'How did you get out?'
'My friend Rich jumped in after me. I nearly drowned him as well, but he fought me off and caught hold of my shirt and dragged me to the bank. I owe him my life for that, I would have drowned. I still don't like water, even now.'
'Are you still in contact with him?'
'No, I lost touch with him when I went to university and he went to work on his father's farm.'
'You should send him a postcard or something,' she suggested.
'Dear Rich, still out of my depth here in the land of 'you wouldn't believe'. Having a lovely time. Wish you were here.'
Her smile vanished at my words.
'I'm sorry, that sounded bitter and I didn't mean it to.'
'That's fine. You're entitled to a bit of cynicism from time to time.'
'Am I?'
I was rescued by the food arriving. We tucked into it and there was silence for a while, punctuated by appreciative grunts from me as I found the steak both large and juicy and the chips freshly cooked. We were both taxed by the day, but the combination of good food and decent beer helped us to recover both physically and emotionally.
I finished my steak while Blackbird was still eating, so I told her about my job and projects I had worked on. I ordered another pint while she finished her food and then she told me about life in the university. She described her students, the hopefuls and the wastrels, the ones she knew would pass and the ones that would certainly fail. She parodied her academic colleagues with their pet theories and rivalry, their affairs and indiscretions.
Eventually the bar was all but empty.
'Your room is ready any time you are,' the landlord hinted gently.
We thanked him and he cleared up the glasses while we got ourselves together.
'Do you need help with your bags?' he asked.
'No, thanks,' I told him. 'We're travelling light.'
That raised an eyebrow, but he made no comment and led us behind the bar and up a back stairway. From there we were taken past living rooms to another stairway and a door that opened into a converted loft-space.
'This was originally going to be our bedroom, but by the time it was finished my son had gone to college and there's only me and the missus. It's used as a guest room, now. There's an ensuite through that door, there. There are toiletries that you're welcome to use and plenty of hot water, just help yourselves. Breakfast is any time after eight. Anything else I can get you?'
'No, thank you,' said Blackbird. 'It's great, really.'
'I'll leave you to your rest then.' He turned and left, closing the door after him and we heard his steps as he retreated down the wooden stairway.
'Heads or tails for first shower,' she asked me.
I sat down on the edge of the bed, suddenly feeling the effects of the beer.
'You have it.'
'Sure?'
I nodded and she slipped into the bathroom, followed not long after by the sound of running water.
I sat on the edge of the bed, finding it pleasantly firm. I took my trainers off, then lay back on the bed and waited for Blackbird to finish in the shower. It crossed my mind that I could have phoned Katherine as the pub would have a public telephone, but it was too late to do that now. Then it occurred to me that I didn't need a phone, I could find her through the mirror over the dresser if I wanted to. That would be like spying on her, though, and besides it would involve moving from the bed.
A second later, Blackbird was shaking me. 'Are you going to sleep like that or are you getting a shower first?'
I groaned, realising I had been dozing, forced myself into an upright position and sat, rubbing my eyes. Blackbird was wrapped in a large bath towel, pink-skinned and combing her fingers through her hair.
'Shower?' she prompted me.
I stumbled to my feet and went into the bathroom. It had no windows, just an extractor fan high up on the wall. One corner was given over to a shower enclosure. I stripped off my clothes, hung them on the back of the door and climbed into the cubicle.
The water was initially cool, but warmed quickly so I had to turn it down. How hot had she had it? It reached a comfortable temperature and I stood under the shower head letting the water run down over my eyes, my face and down my body. I was dog-tired, but the shower was a good idea. I used the soap provided and scrubbed myself from head to toe.
Once out of the shower, I wrapped my damp towel around my waist and looked at my reflection. It didn't look like me, but that was OK. My glamour had held and I had become accustomed to my new face. Is that what she'd meant by the side-effects?
Taking her advice about maintaining my image, I took advantage of a disposable razor to scrape the dark shadow from my chin. I was conscious of the woman in the room next door and I felt I should at least be presentable. I had no idea what she was expecting, but having a chin like sandpaper wasn't going to impress.
I splashed my face with cold water and dried it on the hand towel. Looking up in the mirror I looked tired but scrubbed, which was probably as good as I was going to get. I considered putting my underwear back on, but then rejected it having just got myself clean. Instead, towel secured around my waist, I took my clothes back into the bedroom.
Blackbird was sitting propped up on the pillows, her bare shoulders showing above the duvet. Her hair was dry.
'Where's the hair dryer?' I asked her.
'There isn't one.'
'How did you dry your hair?'
'It dries itself.'
That didn't really help me.
'Where are you going?'
'I'm going to try and dry my hair with a towel.'
I went into the bathroom accompanied by a light chuckling from the bed. When I emerged a few seconds later she was grinning.
'What?'
'Nothing.'
'Something is amusing you.'
She tried for a straight face and failed, using the duvet to hide her grin.
I did my best to ignore her, hanging my clothes over the chair. To be honest I was unsettled. She was unlike any woman I had ever encountered.
'Are you coming to bed?' she asked.
I walked around to the free side of the bed, lifting the edge of the duvet and the sheet beneath it to sit on the edge of the bed, so I could slide in next to her and slip the towel aside.
'Is there something you've forgotten?'
I twisted around to look at her,
'Lights?' she prompted.
I grabbed the towel again, wrapping it back around my waist, and padded around to the light switch next to the door and back again in the dark, trying to avoid tripping over random pieces of furniture in the unfamiliar room.
I slipped into bed beside her accompanied by her suppressed mirth.
'Do you always laugh at men you're about to sleep with?' I lay on my back while she moved the additional pillow onto the floor and lay back beside me.
'Only the ones that amuse me.'
'And I amuse you?'
'You come across as so rugged and then you're so demure.'
