Page 47 of The Forever Cottage

‘Has she heard something then?’

‘No, and she sounded really worried. What’s going on?’

‘I’m sure it’s fine, Charles. You know what I’m like when I get a thought in my head. I didn’t hear from Hannah yesterday and I suppose I spent all day brooding on it. I rang Sophie to see if she might have heard anything.’

She was deliberately trying to play it down, knowing that Charles’s involvement would only intensify the situation.

‘What, so you would go to someone else outside the family first before coming to me? You can’t exclude me like this, Tess. I need to know what’s going on. Jesus Christ, I am her father.’

Tess turned to walk inside, gesturing for Charles to follow. In the kitchen, she filled up the kettle and switched it on.

‘I didn’t phone you because I thought it unlikely that Hannah would have been in touch with you.’ Tess winced as she said it, realising how unkind the truth sounded. ‘I know how close Sophie and Hannah are so I thought if anyone had heard from Hannah, it would be her. Thinking about it overnight, I’m sure everything is fine and I’ve just been worrying unnecessarily. Hannah will be in touch soon enough.’

‘Is there anyone else we can try? One of her friends or that boyfriend of hers?’

‘I don’t have Billy’s telephone number and Maya took off on another route; she’s not been travelling with Hannah. I did message her, but she said she hadn’t spoken to her in a while.’ Tess handed over a mug of coffee to Charles. If she hoped to receive some reassurance, it wasn’t forthcoming and she could tell by the way he paced up and down the kitchen that he was every bit as concerned as she was.

‘This isn’t like Hannah, though,’ he said, concern etched on his features. ‘If there was a problem with her phone or if she was off-grid for a few days then she would find a way to let us know. Well, she would at least let you know.’

Tess had been doing well to put her worries about Hannah to one side this morning, but the fact that Charles had rushed round here and was clearly concerned about their daughter only stirred Tess’s anxiety further.

‘Yes, it’s strange, that’s for sure, but perhaps this is all part of her growing independence. She’s met this new guy and she’s probably caught up with whatever it is they’re doing. You must remember what we were like at her age. We were totally besotted with each other and barely had time for anyone or anything else.’ She locked eyes with Charles for the briefest moment, her words resounding loudly around them, evoking memories for them both. ‘She isn’t a child any more, and we can’t expect her to keep us updated with her every single movement.’ Tess wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Charles or herself.

‘I get all that, but I don’t think Hannah would deliberately want us to worry. Unless this is some kind of protest about our separation.’

‘No, Hannah wouldn’t do that. I’m certain she’ll be in touch soon and when she is, I promise to let you know.’

‘Yes, you’re probably right. Let’s give it to the end of the week and give her the benefit of the doubt. If we haven’t heard from her by then, we’ll have to… I don’t know… contact the embassy or something.’

Just hearing Charles’s suggestion ignited a huge sense of fear within Tess, but then at least they had a plan of action in mind and a whole week was plenty of time for Hannah to get in touch.

‘Do you want a hug?’ Charles offered, opening his arms out wide to her and while that was probably just what Tess needed right then, Charles was the last person in the world she would accept comfort from.

‘No, Charles. I really don’t, thank you.’

He shrugged, looking disappointed, as though he might be the one in need of a reassuring hug, but Charles’s feelings were the last of her concerns. He turned and headed towards the door.

‘You’ll let me know as soon as you hear anything?’

‘Of course I will,’ she said, nodding, determined not to cry. Not until he had left at least.

33

Tess didn’t hear from Hannah that day or over the course of the following days, so she wasn’t in the mood for her planned meet-up with Gina and Suzy in Bramlingham, for a visit to a comedy club.

‘Look, Gina, why don’t you both come to me instead and I’ll make us some supper. I’ll feel more comfortable that way, just in case any news comes through about Hannah.’

It also meant it would give her something to occupy herself with so that she wasn’t spending the day fretting. At the last minute too, she popped next door to ask Dilly if she wanted to join them, who accepted the invitation eagerly.

That night, when the four of them gathered around Tess’s island, drinking the Pimm’s that she’d prepared earlier, garnished with fresh mint from the garden, she felt buoyed by her friends’ presence, especially as they were doing their best to reassure her about Hannah.

‘Honestly, she’ll be having the best time. I reckon she’ll have just completely overlooked the fact that she’s got parents and then when she remembers, she’ll be absolutely mortified and you’ll receive a flurry of apologetic messages.’

Tess really hoped that Gina was right, but it helped her to know that they all believed that Hannah would be having a glorious time and she really had no need to worry.

‘I sometimes think that the fact that everyone’s so easily reachable these days makes it harder for us to manage when we can’t get hold of someone for whatever reason. I mean, in our day if we went off on holiday, or anywhere come to that, then that would mean no contact with home for the entire week or fortnight, bar a postcard if they were lucky,’ Dilly said.

‘We’re all too reliant on our phones and devices these days, even us old fogeys,’ said Suzy.

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