‘And they would have brought a lot of mud into the bus, too,’ said William. ‘So now I don’t have to clean up after them. Come on.’
He continued to hold her arm as they walked and Gilly found it surprisingly pleasant. He let her go when he reached the viewpoint.
‘Wow, look at that,’ said Gilly. ‘This view is why I thought the ladies would like the monument.’
‘It is spectacular,’ William agreed. ‘Fantastic to glide over.’
‘I’m not sure I’d ever be brave enough to go gliding. I’m not great at small planes.’
‘I took Daphne up once. She loved it, although she didn’t expect to. It was a few years ago though, when she was more mobile.’ He chuckled. ‘Getting her into the glider was interesting but worth it.’
‘She’s jolly brave,’ said Gilly, ‘a proper feisty woman.’
‘Definitely on the eccentric spectrum but that’s a good thing. She, Mary and Miriam have a lot of fun.’
‘Sometimes I wonder if I have enough fun,’ said Gilly, thinking about what Leo had been saying a few days earlier. ‘Maybe I should sell up.’
‘And spend your children’s inheritance on foreign travel and cruises? I can’t quite see you doing that,’ said William, looking down at her.
‘But maybe I ought to! I don’t mean I ought to spend the money on travel and things – I like travel but I don’t have a huge desire to go round the world. I mean maybe I should release the money from my house and give it to them now. Am I being selfish hanging on to it, do you think?’
‘To be honest, speaking as your accountant who has a bit of liberty in these matters, I think your children are being a bit selfish suggesting you should sell up when you’re so young.’
‘I’m not young—’
‘Very young to retire, unless you hate what you do in which case I think everyone should retire at thirty-five.’
She laughed. ‘And then do nothing? Or do something they love?’
‘Do something they love, definitely.’
‘Do you love being an accountant?’ she asked.
‘I do find a lot of satisfaction in it, yes. I like working with people.’
‘But aren’t you mostly working with figures?’
‘Yes, but the figures are attached to people. I get to know people’s lives from how they spend or save, take risks or keep their money safe at all costs. It’s fascinating.’ He paused for a minute, looking at theland. ‘I don’t think you’d do so well at your B & B if you didn’t love it.’
She nodded. ‘Like you, it’s the people I love. They all bring their stories; I see snippets of their lives and I enjoy making them happy. It’s why I like doing evening meals for them. It’s a service they need so I offer it. Value added.’
‘So don’t sell.’
‘But my children need the money!’
‘I never thought I’d say this but there’s a difference betweenneedandwant. Your children may want your money but they don’t need it.’
Gilly laughed reluctantly. ‘You’re right in Martin’s case. He doesn’t need to live in a mansion with a granny annexe – they’ve got a very nice house already.’
‘Which you helped them pay for,’ he said.
‘I can’t hide anything from my accountant!’ said Gilly, laughing properly now. ‘But Helena does need it.’
‘Does she? Wouldn’t she rather sort out her own problems?’
‘Probably, but I’m not sure she can.’ As a mother she’d never got over the ‘wanting to make everything all right for her children’ phase, even when they were adults. ‘What about equity release?’
He shook his head. ‘If you really want to do something, you should come in and we’ll look at all theoptions but really I think you should leave everything as it is for now. It’s too big a decision to make in a hurry.’ He paused. ‘Or because someone else suggested you should.’
