‘Hi, Roger,’ said Marnie. ‘I’ve made some cheesecakes. I thought you might like one.’
‘Oh, I never say no to a piece of cheesecake,’ said Roger, rubbing his hands together. ‘Thanks very much.’
‘I’ll pop it here for you,’ said Marnie, before marching back to the car for another. One that was covered in a gooey, sticky fruit sauce.
‘I’ve got one for you as well, Kay,’ said Marnie, fixed grin like a ventriloquist’s dummy in place. ‘It’s a cherry one, look.’ She approached Kay, opened the box, grabbed the back of Kay’s head and pushed her face down into the dark red topping.
‘If you want to fight with your gloves off, love, then I’m more than ready for you.’
It took Kay’s brain seconds to register what had just happened and by the time she screamed, Marnie was already on her way to Una Price’s house.
Herv was pointing the gable end of The Bilberries when Marnie strode up his lane carrying a box, wearing cheesecake blobs and runny dark cherry topping all over her white shirt.
‘Hi, Herv, would you like a free cheesecake,’ she said like a robot giving out special offers.
‘Of course,’ said Herv.
‘Good, enjoy. With my compliments.’ She held out the box out towards him, same deranged grin fixed on her mouth with superglue, but her eyes told a very different story. They were glassy with hurt and anger.
Herv took the box with one hand and caught hold of her arm with the other.
‘What’s the matter?’ he said.
‘Nothing,’ snapped Marnie. ‘Herv, let me go. I’ve got things to do.’
But he didn’t let go, he did the opposite and tightened his grip, pulling her over his threshold.
‘Sit down,’ he said, ‘I’ll get you a towel.’
‘If I stop moving I’ll go mad,’ she said, resisting him.
‘You will stop moving and you will sit and you will go mad if you have to,’ he said, with calm authority.
Marnie sat on the edge of his sofa. It suited the cottage but not him as it was very flowery and feminine. But it was soft and squashy and she could imagine that after a hard day’s work, it would welcome Herv’s big tired body like a hug.
He emerged from his kitchen and handed her a blue towel and she burst into tears and then buried her head in the towel, ashamed that she was making a fool of herself in front of him.
‘I’ll make you a coffee and then you can tell me what is wrong,’ he said. ‘Don’t move from there.’
Marnie heard the kettle begin to boil and cupboards opening in his kitchen. The tinkle of a spoon. She wiped her face and dragged her finger underneath her eyes to remove any tear-melted mascara. There was lots of it, indicating she probably had panda-eyes, not that she cared. Herv returned with two mugs, handing one to her, before taking a seat in the armchair.
‘Okay, let’s start at the beginning,’ he said. ‘Why are you in this state and covered in cheesecake?’
‘Because I’ve just shoved Kay Sweetman’s head in one.’
‘I see,’ said Herv.
‘And Una Price’s. In a different one. Not the same one, in case you were wondering.’
‘O-kay.’ He paused for a moment, waiting for elaboration and when none was forthcoming he spoke again. ‘Are you going to tell me why or do I have to guess?’
‘I’ve been making cheesecakes for a firm that didn’t want anyone to know that they weren’t made in-house by them. Kay found out and blabbed. I was warned that if that happened, my contract would be made null and void immediately.’
‘Ah, the mystery black vans,’ said Herv, now enlightened. ‘They were picking up secret cheesecake orders.’
‘I now have no job,’ said Marnie and another tear slid down her cheek and she swatted it away, annoyed that it made her look weak and vulnerable. ‘She didn’t have to do that. She only did it because . . .’ She stopped. Because she thinks I’m after you sounded like the stuff of playgrounds.
He pressed, ‘Because?’
‘Because she’s a cow,’ said Marnie. ‘And Una Price. And we all know why she joined in.’
Herv chuckled. ‘Drink your coffee,’ he ordered.
She sipped at it and tried to think back to the last time a man had made her a cuppa. She couldn’t remember. She wasn’t sure if one ever had. She’d never been with anyone who woke her up with tea in the morning or whipped up a hot chocolate before bed. It was little considerations like those she yearned for the most. She bet Herv Gunnarsen was the sort of person who would make them. He took a drink from his own mug and grimaced.
‘I forgot the sugar.’
He went to get some. He looked too big for the tiny kitchen. As if he were Alice in Wonderland who had just taken a potion. His head was only inches from the ceiling, and she’d noticed that he’d had to duck down through the front door too. Kindness emanated from him in waves and she knew why Ruby was mad for him because he was the perfect package: handsome, good company, considerate, hard-working with big strong arms that would close around you to give comfort. Bet he’s fantastic in bed, said that annoying voice inside her, which she sent back to the corner post haste. Even though she had to agree.
‘That’s better,’ he said, sitting back down. ‘It’s only half a teaspoon. I’m trying to cut it out completely but I have too much of a sweet tooth.’ He opened his mouth and pointed to a canine. ‘It’s this one,’ and he smiled and Marnie did too because it was hard not to catch one of Herv’s smiles.
‘I can guess why Kay did it,’ he said.
‘Can you?’
‘She thinks I like you,’ said Herv.
Marnie gave a little shrug. ‘I don’t know about that.’
‘She’s right, of course, I do,’ he said.
‘How can you not?’ joked Marnie.
‘You’re a crazy mixed-up chick, but I like that too.’
She lifted her head and found his impossibly blue eyes and felt the crack of thin ice underneath her. She knew, if she let herself, she would fall very hard and very fast for this kind Norwegian man whom Lilian adored. That would mean a lot of pain when it all went tits-up. As it would, because it always did.
‘Well you shouldn’t like me,’ said Marnie quickly, turning her attention back to the mug. ‘I’m bad news. I should live on an island really because I have the extraordinary gift of getting on people’s noses.’
‘Up,’ he said.
‘Pardon?’
‘You get up someone’s nose. You get on their nerves. Or you get their goat. I think you should come to me once a week for English lessons.’
He was grinning, she could feel it, even though she was looking down at her coffee, because his grin warmed the room like a central heating radiator on full blast. He lifted the mug from her by the rim and put it down on the table and she felt the air between them shimmer like a heat haze.
‘I do like you, Marnie. I can’t help it.’
His hand came out to cradle her cheek, his fingers tender and warm on her skin.
‘Don’t, Herv,’ she said, but she didn’t move away, instead she closed her eyes and savoured his touch. Both of his hands were holding her face now, lightly as if she were one of Lilian’s precious ceramics and when his lips gently grazed hers she felt a combustible mix of sunshine and hope and panic rush through her and it was all too familiar and a portent of disaster.