long to learn how to keep up. The world, she was realising, wasn’t quite as impenetrable as she had always thought.
They came out of Charing Cross and walked up the road towards Nelson’s Column and The National Gallery. She was trying to work out where he was taking her when she followed the step of a tourist next to her and, instead of checking the traffic first, put her foot out into the road.
Will yanked her back as a bus swung round the corner and beeped at both Jane and the tourist.
‘Oh shit!’ She held her hand to her chest.
‘You’ve gotta look where you’re going,’ Will said with a shake of his head. His hand was still on her arm and she moved to one side to step out of his hold.
He looked down at his hand and then up at her, his expression slightly puzzled. ‘I just saved your life, I wasn’t trying anything on.’
Jane blushed. ‘I know.’
The thing was that while Jane had had the odd fling and some short-lived relationships in the past, she had pretty much OK’d herself with the fact that she was going to be single for ever. And she was down with that. It suited her. And while she couldn’t ever conceive that anything would happen with her and someone like William, the feeling of him touching her, of his hand reaching out with the express purpose of saving
her
life (Hers. And him holding on to check she was OK.) was kind of comforting but alien and unnerving at the same time. Certainly not something that she ever wanted to get used to. Like taking up smoking. If you never try it, you can’t get addicted.
But then, put like that in her head, it seemed instinctively like a cowardly way to live. She wanted to lift up his hand and put it back on her arm.
‘Sorry, it was just me being stupid,’ she said. ‘Thank you for saving me, William.’ She took a breath in and then said, ‘So where are you taking me?’
‘This way.’ He pointed towards Admiralty Arch. Still seeming bit put out. ‘And it’s Will. The only person who called me William was my grandmother and well – we all know what she was like.’
Neither of them said anything else as they walked to the huge archway and he paused before he walked underneath it. ‘It feels stupid now,’ he said.
‘What does?’ she asked.
‘What I’m going to show you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because that was a bit weird back there.’
Jane frowned. ‘You’ve been a massive pain since I met you. I think I’m allowed to be weird every now and then. And I apologised.’
‘Yeah I just don’t understand it. I don’t think I’ve ever been shirked off like that before.’
‘Well first time for everything, isn’t there?’ she joked.
Will shrugged.
‘OK, it was nothing to do with you. It was me. I’m not touched that often. OK?’
‘What d’you mean you’re not touched that often?’
‘I’m not touched. That’s it. Christ, you know everything there is to know about me in your little Jane Williams file. I’ve spent ten years looking after my mother. It doesn’t lead to that many instances of touching that aren’t you trying to force said mother to do things like eat or go to bed or just stay on the bloody boat.’ She looked at him, realised she’d been gesticulating as she spoke and put her arms back down by her sides.
Will swallowed. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘What?’
‘That you’d been looking after your mother.’
‘Well you have crap investigators then.’
Will laughed.
‘So what are you showing me?’ Jane asked.
‘Now it seems
really
stupid.’
‘Just show me.’
‘OK, but it’s really stupid.’
He led her under the archway and pointed about a foot above his head. Sticking out the wall was a shining gold nose.
‘It’s a nose,’ he said, almost cringing.
‘It
is
a nose,’ she said with a laugh.
‘That’s what I wanted to show you. I thought for ages it was some sort of shrine to the Duke of Wellington’s huge nose, but that was a myth apparently. Some artist put it there in the
They came out of Charing Cross and walked up the road towards Nelson’s Column and The National Gallery. She was trying to work out where he was taking her when she followed the step of a tourist next to her and, instead of checking the traffic first, put her foot out into the road.
Will yanked her back as a bus swung round the corner and beeped at both Jane and the tourist.
‘Oh shit!’ She held her hand to her chest.
‘You’ve gotta look where you’re going,’ Will said with a shake of his head. His hand was still on her arm and she moved to one side to step out of his hold.
He looked down at his hand and then up at her, his expression slightly puzzled. ‘I just saved your life, I wasn’t trying anything on.’
Jane blushed. ‘I know.’
The thing was that while Jane had had the odd fling and some short-lived relationships in the past, she had pretty much OK’d herself with the fact that she was going to be single for ever. And she was down with that. It suited her. And while she couldn’t ever conceive that anything would happen with her and someone like William, the feeling of him touching her, of his hand reaching out with the express purpose of saving
her
life (Hers. And him holding on to check she was OK.) was kind of comforting but alien and unnerving at the same time. Certainly not something that she ever wanted to get used to. Like taking up smoking. If you never try it, you can’t get addicted.
But then, put like that in her head, it seemed instinctively like a cowardly way to live. She wanted to lift up his hand and put it back on her arm.
‘Sorry, it was just me being stupid,’ she said. ‘Thank you for saving me, William.’ She took a breath in and then said, ‘So where are you taking me?’
‘This way.’ He pointed towards Admiralty Arch. Still seeming bit put out. ‘And it’s Will. The only person who called me William was my grandmother and well – we all know what she was like.’
Neither of them said anything else as they walked to the huge archway and he paused before he walked underneath it. ‘It feels stupid now,’ he said.
‘What does?’ she asked.
‘What I’m going to show you.’
‘Why?’
‘Because that was a bit weird back there.’
Jane frowned. ‘You’ve been a massive pain since I met you. I think I’m allowed to be weird every now and then. And I apologised.’
‘Yeah I just don’t understand it. I don’t think I’ve ever been shirked off like that before.’
‘Well first time for everything, isn’t there?’ she joked.
Will shrugged.
‘OK, it was nothing to do with you. It was me. I’m not touched that often. OK?’
‘What d’you mean you’re not touched that often?’
‘I’m not touched. That’s it. Christ, you know everything there is to know about me in your little Jane Williams file. I’ve spent ten years looking after my mother. It doesn’t lead to that many instances of touching that aren’t you trying to force said mother to do things like eat or go to bed or just stay on the bloody boat.’ She looked at him, realised she’d been gesticulating as she spoke and put her arms back down by her sides.
Will swallowed. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘What?’
‘That you’d been looking after your mother.’
‘Well you have crap investigators then.’
Will laughed.
‘So what are you showing me?’ Jane asked.
‘Now it seems
really
stupid.’
‘Just show me.’
‘OK, but it’s really stupid.’
He led her under the archway and pointed about a foot above his head. Sticking out the wall was a shining gold nose.
‘It’s a nose,’ he said, almost cringing.
‘It
is
a nose,’ she said with a laugh.
‘That’s what I wanted to show you. I thought for ages it was some sort of shrine to the Duke of Wellington’s huge nose, but that was a myth apparently. Some artist put it there in the
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