Page 57
“Oh, shall I come?”
Lucie glanced at Frances, who met her gaze with a knowing glance.
“No need. Lucie’s here; she’s going to stay with you until I get back.”
Rose clambered to her feet. “But the hall. I need to be at meetings.”
Noticing a slight wobble in Rose’s voice, Lucie stepped in and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
“I’d love to hear all about the hall, Rose. Can you tell me what it was like when you first came here?”
“Oh, I have lots of stories,” Rose said, brightening instantly.
Lucie guided her gently back into her chair. Over Rose’s shoulder, she caught Frances gathering her laptop bag and mouthing thank you as relief flickered across her face.
In that moment, it reminded her of the times when her gran had got caught between past and present, the effort it took Lucie to hold everything together. Was she really ready to do this again?
She took a seat on the sofa as the sitting room door quietly closed behind Frances, and then she turned to Rose.
“Are you sure you want to hear them?” Rose asked.
“Yes, of course. I’m fascinated to learn more about the hall,” Lucie assured her, leaning forward with genuine interest. If she picked up anything more about Frances along the way, that would be a bonus. “What was it like when you moved here?”
“There was only my mother-in-law living here then, as my father-in-law had just died. She wasn’t quite ready for the modern world to be moving in with her,” Rose said with a light chuckle. “Edward and I would dance to the Beatles. Much of what we did got frowned upon back then. The old and the new often clashed.”
Lucie’s mouth twitched. “I can imagine.”
Rose’s expression turned more serious, making Lucie edge forward.
“I felt a bit sorry for her, losing her husband and her eldest son being in another country with no intention of returning. She didn’t like that the hall was put into a trust.”
“That must have been a very difficult time for everyone.”
Rose didn’t respond immediately. Her gaze drifted, as if she’d slipped somewhere else. “I can’t remember the last time I saw him. Frances could tell you.” She looked around, frowning, as though just noticing Frances had gone.
Realising she needed another distraction, Lucie asked, “Are you hungry, Rose? Shall we have some lunch?”
“Oh yes. My gardening programme is about to start. I like to watch it while I’m eating.”
Lucie collected her lunchbox from the hall, then found Rose’s plate in the fridge. She took them over, finding her stabbing at the remote and the television off.
“It’s stopped working,” Rose groaned.
“It’s okay. I’ll fix it. Perhaps you knocked the wrong button, that’s all.”
Rose passed it, a little shake in her hand.
“Frances has covered most of the buttons with tape, but it doesn’t help.”
“Remote controls are fiddly and confusing,” Lucie said, trying to reassure her. As she pointed the remote at the television, she spotted a VHS player below it.
“Rose, I found some old tapes earlier today of some old musicals that my gran and I used to watch together. Would you like me to bring them next time? We could watch one. My Fair Lady was amongst them.”
“Yes. I’d like that. It’s my favourite.” She pointed to the photograph of herself dressed as Eliza.
“You really look the part.”
Rose shook her head. “That’s from an audition. I never got to play her.” Her forehead creased. “Are you an actor?”
