Patently in Love (24 page)

The phone rang and rang. Jane frowned. Honestly, you'd think they'd at least have an
answerphone. Something simple like 'this is Caroline, leave a message' would have sufficed.
She was about to hang up when someone picked up mid ring.

A man cleared his throat. "Hello...er...White Cottage B&B."

The sound of Marsh's voice struck Jane like a physical blow. She hadn't been
expecting to hear it and suddenly, she found herself unable to speak.

"Hello?" said Marsh again. He gave a sigh. "They hung up," he said to someone in
the background. A second later there was a click and he was gone.

Jane stared at the receiver in her hand. She was shaking. Slowly she cradled it and
sank into the chair. Hearing Marsh's voice had driven home to her how much she wanted to
see him.

All she had to do was dial the number again and talk to him, but somehow talking to
him wasn't enough. She couldn't possibly apologise over the phone for the massive injustice
she'd done him.

She had to see him. She wanted to see his face and gauge his mood. Her fingers
curled round the armrest of his chair.

She needed to be able to touch him.

It started to rain shortly before the train reached Jane's stop. By the time she got off,
the water was being whipped sideways by the wind and running in ribbons off the station
roof. Suddenly the journey seemed less like a good idea. The night was dark and cold, and she
hadn't reserved anywhere to stay.

What if Marsh's aunt didn't have room in her B&B? Besides, if things didn't go
well with Marsh, she wouldn't want to stay there anyway. Wouldn't it have been more
sensible to phone up and talk to Marsh beforehand? Instead, she'd rushed headlong into the
journey, without thinking about the consequences. Of course, if she'd followed her heart in the
first place, she wouldn't be in this mess.

"Are you all right, love?" A station guard seemed concerned. "Can I help you?"

Jane started. "I need to get to this B&B." She showed him the information she'd
printed from the B&B's website.

"Ah, that'll be Frank and Caroline's place," he said in a sing-song accent. "That's
funny though. They normally come pick people up if they're this late."

"I wasn't expecting to be this late," said Jane. "Is there a taxi rank near here?"

"Not at the station, no. You'll have to phone for one. Tell you what love," he said,
kindly. "You sit in the waiting room and I'll call one for you."

"Thank you." She sank onto a wooden bench and hugged her small bag. Now, sitting
in a cold train station in Wales, she realised how tired she was. She had barely slept since the
photographer had jumped out at her two days before. Today she'd rushed home after work and
thrown a few things into an overnight bag before practically running to the station.

She shivered. It was colder here than in London. She wished she'd packed a thicker
jumper. The hems of her jeans were wet. All she wanted right now was to curl up and go to
sleep. The last of her energy reserves drained away, and she rested her head on top of her
bag.

The station guard touched her shoulder, waking her up. "Your taxi's here, love. Get
you to the B&B. You look like you could do with a warm bed."

Gratefully, Jane stood up, her limbs protesting. "Thank you so much." It seemed like
a long time since a stranger had been so kind to her.

"Oh don't mention it," he said. "I have a daughter your age. I'd like to think people
are nice to her when she needs it." He shooed her out towards the exit, where a taxi was
indeed waiting.

* * * *

The taxi left Jane in front of the B&B. The sound of its departing wheels
crunching on the gravel was soon swallowed up by the sound of the rain. Jane stood still,
getting increasingly wet, staring at the white house. A light above the sign shone on wet ivy
leaves and gleamed on the stone doorstep. Even in the pouring rain, the house looked
inviting.

From inside came a burst of laughter. Clearly the B&B had guests, maybe even a
full house. She gathered her courage. It was too late to turn back now. If she did, she might as
well give up on Marsh forever.

Taking a deep breath, she tried the door. It was open.

Somewhere off to the right she heard voices. A notice on a shelf saying
Reception
sat next to a bell. After a moment's hesitation, Jane rang it.

A woman appeared, wiping her hands on an apron. She was tall and thin, with a crop
of blonde curls. "Hello. Can I help?"

