Page 27 of New Beginnings At Pencarrow Bay

That morning, Lindy had arrived at the stall before nine.

Ted had watched her approach. Even from a distance she seemed wound up and his heart sank.

Oh, God, what’s going on now? He braced himself, wishing, selfishly, that Lindy would listen to him, for once.

Wishing she’d take his advice and call a helpline– or maybe speak to Kim or Chris Jenks, not put all this pressure on his shoulders.

But he immediately felt bad for his ungenerous thoughts as Lindy neared and he saw the pain in her eyes. It touched him deeply.

‘Please, I really need to talk,’ she said, her voice low, as if anyone else was listening, which they weren’t. Only one table, in the far corner, was occupied, with a tourist couple, deep in their own conversation.

What could he say? ‘I don’t have long, I’m afraid, Lindy. It’ll get busy soon, on a beautiful day like this.’

She didn’t seem to hear him, just blinked up at him anxiously.

‘Go and sit down,’ he urged. ‘I’ll bring you a coffee.’

Her face relaxed and she found herself a seat, as far away from the tourists as possible, in the limited space around the van.

‘What’s up, Lindy?’ Ted asked, when they were both seated. He was jumpy, watching the car park for any new customers.

‘It’s getting worse,’ Lindy began, her voice wobbling in distress.

‘Felix cornered me in the kitchen last night, when Kim and Ada had gone to bed. He was all sweetness and light on the surface, speaking softly, smiling in a concerned way. But what he said was chilling. “This is obviously a very sensitive issue, Lindy,” were his exact words, “but Kim and I think it’s time for us to consider getting a power-of-attorney in place. For your own protection.”’ She took a gasping breath and stared at Ted. ‘ He actually said that .’

‘For God’s sake… How did you respond?’

‘I was shocked into silence at first, to be honest. I didn’t believe for a second he’d talked to Kim– although it’s hard to get through to my daughter, these days.

I hope the new medication works better, poor girl.

’ Lindy sighed. ‘But she would never have gone behind my back about something so treacherous.’

Ted saw her give a small shudder before she continued.

‘Then, when I found my voice and point-blank refused to give in to his ludicrous bullying, Felix did something he’s never done before, Ted.

He came up to me, really close– he’s twice my size, of course– and put his finger just here.

’ She indicated a place above her breastbone.

‘Then he pressed and whispered, “Come on, Lindy. Stop this.”’ She broke off and took a number of sharp, shallow breaths as if she were having trouble getting air into her lungs.

‘It doesn’t sound very scary now I’m telling you, but it felt incredibly threatening last night.

The look in his eye was so calculating, so…

angry . I’m honestly frightened. I don’t know what he’s going to do next. ’

‘Goodness, I’m so sorry,’ Ted said, shocked by what he was hearing. ‘Surely he wouldn’t harm you, Lindy.’

She glared at him. ‘For Christ’s sake, Ted, have you listened to a word I’ve said? He’s been harming me for months, one way or another.’

‘I suppose I meant physically,’ he muttered. At that moment he noticed a group of people ambling towards the truck and was relieved to be able to excuse himself. ‘I’ll be back in a sec.’

Lindy just gave a tired nod.

Pam arrived as he was serving the coffees, wielding a couple of large Tupperware boxes of sausage rolls and cinnamon buns.

They had a brief chat– her ageing mother was an ongoing problem– but Ted wasn’t paying attention.

He could see Lindy’s eyes fixed on him anxiously as he worked.

She was obsessively smoothing her fingers back and forth, back and forth across the cold surface of the aluminium table.

In the end he couldn’t bear it any longer and asked Pam if she’d mind taking over for ten minutes.

There weren’t any new customers at that precise moment, anyway, although he knew they were about to get busy.

When he got back to Lindy, he sat down and took a determined breath, anxious to have his say before she started speaking again.

Peggy’s words rang in his ears– that he should guide Lindy towards professional help, even if she wasn’t yet ready to hear it.

He decided upsetting her in the short term might be better help to her in the long term.

So he spoke much more firmly than he had previously.

‘Look, Lindy, I keep saying this…You really should consider professional help. Please. There’s a national domestic-abuse line you can call.

