Louisa swam up and down the pool trying to calm her jumbled thoughts. What a day it had turned out to be! Not only had Malcolm accepted her as his daughter, but he seemed keen to establish a relationship with her. She’d been glad that she was his only child. Selfish, she knew, but the thought of him being a proper father to others would have been painful. She’d never had to share her mother with anyone either, although there were times when she would have liked some siblings. A brother or sister to spend time with when her mother was busy working, someone to chat to about problems at school or the latest boyfriend. At times she’d envied friends with a father, someone to share her love of sport and the outdoors. Her mother hadn’t been that keen on either. Looking back she recognised how solitary her childhood had been, with few friends at school and her only relations her grandparents and aunt and uncle. As the lengths of the pool mounted, her thoughts turned to Malcolm, the new – and only – man in her life. Physically, he was quite attractive for an old guy pushing seventy, she decided. His thick head of grey hair gave him an air of distinction and his light blue eyes shone out brightly against the tanned, lined, face. He bore the look of a man who had lived life well, reminding her a little of the actor Donald Sutherland, minus the beard. It looked as if he kept himself in trim, too; no paunch threatened his shirt buttons. It occurred to Louisa that his love of swimming may have been passed down to her, as her mother never enjoyed a swim unless it was in warm, shallow tropical waters. I wonder what other traits I’ve inherited? With that question bouncing around her mind she pulled herself out of the pool, reaching for her robe. Malcolm was picking her up at seven and it was nearly six.
Forty-five minutes later, Louisa checked herself in the mirror. In honour of a restaurant meal, she discarding her beloved jeans for a pair of black tailored trousers, teamed with a cream and black polka-dot slinky blouse, topped by the ubiquitous bomber jacket. Her choice was limited, having grabbed clothes haphazardly to pack for the trip, not thinking beyond the need for something suitable for a short hotel stay. A quick slick of deep pink lipstick and she was ready.
Once in the reception area she seated herself near the window, keeping an eye out for Malcolm. Moments later she saw a dark blue BMW convertible pull up outside and he emerged. Malcolm came round and opened the door for her, smiling broadly.
‘Hi, there. I’m glad to see you’re not one of those women who keep a man waiting.’
She grinned and slid into the passenger seat. He drove off back towards the main road.
‘I’ve reserved a table at one of my favourite restaurants, La Fregate. It’s near my home in St Peter Port and I eat there several times a week. I’m not much of a cook, I’m afraid. What about you?’ He glanced towards her before pulling out onto the road heading east.
‘Not too bad. Mum taught me the basics and I became quite a keen cook at uni. One of the students in our shared house was studying nutrition and she encouraged me to eat healthily. So no burgers and chips or pizzas for us!’
‘Glad to hear it! I truly believe that we are what we eat.’
Louisa sat lost in thought as she recalled her conversations with her mother on that subject. Susan had enjoyed rich food, particularly creamy sauces and red meat. Although not overweight, her doctor had said her cholesterol level was too high and she had blocked arteries. An ideal candidate for a heart attack. Louisa had nagged her, but to no avail.
‘Darling, I know you mean well, but I do enjoy my food and my glass of vino. It’s my way of relaxing after a stressful day at the office. Doctors are such doom merchants! I’ll be fine,’ Susan said to her on one occasion. So Louisa stopped nagging, and a few months later Susan had suffered her first, albeit minor, heart attack. Her mother was shaken and made a big effort to eat more healthily. But within a year she was dead, thanks to that bloody burglar, Louisa thought angrily.
She dug her nails hard into her hands to keep calm as the memories buzzed around her brain. I have to focus on Malcolm tonight, can’t be a moping minnie or he’ll not want to spend time with me. And I want to know the story of those damn jewels.
‘Are you all right, Louisa? You look pale.’
She turned to face him. He was frowning.
‘Yes, I’m fine, thanks. You know, I’ve just realised that I don’t know what to call you. ‘Dad’ doesn’t sound right, somehow. What do you think?’
‘I’m okay with Malcolm. I could hardly expect you to call me Dad. Although, perhaps one day…’ He gave her a tentative smile.
