Once everyone was happy Will’s injury had caused no lasting damage, the conversation turned to dissecting recent events. Greg, Cesca, Will and Harper sat at a table while Pip fetched everyone coffee.

‘Given the history, you must have known how Shay would react,’ Harper said, looking directly at Greg.

‘I had hoped to find you here alone. Which is why I came just after closing time. And it wasn’t the sort of information I wanted to give by telephone.’

Harper nodded. ‘I suppose not.’

She was still processing events that had escalated so quickly she’d barely had time to scratch the surface of what their consequences might be. Right now, she could think only as far as making sure everyone was alright and how she was going to get the many belongings Shay had left at the farm to him without actually having to see him.

‘I’m deeply sorry things happened the way they did,’ Greg added. ‘Had I known, I would have done it differently. But you had a right to be told…’

‘I appreciate the intent, but perhaps not so much the method.’ Harper gave a wan smile.

‘You keep asking everyone else if they’re OK,’ Cesca put in gently. ‘But are you OK, Harper?’

‘I don’t know what I am.’ She let out a breath and stared up at the ceiling, trying desperately to keep the tears at bay. After a moment, she turned her gaze back to Cesca and Will. ‘I think what’s more important here is that you two might have some news to tell us,’ she added, doing her best to lift the mood. What she wanted was to slink away and lick her wounds, but there would be time for that later. Now she needed something to restore her faith in love, and perhaps the beginnings of a love story for someone else might do just that.

‘We do, but the tale will wait for another time.’ Cesca stole a fond glance at Will, who covered her hand with his as it rested on the table.

‘I’m very happy for you both and I look forward to hearing all about it,’ Harper said.

Pip returned to the table with a tray of mugs. Putting it down, she dragged an extra chair from a nearby table and squeezed in between Harper and Cesca.

‘Thanks,’ Harper said, shooting her friend a grateful smile.

‘Far be it for me to comment,’ Cesca said to Harper, ‘but it looks as though you had a lucky escape.’

‘That’s what I think,’ Pip said. ‘Harsh as it was, better to find out now than three years down the line when you’re married and your lives are tied up together.’

‘I wish there had been another way,’ Greg said.

‘It’s not your fault.’ Pip grabbed a mug of coffee and spooned a sugar into it. ‘Personally, I think you did the right thing coming here. I don’t suppose it’s been easy for you.’

‘Allie was supposed to come clean,’ he said, his gaze pensive as it went to the darkening windows. ‘She said she would come and speak to you. But when it came to it she bottled it; said she couldn’t hurt you. Now I understand why she didn’t want to – I feel like a total shit for my part in today.’

‘Sometimes…’ Will spoke now where he had been quiet for most of the conversation, ‘the honourable course of action is the most painful.’

‘The worst thing is, I don’t know that it’s done any good at all in the end,’ Greg said. ‘I’ve ruined things for you and it won’t fix what’s happened to me and Allie.’

‘It seems to me she was taken in by Shay just as Harper was,’ Pip said. ‘Could you forgive her for a mistake that goodness knows how many others have probably made?’

He shook his head. ‘The trust is gone, and I don’t see how we can come back from that. One night – I could and did try to forgive that. But more than once… How can I ever be sure she’s not seeing him again? How do I know that someone else won’t turn her head in the same way? If she was tempted then, why not again?’

‘She looked very sorry when we saw her at the Rising Sun last night,’ Pip said. ‘What about your boy?’

‘Josh?’ Greg wrapped his hands around his mug and stared miserably at her. ‘He’s at his grandparents’; took him over last night. I’ll have to break the news to him when I pick him up later that his mother’s not coming home and his parents are getting a divorce. If I thought coming here to see you was hard, that’s going to be a thousand times worse.’

‘It doesn’t have to be that way,’ Harper said. ‘You could work it out?’

‘Will you be working it out with Shay?’ he asked.

Harper’s gaze went to the depths of her mug.

‘I didn’t think so,’ he said. He reached across the table and held his hand out to Will. ‘I know we’ve never exactly had a lot to do with each other but I appreciate your intervention today. And I’m sorry you got thumped.’

