The Way We Were_ A Novel - Marcia Willett [14]
Em drank some coffee and thought about it. ‘Yes, I do. Though I haven't seen him for years.’
‘We loved him when we were little.’ Liv smiled, remembering. ‘He was rather sweet with the falcon on his wrist. It wasn't ours though, was it? It was Tiggy's. She brought it with her when she came to stay that summer. Can you remember Tiggy? Sometimes I think I can and then I think it's more what we were told about her than actually remembering.’
‘Of course I remember Tiggy. She was such a romantic figure, arriving in a snowstorm after that long journey from the Welsh Marches with her little dog.’
‘I remember the camper van,’ said Liv. ‘Gosh, we loved that van. I must ask Mum about the little Merlin when she gets back. She and Dad have gone to Tavistock to help Caroline with the unpacking. Anyway, I doubt it's very important. There's bound to be hundreds of copies of it.’ She stretched and sighed. ‘I suppose I'd better make a move or Val will be gelling twitchy.’
‘I should think she ought to be used to you by now,’ suggested Em. ‘You and Andy were never ones to be ruled by the clock.’
Liv chuckled. ‘I know we're hopeless but we do our best work at odd times. Val's the complete opposite: everything by the clock. Poor old Chris has to hold the balance between us. Thanks for the coffee. And don't forget I need some new cards for the shop. Have you thought about it? I know we can reproduce the old favourites but I hoped you might be inspired to paint something new.’
‘I'll think about it,’ promised Em.
CHAPTER TWO
2004
At Penharrow, Val and Chris were having another row.
‘She must see that it's just not on to dash off whenever she feels like it.’ Val's face was pinched with frustration. She thrust her short dark hair away from her face with thin fingers. ‘The trouble with Liv is that she's never grown up. She sees herself as a free spirit who isn't subject to the ordinary rules that other people live by. And you encourage her.’
Chris sat at the table, his eyes on his empty plate, gently pushing the fork handle to and fro. He felt irritated: after all, he could have hardly ordered Liv to slay and work.
‘She does more than her fair share,’ he said coolly. ‘We'd never have got Penharrow up and running without her and, just occasionally, she needs to let off steam. She'll probably work until late this evening.’
‘You always stand up for her.’
‘Oh, for God's sake,’ he said impatiently, ‘I'm simply saying that this isn't some nine-to-five office job. It's a twenty-four seven project—’
‘You're telling me. And if I'd realized what a strain it was I'd never have let you talk me into it.’
‘Talk you into it? Come off it!’ He shoved the plate to one side. ‘You were just as keen as I was. It was you who wanted to live the good life, if you remember.’ A little pause. ‘And it was you who'd lost your job.’
She stared at him angrily, arms clenched and folded tightly beneath her breast. ‘Thanks,’ she said. ‘Thanks for that.’
He made a gesture of conciliation. ‘I'm sorry. But—’
‘Always a “but”. Never just “sorry”.’
Chris stood up quickly, snatched up his plate, but then stood for a moment, considering.
‘We asked Liv to help us,’ he said at last. ‘We both wanted to try this holiday letting business and Liv was here, on the spot, knew the area and the locals. All of that. She's had a great deal of experience in getting new projects off the ground. Don't forget she's got a very good reputation for it and we were very lucky she agreed to help us. She found Debbie and Myra for us, talked to the local craftspeople about stuff for the shop, designed the layout for the café. She takes a very small wage because she knows we need time to build things up, and she grafts damned hard and doesn't mind what she does. Every now and then she freaks out and dashes off to go surfing or to the pub with her mates. She told us she would and we accepted it because