“Let’s go then. How far is it?”
“About four miles. We’ll have to walk there and back. You good with that?”
She laughed. “Things you think no one would ever ask. I’ll ache tomorrow but I’ll be fine. Might need a massage later.” This time there was a hint of shyness.
He knew she was still finding it tricky to work out what his reactions were going to be, still testing the newness of whatever this was.
“I’m pretty sure I can help with that. I’d rather not think about it now though.”
“What would you rather think about?”
They set off walking, both with backpacks that had seen better days. His T-shirt was in his, but he wasn’t ready to cover up yet. Her eyes kept flicking over his chest and he was happy to keep that happening.
“Gran.”
“What?”
Alex sighed. “I think this happened before you moved to Severton.”
“Are you going to tell me or not?”
He laughed, trying desperately not to remember the images. “Once I’ve described this you’re never going to forget it.”
Abby looked slightly concerned. “Was it illegal?”
“No, but this is Gran so that’s a good starting point. She wasn’t arrested this time.” A kestrel hovered over them. They were cutting across a field, just above the village of Eyam – the plague village. Alex loved it here. Despite its rather dark history, the place was restful, at peace with itself and what had happened there.
“Not dwelling on thethis timebecause that could be a whole volume of stories, but what about this time? What did she do?”
Alex sighed again. It wasn’t any use. He was going to have this image in his head for the rest of the day, unless Abby could distract him with something else.
“We had a Valentine’s Day ball at the social club about three years’ ago. It was for the kids in the afternoon and then an adult charity thing in the evening with an auction and meal. We ended up helping out and somehow ended up being auctioned off for dates…”
“Who did Gran buy?”
Alex chuckled. “Jonny. But you’d be wise not to mention it to Rayah. She tried to save him but Gran just kept outbidding her.”
“Who won you?”
This time he laughed. “Marian.”
“Fannyella?”
“What?” He squinted. “Fanny-what?”
“It’s Marian’s festival name. Probably wise not to ask any more questions.”
“I’ll park that for later. So, Gran dressed up for the ball. It was a night gown type thing but with lots of lace and it wasn’t really hiding much.”
“A negligee.”
“Is that what you call it?”
“I have a horrific image of her having her boobs out and all sorts – maybe a thong…. Please tell me she was fairly decent…” Abby frowned at him, her nose slightly pink from the sun.
Alex touched the tip of it. “Don’t burn. She had on a decent bra, but the fact I saw Gran’s bra was enough to disturb my sleep for at least six weeks and she wore short things underneath that went over her stomach. To be fair, she doesn’t look like a seventy-year-old.”
“She’s eighty-two.”
