“Come where?” she said, stunned by the shift in conversation.
“I don’t know yet. But I need to leave Porthsennen.”
Nothing he was saying made much sense. “What are you talking about? You want to leave now, after what’s happened?”
“I know, I know, but I can’t stay with my parents anymore, Elizabeth, not after this. And I can’t stay in Porthsennen without a job.”
“You’ve got a job, and there are plenty of holiday rentals you can stay in over the winter. They’re all empty, and Mr. Bolitho will give you a good price.”
“No, Elizabeth. I don’t have a job anymore. Old Man Cressa saw to that.” When she reeled at the revelation, he felt a need to justify it. Feeling as if he had somehow let her down considering his bad luck, he reached for her, was relieved when she didn’t protest. “Mr. Pommeroy told me that because I missed work this morning, I’m out.”
“But that’s stupid.”
“I know. It’s all nonsense; I’ve missed work before and nobody said anything. It’s only cash in hand. They’re getting rid of me because of what my father said, but I won’t find other work around here. Not after this.”
The image of life before Tom came to her, the engagement with James, the future that was planned. “But you can’t go.”
“But I can’t stay here on my own without money, and my mum needs me to work, Elizabeth. I have to help her. After my brother . . .” He paused, eyes filling with tears. “Dad would still be working if Daniel hadn’t died. And if I’d been watching him . . .”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she implored, before taking a breath and lowering her voice. “You can’t take on all the responsibility just because your father couldn’t cope. It’s not right. It’s not fair.” Images of the future they had planned together flickered like flashbacks from a dream, parts of her life that felt like memory, in the sense that it felt both inherently as if it belonged to her, but was now also confined to the past. “I need you too. You can’t just go.”
Her legs felt weak, her body too heavy. It was as if every bit of her was having to work to stay on her feet. And with that she gave up, let herself slump to the cold ground, still wet from the earlier rains. Her eyes drifted to the sky, the faintest of stars just visible through a break in the heavy gray cloud.
“This is so unfair,” she said. His touch was strong and yet still gentle as he sat on the cobbles beside her, reassuring to the point where she found the courage for a suggestion. “What about somewhere close, like Newlyn?” she asked. “A lot of the fishing went there. Or Mousehole.” Neither was that far, she reasoned, wiping her eyes, the tears unavoidable. “We could still see each other if you were close.”
Disappointment hit when she saw him shrug his shoulders. That movement spoke of indifference, lack of possibility.
“You’re worth more than a cottage with no electricity and scraps on the table, Elizabeth.” Deep inside, he felt the stigma that he knew would follow them forever. What was a bloke like him doing with dreams of a life with a girl like Elizabeth, raised on expectations of a possible future as a doctor’s wife?
“All I want is you, Tom.” He felt her grip tighten against his hands. “I couldn’t bear it if you left me. You might never come back.”
“I will never leave you, I promise,” he continued. “But after what has happened between our families, I don’t think we can stay here either. We need a fresh start, away from here.”
“You mean after the lies your father told.” Her voice broke at the very idea. “What kind of person does that?”
“Elizabeth,” he said, his voice quiet. Every bone in his body told him to abandon this conversation, but he knew that one of the things she liked about him was his simple honesty, and if he kept his feelings inside, he was likely to lose her anyway. “I know my father is a lot of things. But he’s no liar. Your mother was found early this afternoon, remember?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“Everything. My father told us about what he saw before breakfast. I was there when he told the police. He said he saw your father down by the water, taking a boat while