High Tide by Veronica Henry

Making a bloody packet.’
    ‘No. I didn’t know.’
    ‘Yeah, well. That’ll explain the dinner invitation.’
    ‘You think he’s after Belle Vue?’
    ‘He’ll get a grand a week, renting that out over the summer.’
    ‘No way. That’s silly money.’
    ‘Kate, you wouldn’t believe this place nowadays. There’s all these posh people falling over themselves to spend the summer here. It’s crazy.’
    Kate knew Pennfleet had changed. She could see that from the shops and cafés, and from a few things her mum had said. But she hadn’t appreciated quite how much it had altered.
    Rupert wanted Belle Vue. He wasn’t interested in her at all. He was going to butter her up so he could get what he wanted out of her. He hadn’t changed at all. He was still a snake. A user. A chancer.
    It was too late. She’d already agreed to dinner. How stupid of her. Of course, she could cancel.
    Yet she knew perfectly well she wouldn’t.
    ‘Don’t worry,’ she said to Debbie. ‘Forewarned is forearmed. I can handle Rupert Malahide.’

    Vanessa smiled as Nathan brought her yet another glass of wine. She was losing count and her head felt slightly swimmy.
    ‘Should have got a bottle, really,’ she said. ‘Though this had better be my last one. I don’t want to go all maudlin on you.’
    ‘I don’t mind,’ said Nathan. ‘I’m only missing darts at the Town Arms.’
    ‘I hope Mary Mac’s coping.’ Vanessa imagined the scene back at Pennfleet House. Mary running round after everyone. Karina behaving like Lady Muck. And nobody giving a toss that she wasn’t there.
    ‘Tell me about you,’ said Vanessa, leaning forward. ‘Have you always lived in Pennfleet?’
    ‘Yep,’ said Nathan. ‘Born and bred. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I live with my grandad, just up the end of this road.’
    ‘And you work for Toogood’s?’
    ‘Yeah. I’m one of their drivers. It’s just a casual job. My main job’s on the Moonbeam , in the summer anyway.’
    ‘The Moonbeam ?’
    ‘My grandfather’s boat. She’s an old motor launch. She’d been stored away since my nan died, but we restored her a few years back. I take people up the river in her. For picnics and that.’
    ‘I think I’ve seen her,’ said Vanessa. ‘From my terrace. She’s beautiful.’
    ‘She is.’
    ‘How lovely, to do a job that brings people such pleasure.’
    ‘Well,’ said Nathan. ‘I suppose it balances out the funeral work.’
    The two of them laughed.
    Then Vanessa stared at him and he looked down. There was an awkward silence.
    He was adorable, thought Vanessa. A little bit shy and very polite and considerate but quietly confident. He hadn’t really batted an eyelid when she’d insisted on him taking her to the pub. And he was very attentive. And funny. He made her feel sparkly. Which was unexpected but very nice. And a million miles better than what she would have been feeling if she’d gone back to the house.
    She looked at her watch. She should probably go back, if only to make sure Mary was all right. They’d have her running round after them. And that wasn’t fair. She sighed.
    ‘I ought to go home, but I don’t want to,’ she told Nathan.
    ‘Do you have to?’
    ‘Well, yes, I do. Really. Where else am I going to go?’
    He opened his mouth then thought better of it, and shut it again.
    ‘Oh God,’ she said. ‘That wasn’t a hint. ’
    ‘You’d be welcome,’ he said. ‘I’d sleep on the sofa and you could have my bed. Like I said, I only live up the road. You’d be very welcome. If you really don’t want to go home.’ He grinned. ‘Though my grandad might get a shock if he found you.’
    The two of them laughed and for a moment, Vanessa thought – why not? She wasn’t answerable to anyone now Spencer was dead. If she wanted to crash at someone else’s place, who was to stop her?
    ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘But it’s probably not a good idea. I’ve got a cat that needs feeding and Mary Mac will worry