‘It were t’day weren’t it?’ George folds his newspaper and lays it on the table beside his armchair. ‘Jess?’ He gets up and passes behind the sofa to stand next to where Jessie is peering through the window.
‘Mmm?’ she turns, looking almost surprised to see him there.
‘It were t’day weren’t it…’ he repeats ‘When Evelyn were goin t’the quacks’
Jessie nods and gives a small sigh.
‘I thought it were. You been like a cat on ‘ot tin tacks all day’
‘Roof…it’s roof’ she says vaguely ‘hot tin roof’
‘Well, whatever the bloomin cat were on, you been worryin ain’t yer gal? Come on. Let’s sit down. Get yer slippers off an’ I’ll gi’yer toes a pickin’
‘That’s an offer I can’t refuse’ Jessie smiles, despite herself.
‘S’only thing what I knows relaxes yer so…’ George start to chortle ‘Get em off!’
Jessie rolls her eyes, dimpling as she smacks his hand. ‘Expect you’ve waited years to say that’
‘Ah…shame it’s on’y yer slippers’ His dentures rattle as he chortles some more. ‘Ere…sit yerself down, woman’ he takes her arm and leads her around the end of the sofa. ‘Aint yer never ‘eard a watched pot never does summat?’
‘I thought he might be here by now’ her eyes stray to the window again ‘or at least telephoned. He said he’d let me know how things went as soon as he knew himself. I hope…I hope it’s not bad news’ he mouth turns down at the corners.
‘No news is good news, gal’ George says positively ‘You sit down there and I’ll go make us a nice cuppa’
‘Oh, there’s the phone now!’ Jessie almost barges him out of the way to get to the hall.
‘I’ll get the kettle on’ George decides and gives Jessie’s shoulder a pat en route to the kitchen as she snatches up the receiver ‘You’ll want a cuppa no matter what’
Rose Cottage, Albans Lane
Chapter Twenty-six
Tawny House, Manor Road
The Annexe
‘Of course, Blythe’ Helen snaps. ‘Do I have another sister?’
‘Whoa! Don’t take this out on me!’ he folds his arms defensively, leaning against the sink unit while Helen clatters around the kitchen.
‘I’m sorry, but I am absolutely seething’
‘I think that can go without saying’ Kester makes a face, shaking his head slowly as the news sinks in ‘But Nathan…I mean...I never had an inkling of what was going on. Blythe?’
‘I don’t think there was any ‘going on’’ Helen’s mouth tightens as the kettle hits its base with a clang. The switch clicks loud as she turns it on. ‘A one off, but Stephanie is understandably distraught. It’s all over between them’
‘And Nathan’s ducked for cover, you think?’
‘No…I don’t think he has’ she turns to face him, her cheeks warm with colour ‘At a guess, he is as upset as Stephanie is…or shamefaced …or both. Oh. I don’t know!’ she covers her face with her hands and exhales sharply. ‘This has come as such a shock’
‘You’re not kidding’ Kester puffs his cheeks ‘Not a word. You would have thought he’d told me… but not a word…’ he lapses into a few moments thoughtful silence ‘I didn’t have a clue. When he said he was off to see Eric and Marj for a few days, he gave me the impression he was squeezing in a break while he could’ He reaches for the teapot as the kettle comes to the boil. ‘That’s the problem with talking on the phone, I suppose. If I’d seen him face to face, I’d have known there was something up. Poor Nathan’
‘Poor Nathan?’ Helen fumes ‘what about poor Stephanie? And what about me in all this? Blythe said nothing to me, nothing at all! How do you think that makes me feel?’
‘Angry, right now’ Kester glances at her as he drops tea bags into the pot and fills it from the kettle. ‘Which I don’t quite understand’
‘Don’t you?’ Helen slams the refrigerator door and sets a carton of milk on the worktop next to him. ‘How AM I supposed to feel?’
‘I’m not quite sure’ he hedges carefully ‘but who exactly are you angry with? Blythe? Nathan? Me for not understanding where you’re coming from?’
‘No, I’m not angry at you’ Helen sighs apologetically. ‘I’m honestly not sure myself. I’m put out that Nathan has acted so shoddily and it’s upset Stephanie so much as a result. I’m annoyed that he didn’t at least talk it through with us before he high-tailed it to Spain. He must be feeling pretty awful right now, whether that’s the humiliation of being found out or the same devastation that Stephanie’s feeling because they’ve split up over it. Whatever, he would have felt better for talking it out. But, and there’s no rational explanation for this, I am absolutely furious with Blythe!’
‘Furious? But…she’s the one left pregnant by a man who, presumably, doesn’t want to know. She’s been left holding the baby. Literally’
‘He’s not going to marry her. I know that much from Stephanie’
‘Then what’s she going to do?’
‘I had no idea about the baby, I’m hardly likely to know what arrangements she’s made for looking after it, am I?’
