He watches while Cosmo makes a face, mimes despair, horror, then he shakes his head, turns and walks away. As he crosses the footbridge he glances back to the car, which is pulling out into the road, sees Cosmo’s hand waving from the window as he drives over the bridge. Al lifts his own hand in response and descends the steps to the platform to wait for the up-train to London.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

As he drives, Cosmo can hardly contain his delight; his happiness to be back here driving in these narrow lanes; catching glimpses of the estuary, of two small dinghies crammed together under a low stone bridge as the tide rises. He’s finding it difficult to understand these emotions that have him in their grip. After all, he’s had a good weekend in London. Becks was pleased to see him. In fact, he was flattered by her response and joked that perhaps he should go away more often. Despite that, despite the fun of going to a film and having supper at the new Italian restaurant, despite a slow, sexy start to Sunday morning, he could hardly wait to be back on the train and travelling west. He could tell that Al was baffled by his behaviour, and unusually judgemental, but Cosmo simply can’t contain his high spirits.

The clouds are packing away to the east. The sun shines on fields and hedgerows, painting them gold and scarlet, and on an impulse Cosmo turns the car down the steep lane that leads past Lincombe Boatyard towards the coastal path around Snapes Point. He parks in the little car park and gets out to release Reggie. The air is warm, soft, and he laughs quietly with sheer pleasure. He decides to walk down the path at the edge of the field, just a short walk so he can reconnect and so that Reggie can stretch his legs. As they come out from the shelter of the hedge he gazes around him, away to Kingsbridge at the head of the estuary, across to the entrance to Frogmore Creek opposite and then around to Salcombe in the west. He can’t wait to see Amy again. She is a part of all this, rather like a princess in a fairy tale, belonging to this landscape, which seems set apart from the real world. He is obsessed, possessed, by her and all of this and he can’t give any of it up; not yet.

Even as he thinks of her a figure appears, walking round from the coastal path, a black Lab running ahead. It’s not Amy, it’s the woman he met in the Coffee Shop: Cara. The dogs meet, tails wagging as if they are old friends, and Cosmo raises his hand to her, calling a greeting. She waves as she climbs the field towards him and he smiles at her and gesticulates around him with an expansive gesture.