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‘What did you do? All your plans for the summer were shattered.’
‘I was a bit of a wuss about it. I mean, I could have travelled around Europe on my own, but it didn’t sound much fun. I went home to Worcester and licked my wounds while being looked after by Mum and Dad. Oh, and being laughed at by my big sis who had just got engaged.’
‘Sisters, eh?’
‘Yeah. When you’re female and have a sister it’s as much about rivalry as it is about love. Blythe was concerned for me, but she couldn’t resist sticking the knife in.’
‘What happened next?’
Honor shrugged. ‘I went back to teaching at the school in the village. I wasn’t as happy there any more though. Gino had got what he wanted, he was insisting we could have a long-distance relationship, but I felt all, oh I don’t know, that everything had been thrown up in the air and shattered. I began looking round for jobs somewhereIreally wanted to live and ended up at St Winifred’s.’
‘What happened between you and Gino?’
‘We actually kept it going for about five years. In a weird way our jobs suited us having a long-term relationship. We had good chunks of time free at Easter and in the summer of course. For a while I enjoyed breaks in Florence. I mean, it’s no hardship having to spend time in that city. It left the term time for us to concentrate on teaching.’
‘But?’
‘But as I became involved in community life here in Lullbury Bay and my workload increased it started becoming more and more difficult to make time to fly to Italy.’
‘Didn’t Gino ever come to Dorset?’
‘Once or twice, but he always said his heart lay in Italy. And, one Easter, I found out it really was.’ She sipped her wine, thinking back to that awful day.
‘Go on,’ he prompted gently.
‘Do you really want me to? All this doesn’t paint me in a very good light. I mean, what strong independent woman sits around waiting for her boyfriend to make up his mind about her. I should have kicked him into touch years before.’
‘But you didn’t.’
‘No. I suppose part of me hoped there would be some kind of resolution. That I’d decide to live in Italy, or Gino would come back to the UK. Then I got promoted to deputy head and the workload quadrupled and I was quite thankful for the status quo. I threw myself into the job and holidays in Florence. And then, one Easter, I was putting some washing away in Gino’s apartment and came across a pair of underpants. All I can say is they weren’t M&S white cotton ones and they most definitely weren’t mine. When I confronted him, he admitted he’d been seeing another staff member at the school, someone from the office. I suppose it was inevitable in a way. We’d been spending so much time apart. It certainly forced me to take action. Action I should have taken years before. The problem was I still had five days before my flight back and I couldn’t afford to rearrange it.’
Jago winced. ‘My poor love. What did you do?’
‘Slept on the couch. Spent the days walking around. Trust me, I have no desire ever to return to Florence. I spent a lot of time in San Miniato al Monte. It’s the church just up from Piazza Michelangelo. I’d sit and listen to the Gregorian chants. There’s a cemetery behind it. A real Italian affair, with huge great family mausoleums. I wandered around there and cried a lot. Read the loving epitaphs and wondered why Gino didn’t love me like that.’
‘Oh, Honor!’
‘I know. It was a bit grim. Have to confess to wallowing in all the misery, but I did a lot of thinking too. Decided I’d be more careful in the future about who I gave my heart to and they’d bloody well be deserving of it. Found my inner backbone, attached it to my self-respect and got on with it. Came home, threw myself into the job and that’s been my life ever since.’
‘But you didn’t meet anyone else?’
She shook her head. ‘I don’t think I really wanted to. Not for a long time. Besides, it’s not always easy to meet people here. The town’s full of tourists in the summer who go home eventually and in the winter the population is on the older side.’ She punched him softly on the arm. ‘And then you blew into town.’
‘I did.’ He smiled. ‘And you thought I was married.’
Honor put her empty glass down and hid her face in her hands. ‘Don’t remind me. What an idiot. Blame it on end-of-term brain fog. It’s been an incredibly stressful couple of years in teaching and the autumn term’s always knackering.’ She lifted her head to gaze at him. ‘But, honestly, how could I have made such a mistake!’
‘Hey. You’re human.’ He ran a loving finger down her cheek. ‘And don’t forget we were sparing with the truth.’
She turned her head and kissed his palm. ‘Such a stupid thing to think though. This month’s been hell. I’ve been trying so hard to be cautious with my feelings around men and there you stood, looking drop dead gorgeous and more than a little piratical in that way you have. Not only that but you’re a shockingly good artist and, to make it even less fair, you’re brilliant with kids.’
‘You’d better stop. You’ll make me conceited.’
‘Honestly though, my head was telling me there was no way I could even think about having a relationship with the married parent of a child in my class and I tried hard to listen to it. Trust me, I tried so hard. My heart, though, was beating to an entirely different drum.’
Jago looked confused. ‘Is that a saying?’
‘I doubt it. See what a muddled affect you have on my thinking?’
