‘It’s easier this way,’ he said before she had a chance to comment. ‘Faye, are you there?’
She swallowed away the emotion. ‘I’m here.’
His voice softened with the request she’d known was coming. ‘The ring…’ He was clearly grasping for the most appropriate way to ask for it back.
‘I’ll put it with your things.’ And she hung up the call. What was the point in prolonging the conversation? They were over and the fact he wasn’t even coming to pick up his things said it all. He was done; he was moving on.
* * *
After Guy left with Brad’s belongings there was only one thing Faye wanted to do. She had to get out on the water where she could unplug from the entire world and take solace in nature.
She parked up as close as she could get to the access point where she would launch her kayak onto the Noosa River. She undid the straps securing the craft to the roof rack and carried it to the place she would launch from.
It was so serene and peaceful here now the rain had passed and in its place was a gentle glow of sunshine.
She launched the kayak, climbed in, and as her paddle blade dipped in on one side, then the other, the rhythmic motions did their best to bring her a sense of calm.
She paddled for a couple of hours on and off, stopping every now and then to savour the stillness, the quiet. She floated along the river, native birds sung their songs through the air, and she wondered what it would be like to do this in Dorset. Her dad hadn’t been into water sports before he came to Australia, so as a family they’d never really embraced the love either, but yesterday he’d sent her a photograph of him in the English Channel on a paddleboard, and it looked pretty wonderful. He seemed to be having a good time and she hated that he was worried about her and Steph facing the gossip over here, being at loggerheads over what had happened.
He didn’t yet know about Brad, that the engagement was off – he didn’t need that added to his plate – but she was glad he was where he was. When the scandal first broke, he’d said that she and Steph were welcome to join him in Dorset to get away. He’d said they could stay in the static caravan their uncle owned in West Lulworth. Faye had thanked him for worrying, but she was fine. And she knew Steph would never take him up on the offer – she hated the climate in England and like her mother had no intention of returning, not even for a visit. How could her twin sister be so different to her in every way but her appearance?
She felt invigorated at the end of her kayak session, pleasantly worn out, and back at her car she hoisted the kayak above her head and slid it onto the roof rack.
‘Need a hand?’
She jumped at the male voice behind her.
The man, middle-aged with a long greying ponytail and pockmarked skin that had likely had way too much sun, had come out of nowhere and he put up his hands. ‘Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.’
She loved the solitude here, but she didn’t much like it when she had company unexpectedly. She wished the kayak wasn’t on the roof yet, as it would give her a degree of separation from this stranger.
‘Are you lost?’ she asked.
‘No, just walking around, exploring.’
‘Well, have a lovely rest of your day.’ Keeping an awareness of where he was standing, she secured each of the straps around the kayak one by one.
She was unnerved when he seemed to follow her every step. She realised she hadn’t put the paddle away and opened up the back door to stash it in the car.
‘Aren’t you her?’ he asked as she closed the door. He reached out and gripped her upper arm. ‘You are. You’re her from the news.’
He thought she was Steph.
She shrugged off his grip. ‘Are you a reporter?’ She reached for the handle of the driver’s door, but before she could open it he pinned her against the car.
‘No. Not one of those. Do you wish I was?’ The sleaze put a hand to the side of her face and rough, calloused fingers scratched at her skin. ‘Or do you wish I was a politician?’
She lifted her knee at exactly the right angle to have him yell out and double over. She pushed him roughly out of the way, jumped into the car and without even putting on her seatbelt thrust it into reverse and got out of there. So much for a month off work helping her find some sort of normality. This was getting worse.
Would this nightmare ever end?
By the time she reached her apartment, she suspected it wouldn’t, and when she logged on to see there was still no reply from Howard she made a decision.
She was going to get far away. She was going to Dorset to escape, to see her dad, and while she was there she would try to find out why Howard, who had never missed a week of the Midnight Book Club since he joined, had all but disappeared.
6
MARGOT
