Page 3 of The Little Cottage by the Cornish Sea

‘I’m sorry there’s not much furniture left in the cottage, Miss, er, pardon me, I’ve forgotten your name…?’

I looked at the elderly woman in her gingham dress and then around at the four damp-stained walls, the stiff-with-dirt curtains and the sagging, green settee.

A perhaps once-loved but now forgotten, chipped, gate-leg table crouched against the far end of the wall where a dusty hearth dominated the room that hadn’t been cleaned, much less used, for what seemed to be a lifetime.

It was the best place I could find. At such short notice, I was lucky to find anything at all.

With nary a flower in sight, Tulip Cottage was far from any image its name may have conjured.

It was abandoned and derelict, very much like myself, but I almost cried out for joy.

I had made it to Starry Cove. I was safe.

Despite its condition, the cottage was perfect because it backed onto the woods, an essential escape route should Will, or the police, ever find me.

‘My name is Sophie,’ I replied, realising she was waiting for an answer. ‘Sophie Graham.’ It still sounded so alien, and yet, for a while, it would have to do. If I could take her stuff, I could take her name too.

‘Sophie Graham,’ she said, as if trying the name out for herself to see if it convinced her. If it did, I was home free. Because my future now depended on her gullibility. I hated lying, but trying to gather the courage to leave it all behind me, I’d finally run out of options.

‘I’m so sorry to interfere or be nosey, but are you okay, dear?’ she whispered, nodding to the scratches on my face left by the magnolia tree. ‘Do you need… help?’

I opened my mouth to speak, to make up yet another excuse, but I’d used them all up. I shrugged, almost apologetically, but then straightened. ‘I fell into some bushes,’ I offered. It wasn’t far from the truth.

The woman studied me at length, shrewdly, until the silence became almost unbearable.

I had eluded the police and was terrified it wouldn’t last long.

No. Chin up . I’d got this far, hadn’t I?

Now was the beginning of something good.

It had to be, because, from where I was standing, the only way left was up.

I couldn’t envisage sinking any lower than this.

I couldn’t imagine a better time to do what I’d just done.

‘I understand, love. My, that’s a beautiful ring on your finger.’

My thumb automatically went to the back of Will’s promise ring. A ring I’d have to get rid of ASAP. ‘Thank you.’

‘Will your husband be joining you here in Starry Cove, then?’

A shiver shot up my aching spine. ‘No, no husband. It’s just me.’ All I needed was to be left alone .

‘I didn’t think that anyone would answer my advertisement,’ she said apologetically as she looked around the room.

‘My grandson wants me to sell up but I can’t bring myself to do it.

I thought that maybe if I had a tenant who could fix up Tulip Cottage, become a kind of caretaker, he would change his mind. ’

I wondered what made her grandson feel so entitled to making decisions like that for her. It seemed that wherever I went, there was no running away from men making decisions for women.

‘Tell you what,’ she finally said. ‘If you don’t mind waiting a couple weeks, I can get the basics straightened out. New carpeting, a lick of paint—’

A couple of weeks? And go where in the meantime? I couldn’t risk going to a hotel. Only a private home would suit me. I cleared my throat. ‘No need, I’ll take it as it is.’

She nodded. ‘I understand, pet.’ The kindness had spread to her eyes as she leaned forward, perhaps to pat my hand.

But I was quicker, moving out of the reach of her sympathy.

I didn’t need it. I couldn’t afford to depend on it.

From now on, I was completely on my own and needed to toughen up.

Maybe one day, I’d make some friends. But for now, I could only count on myself.

‘I have the first and last months’ rent here,’ I said as I pulled some pound notes out of my pocket in the hope I’d convince her if she was still on the fence.

She looked at my outstretched hand and chuckled. ‘Oh, my grandson deals with that stuff. I’ll have him come round with the contract tomorrow morning and you can talk to him; how does that sound?’

‘Tomorrow morning sounds good,’ I replied, disappointed that I couldn’t tick my first hurdle off the list completely and get the tricky legalities over with, but at the same time relieved to be able to just close the door on the world and finally sleep, knowing I was safe.

‘Right then, I’d best be off,’ she said and gripped the edge of the table to haul her tiny frame up. ‘Goodnight, then.’

‘Thank you, goodnight,’ I replied as she took forever to get to the door, poor dear. My desperation to be alone now was like waiting for a starting gun to go off.

And then she turned and planted her eyes on me once more. ‘Just one thing, Miss Graham. This is a tiny village in the middle of nowhere where nothing ever happens. Newcomers are always the centre of interest.’

Ah. Here it was: the runaway/dubious/shifty/loose woman/single girl advice.

‘Mrs Nankivell, I can assure you that I am going to stay out of the village spotlight. I conduct a very simple lifestyle and intend to keep very much to myself.’ Which reminded me. I’d have to cut my hair and change the way I looked somehow.

‘I didn’t mean it that way, pet,’ she replied swiftly. ‘All I meant was that if you’re hiding, he’ll be unlikely to find you here in Starry Cove. We look out for each other. ’

A cold shiver swept up my legs and nestled into the pit of my stomach. If an elderly lady could see through me, surely everyone else in the village would, too. If Will and the police turned up, they could single me out in no time.

The better part of a day had passed since I’d fled. He would have certainly called my mobile. Good luck with that.

‘Okay, then,’ she said as I was looking for an appropriate answer, her papery hand clutching the chain of her glasses. ‘I’ll be off. You have my number if you need anything.’

‘Thank you, Mrs Nankivell. I’ll be okay.’

‘Now you take care of yourself. And welcome to Starry Cove.’

‘Thank you,’ I said as I followed her to the door and waited until she passed the cottage across the way.

For good measure, I checked the row of terraced houses as she gingerly tottered down the hill.

The one next door to mine seemed empty, and so did a couple of other ones.

Excellent. Fewer neighbours, fewer questions.

And now there was no turning back. To my boss and the police, I was a criminal. But I had done nothing wrong. Yes, I had stolen Sophie Graham’s ID and clothes. But only because I hadn’t had the time to run home and get my own before disappearing.

Suddenly, all the adrenaline drained from my body and the weight of the day came crashing down on me. But at least now I had a roof over my head. I let out my breath slowly, trying not to fall apart. This was a fresh start. A new life. There was just one thing I had to do.