"I need a room?" It was meant to be a statement, but it came out like a question. She
had been so busy thinking about what to say to Marsh that she hadn't really thought about this
bit. But she did need a room.

"Of course," said the woman. She looked Jane up and down. "You poor thing, you're
soaking. Come through. It's warmer in here." She opened a door and shooed Jane ahead of
her. "I'm Caroline."

They entered a large room with a small bar at one side. In front of the fire crackling
in the hearth, two middle-aged women in walking clothes were sitting in arm chairs. They
were chatting with a young woman who was sitting on a floor cushion with her feet stretched
out towards the fire. Everyone looked toward Jane.

The young woman had dark hair pulled back into a pony tail. When she smiled a
dimple appeared on her cheek. Jane knew she was looking at Marsh's sister.

She smiled back and murmured a greeting.

Caroline went behind the bar and pulled out a book. "Can you fill in your details
here, please?"

Behind her the three women resumed their conversation. "So why does she think he
told the magazine?"

Jane froze, halfway through writing her address.

"I dunno. Paranoia?" From the tone of her voice, Jane could tell Stevie wasn't well
disposed towards her.

"I must admit, it doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would do," said the other
woman. "Mind you, I don't know your brother at all."

Her companion chuckled. "You've only just met him Isabel."

"Yes, but you get a feeling about a person, don't you?"

Jane signed her name. Yes, you got a feeling about a person. Her feeling about Marsh
was that he was a good man. She should have trusted that feeling. Instead she had let her bad
memories of Ashby interfere and ruin a perfectly good relationship.

"I'm afraid both the single rooms have been taken," said Caroline. "I've got a double
you could have."

"That will be fine." Feeling she ought to add something more, she said. "It'll be nice
to have room to stretch out." Her jeans were starting to stick to her legs and she was cold. She
would very much have liked to go and stand by the fire, but she wanted to hear the rest of the
conversation.

"So, what's he going to do?" said Isabel.

"His boss is going to decide that and let him know on Sunday."

"I didn't mean about that. I meant about his girlfriend."

"Oh," said Stevie. "I don't know. But, if she can't believe him when he says he didn't
do it, he's better off without her."

"Maybe she just made a mistake."

"Hmph. He is really miserable." Stevie sighed. "I think he really liked her."

Caroline handed Jane a key. "Breakfast is seven-thirty until nine. I usually cook it to
order, so if you tell me what you want, I can have to ready for you."

Behind her, Stevie said. "It's so annoying. It's been ages since he's liked someone,
and he finally lets himself fall in love and this happens. That woman doesn't know what she's
let go of."

Jane almost turned round to point out that she did know what she'd let go of. Difficult
as it was to listen to herself being described in less than sympathetic terms, she felt she
somehow deserved it. She had been so stupid. She had been rehearsing what she was going to
say all the way from London, but now it seemed horribly inadequate.

The door opened, letting in a blast of cold air, and Marsh stepped into the room. He
was wearing a dripping waterproof and his arms were full of small logs. He spotted Jane as
soon as he entered and froze in place, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. After a moment he
arranged his face into a carefully neutral expression, as though he was waiting to hear what
she said before deciding how he felt.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stevie straighten up and knew she had been
recognised.

Jane managed a weak smile. "Hi."

"What are you doing here?" He sounded perplexed, but not particularly angry.

"I..." She took a quick glance round the room. Stevie was getting to her feet.
Everyone was looking at her. "I came to find you."

"Why?" He was still clutching the bundle of logs like a shield. Water dripped off his
hood and fell on his nose. He twitched his head, making the hood slide off. When the firelight
caught his features, Jane suddenly longed to see him smile.

Stevie went to his side, her face set as though she was preparing to defend her
brother.

Jane had hoped to talk to Marsh in private, but it looked like that wasn't going to
happen. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was wrong. I know that. I should
have believed you from the start. I should have known you'd never say anything to the
press."

Marsh's expression remained carefully neutral. He said, "Yes, you should."

