Juliet gave a little shake of her head, incredulous at how quickly it had all been managed. She sneaked a glance at Peter, discomfited all over again at how natural he looked, sitting there in her kitchen, one of her pottery mugs cradled between his big hands. He wore dirty, faded jeans and an Aran jumper with a frayed hem and holes in both elbows. His fingernails were rimed with black dirt, as any farmer’s were, and there were deep creases by his eyes from spending a life in wind and rain, as well as the occasional bout of sunshine.
He met her gaze, and Juliet realized she’d been staring at him. Worse, she could tell he’d noticed. He gave her a very slight smile, and she could see knowledge and understanding and a touch of humor in his eyes, and quickly she turned away, moving the rosebush from the windowsill to the counter again, just because.
Chapter Fifteen
Lucy
Lucy came downstairs the next morning buoyed by a determined optimism to enjoy her afternoon outing with Bella.She’d had a good time last night, chatting with Peter and Rachel and Juliet. Rachel had intimidated her at first, with that knowing smile. Plus she was about eight feet tall and had masses of red hair. Lucy had felt like Minnie Mouse standing next to Boudicca.
But Rachel had invited her to the pub quiz, and Juliet had even agreed, and they were actually going to be a team. Plus there was the very interesting Peter, who’d brought Juliet flowers.
“He’s just a neighbor,” Juliet had told her dismissively when Lucy had asked who he was, after Peter and Rachel had gone. “A sheep farmer. We’re on the parish council together.”
“Parish council?”
“The local governing body for the village,” Juliet explained. “We liaise with the county council, and organize village events, and start campaigns for everyone to clean up their dogs’ poo. Stimulating stuff.”
“Important stuff,” Lucy had answered. “I nearly stepped in a dog poo this morning, so you’d better do your job.” Juliet hadn’t even cracked a smile; since Peter and Rachel had left, she’d seemed rather brittle, and she kept moving the rosebush around the kitchen.
The exchange had been enough for Lucy’s optimism to return in full force, and now she headed off to school, determined to rock this afternoon with Bella.
“Bella’s here,” Alex announced just after lunchtime.
Lucy glanced up, blinking the world back into focus. He stood in the doorway of the reception area, lines of tension bracketing his mouth as Bella came up the school lane. Somehow one o’clock had crept up on her and now, despite all her cheery optimism, butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
“Super.”
He cleared his throat. “Let me give you some money. . . .”
“No, I’d like to do this for Bella, and a couple of bras don’t cost much.”
Color touched Alex’s cheekbones, although whether because she’d said she’d pay or used the b-word, Lucy didn’t know. “I insist,” he began, but Bella was coming inside the school and so with a nod he left it, at least for now.
Bella studiously ignored her father as Lucy gathered her coat and purse. She’d checked the trains to Whitehaven and seen there was one just a little bit after one o’clock; they could come back on the four o’clock train, which would give them long enough for what they needed to do, she hoped. She’d thought about asking to borrow Juliet’s car, but she was terrible at driving stick shift and the afternoon had enough potential obstacles already.
“Ready?” she asked Bella in that same overbright voice she’d used before, and the girl didn’t answer. Still, this was going to go well. Lucy would make sure of it.
She kept up a cheerful monologue, saying whatever came into her head, which included a lot of inane facts about reality TV shows and her favorite Disney movies and why Hartley-by-the-Sea’s pub was called the Hangman’s Noose, all the way to the train station. Bella didn’t speak at all. By the time they’d boarded the train, Lucy had lapsed into a weary silence, realizing that three hours with Bella was going to feel long indeed.
Lucy had been to Whitehaven only once before to buy the waterproof and Wellies she’d forgotten to bring, so her only acquaintance with the town was the one pedestrianized street with a variety of shops, including the hiking store where she’d bought her gear. She’d done a search online last night, however, and found a department store on Lowther Street with a lingerie department.
Bella slouched after her, deliberately staying several paces behind as Lucy walked past a florist’s and a gourmet coffee shop,a café and a museum about rum smuggling, looking for the shop in question.
“Ah, here we are,” she said brightly, and held open the door for Bella.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Bella muttered, and Lucy followed her into the shop.
“To be honest, I can’t believe we are, either,” she answered as she wove her way through the shoe and accessory departments. The store had a lovably slightly shabby quality to it; clearly it had been around a long time, although the escalator that dominated the center of the space looked shiny and new. She could see the lingerie section in the distance, a lacy sea of white and pale pink with the occasional splotch of crimson or black, and turned to give Bella a reassuring smile. “Shouldn’t take long.”
Bella just folded her arms across her chest and stared straight ahead. Poor girl. No matter how nice Lucy tried to be, the whole experience still had to be mortifying.
Lucy inched her way across an aisle of what looked like G-cup satin Wonderbras, looking for the teen section. She really, really, for Bella’s sake—and, okay, a little bit of her own—didn’t want to have to ask.
“Oh, no,” Bella muttered under her breath, and Lucy turned to see a buxom sales assistant heading towards them like a ship in full sail, a wide smile on her face.
“Hello, my lovelies. Can I help with anything?”
Next to her Lucy felt Bella stiffen. She shook her head firmly. “Just looking,” she said, and the sales assistant retreated a few feet away, watching them expectantly. Lucy moved to the next aisle.
