Part 14 (1/2)

Laura thought of the red-haired beauty they'd encountered on their way in to the Hall earlier that day. ”Do you know, I think I met her today,” she said.

Nick groaned. ”Oh, G.o.d. Where?”

”In the ticket box. With Sean. They-”

”Don't tell me,” said Nick, holding up his hands. ”Oh, G.o.d, they're the lunatics having s.e.x in the kiosk you were complaining about earlier. Aren't they?”

”No,” said Laura, blus.h.i.+ng. ”I was just being rude.”

”Don't spare my feelings, Laura.” He looked resigned. ”She's a nightmare, and I've got to do something about it now she's living back at the Hall. At some point.”

”It's very nice of Charles to let her stay there,” said Laura.

”What? Oh, yes,” said Nick. ”He's always been fond of Lavinia. Think he has a crush on her, actually.”

”He seems lovely,” said Laura. ”Really nice. It must be a weird life for him, I suppose.”

”Why do you say that?” There was a note of defensiveness in Nick's voice.

”Well,” she said carefully, ”I just mean it's a big responsibility, that house, all those people. And it's not like he's married with loads of kids and a wife, or he has someone to share it all with. It must be weird.”

”It is,” said Nick.

”Would you want to be him?” said Laura. Nick looked blank for a second. ”I mean,” she went on, trying to explain, ”would you want to swap places, be the marquis? Do you ever think about that?”

”No,” said Nick slowly. ”You know, I sometimes think I wouldn't be him, not for all the money and estates in the world.”

”Well, he's lucky to have you as his friend,” said Laura.

Nick was silent. Then he cleared his throat and said, ”I'm not so sure about that. More wine? Here, have the rest.” He poured the last of the wine into her gla.s.s, and his hand touched hers momentarily as he set the bottle down again. Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other. Laura sat back in her chair, relaxing a little more. There was something so comfortable about him, about his company. Her mind flew back to the mess of tangled friends.h.i.+ps and relations.h.i.+ps she had left behind in London, and she thought suddenly that it was funny, but here in this pub, with this nice, strange man, she felt calmer, like she was breathing properly, like she could see the vista of her life stretching out over the next few months more clearly than she had for-she didn't know how long. That for the first time she was looking forward to it.

”So, when do you go back to London?” said Nick.

”Sat.u.r.day,” said Laura. ”Yeah.” She gazed reflectively into her gla.s.s. ”Got a big birthday lunch for my grandmother on Sat.u.r.day. All the relatives coming up.”

”Oh, G.o.d,” he said, looking at her with amused sympathy. ”If they're anything like mine...” He trailed off.

”They're a bit grim, to be honest,” said Laura. She finished her gla.s.s of wine. ”They mean well, I'm sure.”

”What does that mean?”

”Well-take my aunt Annabel. I'm sure she's not evil, but if you were stranded on a desert island and she rescued you after six months, she'd criticize you for not tidying up the grains of sand. And she'd say the jungle was out of control and you should have pruned it back.”

Nick looked at her, trying not to laugh. ”Right,” he said. ”That's some aunt.”

”She's not really my aunt, really,” said Laura. ”Actually, she's like my stepaunt. You know.”

”Er,” said Nick politely, after a pause in which Laura thought, Oh, no, I'm gabbling. She opened her mouth to ask about his family, but he said suddenly, ”So. Do you have brothers and sisters?”

”A brother,” said Laura. ”Just me and him. He's called Simon.”

”Are you close?”

”Yes, we are,” said Laura. ”I miss him. He's been away, in”-she scrunched up her face, trying to remember the location of the last postcard-”some mountain village in Peru, anyway. I haven't seen him since March. But he's coming back for Granny's lunch on Sat.u.r.day. Hurrah!”

He smiled at her enthusiasm. ”Hurrah, indeed. You sound like a close family.”

”Well,” said Laura. She looked at him. ”We are, but-you know.”

”What?”

”Well, families. It's all complicated, isn't it? We are close, but we're all quite weird at the same time.”

”How so?”

”My aunt, and her brood. That's why I...”-she fiddled with her napkin-”I'm not looking forward to it much. We're all quite different.” She was silent then, and twirled the stem of her gla.s.s between her fingers. ”Sorry,” she said, meeting his gaze. His eyes were warm, understanding. ”I don't mean to gabble on.”

”You're not,” said Nick. ”Really, you're not. That's families for you. It is, as you say, complicated.”

”How about yours?” said Laura. ”Same thing?”

”Yes,” he said, standing up. ”All very complicated, and it's not on the surface, is it? Give me a moment, I'll settle the bill, and then I'll walk you to your car.”

He left her, and Laura watched him go. She felt as if he were holding her at arm's length, and she didn't know why. She looked around the pub, frowning. Then she told herself not to be so silly, not to jump ahead again. She'd only just met him. And it was strange, how she felt she could tell him anything and it wouldn't matter. For the first time in ages, no judging, no agenda, nothing. Just a friendly stranger on a warm summer's night, a gla.s.s of wine, and a proper conversation.

chapter nineteen.

T hey walked outside, onto the moonlit gravel path, out of the floodlighting. As Laura approached the car, she had the sensation of two sides of her brain, the subconscious and the conscious, rus.h.i.+ng together for the first time that evening. The subconscious had been hiding something from her, and it suddenly hit her, with the full force of an oncoming train.

”s.h.i.+t!” she said suddenly.

The violence in her voice made Nick stop in his tracks. ”What?” he said. ”Laura?”

”s.h.i.+t, s.h.i.+t,” said Laura, turning around and banging her fist on top of the nearest car. Luckily, it was her car. She turned back to face him. ”I can't drive!”

”You can't drive?” Nick said, perplexed.

”No, not that! I completely forgot. I've had...” She quickly added up how many gla.s.ses of wine she'd had, and gave up in despair at three. ”I've had far too much to drink. At least three gla.s.ses. Argh.” She banged her forehead gently on the roof of the car and let out a m.u.f.fled groan.

How could she have been so stupid? How could she have forgotten she had the car outside? She'd relaxed, let herself enjoy the evening-and this was what happened.

”It's okay,” said Nick calmly. ”Don't worry. You can stay with me.”

”No!” said Laura, so loudly both of them took a step back. ”Sorry,” she continued in a quieter voice. ”Oh, stupid! Stupid me! How could I have forgotten I drove here?”

”Do you make a habit of this kind of thing?” asked Nick. ”Drinking nearly a bottle of wine and forgetting you drove to the pub?”