The Soft Whisper of Dreams by Christina Courtenay

Maddie had a strange urge to take him in her arms and comfort him, as if he were a little boy. But he wasn’t; he was very much a man. She pulled herself together and headed for the beach. I mustn’t touch him ever again. Next time she might not be able to stop.
    They continued sailing for the rest of the afternoon and attempted to recapture the easy camaraderie of the morning, but their conversation was strained and they didn’t quite manage it. Maddie almost heaved a sigh of relief when the little jetty hove into view and she could retreat to the house. She wanted to run all the way to her sanctuary, afraid of Alex, afraid of the feelings he evoked.
    Afraid of her own weakness.
     
    ‘I need to go to Dartmouth to do my weekly food shopping and pick something up from my sister’s and Ben can’t drive me today. Have you got time?’ Annie asked Maddie the next day. Ben was Annie’s husband who worked as gatekeeper and gardener at Marcombe Hall.
    ‘Yes, of course. I can be ready in ten minutes.’ Kayla had left Maddie her little Mini to use while she was gone.
    ‘Oh, there’s no rush, take your time.’
    An hour later Maddie dropped the older woman outside the supermarket.
    ‘Are you sure you don’t want any help, Annie?’
    ‘No, no, I’ll be fine. You go and buy whatever you need and come back for me in about an hour or so. Don’t hurry on my account.’
    ‘All right then. See you later.’
    The centre of town was teeming with people as usual and after she had purchased a few items Maddie bought a huge ice cream and sat down on a bench by the small green. It was another scorching day. Here in the town it was a cloying, humid heat which was almost unbearable compared to the cooling breezes further down the coast at Marcombe. The ice cream was extremely welcome.
    Maddie was wearing a big, floppy sunhat, but it made her head feel even hotter so she took it off and put it on the bench next to her. She ate slowly, savouring the chocolatey taste with its tang of coconut, and watched the people ambling past. Behind her, a group of teenage girls were giggling hysterically, while ogling and commenting on any boys that went past. Maddie wondered idly if she’d ever been that silly. She couldn’t remember, but she supposed she must have been.
    When the ice cream was finished she stood up to find a litter bin in which to throw away the paper napkin and spotted one at the other end of the green. Leaving the hat on the bench, she walked unhurriedly towards the bin, and dropped the piece of paper in. As she turned, a woman bumped into her, and Maddie almost laughed. Was there something about her that made people walk straight into her, or was it this town? Perhaps the inhabitants of Dartmouth were not in the habit of looking where they were going. Her thoughts were cut short by a gasp of horror from the woman, who was staring at her with eyes that seemed enormous in her suddenly pale face.
    ‘Oh, no! Oh, dear God no ...’ Before Maddie’s astonished gaze the woman crumpled to the ground in a dead faint, and Maddie couldn’t react in time to catch her.
    Neither could the lady’s companion, a young woman in her early twenties, who cried out in alarm. ‘Mother!’
    Fortunately she’d fallen in the direction of the grass which cushioned her slightly so she didn’t hit her head on the gravel path at least. Maddie and the other girl knelt quickly by her side and, grabbing a newspaper the woman had dropped, Maddie began to fan her face with it. Several passers-by stopped to give them assistance.
    ‘Oh dear, what happened?’
    ‘I don’t know. She just fainted. The heat I suppose.’ Maddie didn’t tell them it had been the sight of her that seemed to have made the woman pass out. It sounded stupid, even to herself, but the girl threw her a puzzled glance, so she knew she hadn’t imagined it. Curious now, she studied the woman. It was difficult to tell her age, but Maddie guessed at mid to late fifties. The lady’s