I’ve checked it out. They must be extremely familiar with situations like yours.

They’d be much more use to you than we could ever be.

’ As soon as the word ‘we’ was out of his mouth, Ted knew he’d blundered and hoped Lindy hadn’t noticed.

He had intended, at some stage, to break it to her gently that Peggy knew.

But this morning probably wasn’t the best time, when she seemed so het up.

And the news might get in the way of her listening to his advice– which was all Ted really cared about.

Lindy stared at him, startled. ‘We?’ She narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You told Peggy, didn’t you?’ she muttered.

Ted hesitated, took the plunge. ‘Yes, I did. I’m so sorry, Lindy, but I had to. She thought something was going on between us.’ Even though he’d have preferred to reveal the information more tactfully, he was glad it was out now.

Lindy seemed to expand in her seat. Head thrown back, blue eyes blazing, chest puffed up to twice its normal size, she grabbed his arm, shaking him.

‘You promised me, Ted. This was a confidence .’ Suddenly tears were pouring down her cheeks.

‘Oh, my God. I can’t believe you , of all people…

I trusted you.’ Taking a heaving breath, she added, ‘Do you have any idea what you’ve done?

Now everyone will know. They’ll think I’ve gone mad. ’

Aghast at her outburst, and embarrassed as he glanced around and saw the people at the tables falling silent as they watched the drama unfold, he laid a placating hand on Lindy’s arm, which she immediately shook off. ‘Peggy won’t tell a soul,’ he said, cowed by her rage.

Lindy shot to her feet and stalked across the car park. Ted noticed her Audi parked by the road. Shit , he thought, she’s in no state to drive , and hurried after her.

By the time he reached her car, Lindy had already started it and was preparing to drive away. Ted grabbed the passenger door and wrenched it open. ‘Lindy, stop. You can’t drive in this state. Please, wait a few minutes till you’ve calmed down.’

Lindy paid no attention to him, her eyes still leaking tears.

But Ted was not giving up. Seeing she was intent on leaving– the handbrake already off, engine purring– he jumped into the passenger seat.

Before he shut the door, he waved at Pam.

‘Sorry, back in a minute.’ Which he hoped she heard… and hoped was true.

Hand on the dashboard as if to stop the car, Ted shouted, as she raced off, ‘Slow down, Lindy. For God’s sake, slow down. You’ll get us both killed.’

Lindy didn’t reply, the expression on her face fixed, eyes blinking through the tears.

When she turned left out of the village instead of right he asked anxiously, ‘Where are you going?’

She swung her head round then, a blank smile on her face. But she still didn’t speak.

He tried again. ‘Please, Lindy. What are you doing? Pull over so we can talk, please .’ She was driving like a maniac, cutting corners and overtaking at breakneck speed, horn blaring.

He thought they would surely die under the vast, manure-covered tyres of a rumbling John Deere tractor, their flesh indented by deep tread patterns, their bodies squashed flat, like those of characters in a cartoon.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Then, as swiftly as the rage had come upon her, it seemed to leave her.

He almost heard the whoosh, like air expelled from a balloon.

Lindy slumped in her seat and let out a ragged exhalation, the car wavering across the road, then losing speed.

Which was almost more unnerving than the previous rallycross.

But as Ted began to breathe more easily, he realized he had no idea what to say to the woman beside him. Lindy was also silent, no longer crying, just driving along as if they were an old married couple out for a leisurely weekend spin.

When she did speak, her voice was soft and sad. ‘So sorry for just now, Ted. I barely slept a wink last night. Could we have a quick coffee somewhere? Give me a chance to catch my breath. You’re so expert at calming me down.’

Ted felt wrong-footed. ‘Umm, that would be great, but I really have to get back. Pam is holding the fort, doing me a last-minute favour. I can’t leave her for too long.’

At his refusal, Lindy nodded, but he saw more tears escaping from her eyes. ‘Okay,’ she said quietly.

Ted was torn. She looked so worn out, so distressed, that his heart went out to her. He couldn’t leave her like this. It would be cruel. He reached out and gave her arm a gentle stroke. ‘I’ll ring her, see how things are going.’