Rita laughed too. ‘It’s my biggest fear.’
With Jilly’s help, Rita cautiously put her legs in the straps, flinching as the springs creaked.
Jilly went into teaching voice. ‘Right. Breathe in… lift your hips… and engage that fanny floor like you’re holding in a secret.’
Rita burst out laughing but gave it a go. Her limbs trembled almost immediately. ‘Jesus, I can feel muscles I never knew I had.’
‘That’s the idea,’ Jilly said with a wink. ‘You’ll be shagging like you’re at a hen party in Benidorm in no time.’
‘God, it’s been a long time since I did that.’
‘I know you’re still grieving but…’ Jilly raised an eyebrow, ‘sex is incredibly good for you, gets the blood flowing, boosts your mood, and if nothing else burns a good few calories.’
Rita laughed again. ‘Jilly Cooper. You’re incorrigible.’
‘Just like my namesake, well, her characters, at least. I say watchRivalsand start channelling Sarah Stratton… the ultimate man-eater. Now, how are you feeling today? Mrs Munroe tells me your guests have arrived.’
‘So, I guess you know their hair colour, what they had for breakfast and possibly what time they are visiting Number Two, my toilet block.’
‘Genuis.’ Jilly laughed as Rita continued to lift her hips gently up and down.
‘I’m good, actually, thanks for asking. Having a focus has taken my mind off Archie, to be honest. And the missing will.’
‘Ah. One of those.’ Jilly released the straps. ‘My next class is not for half an hour. Come and have a coffee with me.’
Rita followed Jilly over to the fitness balls at the reception desk,and took a seat, perching carefully as Jilly handed her a cup of coffee.
‘Sit tall, hold that pelvis. Wherever you are, just do it. You will thank me in the future, I promise you.’ Jilly took a sip from her own mug.
Rita balanced awkwardly.
‘Can I just say, Rita, that what you say to me is what you sayto me. I never gossip. Living with a con for the whole of my married life, it was more than my life was worth.’ She sighed deeply.
Rita took a drink of her coffee. ‘I respect that and it’s kind of why I wanted to mention the will, I guess.’
‘Do you think there’s some kind of foul play then?’ Jilly asked matter-of-factly.
‘I don’t know but it does seem a bit dodgy, don’t you think?’ Rita’s brow furrowed.
‘Tell me more about Archie. What happened that night? If you don’t mind, babe.’
Rita’s knees wobbled, and not just from the workout. ‘It wasn’t the cliff’ – Rita took a noisy breath – ‘or the car – that’s what everyone says to make it sound dramatic. Grace Kelly romantic almost. But it wasn’t. Not really.’
Jilly elegantly crossed her legs. ‘Go on.’
‘He had a blowout,’ Rita said quietly. ‘Lost control. The car went over. That’s what the coroner said. But everyone hearssports car,cliffand thinks he did a Thelma and Louise, like your husband. Sorry, sorry. That was insensitive of me.’
Jilly’s expression didn’t change, but her hand reached out, resting lightly on Rita’s leg. ‘People are twats.’
Rita gave a dry laugh. ‘It was a terrible day. We’d rowed about garlic bread earlier that evening. Can you believe that? He wanted it with lasagne; I told him he would have go the big Tesco himself and get it as I couldn’t be bothered to make it. I had a French stick. I should have made some myself.’
‘Oh, Rita. That’s just life. We all argue.’
‘I know, I know, but we don’t all lose our husbands after a row,do we?’ Rita felt her anxiety rising. ‘Anyway, after dinner he went out to check on the cows as usual and when he came back he was properly angry about something. He grabbed the keys to his new convertible. Said driving with the roof off along the cliff path would sort him out, clear his head.’ Rita made a funny little squeaking noise.
They sat in silence for a moment. Then Rita blurted, ‘His last words to me were, “Next time, I will take you.” In fact, as he was going out the door, he made a point of coming back and kissing my forehead and said it: “Next time, I will take you.”’
Jilly was welling up herself now. ‘Shit, that’s shit.’
