Page 72 of Hope and Happiness in Bluebell Wood
Oh no. Not again.
But Lonan simply looks with interest at his fellow dinner guests.
‘A romance is always a wonderful tale to tell,’ he says thoughtfully. ‘I always find some of the best love stories begin in secret.’
Twenty-two
‘Thank goodness,’ Callum says, as I close the door and return to the kitchen to begin clearing up.
Lonan and Hannah are currently escorting Jemima back to her house. She’d been swaying quite a bit when she’d stood up the last time, and Lonan had offered to walk her home. Hannah had volunteered to go with them for a bit of fresh air, although I suspect she had another motive, and that was to leave Callum and me on our own together.
‘I didn’t realise Jemima had had that much to drink,’ I say, beginning to load plates into the dishwasher and dirty pans into the sink to be hand washed in the bowl of soapy water I’ve just filled. ‘But she was certainly . . . how can I put it?HonestI think the word is.’
‘She was that.’ Callum puts the now empty wine glasses on the side to be washed too. ‘Would you like me to wash or dry?’
‘You don’t have to do anything,’ I say, putting a tab in the dishwasher and closing the door. ‘You’re a guest. But since you’ve offered so nicely,’ I grin at him, ‘dry?’ I throw him a clean tea towel, which he deftly catches.
I pull on a pair of rubber gloves, and start with the wine glasses.
‘I don’t think Jemima meant to cause trouble, though,’ I say, rubbing frothy bubbles around the rim of a glass with a sponge. ‘It was the alcohol talking, that’s all. We’ve all had a little too much on occasion.’ I glance at Callum.
‘Yes, even me.’ Callum grins. ‘Especially in my younger days.’
He waits for the glass to drain a little before he lifts it up to dry it. ‘Did it bother you?’ he asks. ‘What she was saying?’
I glance at him, wondering if he means what I think he means.
‘About you helping her out when she first came here?’ I ask, hedging my bets.
‘Er . . . yes that.’
I shrug and concentrate on washing the glass in my hand. ‘Why would it? It was good of you to help her. It’s obviously brought you closer.’
Callum pauses while he dries the next glass.
‘Ava, Jemima is a fine teacher and a lovely young woman. I felt for her when she first came to the village. Like she said, we had a lot in common. It took a while for the villagers to accept me when I first came here too, so it seemed only fitting that I should help Jemima. She reminded me a lot of Jena, my younger sister, actually.’
‘I didn’t know you had a sister?’ I say, looking at him.
‘There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Ava,’ Callum replies, polishing his glass extra hard. ‘What I felt for Jemima was only friendship, and that’s definitely as far as it goes – on both our parts. It’s important to me that you understand that.’
I don’t look at Callum, but I feel my insides flutter a little. ‘Yes, I understand,’ I say quietly.
A companionable silence falls over the kitchen again as we continue to wash up.
‘I did wonder for a while if Lonan might make a good match for Jemima,’ Callum says thoughtfully as he dries the last glass and rests it on the worktop. ‘But if what I’ve heard is true . . . ’
‘What do you mean?’ I ask, looking at him. ‘What have you heard?’
Callum mischievously shakes his head. ‘I probably shouldn’t say anything.’
‘You have now. Stop teasing me and tell!’ I demand.
Callum grins. ‘I’m a vicar, Ava. What I hear and say is sacrosanct.’
‘And I have a bowl of hot soapy water here. If you don’t want to find yourself covered in it, then share your gossip, Father Crawford – sacrosanct or not!’
‘Okay, okay!’ Callum says, holding up his tea towel in front of him. ‘I surrender.’
