Chapter 22
Barton Cottage
Mia hovered by the window in the front room of Barton Cottage.
‘Where is he? He should be here by now.’
‘Calm down. You’re going to wear holes in your sandals with all your pacing.’
‘But it shouldn’t take him long to get here. Maybe I should go and meet him halfway.’
‘Mia! That’ll look awful!’
‘Why?’
‘You’ll look too keen. Just be patient and wait.’
Sarah watched as Mia flung herself into an armchair and pouted.
‘You could make yourself useful and check on the food,’ Sarah said, but Mia didn’t get a chance to do her bit in the kitchen, because there was a smart knock on the door, and she was out of her chair like a jack-in-the-box.
‘Don’t rush!’ Sarah cried. ‘Let him wait a moment. It won’t do him any harm.’
‘You really are perverse, Sarah. Why should he wait, when I’m here to greet him right away?’
Sarah sighed. Mia had a lot to learn about propriety. Still, she got up from where she’d been sitting on the carpet, where she’d tried to get the DVD player working for their evening’s entertainment, and walked through to the hallway just as Mia was opening the door.
‘Hello, lovely ladies,’ Alec said as he entered the house. He was carrying a bottle, and Mia immediately snatched it from him.
‘Ooooh! It’s champagne!’ she cried with glee.
‘Only the best for my girls,’ Alec said, winking at Sarah.
Sarah smiled back, but she felt that he was being far too familiar with them both.
‘Come into the kitchen, Alec. Sarah’s been preparing all sorts of treats for us both.’
‘Well, something certainly smells good,’ he said.
They walked through to the kitchen at the back of the house, and Sarah opened the oven. There on a baking tray sat dozens of tiny party treats, from mini sausage rolls to onion bhajis.
‘I thought it would be nicer to have lots of little bits to pick at whilst we’re watching the film.’
‘It looks great,’ he said.
‘I’ll get some glasses,’ Mia said. ‘I want to get this champagne open.’
Ten minutes later, they were carrying their plates of food through to the living room. Alec sat down on the sofa opposite the television, and Sarah watched in horror as Mia sat herself down on the carpet by his feet.
‘Wouldn’t you be more comfortable on the sofa?’ Sarah asked.
‘Nonsense,’ Mia said. ‘I prefer sitting on the floor.’
Sarah frowned, not liking the proximity of her sister to Alec, nor the angle either.
‘Did you manage to get the machine working again?’ Mia asked.
Sarah nodded, brandishing the remote control and hitting Play. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Jane Austen adaptation with a man before,’ she said.
‘Why should it just be a girl thing?’ Mia asked. ‘I mean, they’re great movies; nobody can dispute that. I think you’re going to really love it,’ she said, turning around to Alec and smiling at him.
‘Good,’ Alec said, taking a sip of champagne. ‘Then we can watch Killer Zombies Take Manhattan afterwards, and you can tell me what you think of that.’
Mia laughed. ‘You’ve got to be joking!’
‘But I’m watching one of your favorite movies,’ he said, a teasing lilt to his voice.
‘Yes, but that’s because it’s good,’ Mia said, ‘and not filled with mindless violence.’
‘There’s a lot of great wit and lyricism in Killer Zombies Take Manhattan. It’s a very underrated film,’ Alec said.
‘Yeah, right!’ Mia said and then play-punched him.
The titles came up on the screen and a magical hush filled the room as if they were in a cinema. Sarah always loved the moment when a favorite film began. There was something immensely calming about it, even if one had seen it many times before, which, with all the Austen adaptations, she had. In fact, the pleasure seemed to increase with each viewing. A wonderful anticipation came from knowing exactly what was going to happen next—of being aware that the next scene would bring Colonel Brandon or the moment Marianne twisted her ankle was fast approaching. It was intensely pleasurable.
