to do stuff. Actually, he was the one who gave me your father’s books.’ He looked round. ‘They’re all here somewhere.’
‘It doesn’t feel like a mausoleum,’ she admitted. ‘But even so, why keep it?’
He was rueful. ‘We’d all had fun here with him. And also, there was Ship’s Cat.’
‘What?’
‘He had this massive tabby mouser called Ship’s Cat. Great character but very territorial. So we agreed, all five of the godchildren, that we would share the boat until Ship’s Cat pegged out.’
‘You kept a houseboat for a cat?’
‘Yes. Why?’ He cocked an eyebrow.
‘But houseboats have to be lived in, don’t they? I mean, kept warm and dry and the pipes working and stuff.’
‘Good practical thinking,’ he said approvingly. ‘Absolutely right. Sometimes one of us lives here. Sometimes we have a tenant. At least three books have been written here.’
‘And the cat?’
‘Lived a full and happy life and died a couple of years ago, aged twenty. Actually Chloe was living here then and she took it backwards and forwards to the vet’s for several months. I was surprised, but she stuck to it.’
Chloe. Ah.
‘I saw the photograph in the papers of you with her. Lottie said she didn’t think Chloe looked very sisterly.’ She let the remark hang.
But he didn’t get indignant. Instead, he frowned, looking troubled. ‘I know what she means. Chloe is a bit of a mess, frankly. Starts things and doesn’t finish them. She can get a bit, let’s say, fixated. She ran with a bad crowd for a while when she was younger. I’m certain there were drugs involved. But we don’t say so because she is the niece of my mother’s oldest lady-in-waiting and it would be Bad Form.’
‘But you don’t mind sharing a boat with her?’
‘She behaves herself on board. One of my fellow godchildren is a tough lady soldier who’d scalp her if she didn’t. Anyway, she genuinely loved our godfather. It’s been OK so far, anyway. Which is a relief, because we’d all be sad to sell the old girl. We’ve got used to her. I like it here.’
More than like, she thought, seeing him laze in the armchair with his long legs stretched out before him. You’re basking. You love this place.
It was gorgeous to see him looking so happy.
Suddenly, she knew the answer to the question that had tormented her last night. Lottie was right!
Bella pushed the cushions aside, slipped off the couch and knelt beside him with her arms round him.
‘I love you,’ she said.
11
‘Telling the Parents …’ – Girl About Town
Richard didn’t seem to think it was quite the earth-shattering revelation that Bella did. He was very nice, of course – those beautiful manners again – and he kissed her as if he meant it. But he didn’t leap to his feet and beat his chest in jungle triumph. Nor did he seem very surprised, unlike Bella.
She was about to point this out when the damned timer went off and their supper was ready. Frustrated, she felt they had only had half the conversation. It was like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But Richard didn’t seem to feel like that. Over food, they drifted away from declarations of love. He told her about a security officer he wasn’t keen on, the nightclub he’d been photographed in, the crazy diary of the next few days. Bella told him about Lottie’s idea of turning Neill into a Viking oarsman.
Richard snorted with laughter. ‘I know you said he needed to get out more. But rape and pillage seems to be taking it a bit far.’
‘Neill is not a natural pillager. They won’t corrupt him!’
She told him about her new job. ‘It’s my sort of charity, saving woodland and replacing trees. They want me to reorganise their admin system, which I can do standing on my head. But what they really want me to do is evaluate project proposals, drawing on my experience in the field.’
‘And that’s the bit that has got you excited,’ he said, seeing the glint in her eye.
Remembering the island and all the supplies that Francis was sure they could cope without until the next consignment arrived, Bella’s eyes narrowed to slits of pure venom. ‘Oh, yes. After ten months with the fragrant Francis, I can tell a waffler at fifty paces. They say things like “I’m a big-picture man”, and “I concentrate on objectives, not operational minutiae”. They think it’s a waste of their valuable energy actually to spend any time with the researchers on the ground. Francis