’t know Tania as well as Rose, fair enough, but sometimes a fresh pair of eyes on a situation noticed different things. And Tania didn’t look as if she wanted to eat Gull alive. Quite the opposite. She looked upset that he’d come to the lodge and she hadn’t seen him. She looked as if she cared a great deal about that.
