Secrets of the Tides Read Online Free

architecture by escorting her around the city pointing out the buildings and styles he particularly admired. They’d argued bitterly over politics and could never seem to find a film they both wanted to see, but all was forgotten when they fell into bed together at the end of the night, their differences seeming to ignite a passion that was best served in bed. Dating Richard was a new experience for Helen; he seemed far more grown-up than previous boyfriends, more attentive and self-assured. Even when she had discovered, with stomach-clenching terror, that she was pregnant, he’d been a rock. She could tell from the pallor of his face and the slight tremble in his hands that it was a shock, yet right from the off he’d said all the right things. It was her decision to make. He would support her, no matter what. And, once she’d decided to keep the baby, his proposal had followed just a week later, a beautiful antique diamond ring winking up at her from across the table of a local Italian restaurant.
    ‘It’s the right thing to do, Helen. Let’s give this baby the best start we can. Let’s create a life together. You and me.’
    Helen hadn’t been sure at first. It was scary enough deciding whether to keep the baby. Motherhood was one thing . . . did she really need to be a wife too? ‘Lots of people have children these days and don’t get married,’ she’d said. ‘We can be one of those terribly modern couples who—’
    ‘No, Helen,’ he’d insisted, ‘I love you. If we’re going to have a child, let’s at least do it right.’
    ‘Where will we live? What will we do for money? I was going to travel . . . get a job . . .’
    ‘I’ve got some savings. My family . . . well . . . we’re comfortable. We’ll manage. We’ll have this baby and then you can start your career when the baby’s a bit older. It’s not a life sentence, you know,’ he’d tried to joke. ‘You don’t have to give up everything, Helen.’ He had been so reassuring. He’d slipped the ring onto her finger with a broad grin and almost immediately begun to discuss the arrangements for a trip down to Dorset to meet his parents, leaving Helen with nothing to do but stare disbelievingly at the large jewel sparkling extravagantly on her ring finger. It was romantic. It was terrifying. And it was clear that life would never be the same again.
    They’d driven straight to the beach, that very first time, so they could stretch their legs after the long journey. Richard had been hoping for a romantic walk along the shore, but the lead-coloured sea lashed against the pebbles, and a bitter wind raged at them, tearing at their coats. They stumbled and shivered their way along the shoreline until they both admitted defeat and hurried back to the car, heads bowed.
    ‘Well, that was a great success,’ joked Richard, fiddling with the car heater. ‘There’s nowhere quite like England in the spring, is there?’
    Helen laughed, despite her nerves, and put one hand on his warm knee.
    He drove them back through the sleepy seaside hamlet of Summertown, past tiny candy-coloured cottages and down treacherous, twisting lanes until at last they passed through a set of discreet wrought-iron gates and up a long and winding driveway. The car tyres crunched loudly on gravel as they sped past the wind-whipped sycamores lining the route up to the house.
    ‘There she is!’ Richard exclaimed, pointing to a large stone building looming in the distance. ‘There’s Clifftops. There’s my home.’
    Helen could still remember how her breath had caught in her throat. She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t the beautiful old house that had darted in and out of view between the branches of the windswept trees. It was a wonderful nineteenth-century farmhouse, perfectly proportioned and spread across the promontory in an attractive L-shape, as if it had tired of the sea’s buffeting embrace and turned one shoulder away