I watched her, worried, but not wanting to interfere with how Seph wanted to deal with it, but at the same time wanting to step in if he needed help. After dessert, which had been the most gorgeous light lemony cake, he took Rose down to where there was a swing in the branches of one of the large sturdy trees. I watched them walk away for a moment, and then decided out of sheer curiosity, to follow.
In the last two or three weeks, while Seph hadn't been staying over, I hadn't said anything to Rose to explain why, apart from things like he had a lot of work to do or there were things he was doing with his family. I’d kept it vague, and she'd still been seeing him anyway in the evenings when he’d come round to do homework with her, or even come with me to pick her up from Elspeth's after work, so I wasn't sure exactly how much she had missed him. Or if she'd even missed him at all.
The sun had pretty much set, and really it was too late for a little four-year-old girl’s bedtime, but it was the Holidays and there was no school to get up for in the morning, just a day of the pool and the beach a maybe some of the books she’d insisted on bringing with her.
The dusk of the evening allowed me to follow them down to the swing without either of them noticing. I heard murmuring voices, Seph’s low tones and Rose’s curious words just loud enough for the odd one to be caught.
“Are you back to being my mummy’s boyfriend?” Rose had sat down on the swing and was using her own strength to get the momentum going.
“I am.” Seph started to push her, just gently so they'd still be able to talk without her getting too giddy or too distracted by trying to grab the stars that were just starting to peek out. “I'm hoping I'll be her boyfriend for a long time, or maybe a shorter time if I become her husband one day.”
“If you marry my mummy can I be a bridesmaid? And if you marry my mummy what would I call you? And if you marry my mummy would I get brothers and sisters? And if you marry my mummy would Eliza be my cousin, and Niamh and Teddy and Lucy and Tomas?”
Grant Callaghan was right, that was one hell of a lot of Christmas presents, and that was my first thought, right before I considered what she was asking.
I folded my arms, interested to hear how Seph was going to talk his way out of this one.
“When me and your mummy get married, you'll be the main bridesmaid. You can call me whatever you like, and whenever you do call me, I'll always come running. Do you want brothers and sisters?”
It should have been the married part being unquestionable in his head, the when rather than the if, but it wasn't that that made any worries or fears melt away, it was how he answered her second question.
I'll always come running.
He’d just made a promise to my daughter that was better than any promise he could have made to me. I knew enough about Seph Callaghan to know that he didn't make promises if he wasn't sure he'd always keep them.
“If I have a little brother, can we call him Luke?”
I was considering this Rose's request for siblings, which made me think of when I'd seen Seph holding baby Lucy and Tomas. That had been enough to melt my ovaries there and then.
Seph pushed her a little more. “Why Luke?”
“So he'll be like Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.”
My daughter had good taste.
“Well, if we have a boy we'll think about that for a name. What about a girl?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I'd want a brother and not a sister.”
“I'm not sure that's how it works. Are you worried I'm going to stop coming round again to see you?” This was Seph trying to address her clinginess for the last few hours.
I thought I saw her nod, but it was difficult to really make things out in the dim light.
“I promise to come and see you at home more when we get back from holiday.”
I was impressed with how he managed his response, not promising anything that he knew he couldn't keep to and being realistic.
“Will you sleep over again with Mummy? You make better breakfasts than she does.”
I knew my place, and clearly my daughter had assessed both of our talents. She was right though; Seph was better at cooking than me. I wasn't going to argue that.
He carried on chatting to her about breakfasts and food and what she was reading, taking her mind off what they just talked about until he stopped the swing, picked her up, and started carrying her back to the Chateau.
I left the shadows at that point, Seph giving me a big knowing smile, obviously totally aware that I had been trying to be stealthy and listen in to their conversation.
“Here's Mummy,” Seph said. “I wonder if she's just come down to find us.” He shook his head slowly. “Nosy.” He mouthed the word at me.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Bedtime when we get back, Lady Rose. Do you want to sleep with us, or in the bunk room with Eliza and the other girls?”
