short time we’ve known each other to know that when you’re at your most facetious it usually means you’re also kind of scared.’
Lol turned through a gap in the hedge, went very slowly downhill and eventually came to a stop. She could see the humps of buildings but no lights. What had she expected:
‘You’re obviously not scared of the dark, though,’ Merrily said.
‘No, I like the dark.’
‘Yes, you would.’
Lol switched off the engine. ‘When…’ He hesitated. ‘When I first came here… I went out for a walk in the dark. Well, actually, it wasn’t that dark, bit like tonight. I walked down there.’ He pointed through the windscreen to a line of poplar silhouettes. ‘Over the river bridge, then I picked up a path and wandered into a wood. Then I got a bit lost.’
‘Your thing, being lost,’ Merrily said softly.
‘Is it?’
‘But it’s produced some lovely songs. Ask Jane.’
‘She’s just being kind.’
‘She’d take that as a serious insult. Go on – you went for a walk. You got lost.’
‘And then I came to this abandoned hop-yard. Everything cleared or dead, with the poles and the frames naked.’ He paused. ‘And a woman – Stephanie Stock. She was naked, too.’
Merrily stiffened. The summer night gathered around the old car, opaque now like November fog.
25
Soured
DOWN PAST THE inn, at the edge of the old harbour, there was a stony footpath, and if you followed it for about half a mile you came to a fairly secret cove. Or at least it
‘You
Jane climbed onto a rock so that she was looking down on him. Post-sunset, the sky was luminous, almost lime green.
‘
Eirion backed off, the heels of his trainers almost in the water. ‘Well, yes, all right, of course you
‘English.’
He moaned to the brilliant sky. ‘Don’t start that again! Please,
‘Oh, right,’ said Jane. ‘Their
This evening they’d been to the movies, to a cinema in Fishguard. Well, not actually a cinema, a cinema
It had actually helped that it was in Welsh and that snogging had been rendered impractical due to two small girls sitting in between them with their chocolate ripples. It had allowed Jane to contemplate the terrible turn events had taken, and the element of guilt she could no longer reject.
An unexpected wave hit Eirion’s ankles and pooled into his trainers. He groaned. ‘Jane, please don’t do this to me. Stay until the weekend, at least, then we can think of something.’
‘I’ve thought of something. I’ve thought of a taxi. I’ve thought of the nearest station. I’ve thought of… lots of things.’
‘But there’s nothing you can
‘I let her down.’
‘Don’t be daft.’
‘I dumped her in it.’
‘That’s ridic—’
‘Because I didn’t have the guts to say to Riddock, “This is naff, this is dangerous, this is
Jane came down from her rock, and began to ramble up the beach – but slowly, always keeping Eirion in sight. People here still talked about that couple who were murdered years ago on the Pembrokeshire coastal path and nobody was ever caught. English couple, as it happened, on holiday.
‘Jane, we’re all—’ Eirion picked up his trainers and ran barefoot along the sand towards her. ‘We’re all braver after the event. She’s not going to hold it against you. You think she doesn’t understand how hard it is? You think she was never in that position herself, of having to keep her street cred at school?’
‘Huh?’
‘Plus, she’s your mother. Plus, she’s a – you know – a Christian. And also a very nice woman.’
Jane stared at him in pity. ‘Irene, did I even
‘You’ll have to excuse me,’ Eirion said. ‘I’m a stranger on your planet.’
‘OK.’ She stopped. ‘This evening, when I went up to change before we went to see the film, I pinched the cordless from the sitting room – leaving three quid in the dinky little box marked
‘Ah.’ He sighed. ‘I did wonder if you might.’
‘She’d fitted me up, Irene. She’d lied. She was supposed to either put that right or give me a bloody good reason why not. She wouldn’t talk to Mum but she’d have to talk to me. Also, I was gonna tell her what a disgusting old slag Riddock was and how she should tell her to piss off out of her life. Try and put her right, you know?’
‘All right.’ She felt Eirion’s hand close around hers. ‘That was a reasonable thing to do, but why’d you have to be so secretive about it?’
‘Wasn’t anything to do with anybody else.’
‘Thanks.’ Eirion had trodden on an old bottle in the sand, and let go of her hand to rub his bare foot.
‘I didn’t mean you. I’m sorry, I’m a bitch, I’m a bitch, I’m a bitch… Anyway, she wasn’t in. I got her mother, and I said like, when
She walked up a couple of steps, where the beach joined the stony path, and waited for him to pull on his trainers. She could see a light far out in the bay. This was such a romantic place.
‘And then it came out,’ she said. ‘ “
‘Know what?’ He reached for her hand.
‘Amy tried to top herself.’ Jane pulled away. ‘Overdose of aspirins.’
‘Oh, dear God,’ said Eirion.
‘Yeah.’ Jane picked up a big pebble, pulled back her arm as if to hurl it at the sea, then let it drop by her feet. ‘Could you live with that?’