Page 6 of The Secrets of Dragonfly Lodge
Around her the room was erupting into applause. Stef’s mind was whirling. Nancy’s grandson. If he saw Stef and remembered her, it wouldn’t be easy to charm Nancy. She glanced about, wondering what to do.
‘We should go and speak to Nancy, don’t you think, darling?’
‘You go,’ Stef mumbled. ‘I’ll wait for you in the car.’
‘I thought you wanted to meet her.’
‘Um, I do, but maybe not this minute.’ She stood up,swinging her bag onto her shoulder. ‘She’s busy, anyway, look.’ Over by the screen, people had clustered around Nancy. Others were gathering their possessions, murmuring to one another how much they had enjoyed the talk. Stef started blindly to follow them out, but collided with someone and stopped. The little girl had appeared from nowhere, still clutching her pack of cards.
‘I’m sorry,’ Stef gasped. ‘Are you okay?’
The girl nodded, then turned and darted back to the front where Aaron was busy collapsing the projector screen. She watched the child reach Aaron and point to her calf. He bent to examine it. Guilt washed through her. The girl must be Aaron’s daughter. Should she go and apologize? Oh heck, did she have to?
Beside her, her mother grasped her arm. ‘Come on, darling, you do need to speak to Nancy. It’s the reason you came.’ And before she knew it, she was being propelled towards the throng around the lecturer.
But now Aaron’s eyes met hers and she saw his surprise as he recognized her. A guarded expression crossed his face. She approached hesitantly and he straightened, his arm still round the child. ‘We meet again.’ His voice sounded tight.
‘I’m visiting my mother.’ She addressed the girl. ‘I’m so sorry, did I hurt you just now?’ The girl hid her face. ‘I bumped into her,’ she said to Aaron. ‘Or she bumped into me. It was an accident.’
‘Livy, you shouldn’t tear about like that,’ Aaron said to the girl, then to Stef, ‘She’s okay.’
Stef nodded, then rushed on. ‘The lecture was amazing. Icame with Mum, that’s her in the denim jacket. Mum talks to absolutely everyone. She met Nancy at an art exhibition.’
‘I see.’ Aaron gave Stef a stiff smile.
She could feel her cheeks flush. ‘I should also apologize for the last time we met. Let’s say it was… pretty stressful helping my mother move in.’
He gave a short laugh. ‘I got that impression.’
‘I’m not usually like that,’ she said in a low voice. He gave the slightest of smiles.
‘Did you enjoy the talk?’ she said to the little girl, who glanced up from her playing cards and nodded.
‘I need to finish up here,’ Aaron murmured.
‘Sure.’ She turned, feeling miserable, to look for her mother.
The crowd around Nancy Foster had melted away now, leaving only Cara deep in conversation with her. She beckoned and Stef went across with some trepidation, wondering what was being said.
‘This is Stephanie, my daughter. I told you she’s a journalist. Well, she’s dying to talk to you. This book she’s writing, it’s about women scientists and how badly they’re treated by the men. She’s dug up some really sensational things, haven’t you, Stef?’
‘Mum!’ Stef stiffened at her mother’s direct approach, which must surely be guaranteed to make Nancy close up like a clam.
‘How… interesting.’ Nancy contemplated Stef, her grey-blue eyes steely in her lined face. She’d applied just a touch of powder and pinkish lipstick, Stef saw.
Stef drew breath and tried a light approach. ‘I so enjoyedyour talk, Dr Foster. I wish we’d had a teacher at school like you for Biology. I might have learned much more.’
‘You’re very kind,’ Nancy said crisply as though she distrusted compliments. ‘I was a schoolteacher myself for many years, but one had to follow the curriculum and the children didn’t always find that interesting.’
‘Nancy was a proper scientist before that,’ Cara interrupted. ‘I mean, in a university. Doing research. What were you researching? Did you discover anything important?’
Mum, stop, you’re spoiling things!Stef wanted to shout.
‘I don’t know about that. I was an entomologist, studying insects. My main research was with locusts.’
Again, Stef met the woman’s eyes, definitely flinty now. ‘Mum, it’s okay,’ she said gently.
Thankfully, her mum got the hint. ‘Oh, don’t mind little me. I’ll see you in the shop, shall I? Thank you so much, Nancy.’
