‘Why on earth did you rebuff him like that?’ Carrie chastised on the way home. ‘He was just being nice.’
‘I know, but I’m allowed to say no to things.’
‘There are ways of saying it.’
‘Was I offhand?’
Carrie pressed her lips together.
‘I didn’t mean to be. Anyway, what does it matter? I’m not going to see him again.’
‘Except when you go to collect your bowl after it’s been in the drying room.’
‘You could do that for me, couldn’t you?’
‘Maybe,’ Carrie said, ‘if you’re nice to me.’
‘I’m always nice to you. Well, almost always.’
‘And wasn’t I right to book us in there today?’
‘Don’t crow.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Yes, you are.’
Carrie punched her lightly on the arm.
‘Admit it, you enjoyed yourself once you got over the initial nerves and your bowl is brilliant.’
‘Lance is right,’ Jules said, winding down the window and allowing her fingertips to brush the hedges as Carrie pulled the car into the lane leading down to the cottage. ‘It is like riding a bicycle. Once you’ve done it, you don’t completely forget.’
Jules smiled at Carrie and for the first time in several weeks it felt like a proper smile, from behind her eyes, from her heart space. How on earth could she have been stupid enough to risk this friendship for someone like Gavin? The friendship between women was more enduring, more sustaining, more precious than any man. She was never going to let a man steal her heart ever again.
Carrie dropped her outside the cottage.
‘You’re sure you don’t want me to come in?’
Jules shook her head.
‘No, you get back to your beloved. He’ll be pining for you.’
She stood beneath the archway and watched as Carrie turned the car around and headed back up the lane. A tendril ofhoneysuckle caressed her skin, its thick sweet scent filling her nostrils. She lifted her arm for one last wave and turned towards the cottage.
‘Hello, house,’ she said. ‘Just you and me again tonight.’
The air in the hall was still and warm, draping itself over her like the softest cashmere. The windows in this room faced east so it was in shadow in the afternoon, but the subdued light was calming after such an intense day. Jules put her bag down at the bottom of the stairs and lifted her hair to rub the back of her neck. She was beginning to stiffen up after the time spent hunched over at the wheel.
‘A bath is definitely needed,’ she said, catching sight of herself in the mirror above the fireplace.
First, she made a pot of tea, placing the little silver pot on a circular tray alongside a china cup and saucer and a plate with a couple of freshly made ginger biscuits which she had found on the doorstep with a note from Rita.
I know you won’t have finished the cake yet, but I’ve been baking and thought you might like to try some of these.
Rita
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