‘Didn’t you say you had one of those Ring doorbell things at the house in Berkshire?’ Faye asked.
‘We do, but it was only set up on Perry’s phone, not mine.’
She didn’t need to say that it would be to keep tabs on her. Faye worked that out for herself. ‘Shame. That would’ve come in handy to know whether he’d gone back home or not.’
‘I know for certain that I didn’t note the address of my accommodation on my phone. The only way he knew I was in the town is because I’d made some notes about Driftwick Bay.’ She explained all about the cloud, and not realising she had saved the information there rather than to her device.
‘Are you absolutely sure you didn’t put the accommodation address in your notes?’ Bonnie said, worried.
‘Yes, I checked when I was in the bathroom earlier,’ she admitted a little sheepishly.
Bonnie let out a sigh of relief. ‘Thank goodness for that. I was thinking I’d cooked a dodgy lamb; you were in there for quite a while.’
Margot laughed and hugged Bonnie, thanking her for her company and a delicious meal.
Faye hugged Bonnie too but had an idea for Margot. ‘Why don’t you come back to the caravan park with me?’
‘I couldn’t impose on you like that.’
‘Of course you could. Plus it means I don’t have to walk by myself. There’s an extra bedroom. You’ll feel a lot better if you’re not alone tonight.’
Bonnie added, ‘And I’d feel much better if you went with Faye, Margot.’
* * *
Faye had heard Margot get up during the night – the static caravan didn’t have the thickest of walls either internally or externally – and she’d been sound asleep when Faye headed off for her cleaning job. By the time she got back there was a little note on the table from Margot to say that she had gone to see her solicitor again but she would meet her at Bonnie’s cottage later.
Faye had some lunch and then got on her bike to cycle to Driftwick Bay. She wasn’t sure, if she stayed much longer, whether she would keep using the bike. She could barely feel her fingers they were so numb with cold by the time she stopped at the cycle rack on the hill.
When something soft brushed against her arm as she bent over to do up the lock around the bicycle frame and steel post she turned to see Midas looking at her innocently, his tail wagging.
‘Hey, you.’ She knew full well she’d look up and see Theo too.
‘Hey, to you too,’ said Theo before she could say a word. ‘You’re putting the rest of us to shame with all your cycling up and down this hill, you know. Mum was talking about it yesterday, telling people in the bookshop. Cathy was talking about you in the bakery.’
‘Now that’s the sort of local gossip I actually don’t mind.’ And for the first time since her sister had done what Faye considered the unthinkable she didn’t feel got at, she felt almost unreachable, like she’d taken a step back and the same things wouldn’t get to her the way they once had. It was crazy to think that of course, but perhaps it was the magic of Dorset.
‘How are things in that regard?’ He had Midas sit at the kerb before they crossed over the road. ‘The gossip I mean.’
They carried on their way. ‘I love my sister but I’m beginning to accept that she will never change. I don’t even know the full story about her getting back together with Mark, and I don’t think I want to.’
‘Maybe it’s time to make yourself a priority,’ he suggested.
She almost asked whether it was selfish to think that way, but she’d had a long talk with her dad about it and after all these years she was beginning to see that thinking of herself was only fair. In the same way Margot deserved a life away from Perry, Faye knew she needed the separation from her sister.
‘I will start putting myself first,’ she assured him, ‘but it’s still hard to do.’ She stopped before they reached the bookshop, not ready to go inside yet.
‘I get it. Sibling relationships are powerful. It’s hard to admit when they aren’t working. It’s not like a friend – you’d walk away a lot easier if a friend behaved that way, wouldn’t you?’
‘I suppose, when you put it that way, yes. I think we put up with more when it’s family.’
‘So, what will happen when you’re back in Australia?’ He looked good today, a dark navy waterproof jacket bulky around his frame to ward off the autumnal chill, his strong hands exposed to the elements as he held Midas’s lead with one and fussed the dog’s head with the other.
‘I’m not sure. And I don’t really know when I’ll go back either.’
‘But you live there.’ Did she detect hope in his voice? ‘What about work?’
‘Hairdressing is kind of mobile.’ She definitely detected a smile now – just a small one that wouldn’t quite give him away unless you were looking carefully. ‘I can make it work here too.’
