Page 74 of The Wedding Proposal

‘Elle Jamieson?’ Fiona’s voice had acquired several degrees of frost. Her lawyer’s voice, Elle used to call it.

‘Yes.’ Elle closed her eyes at the revulsion in the voice of the woman who once could have been her mother-in-law. Obviously, neither Simon, Lucas nor Charlie had told Fiona that Elle was on the boat. She heard Geoffrey’s raised voice in the background asking a question that sounded like: ‘What about Elle Jamieson?’

Elle rushed on. ‘I’m living in Malta for the summer. Look, M-Mrs Rose, I’m afraid there’s been an accident.’

Fiona snapped to attention. ‘Lucas?’

‘No, it’s Charlie. He fell off the top of the boat and into the sea. Lucas got him straight to the surface but he’d hit his head on the boat moored alongside. The Fallen Star,’ she added, inconsequentially. With pauses for Fiona to relay information to Geoffrey, Elle recounted the facts, conscious of Loz and Davie exchanging uneasy glances as if not sure whether to stay. ‘I really hope he’s not too badly hurt,’ Elle ended, miserably, as if the whole situation were her fault. ‘I don’t have more information. The ambulance only left about fifteen minutes ago.’

‘What’s the name of the hospital?’ Fiona’s voice shook slightly.

‘Um, I’ll try and find out.’ Elle turned questioningly to Loz and Davie. ‘Do you know which hospital it’ll be?’

‘Mater Dei, in Msida,’ said Loz. ‘That’s where A & E is. Would you like me to give the details?’

‘Please — it’s Lucas’s mother. Fiona Rose.’ Glad to get rid of the damned phone, and Fiona, Elle sank down onto the seat, sitting on her hands to stop them shaking, not sure whether she was shivering in reaction to Charlie’s accident or the slight dampness in her clothes. Or to the dislike in Fiona’s voice.

Loz talked for a couple of minutes, reassuring Fiona that Mater Dei was a nice up-to-date facility and that Charlie would be well looked after. Elle had just calmed her breathing when Loz held the phone back out to her. ‘Mrs Rose wants to talk to you again.’

Elle wanted to shriek, ‘No!’ But, with a deep breath, she took the handset and said, ‘This is Elle.’

Fiona had rediscovered her lawyer’s voice, icy and authoritative. ‘Would you mind enlightening me as to how you came to be on Simon’s boat this evening?’

Elle’s breathing picked up again. She could say, ‘Yes, I do mind, actually,’ and end the call. Or end the call without saying a thing. There was no law that held her answerable to Mrs Fiona Rose.

But then she thought that if by any chance, by any miracle, there was a prospect of Elle and Lucas having some kind of future together, rubbing Fiona up the wrong way was probably not politic. Lucas came with family attached.

She might as well own up to the awful crime of coming back into Lucas’s orbit. She moistened her lips. ‘I’m working and volunteering in Malta for the summer. Simon and I have remained friends and he said I could live on the Shady Lady.’

‘But Simon said that Lucas could live on the Shady Lady.’

‘Yes,’ Elle acknowledged. ‘I didn’t know Lucas would be here when I arrived. And he didn’t know I would be coming.’

Fiona drew in an audible breath. ‘Bloody Simon! And you stayed? Even though — Even after everything that happened?’

Elle felt like a defendant having her past record divulged in court. ‘Yes. I couldn’t do much else, financially.’

‘I see.’ Fiona’s voice was stiff with disapproval. ‘Right. Well, I need hardly tell you that Geoffrey and I will be travelling to Malta as soon as it can be arranged.’

‘Right,’ said Elle, numbly, fighting down the urge to exclaim, ‘Oh shit!’ But of course Fiona and Geoffrey would rush out to the island to be with Charlie. They were loving parents. Their sons meant everything to them. Lucky sons.

She returned her focus to the moment. ‘Kayleigh’s with Lucas at the hospital. I’ll text her to tell him about this call. Or do you want Kayleigh’s number so that you can text her yourself?’

‘I have Kayleigh’s number.’

‘Of course.’ Because Kayleigh was Charlie’s girlfriend. Dur. Kayleigh had never discussed Charlie and Lucas’s parents with Elle. Maybe Kayleigh had been briefed that relations between Elle and the senior Roses had not been cordial. ‘I-I’ll leave you to make your arrangements, then.’ She hesitated. With anyone else, Elle would have extended a friendly helping hand, so she really ought to do the same for Fiona. ‘Would you like my number in case I can do anything?’ she began. ‘I might be able to—’

‘I’m sure we’ll manage.’

The old anger fired suddenly in Elle’s breast. ‘Goodnight, then.’ She ended the call without giving Fiona any further opportunity for verbal icicles. For several long seconds she stared at the phone, half-scared Fiona might ring back to get the last word.

Instead, up on the flybridge, a new ring tone began to shrill into the night air. Elle looked up and winced. ‘That’s Kayleigh’s phone. She must have left it up on the flybridge. I’d better—’

Davie jumped up. ‘I’ll get it.’ In a minute he returned and Elle was able to read 1 missed call Fiona on it.

She groaned. ‘Great. I assumed Kayleigh’s phone would be in her bag. Now I’ve fed Lucas’s mother duff information, too.’

Loz cleared her throat. ‘Not best friends with Lucas’s folks?’

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