Page 83 of Wild Swimming at Croftwood Lake
Tears sprang to Archie’s eyes, and he turned his head away so Nora wouldn’t see. ‘I understand,’ he managed to say. ‘I’m sorry. I should have respected that you’d asked for time to think.’ He stood up and gathered his things. ‘I’ll wait for you to let me know when you’re ready to talk.’ He risked looking at Nora, smiling at her too brightly. ‘Take care of yourself.’
Without a backward glance, he walked around the edge of the lake and headed back to the Court, not even wanting to turn back to call for Tatty. But the dog sensed it was time to leave and soon caught him up.
He’d brought this on himself. She’d asked for time and he’d selfishly overlooked that when the very reason she’d left last night was because he’d not paid enough attention to how she was feeling. He’d made things worse by coming to the lake to see her. He should have waited. And now she would think he wasn’t listening to her. His conversation with Seb had buoyed him into thinking he could solve everything, but it was still too soon for her. He could see that now.
‘Oh my god, you’re a dry robe wanker!’ Betsy said helpfully. She waited at the top of the stairs as he came up, with Florence in her arms.
‘Lovely language in front of Florence,’ he said, smiling at his niece and pretending to take her nose. He’d started doing it yesterday, and it had gone down very well. She seemed utterly convinced.
‘You look a sight, that’s all.’
‘I don’t think it counts as being a w-word if one’s using it for its intended purpose.’ The brutal sibling banter lifted his spirits.
‘I have nothing against other people wearing them. I’m talking specifically about you,’ she said. ‘I suppose Nora bought it for you.’
‘Yes.’
‘And where is Nora today? Not still poorly, I hope?’
‘She’s swimming and then I imagine she has work to catch up on since she missed a couple of days this week.’
‘On a Sunday?’
Good point. ‘She works whenever she feels like it.’
‘It’s a shame we didn’t see more of her. Perhaps you could both come and stay for a weekend sometime? Although, we’ll be back for the festival in the summer.’
‘Lovely. We’ll make one or other of those happen.’ Which was the lesser of two evils, he wasn’t sure.
‘We’re leaving after lunch. We’re walking to the chapel with Mama to visit Papa. Are you coming?’
It might be just what he needed to take his mind off things. ‘Give me ten minutes to have a shower.’
He was dressed and rubbing his hair dry with a towel when someone knocked at his door.
‘Come in,’ he called. ‘Mama,’ he said in surprise when he saw Constance. ‘I’m coming.’
She came in and closed the door behind her. ‘Archie. Is everything alright? I saw you walking over the lawn looking so forlorn, and Betsy says she thought you might have been crying.’
He almost laughed at the fact his sister had given him a hard time about the dry robe when she thought he’d been crying. It was a perfect example of how hard they both found it to express themselves with anything related to emotions.
‘I’m fine, Mama. Nora and I have had a minor… interruption to business as usual. Nothing to worry about. We’re giving each other some space, that’s all.’
‘Am I right to think that it’s Nora who needs the space rather than you?’ Constance said gently.
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
‘Oh, darling.’
It was all Archie could do to not fall into his mother’s arms and weep. Constance took a step towards him and he crumbled.
‘I’ve ruined it.’
‘Nonsense,’ said Constance, leading him over to the sofa. ‘I’m sure it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.’
‘Nora’s pregnant.’
‘I wondered if that might be it.’
