Page 93 of A Recipe for Love
Flinty chuckled. ‘And you weren’t expecting that were you?’
‘I had no expectations either way.’
‘Bollocks.’
‘I just hope,’ Veronica paused.
‘Spit it out.’
‘Well a girl like that in a place like this. Sooner or later she’s going to wonder what she missed out on, isn’t she?’
‘You don’t know that. She’s not…’ Flinty’s voice trailed away.
‘Well we’ll see.’ Veronica clearly retained doubts about Bella’s staying power.
Flinty cleared her throat. ‘How do you think the lad’s doing?’
‘What on earth do you mean?’ asked Veronica.
‘I don’t know. It’s a lot to be thrown into.’
Bella almost replied herself. Of course it was a lot to be thrown into, but this was Adam’s home. It was where he was supposed to be.
‘Of course Adam is fine. He’s just adapting.’ Bella caught herself nodding in agreement with Veronica.
‘You looked at him like a cat who’d brought you a half dead mouse when he turned up with the lass.’
Back to talking about Bella then, and in dead rodent terms. Marvellous.
‘I was, perhaps, a little taken aback by the engagement.’ Veronica’s tone was unruffled.
‘Well that’s fair.’ Both women fell quiet for a second before Flinty spoke again. ‘But when you know you know, don’t you?’
Another silence. This would be the moment for Bella to make a noise and pretend she’d just come outside this very second, but something about the silence begged not to be broken. And also Bella was really, really nosey.
Finally Veronica replied. ‘Margaret, I…’ Her tone dropped out of Bella’s hearing.
‘There you are!’ The voice behind Bella was loud and cheery, and was rapidly followed by the distinctive clatter of Darcy’s heels across the stones.
Veronica and Flinty jumped up and, Bella vaguely registered, apart.
Darcy continued, oblivious to whatever she was interrupting. ‘I couldn’t find anyone. Well I found Adam, but he’s in a grump staring at numbers and he didn’t look very happy to be bothered. You’re all out here.’
‘Just having a quick cuppa,’ Flinty explained, raising her, now apparently empty, mug in explanation.
‘And I was looking for a camera,’ Bella added. ‘I don’t know if any of you have a decent one. I thought it was a gorgeous day and there’s no groups in until this afternoon. It seemed like a good time to take some pictures for…’ She shrugged. She wasn’t sure how Veronica would feel about the idea of advertising.
‘For promoting the cookery school?’ Veronica asked.
‘Yeah.’
‘Good idea. Didn’t Alexander give you a new camera at Christmas?’ she asked her daughter-in-law.
Darcy nodded. ‘I told him there was no need. I use my phone but he knew I liked taking pictures.’
Bella brightened further. ‘You do?’
‘Oh yes. I did some modelling back in New York, but I was always trying to chat to the photographers and their assistants. Far more interesting than standing about wearing fancy mascara all day.’
