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‘Go on, I promise I won’t try to convert you.’
He grinned and sat down. For a moment, they both gazed at the window. St Winifred wore a gown of rich dark blue, with a saffron-coloured cloak, her drapes luxuriously folded around. On her head of tightly curled golden curls was a crimson and pink halo. She was magnificent.
‘I take it you’re not a believer?’ Verity asked.
‘I’m not sure what I am. I’m not sure what I believe. Not anymore.’
She shrugged. ‘Join the club.’
‘But you can’t have doubts. Not in your job.’
‘I have doubts every day. One reason I talk to Winnie here. Wouldn’t be human if I didn’t have doubts. And this job can get,’ she paused, ‘wearying, sometimes.’
‘You must be busy, especially at this time of year.’
‘Just a little, but it’s a joyful time too. Take the Advent service. Such joy and wonder in seeing the children lead it.’
Jago was silent for a moment. He thought back to the service and to the innocent childish voices. ‘I have to confess I’m a little uneasy at Merryn attending a church school.’
‘That’s understandable. It’s not for everyone. Before I joined the church I was a teacher. Taught in church and non-church schools. Always felt, though, the non-church ones had no shape to the year somehow.’ She smiled kindly. ‘But, as I say, it’s not for everyone.’
‘When we moved here, we thought Merryn going to the local school would give her a chance to make friends in the town.’
‘And it’s a feeder school to the grammar of course.’ Verity’s eyes twinkled.
Jago had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘We’ve come from London. It’s a battle to get into a decent school there, unless you can pay.’
‘Whereas in this part of Dorset all the schools are pretty good. The grammar school is excellent and very academic. Merryn strikes me as a clever girl. It should suit her. And you’re quite right, she’ll have a cohort of friends from primary to go up with. How are you finding the move?’ Verity put an elbow on the back of the pew and stared at him intently. ‘Big change.’
‘You’re right, it’s very different. I work for myself and can work anywhere, so that’s not been an issue. Merryn has taken to it with enthusiasm. She seems to have settled into school, has made a friend and loves her new teacher. Mum has joined the Knit and Natter group and is knitting again. It seems to be taking up a lot of her time already.’ Jago stared at St Winifred’s feet. The artist had given her open-toed sandals and the detailed shading on her feet was exquisite.
‘But?’
He looked across at Verity. ‘Did I say there was a but?’
‘No. I heard one though.’
‘I suppose we’ve all been so frantically busy with the move, that now the boxes are unpacked and the admin is done, I wonder if the reality will hit us.’ Jago wasn’t sure what was keeping him here, in this chilly church, talking to a woman he didn’t know, who was also avicar. He’d never talked to a vicar before in his life. He wasn’t sure he’d talked to anyone quite like this before.
‘How did you decide on Lullbury Bay?’
‘We stuck a pin in the map.’
Verity laughed. ‘No! Really? That’s marvellous.’
‘Well, it wasn’t quite like that.’ Jago smiled. ‘We looked at somewhere with a direct train to London. And Mum and Dad’s families come from Cornwall so Mum wanted somewhere fairly close to Fowey to travel back there if she needed to. But we did actually stick a pin in a map, only we kept sticking it in until it landed on somewhere we thought we could live,’ he admitted.
‘And what about your father?’
‘He died.’ It was still hard to say the words.
‘Oh, Jago, I’m so sorry.’
Verity must have said the same phrase over and over in her professional life. Her sympathy, easy and quick but sincere, should have irritated, but it didn’t.
He swallowed. ‘Thank you. It happened at this time of year. Last December.’
‘My, youhavebeen through a lot. Bereavement. A change in location and a big change in lifestyle. I’m not surprised you feel unsettled, unsure.’
