A Perfect Proposal (26 page)

‘This looks delicious!’ said Luke.

‘Do sit down, Sophie. I can’t bear you hovering around,’ said her father.

‘Does anyone want water?’ she asked, hoping her father wouldn’t get too irritated with her.

‘Stop fussing, darling,’ said her mother. ‘Everyone’s fine. Do start, Luke.’ She patted his hand again.

She knew her mother would love Luke. He was, after all, a mother-in-law’s dream. Good-looking, rich, steady job, rich, well educated, rich. But approving of him wouldn’t stop her being embarrassing.

‘So, Luke,’ said her father after a satisfying amount of ‘mms’ had been heard, ‘what is it you do again?’

‘I’m an attorney,’ said Luke.

‘Well, you’re a great improvement on the unwashed scum Sophie usually hangs about with,’ said her brother. ‘Glad to see the girl’s developing some taste at last.’

‘I presume you earn decent money?’ said her father. ‘From what one reads, you do.’

‘I certainly can’t complain,’ said Luke.

‘So what are you doing this side of the pond? You’re not just here to pursue Sophie, presumably?’ her father went on. Sophie winced. Could it get any worse?

‘No, I have a special project to oversee in London. I wasn’t going to do it originally but’ – he gave Sophie a fleeting smile – ‘it seemed a good idea to take a personal interest.’

Sophie was just working out if there was something behind this when her father said, ‘Well, I’m pleased Sophie’s brought home someone with a decent career. None of us earns a bean!’ He seemed to imply this was a virtue. ‘There’s no money in academia’ – he shot his wife a look – ‘or art, come to that. A lawyer in the family would be a useful addition.’

Sophie’s embarrassment fuse finally blew. ‘Dad! Luke and I aren’t going out or anything. He’s staying here because he was robbed on the plane – not because he wants to be here!’

‘But of course I’m delighted to be here,’ Luke said hurriedly, sending Sophie a look which was supposed to be reassuring. Sophie was past reassurance. Her family had gone too far.

Luke went on, ‘By the way, I noticed a book in the spare room. By Sloan Wilson? Is someone here a fan?’

‘Oh yes,’ said Sophie’s father, to her huge relief. ‘Very fond of Sloan Wilson. You don’t often meet anyone young who’s heard of him, but he was a bestseller in his time.’

Sophie relaxed. While her father was probably telling Luke things he knew perfectly well, at least he’d stopped making desperately embarrassing remarks; he was filling Luke’s glass (forgetting to fill hers) and treating him like a friend.

Sophie’s mother continued to be sycophantic but Luke didn’t seem to mind. Michael seemed happy that there was good wine to be had for once. Sophie, reaching for the bottle and filling her own glass, felt she’d rather be anywhere in the world except her own home. Every so often, the subject of money would come up. To Sophie’s ears it made her family sound overly obsessed with the subject. Matilda and Luke and their family had shown her nothing but kindness. Now her family, while not unkind and definitely welcoming, seemed just a little too interested in Luke’s potential wealth. Somehow, she would have to get him away from them.

She was up before her usual time the following morning, unsure if Luke would want to sleep late or not. She wanted to be ready for him if he woke up early. She made sure the kitchen was tidy and then made batter for drop scones. They weren’t quite the same as American pancakes but they were better than stale toast and some very bitty muesli left by her
other brother Stephen’s wife Hermione for their children to eat. Not only was it fairly old, some of the bits looked like squashed cockroaches. As a New Yorker, Luke would find that very off-putting.

Luke found her washing the kitchen floor, on her knees, reversing backwards out of the room. Not a good angle, she realised as she got up.

‘Hi! I thought you’d sleep later than this. You must still be jet-lagged.’

‘Well, I feel tired but also hungry. I’ve been emailing about my cards and stuff. Ali – you remember her? From the brunch?’

Sophie paused for a tiny moment. ‘Oh yes. She was charming.’ Sophie washed her hands under the kitchen tap. She planned to smuggle her bucket of dirty water out to the loo when he wasn’t looking. It was a bit sordid somehow.

