The Perfect Match (19 page)

Bella realised she had to say something, although really she wanted Nevil to bluster on and reveal exactly what was going on. ‘I don’t like to think of people being diddled.’

Had she been a bit sharper she’d have brought a tape recorder from work, or activated her phone to do it. Yet somehow that would have felt like spying. She didn’t know if she could have brought herself to do that.

‘But they’re not! That’s the beautiful part!’ He was waving his hands in excitement. ‘It’s all fine! Honestly, Bells, it’s all fine! I wouldn’t step over the line. Surely you know that?’

She put her knife and fork together. She couldn’t force down another mouthful. She knew he wasn’t telling her the truth, or if he was, it was only his version of the truth, but she didn’t want to call him on it yet. She suddenly felt she had to leave. She got up from the table, as if to go to the bathroom.

Just then, the theme tune from
Rocky
– Nevil’s ring tone – sounded. He leapt up. ‘I’ll have to take that, honey.’

Bella nodded and left the room but then crept back to the kitchen door so she could listen to what Nevil was saying. So far it wasn’t terribly revealing.

‘Ya, ya, uhuh.’ But his tone was low and confidential. Then there was a long silence interspersed with tiny noises.

Bella made a decision. She walked boldly into the kitchen and she indicated that she had to leave, ignoring his frowns. Eventually he said into the phone, ‘Can you hang on a moment?’

Before he could speak Bella said, ‘Darling, you’re busy and I can’t really stay. Catch you tomorrow, OK?’

Then she left the room, changing her heels for her loafers in the porch. Before Nevil could do or say anything she was in the car and driving away.

ALICE PARKED THE
car and sat in it for a few moments without moving. She was tired and felt flat. Yesterday, cooking with Lucy had been challenging and fun. Today, sorting jumble with a group of volunteers, none of whom were particular friends, had been less so. Her mind had not been on the job and kept harking back to the previous day.

It wasn’t that she’d wanted to be at the dinner party with Phillip and his family, but she had desperately wanted to be a fly on the wall.

Now, as she gathered her bits of shopping she found she was still speculating about it. Was the grandmother really such a dragon? Or was she a sweet old lady who had always been misunderstood by her family? Would she be genuinely happy to have her family around her to eat a last meal in her beloved home? Although, given how long it had been neglected, maybe it wasn’t as loved as all that.

Finding herself mildly amused by her thoughts, Alice pursued them as she put her bags on the kitchen table and sorted out her groceries. Had the Dragon (she was definitely a dragon, she decided) regarded Lucy over her pince-nez and said, ‘This is almost edible. How unexpected!’ and had the rest of the family said, ‘Not half bad, Luce. Who’d have thought it, with you preggers and all.’

And had Lucy gracefully accepted the compliments (as Alice had instructed) or admitted to someone – Phillip or maybe Hannah – that she’d had help?

Any family member who knew her would know she’d have had to have help to produce that meal, simple though it was. Alice chuckled when she imagined Hannah’s horror if Lucy had confessed to her from whom she’d had the assistance.

Alice finished putting away the tins of tomatoes, chickpeas and other store-cupboard staples and reached for the bottle of wine that stood on the counter, stoppered but otherwise ready to pour. Then she changed her mind and retrieved the whisky from the cupboard. Wine wouldn’t cut it today.

She took her drink into the sitting room, although she knew she should be finding herself something to eat. She felt both flat and somehow agitated. She opened the French windows and stepped out into the garden, relishing the warm scented air that surrounded her.

She wandered to the table and chairs where she and Bella sometimes had breakfast at weekends and sat down. She knew that, even without Michael, she had everything a woman at her time of life could want: health, security, friends; and yet even with Michael – a wonderful potential romance – she still wasn’t content.

A couple of sips into her whisky she realised what was bothering her. She’d really enjoyed helping Lucy in those very difficult circumstances. (Had Lucy told anyone about the head torch and their other problem-solving ploys?) Now she realised life didn’t offer her many new challenges, and somehow the old challenges (the garden, her book group, a bit of voluntary work) didn’t seem enough.

She blamed Michael. Meeting him had given her a glimpse of something more and the excitement of the emails, the texts, the girlish thrill of a new relationship had made her aware that other aspects of her life were a bit lacking.

