‘Please.’
‘And then I’m going to have her spayed,’ Jennie told me decisively as she marched to the front door. ‘That’ll take the wind out of her sails.’
‘They get fat and bad-tempered,’ I warned.
‘Who doesn’t?’ she snorted. ‘Spayed or not.’
I separated a double duvet cover from the herd and stuffed the rest back in, resetting the dial. Away it went.
‘Thank you,’ I heard Jennie say to someone at the door. She came back down the hall. ‘Hey, look at this.’
I turned to see her bearing a bunch of white roses with pretty blue cornflowers tucked in between. She handed them to me. ‘For you, apparently.’
Astonished, I took the paper-wrapped bouquet. Then sat down and opened the note. It was a long time since anyone had sent me flowers. In fact … no. No one at all.
‘They’re from Luke,’ I said slowly, reading. ‘Hope you’re feeling better, lots of love.’
Jennie peered over my shoulder. ‘Oh, what a
After a moment I glanced up guiltily. ‘I’ve misjudged him, haven’t I?’
She shrugged. ‘I dunno. It depends on who you last spoke to.’
It was supposed to be a joke but it was a bit sharp and she knew it.
‘Sorry,’ she said quickly. ‘Didn’t mean that. Tell me to mind my own business, Poppy. It’s just … I really want some happiness for you.’ She swooped to give me a quick hug. ‘And thanks for everything yesterday,’ she said gruffly in my ear. ‘I couldn’t do without you, you know.’
I nodded dumbly; touched. But no wiser. As she went to the back door she turned.
‘Oh, you’ll never guess what Angie told me.’
‘What?’
‘About your solicitor chappie, Sam Hetherington. The one in the splendid red hunting coat.’
I felt my heart thump. I already knew.
‘He was once married to Hope Armitage. Years ago, apparently, but still.’
‘Really?’
‘I know, can you believe it? Why on earth did they come here in the first place, one wonders. If he was living here?’
‘Sam wasn’t here when they came,’ I said mechanically. ‘He was still in London. The Hall was rented then. Had tenants.’
‘Yes, but you don’t relocate with your new husband to your ex’s patch unless there’s some pull in that direction, surely? Why are you looking so stricken, Poppy? And when are you ever going to oil this door?’ She was struggling with my back-door latch, as everyone did.
‘Hang on,’ I said suddenly. I got up quickly and went to the dresser. Plucking the invitation, I put it in her hand. All at once everything was as clear as day. I definitely wasn’t going now. ‘Mark at the kennels sent me this. Why don’t you and Dan go? Half the county’s going, you’ll have fun.’
She looked at it doubtfully. ‘Are you sure? Don’t you want to go? Couldn’t you ask Luke?’
‘I could, and I was going to, actually. I just think that’s possibly not the right venue. I won’t write him off,’ I promised quickly, ‘but I don’t think I want to go public, as it were.’
‘OK,’ she said slowly, understanding. She nodded. Then her eyes came up from the invitation. They sparkled. ‘Well, if you’re sure … we’d love to. D’you know, this is just what Dan and I need. A bloody good knees-up. Thank you.’ She smacked the card into the palm of her hand and went off beaming, giving the back-door latch a monumental twist; never giving it a second chance.
Archie was gurgling on the baby alarm and I slowly climbed the stairs to get him, dragging my hand along the polished rail. As I came down with him in my arms, he flicked my lower lip, which ordinarily would make me smile. Odd, then, that I couldn’t raise one for him.
29
When I’d settled Archie with juice and a biscuit, I arranged the flowers and sat looking at them. Clemmie wandered through from the sitting room where she’d been involved with her Sylvanian Family dolls all the time Jennie had been
