With it went the last tiniest hope she had.
Rolling over, she started to cry, huge wrenching sobs that filled the little bedroom.
But nobody could cry for ever.
And an hour later, with puffy eyes and a blotchy face, she made it downstairs and curled up on the sofa beneath the duvet she’d brought down with her.
Her phone sat on the table beside her. She had texted Allan to say that she had a ‘bug’, and then switched it off. She’d also disconnected the landline.
Hugging the duvet tighter, she stared dully at the phone. She fumbled with the equation in her mind.
Leave it on in case Farlan called.
Or switch it off in case he didn’t.
Realistically, the chances of Farlan calling were less than zero. Plus, her mother might ring and she couldn’t face that.
She flinched, imagining the stream of questions. She shivered. Her mother must never know. Neither of her parents could ever know.
A fire: that was what she needed. And then a cup of tea.
Shrugging the duvet away from her shoulders, she knelt down beside the ash-filled grate of the wood burner and began clumsily making a small pyramid of kindling. Then her body stiffened, her fingers trembling against the wood.
Somebody was knocking on the door.
Suddenly she couldn’t breathe. Heart thudding, she stared at it as if it was alive.
‘Nia?’
Her heart dipped with disappointment. It was Diane.
‘Allan dropped by earlier, honey. He said you had a bug. I tried calling, but—’
‘I’m fine, Diane,’ she managed. ‘Really, I’m fine.’
‘I just want to see you’re okay, and then I’ll go.’
Nia winced. There was a steely note beneath the softness. Diane was not going to leave without seeing her.
Getting to her feet, she walked across the room and opened the door.
She had thought she had no tears left to cry, but when she opened the door and saw Diane’s face, she crumpled wordlessly into the older woman’s arms.
‘Oh, honey…’
Diane led her back into the cottage and they sa
t down side by side on the sofa.
‘I’m sorry.’ Nia drew a breath. ‘It’s nothing, really. I just need to get some sleep.’ Swiping at her cheeks, she edged out of Diane’s arms. ‘Thank you for coming to check on me, but I’ll be fine. And I don’t want to give you whatever this is.’
‘I don’t think that’s likely,’ Diane said gently. ‘You can’t catch a broken heart.’
Nia lifted her head, shock replacing her misery.
‘You know…?’ she whispered.
‘I guessed.’ Diane sighed. ‘When he showed me the photos from the ball.’ There was no pity in her eyes, just understanding. ‘I know he’s hurt you, but please try not to hate him.’