Eleanora wasn’t the type of person to babble and get nervous but Clara noticed that even she initially seemed to be taken aback by her first impression of Tom. It wasn’t surprising when he gave her a pearly white grin and laid on the charm.
‘What an honour it is to meet you, Eleanora. Clara’s told me so much about you.’
‘Oh, has she now? She’s told me a lot about you too.’
Eleanora gave Clara a knowing smirk and Clara gave her a playful warning look.
‘Seriously though, any friend of Clara’s is a friend of mine, Tom.’
Clara watched on proudly as the pair interacted. So far Eleanora was laughing and her arms were flinging about as she chatted. That was something Eleanora and Clara had always had in common. They were both quite demonstrative, which could cause problems in a packed venue when they flailed their arms everywhere in conversation. But, so far, Eleanora hadn’t managed to knock Tom out and it looked hopeful that she would give him the seal of approval.
‘Right then, let’s get you two out on the river.’
Not that Eleanora needed any assistance but Tom helped her as she placed two cushions on the seats of the punt.
‘I usually charge extra for comfort, but seeing as it’s for a friend...’ said Eleanora, winking at Tom. ‘Right then. All aboard. I won’t tell you how to use the quant. Clara’s heard me preach about that enough for one lifetime. You know where I am if you need anything.’
Much to Clara’s delight, Tom held her arm, gently assisting her as she sat down. Since Clara wasn’t the most nimble of people she was grateful for Tom’s strength to help her board. She noticed how Eleanora smiled at the gesture.
Eleanora waved them goodbye from the shore as Clara attempted to push them downstream. She would never hear the end of it from Eleanora if she wriggled out of steering the punt immediately, so she tried to manage as far as she could. She had only managed to pass the weeping willow beside the boathouse before her arms were tired. Apart from her beloved bike, Clara was never one for too vigorous an activity.
‘Tom, you’re welcome to take over if you like,’ she said, once Eleanora was out of sight.
‘Of course. I’d be delighted to. Please do sit back and chill. Leave the work to me.’
As the punt levelled out and floated along with the tide, the ride felt smooth, leaving Clara to relax.
‘Ah, I could get used to this. I feel so spoilt.’
‘I bet you could. Me doing all the work. I know how it is,’ teased Tom.
From the comfort of her seat, Clara watched him smile, and how he navigated the water so confidently. For a moment she felt as though she were watching some sort of romantic movie. Surely, this wasn’t Clara Bennett being mollycoddled like this?
Tom steered the punt downstream through the countryside and past the pubs that lined the river. Clara couldn’t ever remember feeling happier.
‘Can you believe I’ve never seen the city from the water?’ said Tom, admiring their surroundings.
‘It’s gorgeous, isn’t it. But does that mean you’ve never been punting before?’
‘Nope. Never.’
‘Seriously? You make it look as though you’re a natural.’
‘Ah, it’s only because I’m trying to woo a beautiful lady. You have no idea how hard I’m having to work to keep this thing afloat. It’s taking every muscle, believe me. I’m going to be in agony tomorrow.’
Tom and Clara laughed and when she let out one of her honking giggles it made Tom laugh even more. They suddenly both became hysterical and Tom almost dropped the quant as he held his ribs while he chuckled.
‘Oh, Clara. How can you be so funny without even saying anything?’
‘It’s that laugh. Everyone tells me it’s more contagious than a case of the measles.’
‘And a lot nicer,’ said Tom.
‘Oh, what a day. It should be illegal to have this much fun together.’
As their laughter tapered off, a punt headed towards them.
Clara recognised the boys on board and suddenly panicked. The last thing she wanted was to be gossiped about by them.
