by Heidi Swain
‘Thanks,’ I croaked. ‘I appreciate it.’
‘Especially when there’s so much work still to do in the garden,’ he went on. ‘We can’t afford to have anyone taking time off.’
‘So, you’ve only come to my rescue on this rain-soaked morning to make sure the garden won’t end up being a man down?’ I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Of course,’ he laughed. ‘Now, come on, where to?’
I had spoken to David briefly, very briefly, and agreed to meet at the Castle Museum. I made John drop me off on the dead-end road which accessed the shopping mall car park so, as far as he could work out, I could have been heading anywhere. Not that the destination itself was a secret. I was more concerned that he and Lisa didn’t find out who I was meeting rather than where I was meeting them.
‘Do you want me to pick you up?’ John asked. ‘It’s no bother.’
‘No, but thanks for the offer,’ I said, thinking the walk home would help me clear my head if nothing else. ‘According to the forecast it’s supposed to clear up later, but I promise I’ll ring if it doesn’t.’
‘Make sure you do,’ John said sternly as if he was talking to Tamsin the terror rather than Kate the level-headed. ‘And look after yourself, OK?’
‘OK,’ I promised.
David was all smiles when we met in the Castle foyer, but he looked dog tired. He was keen to tell me why he was so wrung out the second we were settled with tea and he had buttered himself a crumbly cheese scone.
‘Excuse my manners,’ he said, taking a mouthful and making short work of it. ‘But I didn’t get a bite of breakfast or a wink of sleep for that matter.’
I took a sip of the still scalding tea and hoped he wasn’t about to tell me he had spent the night listening to the noisy bedroom gymnastics of Luke and the mother of his child.
‘They were at it all night,’ he said confidingly.
I thought my tea was going to make a return trip, but I managed to keep it down.
‘I’ve never heard anything like it,’ David went relentlessly on. ‘How the child managed to sleep through it I have no idea.’
‘What?’
‘The shouting,’ he said. ‘And the language from Candice was shocking. I know her name doesn’t suggest it, but I reckon she has some fiery Italian ancestry in her somewhere.’
‘It didn’t cross your mind that Candice might not be her real name, then?’ I asked.
‘No,’ he said, turning bright red. ‘It didn’t.’
I could have capitalised on the moment. I could have quite easily milked the situation for all it was worth and reminded him that the pretty young model he had bedded had used a false name, which was why she turned out to be so difficult to track down, but I didn’t. Judging by the puce shade David was currently displaying I didn’t need to and really, what would have been the point?
‘From what I could make out,’ he carried on, ‘there’s some sort of ongoing paternity case between the pair of them.’
‘Right.’
I didn’t need to know. I didn’t want to know.
‘On the bus here last night,’ David continued, ‘she told me that Luke has been shirking his responsibilities for that little girl from the day she was born. Shocking, isn’t it? He really doesn’t strike you as the type, does he? But then I daresay you know him better than I do; what do you think?’
‘You said you had some news about the portrait?’
‘But she’s very forgiving.’ David smiled indulgently. ‘She said that if he’s prepared to do the right thing then she’ll move in with him and give the relationship another go. She’s quite a spark.’
And she’d also turned up just when Luke had secured himself his ancestral home. It was an uncharitable thought, but one I struggled to squash down now David had told me why she had turned up unannounced with her curly-haired daughter in tow.
‘The portrait,’ I said again, this time with more emphasis. ‘My only interest in the place is to see it restored. I don’t know Luke that well at all.’
‘You’re working for him, are you?’ David asked, eyeing me over the rim of his cup. ‘I didn’t realise.’
I didn’t contradict his assumption. It was far easier all round if he jumped to that conclusion rather than the other one. When he and Candice had burst in on us the night before it would have been perfectly logical to assume something very different, so I suppose I was getting off lightly if he naively thought we had been discussing antiques and restoration schedules late on a Sunday night.
