‘I’ll give you a chance to collect yourself, and come by later.’
Her stomach dropped with disappointment. She didn’t know when he planned to leave and go back to Brazil, so every moment she could spend with him was infinitely precious now. ‘Everyone’s heading up to the house,’ she called back. ‘And Maria’s there, helping Anna.’
With a nod of his head, he turned to walk away. Which way would he go? she wondered as Chico paused to speak to those who thought they remembered the dark stranger from some years back. She couldn’t help but notice how pleasant he was with everyone, and how people liked him, and then she was swept up in a phalanx of mourners, all heading to the big house for the wake, and she lost sight of him.
It was impossible to carry her worries back to the house when the pipers were leading them forward with a jaunty tune, and she was safe in the middle of a haven of warmth and support, full of the grit and humour that was so typical of Rottingdean. There had been hard times before, and there might be hard times again, but the people of Rottingdean stuck together, and that was how they got through them. Anecdotes about her grandmother made the brisk walk short and pleasant, so that by the time they arrived at the house Lizzie was so bolstered by all the good cheer and support she was receiving, she had almost forgotten the challenges she faced. The first of these was waiting for her outside the front door.
So that was why Chico had rushed back.
He had wanted to surprise her, and had to be back to receive the van and driver, who had parked up at the bottom of the steps. The van doors were open and Lizzie could see hampers of food and cases of her grandmother’s favourite pink champagne.
‘After all these years, you remembered,’ she exclaimed.
‘Your grandmother’s favourite champagne?’ Chico shrugged. ‘A great lady deserves a great send-off, and I haven’t forgotten a single thing about the days I spent here.’
Lizzie took a second look at the expression in his eyes. Chico Fernandez, the man reputed to care for nothing and no one, except the game of polo, was showing emotion, and plenty of it. The thought that he was capable of feeling showed how much he’d changed, and that was all it took to make her heart thunder.
* * *
He was pleased to see Maria enjoying the gathering. She seemed to have formed an immediate friendship with Annie, and the two women were busy distributing drinks and food. Lizzie was a natural with everyone, but he could see exhaustion building behind her eyes. It had been a long day for her, and she’d had a mountain to climb since returning to Scotland, and there would be more problems ahead. In a few days’ time the will would be read, which meant her parents would be back. Vultures never stayed away for long. Meanwhile, lights were blazing, and the old house had come back to life again, thanks to Lizzie. Fires were blazing in the hearths, and there were small gifts for everyone to take home with them, each of them carefully wrapped beneath a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. He had no fears for Lizzie. It was only natural that she was tired now, but she had more of her grandmother in her than she knew.
He stayed at the wake as long as was politely necessary, and then he took up an invitation by the gamekeeper Hamish to look round the estate.
‘A breath of fresh air is what we both need, I think,’ Hamish told him as he led the way.
‘I couldn’t agree with you more,’ he said, glancing back at Lizzie, who had been studiously ignoring him since he arrived. He hadn’t said when he would be leaving, and he guessed she didn’t want to make the same mistake she’d made fifteen years ago by thinking he would always be around. As far as Lizzie was concerned, this was day one of her new life, and, like everything else she did, he knew she would stride boldly forward into the future with or without him.