She swept away, leaving me alone in the hallway clutching the keys and with my head spinning in utter confusion. Who had taken my mother and replaced her with this incisive, apparently loving, baker? I glanced at my watch. There wasn’t time to think about it now; I was going to be late and, for once, I was grateful for that. At least it gave me an excuse not to think about the several bewildering conversations I had had that day. Maybe later I’d find myself chatting to Father Christmas about his beard care; today, nothing else could surprise me. I hoped.
TWENTY-FOUR
I drove slowly to the station, everything that had happened that day swirling around in my head. I pulled into the short stay car park at York Station and took a moment to admire my surroundings; being inside the station itself, the car park was beautiful with its curved roof, rows of brick arches and circular windows. Mind you, the fact I could park at all was pretty beautiful, I thought, locking Constance’s car and heading for the concourse. The last time I had driven in London, it had been a choice between parking a twenty-minute walk from my destination or paying over ten pounds an hour to park any closer. I sat down in a small café and texted Sam to let him know where I was, then settled down to wait, scalding my lips with hot coffee as I watched the people go by and listened to someone bashing out Christmas carols on the nearby public piano. Only ten minutes had passed when he arrived. I stood up to hug him.
‘I know it’s only been a day or so, but I’m so glad to see you!’
‘Me too, but it’s bloody cold up here.’
‘I know, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe. I did warn you. Do you want a coffee to warm up?’
‘Why not?’
He sat down and I ordered another couple of hot drinks as he filled me in on the final pieces of work he had done before shutting up the office for Christmas.
‘So, how’s the handsome one-day-to-be-lord-of-the-manor?’ Sam asked.
I pulled a face.
‘Not sure.’
‘What’s happened? I thought things were going well. You didn’t believe your own publicity about being like Jacqueline, did you? Oh, Fallon!’
I spilled out the story of how I’d been late back and upset Theo, but even to my own ears it was sounding a bit thin, especially in the light of the various talkings to I’d had that day.
‘…so I decided it was the best thing to do…’ I trailed off miserably.
‘And can I divine from the look on your face that you no longer think that?’ asked Sam tartly.
‘Oh, I don’t know. I was very sure, and now I just feel confused. But can youreallysee me making a decent job of motherhood?’
‘Well, for a start…’ He began ticking things off on his fingers, which was always a bad sign with Sam. I was in real trouble. ‘For a start, you’ve only known this man for a few weeks, so aren’t you jumping the gun a bit?’
‘I know that’s how it seems, but what’s the point of starting something if I can’t see a future in it?’
He snorted, unimpressed.
‘Secondly, we have already had the conversation about you being – ornotbeing – like Jacqueline. Thirdly, the situation is completely different. And fourthly – oh, it doesn’t matter what I think. What doyouthink, truthfully?’
‘Well, part of me thinks Theo might have been right – we’ve been silly.’
Sam folded his arms in triumph and sat back. ‘Right. So now the question remains: what are you going to do about it?’
I raised an eyebrow.
He drained his coffee and continued, ‘Okay. You know I’m here for you, whatever you decide. Actuallyhere, in this freezing outpost!’
I laughed.
‘I think you’ll find that York is not only a pretty important city, but incredibly beautiful and vibrant,’ I said, sounding like a tour guide.
‘Ah, gotcha! You’re defending it! London might lose you yet.’
‘We’ll see. Come on, let’s get back to the house.’
‘I can’t wait.’
Twenty minutes later, we were pulling up on the drive and as I put on the handbrake, I turned and grinned at Sam, who was gazing up at the house in amazement.