Would she feel like this if she’d had children? Possibly not, although she’d have grandchildren by now and everyone loved those. (How people went on about them!) On the other hand, she’d never felt confident around babies and small children. Young adults, though, were different. She loved spending time with Bella, and yesterday, getting Lucy to brace up and face the challenge, had been stimulating. She’d ended up liking Lucy, something she’d never thought she’d do. But the girl’s spikiness and determination to do something difficult out of loyalty to her husband had been endearing.

Another sip of whisky and Alice found herself wondering why she had been so adamant that she didn’t want Michael to know she’d helped Lucy. Really it was because she didn’t want him to think she was doing things to ingratiate herself. But that was mad, really. He’d gone to a lot of trouble to bring her and his daughters together for a baking day: he deserved to know he’d succeeded. But there was still Hannah. She’d be harder to become friends with, and even with Lucy onside, she might well put up enough opposition to stop Michael and Alice becoming a proper couple.

Alice hugged herself, suddenly chilly. In spite of the fragrance of the evening, she decided to go in. The summer night was making her feel sentimental.

Just as she was about to do this, she saw a figure at the gate and put her glass down. She could see it was male, but the distance meant she didn’t recognise him. He waved.

‘Alice? Is that you?’

It was Michael. Any flicker of unease at seeing a man by her gate at this hour vanished. She smiled and stood up.

‘Of course it’s me,’ she called. ‘Who else would it be? Come in. The gate isn’t locked.’

Her heart soared as she watched him stride across the lawn towards her. She didn’t speak again; she just stood there. When he arrived he took her into his arms.

At first they had just hugged and then his lips found hers and they were kissing in a way that Alice hadn’t been kissed for years. For some seconds she worried that she’d forgotten how to do it. Then she stopped thinking at all.

She had always found the garden at night sensual and romantic, and now the scent of the honeysuckle and jasmine made everything even more intoxicating.

When they stopped for breath she said, ‘That was a bit of a surprise.’

‘I’m sorry, I had to come, the moment I found out what you’d done for Lucy.’ He kissed her again, just briefly.

‘You weren’t supposed to find out.’ She stood in the circle of his arms feeling girlish and protected.

‘Phillip let it slip. Apparently it was a triumph. Suddenly my little Lucy stopped being the idiot girl Phillip had been so stupid as to marry and became the heroine of the hour, not to mention bearer of the first great-grandchild.’ He paused. ‘She told everyone about the head torch.’

Alice smiled. ‘It was silly, but it did make Lucy laugh. She needed a laugh just then.’

‘You were an utter heroine.’ He kissed her again.

A shuddering sigh went through Alice. She hadn’t felt like this for aeons and it was so wonderful. Then a bird, suddenly alarmed, returned her to her senses. They really couldn’t stay there all night, kissing, however wonderful it was.

‘Have you eaten?’ she said.

‘No, actually. I came straight here from the office. I took the car in today, so I could leave immediately and not wait for the train.’

‘That’s a long day! Come into the house. Let me make you something to eat.’

‘I don’t want to put you to any trouble.’

She laughed. ‘You won’t be. I haven’t eaten either and it’ll be something made with eggs.’

It was just gone ten when they heard Bella’s car. Alice got up from the sofa quickly, straightening her clothes. She didn’t want Bella to know she and Michael had been kissing. She reached the hall just as Bella came through the door.

‘Hello!’ said Alice, aware she sounded a bit odd. ‘How nice to see you. Michael’s here.’

Bella’s eyes widened a little and she said, ‘Then I won’t interrupt. I’ll just slip upstairs.’

‘Don’t run away,’ said Michael, joining Alice. ‘It would be nice to chat.’

‘And aren’t you back rather early, if you’ve been having a romantic dinner with your fiancé?’

Bella shrugged. ‘Not that romantic. It was pie and mash.’

‘We’re just about to have a brandy,’ said Alice after a quick look at Michael. ‘Why don’t you join us?’

‘Oh no, I wouldn’t want to—’

‘We’d like that,’ said Michael. ‘I’ve just refused brandy, so you could keep Alice company.’ He glanced down at her. ‘It would stop her feeling bad about it.’

Bella wrinkled her brow. ‘Actually, now you’ve suggested it, I think that brandy is a good idea.’

Alice began gathering signs of their supper guiltily. After they’d eaten their scrambled eggs, she and Michael had moved on to the sofa with very indecent haste. She realised this feeling of being caught out enhanced the magic somehow. There was no reason why she and Michael shouldn’t do as they liked but ‘making out’ wasn’t what was usually expected of respectable middle-aged people.