"I know. I think at some level, I did know. But I let my memories of Ashby cloud my
judgement."

"I'm not Ashby."

"I know that too. I didn't mean to compare you to him. It was all just such a shock
that I jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry Marsh. I'm really, really sorry. I don't know what I can
say that would make things better between us."

"What changed your mind?"

"I really couldn't believe you'd told
Cause Celeb
where we'd be, but the
evidence... Then I figured out who else could have known we'd be there." She blinked back
tears that were blurring her view of him. "I was so wrong, Marsh. I needed to see you and
apologise as soon as possible, so I came here."

He continued to stare at her, coldly impassive.

She had expected some reaction from him. "Please, please know that I'm very sorry.
I've never met anyone like you before. You were so perfect and we were good together... But
I was so scared of getting hurt again that I let you slip through my fingers. I'm a very stupid
person." She brushed a tear away. "If you never want to see me again, I'll understand, but for
what it's worth, I love you."

The silence in the room was broken only by the cracking and popping of the fire.
Everyone seemed to have lost the ability to move.

Jane held her breath.

"Well, she sounds sorry to me," Isabel said, making everyone jump.

Marsh glanced at Stevie and a look passed between them. Without a word, he handed
her the bundle of logs.

With two long strides he was across the room. "I'm not Ashby, Jane. And I would
never take you for granted the way he did." He looked into her eyes. "All I ask is that you do
the same for me."

Jane nodded, trying to inject all the sincerity she felt into that small movement. When
Marsh smiled, she felt her heart swell with relief and love.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

For a moment she forgot the world around her. All she knew was the pressure of his
lips and the warmth of his hands. She felt insubstantial, as though the only thing holding her
up was him.

"Aaaah," said one of the ladies. "If only that were part of the service, you'd get a lot
more custom, Caroline."

Marsh drew back slightly, his eyes shining. "I've made you soaking wet." He stepped
back, releasing her.

"Oh no, I was like that when I came in..."

"You poor girl." Caroline appeared beside her. "Marshall, why don't you show Jane
her room and then come back down. I'll have a sandwich and a mug of hot chocolate waiting
for you to take up."

"You don't have to do that," said Jane.

"Nonsense," Caroline said. "You must be freezing cold and shattered if you came
straight from work. Go on Marshall, before the poor girl catches her death of cold."

Marsh grinned and picked up the key Caroline was brandishing. He took Jane's hand
and led her out of the room.

"I feel like I should give them a round of applause," said one the ladies. Everyone
laughed.

* * * *

The room was quaint in a traditional B&B sort of way. The duvet bloomed with
pink rosebuds and a china bowl sat on the dressing table. As far as Jane was concerned
though, the best thing in it was Marsh.

"You should take a hot shower." he said. "I'll go get this tray that Aunty Caroline's
threatening you with."

Jane had been too nervous to eat more than a couple of biscuits on the train. Now she
realised she was actually quite hungry. A shower sounded lovely too. She felt dirty and sticky
from having been at work all day and then on a train for several hours. Much as she wanted to
grab hold of Marsh and never let go, she feared he would find her icky in her current state.
"Promise you'll still be here when I come out?"

Marsh put his arms around her and held her. "I can easily promise that." He kissed
her just below her ear, sending a thrill of pleasure down her side. "Besides, Those ladies down
there would hunt me down and beat me with their walking boots if I ran away now."

* * * *

The shower made Jane feel much better. By the time she emerged, dressed in a large
t-shirt and a jumper that wasn't warm enough, Marsh was sitting on her bed with a tray
containing two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a chicken sandwich and two slices of
cake.

"You're lucky," he said. "Not everyone gets a slice of cake."

As she settled down to eat, Marsh sat behind her and put his arms around her. "So,
what happened at work?"

"Oh Marsh, I'm so sorry about your promotion."

"It's not your fault. It was bloody Keith. Anyway, tell me what happened."

She leaned against him and, between mouthfuls, outlined what was going on.