Girl on the Run (21 page)

It started to rain shortly before the train reached Jane's stop. By the time she got off, the water was being whipped sideways by the wind and running in ribbons off the station roof. Suddenly the journey seemed less like a good idea. The night was dark and cold, and she hadn't reserved anywhere to stay.

What if Marsh's aunt didn't have room in her B&B? Besides, if things didn't go well with Marsh, she wouldn't want to stay there anyway. Wouldn't it have been more sensible to phone up and talk to Marsh beforehand? Instead, she'd rushed headlong into the journey, without thinking about the consequences. Of course, if she'd followed her heart in the first place, she wouldn't be in this mess.

‘Are you all right, love?’ A station guard seemed concerned. ‘Can I help you?’

Jane started.
‘I need to get to this B&B.’ She showed him the information she'd printed from the B&B's website.

‘
Ah, that'll be Frank and Caroline's place,’ he said in a sing-song accent. ‘That's funny though. They normally come pick people up if they're this late.’

‘
I wasn't expecting to be this late,’ said Jane. ‘Is there a taxi rank near here?’

‘
Not at the station, no. You'll have to phone for one. Tell you what love,’ he said, kindly. ‘You sit in the waiting room and I'll call one for you.’

‘
Thank you.’ She sank onto a wooden bench and hugged her small bag. Now, sitting in a cold train station in Wales, she realised how tired she was. She had barely slept since the photographer had jumped out at her two days before. Today she'd rushed home after work and thrown a few things into an overnight bag before practically running to the station.

She shivered. It was colder here than in London. She wished she'd packed a thicker jumper. The hems of her jeans were wet. All she wanted right now was to curl up and go to sleep. The last of her energy reserves drained away, and she rested her head on top of her bag.

The station guard touched her shoulder, waking her up. ‘Your taxi's here, love. Get you to the B&B. You look like you could do with a warm bed.’

Gratefully, Jane stood up, her limbs protesting.
‘Thank you so much.’ It seemed like a long time since a stranger had been so kind to her.

‘
Oh don't mention it,’ he said. ‘I have a daughter your age. I'd like to think people are nice to her when she needs it.’ He shooed her out towards the exit, where a taxi was indeed waiting.

The taxi left Jane in front of the B&B. The sound of its departing wheels crunching on the gravel was soon swallowed up by the sound of the rain. Jane stood still, getting increasingly wet, staring at the white house. A light above the sign shone on wet ivy leaves and gleamed on the stone doorstep. Even in the pouring rain, the house looked inviting.

From inside came a burst of laughter. Clearly the B&B had guests, maybe even a full house. She gathered her courage. It was too late to turn back now. If she did, she might as well give up on Marsh forever.

Taking a deep breath, she tried the door. It was open.

Somewhere off to the right she heard voices. A notice on a shelf saying
Reception
sat next to a bell. After a moment's hesitation, Jane rang it.

A woman appeared, wiping her hands on an apron. She was tall and thin, with a crop of blonde curls.
‘Hello. Can I help?’

‘
I need a room?’ It was meant to be a statement, but it came out like a question. She had been so busy thinking about what to say to Marsh that she hadn't really thought about this bit. But she did need a room.

‘
Of course,’ said the woman. She looked Jane up and down. ‘You poor thing, you're soaking. Come through. It's warmer in here.’ She opened a door and shooed Jane ahead of her. ‘I'm Caroline.’

They entered a large room with a small bar at one side. In front of the fire crackling in the hearth, two middle-aged women in walking clothes were sitting in
arm chairs. They were chatting with a young woman who was sitting on a floor cushion with her feet stretched out towards the fire. Everyone looked towards Jane.

The young woman had dark hair pulled back into a
pony tail. When she smiled a dimple appeared on her cheek. Jane knew she was looking at Marsh's sister.

She smiled back and murmured a greeting
, glad that the rain plastered hair and lack of make-up made her anonymous.

Caroline went behind the bar and pulled out a book.
‘Can you fill in your details here, please?’

Behind her the three women resumed their conversation.
‘So why does she think he told the magazine?’

Jane froze, halfway through writing her address.

‘I dunno. Paranoia?’ From the tone of her voice, Jane could tell Stevie wasn't well disposed towards her.

‘
I must admit, it doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would do,’ said the other woman. ‘Mind you, I don't know your brother at all.’

Her companion chuckled.
‘You've only just met him Isabel.’

‘
Yes, but you get a feeling about a person, don't you?’

Jane signed her name. Yes, you got a feeling about a person. Her feeling about Marsh was that he was a good man. She should have trusted that feeling. Instead she had let her bad memories of Ashby interfere and ruin a perfectly good relationship.

‘I'm afraid both the single rooms have been taken,’ said Caroline. ‘I've got a double you could have.’

‘
That will be fine.’ Feeling she ought to add something more, she said. ‘It'll be nice to have room to stretch out.’ Her jeans were starting to stick to her legs and she was cold. She would very much have liked to go and stand by the fire, but she wanted to hear the rest of the conversation.

‘
So, what's he going to do?’ said Isabel.

‘
His boss is going to decide that and let him know on Sunday.’

‘
I didn't mean about that. I meant about his girlfriend.’

‘
Oh,’ said Stevie. ‘I don't know. But, if she can't believe him when he says he didn't do it, he's better off without her.’

‘
Maybe she just made a mistake.’

‘
Hmph. He is really miserable.’ Stevie sighed. ‘I think he really liked her.’

