‘Mrs Jenkins, do you need me?’
‘No. I’m here for the festival, but as your interview was in the diary, I thought I’d come for moral support.’
‘Right, OK . . . thank you.’ Henry didn’t know if he found casual Mrs Jenkins more unnerving than formal Mrs Jenkins. He was thrown by her appearance, as much as he was thrown by the realisation he wouldn’t be able to speak to Ava alone, not even for a moment, before the interview.
Gathering his faculties, he looked at Ava. ‘It’s good to see you.’ He moved closer, wondering if he should shake her hand or kiss her cheek. She put out her hand and he felt a swell of disappointment in his chest at the sight. But as she took his hand in hers, he noticed she held on to it a little longer than was necessary. He met her eyes and smiled.It’s there, the spark. She feels it too.Granger broke the moment by pushing his way between them and greeting Ava like an old friend. She knelt to stroke him and the dog lapped up the attention as she took a biscuit from her pocket and gave it to him.
‘As if I’d forget a second time.’
Henry couldn’t help but smile. With all Ava must have on her mind, she had thought about Granger.Or maybe the twenty other dogs here, today.He pushed the negative voice from his mind.
As Ava stood, she looked at Henry. ‘It turns out Mrs Jenkins fosters cats. Mary knew her straight away when she saw her at Dapplebury House. She’s looked after cats and kittens brought into the charity — Mary’s dropped strays off to her cottage many times. Being a wildlife rescue, we can’t keep them, but people like Glinda kindly take them in for local charities who can — offering them a safe place to stay until they can be rehomed. It’s much less stressful than spending time in a cattery.’
‘Really?’ Henry looked at Mrs Jenkins and congratulated himself on not saying he could imagine her with a clowder of black cats.
‘Did I never mention?’ Glinda asked, pushing her glasses up her nose.
Henry thought for a moment. Had she ever mentioned? Perhaps she had, but he couldn’t be sure, not when he’d convinced himself she lurked in Dapplebury House, appearing as an apparition at the start of each day. ‘I don’t think so. I’m sure I would have remembered.’
‘I’m really sorry we’ve got to go.’ Ava directed Henry towards the centre stage, moving him away from Mrs Jenkins.
‘The woman is a mystery. She’s quite like a cat come to think of it. Aloof when she wants to be, creeping up on me silently.’
‘Stop it! She’ll hear you.’ Ava laughed.
‘I bet you feel more relaxed about this interview now though, don’t you?’ Henry smiled.
‘I do, thank you.’
As she turned towards him, Henry looked at her smile and knew he must tell her. ‘Ava.’ He reached up, but she got the wrong idea and stopped his hand, holding it in hers.
‘Henry, not now. I can’t do this now,’ she whispered.
‘But—’
Ignoring Henry’s protestations, Ava turned to the presenter from the radio who’d readied herself to do their live interview. She made the introductions, and Henry wondered how he could tell her what he wanted to say without embarrassing her.
The bubbly presenter in her mid-forties wore too much lipstick but had a bright smile and a jolly demeanour. She put out her hand.
‘You must be Lord Bramlington. It is a pleasure to meet you.’ Henry smiled and shook her hand.
‘And Ava you—’
As Ava offered the woman a broad smile, the presenter stopped. ‘Good grief. I know it’s radio but as there’ll be press pictures too, you might want to remove whatever that is from your teeth.’
Ava’s cheeks burned red, and Henry wished he’d been able to tell her.
She put her hand over her mouth and ran around behind the DJ, who was waiting for DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime” to finish so that he could make way for the radio interview. When she reappeared, she could barely make eye contact with Henry. He hoped her moment of awkwardness wouldn’t stop her from focusing on the interview. While he’d his own announcement to make about opening up Dapplebury House, he wanted the main focus to be Ava and the future of the charity.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ava felt heat blaze in her cheeks. She had managed so well to keep a cool, calm façade when Henry had approached. Having Mrs Jenkins and Granger there had enabled her to take time to calm her pulse. She couldn’t believe how well it had been going until she had mortified herself by grinning with a lump of rib meat stuck in her teeth.What a fool!Now her mind was flustered and her cheeks were burning. As the presenter began speaking, Ava realised that was what Henry had tried to tell her when she thought he was going to say something more personal.Not now, Henry. I can’t.Her words echoed through her mind. She ventured a look at him. His sympathetic smile made her feel worse.
The presenter spoke about Dapplebury’s first festival and the significant changes afoot for the village. A small audience had gathered as passers-by stopped to listen, and the school choir who were up next had begun to assemble. It was clear the woman was a little taken with Henry as she flicked her hair and flashed her smile at every opportunity. Ava blew out a breath. She had to focus. She had points she wanted to make and she had learned from radio interviews she’d done before about the charity, the time always went too quickly and left you playing a reel through your mind of all the things you wished you had said.
As the woman praised the family-friendly, fun atmosphere, it was Henry who directed her to speak to Ava.
‘And for that we have to thank Ava Flynn, the head of All Critters Great and Small, a locally based charity that has served the community and the surrounding area for many years.’
