‘Has owt else like this happened?’ Alessandro stared down at me, and I felt myself redden. Should I tell him about Fabian’s slashed tyres and the smashed window?
I was saved from speaking by a somewhat breathless Kamran arriving back with the ladder. Alessandro immediately took over, taking the ladder in his big meaty paws and moving it deftly underneath the sign and then scaling the rungs with an alacrity one wouldn’t expect from a man of such height and bulk. As Alessandro worked, Kamran indicated, with a shake of his head and hand gestures across his throat, that I should say nothing further about the other things that now appeared to be some sort of vendetta against Fabian.
Should I say anything to Robyn? The last thing I wanted was her to worry, but Fabian needed to know what had happened. While he was still bearing the scars – literally – from the smashed window, it was pointless keeping this latest incident from him and, after Kamran and I had spent the next hour or so in discussion with Sandro and then waved him off back to Harrogate, Kamran had tried to ring Fabian. But apparently to no avail. I tried myself, several times, but then gave up, knowing I needed to get back home to prepare for my coming date with Henry.
It wasn’t a date – of course it wasn’t! At the end of the day, I was just popping down to help a man who didn’t appear to have much clue about looking after an eleven-year-old. And to make sure my own eleven-year-old wasn’t outstaying her welcome with her newfound friend. At least by helping feed the pair of them, it was some sort of payback for Henry keeping an eye on Lola while I was at work. Although, I couldn’t imagine it would actually be him doing any supervising of the girls.
This was what I kept telling myself anyway as I let myself back into the cottage later that afternoon, my head full of the sign with the still-wet red paint. So no, the coming evening wasn’t a date. Of course it wasn’t. And the batch of muffins I was immediately going to crack on with once I was through the door and back in my own kitchen was simply a thank you gift for the man down in Queen’s Gardens.The Man in Queen’s Gardens?I gave a little titter as I let myself into the cottage. For heaven’s sake, it sounded likeOur Man in Havana. I realised I was building up Henry Cavendish-Brown into some sort of superhero. Mind you, he was rather attractive.
The two cottages appeared deserted – no Joel back from his revision and rehearsal sessions down at St Mede’s – and, with Dean down at the garage until well after seven, next door appeared particularly quiet. Arthur had already made his way through the open garden gate, settling down to sleep in the beautiful spring sunshine under Mum’s apple trees.
And yet I welcomed the quiet. There was no need to wonder if Mum was OK next door as I’d done for years, automatically popping over to check everything was all right, taking her and Sorrel a pie or casserole round in exchange for Mum having weeded my flowerbeds. Strange, I suddenly welcomed the freedom – I was a single woman; a career woman with a new job, Mum was off and happy and hopefully Sorrel likewise. Butwasmy little sister happy? Settled? I couldn’t bear the thought that she might be crying into her pillow at night, unbearably homesick as I knew I would be in her situation. Missing me, Mum and Robyn. Missing Joel. I contemplated ringing her, but it was the middle of the day and presumably she was at lessons like any ordinary school.
Just as I was thinking this, my phone started its usual refrain.
‘Goodness, just thinking about you,’ I said. ‘You must be psychic.’
‘Ten-minute break,’ Sorrel said, speaking hurriedly. ‘Tried to call Mum but no reply. Is she OK?’
‘She’ll be down at the gym,’ I said. ‘You know what she’s like now she’s found her niche down there. She’ll be trying to beat her PB in the pool… or even out for lunch with the SS.’
‘PB? The SS? Talk English.’ Sorrel tutted. ‘Come on, Jess, I’ve only a couple of minutes.’
I laughed. ‘Sattar sisters-in-law. I think she feels it her duty to schmooze with her new relatives-to-be, even though she’d rather be out in the garden. So, you OK, Sorrel?’ Please don’t say she was ringing me in the middle of the afternoon because she was homesick. I couldn’t bear that.
‘Yes, I am,’ she said, her voice brimming with an enthusiasm she appeared unable to contain. ‘I just wanted you all to know how good it is here. The girl in the room next to me is from Leeds, but the rest are mainly from the south. They’re not stuck-up southerners, though, you know,’ she added sagely as though surprised at finding anyone south of Nottingham to be no different from herself. ‘And we’ve been straight in with maths and English revision sessions all morning. I understood everything in the lesson and actually Mr Thompson…’
‘Mr Thompson?’
‘Maths teacher.’ She tutted once more, obviously desperate to get on with her story. ‘He said I had much maths ability. I said, I obviouslyhadn’t, but my big sisterhas.And she’d helped me. And he said, didyouwant a job down here teaching maths? And I said, no because you were a brilliant cook and you were about to open and run your own top Michelin-starred restaurant…’
‘Woah, woah.’ I laughed. ‘Slow down!’
‘Oh, Jess, the dance sessions! I’m actually stiff as a board. We were worked until we nearly dropped. In fact, one of the other new girls did drop. Started crying. But I didn’t. It was all fantastic…’ She trailed off. ‘I just wanted you to know I’m OK.’ I think she was slightly embarrassed that she was so happy. ‘I know what you’re like. I didn’t want you worrying I was homesick.’
‘I can hear you’re not.’ I laughed, delighted that she wasn’t ringing to say she wanted to come home, that she couldn’t cope with it all.
‘And Joel? Joel’s OK?’
‘He’s fine. Really. And he’s a lot tidier than you ever were.’
‘You will keep an eye on him, won’t you?’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘I just don’t want him slipping back; you know, being taken on again by the awful lot who’d got him delivering the stuff.’
‘He’s fine,’ I said once more. ‘AndI’ve lent him Dean’s bike to get about on.’
‘Oh? Have you? Why?’ I was surprised to hear disapproval in Sorrel’s voice.
‘Why? Well, he asked. And he appears pretty competent on it. Better than Dean ever was.’
‘Well, he will be, won’t he?’
‘Will he?’
‘Look, when he was delivering before, it wasn’t for Deliveroo, you know.’
