‘Wow! You dark horse, Lilly! I’m just glad one of us is getting some action in the romance department.’
‘Speak for yourself!’ Glenda tutted. ‘My Norm is quite the romantic. He always saves the end of the bread for me because he knows I like a knob, and he lies on my side of the bed on a cold night so that when I get in my bit of the mattress is warm.’
Clodagh covered her face as her shoulders shook.
‘Oh, don’t cry, love! Please don’t cry!’ Lilly wondered what had set the girl off. It was only when Clodagh removed her hands that it became apparent she was in fact laughing, not a tear in sight.
‘I’m sorry!’ It seemed once Clodagh had started, it was almost impossible to stop.
‘What’s so funny?’ Glenda asked Lilly, as if she’d missed the joke.
‘You said ...’ Clodagh wheezed as she banged the tabletop, trying to get a grip, ‘you said that Norm knows you like a knob and I wondered where you were going with that!’
‘For the love of God!’ Glenda tried to sound stern, but pretty soon all three were chuckling away until they were breathless and more than a little giddy.
Their laughter was brought to a halt by a knock on the door.
‘It’s like Piccadilly bloody Circus in here today!’ Glenda shouted as Lilly went to open it, and the three laughed again, as you did when you got the giggles.
Lilly’s smile faded as she came face to face with Joshua Vaughan.
‘Mr Vaughan! To what do I owe the pleasure?’
‘Can I come in?’ He pointed over her shoulder.
‘Oh, why not!’ She sighed. ‘Come through! It’s not as if anything you may or may not have to say won’t reach the ears of these two anyway. Cup of tea?’
‘Yes, please!’ He looked more than a little delighted to have been asked.
‘Who’s this, then?’ Glenda eyed the young man suspiciously.
‘This is Mr Vaughan, from the company who want to knock down my home.’
‘And you let him in?’ Her friend narrowed her eyes at him.
‘Hello!’ He lifted his hand to give Glenda a nervous wave, before turning his attentions to Clodagh. ‘Hi, Miss Newman.’
‘Hi.’ Clodagh wiped her face and sat up straight, finding a small smile as her cheeks bloomed.
There was something about the way he looked at the young woman that made Lilly do a double take. A certain linger in his eye contact, a reluctance to look away, the slight flush to his neck, and the way he swallowed as if trying to contain words and feelings that might want to leap from his throat. And for the first time she felt a rush of kindness towards the young man, who was clearly a very good judge of character, as Clodagh was entirely wonderful.
‘I just wanted to let you know that things have moved on a little, and we have a date.’
‘It seems everyone has dates on their mind around here!’ Glenda laughed at her own joke. Lilly and Clodagh practically ignored her, understanding better that this might be important news.
‘Portland and Montague have worked with the relevant agencies, and you will have thirty days to accept the offer on your flat or they will proceed with compulsory purchase and things could happen quite quickly after that.’
‘Can they do that?’ Lilly asked Mr Vaughan, in a way that suggested he might be on her side.
‘They can, and they have.’ He gave a wan smile, as if he might indeed, even just a little bit, be on her side. Her instinct was to shout, to wail! Thirty days – a blink! She felt the bloom of panic and did her best to keep it from her face, not wanting to alarm Clodagh or Glenda and wondering who she should write to next to plead her case.
‘Thirty days. That’s not long, Lil!’
She looked at her friend. ‘No, it isn’t, is it?’
‘And what about me? What’s my timeline?’ Clodagh picked at the skin around her fingernail, nervously.
‘As ... as per the terms of your last letter.’ He blushed, and Lilly saw it then, the widening of his pupils, the dry mouth, the red scalp and the almost painful inability to hold the young woman’s eyeline, lest she look into his soul and see his feelings. ‘We willendeavour to have you settled in the new apartment within the next eight to ten weeks.’