‘Perhaps.’ That seemed a step too far…
The restaurant had views to die for, Louisa thought, gazing over the rooftops towards the marina, the sea and the castle guarding the harbour entrance. There was still enough light to see outlines of the other islands and the overall effect was magical.
‘Quite something, isn’t it? In the summer I enjoy having an aperitif outside on the terrace, but I think we’ll agree to forego that pleasure tonight,’ Malcolm said, standing close by her side in the bar.
‘Yep, let’s!’
They settled into the velvety chairs while the Italian manager offered them menus. He had greeted Malcolm with a hug, then turned to bow to Louisa.
‘Signorina,’ he said, smiling.
‘Luca, may I introduce my…daughter. I expect you to pull out all the stops tonight. I want to impress her!’ Malcolm joked.
Luca’s eyes arched in surprise, but he only smiled and asked what they would like to drink.
‘I think champagne is called for, don’t you?’ Malcolm asked Louisa and she nodded, pleased at the compliment but unsure if it was justified. Who was to say they would get on?
Within moments two flutes and a bottle of what looked to her like a particularly expensive champagne arrived at their side and was poured with a flourish.
They clinked glasses, calling out ‘Cheers!’
She let the bubbles tickle her nose and took a sip. It had been ages since she’d tasted champagne, not the usual fare of a low-paid physio.
‘Delicious, thanks. What would you recommend on the menu? You probably know it backwards!’
He chuckled. ‘Sure do. Fortunately they change it monthly or I might have to consider going elsewhere. Fish is always good here and my favourite’s the Dover sole.’
Sipping her bubbly Louisa scanned the menu, finally making her choice of duck to start, followed by the Dover sole. Malcolm placed their order and sat back in his chair, nursing his glass.
‘You know, never in a million years did I expect to be in the company of my own daughter. I still haven’t taken it all in. After we parted yesterday I couldn’t get you out of my head. Found it hard to concentrate on my meeting, I can tell you! Haven’t a clue what I said to the guy. All I could think of was you – and your mother.’ He leant forward, patting her hand. ‘I’m really, really sorry about what happened to Susan. If we could go back in time, I would have done things so differently.’ He shook his head sorrowfully. ‘But the good thing to come out of this awful business is that we’ve now met. Something that may not have happened otherwise.’
‘Yes. As far as I know Mum hadn’t tried to find you for years. I got the impression she imagined you settled somewhere, just as you said about her. We’ll never know if you two could have got back together. I guess you’d both changed a lot since…’ She trailed off, feeling shy of the thought of them together. As a couple.
Malcolm tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, a far-away look in his eyes. He turned his head, finally focusing on her again. ‘I would have loved the chance to find out,’ he said softly. ‘I was a stupid, bloody idiot…but,’ he said, sitting up straight. ‘Let’s not go there, shall we? We both need to focus on the now, not “what if”. No mileage in that.’ He smiled and she noticed again how his eyes crinkled up at the corners. At that moment Luca came up to take them to their table, nestling in a corner by the window.
The aroma from their starters of duck and pheasant set her gastric juices flowing and Louisa tucked in with relish. In between mouthfuls she sipped the champagne, stealing glances at the other diners. Their table was set apart from other tables and she wondered why.
‘Is this your special table, Malcolm? It seems placed to give a good view of the room but be apart from everyone.’
He chuckled. ‘You’ve guessed right. I love people-watching, it’s in the blood of any decent hotelier. But I like my space, too. Starter okay for you?’
She nodded, savouring a mouthful of duck spring-roll. Mm, must be nice to be able to afford to eat regularly in a restaurant like this instead of cooking. Could get used to the lifestyle! When she had finished she asked the question uppermost in her mind.
‘Are you going to tell me about the jewellery and why that…horrible man wanted it?’
Malcolm rested his knife and fork, his face clouding. ‘I will tell you, but here isn’t the right place. It’s…sensitive and not for other ears. If you like, we could have coffee at my apartment after dinner and I’ll explain everything. Okay?’
‘Yes, I can go with that. Perhaps for now you could tell me a bit more about yourself and how you ended up in Canada?’
Malcolm allowed the waiter to clear away their plates before answering. ‘It’s quite a long story so I’ll give you the short version for now.’ He took a sip of champagne before continuing, ‘My mother, Betty, was forced to flee Guernsey with Archie after my father, Roland, was killed…’ he described what had happened.
