Page 12 of The Village of Lost and Found

‘Are you sure I can’t get you anything?’ asked Lucy.

Molly shook her head. ‘No, thanks. You go ahead.’

Whilst the microwave heated up the roast, Lucy opened up a few cupboards until she found the plates and cutlery.

Once it had pinged, Lucy sat down at the kitchen table.

Molly staggered into the kitchen for a glass of water. ‘I know we saw each other briefly the other day and I’m sorry that I feel so rotten, but it’s so lovely to finally meet you. Your uncle talks about you all the time.’

Lucy was quietly pleased that Frank talked about her. Her achievements were limited however, so she didn’t know what he had to be proud of.

‘He didn’t say that you’d redecorated,’ said Lucy, glancing around. She still couldn’t believe that this was the same apartment that she had grown up in.

‘My best friend, Bridget, decorated it when she rented your room over winter,’ said Molly, as she headed back to the sofa. ‘She’s been at college training to be an interior designer. She’s much cleverer than I am. What do you think about the colour scheme?’

Lucy was still trying to reconcile her happy childhood memories in the apartment with the glittery horror in front of her. ‘Does she only do pink?’ she asked.

‘Not always,’ said Molly, with a frown as she looked around. ‘She’s into animal prints at the moment. That’s the in thing apparently. I thought it was perhaps a bit over the top, but I’m clueless about these things.’

‘And the cats?’ asked Lucy tentatively.

‘It started off as a bit of a joke between me and Bridget when we were growing up,’ said Molly, her smile fading slightly. ‘Every birthday and Christmas we used to buy each other a new one. I did offer them to her when she moved out, but, like she pointed out, it wouldn’t be right to split up the collection, so I’ve kept them.’

Lucy could feel the cold china eyes of the cats staring down at her and tried not to shudder.

‘This looks delicious,’ she said, looking down at the steaming-hot meal in front of her. And it was, she realised as she began to eat. ‘So how long have you been working at the newspaper?’ asked Lucy between mouthfuls.

‘About a year,’ said Molly, suddenly looking hesitant. ‘I think it’s struggling though. I mean, I seem to have less and less to do each week.’

Lucy nodded thoughtfully, the delicious food suddenly becoming stuck in her throat. ‘Well, we’ll have to do something about that, won’t we?’ she said in a determined tone.

Although she wasn’t sure what she could do, other than a bit of tidying, which wouldn’t exactly help the newspaper’s fortunes.

Molly nodded, instantly looking more cheerful. ‘Oh, it’ll be so good to have someone enthusiastic on board. Poor Tom has been through so much. Have you seen the new series ofLove Inyet? It’s on in a minute. Well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m just going to switch on the TV.’

Molly had left the kitchen so quickly that Lucy didn’t have a chance to ask her further about what had happened to Tom.

After washing up her dinner plate, she joined Molly in the lounge for a while.

‘So what do you think of what happened last week?’ asked Molly, switching down the volume on the television. ‘That Zane so fancies Danielle.’

‘I don’t think I’ve caught it,’ said Lucy, sitting on the other end of the sofa. ‘I’m normally out when I’m in London.’

‘Wow! Lucky you! So, er,’ said Molly, blushing slightly, ‘do you mind me asking, is it true? What everyone’s saying about you?’

‘Everyone?’ Lucy gulped. ‘If you mean, did I have an affair with Jamie Watkins which has now been splashed all over the news? I’m afraid to say that I did.’

Molly’s eyes grew wide. ‘Oh,’ she said in a small voice.

‘Did I know that he was still married?’ carried on Lucy. ‘No. If I’d known that, would I have got involved with him? Absolutely not. I hate cheats.’

‘Golly!’ said Molly, shaking her head. ‘He sounds horrid.’

Lucy nodded. ‘Yeah. He is. And he keeps texting me, saying he’s sorry and can I see him again! I mean, honestly! How stupid does he think I am? And now I find myself all across Twitter and everywhere else. It’s so awful.’

‘Poor you,’ said Molly.

She really was very sweet, thought Lucy. Her sympathy was entirely genuine, which was in stark contrast to some of the messages she had received from her so-called friends back in London. They had all assumed she had done it for the tabloid attention.