As Nic swung around, he formulated a reply. Part of him wanted to tell his father about the fake engagement. Giorgos would totally see this as an acceptable way to go forward. But another part of him didn’t trust his dad as far as he could throw him. He was already on a downer about Aria, and, in Nic’s experience, any secret was an opportunity for mischief or blackmail.
‘She truly believes in access for all,’ he defended her.
‘Then persuade her to sell you that cabin. It’ll be much easier for people to reach the lake if their car takes them directly to it.’
‘I told you the hut is in hand. And congratulations wouldn’t go amiss. Maybe we could celebrate tonight?’
‘Oh, I’m going back to London this evening, Nicolas. I’m done here.’
Nic’s heart sank. Had he decided to give the investment a miss? Classic Dad – throughout their childhood he’d regularly made his sons promises he couldn’t keep and set expectations he didn’t plan to deliver on.
‘Done in a good way?’ he asked, with a casualness he wasn’t feeling.
Aria walked up to them, unaware she was interrupting an important conversation. ‘Did it sound like I was shouting at everyone, up there? I hope not.’ Pushing her hair back from her face, she searched on her wrist for the elastic she often kept there. ‘Have you enjoyed the event, Mr Castle?’
‘Our surname is Castellanos,’ Giorgos corrected her with a sniff.
Aria looked confused. ‘But Nic—’
‘Sold out. Anglified our identity. Which name will you take, I wonder?’ he said to Aria in a tone Nic didn’t like.
There was no selling out as far as he was concerned – he and Theo had changed their names to make a stand against their father’s behaviour.
But Giorgos continued, oblivious. ‘I’m sure Aria here will completely understand the need to be flexible with her identity and principles. For example, a more authentic environmental campaigner might find it impossible to make a stand against developers while hitching herself to one, no?’
Aria’s expression changed. ‘I believe I have just demonstrated my passion for—’
Giorgos ploughed straight on. ‘You picked the best team to be on. Congratulations on your long-term thinking, Aria. We will win this bid. And then, once you have some security, you’ll be able to stand on whatever soapbox you desire. You could be head of the local Green Party in five years. Imagine that!’
Aria opened her mouth to object as an ambulance drove through the gate. Belinda flew over to them, panting as though she’d run up a hill. ‘Your friend Fred is sick. Along with about five other people. I think the water might have given participants some kind of gastroenteritis bug. They tested it for blue–green algae this morning but obviously missed something else.’
A worried Aria turned to Nic. ‘I need to go.’
His father nodded. ‘I second that. Please bring the car round, Nicolas.’
***
Nic left his father at the gate and went to retrieve his four-by-four from the overflow field. Everything had happened so fast today, he was glad of a moment alone. But as he unlocked the door a woman approached him.
‘Excuse me, are you—’
‘Yes, I’m about to move, if you want my space.’
Her laugh filled the air. ‘Not at all, I’ve been here a while. I was going to ask if you are Nic Castle.’
Nic nodded, with some trepidation. Was he now even more unpopular after Aria’s comments about developers spoiling the lake?
But the woman laughed again, sounding nervous rather than confrontational. ‘I just heard a rather bizarre rumour, and I haven’t been able to find my stepdaughter to confirm it. I’m sure it’s Chinese whispers as everything always is round here…only…I heard you and Aria got engaged. I am Felicity and I am…or rather was…married to her dad, and obviously this would have been a very big thing for him, but maybe she doesn’t feel she needs to give me the news herself and, oh, I’m not sure why I’m crying but it is quite an emotional thing, isn’t it, even if they’re not actually your family? You see, I really want her to be happy.’
This babbling brook of a woman was Aria’s stepmother? She looked friendly enough, but then, the evil ones didn’t always come with a large collar, red lips and an apple laced with arsenic. ‘It sounds like you should talk to Aria,’ he said. ‘She’s with the ambulance, I think. A friend of hers is sick.’
As he nodded towards the blue light, Felicity grabbed his arm. ‘Take care of her. She’s fragile.’ Felicity’s voice was so quiet he almost missed the warning. ‘Much less robust than she looks, and her father’s death threw her more than she admits.’ Aria’s stepmother took a beat before blurting out a final statement. ‘She’s had to deal with a lot.’
Nic suspected Aria was struggling with her grief and wanted to understand her better. But he envisaged his father getting annoyed at being kept waiting. ‘I promise you her happiness is a priority for me,’ he replied with a reassuring smile. ‘I’d love to chat some more but I’m afraid I must go. I need to give my dad a lift to the station. It’s been lovely to meet you. Perhaps you can come over sometime for a glass of wine.’
‘That would be lovely. And of course I’m hoping for an invite to the big day!’
By the time Nic reached the entrance, the music had stopped, and people were packing up the stage. Meanwhile his father was looking thunderous, jabbing at his phone.
