Paradise Fields (25 page)

Last night, when he'd rung her, she had hinted to Simon that she'd been told something about Jake which needed investigating. But, she was forced to admit, it was so that if he ever wanted to go out with her again, she had an excuse for Simon ready. She sighed. Really, she had fewer morals than Villette.

‘Why the sigh?' asked Jake as he sat down next to her. ‘Are you tired?'

‘A bit. I've been rushing round all day, trying to find people who'll commit to supporting the farmers' market. What have you been doing? Turning green fields into building sites?' She hadn't meant to mention the fields, but nerves had nearly had her saying ‘turning old people onto the street'. At least she hadn't said that.

‘Mm, well, shall we agree not to talk about work?'

‘But what else shall we talk about? We've got nothing else in common.'

He laughed. ‘We've got plenty of other things in common, only you don't want to talk about them.'

Blushing in the darkness, Nel said, ‘No, I don't.'

‘Then I'll look for neutral topics that won't make you blush.'

She looked at him, horrified. How did he know she was blushing? But his eyes were on the road ahead. The reference to blushing must have just been by chance.

‘How are you on opera?' he suggested.

‘I know nothing whatever about opera. You can't just pick something out of the air. Conversation has to come from somewhere.' She paused. ‘Where are you taking me?' If she chose the topic, it would be safer.

‘Somewhere new that's just opened, near Frampton. It sounds really good. I was lucky to get a table on a Friday night.'

‘How lovely.' She took a long, calming breath, being careful to let it out slowly, so he wouldn't hear.

‘The Hunstantons told me about it.'

‘Oh.'

‘Or does that qualify as talking about work?'

‘You don't have to be silly about it.'

‘How are your children? Fleur? She's a very smart girl.'

‘I know. Too smart, maybe. But I'll miss her terribly when she goes travelling, on her gap year. I won't know what to wear without her to ask.'

‘Do you ask her advice a lot, then?'

‘Oh yes. She knows far more than me about most things. And having a daughter is a very useful fashion accessory. They stop you making dreadful mistakes.'

‘Well, she's done a very good job on you tonight. As I said before, you look stunning.'

‘Thank you.' Blushing again, Nel wondered if Fleur would consider giving her a quick course on how to
accept compliments gracefully. Or, better, how to prevent oneself blushing. ‘Do you like opera?' she said, having failed to think of any other neutral topic.

‘I thought you said you knew nothing about it?'

‘But if you do, you can tell me, and save me the trouble of making conversation.'

‘I would hate to put you to any trouble. Let's just sit in silence until we get there. You could shut your eyes and have a little nap.'

‘I expect you need a little nap, after driving all the way down from London. I should have cooked supper for you.'

‘Nel! I wanted to take you out! Now just shut up and enjoy the ride. It's not far.'

To her horror, Nel found she quite liked being bossed about. It was restful.

‘Right, I think it's just off this turning here. Yes, there we are, The Black Hart.'

Nel hadn't actually been asleep, but her thoughts had been wandering a bit. Now she was back to panic mode with a start. It's an omen she thought. Harts are always white! I'm not even sure they come in black! He is a crook! Black Hart must mean black heart. What have I done!

‘I'll just see where we can park without you having to step out into a puddle,' said the crook, sounding suspiciously like a gentleman.

While Jake was looking for a place which pleased him, Nel thought she spotted Simon's car. She was notoriously bad at recognising cars but she was slightly better at number plates. It was definitely Simon's car.

What should she do? Say now? Demand to be taken
somewhere else? No, Jake wanted to be here, he'd had difficulty getting a table, he had already driven hundreds of miles. It wouldn't be fair to make him move, especially when she couldn't think of anywhere else they could go. If she saw him, she would just explain to Simon that they'd had to bring their meeting forward, and tonight was the only available window. Jake was a man who'd have windows; he was busy and came from London. And it may not happen. It looked quite a big pub, upgraded to a restaurant. It may not be necessary to lie at all.

‘It is a bit muddy there,' said Jake, having parked and come round to Nel's side. ‘But it's the best I can do. Would you like me to carry you over the patch?'

‘No! I've spent most of my day on farms. I've coped with far worse than mud!'

