SIXTEEN
‘Ellie McTavish, look at you!’ Rowland Hyatt stood up as Ellie and Clare walked into the laid-back seafood restaurant Clare had been raving about for the whole drive over. As Ellie had thought, Clare really hadn’t taken no for an answer about coming out to dinner and had come to knock for her at the beach house.
Ellie had been busy all day and had, in fact, only just returned to the cottage in time from the council headquarters in St Ives. The local buses ran on ‘Cornish time’ to some extent, Ellie had learned, which meant that they turned up more or less when they felt like it. Earlier that day, she’d been waiting for an hour at the bus stop, and then the driver had taken his time down the winding roads back to Magpie Cove, stopping at several small villages and helping pensioners and mums with buggies on and off. Still, it was nicer than the London buses where no one ever talked to anyone else, she supposed.
At the council, Ellie had spoken to a local councillor about getting the screening bus reinstated, without much luck. The woman was apologetic, but explained that with budget cuts, there were many services that had to go. It wasn’t ideal, but their hands were tied.
‘However,’ the councillor had said, ‘if the people of Magpie Cove wanted to run their own bus to the clinic in Truro, they are free to do so. In fact, I’ve heard that Magpie Cove now runs its own community café. Clearly, people there are enterprising. They’ll sort something out.’
Great. Thanks, Ellie had thought, sarcastically.Nothing like relying on local do-gooders to fill in the holes the state has left empty.The councillor was right: people in Magpie Cove did look out for each other. But what about other villages that didn’t have the same number of ‘enterprising people’? Was it fair to leave them without vital services? How would they cope?
Despite the tortoise-like bus journey home, Ellie was ready for dinner when Clare knocked. Ellie wore a pretty, loose white blouse and dark-dyed blue jeans. She carried some black high heels over the sand of the cove, and put them on in Clare’s car, taking care to dust off the sand from the soles of her feet before she got in. Fee had persuaded her to pack them before they’d set off from Ellie’s apartment, back in London. ‘You never know,’ Fee had admonished her. ‘I believe they do actually have wine bars in Cornwall.’
And so, here I am, having dinner with my ex fling, Ellie thought to herself as she painted a smile on her face which she hoped didn’t look too forced.You really couldn’t make this stuff up.She was still cross from the council meeting, but she’d worry about that later.
Rowland and Ellie’s relationship had been very short-lived. It had been three dates and one attendance at a dinner party as a sort-of couple before they had broken it off, and Rowland had left for Cornwall shortly after that. At the time, she’d been relieved. Rowland leaving had put a definite end to Ellie enduring anymaybe you’ll get back togetherconversations with her female friends in the group. At the time, she’d been so relieved to be out of the gossip mill that she hadn’t really kept in touch with him after he left.
Now that Ellie saw him again, she remembered how good-looking he was. Rowland was that kind of old-school, tall, dark and handsome guy in his late thirties who always wore well-cut suits, held the door open for ladies and had perfect manners. However, once you got to know him, the veneer revealed a wicked sense of humour and a talent for witty conversation. Ellie had been entertained by Rowland, although sometimes he made jokes at other people’s expense that could be a little cruel.
One of Ellie’s dates with Rowland had been a day out at Ascot. Ellie wasn’t a big fan of the famous horse race, having been before. It started out well, and you were expected to dress up, which was nice – Ellie always appreciated an opportunity to wear something that wasn’t work wear. But everyone drank so much. The champagne flowed nonstop, and as the day wore on, everyone got drunker, ruder and louder. Ellie, even though she had had a few drinks herself, had not greatly appreciated being in the midst of a band of braying toffs who roared at the horses, but more frequently at each other and the bar staff. At least Rowland had apologised to the waitress on behalf of their friend who, having drunk quite a few glasses of champagne, had snapped at her for bringing him the wrong vintage bottle.
At the end of the day, as they got into a taxi, another of their friends had cheerfully confessed that he’d lost several thousand pounds gambling. Apparently, he hadn’t been bothered by the loss, but Ellie had been appalled. Her mother would have been able to buy a car with what the guy had just thrown away on nothing. They had never had a car, in fact, Ellie and her mum. It was another of those things that most people took for granted that Ellie had grown up without.
‘Rowland Hyatt.’ Ellie kissed him on the cheek. ‘Good to see you.’
‘Wow. What’s it been, four years?’ He held out Clare and Ellie’s chairs for them to sit, and then sat down himself, smiling from ear to ear. ‘You look great, Ellie.’
Clare cleared her throat pointedly.
‘Oh. Clare, you always look amazing, you know that,’ Rowland added quickly, grinning. ‘What a coincidence, though. You bringing Ellie McTavish to dinner. Here on holiday, Ellie?’
‘Yes. Well, kind of. My friend Fee and I came to Cornwall on a road trip, then got stranded in Magpie Cove temporarily.’
‘Magpie Cove’s gain, if you ask me,’ Clare added. ‘I’m hoping she’ll stay.’
‘I wholeheartedly agree. You must stay. Cornwall’s got some top-notch restaurants now, and some of the properties are breathtaking, if you stay away from the deprived inland towns.’ Rowland’s eyes twinkled. ‘This calls for champagne!’ he gestured to the waitress, then turned back to the table.
‘So how long did you two go out together?’ Clare took a bread stick from a glass on the table and crunched it.
‘Oh, just a few dates,’ Ellie replied, quickly. ‘It was very casual, then Rowland moved here.’
‘Remember the picnic?’ Rowland raised one eyebrow. ‘I planned a beautiful date at the Rose Garden in Regent’s Park. Packed a picnic from Fortnum’s. Beautiful sunny day. Ellie arrived looking like a fairy-tale princess. She was wearing this kind of gauzy, floaty pink dress. D’you remember, Ellie? We drank champagne sitting among the most glorious roses. I kissed you for the first time there.’
‘I do remember.’ It had been a beautiful, perfect day, she had to admit. And Rowland had been so sweet, asking her permission for a kiss, and reading poetry to her among the roses.
‘She’s my one that got away.’ Rowland gave Ellie a misty look. ‘I really did some soul searching before I left London, I can tell you. But the job offer was too good to turn down, and anyway,’ he gave Ellie a playful look, ‘Ellie never seemed to have much time for a relationship. She was always working. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to compete.’
‘That’s not fair. You were just the same. You came down here to be a district judge, for goodness’ sake,’ Ellie protested. ‘Not exactly something you can phone in.’
‘Maybe. Anyway, the job came up and I’d been looking to get out of corporate legal. Plus, I’ve got family here, so I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss.’ Rowland gave Ellie an unreadable stare. ‘But I would have considered staying if I’d thought there was anything to stay for. If you’d have given me a chance.’
Ellie took a champagne glass from the waitress who’d brought drinks, and let her pour it. What was she supposed to say to that? She had no idea that Rowland had liked her that much. He’d left without much fanfare, although he had sent her a very heartfelt email after leaving that she hadn’t known how to answer, and so didn’t.
‘I didn’t know that,’ she confessed. ‘But I guess it just wasn’t the right time.’
‘I guess not.’ Rowland met her gaze, and they shared a quiet moment, neither one of them looking away. Ellie was remembering how sweet Rowland could be, and she’d forgotten how attractive he was too.
‘If you two want some time on your own, say the word,’ Clare interjected. ‘Only, I’m really hungry, and I’ve planned for this dinner blood sugar-wise. So, I’ll just eat quietly.’
