Page 77 of Christmas at Sturcombe Bay
“If you can.”
“Of course — no time like the present. Give me ten minutes.”
As they ended the call, Shelley gazed bleakly across the table. “Does everyone know?”
Lisa shook her head. “No, only Mum, and you heard why. And she won’t have said a word.”
“Youknew.”
“It was just a guess.” Lisa smiled. “Like I said, I’ve known you for three years. I had a feeling that might be why you didn’t want to try the reception job. Shelley, not being able to read isn’t something to be ashamed of. The system let you down when you were a kid.”
“Yeah . . .” She’d always tried to tell herself that, but it was hard to believe when your teachers, your foster parents and your classmates were telling you that you were stupid, lazy, wicked.
“Anyway, what about Alex?” Lisa asked gently.
Shelley stiffened, instantly wary. “What about him?”
“Were you really going to leave without telling him, without saying goodbye?”
No words would come. Shelley turned her head away, staring with unseeing eyes at the garden and the cloud-smudged sky.
“Shelley, he likes you — a lot. And I thought you liked him.”
Shelley laughed bitterly. “I did. Until I found out about him.”
Lisa’s brow furrowed. “What? What did you find out?”
“Only that he’s a millionaire — a multi-millionaire. He never told me that. I only found out when I heard he was going to buy the hotel.”
“So he’s rich? What’s the problem?” Lisa sounded genuinely puzzled.
“You can’t see it? He’s going to be the owner of the hotel. I’m just a chambermaid.”
Lisa shook her head. “If that’s all, well . . . I think you’re doing both him and yourself a great disservice. He’s a good man. Look at how kind he is with his grandfather.”
“I know, but . . . It’s just a fairy tale, isn’t it — Prince Charming and Cinderella. That sort of thing doesn’t happen in real life. Although it probably didn’t in the fairy tales either,” she added cynically, “before they got all prettied up with pink and glitter. The prince probably married some princess from the neighbouring kingdom and kept Cinderella in a nice little cottage in the village, visiting her twice a week and every other Sunday. Well, I’m not going to be that Cinderella.” The tears were welling up again, and she blinked them back, struggling to maintain what was left of her fragile pride. “I won’t live like that. I can’t. So, that’s why I have to leave.”
“You’ve just agreed to have literacy lessons with my mum,” Lisa pointed out gently.
“Well, yes, but . . .”
“Look, I don’t want you to leave, especially knowing you’ve nowhere to go and no job. I’ll just be worrying about you all the time. Stay. Just give it a month. You can keep out of Alex’s way now that he’s moved out of the hotel. It’s probably best that you back off anyway if it’s making you feel uncomfortable.”
“I don’t know. I . . .” She could feel herself wavering. Running away had been an impulse, something she had always done when things had seemed too much for her. But this time, was it really what she wanted?
“Hello-o?” Helen Channing’s voice called from the front door.
“Hi, Mum,” Lisa called back. “We’re in the kitchen.”
The older woman appeared in the doorway. “Hi. I left my coat in the closet. Is there a cup of tea going?”
“Of course. Sit down, Mum. You know Shelley, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. How are you, dear?”
“I’m . . .” Shelley had to swallow the catch in her throat. “Fine.”
“That’s good.”