‘She’s going to sort out all my cards for me. She’s coming over soon to help me with the project.’

‘Good idea!’ said Sophie, wishing the spectre of Ali hadn’t intruded on her time with Luke. He’d mentioned her a few times now. ‘Things like that are much more fun with two doing it,’ she said, trying to be brave.

Luke appeared slightly confused at the suggestion that fun was important but he nodded.

‘So,’ said Sophie. ‘Would you like to try my pancakes for breakfast? We haven’t any maple syrup but golden syrup is very nice. We have bacon and eggs. How hungry are you?’

‘What I need most right now is a cup of good strong coffee.’

Sophie hid her sigh behind a smile. ‘I’ll do my best with the coffee but this isn’t a coffee-drinking household on the whole. Sit down. I’ll just get rid of this dirty water.’

She came back to find him not sitting, but staring out of the kitchen window.

‘You have an amazing view from here. When we arrived last night I had no idea how pretty the scenery is.’

‘It is lovely, isn’t it? We’re very lucky. People come here for holidays and days out but we actually live here.’ She smiled. ‘Very jammy.’

‘Pardon me?’

‘I mean lucky,’ she said. ‘Now do sit down.’

Luke picked up an abandoned newspaper and sat down at the big scarred old table. The kitchen was reasonably sized and pleasant in a scuffed, lived-in way, but Sophie wasn’t sure Luke ever went into the kitchen at his grandmother’s house – or his mother’s house either, let alone his own. Still, he seemed to be coping and she carried on whipping up her batter.

Her mother drifted in wearing her dressing gown. ‘Oh, Luke! Are you up already? Is Sophie getting you breakfast?’

‘Yes thank you,’ said Luke politely. ‘She’s been working extremely hard making me comfortable.’

Sophie put a plate of drop scones on the table and then produced butter, honey, golden syrup and anything else she could think of that might go with them.

Luke helped himself and took a bite. ‘Delicious pancakes, Sophie,’ he said.

‘We call them drop scones,’ said her mother, helping herself to a couple. ‘Sophie is a very good little cook. I taught her all I know.’

Sophie dropped a tea bag into a mug. ‘Mum, do you want tea? Or there’s coffee.’

‘Oh, coffee please, darling,’ her mother said contrarily.

As her mother didn’t get up to help herself Sophie took the hint and poured her a cup. She might as well, she was on her feet already.

‘So what are you going to do today?’ asked Sonia. ‘Do you have to sort out getting some money and things?’

‘Will that be difficult on a Saturday?’ asked Sophie, who didn’t want Luke whisked away on a cloud of money.

‘I will have to make a few calls,’ said Luke, ‘but then it would be nice to see some of your part of England, Sophie.’

‘Why don’t you go for a walk?’ suggested Sonia. ‘You needn’t go far. Just up to our local common?’

‘Are you up for that, Luke?’ asked Sophie.

‘Oh yes.’ He smiled. ‘You may think of me as a city boy, but I like hiking.’

Sophie laughed. ‘I don’t know about hiking, but I’m glad you like exercise.’

After breakfast he helped her stack the dishwasher with their sticky plates and she realised he must be much better house-trained than she’d thought. She’d panicked, rather, she now realised. Just because she’d only seen him in the rarefied atmosphere of New England’s high society, it didn’t mean he couldn’t behave like a normal person.

Then he went upstairs to find shoes suitable to walk in.

Sophie looked dubiously at what he produced. Leather and obviously hand-made, they were very shiny and very lovely. Quite how they’d look after they’d been for a walk up the hill she wasn’t sure. Still, they could always be cleaned. She found an old coat of her brother’s for him to cover up his casual cashmere sweater.

He was fit, she had to give him credit for that. He kept pace with her up the steep hill without panting or stopping to ‘look at the view’. She was always panting fairly hard when she got to the top and genuinely looked at the view and she was used to hills, living where she did.

‘There! You have a wonderful view from up here. Look, you can just about see the river snaking away in the distance,’ said Sophie.

‘It’s amazing. I don’t know what I was expecting but this is spectacular.’