For a long time, Sarah had refused to go to the cinema. Not only were there issues of hygiene, but there were also issues of other people. She couldn’t believe that people went to the cinema not to see a film but to eat endless amounts of popcorn and other noisy food and to sit sending text messages. That’s what had happened the last time she went to the cinema. There had been a special showing of the 1940 version of Pride and Prejudice starring Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson. Sarah had seen it a dozen times, of course, but had never seen it on the big screen, so doing her best to overcome her fears of being a member of the general public, she got herself ready to go out and took great care to choose a seat that was central to the screen and equidistant from the screen and the exit. She also quickly clocked the man with the very large packet of crisps and the elderly woman with the enormous handkerchief and was careful to sit nowhere near either of them.
For a while she had been only one of a dozen or so people who bought tickets for the screening, and she was just congratulating herself on having chosen such a good seat when two young girls walked into the cinema.
‘Where shall we sit?’ one of them squealed.
‘At the back?’ the other one replied.
Yes, Sarah thought. Sit at the back—miles away from me.
‘I don’t like the back. It’s creepy. I want to sit nearer the front.’
The lights dimmed and the trailers began, causing the two girls to trip over themselves on their hunt for a seat.
Hurry up! Sarah willed them, but they didn’t seem in any hurry at all, nor were they conscious of disturbing anybody.
Sarah sighed in exasperation when they chose seats three rows directly in front of her. She knew she wouldn’t be able to concentrate on the film with them sitting there, but she also knew that sitting in any seat that wasn’t perfectly central would irritate her. She decided to choose the lesser of two evils and moved her seat.
The film started, and for a few blissful moments, Sarah was swept away, enraptured by the beauty and grace of Greer Garson and the handsome snobbery of Laurence Olivier, and then the chatter began.
‘It’s all black and white,’ one of the girls shrieked. ‘Why’s it all black and white?’
‘I thought this was the Keira Knightley version.’
‘Well, it isn’t, is it?’
‘You mean we’ve wasted money seeing this rubbish?’
‘I don’t believe it!’
A phone suddenly beeped.
‘Who’s that?’ her friend asked.
‘It’s Jo. I’ll text her back and say we’re stuck watching this boring film.’
Sarah could stand it no longer. ‘Shush!’
The two girls turned around in shock.
‘What’s your problem?’
‘You’re my problem! I’m trying to watch this film,’ Sarah said, surprised by the authority in her voice.
The girls went quiet for a moment, but Sarah could see the little squares of blue light from their mobile phones and could no longer concentrate on the film. From somewhere behind her, a nose blew very loudly and the rattle and munch of crisps was heard.
Sarah counted slowly to ten, but she didn’t feel any calmer once she reached the magic number.
‘Will everyone just be quiet, please!’ The loudness of her voice startled her. Had she really said that out loud? She soon got her answer, when a woman approached her from the aisle.
‘I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave,’ the woman said. ‘You’re disturbing everybody.’
‘I’m disturbing everybody? Are you mad? I’m not the one with the noisy crisps or the mobile phone or the trumpeting nose. I’m the only one who came here to watch this film properly!’
<
br /> ‘Madam, please lower your voice and leave the cinema.’
Sarah got up. In all truth, she was glad to leave. She hadn’t been enjoying the whole cinema experience, and she had not been back to a cinema since. Instead, she waited for films to come out on DVD and then watched them in the peace and quiet of her own home.
Now, watching Sense and Sensibility with Mia and Alec, she didn’t mind the polite nibble of sausage rolls, but she had to admit that she didn’t like the way Mia’s legs were stretched out in front of her or the number of buttons that were unfastened on her blouse, exposing an awful lot of bosom. She couldn’t remember that many buttons being undone before Alec had arrived.
She looked at Alec’s profile in the surreal light from the television screen and admired him. He was certainly handsome, with his high forehead and dark hair. She could see why Mia was so attracted to him.
