Cressida McLaughlin - The Once in a Blue Moon Guesthouse - The perfect feelgood romance

‘Where did Darcy come from?’ Robin asked. ‘I know I’m being judgmental, but I wouldn’t have put the two of you together. What is she, a cockapoo?’

‘Cavapoo,’ Will said, giving her a quick glance. ‘And no offence taken. I had a neighbour, when I lived in Beckenham. Selina. We exchanged pleasantries, but nothing more than that. She was going to Seville for three weeks.’ He ran his hand back and forward through his hair, absent-mindedly. ‘She couldn’t take Darcy with her, and asked if I’d be happy to look after her while she was gone. She told me Darcy’d had a bad reaction to a previous kennel visit, that she couldn’t bear the thought of her being locked away. I didn’t have much experience with dogs, my family were never pet people, but she’d always seemed well-behaved. As you can see, she’s not much trouble.’

As he said this, Darcy tried to back out from underneath a table and knocked a vase off the top of it.

‘Perfect timing,’ Will said, smiling gently. The vase seemed to have survived its fall to the thick carpet, but neither Will nor Robin moved forward to be certain.

‘What happened to Selina?’ Robin asked, her voice almost a whisper. ‘Why didn’t she come back for Darcy?’ A catalogue of horrendous things fired through her head, culminating in a memory rather than a fantasy; a night that still replayed itself to Robin in flashbacks and nightmares. The ambulance, blue lights in the darkness, screams and shouts and running feet.

‘She met someone,’ Will said, shrugging. ‘She said he was her soul mate, and that she wasn’t coming back to London. She’d organize her belongings, but could I take Darcy to a rescue centre?’ He shook his head, sucking air in through his lips at the memory, and Robin tried to hear him past the pounding in her ears. ‘I’d spent nearly a month with Darcy by this point, and it … well, there was no way I could see her going into a cage, however temporary it might be. So’ – he flung his arms wide – ‘me and Darcy, BFFs forever. She came with me when I moved into Downe Hall. She thinks she’s in charge of the gardens.’ He turned to her, his smile dropping as he saw her expression. ‘Are you OK? You look pale.’

‘I – I’m fine,’ Robin managed. Her heart was thumping, her mind swirling with unwelcome emotions. It had been a long time since she’d been overcome so unexpectedly with the horror of that night. She thought she had reached a place of control, able to access the memory and the grief when she chose to, then put them neatly back in their box. She stared down at her shoulder, realizing the weight she felt was Will’s hand. She thought about blaming the dust, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who could be easily fobbed off.

‘Do you want to get some fresh air?’ he asked. ‘You don’t have to help me. It was an offer over and above the remit of guesthouse owner, or friend, even.’

Robin peered out of the window, but it was so smeared she could only see a hazy approximation of the promenade and the sea beyond. ‘Fresh air would be good. But that doesn’t mean I’m bailing on you so soon after offering. What time do you want your next break?’

Will glanced at his watch, but before he’d had a chance to reply Darcy started barking, her yelps short and high-pitched. She raced across the room, weaving between table legs, and sat behind Will, her tongue sticking out.

‘What was all that about?’ Will’s tone was more curious than anxious.

‘Ah.’ Robin pointed to the far corner of the room, giggling with relief as her composure began to return. ‘Not a great hunter, then?’

Will looked in the direction of her finger, then raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly. ‘It’s not even a rat, Darcy. It’s just a mouse. A tiny, helpless little mouse.’ The dog whimpered in response. ‘Come on then, let’s get some fresh air as well.’

Robin stepped into the sunshine and waited for Will and Darcy to join her on the top step. ‘When shall I bring you more tea?’

‘You don’t have to, Robin. You’ve helped me enough already.’

‘I’m only next door, and I’ve got full access to a kettle and electricity.’

Will looked down at her, his eyes searching her face. ‘Let me sort out my own lunch. I’ll take Darcy along the prom and see what I can find, but maybe later this afternoon?’

‘Done,’ she said, pleased with the compromise. ‘I have a feeling that it’s easy to get lost in that house if you spend too long inside.’

‘I might risk opening a few more curtains when I get back.’

‘Brave move, Mr Nightingale.’

‘No less than Bear Grylls would attempt.’ He flashed her a quick grin and then jogged down the stairs, leaving Robin standing on Tabitha’s top step with only the plaque for company, wondering why she was being quite so helpful to a man she’d only just met.

‘Tabitha’s nephew?’ Molly asked, leaning over the white desk in her airy reception area and pouring another sugar sachet into her tea. ‘Where did he come from? I didn’t know about any of Tabitha’s family. Mind you, she wasn’t the chattiest to me, always bright and breezy but never that forthcoming.’

Robin screwed her nose up, thinking back. ‘I’m not sure she was ever like that with me, though I guess it’s different when you’re young. I never looked for moods or motives, just took advantage of her friendliness. But I’m almost certain she never mentioned a nephew to me either.’

‘And you didn’t even have to offer him a cup of sugar,’ Molly said, grinning. ‘He played right into your hands. And what did he think of Starcross? Think its magic will work on him?’

‘Magic? What do you mean?’

‘All that astrology stuff. It’s not just a room for stargazers, is it?’

‘It’s a room for whoever wants to stay in it,’ Robin replied sniffily. Neve’s influence on the room had collided with her thoughts about Will even though she’d known him for less than twelve hours, and that was after thinking that Tim’s return to her life was significant. She was going to wish she’d never picked cosmic destiny as part of the room’s inspiration – or at the very least she would have to do some research into how it worked, instead of believing every encounter with a person of the opposite sex had a special meaning.

‘Get you, Robin!’ Molly laughed. ‘You’ve already thought about it, haven’t you? I want all the details. What’s he like? What’s he going to do with the house, and on a scale of one to ten, how sexy is he?’

Robin sank back into Molly’s white leather sofa, wondering briefly if any of the grime from Tabitha’s house was still clinging to her and was about to upset the pristine simplicity of Groom with a View.

‘He’s nice,’ she started, noncommittally, ‘and his dog is adorable. I think he’s a bit overwhelmed by having to deal with Tabitha’s house on his own – I have no idea where the rest of her family is. If he’s her nephew, then she’s at least got a brother – or a sister who kept her own surname – somewhere.’

‘Unless they’re dead, and it’s all been left to Will.’

Robin tipped her head on one side, considering. ‘Possibly. Anyway, he’s not sure what to do with the house. He’s made noises about selling it, but I think he’s a long way off making that decision.’