Page 36 of A Chance in a Million
‘Only because he had chronic toothache.’ Veronica looked up from her plate, that same air of regret all too clear on her face. ‘Otherwise, he just sits about at home.’
‘Not really just sitting about.’ Diana leapt to his defence. ‘He’s published one book and he told me he’s halfway into the next one. He spends most of his time at the computer – when he isn’t running.’
‘Those damn computers.’ Veronica sounded resigned rather than infuriated. ‘It’s all too easy to cut yourself off from real life, real people.’ She looked around the table with an unexpectedly forceful expression on her face. ‘Mind you, God knows that’s what I’ve been doing and I can’t even blame it on a computer. But I tell you this, ifIcan start getting up and about, then so can he. Listen, it’s up to all of us to get him away from his computer and out into the open air and the real world again.’
‘Amen to that.’ Diana was nodding her head equally forcefully. ‘Like you say, if you can do it, so can he. I say we make it our mission this summer to get him to change.’
Her sister was quick to agree. ‘I’m up for it. We all have our problems. Goodness knows I’ve had mine.’ She glanced across at her mother and smiled. ‘Seeing you looking so much brighter has cheered me no end. Just being here today with you is wonderful. A year ago, a few months ago, you wouldn’t have dreamt of it, but now here you are. If you can do it, so can David.’ She held up her glass in front of her. ‘I say we attack him from all sides.’
They all clinked their glasses together in agreement and Veronica looked across the table at Jane. ‘And that includes you, if you feel up to it, Jane. I’m sure your shared experiences will mean he listens to you as much as, or even more than, he listens to any of us. If you can help put a smile back on his face, we’ll be eternally grateful.’
‘I promise I’ll do everything I can.’ Jane contemplated the task ahead and could see the first hurdle all too clearly. Of course, it was the same hurdle she had been facing herself. ‘First things first, we need to get him talking.’
Chapter 20
A few days later she had a surprise visitor. It was David and he came around after lunch with an unexpected invitation.
‘Hi, Jane. I need a decent walk and I was thinking about climbing over the hill behind us to see if the hot spring in the next valley’s still going. I haven’t been up there since I was a boy but I just feel like taking a look. If you’re interested, I thought you might like to come along too. The scenery’s great.’
Jane was genuinely taken aback. Not only was he sounding more communicative, he was actually asking for her company. She wondered what might have brought about this thawing in his attitude. Did it have something to do with the pact they had all sworn around the lunch table at the spa? Had the others been at him?
‘That sounds lovely. Thank you so much. I’ll just have to check with your mum to see if she needs me here, but that sounds great. What about Diana or Beatrice? Are they coming too?’
He shook his shaggy head. ‘No, they’ve both gone off to Mantua to see your boyfriend.’
In spite of herself, Jane felt her cheeks flush. ‘Paolo’s not my boyfriend. I don’t have a boyfriend.’ For some reason she felt it was important that David knew this.
‘Ah… right.’
Jane hurried across to the villa to ask if Veronica could do without her for a few hours. When she told her employer what she was thinking of doing – and with whom – she saw her face light up.
‘I’m so pleased.’ She gave Jane a wink and lowered her voice. ‘I bet Diana or Beatrice put him up to it. They’ve been bullying him constantly for the past few days.’
‘So why didn’t they get him to go out with them today?’
Veronica shot her a sceptical look. ‘To a costume museum? Really? Even when he was his old self you wouldn’t have caught him dead in a place like that. No, it’s like you said, we really need to get him talking and we all agree you might just be the one to get through to him.’ Her smile faded. ‘It’s been three years, Jane. He can’t go on like this forever. He’s still a young man. He needs to come out of his shell and start living again. What happened, happened. It’s time he got over it. Besides, talking might just be good for you, too.’
As a result, Jane was feeling quite a weight of responsibility on her shoulders ten minutes later when she picked up her little backpack and went across to his house to meet up with David. They chatted a bit as they walked, but she made no attempt to draw him on anything intimate. If this invitation really was a sign of thawing, then the first move would have to come from him. And just what had his mother meant when she had said ‘what happened, happened’?
A gate in the fence indicated the edge of the estate and she turned towards him. ‘Which way now?’
He pointed towards a narrow path that disappeared upwards into the trees.
‘A fairly tough climb, I’m afraid. But at least we’re doing it on a sunny day and only carrying a few pounds on our backs. Imagine doing it in the winter snow, with full pack, rations and ammunition.’
This was another surprise. This was the first time he had mentioned the army to her and she did her best to keep the conversation going. ‘Reminds me of my basic training in the Brecon Beacons.’ She decided to risk a direct question. ‘Did you end up there as well?’
To her surprise, he answered straightaway. ‘The Beacons? I think I knew almost every blade of grass and every rock by the end of it.’
‘I spent a total of five days there and I’ve never been so happy to leave a place in my life.’ She shuddered at the memory. ‘I was expected to carry exactly the same weight as a man your size. I had blisters on my blisters, and my shoulders were black and blue from the webbing.’
His eyes smiled at her. ‘Five days? You got off lightly. I must have spent more like five weeks up there on and off.’
‘So not just during officer training?’
‘No, I was stationed not far from there and we had a whole series of training ops in that area. Wales is a lovely place but I’d happily never see the Beacons again.’
She followed him up the tortuous path, reflecting on what he had just told her. If he had spent so much time on operations in that area, maybe his base had been in the nearby city of Hereford. This historic old city was known to all in the British armed forces not because it was the repository of the famousMappa Mundi, but as the home of the SAS. Had he maybe been in UK Special Forces? She almost asked him but decided against it – for now.