Sophie stood next to him, thrilled that her home was so pleasing to him. ‘We do have some lovely walks round here. I could borrow the car and take you on one – if you’ve got time.’

Luke looked down at her. ‘I do have a little time before my apartment will be ready. If my wallet hadn’t been stolen I’d have checked into a hotel.’ He frowned. ‘I could still have done, I suppose, but not having any credit cards or money is a little unsettling. I was very grateful for your offer of a place to stay.’

Sophie regarded him. ‘I do realise it’s not what you’re used to.’

‘But it’s delightful.’ He paused again. ‘Are you very busy at the moment?’

‘In what way?’

‘Have you a job?’

‘Yes! In a wine bar.’ As she suspected he was going to say something else she added, ‘Why do you ask?’

‘It’s just I came over early partly to look for my grandmother’s house – not that there’s much chance of finding that – but also to see if you needed help looking for your relatives.’

‘That’s very kind! I did say I’d go and visit Uncle Eric soon. He told me he’d discovered another box of papers in the attic, when I told him he’d inherited Cousin Rowena’s shares. I want to go through it.’

‘But could you take a few days off from your job?’

Sophie considered. She was very conscientious usually but the chance to spend a few days with Luke was not to be passed up. She hadn’t realised how much she wanted to until he suggested it. ‘I’m sure I can arrange it.’ If necessary she could hand in her notice.

They walked on for a while before finally heading for home. Sophie was wondering what to do about lunch. She
should have checked the freezer for a joint. Not for the first time Sophie longed for a mother with a sense of social responsibility. Sonia could be extremely welcoming but she didn’t think about the practicalities. It was probably why Sophie was so practical herself. It was born of necessity.

She was wondering if she should make a visit to a supermarket when Luke stopped and turned to her. ‘I really don’t like imposing on your parents like this,’ he said.

‘I imposed on yours – well, on your grandmother. It’s only fair.’

He shook his head. ‘No, it’s not the same. My grandmother wanted you for her own purposes, and I used you too. This is different.’

‘It’s really not a problem, but we could go to Uncle Eric tomorrow. It’ll mean another trip on a train, I’m afraid. But some of the scenery is wonderful. It’s a good way to see a country.’

He smiled and not for the first time she appreciated his even white teeth. Most of her boyfriends could use advice on the benefits of dental floss. ‘Then let’s do it.’

Explaining to the family that this prize catch – about the only thing Sophie had done that seemed worth anything – was going to be taken from them and given instead to Evil-Uncle-Eric was not easy. Sophie was forced to confess that there were papers they needed to look at because of the possibility of drilling rights. This fact was met with open derision.

‘Typical Sophie!’ said her father, who did at least seem to know about them. ‘Chasing after rainbows. My father left his shares partly to me and partly to any offspring I may have, but I’ve never done anything about them. If there’d been any money attached to those rights we’d have had it by now. There’s no earthly point!’

Sophie had of course been told this by Uncle Eric but by
now she didn’t care. She just wanted to get Luke away from her parents, to Uncle Eric, who at least liked her and didn’t think she was stupid.

‘I don’t understand why you should drag Luke up there to see that horrid old man,’ said her mother, who was the most put out. ‘He’ll hate it. His house isn’t even clean!’

As her own house wasn’t exactly an example of perfect hygiene, Sophie thought this was a bit rich. ‘Uncle Eric – who’s not evil by the way – has a live-in housekeeper. And I cleared a lot of stuff when I stayed with him.’ Clean his house might be, but it would still be a candidate for a clutter consultant.

‘But he’s so miserable!’ her mother went on. ‘Always complaining! And mean as stink! He won’t help you find those drilling rights or whatever they are because he doesn’t need the money!’

There was an element of truth in this but Sophie refused to be downcast. ‘He’s very fond of me and I’m sure he’ll like Luke. He won’t mind us searching for things.’

‘I think Luke should decide. You’ve been bossing him around since he first arrived in England.’

Luke didn’t appear to notice Sophie’s look of entreaty. He said, ‘Sonia, I have to say it was my idea for us to visit Sophie’s uncle. As an attorney I have a fascination for old documents and I love detective work.’