Page 47 of A Riviera Retreat
‘No, I’m not ill. I just need to talk to you urgently.’
‘Is it about Kit?’ Chelsea demanded.
‘No. Why? Have you heard from him?’
‘Yes. He wants to meet and talk about getting back together,’ Chelsea said.
‘I sincerely hope you haven’t agreed. Did he tell you his wife is divorcing him?’
‘No, he didn’t. Anyway, I’ve blocked and deleted his mail without answering it.’
‘Good.’
They both turned at a quiet tap on the French doors and saw Amy pointing to the tray she’d placed on the terrace table.
Chelsea opened the doors and Simon followed her out onto the terrace, calling out ‘Thank you’ to Amy’s retreating back.
Chelsea poured two cups of coffee and pushed the plate of biscuits Amy had provided towards her dad.
‘This is a lovely villa,’ Simon said. ‘Beautiful position. Amy is nice too.’
‘Yes, she is. Come on, Dad – answer the question. Why have you come here to talk to me?’
Simon took a mouthful of his coffee before answering. ‘Heard from Elsie recently?’
‘No. Elsie’s ill, isn’t she?’ Chelsea said sighing heavily. ‘That’s why you’ve rushed down. To fly me back. I did wonder why she hadn’t answered my last couple of texts.’
‘There’s no point in you rushing back. Two more days won’t make any difference,’ Simon said slowly. ‘Elsie is ill, but it’s not as simple as that,’
‘What d’you mean? She’s either ill or she’s not.’
Simon looked at her. ‘Did you know Elsie has a drink problem?’
‘I know she likes a drink at the end of the day to relax, but a problem? No.’ Chelsea shook her head in disbelief.
‘There is no easy way to tell you this so…’ Simon took a deep breath. ‘Elsie is apparently an alcoholic who couldn’t cope with the debts her drinking has got her into.’
‘What?’ Chelsea stared at him, horrified. ‘How could I not have noticed she was drinking too much?’
‘People become very adept at hiding their guilty secret. And they have to want to help themselves before anyone can help them. Sadly, I don’t think Elsie is at that point yet.’ Simon rubbed his face agitatedly. ‘I’m afraid it gets worse – for you and the business. A day ago, she cancelled all the bookings for the next two months, emptied your business bank account and did a runner. Nobody had been paid and neither had any of the outstanding bills.’
‘I feel sick,’ Chelsea said, failing to fight back the tears. ‘And so, so sorry for Elsie. If only she’d told me I’d have tried to help her.’ She looked at her dad. ‘How did you find out about all this anyway?’
‘Tina, your kitchen help, rang me to say everything was locked up when she arrived at work yesterday morning and she couldn’t get hold of Elsie. She contacted me, as you were away, to see if I knew what was going on. So I met Tina at the kitchen. I’m afraid I had to break a glass door pane to get in – don’t worry, it was fixed within the hour.’ Simon hesitated.
‘And?’ Chelsea looked at her father, disbelief etched across her face.
‘The thing is, Tina wasn’t surprised that Elsie had done a runner. Said she knew she’d got in over her head with a bad crowd.’ Simon reached into his jacket pocket. ‘I found a letter addressed to you on the table.’ He pulled out an envelope and handed it to Chelsea. Absently, she took it. ‘It wasn’t sealed so I read it, which is how I know about the bank.’ Simon smiled sadly at his daughter. ‘Tina discovered the cancellations when she looked in the day book.’
Chelsea’s fingers were shaking as she took the letter out of the envelope and read the words through a blur of tears. ‘Can’t cope any more… so sorry… I’m in BIG trouble… I need the money… I have to get away… please forgive me…’
Chelsea looked at her dad. ‘If only I’d been there this week. Maybe she’d have confided in me before doing this?’
Simon shook his head. ‘I don’t think anything or anyone could have stopped Elsie running away. You aren’t to blame.’
‘I wonder where she’s gone?’ Chelsea said. ‘I thought Kit-gate was bad enough, but this is… is so much worse. What the hell do I do now?’
* * *
