the lad. It was the talk of the town for months.”
“Oh, I don’t mean that I’m attracted to him . . .” Rose said, horrified, realizing a little too late that Jenny clearly expected every woman with a pulse to be exactly that, and that any other response was simply bad manners.
“Well, most are,” Jenny said, clearly a little offended that Rose hadn’t been more overwhelmed. “Anyway, get peeling those apples. I’m thinking of making a crumble.”
“I look forward to meeting this Ted,” Maddie said. “He sounds most interesting.”
• • •
As it turned out, Maddie didn’t have long to wait to meet Jenny’s younger son, as he turned up uninvited for dinner, grinning at Rose as he appeared around the dining room door.
“All right, Mum?” he said, just as Jenny was serving up beef stew and dumplings. “Room for a little one?”
“Oh, yes, and to what do we owe this pleasure?” Jenny asked him, tucking her chin in. “You haven’t been round for your dinner in weeks, and then you just stroll in off the street, treating the place like a—”
“B and B? Thought I’d pop in, say hello to my lovely mother, that’s all,” Ted said, putting his arms around Jenny and kissing her on the cheek, making her giggle like a girl.
“Get on with you,” she chided him. “Sit down and don’t be rude to our guests. You’ve met Rose, and this is her daughter, Maddie.”
“Hiya.” Ted smiled at Maddie, who observed him from beneath her fringe, clearly feeling it wasn’t necessary to return the greeting.
Unoffended, Ted grinned across the table at Rose, who couldn’t help returning the smile. He looked like he was always in on some private joke, a smile constantly playing round his eyes and lips. Maybe it was her he was laughing at in her mutton clothes, Rose thought, self-consciously pulling up the off-the-shoulder top again. It had been a long time since she wondered what anyone, let alone men, thought of her, mostly because she was certain that they didn’t think of her at all, not as an individual. She was the doctor’s wife, the odd child’s mother, the nice one behind reception. Now, of course, putting aside the dreadful mess that she had leftbehind, pretending it didn’t exist in exactly the same way as Maddie did, Rose realized she had no idea how men—how Frasier—would see her, or what he would think of her, dropping everything and following him on a whim. He’d think she was insane, someone he’d met briefly years ago who was fixated and obsessed, and he’d be right. Acutely aware of her situation, Rose watched Maddie chewing her way diligently through beef stew, scowling at Ted. This wasn’t right, dragging her this far from home on such a spurious whim. This was not Rose, this wasn’t how she did things. Rose always did the right thing, the best thing, the safest thing. This was none of those. She couldn’t go on pretending nothing had happened, because soon there would be consequences. It was more than twenty-four hours now since she’d left Richard. He could be calling the police, reporting her missing. Very soon the real world would be crashing after her, catching up with her and forcing her to face what she had done.
“How’s work, son?” Brian asked Ted, glancing up from finishing the matchbox that he was meticulously turning into a TV with the aid of some silver foil and a black marker. “They’re looking for some summer help over in Keswick, you know.”
“Work’s fine, Dad. We had a hen night last week. Those girls were scary. At one point I thought they were going to rip me to shreds,” Ted said, inhaling the scent of the food that his mother set before him. “Besides, I can’t do manual work. Got to look after these hands; they’re going to make us a fortune one day.”
“How?” Maddie asked him, testing a dumpling with the tip of her tongue and then carefully placing it on her side plate.
“With my music.” Ted grinned at her.
“Oh, I don’t mean that I’m attracted to him . . .” Rose said, horrified, realizing a little too late that Jenny clearly expected every woman with a pulse to be exactly that, and that any other response was simply bad manners.
“Well, most are,” Jenny said, clearly a little offended that Rose hadn’t been more overwhelmed. “Anyway, get peeling those apples. I’m thinking of making a crumble.”
“I look forward to meeting this Ted,” Maddie said. “He sounds most interesting.”
• • •
As it turned out, Maddie didn’t have long to wait to meet Jenny’s younger son, as he turned up uninvited for dinner, grinning at Rose as he appeared around the dining room door.
“All right, Mum?” he said, just as Jenny was serving up beef stew and dumplings. “Room for a little one?”
“Oh, yes, and to what do we owe this pleasure?” Jenny asked him, tucking her chin in. “You haven’t been round for your dinner in weeks, and then you just stroll in off the street, treating the place like a—”
“B and B? Thought I’d pop in, say hello to my lovely mother, that’s all,” Ted said, putting his arms around Jenny and kissing her on the cheek, making her giggle like a girl.
“Get on with you,” she chided him. “Sit down and don’t be rude to our guests. You’ve met Rose, and this is her daughter, Maddie.”
“Hiya.” Ted smiled at Maddie, who observed him from beneath her fringe, clearly feeling it wasn’t necessary to return the greeting.
Unoffended, Ted grinned across the table at Rose, who couldn’t help returning the smile. He looked like he was always in on some private joke, a smile constantly playing round his eyes and lips. Maybe it was her he was laughing at in her mutton clothes, Rose thought, self-consciously pulling up the off-the-shoulder top again. It had been a long time since she wondered what anyone, let alone men, thought of her, mostly because she was certain that they didn’t think of her at all, not as an individual. She was the doctor’s wife, the odd child’s mother, the nice one behind reception. Now, of course, putting aside the dreadful mess that she had leftbehind, pretending it didn’t exist in exactly the same way as Maddie did, Rose realized she had no idea how men—how Frasier—would see her, or what he would think of her, dropping everything and following him on a whim. He’d think she was insane, someone he’d met briefly years ago who was fixated and obsessed, and he’d be right. Acutely aware of her situation, Rose watched Maddie chewing her way diligently through beef stew, scowling at Ted. This wasn’t right, dragging her this far from home on such a spurious whim. This was not Rose, this wasn’t how she did things. Rose always did the right thing, the best thing, the safest thing. This was none of those. She couldn’t go on pretending nothing had happened, because soon there would be consequences. It was more than twenty-four hours now since she’d left Richard. He could be calling the police, reporting her missing. Very soon the real world would be crashing after her, catching up with her and forcing her to face what she had done.
“How’s work, son?” Brian asked Ted, glancing up from finishing the matchbox that he was meticulously turning into a TV with the aid of some silver foil and a black marker. “They’re looking for some summer help over in Keswick, you know.”
“Work’s fine, Dad. We had a hen night last week. Those girls were scary. At one point I thought they were going to rip me to shreds,” Ted said, inhaling the scent of the food that his mother set before him. “Besides, I can’t do manual work. Got to look after these hands; they’re going to make us a fortune one day.”
“How?” Maddie asked him, testing a dumpling with the tip of her tongue and then carefully placing it on her side plate.
“With my music.” Ted grinned at her.
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