Page 34

Arthur

I t took Ash and Dan half an hour to construct a makeshift bridge across the gap in the path, and another forty minutes to help everyone safely back up the cliff. Arthur watched the boys chatting and laughing as they worked, and couldn’t help but feel a little proud of the part he’d played in bringing them together. It was exactly what Esi would have done if she were here.

By the time they all made it to the top it was almost five p.m., and clear that Nova was never going to get back to St. Tredock in time for her wedding rehearsal.

“I’m sorry this all took so much longer than expected,” Arthur said to her, as they reconvened at the car. “Was your fiancé understanding about the whole thing?”

“Yes, fine,” Nova said, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“Is it all right if I get a lift back with you? Three’s a crowd and all that.” He nodded toward the teenage boys, who were deep in conversation over by Dan’s car.

“Of course. I’m taking Phyllis and Michael, too, but we can all squeeze in.”

The journey back was more subdued than the drive down, all of them clearly exhausted by the drama and revelations of the afternoon. In the backseat, Michael fell asleep almost as soon as they hit the road, and Arthur could hardly blame him: in the space of a few hours, the poor man had learned he’d lost one mother and come face-to-face with another. Phyllis sat in the seat next to him, Craddock snoring between them. Arthur saw her stealing occasional glances at Michael, as if checking he was really there and not a figment of her imagination.

In the front, Nova drove in silence, too, her shoulders hunched and eyes locked on the road. Something told Arthur she’d not been completely honest with him about her fiancé’s reaction, but he knew better than to ask again. Instead, he allowed his mind to wander over all the revelations of the afternoon. So Michael hadn’t stolen the money nor killed his own mother. Arthur found himself inclined to believe the man’s story; Michael had never struck him as the murdering sort. But if he was innocent, then who had killed Eve? Had it been Cynthia after all?

“That’s my theory too.”

Phyllis’s voice in the backseat made Arthur jump. “What?”

“You said it must have been Cynthia, and I was agreeing with you.”

Arthur felt his cheeks flush; he hadn’t realized he’d been thinking out loud. It was a habit he’d gotten into recently, but he’d never done it in public before.

“It’s the only possible explanation,” Phyllis continued, her voice low so as not to wake Michael.

“But what about the money?” Arthur turned in his seat to look at her. “If Michael didn’t steal it—”

“Of course he didn’t steal it,” Phyllis interrupted, and Arthur couldn’t help but smile at her sudden maternal instinct to protect her son.

“But then who did? We have no other suspects; we always just assumed it was him.”

“Maybe that was Cynthia too?” Phyllis said, but she sounded unconvinced.

“What was that about Cynthia?” Michael had woken up and was rubbing his eyes.

Next to him, Arthur saw Phyllis squirm. “I know you don’t want to hear this, but we think that Cynthia might be behind your mother’s death.”

“No, that’s not possible,” Michael said. “She loved my mum.”

“Arthur thought Cynthia might have done it to get her hands on your mum’s inheritance.”

Arthur opened his mouth to point out that had been Phyllis’s theory, not his, but a glare from the woman made him close it again.

“But there is no inheritance,” Michael said. “I told you; my dad gambled every penny of it away. Mum had no idea until last week, but Cynthia has known since my dad died that there was nothing to inherit except a pile of debts.”

“Damn it, there goes her motive of greed,” Phyllis muttered.

“Besides, I know for a fact that Cynthia has an alibi for the evening my mum…” Michael trailed off, clearly unable to say the word.

“Do you mean that she was with her sister?” Phyllis was squirming again. “I’m sorry to say this, but Cynthia was lying when she told you that. She wasn’t with her sister, she was with—”

“Her lover?”

Arthur looked at Michael in surprise. “You knew?”

The man let out a weary sigh. “I had my suspicions, but I didn’t know for sure until that day. I had Graham Pierce…” He stopped, looking embarrassed.

“Go on,” Phyllis said.

“After Graham traced you, I asked him to follow Cynthia, to see if she was really cheating on me. That night, while I was in the book club, Graham texted me with a photo of Cynthia and this man together. Even though I’d suspected it for a while, it was still a shock to get confirmation.”

“Ah, so that’s why you ran out of the meeting so suddenly,” Arthur said.

“And those photos give Cynthia a concrete alibi,” Phyllis added, frowning.

“Without a doubt. She was seventy miles away, in the Premier Inn, Torquay.”

“As was Graham Pierce, which ticks him off our suspect list as well,” Phyllis said. “Which leaves us back at square one, with no idea who killed Eve.”

“And no idea who stole the community center money either.” It was the first time Nova had spoken this car journey, and her voice was thick with despair. “Now we know it wasn’t Michael, the police are going to think I took it, aren’t they? Especially after what happened to Sandy.”

