it as well?
Rob offered the cognac again. Jude pushed his empty mug towards him, barely listening when Rob said, “Louise asked the coroner, but their answer wasn’t helpful. Neither was the bank’s. They wouldn’t extend a line of credit when the property belonged to missing owners. She truly ran out of options.” He poured a generous measure before recapping the bottle. “That’s when she contacted me. You remember that the contest came with a cash prize?”
Of course he did. It had been his sole motivation—just enough for an aspiring chef to set up on his own. It was what had led Jude to enter in the first place—finally a good enough reason to keep him away from Porthperrin long-term.
Rob pushed the mug back to Jude’s side of the table. “Your sister read the interview where I said I wouldn’t have won it without you.”
Jude lifted his cognac, almost choking because Rob wasn’t done yet.
“She told me if that was true, I should share it with you.”
This time, Rob followed Jude when he left the main bar and opened the front door to cross the street to the sea wall. He set Jude’s mug down, another inch of cognac at its bottom, and took a sip of his own.
“Getting day-drunk isn’t going to help anything.”
“No,” Rob agreed, squinting in the sunlight. “But the sooner the bottle’s finished, the sooner Lou will let me replace it with something better.” He tipped the rest into the harbour. “She runs a very tight ship.”
“Sounds like she’s had to.” Jude inhaled salted air and exhaled a question. “You really gave her half the prize money?”
“No. Of course I didn’t.” Rob looked out to sea. Beyond the mouth of the harbour, waves crashed, turbulent and foaming. “I gave her all of it.”
“You what?”
Rob crossed his arms, still staring outward. “Or, to be accurate, I exchanged it for part of your sister’s share in the profits.” Before Jude could absorb that, Rob said, “It’s an investment, that’s all. Nothing to do with what happened between us. Like I said earlier, you made it clear that staying in touch wasn’t a priority. You put family first, and I get that. I respect it. So you have to believe that when I came to an agreement with your sister, seeing you again wasn’t part of the deal. It was strictly business.”
That was the second time he’d used the same phrase that morning.
“Your sister needed a cash injection if the pub was going to make it through the winter. As I said, none of the banks would touch her, but I could see that with some investment, the New Anchor could make a lot of money. Besides, it got me out of London.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Why would I want to stay there?” Rob turned so his hip rested against the sea wall. “That was what my dad wanted for me. Follow in his footsteps by running his restaurants? No thanks,” he said with a shudder as if declining that good fortune was like dodging a bullet. “I’ve seen what that life does to people. To families. That wasn’t ever what I wanted.”
Seagulls swooped overhead, chasing each other, the calmer water below them sea-green and so clear Jude could see a starfish on the seafloor. Rob echoed something Jude had long thought. “It’s so beautiful here. I can’t think of anywhere better on the planet to wake up every morning.” He paused, evaluating. “Apart from Glastonbury, maybe.”
“You didn’t grow up in London?” Country life wasn’t exactly what he’d pictured, Rob so urbane and relaxed in the capital’s hustle and bustle.
“No, but Glastonbury wasn’t like Porthperrin either. Less Atlantic Ocean; more Ley lines, druids and hippies. Our hotel attracted the strangest people. Growing up there was magic.” His whole expression lightened, delight a good look on him. “In a well-run hotel, everyone pitches in to make it work when it’s busy. Mum gave me all the best jobs, like pouring a glass of cognac after dinner for every new guest. She’d chat with them until dad got done cooking, then he’d come to sit with them as well; talk until they were friends rather than clients. He took his time with people, back then. Mum made him.” His next pause was drawn out. “I like the idea of running a hotel, even a small one, much more than only running a kitchen. What’s the point of preparing food if you don’t ever get a minute to learn about who