‘I just want to see Prosperous Place returned to its former glory,’ I said, looking him straight in the eye.
It wasn’t a lie. I had decided before I left last night that I had no further interest in Luke and his secrets, even though I had now experienced for myself his sizzling sensual technique. Or should I say techniques?
‘Kate?’
‘Sorry, what?’
‘I said, have you thought any more about us?’
I could hardly believe my ears. I was so desperate not to hear what David was saying that I was almost tempted to track back to the memory of last night, which had haunted my dreams and was poised to play through in my head all over again.
‘Have you thought any more about what I suggested when we met again at Christmas?’
He made it sound as if our get-together was something we had planned, rather than something my mother had sneakily orchestrated behind my back.
‘No,’ I said bluntly. ‘I haven’t, David. I really, really haven’t.’
‘But the baby . . .’
‘There is no baby,’ I spat, my temper thrusting its way up again. ‘Thanks to you there will never be a baby.’
There, I’d said it. We’d skirted around the issue forever, but now it was out there, on the table, out in the open and I couldn’t wait to see what he would do with it.
‘All right,’ he said, looking everywhere but at me. Surprise, surprise, he was going to ignore it.
‘Let me tell you what I’ve found out about this painting.’
Chapter 25
I was in no way convinced by what David told me he had discovered about the missing portrait of Edward, but he insisted that Luke was thrilled and happy to go along with what he had said to him without question. I was desperate to step in and potentially save Luke a whole heap of time, money and heartache, but really it was nothing to do with me now and of course there was the ghost of a chance that I might be wrong. I might have still wanted to see the house restored, but the price of achieving it was far higher than I was prepared to pay.
The photos David had shown me on his phone of the portrait he had tracked down in the US certainly looked like the painting in Harold’s photographs, which I had copied and sent to Charlie to use as a reference, so all I was going on was a hunch. However, my gut had served me well in the past. Nonetheless, having mulled the situation over I decided that, on this occasion the best option, the only option in fact, was to butt out.
The downturn in the weather meant that the community garden required minimal watering and attention and so I made my excuses, telling Lisa I had a stinking head cold which I had no desire to share, and Luke to focus on his family and not think I had any expectations, even after what had happened between us. He looked tired and pale, but I didn’t give him a chance to say a word before returning my attention back to decorating.
‘Now,’ I said to the cupboard next to the fireplace when I had finished sanding and priming the woodwork and painting the ceiling. ‘What am I going to do with you?’
To be honest I didn’t want any reminder of the connection number four Nightingale Square had forged with Prosperous Place and which I myself had reignited, but on the other hand, it was very useful storage in a house that didn’t have all that many cubbyholes and closets.
‘I’ll give you a bit longer,’ I told the door. ‘Let’s just wait and see what happens, shall we?’
Obviously, I didn’t get an answer, but there was a tiny part o
f me that still couldn’t bring myself to banish the cupboard, from either my mind or my sight, just yet.
I kept my door closed and my head down for almost three weeks, even though Lisa was insistent that no cold, common or otherwise, could last that long. I knew she was desperate to hear all about what had happened at Easter but I managed to keep her at arm’s length until one afternoon when she sent a most unwelcome text about Heather.
‘Are you sure she’ll want us to go?’ I asked as I climbed into the car and pulled on my belt. ‘Did Glen say it would be OK to visit?’
‘She’s been given the all-clear,’ Lisa reassured me. ‘And she’ll be home by the end of tomorrow, so it’s fine. I just thought it would pass the time for her today and cheer her up to see us.’
‘So, what exactly has happened?’ I quizzed. ‘And is the baby all right?’
‘There’s been some light bleeding,’ Lisa sighed, ‘which isn’t all that uncommon in early pregnancy, but she’s had some cramping as well so the hospital decided to admit her, just to be on the safe side.’
‘Poor Heather,’ I gasped, feeling guilty that I had lied to my friends about having a cold to ensure I was left alone. ‘She must have been terrified. Is there anything practical we can do to help?’
