‘Never in this world!’ Ronnie said. ‘Three months?’
‘My Lily got married?’ Bill gasped. ‘Afterthree months?’
‘Bet she’d been seeing him a lot longer than that,’ Ronnie said, sounding almost apologetic towards Bill. ‘I told you. You can’t say I didn’t.’
‘Like I said,’ Harmony told them with a shrug, ‘you guys need to get a grip.’
Bill and Ronnie looked at each other.
‘Maybe she’s got a point,’ Ronnie said sheepishly. ‘How about it?’
‘You still did the dirty on me,’ Bill snapped.
‘Yeah, I did. But that was only to make you see how daft you were being, mate. You were my best pal, and she was making a fool of you. I probably didn’t go about it in the best way?—’
‘You think?’
‘Yeah, I know. Sorry, mate.’
He held out his hand.
Bill hesitated, clearly not sure. Quintus Severus gave him a little shake, just to help him make up his mind. Luckily it worked and Bill shook Ronnie’s hand.
‘Truce?’
‘Truce.’
‘Thank the good Lord for that,’ Percy Swain breathed.
‘Peace at last,’ said Agnes with a sigh of relief, as Quintus lowered the two men to the ground.
‘So,’ said Millie, after a moment’s appreciative silence. ‘Which Beatles song are we going to sing?’
7
‘Eggs Benedict, cooked especially for you.’
I sat up in bed, blinking in surprise as I saw Rory standing by my bedside, a tray in his hands.
‘Seriously?’ I loved Eggs Benedict, but it was a rare treat, usually served only at Christmas or on my birthday. ‘What have I done to deserve this?’
‘You married me.’ Rory sat down on the edge of the bed and placed the tray carefully in my lap. There was tea, too. Two mugs. He was planning to join me then.
Sure enough, Rory climbed into bed beside me and picked up his own tea. ‘What are you waiting for? Tuck in.’
I eyed him suspiciously. ‘What aboutyourbreakfast?’
‘I’ve already had toast and marmalade,’ he admitted. ‘I’ve been up ages and I got hungry, but I didn’t want to wake you too early.’
‘Why? What time is it?’
‘Eight o’clock.’
‘Eight?’ Good grief! I never usually slept past seven, and it was more like six on working days. ‘Wow, I’ve slept in.’
‘You must have needed the sleep,’ he said.
I couldn’t argue with that. I’d barely slept at all for the last couple of nights, waiting for the axe to fall. There’d been no mention of house hunting over the weekend, but it was Monday morning now. A new week. Maybe Rory was about to spring it on me at last.
