Page 101 of The Village Midwife
‘If there was, it has nothing to do with us,’ she said. She started to walk.
‘Where are you going?’
‘Home.’
‘Don’t you want to talk?’
She stopped and turned back. ‘There’s nothing to talk about.’
‘There’s loads to talk about!’
‘You came for the celebrations, so go and enjoy them.’
‘We have to sort this out.’
‘Wehavesorted it out. We sorted it out months ago. Nothing has changed since then.’
‘You could have fooled me,’ he said in a voice heavy with hurt. ‘We were getting somewhere, just then.’
‘No, you thought you were. You caught me at a vulnerable moment and you took advantage, and that’s not fair. You haven’t been honest with me this whole time you’ve been coming to Thimblebury. I didn’t want to believe it, but I see it now. It was always your plan to lure me into coming back to you.’
‘Would it be so bad?’ he asked with outstretched arms, exasperation in his voice. ‘Am I that bad?’
‘Of course you’re not,’ she said. ‘But we’re not the same people we were before. I can’t love you like I did before because that Zoe isn’t this Zoe.’
‘You’re making no sense.’
‘Probably not to you, but it makes perfect sense to me.’
‘What about everything going wrong all the time? I thought you were miserable.’
‘I am,’ she said, turning once again to leave. ‘But that’s something I’m going to have to work out for myself.’
27
Ritchie followed her. She tried to ignore him, speeding up in the hope he’d get the message, but after five minutes, still sensing him following her, she spun round.
‘What are you doing?’
‘We need to talk.’
‘We don’t need to talk. Go back to the celebrations.’
‘I don’t want to go to the stupid celebrations.’
‘I know you don’t. That was never your reason for coming, was it?’
‘So stop and talk to me.’
‘I don’t want to.’
She faced forward again and picked up the pace. She didn’t look back, and after a while she thought he might not be there. But when she turned to check, she saw that he was walking a few paces behind in complete silence. She gave a loud click of her tongue and carried on walking. By now she was breathless from the pace she was setting, but she couldn’t be bothered to argue. She’d make it to Kestrel Cottage before him, and if he thought he’d be following her inside, he was very much mistaken. She’dlock the doors, and he could sit out there all night if he wanted because she wasn’t going to let him in.
But as they carried on and he showed no sign of giving up, her courage started to fail her. She’d never been afraid of Ritchie in all the time she’d known him, but she had to admit to an emotion now that wasn’t exactly fear but had the shape of it. Apprehension? Anxiety, perhaps? He could catch up if he really wanted to. He could try to stop her from going home. He could even decide to watch her house and wait until the next time she went out to accost her. He’d never do something so extreme, would he?
She shook the thought. That was crazy. Things were heated now, blown out of proportion and not helped by the fact that she’d already been emotionally on the edge. This was Ritchie; she knew him. He’d never do anything as creepy as that.
The steep path that led to Daffodil Farm came into view. She didn’t dare glance behind, but she knew he was there. She considered phoning someone to come to her aid. Who? What would she say? It was funny because now that she thought about it, the only person she wanted to come to her aid was the one person without a phone. It wasn’t Alex or Heath or Simon or any of the men she could get hold of; it was Victor. Lovely, dependable, old-fashioned gentleman Victor, the closest thing she had to a grandfather or an uncle here in Thimblebury. She’d only have to say the word and he’d come to her rescue. He’d know how to deal with Ritchie too – not in an alpha-male way but with a friendly, reassuring persuasion that would disarm anyone.