Caroline handed Jane a key.
‘Breakfast is seven-thirty until nine. I usually cook it to order, so if you tell me what you want, I can have it ready for you.’

Behind her, Stevie said
, ‘It's so annoying. It's been ages since he's liked someone, and he finally lets himself fall in love and this happens. That woman doesn't know what she's let go of.’

Jane almost turned round to point out that she did know what she'd let go of. Difficult as it was to listen to
herself being described in less than sympathetic terms, she felt she somehow deserved it. She had been so stupid. She had been rehearsing what she was going to say all the way from London, but now it seemed horribly inadequate.

The door opened, letting in a blast of cold air, and Marsh stepped into the room. He was wearing a dripping waterproof and his arms were full of small logs. He spotted Jane as soon as he entered and froze in place, as if he couldn't believe his eyes. After a moment he arranged his face into a carefully neutral expression, as though he was waiting to hear what she said before deciding how he felt.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Stevie straighten up and knew she had been recognised.

Jane managed a weak smile.
‘Hi.’

‘
What are you doing here?’ He sounded perplexed, but not particularly angry.

‘
I …’ She took a quick glance round the room. Stevie was getting to her feet. Everyone was looking at her. ‘I came to find you.’

‘
Why?’ He was still clutching the bundle of logs like a shield. Water dripped off his hood and fell on his nose. He twitched his head, making the hood slide off. When the firelight caught his features, Jane suddenly longed to see him smile.

Stevie went to his side, her face set as though she was preparing to defend her brother.

Jane had hoped to talk to Marsh in private, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen. She took a deep breath. ‘I'm sorry,’ she said. ‘I was wrong. I know that. I should have believed you from the start. I should have known you'd never say anything to the press.’

Marsh's expression remained carefully neutral. He said,
‘Yes, you should.’

‘
I know. I think at some level, I did know. But I let my memories of Ashby cloud my judgement.’

‘
I'm not Ashby.’

‘
I know that too. I didn't mean to compare you to him. It was all just such a shock that I jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry Marsh. I'm really, really sorry. I don't know what I can say that would make things better between us.’

‘
What changed your mind?’

‘
I really couldn't believe you'd told
Cause Celeb
where we'd be, but the evidence … Then I figured out who else could have known we'd be there.’ She blinked back tears that were blurring her view of him. ‘I was so wrong, Marsh. I needed to see you and apologise as soon as possible, so I came here.’

He continued to stare at her, coldly impassive.

She had expected some reaction from him. ‘Please, please know that I'm very sorry. I've never met anyone like you before. You were so perfect and we were good together … But I was so scared of getting hurt again that I let you slip through my fingers. I'm a very stupid person.’ She brushed a tear away. ‘If you never want to see me again, I'll understand, but for what it's worth, I love you.’

The silence in the room was broken only by the cracking and popping of the fire
. Everyone seemed to have lost the ability to move.

Jane held her breath.

‘Well, she sounds sorry to me,’ Isabel said, making everyone jump.

Marsh glanced at Stevie and a look passed between them. Without a word, he handed her the bundle of logs.

With two long strides he was across the room. ‘I'm not Ashby, Jane. And I would never take you for granted the way he did.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘All I ask is that you do the same for me.’

Jane nodded, trying to inject all the sincerity she felt into that small movement. When Marsh smiled, she felt her heart swell with relief and love.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her.

For a moment she forgot the world around her. All she knew was the pressure of his lips and the warmth of his hands. She felt insubstantial, as though the only thing holding her up was
him.

‘
Aaaah,’ said one of the ladies. ‘If only that were part of the service, you'd get a lot more custom, Caroline.’

Marsh drew back slightly, his eyes shining.
‘I've made you soaking wet.’ He stepped back, releasing her.

‘
Oh no, I was like that when I came in …’

‘
You poor girl.’ Caroline appeared beside her. ‘Marshall, why don't you show Jane her room and then come back down. I'll have a sandwich and a mug of hot chocolate waiting for you to take up.’

‘
You don't have to do that,’ said Jane.

‘
Nonsense,’ Caroline said. ‘You must be freezing cold and shattered if you came straight from work. Go on Marshall, before the poor girl catches her death of cold.’

Marsh grinned and picked up the key Caroline was brandishing. He took Jane's hand and led her out of the room.

‘I feel like I should give them a round of applause,’ said one the ladies. Everyone laughed.

The room was quaint in a traditional B&B sort of way. The duvet bloomed with pink rosebuds and a china bowl sat on the dressing table. As far as Jane was concerned though, the best thing in it was Marsh.

‘
You should take a hot shower.’ he said. ‘I'll go get this tray that Aunty Caroline's threatening you with.’

Jane had been too nervous to eat more than a couple of biscuits on the train. Now she realised she was actually quite hungry. A shower sounded lovely too. She felt dirty and sticky from having been at work all day and then on a train for several hours. Much as she wanted to grab hold of Marsh and never let go, she feared he would find her icky in her current state.
‘Promise you'll still be here when I come out?’

Marsh put his arms around her and held her.
‘I can easily promise that.’ He kissed her just below her ear, sending a thrill of pleasure down her side. ‘Besides, those ladies down there would hunt me down and beat me with their walking boots if I ran away now.’

The shower made Jane feel much better. By the time she emerged, dressed in a large T-shirt and a jumper that wasn't warm enough, Marsh was sitting on her bed with a tray containing two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a chicken sandwich and two slices of cake.