Secrets (10 page)

Chapter Twe
nty-Five

That night Janey dreamt a jumble of thoughts. She was back at Little Cobbleton and getting ready for her marriage to Jake.

‘Hurry!’ Susie was urging as she helped Janey into her wedding dress. ‘We need to get to the church before Jake’s wife shows up.’

‘I’m going as fast as I can,’ Janey gasped as she struggled with an endless sea of silk.

‘Leave putting on the veil – we’ll sort it out in the Roller.’

‘Yes,’ Janey agreed as she jammed her feet into satin shoes. ‘Let’s go!’

Grabbing her beaded clutch bag and hitching up layers of skirts, she flew down the stairs towards the front door. But it was too late. The doorbell was ringing.

‘Oh no!’ Janey whimpered as she skidded to a halt on the hall runner. She met Susie’s worried gaze. ‘What are we going to do?’

Susie chewed her thumbnail anxiously, and then her face lit up. ‘Brainwave! We’ll go out the back door. Quick! There’s still time to outwit her.’

The two women raced towards the back door as the doorbell rang on and on and on. Janey groaned. The ringing was relentless. In fact, it no longer sounded like a doorbell. It was more like a telephone. The shrill noise was making her temples ache.

Janey’s eyes pinged open just as her arm shot out from under the covers and knocked the telephone off its cradle. She felt thoroughly disorientated as she stared around the strange hotel room. She fumbled for the handset.

‘Hello?’ she croaked.

‘I thought as much,’ said Garth. ‘I said to the others, “I’ll bet she’s still having her beauty sleep.” And I was right.’

‘Oh my goodness,’ said Janey rocketing upright. ‘What time is it?’

‘Time for you to get down to breakfast and rescue me from playing gooseberry. Right now Rich and Ruth are billing and cooing over the strawberry yoghurts, and James and Amanda are holding hands under the table.’

‘No!’

‘Yes. Which just leaves me and Clive and his new waiter boyfriend, and I really don’t want to be involved in a love triangle. It’s too messy.’

Janey giggled. ‘I’m on my way.’

Mont Tremblant is a city in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec. As the Canada Companion’s coach rumbled into the pretty resort, Janey looked forward to stretching her legs. For the last two hours they’d been motoring along a huge highway framed by a wealth of evergreens.

‘Let me get off this bus,’ Garth groaned. ‘My legs have almost gone to sleep.’

Janey glanced at Garth’s denim-clad thighs. ‘I guess that’s an occupational hazard when you have massive legs.’

‘Less of the massive, Miss Richardson. They’re simply on the long side.’

‘Apologies,’ Janey smiled. ‘Ooh, look. Isn’t this place pretty!’ She peered excitedly out of the adjacent window. A waterfall of steps framed by cascading flowers edged the Cabriolet gondola which would soon take them up the mountain.

Clive stood up and clapped his hands for attention. ‘Okay, everybody. My party to please follow me.’

Garth had been right about the rest of the group pairing off. Ahead of them, Rich and Ruth had linked arms. Amanda and James were nose-to-nose. It was doubtful whether they’d even registered the glorious scenery all around them. Janey felt gauche standing next to Garth like a spare part. Everybody else seemed
lurved
up. She glanced furtively at Garth. He was talking to Clive. Garth’s exceptional height had him towering over their guide. Her eyes dropped to the ground. For a moment she wished Jake was by her side. She scuffed the toe of her shoe back and forth. It was no good thinking about Jake. He belonged to another woman. Jake had never been
her
man, even though she’d thought otherwise. Janey looked up at Garth again. He didn’t belong to anybody. She couldn’t deny she felt attracted to the guy. He had granite-like rugged good looks, which were nothing like Jake’s. In some respects that made him all the more appealing to Janey. His personality was certainly charming. Janey moved her gaze away from Garth and stared around her. In a few months’ time this place would be transformed into a sub-zero Winter Wonderland. Right now the mountain was full of lush greenery. Janey suddenly recognised that, like this mountain, a thaw had taken place in her heart. She blinked in surprise. When had that happened?

‘You all right, babe?’ Garth jolted her from her reverie.

‘Yes,’ Janey blushed. She felt surprised and pleased at the endearment. ‘In fact I’m…very all right.’

‘Good. Here’s your ticket for the gondola.’

‘Thanks,’ Janey palmed the piece of paper.

‘Don’t look now,’ Garth murmured, ‘but Amanda is giving James a tonsillectomy with her tongue.’

