Page 117 of The Village Midwife
‘I’m so sorry, love,’ Corrine said. ‘I should have realised you might be expecting company. You should have said; I’d have come back another time.’
‘I’m not,’ Zoe said. ‘Hang on. I’ll just go and…’
She went to get the door and found a sheepish-looking Victor on the doorstep.
‘All right there, flower? I thought I’d come and have a look at the hinges on your back door. Squeaking, aren’t they?’
‘Are they?’ Zoe asked with a wry smile. ‘I’m sure I haven’t noticed.’
‘I’d best come in and have a look, while I’m here…’
Zoe ushered him in, her smile spreading as she gestured for him to go into the kitchen and then heard the utter surprise in the exchange between him and Corrine.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asked sharply.
‘I could ask you the same thing,’ Victor grumbled. ‘Didn’t we say…’ He glanced at Zoe and lowered his voice. ‘Didn’t we say we ought to leave it be?’
‘So what have you come over for?’ Corrine asked.
‘To look at the back door. Hinges are squeaking.’
‘I’ve never heard such a flimsy excuse in my life!’ Corrine exclaimed.
‘All right then,’ Victor fired back. ‘What have you come over for?’
‘Bringing a cake, aren’t I?’
Zoe burst out laughing as she followed him in. It was obvious now why they’d both come, and they’d clearly had a discussion where they’d both agreed to stay away. So much for love, honour and obey…it was more like love, honour and ignore.
‘Is this to do with what you saw this morning, Victor?’ she asked once she’d managed to stop laughing, the sight of them both staring at her in confusion almost enough to set her off again.
‘I didn’t see anything,’ Victor said, though what she could see of his face beneath his bushy beard and hair was bright red.
‘Yes,’ Zoe said. ‘You can stop denying it because I might as well come clean: Alex and I are seeing each other.’
Corrine clapped her hands to her chest and almost leaped from her chair. ‘How lovely! We said so, Victor, didn’t we? We said what a good match it would be! And then you saw them this morning and?—’
‘I thought you said you hadn’t seen anything this morning…’ Zoe said to Victor with mock suspicion, and if it was possible for him to get any redder, she was sure that he did.
‘I didn’t want to…well, I didn’t want you to be embarrassed.’
‘Don’t worry, I’m not.’ Zoe went to get another cup and plate from the cupboard. ‘Never mind the back door and your fictitious squeak for now,’ she said. ‘Come and join us for tea and cake.’
Victor took off his hat and shuffled to take a seat while Zoe poured the tea.
‘When did this all start?’ Corrine asked, all pretence at disinterest abandoned.
‘We’ve been dating for about two weeks.’
‘And it’s going well?’
‘I think so.’
‘He’s lovely,’ Corrine gushed. ‘I’m so happy for your both.’
‘Well,’ Zoe said as she handed some tea to Victor, ‘it’s early days yet, so…’
‘You can just tell with some people,’ Corrine insisted. ‘Can’t you, Victor? We said so, didn’t we? We said what a good match from the minute we saw you talking to one another. I always get a feeling for these things, you know. Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret if you don’t want anyone in the village knowing about it.’
