Page 13 of The Summer Escape

Beth pulled up the calendar on her phone as she took a seat at the kitchen table with Mirren.

“Will I still be five the next time we come?” Ellie asked.

“No,” Beth replied. “You’ll be a big six-year-old.”

Ellie screwed up her face in displeasure. “That’s a very long time.”

“You really don’t want to go home tomorrow, do you?” Trystan muttered.

“No. I want to stay here.”

Beth ran a hand over Ellie’s hair. “I’m afraid that’s the problem with holidays. They always have to come to an end. But we’ll be back next year. That’s something to look forward to.”

Mirren shifted her gaze from the laptop screen to Trystan, giving him a look Beth couldn’t decipher.

Trystan let out a breath that was part chuckle. “Isn’t there a guest room in the house they could stay in?”

Smiling widely, Mirren looked at Beth. “There’s a double room upstairs. It’s basic but there’s an en suite. You’d be welcome to use the kitchen and living room. You could make yourselves at home. It’s not as nice as the cottage, and you obviously don’t have the same privacy, but if you really do want to stay for longer it’s an option.”

“Oh, wow.” Beth blinked rapidly as she tried to digest the offer. “Do you usually rent out rooms in your house?”

“I haven’t for a while. And it’s not something I advertise. Like I say, it’s basic, but it’s also cheap.”

“You should take her up on it,” Trystan said. “That way I won’t have to feel bad for being the reason you can’t stay longer.”

“I’m not sure,” Beth said, feeling flustered.

“Have you got work to get back to?” Mirren asked.

“No. I took the school holidays off.”

Ellie moved to stand beside Mirren. “Granny was going to look after me in the summer holidays, but she died so she can’t now.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Mirren said gently. “That’s really sad.”

“Yes, it is,” Ellie said, matter-of-factly. “It made Mummyverysad. I miss Granny too. She was very kind and she played with me a lot.”

Given the lump in her throat, Beth didn’t trust herself to speak. When Mirren gave her hand a squeeze, she was sure she was going to burst into tears.

“Are we going to stay at Mirren’s house?” Ellie asked, tilting her head.

“I’m not sure.” Beth’s voice was weak.

“Why don’t you think about it today,” Mirren suggested. “Let me know what you decide.”

“Yes.” Beth’s thoughts were all over the place, and she needed time to mull it over. “I’ll have a think about it while we’re at the beach.” Standing, she took Ellie’s hand, then snapped her gaze back to Mirren. “I need to sort out the bill, too.”

“We can do that later. You get out and enjoy the sunshine.”

“Thank you,” Beth said, needing to get away for fear she was about to start crying.

“Have fun at the beach,” Trystan called as Beth encouraged Ellie out of the door.

Mirren waited until the door had closed behind the two of them before turning and giving Trystan a knowing look.

“What?” he asked, a grin creeping over his face as he tried to look innocent.

“I thought having guests staying in the house would be annoying. Especially noisy kids!”