Annabel came up to them holding two glasses of red wine. ‘Unbelievable prices!’ she said. ‘Are you sure those two wouldn’t like to relocate somewhere nearer London?’ She gestured towards the publicans, perched together on bar stools, engrossed in a quiz show on the small television set high above the bar.
‘Len and Joyce come with the pub,’ Emma replied, grinning. ‘It’s been a package deal for, oh, at least half a century or more. I’m Emma. You must be Grace’s sister – I think I remember you.’
‘Emma and Carl joined in the search party last year,’ Grace reminded her sister. ‘They live next door to me. Emma and Adam worked together hay-baling in the summer Adam lived here.’
‘That we did – we had a right laugh,’ Emma said. She flicked her head towards their table. ‘Come and sit with us.’ She led the way over to her husband.
‘Now then,’ Carl greeted them as they sat down. ‘It’s good to see you back, Grace.’ He shook Annabel’s hand.
‘How’s your little one?’ Emma asked kindly, gesturing to the pushchair.
‘She’s fine,’ Grace replied. Her memory jogged again. ‘Weren’t you …’
‘Pregnant!’ Emma finished for her. ‘Sure was – size of a house when you saw me last. She’s nearly one now – how wonderful she’ll have a little playmate next door.’
Grace winced, wondering whether to explain that her plans were not long term, but instead she asked, ‘And how’s she doing?’
‘The baby’s grand!’ Carl cut in good-naturedly. ‘It’s the teenager that’s the trouble.’ Close up, Carl might have been Emma’s twin – ruddy cheeks that matched his solid frame, wholesome without looking fat.
Emma gave her husband a nudge with her elbow. ‘Give over, that’s your free babysitter you’re talking about.’
‘True, true,’ Carl agreed, taking a sip of his pint. He looked at Annabel as he set his glass down. ‘So are you here for a visit?’
‘Yes, just for the weekend,’ Annabel replied. ‘Then back next week for Christmas. Grace is keeping me busy – we’ve been lugging boxes down from the attic all afternoon.’
‘I’m having a clear-out,’ Grace explained. ‘And doing some redecorating.’
Carl laughed. ‘Trying to bring Hawthorn Cottage into the twenty-first century, eh? Good on you. We’ll have to take a gander when you’ve finished – we could do with updating our place, too, though where we’ll find the money for that I’ve no idea. Bit of a drag doing it in winter, though – you’d be better leaving it till the summer, the whole area is glorious then. This time of year, the weather’ll be closing in here soon. I’m surprised it hasn’t snowed already – we’re in for a white Christmas, so I’m told.’
Grace hoped her grimace would pass for a smile. Why did everyone here seem obsessed with the snow? She was increasingly tempted to point out that she did know about snow – it fell in the south too, and people still managed to get things done. She contemplated keeping her life on hold for another six months while she waited for a summer that, in England, might never arrive, and knew that she couldn’t do it. But Emma saved her from having to explain. ‘Leave Grace alone, Carl. That’s her business.’ She turned to Annabel. ‘And so where do you live, Annabel?’
Grace listened with a deep pang of longing as her sister launched into an enthusiastic spiel about London. It was all there for her if she wanted it: the busyness, the bright lights, the never-ending movement of it all that wouldn’t be halted for any reason, great or small. Where only a short tube ride separated the huge global department stores that Annabel lived in and the tiny hidden markets that Grace adored. Where she could meet her friends at restaurants down cobbled lanes that served exotic dishes for next to nothing. She and Adam had been ice-skating at Hyde Park a couple of years ago, their arms around each other as some people whizzed past and others grabbed onto them laughing as they struggled for balance. In London you were whipped into the cacophony of the city – and how vibrant and alive that could make you feel. Here, you had no choice but to stop and let the tranquillity enfold you. Perhaps she should go back to the south. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so different after all. She and Millie might fit right in as though they had never been anywhere else. But, she reminded herself, London could also be a cruel place with little patience, and if she tried to throw herself back into her old hurly-burly life for the wrong reasons, the city would not show her much mercy. Besides, there was unfinished business here, and she needed to deal with it before she could move on.
‘Are you ready for Christmas, Grace?’ she heard Emma asking.