“Or they’ll still think it was me,” Michael said. “You said yourself, it doesn’t look good: my mum was killed, and the same night money goes missing and I disappear. In the absence of anyone else, I’m still going to be the prime suspect.”

“No son of mine is going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. We’ll prove your innocence, and Nova’s too.” Phyllis’s words were firm, but even she couldn’t hide the concern in her tone.

It was almost eight o’clock by the time they made it to Port Gowan. The lights were on as they pulled up outside Michael’s house, and he let out a long, weary sigh.

“Cynthia’s going to kill me.”

“I can come in and help you, if you like?” Phyllis offered, but Michael shook his head.

“I disappeared and unwittingly left her with a nightmare to manage on her own. I need to face the music.” He turned to Phyllis. “I’ll telephone you tomorrow, okay?”

Even in the dark of the car, Arthur could see the smile that spread across Phyllis’s face.

They drove back to St. Tredock and dropped Phyllis and Craddock off at her house.

“What’s your address?” Nova asked Arthur, as they watched Phyllis and the dog head inside.

“Oh, just drop me at the community center, I can walk from there.”

“Don’t be silly, I can drive you home. You must be in a hurry to get back to Esi.”

“And you must be in a hurry to get back to Craig. Honestly, after sitting in the car for so long I could do with a walk.”

Nova didn’t say anything, but drove them to the community center, where she pulled into the car park and turned the engine off. For a moment they both sat in silence, and Arthur studied the girl’s drawn face. What would Esi say if she were here right now? She always had the right words, the gentle way of putting someone at ease so they’d confess whatever was on their mind. Arthur had lost count of the number of times he’d come home from work to find some stranger sitting at their kitchen table, sharing their deepest worries with his wife, while she nodded encouragement and filled up their mug with hot, sweet tea.

Arthur turned to Nova. “I don’t suppose you have time for a quick cuppa, do you? I’m gasping for one.”

Nova looked at him in surprise. “Don’t you need to get home?”

“Esi will be all right for another half an hour.” He cleared his throat. “I called her friend earlier, before I set off with Ash and Dan, and asked if she’d stay with Esi. The two of them will be happily gossiping with a fish and chip supper, so they won’t miss me for a bit longer.”

Nova looked at the darkened community center, chewing her lower lip. “I’m pretty sure I’ve been banned from going inside, but given how much trouble I’m in already, I guess a bit of illegal trespassing can’t make things much worse.”

She gave a dry laugh and Arthur chuckled.

“Excellent. Let’s hope they have some bickies too.”

Nova unlocked the door and led them down the dark corridor to the office. Once inside, she put the kettle on while Arthur sat down. They didn’t speak until Nova had placed a mug in front of him and pulled up her own chair next to his.

“Would you like to talk about what’s going on?” Arthur said, as Nova blew on her tea.

“What do you mean?”

“I know it’s none of my business, but I get the sense that things are a bit tricky with you and your lad.”

Nova took a sip of tea, and Arthur waited for her to tell him to mind his own business.

“I wasn’t entirely honest with you earlier,” she said, putting her mug down. “Craig wasn’t understanding about me missing the rehearsal. In fact, he completely freaked out and told me that if I want to get married tomorrow then I need to promise I’ll quit my job.”

“What? But that’s blackmail.”

“I don’t think he meant it as blackmail. He just…oh God, it’s so complicated, Arthur. He’s worried about me, and maybe he’s right. I mean, I did miss my own wedding rehearsal today so I could drive eighty miles and take part in some madcap rescue mission. That’s not the behavior of a normal, rational person, is it?”

“Maybe not, no. But Nova, you’re not a ‘normal’ person, and I mean that in the best possible way. None of the great characters in books are ‘normal’; they’re complicated and flawed and utterly unique. Just like you.”

“My dad used to say something similar,” Nova said with a small, sad smile.

Arthur paused. There was something he wanted to ask her, but he wasn’t sure how she’d react.

“Do you think that maybe you went searching for Michael today because you didn’t want to go to the rehearsal?”

“You mean like self-sabotage?”

“I’m not saying it’s true. It’s just a thought.”

Nova didn’t reply straightaway. “I don’t know. I have been feeling nervous about it all, but that’s normal, isn’t it?”

“Of course it is. I was absolutely terrified the night before my wedding, didn’t sleep a wink. I was convinced Esi was finally going to realize I was just a Cornish oik and she could do much better than me.”

“That’s what I keep trying to tell Craig, that it’s natural to have a few nerves before your wedding. But what if you’re both right and it’s more than that?”

