Ruan had guessed this might be her answer, but he wasn’t going to give up. ‘How far away are you from the festival site?’
‘I’m a hundred yards from the crossroads by the Jolly Sailor pub?’
‘I know it.’
‘It’s five miles away from the festival site. It’s too far. I need to get through security and check in at the festival office too. I should ideally have been on the beach by now. Are you in the office?’
‘No, I’m actually at the Tremain estate … I think that’s only a couple of miles from you. If I set out now, I might be able to pick you up from the pub car park?’
‘You can try, but the whole area is jammed.’
Polly walked in on him. She was carrying several bulging document wallets. ‘Sorry, bit of a mess. Filing is not my strong point, but you can sift through it, I expect?’
Ruan was torn in two but had to make a decision. ‘Can I call you back in a minute, Tammy?’ he murmured into the phone. ‘I’m with a client.’
‘Oh. Yes …’ Tammy replied, sounding completely defeated.
‘IpromiseI’ll call you in a minute,’ Ruan insisted before reluctantly ending the call. Shit. He couldn’t leave Tammy stranded at the side of the road. He was desperate to make sure she really was OK.
Polly handed over the folders with a shrewd glance. ‘Look. We can sort out the rest of this business another time. I can see you straining at the leash to be orf. Are you going to this festival too?’
‘As a matter of fact, I am. Or I’m supposed to be. I’m helping a friend who’s doing a sand art installation. Or I was. She’s late because a hay lorry shed a bale right in front of her. She’s lucky it didn’t hit her van, but she had to swerve to avoid it. Now her van’s out of action, she’s stuck by the Jolly Sailor, and all the roads around are blocked. It looks like she’ll miss the tide.’
‘Miss the tide? Oh dear. This festival thing means a lot to her, does it?’
‘It’s her big break. Or could be. She’s incredibly talented and OceanFest’s a major opportunity for more exposure. She deserves it. If she’s late, it’ll be a huge letdown for her.’
Polly thought for a moment. ‘Hmm. She must be quite special, the way you talk about her. And you’re bang on. Time and tide wait for no one and if you were planning on being there this afternoon, you’d have missed it too if you’d turned up here at the correct time. I presume that’s also why you didn’t happen to see Hector’s message?’
Ruan’s heart sank, but it was useless lying to Polly, and unfair when she’d been very open with him. He was also desperate to be on his way. ‘I did see it, but not until I was about to get in my car and set off to make our original meeting time. I couldn’t let Tammy down and I didn’t want to disappoint you or Hector either. Turning up early was the best solution I could come up with. I apologise for being slightly economical with the truth. It probably wasn’t the greatest decision I’ve ever made.’
She laughed again. ‘You’re a lawyer. I expect you to be slightly economical with the truth when it matters.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘Being serious, I appreciate the candour and, more than that, your loyalty to your friend. You clearly have your priorities right. I know what a once-in-a-lifetime chance means from my eventing past. Carpe diem and all those clichés … they happen to be true.’ She twisted her lips, clearly thinking hard.
‘I have to try and reach her. I can’t let her down.’ The desperation in his voice surprised even him.
‘Hmm. Hold your horses. I can’t make any promises, but I may be able to help.’
‘If you could, I’d be very grateful.’
‘No need for that. Tell Hector I’ll expect a twenty per cent discount off your fees.’
Before Ruan could open his mouth in dismay, Polly guffawed. ‘Only joking! Hector never gives discounts. Call your friend and tell her to sit tight.’
She left him in the stable yard while he phoned Tammy and explained that Polly was going to try and sort somethingout. Understandably, Tammy was sceptical. He hated hearing the defeat in her voice.
‘I hate doing this, especially for my first time. It looks really bad.’
‘The organisers will know there was an incident. They will be dealing with lots of suppliers and visitors who are stuck.’
‘Maybe, but I wanted this one thing to go right!’ Her voice rose in frustration. ‘I’ve worked so hard on it and I hoped it would be perfect. Your friend Polly is kind to offer to help, but I don’t see how she can.’
Ruan agreed. He couldn’t see how Polly could help him rescue Tammy and unblock a major road, but he also had no choice but to cross his fingers and hope.
‘You never know,’ he said, hearing a rhythmic sound from the behind the house. ‘Hang on, she’s on her way into the yard. I’ll call you back in a sec.’
The noise grew louder and he realised it was the ringing of hooves on cobbles. A moment later, Polly appeared on the back of a very large and quite lively grey horse.
‘Sh … it,’ he murmured under his breath. Surely she wasn’t expecting him to ride to Tammy’s rescue?
