Page 74 of The Village of Lost and Found

He didn’t seem keen to follow any kind of instructions until Lucy reached into the pocket of her shorts and brought out one of the leftover dog treats from earlier on. He then immediately dropped the cloth and headed over to her, as good as gold.

Lucy quickly unravelled the crumpled material and realised, to her amazement, that it was a fleece blanket. She carefully rolled it up and was just about to take it back into Tom’s office when she realised that he was at the doorway watching her.

‘Sometimes I work in here so late that I fall asleep here,’ he said.

‘Why?’ she asked. ‘When your home is literally across the river.’

He hesitated, a bleak look in his eyes as she headed over to stand in front of him.

‘How about that drink?’ she said, softly, handing over the blanket.

He nodded, seemingly unable to speak.

So they locked up the office and walked across the narrow pedestrian bridge in silence to The Black Swan pub.

‘Hiya,’ said Belle, who was standing behind the bar as they walked into the dark interior. ‘What can I get you?’

‘Diet Coke for me,’ said Tom. ‘And whatever Lucy wants.’

‘Thanks,’ said Lucy, in surprise at his order. ‘I’ll have a glass of Pimms please.’

‘And him?’ asked Belle, peering over the bar to look down at Keith.

He immediately thumped his tail.

‘A bowl of water if you’ve got one,’ said Lucy.

‘Go on then,’ said Belle, rolling her eyes. ‘I’ll bring them out to you.’

So they headed outside into the beer garden and sat down at a table. Back in the warmth of the late-afternoon sunshine, Keith stretched out on the grass and watched the dragonflies on the river flit from one riverbank to the other.

‘Just a Diet Coke?’ asked Lucy.

‘I’m on a health kick,’ said Tom. ‘I’m having a dry month and I’ve started jogging in the mornings, if you want to join me.’

She shuddered. ‘I only run when strictly necessary,’ she told him. ‘Although if I keep up with all those pastries and cakes from the shop, I may have to join you. I’m ninety per cent lemon drizzle cake at this point.’

That at least raised a small smile from Tom. She was surprised that Tom was not drinking and wondered whether her questioning him a few days previously had hit home and then felt guilty.

They were temporarily interrupted as Belle brought their drinks out to the table and then placed a bowl of water next to Keith, who immediately began to slurp noisily.

‘Thanks,’ said Lucy. She waited until Belle had left them before speaking again. ‘I hope I didn’t step over the line about, you know, your drinking.’

Tom shook his head. ‘Don’t worry. I needed a kick up the backside. I don’t want to end up like my old man.’

‘Your dad drank?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘Like a fish. So Mum brought me up by herself whilst he went out enjoying himself.’

‘That must have been hard on your mum,’ said Lucy.

‘It was. But she was pretty tough luckily,’ replied Tom. ‘What about your parents?’

‘I don’t know,’ said Lucy, suddenly feeling glum. ‘They’re so bright and ambitious and I’ve never felt like that. The only thing I’ve achieved in their eyes is being their daughter. In every other way I’m a failure.’

Tom studied her. ‘Surely not?’

Lucy shrugged her shoulders. ‘I never seemed to fit in anywhere. Boarding school was too fancy. I wasn’t intelligent enough for university. I tried a few different jobs in their company but always managed to muck up something somewhere. So I think they thought if they found me a suitable bachelor then perhaps I could at least marry well.’ She gave a grim laugh. ‘Look how well that turned out. I think really that I was just very lonely. I just didn’t realise how much until I came here this summer.’