Page 68 of Be More Octopus

‘I know. I'll get there. It's just been a shock. I never thought he’d do that.’

Lucy hugged her. ‘I’m sure Nancy will fill you in on the details. Then it might make sense.’

Three hours, and a traffic jam on the M5 later, Ella parked the minibus in the middle of Dashford Grange's courtyard.

Em stood up. 'Thank you so much for a lovely weekend, everyone. I needed that so much.’

She hugged them all one by one.

'We should do this more often,' Freya said.

'I'm not planning on marrying anyone ever again,’ said Em. ‘One of you will have to tie the knot next time.’

Lucy handed Em her suitcase and got off the minibus after her. She looked around the courtyard. 'No sign of Jack.'

'No,’ said Em, looking over at his cottage, which was in darkness with the curtains closed. Another car was parked in his usual spot. ‘He’s gone.’

'Come on, Lucy,' Ella shouted from the driver's seat. 'Lydia and Freya have a train to catch.'

‘I’ll phone you tomorrow,’ said Lucy, jumping back on the bus.

Em waved them off.

She looked sadly at Jack's cottage again. It wouldn't be easy getting used to him not being there.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Em was so tired she slept through the alarm on Monday morning. Not that it mattered on her day off.

There was still no sign of Jack when she got up. She bumped into Nancy in the courtyard.

'Good weekend, Em?'

'Yes, very good, thanks.'

'You look a lot more relaxed. A trip away with friends is a great mood booster, I always find.'

'Did I miss anything?'

'No. It's been very quiet. Saturday's guests were all lovely, and they turned up on time. And Jack had to go to London to see his sister, Kate.'

'Sister?' Em wasn't expecting that.

'She left her husband on Friday. Got on a train to London with her three children and moved into Olivia's. Awful situation - her youngest is only four months old. Jack went to help her until Olivia got back from holiday last night. I think he was glad of an opportunity to see her. Isabella always objected to visiting Kate in Edinburgh so he's not seen her for several years. Are you feeling alright?’

Em must've looked stunned. She didn't know whether to be relieved that Jack hadn't gone back to Isabella or annoyed with him for not revealing what he was actually doing. 'I'm just surprised he didn't mention it.’

'He didn't want you to worry about Isabella hunting him down. He told me not to tell you until you got back.'

So he was trying to be considerate to Em and helpful to his sister, all while Em had been throwing herself at Karl. What a mess. ‘When's he coming back?' Em asked nervously.

'He was supposed to be driving back today, but he texted me this morning to say he's decided to fly to Italy. He needs to do some research for his book. I thought he'd finished writing it, but there's something he wants to check, and he can't do it online.'

At least Jack would be coming back, but she had no idea what she was going to say to him when he did. 'Whereabouts in Italy has he gone?'

'Tuscany. He's stopping with an old friend out there. She's got a villa. But he'll be back in time for the portrait party on Friday.'

She? Em tried to keep her composure. No Isabella to worry about but now there was a mysterious woman friend instead. 'He's never talked about having friends in Italy.'