‘Whoa, okay?’ Kester looks at her from under lowered brows. ‘For someone who says they’re not angry with me, you’re not making a very good job of proving otherwise’
‘Sorry…again’ Helen’s shoulders slump contritely. ‘But one half of me is so hurt that she hasn’t confided in me. I know things haven’t been easy between us for the last few months but surely now would have been a good time to start again, be as we were before, friends who shared everything’
‘And the other half?’ Kester asks, tucking her hair behind her ears and standing with his hands still cupping her face. ‘That’s the angry half?’
‘I am so angry that she could do something like this’ Helen admits in a sad whisper. ‘Stephanie said that Nathan told her Blythe had made all the running…and I believe him, I really do. Isn’t that awful? That, with all the things I should be doing to try and help her through this, all I can think about is that she should not have come on to him in the first place?’
‘That’s not awful…that’s understandable. And she’s …how shall I put it…a very determined lady?’ Kester grimaces. ‘I know he’s had to be more than blunt with her several times’
‘He has? You mean…’ her eyes widen.
‘That she’s tried it on before, yes’ he turns away to pour the tea. ‘All that business after the wedding…when she was virtually stalking him, that hasn’t really stopped’ he says ruefully. ‘The phone calls have…but every time she’s within spitting distance, he gets the ‘You up for some fun’ routine’
‘I didn’t know that either’ Helen looks at him aghast.
‘It’s true. He didn’t want to make too much of it, he knew how upset you got about Blythe’s behaviour before and it was nowhere near as bad as that anyway. He’s had to fend her off a few times, that’s all…Well…not fend her off, that’s a bit strong, but pass up on a few…um…interesting offers’
’Even when….’
‘The fact that he was going out with Steph didn’t seem to make any difference at all’ Kester follows her train of thought.
‘You think that perhaps he…..’
‘Gave her a quick one to get her off his back?’
A flicker of amusement crosses Helen’s face ‘A physical impossibility, I would have thought’ she says drolly.
Kester smiles and gives a low chuckle ‘Oh, very quick, Mrs. James’
‘But yes..’ Helen sighs and grows serious again ‘that’s just what I do mean. That he was persuaded into something he didn’t really want to do because he was tired of having her plague him?’
‘I’d like to think so’ Kester says without much conviction, his eyebrows arching in a display of doubt as he blows a long breath. ‘But I know Nathan of old’
‘You changed’ Helen counters ‘you and Nathan were much of a muchness when it came to women. Are you telling me you would be tempted and give in if someone was hell bent on getting you into their bed?’
‘Hang on, this isn’t about me’ he frowns ‘what made this about me all of a sudden? All I’m saying is that he was never one to pass up an opportunity’
‘Nor were you!’
‘Hel-en!’
‘Sorry’ she groans ‘I’m thinking myself round in circles here’
‘Leave me out of it. I’m not Nathan and you can’t excuse him and accuse me in the one breath’
‘No’
‘And I’m not about to jump into bed with the first woman to proposition me, okay?’
‘Yes’
‘Sound as if you believe me, then’ Kester winks and hands her a mug of tea.
‘Oh, I do really’ Helen sighs, wrapping her hands around the mug as if to warm herself. ‘I’m so confused over the whole thing. I know what Nathan thinks of Stephanie. She is…was ‘the one’ wasn’t she? How could he even think of deceiving her?’
‘We won’t know that until we’ve heard what he’s got to say’ Kester takes a first tentative sip of the hot tea.
‘And I need to talk to Blythe!’ Helen’s expression tightens. ‘That’s another thing’ she sets her mug down and goes to where her handbag is strung by its strap on the back of one of the chairs. ‘I’ve been trying to get hold of her all day! Either her mobile is switched off or it doesn’t work where she is’
‘It’ll work anywhere where there’s a signal. She’s not exactly in the middle of nowhere’
‘No, no she isn’t’ she mumbles agreement as she brings up Blythe’s number from the address book on her phone and calls it again. She slides the phone closed as it fails to ring through once more and looks up at him with a determined gleam in her eyes. ‘I can be there and back in a day’
‘Where?’ Kester frowns.
‘Brussels’
‘Helen, you can NOT go to Brussels!’ he splutters argument.
‘Why not? I want to know what’s going on and it seems to me that is the only way I am likely to find out!’
‘But you don’t even know where she is!’ he objects. ‘You don’t know where she is and you’ve no idea how to contact her. There must be hundreds of hotels where she could be staying. It’s not exactly a small place!’
‘I might not know…but the people she works for will’ Helen argues almost as heatedly. ‘I know who and where they are and I can soon get hold of a number from them’
‘Helen, don’t do this’ Kester groans ‘what good would it do?’
‘I’m not after doing ‘good’ Kester, I want to see her and I want for her to tell me what she intends doing now and how she is going to cope with a baby along!’
