Page 85 of The Wedding Proposal

Loz appeared on the side deck in moments. ‘Lucas! Did you know—’

‘My parents are here,’ he interrupted quickly. ‘They’d like to meet you.’

‘Come aboard!’ Loz needed no further prompting into full hostess mode, insisting Fiona and Geoffrey join them in a nightcap on the foredeck, where the doors were open to the saloon and moths battered gently at the deck lights. As soon as her guests had been introduced to Davie and were settled on directors’ chairs clutching brandy balloons and Charlie’s progress enquired after, Loz fixed Lucas with a beady stare.

‘Elle’s gone home.’

He nodded, giving Loz plenty of opportunity to lead the conversation, pretty sure he knew where she’d take it.

Loz’s eyes travelled over his parents. ‘Elle was very upset tonight when she came here to pack.’

Fiona looked surprised. ‘Here to pack?’

Loz’s chin jutted. ‘She asked if she could move in here for a bit so that you could be accommodated on the Shady Lady. I was pleased to make things easier for you but she’s such a lovely girl I wouldn’t have hesitated, anyway.’ She fixed Fiona with a baleful eye. ‘Poor kid needs someone on her side.’

No one could fail to notice the slight emphasis on someone.

‘She’s got us, of course,’ Davie put in.

Lucas yawned, leaving Loz to do her stuff with Davie backing her up. Fiona and Geoffrey didn’t look comfortable but that was OK. Food for thought wasn’t always particularly palatable.

Quietly, he excused himself on the pretext of searching out a bathroom. With a silent apology to his hosts he opened doors until he found what he wanted — a cabin with its cupboard ajar and some of Elle’s clothes hanging inside. He closed his eyes in relief, absorbing the fact that she hadn’t cleared all her stuff.

She’d be coming back.

An hour later, picking their way between the line of gently moving boats on one side and the dark gardens on the other, Lucas found himself yawning so hugely that his jaw clicked. He was almost hallucinating about dropping into the narrow guest bed.

His parents were quiet as he pushed the plank out onto the Shady Lady’s bathing platform for them.

Fiona halted in the saloon. ‘I’m not stupid, Lucas,’ she said, drily.

Lucas cocked a brow.

‘We have noted that this evening you’ve been on a mission to expose us to the saintliness of Elle.’

Aggravation made his voice sharp. ‘Didn’t you listen to what she said? Elle’s no saint: she’s a normal human being. But a pretty good one, one who deserves a bit of trust, maybe?’ And, finally, he shut himself away in the guest cabin, dragged off his clothes and fell into bed.

He’d hardly closed his eyes when a text message came through. His heart flipped at the sight of Elle’s name. Did your mother go to the police about Ricky’s blackmail attempt?

He looked at his watch. She could still be at the airport, about to get on a late flight. Pulling on his boxers, he forced his tired body to the foot of the galley steps so he could see his parents seated in the saloon. He repeated Elle’s question.

Fiona looked wary. ‘I had to, darling. My position — It would have been odd not to report a crime. I made a statement.’

‘Did they get him?’

Fiona shook her head.

Lucas retired back to the guest cabin. He deliberated over calling Elle, wanting badly to hear her voice. But she’d chosen to text so he texted the details Fiona had given him in return.

In a minute she returned OK, thx.

Despite his fatigue, he lay awake for a long time, staring into the darkness.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Elle’s first three days back in England were filled with meetings and arrangements, some awkward, some difficult and some downright unpleasant.

Healthcare workers from the hospital had to be met, staff from The Briars, staff from two different institutions that might be suitable for Joanna, other authority figures concerned with loose ends she knew had to be tied up. Explanations, consultations, instructions, assessing what would and wouldn’t work.

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