Page 13 of Coming Home to Roseford Villas
‘Oh, now you’re just bamboozling me with dodgy Latin!’ Rory gave a giggle, and it surprised Leo just how much he wanted to keep hearing that sound.
‘So, it’s not going to be weird for you, knowing that I’m at the bottom of your garden, then?’ Rory asked. ‘Because, Leo, if I’m being honest, it’s kind of weird for me.’
‘How so?’ Leo asked. He knew how weirdhefelt about their situation, but he wanted to hear it from Rory’s side, too. If they were on the same page, perhaps they could work on de-weirding it for them both.
It was Rory’s turn to blush. Leo noticed how the colour creeping up her cheeks only enhanced how pretty he thought she was. He’d always loved making her blush, how that wild rose colouring deepened when she was on the back foot, and in the gentlest possible way, he used to try to fluster her, just so he could see the warmth in her cheeks and her green eyes widening in surprise that he should want to make her feel that way. He mostly used to do it by snatching a kiss, which never failed to make her flush, but as they’d become surer of each other, he’d utter a suggestive line from a favourite film, or tell her a naughty joke, just to watch her blush.
‘Well,’ she said, eventually. ‘You know… you were the first person that I’d ever fallen in love with, and ever slept with. And coming face to face with you on the doorstep when I arrived kind of tilted my world on its axis. Not enough that I’d want to leave, but it’s making concentration rather difficult, and as I’m here toreallyconcentrate this summer, since I’ve only got a few weeks to break the back of this project, I’m finding that quite tricky to deal with.’
‘So, you wanted to clear twenty years’ worth of air, in the hope that we could be grown-ups and move on?’ Leo asked.
‘Something like that, yes.’
Leo let the pause develop between them for a few seconds while he chose his words carefully. There was so much he desperately wanted to say to her, now that he had her full attention, but his mind felt so sluggish sometimes. He was sure it was because of the accident, but also because he wasn’t living at a hundred miles an hour any more. Eventually, he spoke.
‘I’m not sure it’ll be that easy to clear quite so much air,’ he said, eventually. ‘I mean, as you say, it’s been twenty years. That’s a lot of ground to cover in a few weeks!’
‘So what do you think we should do?’ Rory asked. There it was, that impatient toss of the head again. She couldn’t help but seek solutions, he realised. Maybe it was her teaching experience that made her try to solve problems all the time. But this wasn’t exactly a problem that needed solving: it was more of a pleasurable conundrum, if anything. He smiled inwardly. If that was the way she wanted to see it, then he didn’t mind playing along.
‘It seems to me that the only thing we can do is toreallytake our time and come to a solution that suits both our purposes,’ he said, the seriousness of his tone completely belying the fact that inwardly he was smiling like the class clown.
‘And how might we do that?’ Rory asked.
Leo tried hard to maintain a straight face. ‘Well, Rory Dean,’ he said, in his most business-like tone. ‘If you really want us to move on from this somewhat strange predicament in which we appear to have found ourselves, I strongly recommend you accept an invitation to dinner from me tonight, where we will be able to bash out the pros, cons and all things in between, of our current living arrangements. Would that be agreeable to you?’
Rory, to his shock, agreed.
17
How Rory walked out of Leo’s kitchen, she didn’t know. Her legs were shaking like jelly, and she realised that she’d fallen right into one of his traps. He always did have a way with words, and she could never resist it when he started verbally sparring with her. Often she used to tease him about his speech patterns: he spoke, and wrote, as though he’d been transplanted from an earlier century, but she adored him for it. It didn’t surprise her in the slightest that he’d gone into law as a profession: the multi-clause contracts and impenetrable terminology would have suited him down to the ground. Some saw him as pompous, but she thought it was one of the things that had made him unique.
That being said, she’d never expectedthatdiscussion to have led to her accepting an invitation to dinner. She’d only wanted to clear the air so that she could devote her energy to writing her novel, and here she was, feeling as though she was living in the middle of her own bloody rom-com! They’d agreed that she’d come to the dining room of Roseford Villas at 8p.m., and continue their discussion, and hopefully after that they could move on with things.
