‘Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing,’ he said, resting his hands on the rail and leaning forwards.
To their left, a motor cruiser came into view, rounding the curve in the river, the children on board waving happily up at Jenna and Blake. They waved back, which encouraged the children to wave even more, eliciting smiles from their parents. When they’d passed, Blake said, ‘I’ve been thinking about making some changes.’
‘Really? What kind?’
‘I’ve been considering a change of work scene.’
She turned to look at him, surprised. Surprised too at her immediate reaction, that she would miss him. ‘I thought you liked it at Heart-to-Heart?’
‘I do.’
‘So why leave?’
He stared at her, then rubbed his fingers along the wooden rail, back and forth, reminding her of the way he’d played his violin with such intensity. ‘A new job somewhere else might open up other avenues for me,’ he said finally.
‘A better job, bigger salary?’
‘That wasn’t exactly what I was thinking.’
‘What then?’
‘Oh, Jenna,’ he said, his gaze back on hers again and with considerable force. ‘Don’t give me that bemused look of yours, you ought to know by now how it drives me crazy.’
She felt the colour rush to her face. ‘I don’t know what you mean.’
He shook his head. ‘Come on, Lawyer Girl, surely you can figure this one out?’
She frowned, and then it dawned on her what he was saying. ‘You can’t be serious?’
‘I’ve never been more serious.’
‘But—’
‘But what?’ he cut in when she hesitated. ‘There’d be no point? Is that what you’re about to say? If so, don’t. Not straightaway. Give yourself time to consider what I’ve said, and then let me know what you think.’
Chapter Fifty
‘Wasn’t that Alastair?’ remarked Danny. He and Frankie were standing on the pavement outside the last one of the estate agents they had wanted to visit.
‘It certainly looked like his Range Rover,’ Frankie said, staring at the charcoal-coloured vehicle disappearing into the distance. ‘Maybe he felt the need to escape like we did. I’m beginning to feel sorry for him; our coming here has been nothing short of a disaster.’
‘It wouldn’t be so bad if we could muster the smallest grain of approval for Valentina,’ Danny said as they crossed the road in the direction of where they’d left their car in the car park at the back of Roys.
‘I feel the same way. I came here badly wanting to be happy for Alastair, but all I feel is an awful sense of dread.’
‘And you know what not one of us has had the courage to ask, and it’s none of our business, I know, but how is this new life Alastair is planning going to be funded? Is he footing the entire bill, hence the hurry to sell Linston End, or is Valentina pitching in?’
‘You mean, is she a blatant gold-digger?’
‘Yes. Exactly that. I just wish I didn’t keep getting the feeling that she’s playing some kind of game.’
‘You’re beginning to sound like Simon. Perhaps we simply have to accept that it’s no more complicated than she loves him and he loves her, irrespective of how financially well off the other is. For all we know, she might be as rich as Croesus.’
‘But of all the women in the world, why her? Surely Alastair can see that she just doesn’t fit in with his old life?’
‘That might be the very reason he’s so attracted to Valentina. He wants to be rid of his old life, and all those painful memories of Orla. It’s perfectly understandable.’
Danny shook his head. ‘But it’s not possible to treat the memory in that way. It’s not like wiping clean the memory of an old computer or mobile phone.’
