their investigations, but I can’t. I was home alone - only the television and a Friday night bottle of wine to keep me company, I’m afraid. Friday is the start of the weekend, before you ask, Leo. So wine is permitted.’
Leo resisted the temptation to ask why Tuesday was being excluded from the alcohol rules, but further conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Fiona’s phone.
Glancing at the screen, Fiona said, ‘I’m sorry, but I do need to take this.’ She pressed to accept the call.
‘Hello there,’ she said in a silky voice. ‘I’m so sorry, but it’s not convenient to chat right now. I’m having lunch with a friend.’
There was a pause.
‘No, I can’t I’m afraid - this week isn’t entirely suitable. Charles is staying in Cheshire for the week. Perhaps next week? I’m sorry. I do know that this,’ she glanced across at Leo, ‘isn’t exactly how we had expected things to progress, but it can’t be helped.’ She paused again, and the silky smooth tones hardened slightly. ‘Well, unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about it, so perhaps you can hang on until you hear from me.’ She hung up. ‘Sorry, Leo. Only a friend wanting to get together. It will have to wait.’
Leo didn’t think that fitted with Fiona’s earlier attitude to Charles’ unwelcome stay in Cheshire, but decided to keep quiet. An interesting tone of voice, too.
She steered the conversation towards innocuous topics, and while they waited for the coffee they talked about Ellie and Max’s restoration of Willow Farm, and inevitably chatted about Pat, Georgia and Mimi. It wasn’t until the coffee had been served that they got back to the subject of Fiona.
‘You know, I don’t think you ever said what made you decide to return to Little Melham,’ Leo said. ‘I know you’ve been back for a few years now - but why here when there are so many other places in the country that you could choose to go?’
Fiona absently stirred her coffee while she appeared to be thinking of a suitable response.
‘You and I are quite similar you know, Leo. I know you don’t think so, but we both have things to prove - to ourselves if to nobody else. You probably remember that I came from what was always considered to be the rough end of the village. My father was a layabout, and my mother was a cleaner, for God’s sake. Everybody looked down on us, and so I wanted to come right back here and show them. Prove that I could move up in the world. I didn’t want them remembering me as the girl who had nothing.’
Fiona took a careful sip of her hot coffee, but Leo could see a layer of pain beneath the composure. Fiona was holding her head high, but was gently stroking one arm with her other hand, as if offering herself comfort.
‘It’s a shame you felt like that,’ Leo said. ‘I’m sure that Ellie never thought of you as anything but her friend - and being a cleaner is a good, honest job. Where would we be without them? I don’t think you had anything to prove at all.’
Fiona put her coffee cup back in its saucer with infinite care, avoiding Leo’s eyes.
‘It’s easy for you to say, Leo, but I left Little Melham under a cloud of suspicion with a young heart that was broken in pieces. I wanted to come back in style.’
Leo leaned forward towards Fiona.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to upset you.’
‘You haven’t, but you have a way of wheedling things out of people, Leo, and it’s not a very attractive trait.’
A raw nerve had been struck, but Leo had more sense than to try to probe any further. She tried to remember what Ellie had said to her on Saturday night - that there were things about Fiona that she couldn’t divulge. And although Leo remembered that Fiona had left the village, it was only yesterday that it was suggested that this was under something of a cloud. But as a topic, it was clearly closed.
‘What I’d really like,’ Fiona said, ‘is another cup of coffee, and a change of subject.’
Leo turned round to look for the waitress.
‘Huh? I don’t bloody believe it,’ Fiona muttered, as a shadow was cast over their table.
Leo turned back.
‘Hello, ladies. Mind if I join you for coffee?’
‘Yes I do,’ said Fiona. ‘What are you doing here? Are you checking up on me?’
As always, Charles seemed impervious to Fiona’s rudeness, and