Will shook his hand with a wry smile. ‘It’s lucky for you I’ve had rather a good day up until this point or I might have taken the whole business rather badly.’

‘And it was nice to meet you,’ Greg said, looking at Cesca. He stood. ‘Harper… Pip…’ He nodded to each of them in turn. ‘I’m sorry about everything.’

‘You’re going?’ Harper said. ‘You don’t have to.’

‘I need to see my son, and I think that’s the place I can do the most good at the moment. Let’s face it – I’ve hardly done any good elsewhere lately.’

Pip rose to unlock the café doors for him while Harper reached for her cup and took a sip.

‘I take it you came down to see us for a reason and not just to stumble into a fight,’ she said, eyeing Cesca and Will over the top of her mug. ‘Although I do have to thank you for stepping in and preventing Greg and Shay from killing each other.’

‘We did, but it doesn’t seem like the right time to discuss it now,’ Cesca said.

‘It’s as good as any. Honestly, don’t worry about me; I’m not as fragile as everyone thinks.’

‘I…’ Cesca glanced at Will, who nodded in encouragement. ‘We. We wanted to be certain about the reward for the find. Will told me what you’d promised – which is incredible, by the way – but…’

‘You think I’m crazy?’

‘No. Without sounding patronising, I’m not sure you fully understand just what you’ll be giving up. It’s going to be a lot of money. Life-changing money.’

‘I often find money brings changes of the wrong kind,’ Harper said ruefully. Her mind went back to Shay. She was still numb, and it would take a long time to process what had just happened, but had it all been about money in the end? Had he ever loved her, or had he just seen an opportunity to acquire property in the farm? And then the box had been found – that bloody cursed box – and he’d clung on harder than ever. ‘I’ve thought about it carefully, and I’ve discussed it at length with Pip… with Kristofer too.’

Cesca raised her eyebrows. ‘Kristofer? I had no idea…’

‘Oh, he helped me out in the tearoom last week,’ Harper said, heading off a conversation that might take an uncomfortable turn. Because while Shay had been unfaithful, Harper had been involved in a battle with temptation herself that had left her feeling less than virtuous. In many ways, her anger at Shay was tempered by the fact that she couldn’t wholly justify it. If they’d both been looking elsewhere before they’d even got as far as the church for their wedding, then perhaps they’d both had a lucky escape. Maybe Shay would even go to Allie and make a go of things, and good luck to them both if they did. As for her own future… she didn’t even know where to begin making sense of this mess right now, and she wasn’t ready to throw herself into another relationship, no matter how strong the attraction.

‘The way I see it,’ she continued, ‘is that if you get Silver Hill House up and running and attracting visitors, then that must be good for the economy of the whole area, me included. So indirectly I am helping the farm with the money. And in truth, I feel in my heart that it was never mine to take.’

‘You don’t think you might need it now that… Well—’ Cesca glanced uneasily at Pip, who’d silently returned to the table.

‘Now that Shay’s gone?’ Harper finished for her.

‘She never needed his help before and she doesn’t need it now,’ Pip cut in. ‘Independent woman, eh?’ She gave Harper an encouraging smile.

‘Yeah.’ Harper nodded, though she felt far from it.

---

Allie lay on the bed of the attic room at the Rising Sun, staring at the old beams that criss-crossed the rafters. The window was so small it was barely possible to tell what time of day it was, the room in perpetual twilight. It was a fitting metaphor for Allie’s life right now.

She reached for her phone from the bedside table, relieved to see that it was still connected – she’d half expected Greg to get her cut off. He hadn’t answered any of her overnight texts and phone calls though. She couldn’t expect him to take her back, of course, but she would have liked the chance to explain properly what had prevented her from speaking to Harper about her affair with Shay. She needed to sort some long-term accommodation too – while the pub was fine for a couple of days, it was far from ideal for longer.