‘As I said, I wanted to have a chat,’ said Michael, while Alice found glasses.

‘Oh?’ Bella sat down, looking expectant.

‘Yes,’ said Alice, putting the glasses and the bottle down on the table. ‘Michael is taking me away for the weekend. I wonder if you’ll be OK looking after things here? There are some plants I won’t get put in before I go and they’ll need watering.’

Bella smiled, as if relieved to be asked to do something simple, and Alice wondered how her dinner with Nevil had gone. It wasn’t only her god-daughter’s slightly different clothes that made her speculate, it was her demeanour. Bella seemed worried.

‘Of course I’ll do that,’ she said. ‘And a weekend away. How lovely! Are you going somewhere in Devon, or Cornwall? I can just picture it. Lovely walks by the sea, cream teas, open fires if it’s remotely chilly. It sounds like absolute bliss!’ No one spoke, so Bella went on. ‘So, where are you going?’ She picked up her drink and looked at Alice and Michael expectantly.

‘We’re not going to the West Country actually,’ said Michael.

‘Oh?’ The brandy gave Bella continental ideas. ‘Paris then? Rome? Florence? A lovely city break? Maybe Venice? I’ve always wanted to go to Venice.’

‘It sounds to me as if you need a break yourself,’ said Alice.

Bella smiled again: to Alice’s eyes, rather sadly. ‘It would be lovely.’ She paused. ‘So, where are you going then?’

Alice looked at Michael and then back at Bella. ‘Marrakesh,’ she said.

‘Oh my!’ said Bella. ‘That sounds amazing!’

‘It is a long weekend,’ said Michael. ‘And the joy of it is, it’s not a long-haul flight but it is a long-haul destination, if you see what I mean.’

‘Totally!’ said Bella. ‘Oh, Alice! How amazing! And – how surprising!’

‘I owe Alice,’ said Michael, ‘and I don’t think a cosy weekend in Devon – however lovely that sounds – would quite repay the debt.’

‘Alice! What did you do? Give him a kidney or something?’ Bella laughed and sipped her drink. To Alice’s acute ears she sounded a bit brittle.

Michael laughed too. ‘Well, nearly. She helped my daughter out in a very difficult situation.’

‘Oh, how?’

Alice smiled. She hadn’t had an opportunity to tell Bella about rescuing Lucy from her plight. ‘To be honest, it wasn’t all that much, but Michael and Lucy were very grateful for what was only quite a small favour, and one which was great fun.’

‘So tell me?’ Bella was now desperately curious.

‘Lucy had to cook dinner for a very demanding grandmother-in-law,’ began Alice.

‘And she can’t cook and currently can’t even face food. She’s pregnant,’ said Michael.

‘And Michael wasn’t supposed to know about it,’ said Alice.

‘What? That Lucy was pregnant?’

‘No!’ said Alice. ‘That I helped Lucy sort things out.’

‘Why not?’ asked Bella.

‘I asked that too,’ said Michael, ‘but I didn’t get a satisfactory explanation.’

Alice and Bella exchanged looks and Alice realised Bella understood. Alice didn’t want Michael to think she was helping his daughter for his sake. It was for different reasons.

‘So . . .’ Bella asked.

‘I met up with Lucy in Waitrose, by chance,’ Alice explained. ‘We’d got to know each other a bit at the bakery course, if you remember?’ Alice also remembered, but couldn’t possibly say, describing Lucy and her sister as little cows.

Bella nodded encouragingly, possibly wondering about Alice’s change of view.

‘She told me the situation and I offered to help. Nothing more than that. I like Lucy,’ Alice added.

Michael laughed. ‘Which, considering what a spiky little thing she can be – even when she hasn’t got her hormones to blame it on – is quite something.’

Michael got up from the table and put his hand on Alice’s shoulder. ‘So, you’ll come to my house by two tomorrow?’

Alice turned and looked at him. ‘That should be plenty of time to get to the airport.’

‘And you’re sure you don’t want me to pick you up?’

‘Certainly not. You’d be going in the opposite direction to Heathrow.’

‘OK then.’ He kissed her cheek but wouldn’t let her get up. ‘You stay there. I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Alice and Bella didn’t speak until they’d heard Michael let himself out of the front door.

‘Get you!’ said Bella, sounding envious. ‘Now tell me everything!’