Freda’s expression was droll as she obediently popped the medication and washed it all down with a mouthful of juice. ‘Do either of your parents suffer with the same affliction?’ she asked Joely. ‘It’s very common amongst us older people.’
Surprised by the question, Joely said, ‘I’m pretty sure my mother’s blood pressure is OK, and my father’s no longer with us.’
Freda immediately looked sad. ‘I’m so sorry to hear that,’ she said. ‘Was it recent?’
‘About eighteen months ago, but we still miss him.’
‘Yes, I’m sure you do. It’s never easy when a loved one passes. Do you have brothers or sisters?’
‘A brother, Jamie. He lives in Dublin with his wife and two children, so we don’t get to see him as often as we’d like.’
‘Dublin?’ She sat with the word or notion of it for some time, before suddenly continuing. ‘That’s a shame, although I’m sure it’s a perfectly nice place. Is he older or younger than you?’
‘Older.’
Freda nodded and fell silent again as though this was information that needed deeper consideration, or perhaps her mind had moved to other things. Whatever, she seemed not to hear when Brenda said,
‘Mrs D is always interested in people’s families, aren’t you, dear?’
When Freda didn’t respond Brenda put a finger to her lips as if to say they wouldn’t go any further with the subject for now. ‘All right, so I’ve got a lovely leek and potato soup going here for your lunch,’ she announced, turning back to the bubbling pot on the Aga. ‘There’s plenty of crusty bread in the box and a nice chunk of local cheddar if you want it. Mrs D isn’t vegan, but she’s very strict about where the dairy products come from. We don’t look much further than North Devon for supplies and always from farms we know treats their livestock well.’
‘You haven’t asked Joely if she’d prefer to have meat,’ Freda pointed out. ‘If you do,’ she said to Joely, ‘I have no objection, but …’
‘No, really, I’m vegetarian,’ Joely assured her. ‘I care about animals too, and the planet.’
Freda smiled. ‘Of course, the planet,’ she echoed and seemed to sink into the timeliness of the reminder. Then suddenly banging her hands on the table, she said, ‘I think we’re going to get along well. I told Brenda we would. Didn’t I say that, Brenda?’
‘It’s exactly what you said,’ Brenda confirmed. ‘Mrs D and Edward carried out a careful search before settling on you,’ she informed Joely. ‘They had to be sure it was the right person or it wasn’t going to work.’
Joely said, ‘Edward?’
‘My nephew,’ Freda explained. ‘He did most of the liaising with my publisher, and when they presented me with a shortlist I had a feeling right away about you. Naturally, I had to read some of your work first, and I’m delighted to say I was most impressed, particularly by the fiction you’ve helped to produce. It wasn’t possible to tell how much of the books were ghosted – my guess is quite a lot – and if I’m right about that it means your talent for capturing your client’s style is exceptional. Not once did I feel a stranger’s presence creeping into the prose, something that always makes me shudder, nor were there excessive amounts of sentiment in the autobiographies. In fact, in my opinion, they were far better served by the kind of subtlety and restraint that I’m certain was your careful hand, because the official authors I’m thinking of are not known for those qualities.’ Her smile was roguish and infectious. ‘So my dear,’ she continued, ‘I say that you have precisely the right sort of skill to undertake a memoir such as mine.’
Pleased by the praise, and even faintly embarrassed, Joely said, ‘I’m glad you think so, and I’m looking forward to starting—’
‘But you’ve already started,’ Freda interrupted in confusion. ‘I take it you read what I left for you yesterday?’
‘Yes, of course,’ Joely assured her, not wanting to think of how this might now go if she hadn’t, ‘and I was left wondering why you need me when you’re writing it so well …’
‘It’s only the beginning. There’s a long way to go, and beginnings are always easy. You are to be my objectivity. I want you to tell me what you thought of those first pages, but not in the way you’ve just tried, using flattery and self-modesty, and not now. I’m tired after my early start this morning so I’m going to lie