Her finger hovered over the unlock button. How would Shay react if she called to ask for help? He was partly to blame for the mess she was in now, and why shouldn’t he? But then she let the phone drop to the bed and turned her face to the ceiling again. What was the point? What if he was still with Harper? If Greg had decided to keep quiet for now then she might open a huge can of worms. If Greg had told Harper but she’d forgiven Shay – though the idea was a galling one – it wasn’t for her to complicate things between them further. No, this mess was of her making, and she had to clear it up.

Sitting up, she dropped from the bed and pulled on a dressing gown. There was no private bathroom here, only the shared one at the end of the hall, a far cry from the luxury en-suite at home. Luckily she was currently the only guest at the Rising Sun so at least there was no danger of bumping into someone on the way there or back and having to make small talk. It would have been easy to lie staring at the ceiling all day, but that wasn’t going to achieve anything; the only thing to do was force herself to get up, then to wash, dress and go downstairs… baby steps that would be the start of getting her life back on track. Perhaps a life she would no longer recognise, but if she was going to prove herself worthy of access to Josh then she had no choice.

The water pressure in the shower was sporadic and unpredictable, though Dave the landlord had warned her that getting water up to the top of such an ancient building without disrupting the old beams and walls too much was a miracle of modern engineering in itself so she shouldn’t expect too much from the end result. But at least it was warm, and as she stood under it and let the spray wash over her, she almost felt it could wash away her stress. The lifting of that burden, even for a short while, gave her time to think, to reflect on the events of the past few days and to consider her options for the future.

Being unable to contact Greg didn’t help much in those matters. What mood was he in now? Forgiving? Resolute? Hateful? Despairing? And if he wouldn’t talk to her, what could she do about any of that? Had he been to see Harper as he’d vowed to do? If he hadn’t yet, would it do Allie any good to go and see Harper first? Perhaps Greg would see it as a positive attempt to make amends. Or perhaps he’d be irritated by what he might see as an empty platitude – too little too late.

She could message Shay and perhaps she’d get an update on the situation that way, but messaging Shay somehow didn’t seem like the smartest next move, given their history, her inability to resist him and how it might look to Greg if he found out. Though she’d all but blown it, what she wanted more than anything was one more chance, however slender, to talk Greg round. They’d been making progress before, hadn’t they? If she could get him to forget her mistake in not telling Harper, get him back to that place, then they still had a chance, didn’t they? So, what did that mean? Where did she go from here?

Turning off the shower, Allie stepped out and wrapped herself in one of Dave’s guest towels. It had that peculiar odour of linen stored for many months. But it was fluffy, wrapping her in a warm safe place as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She couldn’t get Greg to talk to her and she couldn’t contact Shay. Who did that leave?

There was only one task she needed to do today, as far as she could see, and that was to bite the bullet and see Harper Woods.

---

Harper drained her third cup of coffee. Beyond the kitchen she could hear the low murmur of customers in the tearoom where Pip had taken charge, insisting that Sunday morning would be quieter and as it was only half a day she could manage. Harper had argued that she wanted to work, but Pip wouldn’t hear of it. Harper had held the fort while Pip went off to get her life on track with Esther, and now Pip was going to do the same for her best friend. In the end, it had been easier not to argue, but sitting at the table drinking coffee and wallowing in self-pity wasn’t really the best way to get over Shay. She needed to be busy, to immerse herself in the day-to-day running of her home and business to remind herself that there was still good reason to get up in the morning. She’d been down this road before and had nearly lost the plot for overthinking it. Better to face things head-on and deal with them than hide away. But Pip had been so earnest that she hadn’t been able to refuse her offer, vowing to sneak into the café at some point during the morning and quietly get stuck in.

But as she took the mug to wash it, Pip’s voice came from the doorway.

‘You won’t believe who’s just turned up.’

Harper was about to ask when Pip jumped in with the answer.

‘Only bloody Allie Wicklow. She wants to talk to you. Shall I get rid of her?’

‘What do you think she wants? Do you think she knows what happened here yesterday with Greg and Shay?’

‘She wouldn’t say – only that she wanted a word with you. I told her you weren’t available but she said it was important.’

