Page 18 of Escape to the Country

‘Yes, but it’s six o’clock in Nairobi and that’s plenty late enough,’ she replied, turning to head back into the room. ‘Come and join us in the drawing room, darling.’

Tom presumed both the ‘darling’ as well as the invitation was for him, so he followed Rose into the first door on the left. It was another large, elegant room painted in soft green, with oak floorboards, comfy-looking sofas and chairs. The large sash windows overlooked the front grounds. There were framed photographs, antique ornaments and candlesticks everywhere. It felt homely, warm and welcoming.

Tom was interested to spot an old record player in a corner with a stack of vinyl LPs next to it. He wondered whom it belonged to. It reminded him of his gran’s little bungalow, where there had always been music playing. He suppressed the pang of hurt that suddenly shot through him.

‘So how long are you planning to be with us?’ asked Rose, heading over to a globe that was on a stand. She lifted the lid and revealed a small drinks cabinet within. ‘Not that there’s any hurry for to you leave.’

‘I’m not sure,’ Tom told her, carefully sitting down on a sofa.

‘Well, we’ve got plenty of room,’ she replied, selecting a bottle of gin. ‘Do come and go as you like. It’s an open-door policy in our home. Especially to my bedroom.’

‘Aunty!’ Sam rolled his eyes. ‘It’s hardly surprising that you went through four husbands.’

‘I’m still hoping for an uneven five,’ she announced, turning to give Tom a wink. ‘And I haven’t had a toy boy since husband number two. The painter.’

‘Yes, and we all remember how well that little adventure turned out,’ drawled Arthur, sitting down next to Tom. ‘It cost me a small fortune to pay the blighter off.’

‘Whatever happened to those nude paintings?’ said Sam with a thoughtful frown.

‘A necessary bonfire,’ said Arthur with a shudder.

They were all so at ease with each other, thought Tom. Despite the generational gap between old and young, they were obviously a really close, loving family. He knew Sam had a younger brother, Will, who was working away in Europe. Sam’s parents were the only ones missing from the happy family set-up. Arthur’s only son and daughter-in-law had been tragically killed when the boys had been young.

A close family was something Tom had never had, apart from his gran. It had been foster homes all the way for him since the age of four. Perhaps that was why he barely trusted anyone. If your own parents didn’t want you, then why would anyone else?

But perhaps he could manage to stay for a few days at Willow Tree Hall. Who knew, maybe the new recording studio might even provide him with some inspiration?

After that, he was certain that he would want to retreat back to his flat in London. He would have had enough of family gatherings by then, no matter how welcoming they were.

They were just a further reminder of everything he had never had in the past and probably never would have.