The High Price of Secrets

“No problem. Why don’t you do your shopping this morning, Penny will be able to direct you to where you need to go, and I’ll pick you up around lunchtime, say one o’clock, back here? Then I can show you around a bit and deliver you back this evening.”

She couldn’t refuse. He’d made the plan sound so reasonable. Penny had given her approval as well, and somehow Tamsyn knew the older woman wouldn’t have been so forthcoming if she hadn’t been certain Tamsyn would be safe with Finn.

“Then, thank you, I’d like that.”

“Excellent. I’ll leave you to your breakfast and I’ll see you later today. Thanks for the coffee, Penny.”

“You’re always welcome, Finn. I’ll see you out. Tamsyn, please help yourself to the breakfast buffet. If there’s anything else you’d like, just ring the bell on the sideboard and one of the kitchen staff will be along to take your order.”

Penny smiled and then preceded Finn from the room. Finn gave Tamsyn a wink before following.

“I’m looking forward to this afternoon,” he said, his voice lowered for her hearing only and sending a shiver of anticipation down Tamsyn’s spine.

She smiled in response, a nervous, almost involuntary action, and then he was gone. Tamsyn stepped over to the chafing dishes on the antique sideboard and lifted the lids. Nerves danced like butterflies in her stomach. What had she let herself in for? she wondered as she took a small serving of scrambled egg with a few fried button mushrooms and half a grilled tomato.

She placed her plate on a table and turned back to the sideboard to pour a cup of coffee from the silver carafe warmed by a single candle in a holder beneath it. Everything here was modern and comfortable yet still exuded old-world charm with these touches of elegance from a bygone era. Much like back at home, at The Masters.

For just an instant she was almost overwhelmed by a wave of homesickness, by the desire to quit this search of hers and go home and pick up where she’d left off. But she couldn’t go back, not yet. Not until she’d gotten some answers. After everything that had happened, she felt so lost, as if she didn’t know who she was anymore. She needed this trip, this quest, to help her find herself again.

Tamsyn forced herself to lift her fork and spear a mushroom, bringing the morsel to her mouth. The burst of flavor on her tongue reminded her that she might be down, but she wasn’t out yet. Not when there were still things in this life to enjoy, to savor. Things that proved life went on as surely as the sun rose each day.

“Ah, excellent, you’ve helped yourself,” Penny said, walking briskly back into the room. “Is everything to your liking? Perhaps there’s something else I can get for you?”

“Everything is lovely, thank you. I’m fine for now.”

“I’m glad,” the other woman said, bustling over to clear the table where she and Finn had been sitting when Tamsyn had come into the dining room. “Finn seems quite taken with you. You can’t go wrong there. He’ll show you a wonderful time.”

Was it Tamsyn’s imagination or was there a hefty dose of double entendre seasoning Penny’s words?

“You didn’t mention you met him yesterday,” Penny probed.

“I’d been given an address to go to. It turned out to be his and not the person I was seeking.”

“Well, if anyone around here can help you find someone local it’ll be Finn,” Penny said with a warm smile. “Come and see me in my office before you head out to the shops and tell me what you’re looking for, and I’ll point you in the right direction.”

What she was looking for? Well, there was an opening she couldn’t ignore. Finn himself had said they were a close-knit community. Surely her mother had to be known by someone.

“Actually, now that you mention it, I was wondering…have you ever heard of an Ellen Masters?”

Penny halted midstride and the cups she’d just cleared from the table wobbled a little in their saucers.

“Ellen Masters, you say?” She pulled her mouth down into a small frown for a second before reverting to a bright smile that didn’t feel quite as genuine as it had a moment before. “No, can’t say I’ve ever heard that name. Well, I’ll leave you to your breakfast. Remember to ring if you need anything else.”

Tamsyn watched as Penny left the dining room. She must be getting overly sensitive because for a minute there she thought she’d seen a spark of something on Penny’s face. Tamsyn took another sip of her coffee and shook her head slightly. She was probably just jet-lagged and perhaps a little overtired still. Imagining things that weren’t there simply because she wanted them to be.