Harper offered no reply. It would be easy to avoid the conversation, but in a village this small they were bound to run into one another at some point and perhaps it would be easier if they’d cleared the air. Harper bore her no ill-will and long-term grudges had never been her thing – as far as she was concerned Allie had been taken in by Shay just as she had. And from what Greg had told them the day before, it sounded like Allie had as many regrets as she did.

‘You’re not seriously thinking of seeing her?’ Pip spoke into the silence.

‘Could seeing her really make things any worse than they already are?’

‘I wouldn’t put it past her.’

‘But I will have to face her at some point. Better to get it over with now.’

Pip frowned to show her disapproval but moved from the doorway to allow Harper access to the main part of the café, where Allie stood at the counter, chewing her nails and staring absently at the fields outside the glass walls. She looked pale, her usually glamorous waves scraped back and limp, her scrubbed, make-up-free face making her look younger and more vulnerable than she normally did. It was clear to Harper that she was suffering.

‘You wanted me?’ Harper asked.

Allie nodded. ‘I’m sorry to turn up like this but I thought if I called ahead to say I was coming—’

‘I wouldn’t see you,’ Harper finished. ‘Maybe not. But you’re here now, and if you want to talk about what I think you want to talk about, then I suppose you’d better come through to the back where it’s private.’

Pip had followed Harper through and as Allie nodded and made to do as she was bid, Pip eyeballed her before turning to Harper.

‘You only need to shout if you need me,’ she said, her disapproving gaze returning to Allie as she spoke.

Harper touched her arm. ‘I’m sure it’ll be fine, but thanks. You’ll be OK out here for a while?’

‘I told you I could manage so stop worrying about it.’

‘I know. Humour me, eh?’

Harper beckoned Allie to follow her into the kitchen where she gestured towards the stools at the breakfast bar. ‘You want something to drink?’

Allie shook her head.

‘You’re still staying over at the Rising Sun?’

At this Allie’s eyes widened. ‘You know?’

‘We saw you arrive the other day. And then we had our little visit from Greg.’

‘Oh…’

‘I know everything, Allie. I know about you and Shay, and I know Greg has asked you to leave.’

‘Greg told me he was coming to see you but I hoped…’

‘I would have found out sooner or later.’

‘Not that,’ Allie said quickly. ‘It would have been better for you to hear it from me than Greg, that’s all. I know that now but I couldn’t bring myself to come. I’m so sorry… I’ve ruined everything, I know.’

Harper let out a ragged breath. ‘If not you it would have been someone else. If anything you’ve done me a favour by saving me from a doomed marriage. I’m only sorry that it’s ruined yours…’ She paused. ‘You’re not together? You and Shay, I mean – you’re not together now?’

Allie shook her head. ‘He never loved me.’

‘Maybe he never loved either of us. In some ways, it might have been easier to accept if he had loved you. I mean, you can’t help who you fall in love with and there would have been happiness in the future for one of us. This way feels like such a waste; Shay ruined all our lives, and for what?’

‘For a while I imagined I loved him, but…’

‘He has a way of bringing that out in people. I don’t think for a minute he’ll be on his own for long, but I pity the poor cow who ends up with him.’ Harper gave a thin smile. ‘He ought to come with a government health warning.’

‘Shay McArthur – bad for your heart,’ Allie said, the spectre of a smile about her lips too. But it faded in the same second it had appeared. ‘You must hate me.’

‘It may surprise you to hear that I don’t – not one bit. I feel sorry for you; you’ve lost more than I have.’

‘I’ve lost everything that ever mattered,’ Allie acknowledged. ‘Quite simply, I’ve just lost. That’s it; full stop.’

‘There’s no reconciliation to be had with Greg?’ Harper asked.

‘He won’t answer my calls or texts. I don’t know… We’ll have to talk about Josh, of course, but as for us…’

Harper recalled Greg’s candid admissions the day before once Shay had left. He still loved Allie and she still loved him. Surely it was a crime for two people who loved each other to force themselves apart in this way, particularly when that meant breaking up a family too. But was it Harper’s place to try to set things right? Perhaps it wouldn’t be appreciated by either camp – at least not while their wounds were so raw.