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‘Congratulations,’ James said. ‘When’s the wedding?’
‘No idea,’ Libby replied, still overflowing with smiles. ‘Probably next summer. We just have to see what’s in the diary at the manor.’
Like if the festival’s going to happen a second time…
Henry cleared his throat and stood a little taller as he faced James. ‘What are your plans for after the festival?’
James straightened his spine, making sure the extra two inches he had on Henry were used to full effect. ‘I’m not sure yet. I have—’
‘He went for a job interview in London today,’ Estelle interrupted.
Henry looked surprised. ‘With whom?’
‘Global Tech,’ James said.
‘I thought they were a US company?’
‘They are, but—’
‘So, you’ll be relocating to Seattle? Isn’t that where they’re based?’
James ground his teeth. ‘Yes, they’re in Seattle, but no, I won’t be relocating. There’ll be plenty of—some travel Stateside, but they’re looking to open a London office to acquire more business in Europe.’
Even though James’s attention was on Henry, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Estelle stiffen. Fuck.
‘What role did you interview for?’ Henry continued.
‘European Director of Sales.’
‘So, you’d be travelling some of the time to the States and the rest of the time within the EU?’
Shut up! Henry’s questions were perfectly reasonable, but James didn’t want this to be the way that Estelle found out what his new job might entail.
Her phone rang and she stepped back to answer it.
‘I don’t know any of the details yet,’ James replied. ‘I’m sure I can make the job my own.’
He knew that statement was eighty per cent a lie, and by Henry’s raised eyebrows, he knew it, too.
Estelle was now striding to the back of the restaurant to talk to Leia.
‘Is everything okay?’ Henry and James called out at the same time, then glared at each other.
Estelle handed her bank card to Leia, then turned and looked at James. ‘We’ve got to go.’
‘What? Why?’
‘The main stage is collapsing.’
‘I told you this would happen,’ Jed whined as James and Estelle looked under the staging to see the support poles sinking into the ground.
‘No, you said it could happen,’ James retorted. ‘There’s a semantic difference.’
‘It doesn’t matter!’ Estelle exploded. ‘This is what happens when you cut corners.’
James clamped his mouth shut. He didn’t want to get into an argument in front of the staff, nor remind Estelle of all the reasons why he’d gone for the cheapest option, and therefore let Jed know how dire their financial position really was.
‘It’s because of the rain,’ Jed said. ‘The ground under the stage is lower than the rest of the park, so the water’s drained here.’
