She walked back and stopped next to his table.
‘Why can’t you just tell the truth?’
‘Look’ – he held his hands up – ‘I don’t want any trouble. I just wanted a quiet drink by the river. It’s been a hell of a day.’
Florrie was torn. Despite everything that was going on at the minute she didn’t want to believe she’d gotten him so wrong, but still her gut wasn’t one hundred per cent convinced that he was the bad guy he appeared to be in this whole thing.
‘Can we call a truce for at least five minutes? This is a lovely part of the day,’ he said, gesturing to the seat opposite him, ‘and surely we can get along for one drink.’
Remembering the phrase ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’, Florrie decided two could play this game. He didn’t know what she’d overheard, so sitting down and being friendly might lull him into a false sense of security. Perhaps she could discover something to her advantage.
The waiter came over to the table as Florrie took a seat opposite him and ordered herself a large glass of pinot grigio.
‘I didn’t know you were a runner,’ he ventured.
‘I dabble from time to time but not as much as I used to.’
‘How are you?’ he asked. ‘And that’s a genuine question.’
‘It’s been a difficult day,’ she answered. ‘I’ve been packing up my family home and putting Aunt Ada’s things into boxes to make sure I’m out of the cottage by eviction day. And I’m not saying that to have a go. That’s honestly what I’ve been doing, and it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.’
He nodded and closed his eyes for a moment.
‘Look, I…’ He paused as the waiter reappeared and placed a glass of wine down in front of Florrie. As soon as the waiter was out of earshot, he carried on. ‘I’m very sorry for your loss. Ada sounds like a remarkable woman; I know my grandfather thought so.’
‘How do you know about Ada but I didn’t know about William?’
‘When he passed away, he left me a box of treasures … well, that’s what I’ve always called it. I didn’t really appreciate what it was at the time but in recent years I’ve revisited it and come to value the fact that he shared it with me. There’re all sorts in the box. It’s around this big’ – he gestured with his hands – ‘and it’s full of newspaper cuttings, articles, photographs, a watch he always wore, his favourite bow tie, his favourite book… One of the things I found was a photograph of my grandfather when he was in hospital. He’s sitting with your aunt Ada.’
‘I’ve seen that recently.’
‘Attached to the photograph there was a journal of his thoughts. He said Ada had helped him immensely after his heart attack and kept his spirits high with her daily visits. He referred to her as one of his best friends and he ended the entry by writing he would always look out for her and Ewart, who I assumed was her husband.’
‘But why did my aunt Ada never mention him?’
Tom shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Grief does funny things to people.’
‘How did you end up at the funeral?’
‘My grandfather also left a letter for me in the box. In it he told me that Heartcross would always hold a special place in his heart and that one day, if I had the chance, I should visit. He did warn me though, there’s a local curse. Once you arrive in Heartcross…’
‘You never want to leave,’ Florrie finished for him. They gave each other a tentative smile.
‘Exactly, and when I arrived here, I overheard Hamish in the village shop talking about the funeral and realised I’d arrived too late to meet Ada. I’d wanted to chat to her about my grandfather, but I’d left it too long and missed my chance.’ He took a sip of his drink and looked out over the river before turning back towards Florrie. ‘How did it come to this?’
‘You hurt me,’ she said simply.
It was finally out in the open. She felt vulnerable, but she needed this conversation to happen. Tom Houston still confused her and she really couldn’t make up her mind whether he was a good guy or not.
Tom briefly closed his eyes. ‘I’m sorry I hurt you. It really wasn’t my intention.’
‘I do know we were both consenting adults, but having all the facts about your situation would have led me to maybe make different choices.’
‘I wanted you to make the choice you did. I had an amazing two weeks.’
‘And so did I. But why didn’t you just tell me you were spending the summer with Sophia Henley? How did you think it would make me feel to find that out from someone other than you?’
‘It isn’t what you think.’
