‘Patsy? No, please don’t. I know she’s going to blame me for ruining your life like everyone else you know. I would hate to make her hate me before we’ve even met.’
‘She’s not going to hate you! Why should she? Everyone except my parents love you! You’re very loveable …’ For a moment it seemed as if he was about to say something else but didn’t.
‘Where is the bathroom?’ Lizzie asked, to fill the sudden silence.
‘The bathroom is less inviting than the kitchen. It’s through there.’
Lizzie decided it would need more than curtains and a lick of paint to make this little coffin-shaped room cosy but she had hope. Alexandra and David would have ideas about what to do. They could help her make it nice.
‘Are you sure you can live here, Lizzie?’ Hugo looked around dubiously. ‘With a baby? There’s nolaunderette you can go to with the washing. There’s probably a dolly tub and a wringer in the shed. Can you imagine washing nappies using those?’
‘I love this house!’ she said, refusing to think about washing nappies. ‘With Patsy’s permission, I’ll make it into my dream home. Yours too, I hope,’ she added quickly.
He laughed. ‘If it’s your dream home it will definitely be mine too.’
‘Let’s have a look at the garden,’ she said. ‘Can we get out through the back door? Oh yes, here’s the key.’
A second later she was in the garden, the moon, nearly full, highlighting a rambling rose, a fruit tree of some kind and anonymous shrubs. She could smell honeysuckle but the air was full of other fragrances she couldn’t identify. Yet the smell, the moonlight and the falling dew filled her with a strange kind of happiness.
‘It’s really lovely here,’ she said to Hugo a few moments later.
‘It is. And the moonlight is so bright. Did you know people used to bleach their clothes in the moonlight?’
‘I didn’t, no,’ said Lizzie. ‘Although of course it was terribly kind of Patsy to invite me to stay, I do wish we could stay here now, and just live together and not with Patsy until the wedding.’
He came up and stood behind her so she could feel the warmth of his body against hers. He sighed.‘I know. But we really can’t, not in such a small community where we’re intending to live. People would be so shocked. No one would talk to you.’
She sighed. ‘I know you’re right. I just can’t wait to call this lovely little house my home.’
While this was true, she was also really impatient for the time they could live together and, if they wanted to, make love among the roses and the honeysuckle in the moonlight. If only it could be now!
The drive back to London seemed to go far too quickly. Hugo drove his car swiftly and with certainty and it didn’t seem long enough. In the car Lizzie felt she didn’t have to face the difficulties being pregnant had produced. She didn’t have to think about her parents, his parents, or anything except swooping along, through the night, with Hugo.
‘Will they have left the door unlocked for you or do you have a key?’ Hugo asked, waking her from her pleasant doze.
‘Oh! There’s a back-door key hidden in a special place,’ she said. ‘We all use it.’
‘I’m surprised you haven’t been burgled!’ said Hugo, amused.
‘I know! I said that to Alexandra and she reckoned the burglars had been in, had a look around and decided there was nothing worth taking and pushed off again.’
‘Well, let’s get you inside. You’re out very late for a young woman.’
‘Who’s pregnant,’ she added.
‘That too.’ He put his hand on her arm, concern evident in his expression. ‘Lizzie, we’re going to have to press on with our plans. There’s no time to waste before we get married.’
‘I know. And I also know my parents will give permission for us to get married, but all the other things – there’s so much.’
‘Patsy will help. We must get you down to her as soon as possible. She’ll love having you and a wedding to arrange. She’ll steamroller over any difficulties.’ He squeezed her arm. ‘Trust me. It’ll all be fine.’ Then he kissed her cheek and opened the back door for her.
Chapter Twenty-six
Two days later everyone was helping Lizzie load her things into Hugo’s car. Lizzie was reconciled to going to stay with Patsy and Tim but she was still nervous about meeting them both.
‘I wish we could have had a farewell party for you,’ said Alexandra.
‘No time for that!’ said Lizzie. ‘There’s a wedding to organise!’