Janey’s head automatically whipped around. ‘Good heavens!’

‘I said
don’t
look now!’ Garth laughed.

‘I can’t help it,’ Janey whispered. ‘Blimey, they’re really going for it.’

‘Well, Amanda certainly is. I’m not sure about James. I think he’s in the process of being suffocated. She’s quite a big girl, isn’t she?’

‘In every sense of the word,’ Janey acknowledged. Amanda’s bosoms were pressed into James’s chest and seemed to be squishing upwards against his throat. He began to stagger backwards and was only saved from falling over by cannoning into a large displayed map of the mountain’s south side.

Janey was suddenly aware of Ruth and Rich standing beside them.

‘Isn’t love grand?’ said Ruth happily to Janey. She nodded her head in the direction of Amanda and James. ‘Richie and I would love to do that too, but we’re a little more reserved. We might sneak a kiss up the mountain though if nobody is looking.’

‘You go for it,’ Garth encouraged. ‘After all, life’s not a rehearsal.’

Rich looked like he was steaming up behind his sunglasses. ‘Ruthie and I were just saying how nice it would be if you and Janey felt romantically inclined about each other too.’

‘Who says we don’t?’ asked Garth mischievously.

Janey felt her mouth being overcome by gravity.

‘Ooh, how lovely,’ Ruth simpered. ‘I said to Richie on the coach, I had a funny feeling about the two of you all along. Come on, the queue’s moving forward. We’re next on the gondola.’

As they all shuffled towards the gondola, Janey glanced up at Garth. ‘What did you tell Ruth that for?’ she asked incredulously.

‘I couldn’t resist teasing her,’ Garth whispered. ‘You don’t mind do you?’

Janey shrugged noncommittally. She felt a muddled mixture of emotions wash over her, including a strange sensation of…what? As the queue moved forward, the feeling evaded her. If Susie had been there, she would have enlightened Janey. It was…
anticipation
.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The gondola was moving along swiftly now. A welcome warm breeze ruffled Janey’s hair. They were soaring over rooftops and huge evergreens. Occasionally she glimpsed the odd swimming pool with laughing families splashing around. At the top of the mountain, Janey felt as though she’d stepped into Toy Land. The buildings had French-inspired architecture. There were pitched roofs in red, blue and grey. The tiles were corrugated and the chimneys old-fashioned.

‘Feel free to split up,’ said Clive. Two-thirds of the group had already disappeared. Ruth and Rich were hastening down a secluded woodland path, and Amanda and James were nowhere to be seen at all. ‘Oh.’ Clive blinked rapidly. ‘Where has everybody gone?’

‘I think they’re entertaining themselves,’ said Garth diplomatically.

‘That’s the ticket,’ Clive beamed. ‘Now then. What about you two? Are you all ticketty-boo? If so I’m going to sit down with an ice-cream and have a look at Tiger.’

‘Tiger?’ asked Janey.

‘Dating,’ Clive explained and waggled his mobile phone at her. ‘It’s the best socialising app since sliced bread.’

‘That’s absolutely fine by us,’ Garth assured. He turned to Janey. ‘Let’s check out the luge.’

‘The what?’

‘It’s a long concrete trail which you ride in adapted carts. Fancy it?’

‘Sure,’ Janey nodded.

‘Toodle-pip,’ Clive beamed, and gave them both a dinky wave.

Garth and Janey headed towards another queue. ‘I’ll get these,’ Garth said. ‘My treat. You can buy the ice-creams and coffee afterwards.’

‘Sounds like I have the better deal,’ Janey smiled.

Ten minutes later they were putting on safety helmets while assistants strapped them into their carts. Garth and Janey were lined up with a small group of other carters. They listened to instructions on how to take a bend and how to brake. Janey gripped the little steering wheel anxiously. Her eyes sought out Garth. He was slightly ahead of her. From behind, he looked like a vast ironing board that had somehow been collapsed and folded to fit into the cart. Surely he couldn’t be comfortable? But whatever Janey thought next evaporated as the instructors, quickly stepping backwards, waved them to go, go, go! She released the brake and shot off surprisingly quickly. The track snaked for over a kilometre, zig-zagging all the way down the mountain and cutting through part of the Laurentian forest. As Janey’s cart rushed towards the first hairpin bend, she concentrated on leaning into the corner. Every now and again she’d whoosh past a makeshift wall of tyres. After two minutes of speeding, Janey’s eyeballs were streaming. Her heart had jumped, like a leaping salmon, into her throat. To say she wasn’t enjoying the experience was an understatement. Squeezing the brake, she dropped the speed down until eventually she was tootling at a sedate pace. Embarrassingly, children were shooting past her, whooping with joy, but Janey didn’t care. The last thing she wanted was to crash through one of those tyre walls and plough into a vast tree. She’d lost sight of Garth ages ago. As Janey’s cart creaked along, she miserably wondered where her devil-may-care sense of adventure had gone. Had she left it outside the church when Jake had beetled back to Manchester to be with his wife? Either way, she was appalled at her lack of bravery. Thirty minutes later she crawled into the disembarking bay. Garth was waiting.

