Page 52

‘Okay, thank you. And I love you.’

‘Love you too.’

The sense of quiet that filled the cottage when they left felt almost as eerie as the noise that had filled it beforehand. With a deep breath, Holly sat down on the sofa, exhausted. She wasn’t expecting them to be gone for long. Maybe half an hour at most. But she figured she could use that time to get an early nap in. That was what she thought until her phone rang and her mum’s name flashed up on the screen.

46

Holly stared at the name on her phone. The relaxed calm she had been feeling only moments ago had already drained from her body. She knew her mother hadn’t heard about the accident. There was no way Jamie or Ben would have told her. And she had no intention of accepting a video call. But that didn’t ease the twinge of dread she felt. Her parents only had one night left in Brussels before they were coming back to the Cotswolds, at which point, Holly knew she had to confront her mother about Giles. Either that, or let it fester. And that was without dealing with her parents’ reaction to the crash. Maybe she would see if they wanted to extend the holiday a little longer.

Holding her breath, she stared at the name for a second longer before cancelling the video call request and redialling as a regular phone call.

Her mother answered immediately.

‘Holly, dear? Is everything alright? We can’t see you.’

‘Sorry Mum, yes. I’m just out on a walk with Hope. Towards Rissington. You know what the reception is like here. How is Brussels? How was the chocolate-making workshop? Are you ready to come back?’

Holly hoped the influx of questions would deter her parents from asking too many of their own. The tactic worked, as her father chimed in.

‘We went to the model village, Holly. But it’s not like the one in Bourton. Oh no, much better than that. It’s got miniature places from all around the world. A miniature Eiffel Tower, a miniature White House, and guess what? A miniature Arlington Row!’

‘Arlington Row?’ Holly replied, admittedly a bit surprised. Arlington Row was a tiny row of houses in the Cotswold village of Bibury, only a short drive from Bourton-on-the-Water. It was certainly picturesque and featured on dozens of postcards of the area, but she couldn’t imagine it was famous enough to appear in a model village in another country. Apparently it was.

‘We’re having a wonderful time, love. I wish we could stay for longer. We’re even thinking next time we might go to Bruges instead. I spoke to your mother about extending the trip, actually. I told her you wouldn’t mind if we did an extra couple of days. Get the train up there, then come back later in the week. But she didn’t want to leave you in the lurch any longer than we planned. But it wouldn’t be a problem, would it, love?’

Holly’s heart soared with the idea, only for it to drop again. While having her parents stay away longer would be a great way to avoid the inevitably awkward conversations she had to have, it would be a logistical nightmare. Ben had likely shifted his meetings to later in the week because he’d assumed her mother would be back to look after Hope. And there was only so long that Drey and Caroline could hold down the fort while she was out of action without needing a day off. But this was the first time her parents had been abroad, and after everything they’d done for her over the last ten months, she owed them this.

‘I’d manage. If that’s what you want to do,’ she reassured them.

‘Don’t be silly, love,’ her mother said. ‘Your father is being ridiculous. We’ve paid for the tickets and we’ll just wait for another cheap deal to come up. Besides, it will be something else to look forward to. Now, how are you? And how was Maud? Did you meet up with her? Was she… okay?’

There was a slight pause in the question, and it reminded Holly of how surprised her mother had been to hear that Maud was back in the village. Suddenly, it struck. Her mother had known something was wrong with Maud and hadn’t said anything. That was why she had acted so strangely when Holly mentioned her before. The lies on her mother’s tally chart were stacking up, and it was all Holly could to not to call her out then and there.

Instead, she moved the phone away from her mouth. ‘Sorry, Mum, what was that? I think I’m losing you. Look, I’ll ring you in the morning, okay? Love you. Love you lots.’

She hung up the phone and swallowed back a wave of anger.

After the phone call, Holly wanted nothing more than a glass of wine, or at least a nap to wash away the feelings of guilt and distrust. Once again, knowing that a cup of tea and the last breakfast muffin were her only options, she had just put the water in the mug when her telephone rang again. This time, she opened it up on to the video call.

‘Hey, you.’ Holly’s face flicked into an automatic smile as she saw Evan on the screen, though it didn’t stay that way for long. For someone who was the epitome of calm, there were more creases on his face than the day he’d been trying to hide the Vespa gift from her.

‘Hey, babe. Is there any chance you could come down to the village for me? We’re just on the green, opposite the shop,’ he said, his voice quivering slightly.

Holly’s stomach performed a multitude of somersaults.

‘You let her out of her pushchair, didn’t you? I told you, she’s a nightmare to get back in.’

Holly was looking around on the floor, searching for her shoes, although the only pair she could see were trainers with the laces undone, and she wasn’t sure it was even possible to do up shoelaces with just one hand.

‘Actually, it’s not that,’ Evan said, his voice bringing Holly’s attention back to her phone. ‘Hope’s still in the pushchair. And she’s fine. Absolutely fine.’

‘She is? Then what’s wrong?’

Rather than responding, Evan panned the screen around. There, still sitting in her chair next to him, was Hope, with a big smile on her face as the river flowed lazily behind her. But Evan didn’t stop panning around. As the image continued, Holly saw Kathy, the woman from the bird park next to him, and then there, beside her, a very stern, very tired-looking police officer.

47

Holly didn’t bother doing her laces up before racing down into the village, in something between a fast walk and a jog. She wasn’t a runner at the best of times, but the cast, combined with the loose trainers and numerous bruises, meant even she knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. Still, at the fastest pace she could manage, she couldn’t remember the walk into the village ever taking as long as it did then. Every step she took seemed to be blocked by one person or another, either walking their dog, cycling, or merely stopping in the most awkward place possible to get a photo.