Free The Cornish Guest House by Emma Burstall Page A

favour of someone from Tavistock.
    ‘Fabulous do!’ she went on, then whispered in Liz’s ear. ‘I say, Luke’s charming, isn’t he? Terribly handsome!’
    ‘He is.’ But Liz couldn’t help remembering that look on Tabitha’s face. Did he know that his wife was terrified of something and, if so, what?
    After going to the loo, she strolled back towards the party and joined the guests who’d moved across the corridor to the other reception room, which was less crowded and cooler. Rick Kane had a protective arm round his white-blonde lady friend and they were deep in conversation with some locals, including the leader of the Parish Council, who was an awful bore. Liz couldn’t face getting stuck with him, so she turned her attention to another, rowdier group on her right.
    This was made up of teens and twenty-somethings, including Jenny and John Lambert’s boys, Ryan the fishmonger, Nathan the postman and his girlfriend, Annie, the fitness trainer. Nathan had been a skinny lad until he’d started downing protein shakes, bought himself a home gym and developed an impressive set of biceps and a barrel chest. The only problem was he seemed to have forgotten about his lower half, which was oddly out of proportion with the rest.
    Annie, who ran the Mature Movers class at the church hall, as well as Zumba sessions and yoga for pregnant women, didn’t seem to mind, though. She had a pretty, lively face, was short and muscly and spent her life in Lycra. They were an ideal match.
    Liz was surprised that Loveday wasn’t with them. She and Nathan had been an item for a while, until she’d dumped him unceremoniously for someone who’d been dumped in turn for Ryan, but it was all water under the bridge now.
    ‘What are you laughing about?’ She smiled, moving over to join them. She caught a faint whiff of fish wafting from Ryan’s direction. ‘Not me, I hope?’
    One of the waiters approached with a tray of canapés and she popped a triangle of toast, spread with pâté, into her mouth.
    ‘Ryan had a date with the au pair,’ Nathan said gleefully, ‘but when he asked her out again, she said she was going to go back to Spain so there was no point. Seems he frightened her so much she’s decided to leave the country!’
    Liz glanced at poor Ryan, whose thick black eyebrows were zigzagging across his forehead in a deep frown.
    ‘She’s been planning to leave anyway,’ he spluttered. ‘She said she doesn’t like the countryside. She’s told the Mallons she’ll only stay to settle their little boy in. It’s nothing to do with me.’
    But Nathan was having none of it.
    ‘What did you do to her?’ He smirked. ‘Did you wave your cockles and winkles at her?’
    The others guffawed. Ryan grew redder in the face and Liz came to his rescue by asking Annie about her mother and grandmother, to whom she was very close.
    ‘My gran, Hazel, she’s not been too well.’ Annie frowned, then something distracted her on the far side of the room and she didn’t finish. Liz spun round and saw Loveday enter with Luke and stop just inside the door. She was gazing up at her host, who was much taller than her and standing very close. He laughed loudly and she twiddled one of her hooped earrings and laughed back.
    ‘They’re getting on well.’ Nathan sniggered.
    Annie poked him in the ribs. ‘Shh, they might hear.’
    ‘Where’s Jesse?’ he asked suddenly, having forgotten all about Ryan and the au pair now that something more interesting had cropped up.
    Liz reminded him that Jesse and the others were working but that they’d be along later if the party was still going.
    ‘I reckon it will be,’ Ryan commented, grabbing another bottle of lager from a passing waiter and taking a swig, while Liz helped herself to a second canapé. ‘Doesn’t look like they’re in any hurry to get rid of us.’
    Thinking that she’d been away from Pat for a while and ought to check on her, Liz wandered back to the other room and cast an