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Alice put her book down. She was bored. She cast her gaze down the bed and was surprised to find Hester and Marley curled up together at the end of the bed, both asleep. ‘Well, I never!’ Alice said under her breath. It was a Kodak moment, if ever she’d seen one. She frowned when she remembered that she didn’t have her mobile phone to take a photo and send it to Freya.
Alice inched her way off the bed so as not to disturb them. She never let them sleep in her bedroom at home, not because she didn’t want to but because Jeffrey had allergies and he didn’t want them in the bedroom. She stood for a moment, staring at them, Hester with her muzzle resting on her two front paws, and Marley curled in a furry ball, snuggled next to her. She hadn’t pulled her curtains closed yet. The full moon bathed her room in a monochrome light.
Alice walked over to the desk and picked up her wristwatch; it was later than she’d thought. She hadn’t undressed and changed into her nightwear, but had sat there on her bed reading, expecting to be disturbed by the two girls next door having their slumber party. Earlier in the evening, she’d heard them talking, although their voices were deadened by the thick party walls, so she couldn’t make out what they were saying. But she could imagine. They were probably chatting about relationships.
Alice slipped on a cosy jumper and stared out of the window, the full moon casting an ethereal, otherworldly light over the deserted beach and the gently lapping water on the shore. She was thinking about that night twenty-five years earlier when her world had changed forever. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what her life would have looked like if she hadn’t …
Her thoughts suddenly turned to Jeffrey and that letter she’d found from someone called Wendy, the headed paper from here in this guest house. She didn’t know anybody called Wendy. She remembered those courses her husband had gone on over the years. He’d said they were in London, and she’d believed him. But had they been in London? Had he even been on any courses? Or – she cast her gaze around the room – had he been here, at the guest house, with someone called Wendy?
Alice frowned. If she said it out loud, it would sound ludicrous. She knew her husband – he wouldn’t have an affair, would he? Although she’d sent the letter, asking him to come to the guest house, intending to confront him over the possibility he’d had an affair, Alice had a thought. There was another way to find out.
The ledgers.
Alice turned from the window. If Jeffrey and Wendy had stayed there at the same time, their names would be in one of those books – she was sure of it. Unless they had stayed under false names and paid in cash.
Alice frowned, but she still thought it was worth a try. She tiptoed across the room and glanced at her two sweet pets, still fast asleep, before she opened the door.
‘Alice?’
Alice jumped at the sound of a voice right behind her. She whirled around to find Joss standing there. She said, ‘I was about to knock on Clarissa’s door.’
Alice had been standing there for some time, debating whether to knock or not. She had been adamant that she wasn’t going to go to Clarissa and Emily’s little party after she’s discovered that Clarissa was a journalist, but she’d been sitting in her room, reading a book and hearing them talking next door, when on the spur of the moment she’d had a change of heart. She’d bottled out of the idea of looking at the ledgers, afraid of what she might discover about Jeffrey and the woman called Wendy.
‘Emily invited me to join them for drinks,’ Alice said, knocking on the door. She looked at Joss. ‘What areyoudoing here?’
Joss held up a napkin. ‘Emily invited me to a little party.’
‘Oh, really?’ Alice suppressed a smile.
They both stood awkwardly in front of the door, waiting. Nobody was answering. ‘I don’t hear any music, or the girls chatting,’ commented Joss. He turned to Alice. ‘Do you?’
Alice shook his head. ‘I thought I heard them from my room a little while ago. Do you think they went out, like to a bar or something, and forgot to tell us?’
‘Or they decided they didn’t want to spend the evening with us after all.’ Joss sighed. He wouldn’t be surprised if Emily’s friend had convinced her he was too old for her, and they’d gone clubbing instead. He knew there were clubs up the road in the large seaside resort of Lowestoft. Joss turned on his heel to leave.
‘You’re leaving?’ Alice said in surprise.
‘Well, they’re not here, are they?’
‘Either that or they’ve fallen asleep.’
They both stared at each other a moment, and said in unison, ‘No, they went out.’
‘I left it too late,’ said Alice, disappointed. ‘I was in two minds whether to come.’
Joss heaved a sigh. ‘Me too.’ Joss was thinking of the previous evening and of Emily dressed up, expecting an evening out, thinking he was taking her on a date.
He groaned inwardly. Alice had suggested taking Emily for a meal afterwards. Why hadn’t he listened to her? He knew why; he wasn’t sure she was interested in him in that way. She was in her twenties, andhe was in his mid-thirties. He wasn’t afraid to ask her out and wasn’t afraid of rejection. But he was afraid of what she’d think of him when she found out about his past. So, what was he doing, accepting her invitation? Joss scrunched up the napkin in his hand as he turned from the door. Perhaps this was for the best.
‘Where are you going?’
Joss turned around, staring at Alice. ‘I’m going back to my room.’
‘Wait – I think I can hear something.’ Alice put her ear to the door. ‘Do you hear that?’
Joss stepped forward and did the same. He stared at Alice. He could just hear the faint sound of someone snoring.
‘Unbelievable!’ said Joss, although he was smiling. Alice smiled too, although her smile quickly dissipated. She was thinking that perhaps it was just as well. They were young, and she couldn’t imagine they would have wanted her there, although it had been very nice of Emily to ask. But it wasn’t just that. Alice was still having second thoughts over Clarissa and what she might wheedle out of her after a few drinks. She was disappointed for Joss, though.
