Page 124 of The Chalet Girl

Emme put her hand to her cheek again.

‘Then what’s the truth? What happened on Halloween that made Jenny leave town? I really need to know about Tristan because–’

‘Oh god,’ Cassie groaned, shaking her head. ‘You’re not into TDK.’

Emme’s eyes glassed over with tears as she nodded.

‘Like nothing I’ve ever known,’ she said, almost in a whisper. Embarrassed that she had arrived in Kristalldorf in unrequited love with her best friend, and now was hopelessly obsessed with the biggest player in town. A player who had made her feel exquisite for a few stolen moments.

Cassie let out a big sigh.

‘Well I can a hundred per cent say Tristan did not get Jenny pregnant.’

‘Was it Bill then?’

‘No! Jenny isn’t pregnant– not that I know of anyway…’

The waitress arrived with Cassie’s drink and they stopped talking for a second, nodded and smiled their thank yous.

‘Jenny has a boyfriend back home. Jon. She loves him.’

Cassie looked at Emme with caution.

‘Look– I couldn’t tell you about Lexy, it would have compromised you, but you obviously found out. How?!’

Emme didn’t answer. She was just desperate to understand.

‘What happened on Halloween?’

Emme thought back to her Halloween. The church. Chrissy’s beautiful dress. The murder ballads.

‘Jenny and I took Arjun, Harry and Bella out trick or treating– it’s big here, of course,’ she rolled her eyes. ‘Spoilt brats… But Jenny forgot to bring buckets, and Arjun was being a turd about pooling sweets and sharing them, and there was just sooo much stuff…’

Emme was hanging on Cassie’s every word.

‘So while we were doing the rounds, Jenny popped back home to get Harry and Bella’s Halloween buckets. I’d said I’d watch the kids.’

‘And that’s when she walked in on them…’

‘Yes.’

‘And had a row with Lexy over Tristan.’

‘Yes– but no! Not like that.’

Cassie took another swig of her G&T.

‘There was no Jenny and Tristan, whatever Lexy told you was a deflection, to take the focus off what she and Tristan were up to.’

Family friends.

‘What, so Jenny and Tristan weren’t shagging?’

‘One hundred per cent not,’ confirmed Cassie.

‘So Lexy lied to me?’

‘Of course she did! She’s a nutjob.’