‘I’d love a tea. Have you got anything herbal?’
‘Mint? Rooibos?’
‘Either of those would be great.’
‘Take a seat, I’ll be back in a sec.’ In the kitchen, I make us both a cup of rooibos, using the same teabag for both mugs as it’s the last one and we have no mint tea either. I really must go shopping.
Returning to the living room, I see Graham sitting in my favourite spot on the sofa. ‘Here you go ...’ I set his mug on the coffee table and take mine over to the dining table, where I sit on the chair furthest away. I don’t want us to be having an intimate chat on our own. I’m sure there’s nothing untoward going on here, but if Elizabeth is already having suspicions about Graham’s feelings towards me, then I don’t want to risk any awkward situations.
Graham picks up his mug, blows on his tea and puts it down again. He’s still wearing his coat, and the seat where I was curled up moments ago is now damp with rainwater.
‘Everything okay?’ I ask.
‘Oh, you know, the usual. We’ve got an Ofsted inspection coming up at school so it’s absolute mayhem. The teachers are frazzled, the children are hyped up with Christmas around the corner.’ He smiles to offset his mini rant.
‘Sounds stressful,’ I reply. ‘But I’m sure you’ll pull it off.’
‘I hope so.’ He shifts in his seat. ‘How about you? Work good?’
‘Not bad,’ I reply. ‘Busy, but I like it that way.’
‘Good, good.’ He clears his throat. ‘I wanted to say that I’m sorry about the dinner last week. At the Manor House. I know it wasn’t your fault that Seth didn’t show up.’
I take offence at his use of the phrase ‘didn’t show up’. But I don’t have the energy to pull him up on it. ‘Seth was so sorry to have missed it,’ I reply. ‘But you really didn’t have to come over in this awful weather to apologise. It’s all water under the bridge.’
‘Lizzie and I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.’
‘It’s forgotten,’ I say, anxious to get this conversation over with.
He picks up my paperback that’s lying on the sofa. ‘Any good?’ he asks, turning it over and looking at the back cover.
‘Well I’m on book five in the series, so yes.’ I smile. ‘I can lend you book one if you like?’
‘That would be great.’
I reach behind me to the bookshelf and pull out two paperbacks. ‘Here are the first two. They’re pretty addictive.’
‘Excellent, thanks.’ He picks up his tea and blows on it again, takes a tentative sip and sets it down.
This is painful; I need him to get to the point. ‘So, any other reason you wanted to come over tonight? Or was it just to say sorry?’
Twin spots of colour appear on his cheeks and he rubs at his upper arms. ‘Well, there is another reason ...’
Here we go.
‘I hope you don’t mind me asking, but ... are you sure you want to marry Seth? It’s just ... I’m not sure he’s good enough for you, Alice.’
I shouldn’t be surprised at his question after my conversation with Laurence at the weekend, but it’s still a bit of a shock. And it’s also quite rude. ‘Well, I wouldn’t have said yes if I wasn’t sure,’ I reply. My words come out more snappishly than I’d intended, but, honestly, what does he expect?
The colour in his cheeks deepens further.
‘Please tell me this isn’t what you and Elizabeth were arguing about the other night.’
‘She thinks I’m being paranoid about him.’
‘Well, maybe she has a point. I mean, you haven’t even met Seth, so how can you be passing judgements on him already?’
‘Exactly!’ Graham says, waggling his finger at me. ‘You’ve been going out with him for months, you’re getting married, for goodness’ sake, and none of us has met him. Doesn’t that tell you something?’
