‘Mabel!Have you got no shame?’Nina stifled a grin.‘But actually, it was more of a toboggan run than a bike ride.I reckon these northern men must certainly know a thing or two about women.’
‘Now who’s got no shame?’said Mab, easing herself out of bed.‘Come on, lead me to the hot soapy water, I feel as if I haven’t washed for weeks.’
Nina sat on the edge of the bath, watching Mab soap as much of herself as she could manage without toppling over.
‘So, what are you going to do next?’she asked, passing Mab a large bath towel.
‘Well, I thought I’d better pluck up my courage and talk to the Crabtrees before much longer.In fact, I was expecting there to be lots of missed calls on my phone by now.They must be getting edgy about their investment by now.’
‘What are you going to say to them?’
Mab sighed, instinctively running a hand over her stomach.‘I’ve got no idea.I just don’t see how I can go through with this.But Nina, I’ve signed an agreement, so I can’t get out of it.’
Nina put her arms around Mab and let her sob for few moments before giving her a little shake and leading her back to bed.
‘Come on, the last thing you should be doing is upsetting yourself.Everything’ll seem better in the morning, you can guarantee that.You can talk to the doctor, and in a couple of days when you feel better, you can arrange a meeting with the Crabtrees.’
Mab climbed back into bed gratefully.
‘You’re a fabulous mum, Nina,’ she said, sinking into the pillows that Nina had plumped up ready for her return to bed.‘Jess is really lucky to have you.’
‘Hmm, tell that to Jess,’ said Nina, tucking Mab in and switching off the light as she left the room.
22
The next morning, Leo awoke to the sound of hammering at the front door.He looked at his watch – half past eight already.He’d intended to be up hours before but he’d slept very badly for the last few nights.Leo had been sleeping on one of the sofas since Jess returned, as it didn’t seem fair turning Harry out of his bed; it was handy to be in prime position for making sure everyone was safe but every little noise tended to wake him up and the sofa in question had quite a few elderly springs that stuck into unexpected places.
Sitting up in his vantage point, Leo could tell that Harry and Nina were still tucked away in their new state of bliss and that Mab’s door was also firmly closed.He had vaguely heard Stan, Jess and George go out earlier on some mission of their own, possibly to do with tropical fish.They had done a lot of annoying giggling, shushing each other noisily as they tiptoed past his temporary bed, and he hadn’t noticed them return, so there was obviously no one but Leo to answer the door.Where was his enormous family when he needed them?Grumbling to himself, Leo pulled on some sweatpants and a t-shirt, and staggered down the stairs.He opened the door onto the street, and was amazed to see five large men wearing fluorescent jackets and heavy-duty overalls.The biggest and most belligerent-looking of the group stepped forward.
‘Mr Leonardo Lamb?’
‘Yes?’
‘Here about yer vermin, mate.’
Leo frowned.By this time a small knot of passers-by had gathered to see what the fuss was about, and through the middle of the crowd emerged Edward Crabtree.He was unshaven and pale, but raised a smile when he saw Leo.
‘Well, good morning, Mr Lamb.I see the jungle drums have been busy.’
‘Oh, naff off.You’ve done enough, as far as I can see.’
Edward shuffled his feet.‘Leo, look, this is nothing to do with me, I just wanted to make sure you knew that.’
‘Yeah, right.’Leo rolled his eyes heavenwards.Several of the people on the street avoided looking at him as he opened the door wider, and invited his visitors in, with a fulsome show of hospitality.Once inside, they became efficient and organised, unpacking a variety of tools and recording instruments to help them in their task.Against his better judgement, Leo offered tea and biscuits, and they all accepted happily.As he gave them carte blanche to examine the downstairs premises, Leo reflected that the day could only get better.As it happened, he was wrong.
Waiting for the kettle to boil, Leo decided to bite the bullet and phone Sophie.He knew that she was having a few days off and so would be likely to be at her parents’ house in Darras Hall.The family lived in splendour in a detached mini-palace with lions on the gateposts and a kidney-shaped swimming pool in the garden.Sophie’s father had a chain of tanning salons scattered over Tyneside, all equally successful.The one that Sophie managed was in the heart of the city – she liked to keep a finger on the pulse, she said, and Leo knew that her life blood was shopping.Leo picked up the phone and dialled the number that he’d known off by heart for the past two years.Eventually, it was answered by Katriona, the family cleaning lady who was well known for having the patience of a saint.
‘’Ello?’Ello?’she muttered.‘I no hear you…’
‘Katriona, it’s me, Leo.’
‘Oh, Leo, long time since we see you, how it all going?’
‘Fine, thanks, but is Sophie there?’
There was a pause, as Katriona formulated her next sentence.
‘She no here, Leo, she gone.’
