Page 84 of The Wedding Proposal

Under his steady regard, Fiona flushed. ‘That wasn’t very tactful, was it? I suppose you’re wondering why we never showed any support for Elle?’

‘No,’ he said, heavily, ‘I know why you didn’t. She’s made mistakes. Mistakes don’t sit well with you.’ Then his conscience made him add, ‘Or with me. She couldn’t trust me to trust in her.’

He began to walk by, intending to swipe a couple of beers out of the galley and shut himself in the guest cabin to wrestle with the giant sensation of “what just happened?” But he turned back. ‘Just for the record, Charlie made a pretty big mistake last night. His injuries are down only to his own reckless stupidity. But everybody always forgives Charlie just because he’s Charlie. Charlie was an idiot, Kayleigh went to pieces but Elle raced around, getting help, helping me get Charlie out of a sticky situation alive and without lasting damage. And the reason that Elle’s going to England tonight is that her mother needs help. Joanna’s been sanctimonious and unsupportive but still Elle supports her financially and practically.’

Geoffrey cleared his throat.

Fiona said, ‘I see.’

‘Did either of you thank Elle for helping save Charlie’s stupid fucking neck?’

His parents exchanged glances. ‘No,’ acknowledged Geoffrey, stiffly.

Lucas sat down, dropping his head into his hands. ‘I’m not sure whether I did, either.’ He rubbed at a headache that he hadn’t realised he’d been nursing, thinking dully what a fantastic idea it would have been to cast off Simon’s boat a few days ago and carry Elle away in it, somewhere Charlie’s stupid antics couldn’t bring his parents down on them, bearing their righteous judgement of Elle’s past like a flaming cross. Somewhere there would be no phone calls to remind Elle of her responsibilities and burdens.

Somewhere mistakes could be forgotten.

He wished Elle had let him help.

The thought jolted him out of his pity party and got him back to his feet. ‘Right, let’s go and have dinner with Kayleigh.’

Instantly, his parents looked relieved, probably misreading his sudden positivity as a good thing.

He checked his phone. Elle still hadn’t sent him a kiss back.

He prepared to leave the boat, flicking off the isolation switches and locking the sliding doors behind his parents. Darkness was falling and the cicadas whirred and zuzzed in the gardens as the family filed over the plank to the shore and turned right, ready to walk along the promenade towards the Sea Creek Hotel.

Then he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a small shadow hovering. ‘Carmelo?’

Carmelo emerged. Apart from his shy smile, he didn’t look at his best. His T-shirt was grubby and his hair unbrushed. He scampered up to Lucas with his palm upraised for their customary high five. ‘Elle is here? I want to tell her about following Formula 1 drivers on Twitter.’

If Lucas hadn’t been so tired and preoccupied he would have guarded his tongue. Instead, aware of his parents’ gazes on Carmelo, he said, ‘She’s on her way back to England.’

In slow motion, Carmelo’s face began to crumple. ‘No! She didn’t say that to me!’ Two huge tears welled from his big brown eyes.

Hastily, Lucas hunkered down beside him. ‘Sorry, I was a bit blunt. She’s only going for a few days. She’s not going forever.’ He hoped. ‘It’s just that she has to see her mother. She got a phone call to say that her mum needs her help because she’s ill.’ He glanced along the quayside in the direction of Seadancer, wishing he could see what was happening on board, whether Elle was still packing or whether she was already in a taxi en route to Malta International Airport.

The tears made tracks down Carmelo’s cheeks. Apparently unconsoled, his mouth squared off as he began to heave with sobs. ‘She didn’t tell me!’ he wailed.

Lucas had to spend several minutes reassuring him, begging tissues from Fiona, who could be relied upon to have a supply. ‘Sorry, but she didn’t have time to tell you,’ he said, guiltily, wishing he had Joseph’s number. ‘I didn’t mean to upset you.’ It was a good fifteen minutes before Carmelo seemed reassured enough to leave, with a few last looks behind Lucas as if willing Elle to appear from somewhere on the Shady Lady. He nodded glumly when Lucas asked him if he’d be OK walking home.

Finally, Lucas was free to escort his parents, crossing the gardens and the road and turning in the direction of the hotel. ‘That little boy’s crazy about Elle,’ he observed, in case they hadn’t got that. ‘He’s one of the kids from the youth centre where she volunteers. Nice kid. Needs a few friends.’

Fiona sounded sombre. ‘He looks as if he needs someone to take care of him.’

‘True. It’s not always easy to know how to help, though.’ And he told them about how Elle had had to call Joseph when Carmelo turned up late at night, and the Bubblemaker session that Dive Meddi had put on, which led him nicely into finding Kayleigh waiting at a table outside the Sea Creek Hotel and suggesting that she told his parents all about what had happened when Charlie fell off the boat.

By the time Kayleigh had said, ‘Elle was fantastic,’ for about the tenth time, leaving little option but for his parents to acknowledge Elle’s part in the rescue of their irresponsible youngest son, he was sufficiently satisfied to let the conversation move on to other things while he tucked into seafood pasta and a welcome pint of golden Cisk.

He let the others decide who would visit Charlie tomorrow afternoon, so tired that the lights reflecting in the blackness of the creek were dancing in front of his eyes. He had just one thing left to do before he could crash out for the night.

Lucas waited until goodbyes had been said to Kayleigh and he and his parents were strolling back to the marina through the soft evening. ‘Do you know Simon’s friends, Loz and Davie?’ he began, casually. ‘Davie’s a music producer. They have a motor yacht at the big-boat end of the marina.’

Fiona looked interested. ‘Simon’s mentioned them, but I don’t think we’ve met.’

‘Let’s see if they’re on board. I’ll introduce you.’ Resolutely, Lucas passed the Shady Lady and his yearned-for bed, leading his parents around the curve of the quayside until he could see, with a thump of gladness, the lights on Seadancer’s foredeck.

‘Hello, Seadancer!’ Lucas called. He couldn’t quite bring himself to use the supposedly approved ‘Ahoy’.

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