The waiter returned with their main courses and after he left Louisa asked, ‘Your mother must have hated Archie for what he’d done. How on earth did she cope living with him?’
He grimaced. ‘It was awful for her. She didn’t tell me everything, but hinted that he threatened her with violence if she tried to leave or go to the police. Remember, she was pregnant with me, had no money of her own and no-one to turn to. But she did insist on separate bedrooms and he reluctantly agreed. They passed themselves off as brother and sister, my mother claiming to be a widow. Which in a way she was. Fortunately for her, it was only a few months later that Archie was called up to fight, just after I was born. Ma told me he tried to get out of it, but he passed the medical and was sent off for training.’ Malcolm’s face split into a grin. ‘It was the best thing that could have happened. Once he’d gone, Ma used her savings to obtain berths for us on a ship evacuating children to Canada. My father had a distant cousin in southern Ontario where they had planned to go after their wedding. She never saw or heard from Archie again.’
‘Wow! That’s some story. Your mother was some brave lady! What happened after you arrived in Canada?’
‘We were taken in initially by my father’s cousin, but apparently he made it clear that it was only until my mother could find her own place. I don’t remember him, as Ma moved a few months later to Sarnia as housekeeper in a hotel. The cousin had put in a word with the owner, a friend of his.’
‘Sarnia? That name rings a bell.’
Malcolm smiled. ‘It’s the old Roman name for Guernsey and Ma chose to live there as a way of being closer to her old home. It’s near the Great Lakes and had a huge petroleum industry so hotels were busy. My mother eventually opened up her own hotel, using savings and her canny eye for a bargain, the first of several over the years, all in Ontario.’
‘So that’s how you became involved in the hotel business?’
‘Yep. I learnt at Ma’s knee, you might say. All my growing up was in hotels, either ones where Ma was the housekeeper or, later, ones she owned. It seemed like the natural career for me.’
As Louisa enjoyed the tasty sole she mulled over what Malcolm had told her about his early start in life, and in particular his enterprising mother. With a shock she realised Betty was her grandmother. Oh, I would have loved to meet her! What an interesting life she had. Although her maternal grandmother had loved her, she was not what would be termed warm hearted, as Malcolm’s mother seemed to have been. Betty sounded the sort of grandmother who would have spoilt her. She sighed. She would have loved to be part of a bigger family.
‘Something wrong with your fish?’ Malcolm’s voice cut into her thoughts.
She shook her head. ‘No, it’s perfect, thanks. I was just thinking what a pity it was I never knew your mother. My grandmother. My maternal grandmother’s also dead.’
‘I’m sure you would both have got on well. But…’ he spread his hands. ‘C’est la vie! I promise to tell you more about her and show you some photos. We both have her eyes. Now, can you manage some dessert? They conjure up one of the best crêpe Suzettes I’ve ever tasted, but it’s for two,’ he said, smiling. ‘As I’m usually eating on my own it’s a rare treat to be able to order it. Would you indulge an old man’s whim and join me?’
She laughed. ‘I’d be happy to. You can’t eat healthily all the time!’
There was an element of theatre in the production of the crêpes, culminating with the final flourish of the addition of flamed brandy. The taste lived up to expectations and she felt pleasantly replete after the last mouthful.
‘Delicious, thanks.’ She patted her flat stomach. ‘I’ll swim a few extra lengths tomorrow to burn it off.’
‘Me too! Sounds like we share a love of swimming. That’s good. I always stay in hotels with swimming pools so I can have a daily swim. For me it was a priority to build one for the centre, not just for the guests but for me as well.’ He called the waiter for the bill and Louisa thanked him for the meal. He brushed aside her thanks.
‘It’s been a great pleasure, my dear. I trust it will be the first of many such evenings.’ He smiled broadly, patting her arm.
Luca’s goodbyes were as profuse as his greetings earlier and it seemed to take forever to leave the restaurant. As Louisa settled into the comfort of his car, Malcolm asked if she still wanted to go back for coffee.
‘Sure.’ I want to know why those jewels were so important that they cost my mother her life.