Page 79 of A Christmas Celebration
‘You had a lot to drop off then?’ Albert asked.
‘Crikey, yes,’ I puffed. ‘I can’t believe how quicklyeveryone gets through so much fresh stuff, which reminds me,’ I added, dashing back out again.
‘What have you got there?’ Albert frowned.
‘Three carrots, two parsnips and a swede,’ I told him. ‘I found them rolling about under the seat so they must have fallen out of one of the boxes. Chris had overfilled a few.’
‘I can’t abide swede,’ Albert said sniffily, screwing his face up which made me laugh.
‘You won’t even know it’s there when I’ve finished with it,’ I told him, flicking the kettle on again. ‘How do you fancy soup for your dinner?’
I enjoyed having something productive to do and with the soup simmering and the tea things washed up and put away, Albert called me through to the sitting room where he’d set a match to the fire.
Bella was curled up on his lap and the scene was one of blissful domestic harmony. It was as if the time in the Nissen hut had never happened and the studio didn’t exist. I had been tempted to look to see if I could spot it when I arrived, but Albert had been so quick in opening the door, I hadn’t dared.
‘So,’ he said, reaching down the side of the chair and pulling out the printed papers I’d previously left, ‘let me tell you why I’ve asked you to come.’
‘Have you decided on a bath chair?’
‘Almost.’ He nodded. ‘Or at least, I reckon I have. What do you think of these inflatable contraptions?’
We spent a while looking at the two he was most keenon and, once he’d made up his mind, I said I’d order it and promised to be on hand when it was delivered. With it all settled, I blitzed the soup and warmed a couple of the part-baked crusty baguettes I’d picked up in my original shop.
‘Don’t do that bread for too long,’ Albert called through to me. ‘My teeth can’t cope with it when it’s rock hard.’
That set me laughing again about what had occurred at Daisy’s, but I didn’t share the anecdote. We enjoyed our meal and Albert didn’t once mention the swede and when everything was cleared away again, we sat listening to the crackle of the fire.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked after a few minutes had passed. ‘If you keep frowning like that, the lines will stick. That’s what Stella always used to say.’
I hadn’t realized I had been frowning and when I looked at him, I noticed his cheeks had flushed a little at the mention of his sister. I wondered if he’d been going as far out of his way not to mention her as I had.
‘Have you got something on your mind?’ he asked. ‘If you’re working your way up to asking about the studio, I’d rather you didn’t.’
‘No,’ I told him. ‘It’s not that.’
‘Good,’ he said. ‘I appreciate that, because I’d hate for us to fall out, but I can tell there’s something. What is it?’ he further probed. ‘Trouble in paradise?’
‘Trouble where?’ I laughed.
‘Paradise,’ he repeated. ‘Have you and your young man had a falling out?’
‘I haven’t got a young man.’ I further frowned.
‘That chap who came here with you the other day. Are you not stepping out together, as we used to say in my day?’
‘Goodness me, no,’ I hastily corrected him. ‘Absolutely not.’
Perhaps I wasn’t the only one guilty of making assumptions.
‘Shame,’ Albert said, eyeing me speculatively. ‘Because for all his pushy ways, you made a handsome couple.’
I rolled my eyes at that.
‘What is it that’s on your mind, then?’
I had actually been thinking about Brodie, but thought I’d try to use Albert’s gift of an opportunity to my advantage.
‘It’s Wynthorpe Hall,’ I said, shaking my head, ‘and Angus, my godfather.’
