I ignored him, signed us in, and walked up the stairs to Iris’s room. This seemed as mad as the dress purchase, admittedly, but I just wanted to check on her, to make certain she was well. There was also the hope that, maybe, Abbey would be there, and I could … I don’t know … I just wanted to see how Iris was.
‘Ah, Nicholas. I must say, this is a surprise.’
I bent over and kissed her crinkled, soft cheek. She smelled amazing, like a young woman, no lavender or rose or anything one would expect of an old lady. In fact, it could have been Chanel. Our mother used to wear it and I’m not certain if my siblings remember that about her. I inhaled Iris slightly more and hugged her, feeling the ache in my heart.
‘Mrs Cavendish, may I intro—’
‘Call me, Iris, Nicholas. Then I won’t feel so old when you introduce me to the gorgeous man next to you.’
I gave a soft laugh and noticed a flush climb up Ollie’s neck. ‘Iris, my brother, Oliver Northby.’
Ollie slid his hand into hers. ‘Lovely to meet you, Iris. I’m so sorry to disturb. I was supposed to meet Abbey’s grandmother, but you cannot possibly be old enough.’
She laughed – a tinkly sound that was joyful and put me in mind of wind chimes. It further belied her age.
‘Oh, young man, if I were ten years younger …’
The two of them were instant friends, both masters of flirt. She had him eating out of her hands in approximately two minutes flat and, like me, he was an instant devotee.
Lionel came in and sat down, not bothered at all by the two younger men fawning over his would-be love.
I sat and watched, mostly just happy to be in their company. My grandfather died before I was born, and my grandmother passed away when I was nine. There were no elder Northbys left in the world, and we were missing these gentle, happy relationships.
I looked up to find Iris giving me an assessing stare.
‘Oliver, be a dear and grab me a bottle of water.’
‘Of course, Iris.’ He stood and walked out, an eager servant.
‘Now, dearest. Are you going to tell me why you are so reflective and pensive, Nicholas?’
‘I don’t …’ I looked into her crystal-blue eyes and realised they were Abbey’s. I dropped my gaze to the floor before looking up and meeting them again. ‘Actually, I’m worried I’ve upset Abbey.’
‘Why? Things seemed to be going rather well between the two of you last night.’
I shrugged. I avoided telling Abbey’s grandmother that I’d hit up her granddaughter for two weeks of sex and had managed to make Abbey feel cheap and used.
‘If you have upset Abbey, that upsets me a great deal, dear. If it is worrying you, perhaps you should start by apologising. Abigail is far more forgiving a person than either Kate or myself. She very rarely holds grudges, Nick.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘Not to me, dear …’
I smiled and nodded. I needed to apologise. Maybe it would go some way to remove this dreadful feeling in my gut.
Oliver walked back into the room and handed Iris her bottle of water. ‘Good Lord. Rose, two doors down, just grabbed my arse.’
‘You mustn’t blame her. Her husband died forty years ago and instead of living again she fell into the grave with him, dear.’
My brother met my eyes briefly. I felt Iris’s gaze on me again and got the feeling she didn’t miss much.Fuck.Is that what happened to me? The thought hit me like a cricket ball to the ribs. I was winded by it.
‘You know what you boys should do? It is a fine day. You should go and have lunch at that nice pub at The Rocks. What is that one called, dear, the one that I like? With the man on the guitar.’
‘The Fortune of War,’ Lionel said.
‘Yes, of course. You should go there and drink in the sunshine and eat, and then at some point, a man with a guitar will come and sing to you.’
‘Fortune of War?’ Oliver said, putting it into his phone. ‘I could do that. Nick, what say you?’