‘Not in those shoes, I bet.' He took her arm. ‘But I thought we weren't supposed to be talking about work?'

With him holding her arm, it was going to be hard for Nel to talk about anything. Just as well he let it go the moment they got inside.

Nel spotted Simon while Jake was helping her off with her coat. He was sitting with his back to her at a table for two. His companion was a woman who appeared to Nel to be a little younger than she was.

‘This isn't the coat you were wearing the other night,' Jake commented. ‘It weighs less than half as much.'

As a pretty waitress in jeans, a strappy black top (just like the ones Fleur lived in) and a little white apron was hovering around, Nel couldn't reprove Jake for mentioning ‘the other night'. ‘That was my late husband's,' she said repressively. ‘I got this one from the Oxfam shop last year.'

‘Very nice too,' said Jake, amused. He wasn't appalled, as Nel had half hoped he would be.

‘Would you like to go straight to your table?' asked the girl, who was about Fleur's age. ‘Or to the bar first?'

Jake looked enquiringly at Nel. The bar was beyond where Simon was sitting. If they went to it, they would cross his sight line. ‘I think I should tell you,' she said, ‘that Simon is here. I'd rather go straight to the table.'

‘Fine.' Jake seemed extremely calm and, as they walked to their table, he asked, ‘Did you tell him we were going out tonight?'

‘Sort of.'

‘What do you mean “sort of”?'

‘You're as bad as Fleur! I said there were things to do with the hospice that needed discussing. I didn't say we'd arranged a time or anything.'

‘So if he comes up and threatens to thump me, I'll say we're working.'

‘He won't do that. He's a nice man. He doesn't thump people.'

‘Is he alone?'

‘No. He's with a woman.'

‘Well, do you want to go and thump him?'

Nel laughed. ‘No! I'm no better than he is, for a start, and besides, I don't do jealousy.'

Just as she said it, she remembered her reaction on seeing Jake look at Kerry Anne that time in his office. When Jake and Vivian came into that meeting together. And when Simon told her Jake had taken Kerry Anne out. Perhaps she did do jealousy, after all. But, interestingly, not for Simon.

He held out her chair for her and she sat down. ‘You are a very unusual woman, Nel.'

That was a bit too serious for Nel. She enjoyed Jake's company when he was being silly and a bit confrontational. She didn't think she could handle deep looks, not in public. She picked up her menu. ‘Let's just forget about Simon and enjoy our meal. Wow, this looks fantastic.'

‘Good, I'm starving. I didn't have lunch,' said Jake. ‘Are you hungry?'

Nel wasn't, particularly, she was too nervous, but she said, ‘Come to think of it, I didn't have lunch either. Just a rather large bit of cake at Amanda's. Oh, you won't know her: she's a beef farmer. Sorry, that's work.'

‘Just concentrate on what you want to eat,' said Jake. ‘We can argue about the rules later.'

Nel forgot about Simon being there until he appeared at their table while she was eating her steak, a filet mignon which lived up to its description on the menu as tender, delicious and small enough to eat. She was wondering if she had the nerve to ask who had supplied it.

‘Hello, Nel!' Simon sounded half cross and half guilty. His companion hovered at his shoulder. Definitely younger than me, Nel thought, but no teenage daughter. Her clothes were terrible.

Nel got to her feet, relaxed by two glasses of red wine. ‘Fancy seeing you here! Have you met Jake Demerand? He's the solicitor for the Hunstantons.'

Jake put out a hand, and Simon took it. ‘Yes. Nel wanted a meeting about the fields, and this was the only time available. Running two offices, very time-consuming.'

‘Oh,' said Simon. ‘This is Penny. We're working too. She's looked at several houses and can't decide which one is best for her.'

‘Hello, Penny,' said Nel, wondering why Simon had brought her over when he so obviously felt guilty about it. He could have just slipped out of the restaurant with Penny and, for all he knew, she would have been none the wiser. ‘Buying a house is such a hard decision. Harder than choosing a husband, in some ways.'

‘I wouldn't say that exactly. If you buy the wrong house you can always move,' said Simon. ‘Marriage is for life.'

‘Or until it irretrievably breaks down,' said Nel.

