Page 40 of Whispers from the Past

They both ordered their drinks and then Tony found a small table in the corner. ‘This place is amazing,’ he said as he scanned the opulent library.

‘It’s so much better than I expected. Library plus bar is pretty much perfection.’

‘Thank you for coming with me Rose. Since Lucy left I’ve been struggling a bit. It all happened so quickly - for me anyway. The cafe sucked up all my time without anyone to share things with. And then you turned up.’ He reached across the table to take her hand. ‘Tell me to shove off if you want, but I’d love to take you out for dinner again so we can carry on getting to know each other.’

Just as Rose was about to reply, Tony’s phone buzzed in his jacket pocket. ‘Hold that thought, let me just turn this off,’ he said, reaching down to fish out his phone. But when he saw the caller ID he turned a little pale. ‘Sorry, I need to take this.’ And he was up and out of the library.

As the call for last orders rang out at midnight, Rose was still sitting in the bar. She hadn’t realised how much time had passed because she’d found a book on the shelf that had called to her. ‘Fanny Hill’ had been banned when first published, so to spot an original copy tucked away on the shelves of the library was quite the find. By the time she realised how long she’d been sitting there, engrossed in 18th Century erotic fiction, the bar was empty. Carefully, placing the book back on the shelf, she made her way over to the reception desk, where the maitre-d’ from earlier was now sitting.

‘Good evening Ms Brayling. How can I help?’

‘I seem to have lost Mr Barrett. Can you call me a taxi please? I think it’s probably best if I just head home now.’

‘I’m afraid the police have closed the road in both directions now after the accident earlier. They have advised that it won’t open until the morning. Your room has already been prepared and you’re in our best suite so even with the road being closed, it would be a shame to not make the most of it.’

‘That is very kind of you.’

‘All part of the service at Harris Hall. I’ll take you up now, and I’ll show Mr Barrett up once he has finished his call.’ The maitre-d’ gestured behind Rose to Tony pacing outside, his phone glued to his ear.

The worn oak door opened to a period bedroom complete with four poster bed. Over by the bay window was a chaise-lounge, which Rose quickly assessed as a suitable second bed. She liked Tony, but she wasn’t quite ready to share a bed with him. Especially as he had just ditched her in the bar, which had kind of killed the mood. As she made her way over to the bed, she realised how tired she was. Smoothing her hands over the soft bedspread, she sighed and reasoned that she’d just slip under the covers for a moment.

Warm sunlight tickled Rose’s face as her eyes stuttered open hours later. It took her a few moments to get her bearings and remember where she was. Scanning the room, she found Tony sprawled across the chaise-lounge, using his jacket as a blanket. Stretching, she twisted her legs round and quietly stepped out of the bed and tiptoed to the en-suite, clutching her overnight bag tightly as she passed the sleeping Tony. The luxury of the room didn’t end with the bedroom. The vintage tiles, which must have been sourced for this 20th Century addition to the room, were stunning. Blue and gold Dutch Delft tiles mesmerised her as she ran her hands over the walls. Turning on the faucet for the shower, which had been added to the vintage roll top bath, she knew it would probably wake Tony up. The copper pipes groaned to life. But she’d already reasoned with herself that it was probably the kindest way to wake him up. A quick shower washed away the layer of sleep that had settled over her during the night. She was ready to face the day - and first on her list was finding out what had happened with Tony last night. His phone conversation had looked painful.

Opening the bathroom door a few minutes later, she found he was waiting for her. She was relieved she had taken her clothes in with her, she didn’t relish trying to get dressed gracefully in front of him. Not that he would have noticed though, he looked shattered.

‘Are you ok?’ she asked at the same time as he said;

‘I’m so sorry about last night.’

‘It was obviously an important call. Is everything alright?’

‘Rose, you’re so lovely,’ he said, moving towards her. ‘I abandon you at the end of our meal, and you’re checking I’m ok?’ he dragged a hand down his tired face.

‘You haven’t actually said whether you’re ok though.’ Rose took his hand to stop him from rubbing his face again. He looked down at their hands.

‘Honestly? I don’t know yet. That call last night was the last thing I was expecting and I need to process it a bit.’ He gently pulled away. ‘Shall we head back to the Bay now?’

‘No problem,’ Rose was about to ask whether there was anything she could do to help, but he was already walking away towards the door. Although she’d only known him for six weeks, his sudden change in behaviour jarred her. She was pretty sure the Tony she knew prior to the phone call was ‘usual Tony’, and her mind raced with the possibilities of what could be making him behave like this. She wanted to help, to make things better but he was shutting her out and she didn’t know him well enough to stop him from doing it.

‘I can just call a taxi. I was going to last night until I was told that the road was closed.’

‘Please let me drive you back. It’s the least I can do. Unless I’ve upset you so much that you’d rather not get in the car with me?’

Rose was tempted to make a joke about his car, but looking at his crumpled face she decided against it. ‘A lift home would be great,’ she said instead.

The drive back to the bay was the antithesis of their journey to Harris Hall hours earlier. Rose found the stressed silence suffocating so she pulled out her phone, angling it away from Tony as she typed a message to Holly.

Free for lunch? Night with Tony was… interesting.

Holly’s reply was instantaneous.

I am DEFINITELY free for lunch. I need details!!!

Don’t get too excited. It was weird interesting.

Even more reason for details. Half 12?

See you then.