‘I was about to send out a search party,’ he grinned. ‘What happened?’ He hunkered down and helped her release the seat belt.

‘Sorry,’ Janey mumbled. ‘I completely lost my bottle.’

Garth roared with laughter. ‘I think we’d better change the ice-cream and coffee to ice-cream and brandy. Does that suit?’

Janey stood up on rubber legs. ‘I feel such an idiot.’

‘Hey, you’re shaking. Get on my back.’

‘What do you mean,
get on my back
?’

‘Piggy back.’

‘Don’t be daft,’ Janey protested. She was half laughing, but her body was doing its own thing and vibrating away. Good heavens, this was so embarrassing.

‘I mean it,’ said Garth. ‘Get on, or I’ll tip you upside down and give you a fireman’s lift.’

‘Ooh-er. Well if you put it like that.’ Standing behind Garth, she reached up and placed her hands on his shoulders. Suddenly she was being hoiked up in the air. Her legs straddled his broad back as the world diminished by several feet. ‘Wow, I wondered what it was like up here,’ she quipped.

‘Do you need an oxygen mask, or will the thought of imminent brandy suffice?’

‘Just the brandy, thanks.’

‘Right. Hang on tight.’

Suddenly Garth was powering off towards a narrow cobbled street. Its descent was lined with juicing parlours, frozen yoghurt shops, and cafés offering a hundred different types of coffee. As he strode past souvenir teddy shops and suppliers offering discounted ski wear, Janey held on tight. Her head bobbed over Garth’s. She caught a whiff of the lemony shampoo he’d used that morning. Every now and again the breeze lifted and ruffled his hair. It tickled her chin. It felt soft. Silky. She had an overwhelming urge to touch it.
Good heavens,
she thought.
What’s happening to me?
From this angle Garth’s shoulders seemed to be broader than Superman’s. It made Janey feel small and sylph-like. And very protected.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Janey was starting to feel as if she and Garth were in their own private bubble. For the last couple of hours they’d consumed brandy, ice-cream, more brandy, and coffee. Now they’d combined all three things and were drinking brandy-coffee with a huge ice-cream floater on top. The world around them had receded and dimmed. Janey’s tremors had long passed. She was feeling incredibly relaxed. Her mother would say
tipsy
. Certainly Janey’s mouth had taken on a life of its own. She was horrified to hear herself ask Garth about his past. Namely his ex-girlfriend.

‘What do you want to know?’ he asked, amused. ‘I told you. Emma went off with a pilot.’

‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Janey shrugged as her fingers played with the handle on her cup. ‘Tell me how long you both lived with each other. Were you devastated when she went off with another man? Have you dated anybody since?’ Janey gulped as a thought occurred to her. ‘Are you dating anybody now?’

‘What a lot of questions,’ Garth smiled. ‘I feel like I’m being interviewed by the Gestapo.’

Janey flushed. ‘Sorry.’

Garth shifted and stirred some melting ice-cream into his coffee. The ensuing silence seemed to stretch on and on. Janey instantly regretted asking such personal questions. For something to do, she reached for her cup and took a sip.

‘We lived with each other for a bit,’ Garth eventually said. Janey felt none the wiser. How long was
a bit
? A month? A year? A decade? ‘But it didn’t work out.’ Janey wondered why but didn’t dare ask any further impertinent questions. ‘And no, I’m not seeing anybody else right now.’

Janey put her coffee cup down and squinted at Garth. ‘Good.’

‘Good?’

Janey reddened. She really wished her mouth would consult her before speaking. ‘I mean…it’s good to…you know…not rush into anything…with anybody. Have a break. Take stock. That sort of thing.’ She trailed off in embarrassment and went to sip from her cup again. Putting it to her mouth, she promptly banged her tooth on the cup’s rim.