But she mustn’t make it so obvious to him. She’s in danger of making a fool of herself. Sarah knew that Mia wouldn’t see it like that. If she felt an emotion, she had to express it. It was as simple as that. Life was too short for subterfuge, she would say, in a way that was horribly reminiscent of Marianne Dashwood. In fact, this whole situation with Alec was reminding her of the Sense and Sensibility story they were watching together. Alec—like Willoughby—had appeared out of nowhere, helping a limping Mia back to Barton Cottage. He was tall, dark, handsome, and mysterious enough to be beguiling to an impressionable young romantic like Mia. And just like Willoughby, very little of substance was known about him. They didn’t know much about his job, other than he helped small businesses. They didn’t know anything at all about his family, other than an aunt who used to live in Devon. It was all very unsettling. At the least, it was unsettling to somebody like Sarah. Mia didn’t seem to mind at all, but for the space of the evening, Sarah tried to shut off her worries.
It was wonderful to watch the film and to recognize the very cottage they were staying in.
‘That’s this room!’ Mia shouted. ‘And those are the stairs!’
‘And the reed beds,’ Sarah said.
It really was rather exciting to spot and know the locations in the film.
‘Isn’t it wonderful, Alec?’ Mia said at one point. ‘We’ve walked down that path—look!’
A strange noise occurred. Mia turned around from her place on the carpet and saw what it was. It was Alec, and he was snoring.
‘I don’t believe it! He’s asleep!’ Mia said, horrified at the discovery. ‘We’re not even halfway through. He’s going to miss all the best bits unless we wake him up.’
‘No, don’t disturb him. He looks peaceful,’ Sarah said.
‘It’s quite a cute snore, I suppose,’ Mia said. ‘Although you’d probably get fed up of it after a while. I mean, if he was in the same bed as you and you were trying to get to sleep.’
‘Shush!’ Sarah said. ‘What a thing to say! What if he heard you?’
‘He can’t hear me—he’s fast asleep.’
‘He might be pretending.’
‘Why?’
‘So he can listen to us talking about him,’ Sarah said.
‘Well, then, he might hear something he doesn’t want to hear, like he’s got very peculiar socks on and a funny bit of hair that sticks out over his right ear.’ Mia tugged the leg of one of his trousers, and Alec jolted awake.
‘What?’ he said, looking startled.
‘You fell asleep,’ Mia said, a wounded expression on her face. ‘You fell asleep in the middle of our favorite Jane Austen adaptation.’
Alec straightened up on the sofa and rubbed his eyes. ‘Goodness,’ he said. ‘That’s so rude of me. It must be the champagne and the ten-mile jog this morning.’
‘Ten miles?’
He nodded. ‘I try to get my average up whenever I stay here, because it’s not always easy when I’m working in town. I go to the gym, but it’s not the same as being somewhere beautiful like this, is it?’
‘No,’ Mia said. ‘It isn’t.’
Sarah’s eyes narrowed in suspicion, because she didn’t completely believe what Alec was saying.
‘It’s important to keep yourself in shape, isn’t it?’ he said.
Mia nodded, and Sarah noticed the way her sister was looking up at his body, which had probably been his intention, she thought cynically.
‘Shall we have a break from the film?’ Sarah said.
‘Yes,’ Mia said. ‘My bottom’s getting a bit numb on the floor.’ She got up and stretched, and Sarah watched Alec eyeing up her sister’s bottom, which had probably been Mia’s intention. The two of them reminded her of the scene in Pride and Prejudice when Mr Darcy makes the comment about Elizabeth Bennet and Miss Bingley walking around the room with the knowledge that their figures looked at their best that way.
‘Anyone for coffee?’ Sarah asked.
‘I’m still on the champagne,’ Mia said.
‘Well, I need a coffee,’ Sarah said leaving the room.
It was a relief to be alone in the kitchen for a moment. She hadn’t felt comfortable in the living room with Alec and Mia flirting with each other. Oh, why did he have to be there that week and spoil things? This was meant to be her time with her sister. She’d been looking forward to it for so long, and now this man was coming between them and ruining everything.
‘Hello,’ Alec said, suddenly appearing in the door of the kitchen. ‘You ran off.’
‘I was getting a coffee,’ Sarah said, suddenly remembering and busying herself with the kettle.
‘What’s wrong?’
