yourself by moving from one place to another.
Was getting away from herself what she was trying to do? wondered Grace. Or was she trying to get away from Ken? Not that she could, of course, with his open laptop on the table in front of her and his ashes in the boot. Dammit, he’d planned all this. More of it than she’d ever expected. And he’d betrayed her. Other people could say what they liked, but Grace saw it for what it was. A massive betrayal of everything they’d had together. He’d freed himself from her yet somehow she wasn’t able to let go because she was here doing what he’d wanted just like she always had.
Men were bastards.
Even the ones you loved.
Especially the ones you loved.
Chapter 11
Nantes, France: 47.2184°N 1.5536°W
The satnav directed Deira to her chosen hotel on the outskirts of the city. The view over the river was the only exceptional thing about it, she thought, but that didn’t matter. It was nothing more than a pit stop for the night. A pit stop that many others seemed to have chosen too, as there were no available spaces in front of the main building and she had to park under a wooden pergola a little further away.
She winced as she hauled her large suitcase as well as her overnight bag out of the boot. She might only be staying for one night, but she needed a change of clothes, and as the temperature was rising the further south she travelled, she wanted to wear something lighter the following day.
‘Oui, madame, you booked online,’ said the receptionist when Deira arrived at the desk. ‘I am sorry, but you are early.’
‘That’s OK,’ said Deira. ‘I’ll hang around till the room is ready.’
She left her cases with the concierge and sat down cautiously on a sofa near the window. Looking around, she reckoned she’d been lucky to get a room at short notice, because the hotel was busy. Most of the guests seemed to be French families and businesspeople. She didn’t know if the area was popular with holidaymakers; she didn’t know anything about it. She could be anywhere. Maybe it would be a good idea to look at her exact location on a map.
She’d just taken out her iPad and was accessing the Wi-Fi when she heard someone say her name. Her heart did a triple somersault and she felt it pound in her ears. But it was a woman’s voice. Gavin hadn’t somehow turned up, spitting fury at her, thanks to Tillie’s mythical webcam tracker.
‘How nice to see you again.’ Grace Garvey stood in front of her, smiling yet with an expression of surprise. ‘I thought you were going to Paris.’
It was nice to see Grace too, thought Deira, although she’d assumed the older woman would’ve wanted to make better progress in her journey through France and Spain. But then perhaps, like her, she wasn’t in too much of a hurry.
‘Change of plan,’ she said. ‘And then I was sort of forced into stopping here.’
‘Really?’ Grace looked at her enquiringly.
‘Yes.’ As Deira gave her a brief summary of her mishap in the service station, Grace’s expression changed to one of sympathy and she sat down opposite her.
‘Oh, how horrible for you,’ she said. ‘Hurting your ribs is always so painful. Are you badly bruised?’
‘Not that I could see,’ replied Deira. ‘It’s usually internal, though, isn’t it?’
Grace nodded. ‘Have you taken anything?’
‘Painkillers.’
‘I have arnica,’ Grace said. ‘I’m not sure how well it’ll work on bruised ribs, but it won’t do you any harm.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t—’
‘Of course you could!’ Grace opened the wheelie case she had with her and took out a large cosmetic bag containing a selection of painkillers, an antiseptic spray, plasters, stomach tablets, antihistamines and eye drops as well as half a dozen small tubes of cream.
‘This one,’ she said, handing one of the tubes to Deira, who was looking at Grace’s pharmaceutical supplies with a mixture of bafflement and admiration.
‘I’m not a complete hypochondriac, but I always pack for every eventuality,’ explained Grace. ‘Comes from having travelled a lot with children. If something can go wrong, it does, but at least with the kids there’s very little that can’t be cured by a sticking plaster and some ice cream.’
Deira laughed and then held her side.
‘Keep the arnica,’ said Grace. ‘I rarely use it these days, but it became a staple after my son was born and I can’t help including it. Fionn was an absolute devil as