‘I asked Glen that and he said the family have gone into overdrive. I think she just needs us to be around, you know, be what we’ve always been since you moved here and interfered in our rocky start. Just be her friends.’
There was a smile on her lips as she said it, and certainly no barb, but I felt the sting anyway. Ever since David and Candice had arrived on the scene I’d hidden myself away and avoided everyone. I knew I had good cause, but perhaps my behaviour had been a little over-indulgent given what I had discovered my poor friend had been going through.
‘And how are things in the garden?’ I asked, as Lisa pulled on to the busy ring road. ‘Are the hens still thriving?’
‘Everything’s wonderful,’ she said, ‘it’s all grown so much and the girls are grand. I can’t imagine life without the place and I know things have changed a bit now that Candice and Jasmine are there, but Luke says—’
‘It’s fine,’ I shrugged, cutting her off.
‘I know it can’t be easy,’ she tried again.
‘I’ve only not been going because I’ve been so busy,’ I insisted, but which we both knew was a lie. ‘And I’ve not been well of course,’ I quickly added.
‘It’s been nothing to do with that ex-husband of yours showing up then,’ she said, as she smoothly switched lanes, ‘or anything that may or may not have happened after we left you and Luke alone at the end of the Easter party?’
‘Did you say you had no change for the car park?’ I said, reaching in the footwell for my bag and trying not to think about how she knew David had put in an appearance. ‘Because I have plenty.’
Heather looked almost as pale as the pillow she was propped up against, but she was in good spirits and it took her and Lisa all of two minutes to track back to the conversation I had tried, and failed, to draw a line under during the journey in.
‘So,’ said Heather, after Lisa had offloaded a pile of magazines, two packets of biscuits and a bottle of Lucozade into the little locker next to her bed, ‘any news from the Square?’
‘Not much,’ Lisa shrugged, ‘but it looks like Candice and Jasmine are installed for the duration.’
‘Really?’ Heather asked, glancing apprehensively in my direction.
Lisa stopped talking and Heather cleared her throat.
‘I don’t know why you’re so worried about what I might think,’ I told them both. The only way to deal with the situation was to brazen it out. ‘We’ve all of us admitted since he arrived that our horticultural benefactor is one hot bod, even Carole, but why you would think there’s even the potential for anything to be going on between the pair of us is still beyond me.’
‘Because for a start,’ Lisa tiresomely began, ‘at the Easter party he said he’d fallen in love with a whole lot more than just Prosperous Place.’
‘He didn’t exactly say that,’ I tutted.
‘And that night, after we’d purposely left the pair of you alone,’ Heather carried on, ‘you didn’t get back to the Square until really, really, late.’
I had no idea that my movements had been so closely watched. Perhaps Carole wasn’t the only curtain-twitcher in Nightingale Square.
‘That was because my ex-husband and Luke’s former partner and his daughter turned up!’ I reiterated. ‘I could hardly walk out as Luke let them in, could I?’
Not that he had actually let them in.
‘Well, no,’ said Heather, manoeuvring her pillow to get more comfortable, ‘I suppose not.’
‘There were introductions to be made and explanations to be heard,’ I told them. ‘It all took time. Believe me, it was the weirdest evening I’ve spent in a long time.’
I didn’t mention that prior to the disturbance it had also been the most orgasmic.
‘I suppose,’ said Heather, chewing her lip.
‘There’s no suppose about it,’ I said, ‘it’s a fact, so please don’t be thinking you’ve got to be skirting around the issue of Luke’s family when I’m in earshot. You both know my views on love and second chances by now—’
‘Your crazy views,’ Lisa cut in.
‘I’m happily single,’ I carried on in spite of her interruption. ‘I’ve had my shot at love and I’m hardly likely to throw myself at the first man who might have dropped the tiniest hint that he was interested in me, or any man for that matter. Not that Luke has shown any interest in me in that way,’ I clarified for good measure, ‘so come on, Lisa, catch us up with the gossip and then I’ll see if I can rustle up some coffee.’
