‘Emilia, I wondered if you would come and have tea with me? There’s something I’d love to talk to you about. In confidence. Something your father and I had been discussing.’
‘Oh!’ Emilia wondered what it could be. Her father hadn’t ever mentioned talking to Sarah Basildon about anything. Well, not specifically. The Basildons were great customers. They were very good at supporting local businesses in general, and they always bought a lot of books, especially at Christmas. They were very popular in the area. They didn’t think they were better than everyone else because they lived at the Big House. ‘Of course. When would you like me to come?’
‘What about Thursday? About three? That gives me time to nip to the hospital in the morning – I like to go and see her every day.’
Emilia had a quick look at the calendar and the staff rota. There’d be one person in the shop, which was fine at the moment.
‘Of course. That’s perfect.’
Emilia watched Sarah go, intrigued. It would be good to get out of the shop and go to Peasebrook Manor. She’d had enough of uncovering nasty bills today. After this morning’s meeting, she actually felt a bit cross with her father. It was no way to run a business, leaving accounts undealt with. But she was starting to realise Julius hadn’t really seen Nightingale Books as a business, more a way of life.
The question was whether it was to be a way of life for her as well.
Sarah left Nightingale Books with a sense of relief and headed off to the hospital. She had been putting off going in there because of the memories, but she couldn’t spend the rest of her life avoiding the book shop. And she wanted to see how Emilia was. She felt she owed it to Julius, to keep an eye on her. After all, Emilia was on her own, with no mother.
Sarah remembered the day Julius had told her about Rebecca, and the terrible start he’d had to fatherhood.
‘It was an awful shock,’ he admitted. ‘But I was very young. I suppose at the time, I thought Rebecca was the love of my life. Things happened very quickly: her deciding to stay in England, then getting pregnant, so we hadn’t really had time to fall out of love. I don’t know how long we would have lasted in the real world, a young couple with the pressure of a baby. It’s very easy to romanticise it.’
‘You must have been very lonely, after she died.’
Julius gave her a cheeky grin. ‘Oh, don’t worry. There’s nothing women find more attractive than a single man in charge of a baby. I coped.’
Sarah had pretended to be outraged. ‘And there was me thinking I was the first person to melt your frozen heart.’
He looked at her seriously. ‘You’re the first person I’ve really cared about.’
She remembered the woozy sensation of realising how much she meant to him. Though despite his declaration she knew she would only ever come second to Emilia, and rightly so. Sarah had a strong maternal instinct. It was an awkward situation, but she wanted to make it clear to Emilia that she was there if she needed her. That if she ever wanted to talk about her father, or just to come up to the house for supper because she wanted to get out, then Sarah’s door was wide open.
It was the least she could do for her lover.
It was delicate, though. She could tell by the way Emilia greeted her – polite but warm, with definitely no hint of knowing in her eyes – that she had no inkling of their relationship. And she couldn’t just say ‘By the way, your father and I were long-term lovers, so please do consider me your surrogate mum …’
She thought she had found the ideal way for them to start a conversation and possibly develop a relationship. She smiled when she thought of her brainwave: it really was a brilliant idea. She’d spent a lot of time in the car lately, driving backwards and forwards to the hospital, and car journeys were the perfect catalyst for light-bulb moments. And here she was again, driving out onto the Oxford road. She looked at the book on the passenger seat. Goodness knows where the original copy had gone – she’d given it to Alice for her fourteenth birthday – but it might cheer her up.
‘That is the best present ever,’ Alice told her as she took it out of the bag. ‘Thank you. But what I really want you to do is bring me my laptop.’
‘No way,’ Sarah said firmly. ‘You need to rest, Alice. You’ve got enough to deal with just getting better. Everything’s under control. Your dad’s taking charge and being really helpful.’
She didn’t add ‘for once’. Ralph really had stepped up to the plate. Usually no one was quite sure where he was or what he was up to, and unless he was given a really specific task he did his own thing, but he had been magnificent.
Alice giggled. ‘I bet he’s driving everyone mad. But honestly, Mum – the thing is I just lie here and worry. If I’ve got my laptop I can keep up to speed on everything. Otherwise Christmas is going to be a nightmare. It’s all in the planning.’