Page 116 of The Little Teashop of Lost and Found
‘If you mean me, then forget it!’
‘Have you met someone else?’ he asked with sudden suspicion.
‘Yes, I’m secretly betrothed to Prince William,’ I said rather wearilyand he grinned. It was just as well I’d only switched on the shaded wall lights, because I could feel my face burning slightly.
‘No, I mean really, have you?’ he repeated.
‘Just wait till you see the tiara I’ve borrowed from the Queen to wear for dinner tonight,’ I said flippantly.
We went round the conversational circle for a little while longer, but after a bit he seemed to have convinced himself that he’d just been a bit quick off the mark after Dan’s death and I simply needed a little more time to adjust to the idea of us getting back together again. Then he took himself off to get ready for dinner, while I went down.
Zelda had looked very small and extremely pretty in a cute kind of way and, remembering that, I suddenly felt as huge as a dinosaur.
I wondered if Sheila was right about why she’d turned up.
‘Dr Tompkins is coming to see you later today, Father,’ I told him.
‘Why is he coming?’ he snapped, frowning.
‘You rang and asked him to call in,’ I said. ‘Don’t you remember?’
He stared at me a moment longer, then his eyes slid away vaguely.
‘Oh, yes – of course,’ he murmured, finally.
‘I’ll ask Ron to remind you later and Kim will bring in tea and sultana scones when he arrives.’
Ron, who was on duty today, had been dispatched to the garden with Hugo, who was always noisily insistent when he wished to relieve himself. I could see them both through the bay window, walking across the lawn.
‘I don’t need reminding,’ Father said crossly. ‘Anyone would think I’d lost my marbles!’
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Sheila had changed her clay-stained cords for clean denim jeans and a long, loose, blue-checked shirt, in which she looked not that much older than Bel.
Dinner was almost ready and I laid the table while she put plates in to warm and sliced bread.
‘I’ve had a sneaky gin and tonic,’ she said. ‘I had a feeling I might need it, because although IhopeZelda only wants to make up with Nile, she might have come here with the idea of changing his mind about the AI instead.’
‘Surely not? I think he’s already told her in no uncertain terms he’s not going to do it. She’s extremely pretty, though,’ I added morosely. ‘And probably very persuasive.’
‘I was dying to ask her while I was driving back from the station after picking her up,’ she confessed. ‘Only I didn’t think she had any idea that I knew about it, so I thought I’d better not.’
‘That’s true – she’d probably be mortified if she realized weallknew about it. And by the way, I’m sorry I dumped Robbie on you without any warning.’
‘Oh, it was no trouble. He wanted to drive into Haworth and talk to you this morning, but I asked him to help me wedge absolutelytonsof clay, which kept him occupied.’
‘I have no idea what wedging clay involves,’ I confessed, ‘but thank you for diverting him, anyway!’
‘Wedging clay is a bit like kneading dough, only on a larger andheavier scale,’ she explained. ‘While he was at it, he told me he hoped you two would get back together and he’d been surprised you weren’t more pleased to see him when he arrived.’
‘He chose the wrong moment – and he’s chosen the wrong girl, too, because getting back together isn’t going to happen.’
‘No, I was sure it wasn’t, but I was very tactful and pointed out to him that you’d need some time to get over your fiancé’s death and you were fully occupied with your writing and the teashop.’
So that was what had put that idea into Robbie’s thick skull!
