‘I’d love it if you did,’ Jonathan said with heartfelt gratitude. ‘Are you sure? Where will you stay?’
‘Where will we stay,’ she corrected him. ‘Go book yourself into that hotel we stayed in when we went to that lighting exhibition a few years back. The one in Kensington near where Colette lived. It’s lovely.’
‘The Royal Garden?’
‘That’s the one! You go sort yourself and check out, and I’ll go and see what’s the story with flights. Talk to you in a while.’
‘Are you sure, Hilary? I don’t want to put you out,’ Jonathan said, but she knew by his tone that he wanted her to come.
‘Of course I’m sure. Unless you really want to come home immediately?’
He groaned. ‘I really don’t think I could stand in that ghastly queue in Stansted or even change my flight and fly out of Heathrow today,’ he confessed. ‘But honestly I don’t expect you to fly over here.’
‘You’d do the same for me. Wouldn’t you?’ she demanded.
‘Of course I would. The next time a gay man breaks your heart I’ll be there straight away.’ He showed a glimmer of humour and she felt relief. She knew Jonathan occasionally suffered from bouts of depression and she was worried that in his current state of despair he might do something rash.
‘Right, I’d better get up and at it, OK? I’ll check out the flights. Stay calm, and get the hell out of that hotel. Love ya, Harpur!’
‘I love you too, Hilary,’ Jonathan said gratefully and she knew he was crying as she hung up.
She lay back against the pillows, thoroughly upset for her friend. She had met Leon several times and had liked him. Like Jonathan, she too had thought that he had finally met someone who, in time, might become his partner. She knew Leon hadn’t come out to his family yet. That was a drawback to their relationship, but she’d hoped with Jonathan at his side he would have the courage to become the person he really was, and be true to himself.
And Jonathan had been so measured this time. He hadn’t rushed in, like she’d seen him do before. He’d taken Hannah’s advice and played it cool, for all the difference it had made. She hadn’t planned on a trip to London, but she knew once she explained the reason to the girls and Niall they’d understand. A thought struck her and she flung back the duvet and jumped out of bed. She climbed the stairs to the attic conversion and knocked on each of their doors.
‘Girls! Girls! Get up! How do you fancy a trip to London?’
‘Whaaa!’ Millie raised a sleepy tousled head from the pillow.
‘Wow, Mam, what’s going on?’ Sophie bounded out of her room, liking the sound of what she’d just heard. Hilary went in and sat on the side of Millie’s bed. Sophie sat on the other side expectantly, thrilled at the idea of going to London.
‘Jonathan’s had an upsetting experience. You know he was going to London with Leon for a few days and was hoping that this time he might have finally met the love of his life?’ She gazed at her daughters who were suddenly all ears.
‘Yeah,’ Sophie said while Millie nodded.
‘And?’
‘Well it didn’t work out as planned. Leon told Jonathan that he didn’t fancy him and ditched him and went off with someone else,’ Hilary explained ruefully.
Sophie’s hand flew to her mouth in dismay and Millie sat bolt upright.
‘Oh no!’
‘That’s awful!’
‘Oh poor Jonathan! Of course we have to go to London to rescue him.’
‘Let’s get going!’
Hilary’s heart lifted at her daughters’ kind and heartfelt responses. They were great girls, she thought proudly. They loved Jonathan dearly. He had been a big part of their lives and they were always eager to spend time with him. He was their confidant, their older brother, their fashion adviser, their cheerleader, and their relationship was one of mutual love, respect and great friendship.
‘OK then, let’s get the show on the road.’ Hilary stood up. ‘I’m going to see what flights are available, but we won’t tell him you’re coming. We’ll give him a surprise!’ She gave them the thumbs-up. ‘Our boy needs us. Let’s go.’
Sophie scrambled off the bed, aglow with excitement. ‘The Hammond girls are off to London on a rescue mission. Tally HOOOOO!’
C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-S
IX
‘What’s going on? Everything’s all packed up!’ Leon gazed around the bedroom noting the two travel bags, and the case, side by side on the floor. There were none of his clothes draped on the chair where he had left them the previous evening, and nothing of Jonathan’s on view. Jonathan had been sitting at the small coffee table flicking through a complimentary Times, staring out at the elegant, red-bricked, six-storeyed houses that lined the street, and the views of the Brompton Road, and the Oratory further down.
‘I’m checking out,’ Jonathan said quietly, noting Leon’s bleary-eyed, dishevelled, unshaven appearance. ‘There’s an envelope in your bag with the money you paid for my fare. You can put it towards a room in Jurys.’
‘Aw come on, Jon, there’s no need for that! Look, I’m sorry if your feelings were hurt last night, but I never gave you any reason to think I was attracted to you,’ Leon said defensively.
‘We snogged, often,’ Jonathan reminded him.
‘We’re gay! You’re a good kisser. Look, if I fancied you I’d have jumped your bones long before now. I came to London to party and shag and I thought you did too.’
‘Oh! Right. Excuse me for not thinking of you as the stereotypical gay cliché.’
‘Listen, it’s OK for you. I don’t get the chance to express myself very often. I’ve
