along Fen Drove, as cold as if she’d stood naked in the courtyard for the entirety of the storm.
Knowing she’d burst into tears if she went straight in to Nan she parked at The Cross and stomped round the corner into The Angel to order a large cappuccino and a chocolate brownie. Carola, blonde hair tucked under a fetching cap, gave her an old-fashioned look from behind the counter. ‘Thought you’d be at Posh Nosh,’ she said pointedly. ‘My info is you’re running things up at Carlysle Courtyard.’
‘Your info’s out of date!’ Hannah gritted out as she paid for her order. She waited in silence for the coffee machine to spit and hiss and Carola to add sprinkles to the froth and press a holly leaf shape into it.
‘Not having a good day?’ Carola asked more mildly as she slid cappuccino and brownie onto a tray.
Unable to speak for tears, Hannah shook her head and grabbed the tray, choosing a table in the furthest corner of the room. She’d drunk half the cappuccino when Cassie phoned, voice trembling.
‘That was handled quite dreadfully,’ Cassie said. ‘I can only apologise. You must think Christopher’s an utter pig.’
Hannah swallowed. ‘What I think is best left unsaid.’ But she kept her voice calm, understanding that Cassie was caught in the middle.
‘I hadn’t realised Christopher would go at things like a bull in a china shop,’ Cassie went on. ‘I do apologise. It was nothing personal. Honestly!’ she added, when Hannah made an indignant noise. ‘He was just jubilant that Simeon had finally faced his responsibilities and wanted to clear away all obstacles to returning him to Carlysle Courtyard.’
Hannah managed not to snort that Christopher hadn’t so much cleared away obstacles as galloped roughshod over everyone else’s rights and feelings. Making this call couldn’t have been easy and if Hannah were to have any chance of that second payment it would be through Cassie. She eased her throat with a swig of cappuccino. ‘So where do we go from here?’
Cassie sounded grateful for the opening. ‘I’d like to take you up on your offer. I’ll pay the second one thousand pounds into your account and you do a proper handover to Simeon.’ Then, in a small voice, ‘Please.’
‘OK,’ Hannah agreed heavily. All her beautiful plans and hard work were to be handed over to someone else and her fun, glittery opening would go ahead without her. ‘Can Simeon meet me this afternoon? I need to go home, get Nan a meal and put stuff together.’
They agreed on two-thirty and after Hannah ended the call she emitted a loud, ‘Bleurgh.’
Carola looked startled. Then she turned to the coffee machine. Hannah, slumped dismally on one elbow, suddenly saw a fresh, steaming cappuccino slide onto her table. She looked up.
‘You let the last one get cold,’ Carola whispered. ‘But if you tell them at Posh Nosh I give away free cappuccinos I’ll deny it.’
Half-laughing, Hannah thanked the older woman by clasping her hand, ashamed she’d stalked in here in a snit. ‘I’ll carry the secret to my grave.’ It was one more example of the kindness of the villagers.
Once she’d drained the second cappuccino she trudged off back to Nan’s and let herself into the warm, worn kitchen. There she discovered her grandmother playing snap with Josie – quietly, because Maria was asleep in her buggy.
‘Snap!’ whispered Josie, slapping down a two of spades on a two of hearts. ‘Hey, Hannah!’ She jumped up and gave Hannah a hug.
Holding the warm little body in her arms, Hannah thought how nice hugs were when you felt like crap. ‘Hello, Josie. Have you come to play with Nan?’
Josie slid back onto her chair. ‘Daddy brought us. He needs to take a ’portant phone call.’
Nan’s magnified eyes fixed on Hannah. ‘Nico has something to sort out.’ Her tone suggested she knew more but couldn’t air it in front of the children.
‘Right.’ Hannah nodded. ‘I’ll make sandwiches for lunch soon.’ Intending to go up to her room first, she opened the door into the dining room, which led, cottage style, to the sitting room, and then the stairs. She was in the sitting room before she spotted Nico in one of Nan’s beige armchairs, his phone beside him.
Her heart jumped and she jumped with it. ‘Sorry! I didn’t know you were in here. Josie said you were on the phone but I assumed you’d gone home for the call.’
The small twitch at the corner of his mouth might have been a smile