Chapter 1
Kitty opened the curtains and stared at the view, wondering how she had ended up here. A week earlier she’d been living in Balham, with all the sights, sounds and smells that accompanied life in London. Now here she was, staring out at a picture-postcard view of the sea. It felt like a holiday. She grimaced. If only.
Through a gap in the cottages and shops that lined her street, Kitty gazed out at an azure sea, the bright blue sky streaked with wispy white clouds as though an artist had started a painting but not yet finished it. A young couple strolled hand in hand along the street, a small child skipping along in front of them, a bucket and spade swinging from its hands. A pang of sadness hit. Kitty turned her eyes away. Jealousy was an emotion she hated, and she forced herself to smile at the couple.
Someone knocked on the door, and Kitty jumped. With trembling fingers, she pulled her phone from her pocket and clutched it to her chest. It was a brick of a thing, purchased at a garage somewhere between London and Cornwall. Useless in many ways, it was also her lifeline.
Kitty took a series of deep breaths, waiting for her heart to still, telling herself there was no way he could have found her, not yet at any rate. She tightened her dressing gown cord, tucked a stray auburn curl behind her ear and told herself to stop being such a wimp.
Despite the talking-to, she hesitated on the stairs, and when she finally reached the hallway, she couldn’t bring herself to open the door. Instead, she leaned close to the wood and called, ‘Who is it?’
‘Solomon Tyler.’
Her landlord. Kitty opened the door a crack and peered around. A man with a weathered face, twinkling blue eyes and a shock of white hair smiled at her.
‘Miss Brown? Solomon Tyler, but please, call me Solly.’ He glanced at her attire and flushed. ‘I’m sorry to disturb you so early.’
Solly held out a hand, and Kitty reached out and shook it, trying not to reveal her surprise at hearing the name she was yet to get used to. Kitty Brown. She mentally rolled the name around her tongue. She could have picked worse. ‘It’s not that early. I never sleep well in a new bed, so I’ve been having a quiet morning. Nice to meet you, Solly, and call me Kitty. Miss Brown makes me feel I’m back in school.’ She managed a smile, and he returned it. ‘Please,’ she said, opening the door wider. ‘Come in.’
Solly followed her into the cosy living room, where her suitcase sat in the middle of the floor, the few clothes she’d brought with her spilling out of it.
‘I take it you found the key with no issues?’ he said.
‘Yes, thank you.’
‘And are you settling in OK? The heating system can be a bit fiddly to operate if you’re not used to it.’
‘Everything is fine, thank you. The cottage is lovely.’
Solly smiled. ‘I’m pleased you like it. It was my home for decades, but I like to think I’ve kept it reasonably up to date.’
‘It’s lovely,’ said Kitty, meaning it. When her new boss had passed on the email address of a lady called Margot, with the promise that if anyone knew of accommodation, it would be her, Kitty had kept her expectations low. When the news came that a cottage was available to rent, she’d pictured something old-fashioned in need of updating. However, she would have jumped at any opportunity to start again. A cardboard box would have sufficed so long as it was far enough from London. It had been a very pleasant surprise to arrive at the cottage in Saffron Bay and find whitewashed walls and modern appliances.
‘I’m glad to see it being used. Ever since I moved in with my fiancée, I’ve worried about what to do with the place. Renting it out to holidaymakers seemed the logical course of action.’ He shrugged and scratched the stubble on his chin. ‘But I’d rather it were lived in all year round. When Margot put me in touch with you, it was a weight off my mind.’
‘I’ve yet to meet Margot in person.’ Kitty tried another smile. ‘She seems very well connected.’Good, she told herself. She was making conversation like a normal person. Doing fine.
‘Yes, Margot keeps tabs on everyone and everything that goes on in Saffron Bay. Has her fingers in many pies, as they say, and also runs the local café.’
‘A busy woman. I was so grateful when she offered to help me find accommodation here. I thought I’d have to live miles away.’
‘She was delighted when you got the job. Despite how idyllic it looks, not that many youngsters want to move to Saffron Bay, and they’d had a job to fill the post.’
‘It’s worked out for me, too.’ Kitty was warming to the man despite herself. It was unusual for her to let her guard down so quickly, and she wondered how Solly would feel if he knew hewas in a tiny, select group of people she trusted. ‘Can I get you a cup of tea?’
‘Only if you have time.’
‘I’ve got a week before I start work.’ She pointed to a radiator and smiled. ‘And it would be helpful if you could show me how to get the boiler going.’
‘Of course.’
‘I’ll run upstairs and get dressed.’
‘Shall I put the kettle on? Of course, this is your home now, but I shouldn’t have any trouble finding my way around the kitchen.’ Solly’s eyes twinkled, and Kitty laughed.
‘That would be great, thanks.’
Kitty grabbed the suitcase from the living-room floor and carried it up to the bedroom she’d selected for herself at the front of the house. She should have taken the case up the night before, except she’d been so tired after making her escape she couldn’t face the thought of unpacking on top of everything else. She flung on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and ran downstairs.
