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Alice walked out of her room and glanced at the cream envelope in her hand. Inside was a letter addressed to her husband, written on the hotel notepaper. She smiled. It hadn’t been fun trying to get the pen from under the bed. She had a cat scratch to prove it. Once she had retrieved it, she had written Jeffrey a letter, telling him where she was and the reason she had gone there; to find out about Wendy, the lady he had been seeing years ago.
Alice wanted to know if they’d been having an affair. She didn’t want to go home and discuss it in front of Freya, and she didn’t wish to talk about it over the phone. Alice wanted Jeffrey to meet her at the guest house, where she suspected it had started all those years ago on their last visit there together. She wanted him to tell her everything.
She ended the letter with an ultimatum; if he wanted any hope of saving their marriage, then he had to travel to meet her face to face. Otherwise she would have to assume that he no longer wanted to be with her, and that their marriage was over.
Alice stared at the letter in her hands. Even if he did as she asked and met her, their marriage might still be over. But at least she would give him the benefit of the doubt in the meantime. Perhaps things were not as she imagined – that he’d had an affair. Perhaps it was all innocent. Perhaps he and Wendy had crossed paths and for some reason, she had written to him.
And even if it hadn’t been all innocent, as she hoped, then at least if he came to explain himself, there might be a chance she could forgive him. She knew why she might – because she had kept a secret from him all these years too; something she’d sworn she would never tell him. But perhaps now, finding out about Wendy might give her the opportunity to tell him – not out of spite, or tit-for-tat, but simply to get off her chest what she’d had to keep to herself all these years. A secret she wished she didn’t have.
But what if he doesn’t come?Alice didn’t want to think about that. Jeffrey would come. She knew him – didn’t she? Looking at the letter in her hands, she wasn’t so sure. Not anymore. A part of her wished she’d never gone up in the loft, where she rarely ventured, and come across that old letter.
Alice slipped the room key into her pocket and made her way downstairs. She walked through the lounge, which was available for guests, with its cosy inglenook fireplace and wood-burning stove, floor-lamps, bookshelves full of novels adorning one wall, and sofas and armchairs in white cotton.
Alice stepped into thewooden conservatory off the lounge, where breakfast and dinner were served. The large structure was built onto the side of the property and had views over the gardens. They were mainly laid to lawn and had borders filled with plants that Alice guessed had been planted and grown over many years. The evergreen shrubs were so tall and dense in places that their foliage obscured some of the fencing surrounding the property boundary. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the garden would look like in a blaze of colour in summer when the rest of the trees weren’t bare, and the potted plants and borders were in bloom. Alice took a seat at a table for two on the left by the window. Beyond the garden was a view of the cove and the sea.
The sea view was gorgeous in the morning, the sunrise beautiful on a clear day, even in winter. It was what she imagined some guests came here for.
Alice picked up the breakfast menu. She was just casting her eye over it when Joss walked in. She was about to say good morning when Emily stepped into the room with a small notepad and pen to hand and spotted Joss too.
He turned around and said, ‘Good morning, Emily.’
Emily just about managed a reply. ‘Yeah, morning,’ before she walked over to Alice’s table. ‘What would you like for breakfast?’
Alice’s gaze followed Joss as he took a seat at the table at the far end of the room. Alice was going to ask if he would like to join her. But the look on his face after Emily’s perfunctory good morning had put him in a sullen mood. Alice could tell he wouldn’t be interested in small talk. Neither was she.
Alice looked up at Emily and felt like saying something, but it wasn’t the time or the place.
‘Emily, can I ask you a quick question?’
‘Of course, Alice. How can I help?’
Alice held up the letter. ‘I have a letter to post. Can you tell me where the nearest post office is?’ Alice guessed it was probably in Southwold.
Emily looked at the letter. ‘We can post that for you?’
‘You can?’
‘Of course. Shall I take it?’
Alice hesitated.
Emily smiled. ‘Honestly, it’s no trouble. We pop into town most days for shopping or to run errands.’
Alice returned her smile. She didn’t really want to get a taxi, which seemed such a waste for a stamp, and she expected that another lift with Joss was out of the question – he probably wouldn’t be in the mood to do anyone a favour, now he’d found out he was still in Emily’s bad books. She decided this was by far the better option. Besides, she wanted it to go out on Monday morning, first class. Which seemed a bit of an imposition to ask, but …
‘Any chance it could be popped in the post today?’ she asked.
‘Not a problem. I’m nipping into town this afternoon. I’ll do it personally.’
‘That’s so kind of you, Emily. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome,’ she said.
Alice watched Emily slip her letter into the front pocket of the little apron she was wearing. She caught Joss staring at Emily with a glum expression.
‘So, what would you like for breakfast?’ Emily asked.
Alice perused the menu. ‘I’ll have the porridge, then perhaps some scrambled egg and a couple of rashers of bacon. Oh, and some brown toast, please.’
