‘You don’t think I’m a criminal? I’m not the upstanding businesswoman you thought I was.’
‘Oh, of course you are!’
‘We knew you were hiding something, but we didn’t know it would be something so fabulous! You should have come to us ages ago, we could’ve helped!’
At first I think Wilma means about the money, but then she clarifies. ‘We know all the best places to bury a body. He would never have been found.’
I laugh, nervously. I’malmostentirely sure they’re joking.
Somewhere in the course of this conversation, one of them has gone inside the van and brought out a folding table and I’ve been bundled downwards into sitting on a chair at it, and I have no memory of getting here.
‘We said there was something off about that strange man we just passed swaggering towards the village, didn’t we?’ Lettie glances at the other two. ‘Was that him?’
‘Yeah, he got what he wanted. Reece stepped in and rescued me. He’s paid for the van, which he couldn’t afford to do, and now we’re both…’ I trail off.Whatare we? I feelsoguilty about what he’s done and the impact it will have on his plans for the pub, and those feelings are warring with how grateful I am as well, along with annoyance that he didn’t give me a choice in what was happening, and I’m sure that this will change everything between us. When money gets involved in relationships, especially a sum that large, things rarely end well.
‘He obviously thinks you’re worth it,’ Madge says gently, and the others echo agreements that sound heartfelt and true, and it gives me a warm feeling inside, which whirls around and battles with the nausea and existential dread.
‘You’re worrying too much.’ Lettie tries to reassure me. ‘The universe has a way of sending you to exactly where you’re supposed to be, and you were always supposed to be here, and so was Reece, and that van was never supposed to be anywhere else but with you.’
‘And look what you’ve made of it.’ Madge bangs a hand down on the table hard enough to vibrate through all four of us. ‘Something wonderful that brings people together and has given our community back its heart, but even better than it was before. You’ve made it a real little home and a little business. Certainly more thanhewould have ever done with it.’
I appreciate their endorsement, even though I’m not sure that’s a reasonable justification for theft.
Madge bustles off inside the van and returns with four cups of tea, and I find one placed into my hands and her fingers hold mine around it, like it’s a freezing-cold day and not 10a.m. on a sunny early-August morning.
When she lets me go, I close my eyes and take a sip and let it warm me from the inside as well, and for a moment, it’s easy to forget about everything that happened this morning… but then I open them again and it all comes rushing back. I let out a groan. ‘What am I going to do about Reece?’
‘You’ll pay him back.’ Lettie pats my arm. ‘We’ll do our bit to ensure business stays booming, don’t you worry about that. We’ll put in a good word with every tourist we see, and now everything’s above-board, you can get some flyers and business cards printed out and I’ll put them in the shop and give one to every customer.’
‘That’s lovely of you, lovelier than I deserve, but it’s not enough. It won’t be quick enough. He’s given up the money he had left to fix the roof. Without it, the pub will get even more damaged and he’ll be forced to sell, and… leave.’ I get stuck on that word again. The heart-shattering idea of Reece actually giving up on the Kingfisher Arms and having no option but to sell it and go elsewhere, and it all being my fault for carrying on with this campervan farce when I knew full well that I should have returned it to Jared immediately.
‘He’llbe forced to sell?’ Wilma raises an eyebrow.
Oh, sweet niblets. I hear Reece’s voice saying that in my head, but never has a phrase been more appropriate. I got so lost in what I was saying that I forgotwhatI was saying. ‘No, er, his boss, of course. On his behalf. He… um… er…’ I try to splutter out an explanation, but my mind has gone blank with panic at accidentally sharing too much.
Lettie takes pity on me first. ‘It’s okay, Dolly. Weknow.’
‘Know what?’Iknow from her tone exactly what she means, but I decide to play it safe. I’ve made enough mistakes today already, and these ladies are clever enough to win pub quizzes; they’re definitely clever enough to trick me into sharing something I shouldn’t.
Wilma gives me a look that openly says no matter how clever I try to be, I’ll never outfox her. ‘We know there is no boss. We know it’s Reece who owns the pub. We’ve always known, since before he even arrived.’
‘What?’ I say in surprise. ‘Does he know you know? No, wait, of course he doesn’t know. How do you know that? And why are you pretending you don’t? Why are you going along with the mysterious boss story?’ The more I think about it, the more confusing this gets. ‘I thought you thought you were going to sculpt Jake Gyllenhaal naked!’
‘It’ll have to remain a pipe dream for now.’ Madge sounds so solemn that it makes me laugh.
‘One day, my friend, one day.’ Wilma consoles her with an arm pat.
If Jake Gyllenhaal ever does happen to venture into this tiny Yorkshire village, he’s going to quickly venture straight back out again, I know that much.
‘What we can’t work out is how neither of you have realised that Mrs Patchett would’ve told us the name of the person who bought the pub,’ Lettie says.
‘I thought that would’ve been confidential information!’
‘You’ve been here long enough to know now, Dolly dear, thatnothingis confidential in Thimblenouth.’
Nowthatreally is something that’s true, and I’m still not sure yet if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. ‘You have to tell Reece that you know.’
‘Oh, no, absolutely not. Where would be the fun in that?’ Wilma frowns at me over the top of her glasses.
