Page 167 of Love ad Lib
Henry closed his eyes.Birdsong, the melodious bubbling of a stream, and the distant sound of panpipes drifted through the air.
‘Now, take a deep breath in through your nose,’ a man’s voice intoned. ‘And out through your mouth. Ahhhhh.’
Henry did as instructed.
‘Fantastic, Henry. You’re doing really well. Immerse yourself in the sounds of nature.’
Behind the water, birds and panpipes, he heard honks of car horns and a distant police siren. The therapy room overlooked a busy London street and the soundproofing was not up to spec.
‘Feel a sense of deep peace and stillness moving through your body.’
The man’s voice was getting progressively louder as he tried to drown out the approaching siren.
‘You are calm, you are centred, you are in control!’
Henry was most definitely none of those things. Libby was refusing to talk to him and he was in enforced therapy. In addition, in a few short hours he was leaving the country. His plan for getting her money back from Lucas involved stepping so far out of his comfort zone, a swim in the shark tank at the Sea Life Centre after smearing himself in fish paste seemed preferable.
‘Now, think of somewhere you feel relaxed and content.’
People were shouting at each other in the street. Right now, London was definitely not his happy place.
‘Imagine everything you can see, smell, feel, hear, touch and taste.’
His mind took him back to the field of flowers, sitting under the oak tree with Libby as she weaved a flower garland for her hair.
‘Feel how happy and at ease you are.’
His senses were filled with the memory of sunshine and smiles, of how full his heart was with Libby by his side. He remembered walking down the country lane, the hedges on either side of them bursting with life. He saw the old thatched cottage, the rose clambering up it, the look in Libby’s eyes as if she’d just found a piece of heaven on earth.
Libby was his happy place.
But would she ever forgive him? He shouldn’t have gone behind her back to give her money. But how else could he have helped her without making it seem like charity?
‘Okay, we’ve got a bit of a frown coming on there. Shall we try and turn it upside down?’
Henry bit back a sigh. Was returning to Conqueror really worth all of this?
* * *
Libby zigzaggedthrough puddles on her way to Covent Garden to meet Brandon for their improv night. Every year the newspapers would fearmonger about droughts and hosepipe bans, and each summer the weather would stick two fingers up at their pronouncements and piss all over Britain. What would the countryside be like in the rain? A mud bath? Or just as beautiful as it had been in the sunshine?
Claire’s announcement about her surprise second pregnancy had thrown Libby for a loop. There was no way her friend would be able to return to work for at least a year and a half. And even if she felt up to it after that, with the current crisis in childcare could she find someone to look after two babies whilst she ran workshops?
Libby leapt back just in time to miss the spray from a passing bus. She was trapped in limbo. She couldn’t keep taking advantage of Jack’s flat, but didn’t have enough money to pay rent somewhere else. Her attempts to set up more workshops were yet to yield results, and the improv night didn’t bring in enough money to live on. She’d googled living history tours in Somerset and drafted emails to the Roman Baths and Jane Austen Centre about possible work opportunities, but without any funds for a deposit on a house share, how could she afford to move her life to Somerset? And anyway, did she want to be there when Henry was still in London?
Henry. She missed him terribly.
Claire’s words stung.Wasshe scared of losing control? She was used to living out of a small room in India’s flat. Her friends were actors and artists. Could she live in a mansion? Maybe one day be the Duchess of Somerset? The thoughts were an Austen-inspired fantasy, but the reality threw her so far out of her comfort zone she felt stomach-churning anxiety instead of excitement.
After her whirlwind romance with Giles, it had turned out he didn’t want her after all, and neither did his family. Henry and his family didn’t seem to care about her humble roots, but part of her did. She was comfortable with his parents and siblings, but what would happen if she had to go to a society ball? Would she be laughed at for using the wrong knife?
Get over yourself! These things don’t matter!You love him!Maybe shehadoverreacted and now put him off for good.
She stopped under a shop awning, pulled out her phone and rang him before she could second-guess herself. The dial tone was different. He was abroad? It went to voicemail and she hung up not knowing what to say.
She attempted a text.
Libby:Can we talk?
