They had begun to tentatively discuss housing arrangements which, he had told her, would take time and so should be sorted as soon as possible, because he would rather their baby be born in the place where they intended to put down firm roots so that there was no inconvenient upheaval with an infant.
‘Where will you be based?’ she had asked and had been fobbed off with a something-and-nothing answer.
‘Perhaps I might think of investing in something closer to William,’he had hinted. ‘Within easy commuting distance of where you are so that visiting can be maintained on as regular a basis as possible...’
The implication was that he was keen to ensure her happiness and, to that end, would be amenable to whatever she wanted.
It was all going so much better than she could ever have hoped, she told herself with bracing optimism as she slanted her bike against the side wall and buzzed the doorbell.
She’d laid down her rules and regulations, had point blank refused to marry for reasons she knew he privately accepted when you dug beneath his adherence to do the right thing, and he had backed off just as she had hoped.
In the end, they had both found a meeting place where they could now communicate like two perfectly civilised adults with a passionately shared interest in the child they had conceived together.
She felt William would be pleased with that outcome, although the second he opened the door her heart dived and her nerves kicked in and she gave him a watery smile as he ushered her inside.
‘No need to be nervous.’ He bustled her into the kitchen and cut to the chase before she had time to start on the pleasantries. ‘I was an old fool to think the pair of you might actually get married!’
Thrown in at the deep end, Jess let him make her a cup of tea and fuss over her health, all the while bemoaning his short-sightedness in expecting more than would be forthcoming.
There were no accusations directed ather, which she interpreted as indicating that all accusations were mentally directed at Curtis, and her heart went out to Curtis, ached at the thought of him losing standing in the eyes of the one person in the world he loved and respected.
Which was why, when there was a breather in the conversation, she said tentatively, ‘You shouldn’t blame Curtis for anything.’
‘Blame that godson of mine?’ William huffed, settling into the chair facing her and fussing with his teacup. ‘Wouldn’t dream of it! My fault. Expected too much. Forgot that the world we live in now isn’t quite the same as the world I lived in back in the day!’
‘He did suggest that we get married,’ Jess countered quietly. ‘It was important to him because of what he went through as a child.’
William stilled and looked at her with a suddenly guarded expression. ‘Explain, dear child.’
‘You know—’ Jess looked down to gaze at her fingertips ‘—being in foster care for those two years, living life as a young child who never got the security and stability kids need because his mother...failed in that respect. Those things made him propose marriage as a way of making sure his own child had the security he lacked, and it’s only because I objected that those wedding bells won’t be ringing.’ She raised her eyes to look at him and, for once, she could read absolutely nothing on a face that was normally so expressive. She hesitated but, having taken the plunge, her only way now was to carry on until she felt her feet on solid ground again.
‘I wanted more than duty. I wanted love because, without love, duty would become a very empty vessel. I couldn’t bear the thought of the two of us ending up squabbling and unhappy in a loveless marriage, which would have been a disaster for the child.’
‘Curtis told you about his past?’
‘He did.’
‘And you didn’t think that was reason enough to wed? There is also the fact that you are in love with him—’
‘He would never love me back!’ Jess cried, then flushed as the significance of her outburst hit home. ‘I mean... What I mean...’
‘My dear, there’s no need for either of us to dwell further on this.’ He waved down her anguished attempt to explain what she meant, and it was fair to say that he seemed remarkably more upbeat now, insisting she stay for some dinner. ‘You wouldn’t want an old man to eat by himself, would you? Besides, you need feeding up!’
Relieved at the change in atmosphere, Jess would have accepted any invitation in pursuit of further pouring oil over troubled waters. It wasn’t yet five and marking schoolwork would have to wait. It wasn’t as though she had anything else lined up expect a scintillating evening nursing her thoughts.
‘I just have a quick phone call to make.’
She nodded and helped herself to another cup of tea as he bustled out of the kitchen to his telephone in the sitting room. It had been silly to have been so nervous about this meeting. Of course he would understand! He might be the only person left in the county who still insisted on using a landline, but that didn’t mean he was a dinosaur when it came to all things modern.
Curtis was on his way back to London from a meeting not a million miles away from Ely when he got the call on his phone and picked up on Bluetooth.
William.
His heart sank. He had spoken to his godfather several times since he had broken the news about the wedding that wasn’t to be. Each time he had ended the conversation with the depressing realisation that nothing was going to be the same again between them, or if theywereto return to what they’d been then it would take a long time.
He shuddered when he recalled the horror of telling William that he and Jess, much as they were going to remain the closest of friends and united as they were in wanting the best for the child they had created, would not be getting married.
A joint decision, he had said, and one they had both agreed on. They would never stop being the best of buddies, he had insisted, and through gritted teeth had muttered something about wishing her every happiness with someone she loved.
