‘I’m certain she cared but can I ask, the postcard…what was the secret you shared?’
Pete looked pained, and Verity could feel her heart sinking.
‘When Henrietta was here in the summer of 1972, everyone fell in love with her. Joe, especially, wanted her to be his girl, but Hetty and I couldn’t deny how we felt for one another. The secret was the affair we never told Joe about.’
‘I think you need to tell Verity what you just told me,’ added Betty.
‘You played your part,’ Pete said, harshly.
Betty held up her hands in agreement but remained silent.
‘My real name is Wallace, but only my very good friends call me that, as it didn’t fit in with the image of the band. And because I lived in this cottage and looked after the welfare of the puffins the islanders have just always called me Puffin Pete, Pete being my middle name. Henrietta was actually the last person to call me Wallace. She thought it was very sophisticated but I wasn’t convinced.’ Pete gave a little smile. ‘I can see your resemblance to her now; you look quite like her.’
Verity stayed quiet. She could see from Pete’s face he was mulling over the past.
‘The summer of 1972 was the best and worst summer of my life. The band was becoming famous, screaming girls were arriving across the causeway in their droves and camping out on the beach just to get a glimpse of us. We still had everyday jobs, though they were becoming more and more difficult to hold down. Joe, my best friend, he hadn’t been lucky in love. He became a father at a young age and though his family sadly separated, he provided for them and was a brilliant father. One evening, he burst through the door of the cottage and announced that there was a new girl in town, and in the same breath declared that he was going to marry her one day. He said he could feel it in his bones.’
‘Granny?’
Pete nodded. ‘He was smitten, fell in love with her instantly. As they say, when you know, you just know.’ Pete swallowed. ‘I teased him rotten, telling him no one could fall in love that quickly, but Joe was adamant he’d never seen a girl so pretty. Hetty turned up in the pub that night with Betty.’
‘I’ve already told Verity that she lived at the cottage. Neither of them knew why your granny was here…’ she added, looking at Verity.
‘Until today.’ Pete gave Betty a stern look. ‘I didn’t know your grandfather had proposed.’
‘Hetty confided in me that she was trying to figure out the future she wanted, and I couldn’t break her confidence.’
‘If Joe felt so strongly, Pete, how did Granny and you get together?’
‘She told me that Joe was smitten with her and as much as he was a decent, lovely man, he wasn’t for her.’
‘And did Joe know how she felt?’
Pete shook his head. ‘Hetty was too kind to break his heart, but she never encouraged him either. She was his friend, and to her that’s all it was. Hetty was friends with everyone, the life and soul of the party, and fitted right in. But Joe had become fixated on her, always waiting for her when she came out of the tearoom or we would bump into her down by the beach.’
‘But you struck up a relationship with her, without Joe knowing? To save his feelings?’
Pete nodded. ‘We even kept it from Betty because we wanted to just enjoy each other without anyone else knowing. We also wanted to work out a way of telling Joe without hurting him too much. The last thing I wanted was to hurt Joe, he was my best friend. And I’m not proud of having kept it secret. I could see the look in Joe’s eyes whenever Hetty walked into the room.’
‘Or when she sang. Everyone paid attention then,’ added Betty with a smile.
Pete looked towards Verity. ‘That song you heard me singing, I wrote it for Hetty and she’s the only person I’ve ever sung it to.’
‘That’s where I’ve heard it before! Granny used to sing it whilst she was cleaning or in the garden!’
Pete’s eyes glistened with more tears. ‘I’m glad to hear that. Hetty is the only woman I ever wrote a song for. We were head over heels in love but now I’m not sure what to believe. I didn’t know there was someone waiting for her back home.’
Verity dared to glance towards Betty.
‘Hetty was my friend and whatever she told me was in confidence.’
Verity turned back to Pete. ‘How did it all end?’
‘Hetty left the night Joe died.’ Pete struggled to get the words out.
‘What happened that night?’ asked Verity, as an uneasy feeling swathed her. The mood in the room had suddenly turned very sombre. Pete stood up and placed both hands on the oak beam above the fireplace, his head bowed low. After a moment he lifted his head, and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He locked eyes with Verity through the glass.
‘I was responsible for Joe’s death. It was my fault.’
