The wide view of Pengelly bay calls Lucia as soon as her eyes are open and she’s soon leaning on the windowsill, breathing in the exhilarating, early morning scent of the sea. It’s only six o’clock, but already she’s longing to be down there on the beach to clear her head and get a fresh perspective on what happened last night.
Polly’s still sound asleep, with only the top of her head visible under the puffy duvet. This is the most comfortable bed Lu has ever slept in apart from her own, so she can understand why Polly might not be ready to get up for a while. She must have been exhausted last night after her emotional revelations and luckily Reggie looks just as cosy in his travel cot in the corner of the room.
Lu wonders if there’s any way she can slip into her clothes without waking these two. As quietly as she can, she wriggles into underwear and jeans. Her T-shirt and socks have disappeared somewhere but as she rummages for them Reggie stirs and rolls over, so she gives up and pulls on her hoodie. The day doesn’t look too chilly and she’ll soon get warm when she’s walking. Grabbing trainers and her bag she tiptoes from the bedroom, closing the door behind her with hardly a sound.
In five minutes, Lu is down on the sand and racing towards the sea. It’s years since she ran for more than a hundred yards for a bus or after an escaping child and she’s very soon out of breath, but her cheeks are glowing, and she’s full of energy and hope. Thoughts of Des are far away. Today is for celebrating life. She spins around and around, letting out a wild cry of joy. The sound of an answering whoop takes her by surprise, frozen to the spot as a thin figure wavers towards her, trailing scarves and other flowing garments.
‘Angelina,’ Lu gasps, moving towards the elderly lady with her arms outstretched to intercept her if she trips.
‘I thought it was you,’ Angelina shouts when she’s close enough. ‘I saw you from my upstairs window, and thought I’d ask you in for coffee and a currant bun.’
Lu marvels at the way this person who must be ninety if she’s a day can cover the ground at such speed and hardly be out of breath. Angelina reaches her and catches Lu by the hand.
‘Tristram told me you bought one of my paintings,’ she says, beaming. ‘I wanted to say thank you. I don’t get many visitors these days.’
For a moment, a look of intense sadness passes over the old lady’s face and Lu has a vision of the loneliness that might be a problem for her even in the heart of a small village like Pengelly. The same issue crops up in Chandlebury, and Rowan often mentions it, wondering if there’s something they could all do to make life better for their older residents.
‘I’d love to come with you,’ says Lu, who has been thinking she should really get back soon but can’t resist the appeal in Angelina’s eyes. ‘I’ve got my phone with me. The others will text if they can’t find me and they’re worried.’
‘Oh, those mobile telephones,’ says Angelina with a sniff. ‘I suppose they’re useful at times, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised if your family use yours to summon you back just as I pour the coffee and we start to talk about something really interesting. Pah!’
Lu laughs. ‘They might try,’ she says, ‘but they can manage without me for a little while.’
Angelina takes Lucia by the arm and they walk back across the firm sand and over the shingle at the top of the beach. ‘Is this your first visit to Pengelly?’ she says. ‘Fancy you knowing my Tommy.’ She simpers a little and Lu has a sudden flashback to the skittish woman who’d appealed to Tommy.
They approach Angelina’s house from the rear. The back door is wide open. ‘We don’t bother with locking up around here,’ she says, seeing Lucia’s raised eyebrows.
Angelina sheds a couple of scarves, settling Lucia in a wicker chair in the conservatory, surrounded by huge leafy plants and a host of orchids.
‘This is a beautiful house, and a fantastic view,’ says Lu, feeling any last shreds of tension drifting away.
‘I’ve lived here all my life. Never married. Now, make yourself comfortable while I get the coffee organised. It won’t take me long.’
Lucia leans back in her chair and gazes across the bay, watching a man throwing a ball for his two dogs. She thinks she recognises Tristram from the gallery but it’s too far away to be sure. The thought of the two pictures she’s bought makes her very happy. Polly and Isaac will be delighted with them.
‘So, tell me more about yourself, Lucia,’ says Angelina, coming back in rather unsteadily carrying a tray loaded with a coffee pot, tiny cups and a plate of buns. ‘It’s so good to see Tommy again, we had some good times and I’m intrigued by your quest. I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how come you’re all travelling together? If you don’t mind my saying, you’re a pretty mixed bunch.’
Lu sips the strong black coffee that’s passed to her and wonders how much to divulge. Angelina is smiling at her so benevolently that she has an overwhelming urge to reveal everything – all about Des’s desertion, her feelings of betrayal, her hopes for Isaac’s future and her growing anxiety about Polly and Reg.
‘Go on, dear. I’m listening,’ says Angelina, pouring more coffee.
The words tumble out, slowly at first and then gathering speed. It’s a much edited version of the story so far but even so, Angelina seems riveted. Eventually Lu runs out of steam.
‘And Tommy gave Des and me a generous dollop of money, and … well … some other things …,’ she finishes. ‘Now it’s your turn. Tell me about you and Tommy. It’s only fair.’
