Demi
‘Well, so much for this wedding being a discreet affair. The cat’s out of the bag now.’ Polly spreads her newspaper across the tables in Demelza’s Cafe the morning after our dramatic lunch date with Ben and Lily. She brought the paper down to the cafe as soon as it arrived.
‘Look at this!’ Polly pokes her finger at a story occupying most of page three. It’s accompanied by two photos so clear, they must have been taken close up or on a long lens. One of them is of Mawgan appearing to snog Ben and one of the RNLI helping Lily out of the sea. ‘What a load of piffle. This wasn’t what you and Cal told me last night.’
Polly puts on her glasses, which otherwise dangle from a cord around her neck as she’s so fed up with losing them. She reads the article out loud, while Nina and Shamia pretend to be very busy behind the counter while trying not to snort.
‘There was drama at Newporth beach yesterday when movie stars Ben Trevone and Lily Craig and a third man, believed to be their bodyguard, had to be rescued from the water by friends and the emergency services.
‘The actors, who became engaged last October, were lunching at the exclusive Rockpool Cafe and had ventured onto the beach to exercise Ms Craig’s dog, Louie. The dog ran onto rocks at the edge of the beach and the bodyguard and Ms Craig appear to have entered the water to save him but ended up almost drowning.
‘“It was surreal” said an onlooker, walking his own dog nearby.
‘Hmmph, I wonder who this onlooker was? Needed to go to Specsavers by the sound of it.’
Polly carries on reading.
‘“Some bloke fell in the sea with one of them little dogs and then Lily Craig leapt in after him and her dog,” the man commented.
‘I saw them in struggling in the water and the bloke got to Lily. Big bloke, I think he’s their bodyguard. Ben Trevone dived in the surf without a thought for himself but the waves beat him back and a woman was giving him CPR. I think she saved his life. Someone else got the dog.’
Polly glances up at me over her glasses. ‘Not the sharpest tool in the box, is he, this “onlooker”? Your account of the whole thing was different.’
‘We were a bit busy trying to stop people from drowning,’ I say.
‘Quite right too. Listen to this: While the couple’s bodyguard and a local man helped Lily to safety, Ben had been swamped by a wave and was in difficulty in the surf where reports say he’d knocked his head on a rock. The woman, who reportedly was part of the lunch party, bravely entered the water and pulled him out before administering first aid.
‘Ben’s heroic rescuer is local businesswoman Mawgan Cade, who runs a property development and management company. Ms Cade, thirty-two, had apparently recently been on a first-aid course with some of her office staff. However, when questioned about her lifesaving skills, the shy heroine was reluctant to take any credit.
‘“I didn’t think about my own safety,” Ms Cade said. “Anyone would have done the same seeing a friend in danger. I’m glad I was able to pull Ben to safety and that Lily and everyone else is OK.”
‘Ben Trevone was quoted as saying that Ms Cade deserved a bravery award but while praising the efforts of Ms Cade, the bodyguard and other members of the party, emergency services said it was fortunate there was not a tragic outcome and that no one should enter the sea in dangerous conditions.
‘Well, have you ever heard such rubbish? Mawgan Cade the shy and reluctant heroine? That’s not what it sounded like to me. Did she save Ben?’
‘Apparently Ben did trip over a rock in the surf and she did drag him out of the way of the waves but the paper has obviously made up the story they want.’
Polly snorts. ‘I bet you a pound to a penny this “onlooker” works for her or had been paid by her.’
I agree with Polly but I don’t want to get into a bad-mouthing session about Mawgan with the staff watching. None of them likes Mawgan but I’m not sure it’s professional to start slagging her off, no matter how much I want to.
‘Can I have the paper, please?’
Polly pushes it towards me. ‘Course you can. There’s no mention of you and Cal in there.’
‘That’s fine by me, and we didn’t do anything. If Mawgan wants to take the credit, then let her,’ I say calmly, while fuming inwardly. Mawgan was in the right place at the right time and she did help Ben but it’s obvious she’s engineered the situation so that it looks like she saved the day. She must be trying to worm her way into Lily and Ben’s world even more closely. It must be for financial gain or to piss us off or for the publicity – or all three.
‘Thanks for bringing the paper. We’re opening shortly so I’ll have to get back to work but we can have a natter about it all later at the farmhouse. Come round for a bite to eat if you’re not going to Zumba,’ I tell Polly.
‘Thanks, but it’s my belly dancing night,’ Polly says. ‘Much more fun than Zumba and the instructor is gorgeous,’ Polly says.
‘You have a male belly dancing instructor?’
