‘Are you OK?’ she asked.
‘Yeah.’ He cleared his throat again. ‘Yeah, of course. It’s just strange, seeing it now, like this.’
‘When was the last time you saw her?’ Robin asked, running her fingers along the back of a sofa.
‘About six months before she died. And I didn’t even know she was ill. I couldn’t get down as often as I wanted to – I didn’t come as often as I could have. And I should have …’ He shook his head, hands on his waist as he looked around the room. The bedraggled sheet was sticking out of the back pocket of his jeans, looking like a ridiculous tail.
‘Should have what?’
‘I should have come here before now. It wouldn’t have seemed so …’
‘Intimidating? Difficult? Monumental?’
He flashed her a look that could have been irritation, but it disappeared in a smile of resignation. ‘Impossible. It’s going to take months to get anywhere.’
‘So you will have to look for work round here?’
He nodded. ‘I’ve got some money set aside, but it looks like I’ll need to supplement it. I can turn my hand to whatever’s needed – odd jobs, estate management – and tourist season on the south coast should throw up some possibilities. Once I get the electricity sorted out, clear a small patch of calm in amongst all this, I can start looking at job sites.’
‘You can do that next door,’ Robin said. ‘You’ve got Starcross, or Sea Shanty, the room downstairs. Guests will come and go, and I’ll be there a lot of the time, but it shouldn’t be too distracting. I can see you wouldn’t want to spend every day working on this – it’ll be draining.’
Will nodded, his eyes narrowed as he looked over his aunt’s belongings. ‘Thank you.’
Robin bit her lip. ‘And I could … I could help you, here. Sometimes.’
Was she really offering this? She’d just opened up a new guesthouse, and should be spending all her time and energy getting comfortable with the routine. But, perhaps because she didn’t have the same weight of responsibility as Will had, because Tabitha had been a neighbour and not a relative, a happy part of her childhood, she saw the task as intriguing, a treasure-trove of the past to investigate. Something Will might relish in his usual line of work, but which he was too close to see without feelings crowding in on top of him. There were bound to be spiders and grime and mess, but Robin wasn’t bothered by any of that. Molly would probably be more upset because Robin would have to delay her manicure.
Will turned to face her, his arms dropping to his sides. ‘I can’t ask you to help me.’
‘You’re not asking, I’m offering.’
He took a step towards her. ‘I could just sell it, leave it to whoever buys it to sort out. If a developer was interested, then none of this would matter.’
Robin pictured Tim rubbing his hands with glee, his blue eyes alight at the prospect. ‘But would that be doing justice to your aunt? Leaving everything like this, not going through it? It’s not going to be easy, but maybe if it’s not just you and Darcy, then it will seem more manageable.’
They both watched as the dog explored the room, her short tail sticking up excitedly, wagging as she delved into the darkest corners.
‘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