‘I'm surprised to hear you say that, Nel,' said Simon. ‘Nel is a widow,' he said to Penny in a slightly lowered voice.

Nel felt mildly annoyed. She was a widow, but was that the defining thing about her, like being an artist or a teacher? ‘That's not what I do as a profession,' she said. ‘What do you do, Penny, or are you a divorcee, or a young mother, or a grandmother even, although you look far too young for that?'

‘Stained glass,' said Penny, looking as uncomfortable as Simon.

‘Look, why don't you two take a seat?' said Jake. ‘You can have coffee while we finish our meal.'

It was only polite. He more or less had to say it, but Nel fervently hoped Simon would refuse. He didn't.

‘Oh, well, that's very kind,' said Simon. ‘Are you all right to hang on a bit longer, Penny?'

Penny shrugged, and sat in the chair Jake held out for her.

‘So, what sort of house are you looking for?' said Nel, feeling sorry for her.

‘Small, with a garden, south-facing, and a big attic I can work in. Not too far from town.'

Nel laughed. ‘A perfect gem, in other words. Have you seen anything you like?'

‘Yes, but they've all got something wrong with them.'

‘To go back to my husband analogy,' said Nel, who had realised too late that she might have had too much to drink, ‘I think you have to fall in love with a house. Think: this is home! Even if one of the bedrooms is poky, or the kitchen is falling apart.'

‘Is that how you bought your house?' Simon asked, and then went on, ‘Nel's house is a perfect gem. It has four double bedrooms, a sitting room, a dining room and a good-sized kitchen. Oh, and a utility room. And the garden is a very decent size indeed. Big enough for a building plot at the end.'

Nel laughed to hide her annoyance. Even allowing for the fact that Simon was an estate agent, he shouldn't tell complete strangers the intimate secrets of her property. ‘But unfortunately I'm not planning to move. I did fall in love with it, and we're still living together happily.'

‘Sorry, Nel,' said Simon. ‘I forgot what I was doing there for a minute.'

The waitress appeared, looking questioningly at Simon and Penny. ‘We're just having coffee,' Nel said. ‘Does that go for you two?' She had abandoned her steak, and thought she was probably full. But Jake had other ideas.

‘No, we want the pudding menu. Nel needs fattening up.'

‘No, I don't! Quite the opposite! I should just have black coffee.'

‘But you know coffee late at night stops you sleeping,' said Simon.

Oh God, thought Nel, now everyone thinks he knows this first hand. ‘Well, I'll have peppermint tea, then.'

The waitress scribbled.

‘Hang on,' said Jake, ‘I insist on you having a pudding. My mother taught me that only a cad takes a woman out to dinner and doesn't give her pudding.'

‘Really?' Nel was intrigued.

‘No, not really, but it's the kind of thing she would have taught me, if she'd thought of it. I fancy the tiramisu. I know it's terribly retro, but I still like it. What about you, Nel?'

‘Oh well, if you insist, I'll have the pot au chocolat.' And if Simon says if I'm having chocolate I must be due for my period, which is why I've got a spot, I'll deck him. Then she remembered with relief that Simon didn't notice things like that. ‘Are you two going to eat something, or have you had pudding already?'

‘Oh no, thank you. I've had more than enough to eat,' said Penny.

‘And I expect you're worried about which house to buy,' said Nel kindly.

‘I'm sure Nel would go and look at some with you, if you wanted her to,' said Simon.

‘Simon! I am a bit pressed for time at the moment!'

‘But you know you love looking at houses, and would hate Penny to make the wrong decision.'

‘I think Nel probably feels that only Penny can know if she's fallen in love or not,' said Jake. ‘So Nel going with her wouldn't make a difference. It's not as if they are old friends or anything.'

‘That's quite right. Have you got a girlfriend who
could go with you?' Now she was off the hook, Nel felt guilty for not wanting to help.

‘No,' said Simon. ‘That's why I'm asking you.'

‘But Nel really is very busy,' said Jake. ‘That's why we had to meet tonight. All her days are filled. Which reminds me, have we finished our work, Nel?'

Nel didn't know whether to laugh, cry or retreat to the Ladies. ‘I think so. Excuse me, I'll just go and powder my nose.'