Page 53 of An Unholy Affair
‘The noise, or the amount of people?’ Eveline asked.
Robert’s cheeks flushed. ‘Well, I haven’t spent a lot of time around women. I’m not really sure how to talk to them.’
She tried to hide her surprise. ‘You’re talking quite successfully to me?’
His smile broadened. ‘Ah, but you’re avicar. I’m safe with you.’
Is this why Jack keeps pulling back?
‘The ladies here aren’t scary, I promise.’
As if on cue, one of the women leaned back in her chair, striking a pose. ‘Paint me like one of your French girls, Jack!’ she cried, setting off shrieks of laughter from the other women.
Robert glanced at Eveline and raised an eyebrow.
She swallowed her smile. ‘So, if you don’t mind me asking, how come you haven’t spent much time around women?’
He shrugged. ‘I studied chemical engineering at university and there were only a couple of women on our course. They were in hot demand, and I’d come from an all-boys boarding school, so wasn’t terribly confident.’ His gaze travelled to Jack, and hers followed. ‘Unlike him.’ Robert smiled. ‘He’s naturally charming.’
Eveline nodded, remembering London, and when Jack had turned that charm up a few notches. A rush of pleasure fizzed through her, and she took a sharp breath.
‘Anyway,’ Robert continued. ‘After university, I went to work on the installation of big chemical plants all over the world. They were always in pretty remote areas and the construction staff were men. Occasionally we might have a lady on site, but they kept themselves to themselves.’
Eveline watched Robert staring at Jack and his adoring crowd. The older man seemed wistful, as if contemplating a road he’d never travelled.
‘So, you decided to retire here?’
Robert nodded, his gaze falling to Shirley, one of the loudest residents at Foxbrooke Haven. ‘I put off retirement for as long as I could, but when I injured my leg in an industrial accident, I had to go. I grew up nearby and thought this place might be a pleasant place to live.’
‘And have you got to know any of the ladies? They’re really very nice.’
‘I’m afraid I’m quite shy.’ He let out a small sigh. ‘It’s not so much that I’ve lost my touch. Rather, I never had one in the first place.’
‘Do you want me to introduce you to some of them?’
Shirley turned her head and smiled over at them.
Robert took a step back. ‘Not right now,’ he said quickly. ‘The thought makes me feel a little panicked, to be honest.’
‘That’s okay, I understand,’ Eveline replied. ‘I remember the first time I had to deliver a sermon. There were only four people in the congregation, and two of them were praying so hard they were snoring.’
Robert laughed, his whole face lighting up.
‘I was so nervous my hands were shaking,’ she continued.
‘Did you need a fortifying nip of the communion wine?’
‘That might have worked, but I gave up drinking a few years before. So I just asked God for strength and got on with it. The first time is always the most difficult, but now I think I could deliver a sermon in my sleep.’
‘Okay, ladies and gentlemen,’ Erica called out. ‘It’s time to dust off your dancing shoes and get ready to rumba. Shirley, Doris, Ada and Enid, please allow Jack to leave Foxbrooke Haven unmolested, or… you might persuade him to stay for a waltz?’
‘I call first dibs!’ Shirley cried, pulling Jack to his feet.
Eveline caught his eye, and he smiled at her. It was so unrestrained and free that her hand flew to her chest as if to stop her heart from flying out. It was like the first time they met and her soul recognised his. He smiled at her as if there was nothing and nobody between them, and they were one being in two separate bodies.
Erica started the music. ‘Come on, everyone, pair up. Robert! Fancy a turn around the room?’
He shook his head, holding his cane up as if it excused him.