If nothing else, Rory thought, it would be nice to find out what Leo had been doing with his life for the past twenty years. And, of course, why he’d given up such a great career in Australia to help out with his family’s B&B. It felt as though there was a story there, and from what Stella had already alluded to, she knew it wouldn’t be an altogether happy one. But perhaps tonight would yield some answers.
What was she going to tell him about her life? She’d been content with where she’d got to, and although a flat share wasn’t an ideal circumstance at her age, she was proud of what she’d achieved. This summer was meant to be something that would enhance that, a chance to finally follow a dream she’d been nurturing for a long time. But, apart from her job and her dream, what had shereallyachieved? She was a long way from who she’d been at sixteen, but was it enough? How would her accomplishments match up to Leo’s?
Pushing away these thoughts, she plugged in the laptop to charge, and brought it over to the table. Thanks to the extension lead, she could work while the battery was charging, and she had plenty to think about, and note down, after her discoveries at Roseford Hall. She opened the document and began to type.
Perhaps it was the conversation she’d just had with Leo that had fired her up, but for the first time since she’d been in Roseford, inspiration seemed to pulse through her, until, an hour later, she leaned back on the bench seat to stretch out her arms, and realised she’d written nearly two thousand words. Even more surprisingly, some of them actually made sense. So this must be whatflowfelt like.
Deciding to quit while she was ahead, she closed the document and checked her messages. Stella had got back to her and suggested they meet at Halstead House tomorrow afternoon, and Rory, who hated leaving an opened message unanswered, sent back a quick reply saying she’d be there. IfHalstead House held some of the missing pieces of the puzzle of Edmund Treloar and Francesca Middleton then that would make the novel a whole lot easier to write.
Buzzing with thoughts and ideas, Rory headed off to take a shower. She wasn’t sure if she should dress up or not for dinner with Leo, but she wanted to freshen up and make herself look a touch more presentable. Fortunately, she’d brought a couple of smarter dresses with her, and as she slipped one on, a little later, she couldn’t help remembering that crimson had always been Leo’s favourite colour. That wasn’t why she was wearing it, of course, she said firmly to herself. This was just dinner, and a chance to lay some old ghosts to rest, nothing more. All the same, as she applied a bit of light make-up and pulled a brush through her long, dark hair, if she was going to spend the evening talking about her life, she wanted to make damn sure she looked good while she did it.
At just before eight o’clock, she headed back towards Roseford Villas. As she drew closer to the dining room, she noticed a couple of tea lights in jars on a table just inside. She wondered why they were eating indoors, since it was still warm, but she walked up the steps and into the dining room. Should she call out to Leo to let him know she was there?
Just as she was about to say a brisk, ‘Hello,’ she saw a movement from the far end of the dining room, from the direction of the kitchen. She was flattered to see, when Leo came into view, that he, too, had got changed out of the polo shirt and shorts he’d been in earlier into something smarter. He was wearing a flattering pair of indigo-washed jeans, with a crisp white shirt, open at the neck and with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. As he drew closer, she caught a tantalising waft of a spicy, jasmine-infused scent, the aroma of which was exotic and exciting. She wondered if it was a cologne he’d discovered during his time in Australia. He’d brushed his dark,curly hair away from his forehead, but it was already starting to break free from whatever product he’d used and was tumbling across his brow once again. He was still tanned from so many years living on the other side of the world, and she noticed the crows’ feet crinkling around his eyes as he broke into a wide smile at the sight of her.
‘Hey,’ he said softly as he reached her. ‘That’s a knockout dress. Colour really suits you.’ The trace of an Australian accent punctuated his words in a way she found decidedly attractive, and Rory wanted to hear more of it.
‘Thanks,’ she said, smiling back at him. ‘You, er, don’t scrub up so badly yourself.’
‘Well, you know, thought I’d better make more of an effort than my Roseford Villas polo and scruffy shorts as this is the first time I’ve had dinner with someone since…’ He trailed off. ‘Well, since I came back from Aus, anyway.’
Rory thought about questioning him, but let it lie. She had all night to find out what Leo had been doing with his life since they’d last been in touch. And as he led her to the table, and asked her what she wanted to drink, she realised that she was really looking forward to finding out.
18