“I don’t know, lass. I guess you need to ask yourself what you really, truly want? And if you’re willing to sacrifice a job you love for the man you love.”

Arthur took a sip of his tea and waited for Nova to speak.

“I do love Craig, and he’s been so supportive over the past year. He held me together through my dad’s sickness and death, and again when I had to leave my old job because of a serious incident. Each time I fell apart, Craig picked me up and put me back together again. I honestly don’t know if I’d even be here without him.”

“I’m so sorry to hear about your pa. How long ago did he die?”

“Ten months.”

Arthur swallowed. “That’s no time at all, Nova. I’d say it’s not a surprise you’re feeling a little wobbly: you must have all sorts of emotions about tomorrow and your dad not being there.”

“And now my mum’s not going to be there either. Her flight’s been canceled and she’s stuck in Colombia.”

“Oh no, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s such a mess.” Nova leaned back in her chair and ran her hands through her hair. “If I really did want to get married, would I be feeling so…” She faltered, clearly searching for the right word. “So ugh about it all right now.”

Arthur couldn’t help smiling. “We all feel ugh sometimes.”

“Yeah, but I bet you didn’t feel ugh the night before your wedding?”

“No, you’re right there. I might have been nervous, but I knew before I even set foot in that church that my wedding was going to be the happiest, most important day of my life.”

“I don’t know what’s wrong with me, Arthur. I know I love Craig, and even though I’ve never been that bothered about the whole marriage thing, I know how important it is to him. So why can’t I feel more excited about this?”

“Maybe you need your Much - Ado - About - Nothing -Bridgerton-Star-Wars moment?”

Nova looked at him as if he were speaking Dutch. “My what?”

“Ash and I were talking about how in all those stories, a character is having doubts and then something happens to make them realize that they do actually want to spend the rest of their life with the other person. In Much Ado About Nothing , Claudio is feeling pretty ugh about his fiancée—in fact, he calls the whole wedding off—until he thinks she’s dead, at which point he realizes his mistake. In The Viscount Who Loved Me , it takes Kate being crushed by a carriage for Anthony to realize he wants to be with her, and in Star Wars…Well, it was all a bit confusing but there was something about an emperor and lightsabers.”

“So, you’re saying I need Craig to nearly die for me to get over my ugh ?”

Arthur chuckled. “Maybe not that extreme. But if I told you now that if you don’t marry Craig tomorrow you might lose him for good, how does that make you feel?”

Nova thought for a moment. “Terrified. Sad. But also…Oh, I don’t know! Seriously, why does this all have to be so complicated? I bet it wasn’t like this with you and Esi.”

“No, it wasn’t complicated. There were things that made it difficult: we faced a lot of prejudice and neither of our families were delighted with the match. But for me, marrying Esi was the simplest decision I ever made.”

Nova smiled, the first time he’d seen her do that all day. “Tell me about you and Esi, Arthur. Tell me your love story.”

He paused to take a sip of his tea, and also because of the emotions that were suddenly swirling inside him. He put his mug down on the desk carefully, aware his hands had started to shake.

“I’ve read hundreds of romance books, and in each one there’s almost always some grand gesture of love: someone saves someone else’s life, or they risk their own reputation or make a big public declaration to prove their love. But for me and Esi, it was never about the grand gestures. Instead, it was the hundreds of little ones, every single day. The bowl of porridge she used to make for me every morning before work, even though it meant her getting out of bed at four a.m. when she could have stayed asleep. The love notes I used to leave hidden round the house for her to find during the day, or the fact we’ve never once spent the night apart since our wedding day. I know they’re not worthy of a romance novel, but for me, those tiny gestures are what love is really about.”

“Oh Arthur, that’s more romantic than anything I’ve ever read in a book,” Nova said.

“I don’t know about that. But I do know that every good thing in me was put there by Esi. Without her…” He faltered for a moment, suddenly lost for words. “Without her, I’m nothing.”

“You two are very lucky to have found each other, and to still have each other after all this time.”

“We—”

Arthur started to speak but then stopped. He suddenly felt exhausted, his whole body heavy, as if he were carrying a great weight on his back. Although in truth, he’d felt like this for months now, even if he tried to ignore it. He looked across at Nova, who was watching him with her open, trusting face. What would Esi say if she were here now? The same thing she always said, of course. The truth.

“Nova, I’ve not been entirely honest with you.”

“About what?”

Arthur felt as if he were standing on the edge of a precipice, looking down into a vast, bottomless hole.

“Arthur?” Nova was still watching him, concern on her face. “Are you okay?”

“No,” he said, and it was the first time he’d admitted this out loud. “Esi died four months ago, and I’m not okay at all.”