‘He – she – was. She’s transgender and absolutely fabulous. You should come along. There’s all ages, from twenty to ninety, and some men too. It’s not just a bunch of middle-aged women shaking their booties like Beyoncé, you know.’
‘Thanks,’ I say, with multiple images of belly dancing pensioners seared on my brain. ‘I’ll think about it.’
After Polly leaves, the cafe is busy with walkers and surfers making the most of some early spring sun and surf. It’s two p.m. before I have a moment to scan my tablet for more news of the drama. I find a video clip on a local news website. After witnessing Ben and Lily’s argument at the hospital, I was slightly worried the wedding would be off so I’m relieved to see them all smiles in the video.
In the clip, they’re so tightly entwined you’d think they’d been sewn together. They appeared at the hospital entrance to flashbulbs lighting up the night sky and giving a statement thanking the medical staff, the emergency services and ‘their friends and family’ involved in their rescue.
The reporter wraps up the video by saying that the couple had already made a large donation to the RNLI and air ambulance. It ends by them being whisked away by Harry in their BMW, with Lily smiling through the half-open rear window, waving one of Louie’s paws. It could all be a show for the cameras, of course. I’ve no idea what to believe any more.
I’m also still thinking of Cal’s news about Esme. I’m glad he shared the news with me so I can support him. I hope these reports turn out to be true. Ever since he told me what happened to him in Syria, I’ve thought about the little girl too. When I see Freya, I think how lucky she is to be safe. I can’t imagine her or any of us having to live through a nightmare like Esme and her family have had to.
Back at home, Cal puts a steaming bowl of homemade lentil curry in front of me, and a plate of Peshwari naan. It’s awesome to have someone cook for me at the end of a busy day in the cafe kitchen. I’m also ready for a break. By the time we got to bed last night, it was almost midnight. Even after Cal and I finally finished what we’d started in the kitchen, I still couldn’t sleep for a while. I lay awake, listening to Cal breathing softly.
He joins me at the table and clinks my bottle of cider. Mitch brushes against my legs, hoping for some scraps.
‘Busy day?’ Cal asks.
‘Yes, the nice weather brought out the walkers and the book club met again in the afternoon. Mind you, we almost had to separate two women. They were screaming at each other over a novel about kidnapped children. How can people come to blows over a book?’
Cal stops with a chunk of naan halfway to his mouth. ‘Beats me. I thought book clubs were meant to be gentle affairs with Earl Grey and cake.’
‘Not this time. We had to bring out extra brownies to shut them up. I also arranged for Rachel to come over for a council of war before we meet with Lily and Ben again.’ I hesitate but know we need to discuss what Cal told me last night on the way home about possible sightings of Esme. ‘How was your day? Any more news from Carolyn?’
‘Not yet but I’ve suggested I should go to London and she’s going to get back to me. She didn’t specifically tell me not to go. By the way, this morning I had a call from a tabloid asking me if we’re holding the wedding for Lily Craig and Ben Trevone. I didn’t tell them anything after Jade warned us not to make any comments.’
‘Shit. I’ve had a couple of unknown missed calls on my phone. I thought they were spam calls but they could be from newspapers, though I don’t know how they got my personal mobile number.’
‘Does Mawgan have it?’ Cal asks.
‘Yes … yes she does, she’s had it for a while.’
‘Then you have your answer.’
‘Shit.’
‘The publicity will be good for Kilhallon,’ he says, stroking Mitch’s ears.
‘Yes, but we wanted to manage the situation. We wanted to keep the event quiet until far closer to the day.’
‘I don’t think that was ever going to happen.’ He manages a crooked, sexy smile but I can see he’s distracted. The wedding plans of pampered celebrities aren’t high on his list of priorities at the moment, even if they are important to Kilhallon. I understand that. ‘Well, at least Ben and Lily are the centre of attention and their “people” will love that.’
‘We will have to promote the park, though. Sooner or later we’re going to have to raise our profile to keep the bookings rolling in. When Dog’s Dinner comes out, I’ll have to do media interviews with Eva Spero too.’
‘I know, and you’ll be very good at it. But I’ll be happy if I never have to appear in the press again. I just want to get on with my life, run Kilhallon and find Esme if I can. Beyond that, these days, all I want is a quiet life with you here at Kilhallon.’ Cal reaches for my hand. Spending a quiet life together at Kilhallon sounds idyllic but I know it will never happen.
‘I didn’t want to say anything about Carolyn’s email at first in case it turns out to be a false hope,’ he says softly. ‘You have enough to worry about.’
I lean over the table and kiss him, guessing that what he really means is that he was terrified of being disappointed and hurting himself.