I knew my little speech had fallen out in a rush and that my head was swimming with images of Luke and I wrapped around one another, but I’d said enough to convince Lisa that it was OK to carry on, even though it pained me to hear what she had to say.
‘Nothing’s officially been said,’ she finally started, ‘but anyone with eyes in their head can see that Jasmine is Luke’s daughter and Candice has told me she’s looking at local schools for September so she is obviously staying put.’
‘Crikey,’ said Heather. ‘She’s actually moving in for good then.’
‘Yep.’
‘And what about David?’ Heather asked.
My head snapped back up.
‘He’s not still hanging around, is he?’ I choked. ‘It’s been weeks!’
I couldn’t believe he hadn’t tracked me down if he’d been around all this time. Thank goodness I’d been keeping my head down and my door locked.
‘No,’ said Lisa, ‘but Luke told me he’s coming back this week. Apparently, he’s been helping search for some painting that he wants for the house. It’s being shipped from America and David has promised to come back to check its authenticity or something.’
‘He’s quite a smooth talker, that ex of yours,’ Heather shocked me by adding.
‘When did you meet him?’ I asked.
‘Easter bank holiday Monday,’ she explained. ‘We went back to the garden once the rain had stopped and he was there.’
I couldn’t imagine David even sitting in the garden. He had always been an indoor type of guy, but then, until his godson came along and I saw them together I hadn’t had him down as the paternal type either.
‘Luke introduced him and when he realised we were your friends he started asking if you lived locally as well.’
‘You didn’t tell him, did you?’
‘No,’ said Heather, ‘of course not.’
I could tell from the shifty looks they were exchanging that the pair of them had been subjected to David’s charm offensive.
‘What?’ I snapped. ‘What else did he say?’
‘Well,’ said Heather, ‘not that it’s anything to do with us . . .’
She’d got that right, but I got the impression that hadn’
t stopped them listening to whatever line he had tried to spin.
‘Nor did we ask him to tell us anything,’ added Lisa, ‘but knowing how you feel about love . . .’
‘Go on.’
‘We know what he did to you was dreadful,’ said Heather quietly, ‘and that you said you couldn’t forgive him, but he told us he would do anything to win you back.’
‘He said he wanted to start a family with you.’
I shook my head, but didn’t comment. How dare he talk to anyone about any of that?
‘He seemed nice—’
‘My god, you’ve changed your tune,’ I barked at Lisa, unable to stop myself. ‘I seem to remember it wasn’t all that long ago that you were the one who was ready to fry his balls!’
The people visiting the patient in the bed next to Heather cut off their conversation to tune in to ours, which was obviously far more interesting.
‘Don’t feel responsible for his behaviour, you’ve both said to me,’ I went on. ‘I told you my marriage ended because I wanted a child and he didn’t and that it was my fault for pushing him into someone else’s bed. It was my nagging that drove him to mess up, but that doesn’t mean I’d take him back.’
Was it me, or had someone just turned the hospital thermostat up a notch?
‘It wasn’t your fault,’ said Heather.
‘You can’t blame yourself for how he reacted to the situation,’ Lisa went on, ‘of course you can’t, but if you keep insisting that he was your one shot at love and now he wants to have a baby with you, well . . .’
‘Are the pair of you really suggesting that I should just get over what he did because now he’s prepared to give me what I wanted all along?’
‘Well, when you put it like that . . .’ Heather murmured, sounding doubtful.
‘I know it doesn’t sound ideal,’ Lisa carried on, still unbelievably championing the idea, ‘but you don’t strike me as the type who can be happily single, Kate, and if you refuse to give up this notion that you’ll never love another man as much as you loved David, and he’s desperate to have you back and start a family, then I thought you’d jump at the chance!’
