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33
Lettie had reached the castle when she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Corey running towards her.
‘Did you know?’ he demanded, puffing slightly. ‘Did you know that Cornelius had left the land to your great-aunt?’
‘Of course not. How would I know? Honestly, right now, I wish I’d never found the letter or the deed. I should have just put them back in their hiding place and kept quiet.’
But Corey, pacing up and down, hardly seemed to be listening. ‘Maybe Cornelius told Iris that he planned to leave her the land before he went to war, but she didn’t have proof when his desk wasn’t passed on to her. But she told you all about it.’
‘Really?’ asked Lettie, hands on her hips. ‘Do you really think I would come to Heaven’s Cove to track down the deed and claim the land for myself?’
‘Perhaps.’
Lettie laughed at the absurdity of it. ‘Is that what you truly think of me? That I would tell a web of lies and deceive you to try and claim that land?’
‘You said you wanted to change your life, to follow your dreams, and that takes money. And people lie and people cheat.’
‘Some people lie and cheat but I certainly don’t.’
Colour drained from Corey’s face as he stopped pacing. ‘Have you been working on this with Simon all along?’
‘Oh, now it’s a conspiracy, is it? This is ridiculous.’ Lettie took a deep breath. ‘Look, I shouldn’t have been snooping around the desk. I’ve always been too curious for my own good. But I was only interested because Cornelius had wanted it to go to Iris. Before last night, I honestly didn’t know anything about the hidden box or what was in it. Like I told you, I remembered an old writing bureau I saw in a museum once.’
Corey shook his head. ‘You make it all sound so plausible, but then so did Grace, with all her lies and stories that made me think I was going crazy.’
‘What’s Grace got to do with it? And what… what did Grace do to you?’
Corey ignored her question. ‘The worst thing about you is I started to think that we…’ He stopped speaking and screwed up his face, his eyes tightly shut. Then he opened them and breathed out slowly. ‘Congratulations. Cora Head is yours, it seems – my grandmother has never been one for changing her mind once it’s made. I hope it will make you very happy.’
Then he turned on his heel and marched off, leaving Lettie blinking back tears. How could he think she had deliberately plotted all of this? Corey’s bad opinion of her stung far more deeply than she would ever have imagined it could. Putting her head down, she trudged through the village and up the cliff, to Driftwood House.
Rosie was outside,painting a window frame and put down the brush as Lettie approached.
‘Are you OK?’ she called. ‘We heard last night at the hotel what had happened. You’re quite the local celebrity.’
‘I’m all right,’ said Lettie, trying not to cry. ‘Thank you for dropping off the clothes. And I’m so sorry that I spoiled your evening out.’
‘You didn’t. I heard you were being looked after by the Allfords so I stayed overnight and just came back a bit earlier today. Liam needed to get back early anyway for the farm. I can’t believe you saved Buster. Claude would be lost without him.’ Rosie narrowed her eyes. ‘Are you sure you’re OK?’
‘Yes, absolutely. I just need a lie-down.’
Lettie walked through the open front door and had reached the stairs when Rosie called to her again. She’d followed her into the hall and was wiping her brush on her painty apron.
‘You’re obviously not all right. My mum always swore by chamomile tea and I’ve got some in the cupboard. I’ll put the kettle on. Come with me.’
She took hold of Lettie’s arm, led her into the kitchen and sat her down at the large oak table. Then, she put the kettle on and found teabags in the back of a cupboard. She said nothing until the tea was made and she’d placed two steaming mugs on the table. Sitting opposite Lettie, she cradled one of the mugs in her hands.
‘Are you feeling ill after what happened yesterday?’ she asked gently.
‘No, I feel all right about that. Corey and the lifeboat came out and rescued me and Buster.’
‘So I heard. What you did was really brave.’
Lettie brushed her words aside. ‘It’s what happened after that…’
‘You stayed at Florence’s with her and Corey.’
‘Mmm.’ Lettie nodded, too choked to speak.