‘Nothing’s wrong. Why should something be wrong?’ Sarah said, a little too defensively even to her own ears.
‘Just the way you’re acting,’ he said.
‘I’m not acting. I’m just being me.’ She took a mug from the draining board and checked that it was perfectly clean before popping a spoonful of coffee into it.
‘Why are you behaving like this?’ Alec asked, moving a step closer to her.
Sarah glared at him. ‘What do you want, Alec?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘What are you doing here?’
‘I don’t understand. I thought I was invited here tonight.’
Sarah suddenly felt bad at having asked the question of him, but her heart was still thudding inside her chest, and she knew she had to speak her mind. ‘I don’t like the way you act around my sister.’
Alec frowned. ‘I wasn’t aware that I was acting in any particular kind of a way.’
‘I’ve seen the way you look at her.’
Alec cleared his throat in the guilty kind of way someone might when he knew he’d been caught. ‘Well, she’s a very pretty girl. I can’t help that, can I?’
‘But you can help by not encouraging her.’
There was a pause, and a strange look passed between them.
‘I see,’ he said at last. ‘Look, you seem to have got the wrong impression of me.’
‘Have I?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘I’m not interested in your sister. At least not beyond being a friend. She’s bright and warm and attractive, but—well, she’s just not my type.’
‘But you’ve been flirting with her ever since she met you.’
‘Have I? I thought she’d been flirting with me.’
‘It takes two, you know.’
‘Does it?’
He took a step toward her, and Sarah took one back. He was in her personal space, and she didn’t like it.
‘What do I have to do to convince you that I’m not interested in your sister?’
Sarah felt panicky and could feel her breaths were shortening. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘Just—just—’
‘Because this is very interesting to me. You think I’m interested in her. You think I’ve been flirting with her, when I haven’t. You’ve got it completely wrong.’
‘Have I?’
‘Yes!’ he said, the word flying from his mouth like a bullet. ‘It’s you I’m intere
sted in, Sarah! You!’
Their eyes locked for a silent, suspense-laden moment as the kettle boiled behind them.
Alec was the first one to speak. ‘Sarah,’ he said, whispering the name desperately.
Sarah shook her head. ‘No,’ she said. ‘Don’t do this. I won’t allow it. Mia—’
‘Someone call my name?’
Sarah looked up and saw her sister standing in the doorway.
‘What’s going on?’ Mia asked. ‘Is everything all right?’
‘Yes,’ Sarah said, moving away from Alec. ‘Everything’s fine.’
Chapter 23
After leaving Gabe’s, Mia and Shelley made it into Bath in time for a talk about food in Regency times. It wasn’t the most riveting of talks, and Mia was soon wishing that they’d just gone shopping instead, especially when it was time for questions from the audience and a very rude lady with a massive bosom hogged all the time available, causing the rest of the audience to tut and sigh in annoyance.
‘Oh, my goodness,’ Shelley said. ‘It’s that dreadful Mrs Soames.’
‘Who?’ Mia asked, leaning forward in her seat.
‘She comes to the festival every year and makes an absolute nuisance of herself.’
‘Come on—let’s sneak out,’ Mia said, and the two of them got up and left the room as quietly as possible.
They hadn’t quite made it out of the building when Mia stopped.
‘What is it?’ Shelley asked.
‘Can you smell that?’
‘Smell what?’
‘Lavender!’
Shelley sniffed the air like Bingley might. ‘I’m not sure.’
‘Sarah’s been here.’
‘Your sister Sarah?’
Mia nodded. ‘I’m sure of it. I’d recognize that smell anywhere.’
‘The lavender? But it could be anyone. Any number of old ladies might be wearing lavender.’
Mia shook her head. ‘It’s Sarah and her spray. She never leaves home without it.’
Shelley sniffed the air again. ‘Are you sure you’re not imagining it?’
Mia wasn’t listening. Her gaze roamed the foyer, anxious that she might see Sarah at any moment, and what would she do then?
‘Do you think she was in that talk?’ Shelley asked. ‘Surely you would have seen her.’
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