Angelina smiles as she looks out of the window, her gaze far away on the distant sands. ‘We’d been lovers for a while,’ she says quietly. ‘When it ended, due to my stupidity I have to admit, Tommy was finding it hard to leave here, even though he must have known I was a bad bet.’
‘He couldn’t leave because he loved you too much?’ The thought is unsettling, and she gives herself a mental shake. This was all a very long time ago, and anyway, how Tommy felt about Angelina is none of her business.
‘Oh no. Nothing so romantic. Tommy Lemon is an honourable man. He thought he’d be letting me down because he’d more than half promised to help me set up a new business selling my paintings. He thought I couldn’t, or more likely wouldn’t do it, left to myself.’
‘So you … kind of … set him free?’
The old lady nods. The sadness on her face transcends the years. ‘He’s an adventurer and a risk-taker, as you know. I sent him away because he couldn’t do the deed himself. He’s much younger than me and I knew he wasn’t ready to settle down. He never has been … until now, perhaps.’
Lucia is about to follow up this last remark when her phone bleeps. ‘Damn. They’ve twigged that I’m missing,’ says Lu. ‘My son and Polly, I mean. And I’m sure Peter and Tommy will be on the case too, by now. Even Reggie might have noticed I’ve gone. My five minders.’
‘How nice to be wanted. I never had children. Too busy having fun, I suppose. Sometimes I wish … but I wouldn’t have had time to paint, would I? Listen, Lucia, before you go, I need to talk to you about the compass. I don’t suppose you’ve got it with you, by any chance?’
‘I … what did you say?’
‘The compass, dear. Tommy told me you were the new owner. Is it here?’
Lucia looks down at the bag at her feet. Angelina’s eyes follow hers and she claps her hands, with the glee of a small child spotting an ice cream van.
‘You have got it! Let me see … please? It’s been so long … is it still the same?’
‘How do you mean, exactly?’
‘Oh, Lucia – don’t play dumb. Is it … helping?’
Frowning, Lucia reaches down and rummages for the leather case. Angelina’s hands are clasped together tightly now, and she seems to be holding her breath.
‘I can’t help wondering how you know so much about this?’ Lucia asks, as she opens the case, revealing the glowing colours of the enamelled face.
‘That’s an easy one to answer. I know about it because it was me who passed it on to Tommy. I’ve often wished I still had it, but in my heart I knew the moment was right. I was relying on it far too much. I wonder why Tommy felt it was time to give it to you? I don’t suppose … would you let me hold it, just one more time?’
Lucia’s head is reeling now. There’s too much to take in here. Angelina’s eyes are glittering and her cheeks are very pink. She reaches out a shaking hand towards the compass just as the phone bleeps again. Lucia snatches it up, so full of relief that she can barely breathe.
‘I’d better go. They need me.’
The old lady closes her eyes for a moment and breathes deeply. When she opens them again she’s back in control. ‘Yes dear, you must go. Come again if you have time. We have a lot to discuss, I think. You could bring that charming older gentleman with you?’ Angelina reaches out and hugs Lu. ‘Tommy’s friend seems very personable. Perhaps he’d like to come and stay here with me for a holiday sometime.’
Lucia puts the compass away safely and makes a non-committal reply, privately fearing for Peter’s sanity if he risks such a visit. She walks back by the road rather than the beach, so pole-axed by this conversation that she even forgets to admire the view. She lets herself into the pub by the back door, locks up again and puts the key back in the bowl with hands that are still trembling. Creeping up the stairs, she meets Polly on the landing with Reggie on her hip.
‘I was coming to look for you.’ Polly says. ‘We’re ravenous. Peter and Tommy are talking about ordering a full English breakfast with extra sausages and black pudding.’ She shudders. ‘Are we having breakfast in the lounge?’
‘Yes, let’s go down there now, I smell bacon.’
‘Yuck,’ says Polly, but she follows quite happily. Lu’s relieved that yesterday’s traumas seem to have faded away for a while. Being only 25 has its benefits, resilience for one. She wishes she could say the same for herself. A tension headache is building up behind her eyes and the thought of food is making her stomach churn.
In the lounge, Isaac, Tommy and Peter are sitting near the window with a pot of coffee between them and a newspaper each. Isaac has already pulled a highchair for Reggie up to the table and Polly nods at him approvingly.
‘I’ve just been to see Angelina,’ Lucia tells them, avoiding meeting Tommy’s clear gaze with difficulty.
‘That’s nice,’ says Polly, ‘How did she seem? I’m worried about how thin she is.’
‘Oh, that’s nothing new,’ Tommy says. ‘She’s never been one for eating properly. Once she gets stuck into a painting, she exists on cheese and apples with the odd pasty from the shop.’
‘We maybe could organise a regular shopping delivery for her if you think it’d help, but I’m not going to think about Angelina or anyone else but you lot for the moment,’ Lu says. ‘We’re at the seaside now. Even better, we’re in Cornwall. The landlord mentioned sea caves that you can reach at low tide. There are scones to eat and a beach to explore.’