‘Is that what you did after Jake then? You took stock?’

‘Well, for a while.’

‘Ah, I detect the presence of another man on the scene,’ Garth teased.

‘
Was
on the scene,’ Janey corrected. ‘The gentleman is in the past tense.’

‘Oh dear. Did you treat him mean to keep him keen, and then break his heart as revenge against all men?’

‘No! Well, at least not intentionally. My best friend fixed me up on a blind date with a mate of her boyfriend’s.’

Garth rubbed his chin thoughtfully and considered. ‘Ah yes. The blind date. Where would we be without our friends coming up with quick fixes?’

‘Is that what happened to you?’ Janey asked curiously. She was desperate to get the conversation back to this man’s history. He had only told her the barest of information.

‘Let’s just say a few well-meaning friends tried to pair me off with various women. There was Sally with the stammer, Davina with dreadful halitosis, and Rosa who constantly addressed my crotch. Don’t get me wrong, I have no issues about women with,’ Garth chose his words carefully, ‘quirky character traits. However, I draw the line at talking about engagement rings, frothy bridal gowns and who to invite to the wedding.’

‘Gosh, you must have dated those women for quite some time.’

‘No,’ Garth shook his head. ‘It was always on the first date. Consequently there was never a second.’

‘Are you a commitment phobe?’ Janey blurted.

‘Most certainly not,’ Garth protested. ‘I just want to be sure when I settle down it’s with that precious someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. Anyway, enough of my half-baked dates. Who did “Fiona Fix-It” come up with for you?’

Janey giggled. ‘My friend’s called Susie. Her boyfriend, Sean, fixed me up with a guy called Simon.’

‘Don’t tell me. He had a big nose and red hair.’

‘Good heavens, you’ve met him!’

‘And did it get serious?’

Janey’s smile faded. ‘No. He was a very nice guy. Just…’ she shrugged. ‘Not for me.’

‘And do you see yourself staying in this twee little village of yours? Little Cobbleton. The place where everybody knows everybody else’s business?’

‘Who knows,’ Janey shrugged. ‘Certainly I love my job, and couldn’t wish for a nicer school.’ She paused. Garth seemed to have neatly turned the conversation back to her again. ‘So whereabouts do you live?’

‘Not a million miles from you as it happens.’

‘Oh?’ Janey felt her heart lift. She acknowledged the emotion with surprise. How strange.

‘Speldhurst. I’m a bit of a country bumpkin. I like the peace and quiet, especially when I’m writing. And talking of writing, here comes some more novel fodder for my next great romance.’ Garth winked and inclined his head towards the door.

Janey looked over just in time to see James stagger into the coffee shop with Amanda clinging onto his back.

‘Coo-ee!’ called Amanda, spotting them both. ‘We saw you earlier when you came off the luge. Look, I’m having a piggy back too!’

James was bright red in the face and sweating profusely. He was also grinning from ear to ear.

‘Hats off to her man,’ Garth murmured. ‘I don’t think I could piggy back Amanda for more than five seconds.’

‘Yes, she’s a big girl,’ Janey agreed.

James lowered Amanda to the floor. He looked ridiculously pleased with himself.

‘Come and join us,’ Janey waved.

Garth got to his feet. ‘Let me go and help James. His arms look like stretched spaghetti. I don’t want him dropping a tray of drinks. Would you like another brandy, babe?’

At Garth’s second unexpected use of an endearment, Janey felt her insides turn to mush. She really needed to lay off the brandy. After all, Garth probably called all women “babe”. It meant nothing. He was just being friendly.

‘Actually, no. I need to sober up.’

But she was talking to thin air. Garth was already on his feet telling Amanda and James to sit down and that the brandies were on him.

Later, as they boarded the coach back to Montreal, Janey’s eyelids felt heavy. As soon as she was in her seat, her eyes closed. Fresh air, jet-lag, and rather a lot of brandy had finally caught up with her. Minutes later her head lolled sideways. It came to rest on a broad shoulder. As the coach rumbled back to the Fairmont Elizabeth Hotel, Janey surrendered to a sense of peace.

Garth momentarily glanced down at the pretty woman sleeping against his shoulder. Seconds later he turned to the window, looking at the passing scenery. He’d managed to neatly evade Janey’s earlier questions. In fact, he hadn’t been entirely honest with her. Unlike Janey, he wasn’t running away from somebody. In fact, it was the reverse. He was seeking somebody out.