After Jago had brought the tea, he went out again and came back with a bowl of jelly and ice cream for Fred. ‘My favourite,’ he said happily as Jago put it in front of him.
‘I suppose it’s nice and easy to eat,’ said Helena.
Fred gave her a funny look. ‘It’s bloody delicious. It’s always been my favourite.’
Seeing Fred’s, Helena wanted jelly and ice cream too. When they had all had it, Fred yawned.
‘Tell you what, it’s turned into a lovely evening out there,’ he said to Jago. ‘Why don’t you take Helena outside and tell her the rest of the story? There’s a nice bench a little way along. Perfect for looking at the view and talking.’
Helena looked at Jago, who then looked at Fred. ‘You’ll be OK?’
‘I’ve got my bell. I’ll ring if I need you.’
Jago got up and held out his hand for Helena’s so he could pull her up too. ‘This calls for rum.’
‘And more ginger biscuits. For dunking,’ she said.
‘Really?’ Jago and Fred both looked horrified.
‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.’
Jago had to go back inside for an old mac and cushions as the seat, although perfectly positioned, was soaking wet.
‘It is an idyllic spot,’ said Helena. ‘You get a bit of both views, the one at the front and the one at the back.’
Jago nodded. ‘My plan is to make the cottage habitable – extend it a bit – and then Fred could maybe come up for holidays with his daughter and her family.’ He looked down at her. ‘Maybe we could come up here too?’ He had become tentative as if not quite sure how he stood with her.
She picked up on his doubt and became shy. ‘I would like that.’
He handed her a glass of rum and the packet of biscuits. She took one and dipped it in. ‘So?’ she asked. ‘What’s the rest of the story?’
‘It’s more background really. Before the fire I was engaged to be married. We were young but we were in love and she had a big wedding planned. All the bells and whistles, country house hotel, a band for the day and another for the night. Her dress cost several thousand pounds.’
‘Oh my goodness.’ Helena crunched into a rum-soaked biscuit for support.
‘But after it all blew up she broke off the engagement. Said she didn’t want everyone to be putting up pictures and mocking her for marrying a man who could have been responsible for people dying.’
‘Although they didn’t die.’
‘And I wasn’t responsible. She knew that, but the rest of the world thought I was. She had a point.’
Helena sipped the rum without the biscuit and found she liked it.
‘I suggested we elope, so we’d be married but we just wouldn’t have the big party. It turned out it was the big party she wanted really, so our relationship probably would have ended in tears anyway.’ He smiled ruefully. ‘She liked being engaged to the nephew of a major property developer; she didn’t want to be shacked up with a simple builder who was going to have to start again with nothing.’
‘There’s that song,’ said Helena. ‘“If I were a carpenter, and you were a lady …”’
‘Believe me, that song was often in my head in those early months.’
‘So, you not only lost your job and your reputation, you lost the love of your life as well.’
Jago nodded. ‘Except she wasn’t the love of my life as it turned out; she was quite selfish and a bit irritating.’ He paused. ‘She would have never put aside her claustrophobia and got covered in mud because a stranger asked her to rescue a kitten.’
‘Oh.’ Helena’s mood had been pensive but it took a little uplift now.
‘Although I suppose I can’t blame her for wanting the huge extravaganza. It’s what every little girl wants, isn’t it, from when they’re nine years old? That’s what she told me.’
Helena shrugged. ‘Is it? I don’t know.’
