Page 86 of Love like the (Real) Reel Thing
Her mouth felt sandpaper-dry as she tried to gauge the mood of the hall. Most people looked bored or annoyed but a few smiled encouragingly at her. Her gaze drifted across the crowd, stopping when she got to Robert. He nodded at her and she managed a guilty smile.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Jess Bradley and I work for the Charleston Group. I’m not going to repeat what’s already been said here tonight.” She glanced over at Anthony. “But I understand how you feel about the river.”
There were a few dissenting voices from the front, and Jess took a deep breath.
“I understand, because I love rivers too. I love being around any water, in fact.”
She tried to wet her lips. Adam seemed to read her mind and appeared by her side with a small bottle of water. Briefly, she met his eyes as she accepted it, aware of some murmurs through the crowd.
She looked out to the audience again. Where was she?
“I live beside the sea in Dublin, and I try to walk on the beach every day. The Charleston Group’s head office is on the Grand Canal and I can see it from my office window. I love to watch for the swans.” She smiled, and a few people in the room smiled back. “I’ve also walked along the River Rathon.” She swallowed hard, hoping Adam wouldn’t think she was remembering the afternoon where they’d walked by the river in Ballygobbin. Because she wasn’t. Definitely not.
The noise began to creep up again in the hall.Shit, she was losing them.
“It’s kind of magical,” she continued, “when you see an otter on the bank. The other day I saw a heron diving for a fish. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but it is, isn’t it?” She looked around the hall again.
People were nodding now, she noticed, and she could actually feel the atmosphere shift in the room. Time to wrap it up.
“All I wanted to say tonight is that I don’t think it’s the castle that makes Linford special. It’s the village, and the little wood, and the River Rathon. When Adam proposed a Green Fund, it wasn’t a crude attempt to buy anyone off. It’s a genuine attempt to help maintain what’s important to all of us – the natural beauty of this area.”
“Hear, hear!” somebody called.
“That’s more like it!” someone added.
As most of the crowd started to clap, Jess took a deep breath.
“On behalf of the group, I propose we take a vote. A vote in favour of dropping the lawsuit against the group.” She glanced over at Anthony, who was looking a bit worried. “If the group loses the vote, the outcome will be the same. We’ll still do everything within our power to ensure that the river is restored to its former glory. But we’d prefer to see us all working together, than making solicitors richer. I’m hoping most of you might feel the same way.”
Right, speech over. She turned to Ted. “Will you agree to a vote? And to the outcome of it?”
He sniffed loudly. “It can’t just be a show of hands!”
Jess hid a smile. “I agree. We’ll do a secret vote.” Retrieving the tote bag she’d left down, she took out two packs of luminous orange flashcards. “We’re going to distribute some flash cards, folks, so you can vote privately.”
Ted tutted loudly. “What do you need fancy flash cards for? A bit of paper will do.”
“Bits of paper can get lost,” Jess said.Or be added to.“Flash cards are better.” Holding them up, she smiled brightly at Ted. “We won’t lose these.”
Adam pulled Jess aside after the vote. “That was close enough – but you judged it well.”
She shrugged. “It went our way – that’s all that matters.”
“You moved them because you made it personal. Brought in your own experience.”
Jess looked at him.
“That time last year when we took that river walk together? We both saw a heron diving then.”
The same day Adam had kissed her. She tried to school her expression. “It’s a common sight, Adam.”
“Don’t be like that, Jess.”
He’s moved on, remember, Jess? And so have you.“Excuse me, I’ve got to go.”
A bit flustered, she stepped down off the stage and joined the throng of locals leaving the hall. Robert made his way over to her as they got outside, where it was still bright, but several degrees cooler now that the sun had set.
“Good speech, Jess. And a great idea to have a vote.”
