“They didn’t want you tapping into the modern world?”
She shook her head solemnly. “Not at all.”
“Were they religious?” I asked.
“No,” said Grace, wearily. “Just set in their ways, determined to keep the outside world as far from me as possible.”
She looked like she was holding something back, but I didn’t push her for more.
“Thank you for arranging for Dorian to take me out,” said Grace after a moment's silence. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Good,” I said, clenching my teeth.
I took over after she’d entered her bank details. Dorian kept our business accounts, but I was in charge of payroll. I immediately moved some money over to Grace, which made her eyes bulge.
“Nick, no, you don’t need to –”
“It’s just an advance, Grace, so you can get yourself sorted for the weekend.” I explained. “Though you look perfectly lovely the way you are.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said.
“There’s more to it, I’m afraid,” I said, getting back to business. “You’ll also need to buy yourself three suits, some smart shoes, new blouses – I’m putting extra on top of what I’ve paid you as a business expense. I’m going to give you the name of a tailor to visit, who will sort you out with everything you need. You’ll be facingour clients soon, meeting with them to discuss details, attending the funerals to ensure everything runs smoothly. Don’t look so scared, Grace, you’ll pick it all up in due course. I’m also ordering you a work phone – have you used a smartphone before?”
“I’ve seen them,” she said, toying with a stray piece of her white-blonde hair. “They weren’t common in the village. I’ve never used social media, nothing like that.”
“Good,” I said, finishing up my order of the phone on the website. “Those apps are cesspits. You’re better off keeping out of them.”
“Nick,” she began, softly.
“Yes?”
“Why did you invite that man to take me out?”
I paused as I was typing, unsure of what to say. I decided honesty was the best policy. Well, partial honesty. I turned to her in my chair.
“Because I want you to have everything you need, Grace, and that includes friends. I want you to have the life you deserve here. If you’re happy, then I get to keep you for longer,” I said, regretting that last part, but it was too late to take it back.
She seemed satisfied, at least, with my answer – though she looked down at her hands in her lap.
“You don’t want to be stuck spending your whole life around an old git like me,” I said, with a neutral smile. “Working together in close proximity with me is quite enough of a prison, I’m sure. You need space and freedom to be with people closer to your own age.”
“If that’s what you call prison then I’d gladly throw away the key,” she said, with a gentle laugh. “I’ve neverbeen happier than I have been these last few days with you.”
I didn’t know my frozen heart could still hurt after all those years. I almost winced at the pain as it throbbed. I wanted to pull Grace toward me, hold her against my chest, and never let her go.
“You had a difficult start to your life, Grace. To lose your father, and then to take care of your mother for so long in her sickness, hidden away in that house in the Dales, all alone...my god, I couldn’t even imagine it. It’s a privilege to give you this opportunity. I want you to take everything life has to offer you,” I said, moisture stinging my eyes. “You need never be alone again.”
She looked up at me when I said that, her eyes flooding with tears. She held them, on the cusp of falling, but didn’t let them go. Instead she ducked her head when the moment passed, and blinked several times to encourage the tears to abate.
“I’ve noticed your difficulty walking, sir. Does your back hurt?” she asked, after a short pause.
“A little,” I said, remembering, then, what we’d talked about the night I met her. “But please, don’t – ”
“Will you lie down on this couch for me, sir, and remove your shirt?”
She asked me so plainly, gesturing to the long, deep red couch with mahogany feet and arm rests. My mouth went dry.
“Grace, it’s not necessary.”
