The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club(59)

‘It’s a great spot when you’re here in summer, although I’ve found it a bit rambling on my own,’ she said almost under her breath.

‘It is big, but maybe I’ll meet some nice Irish cailín and I’ll fill the whole house with a brood of kids and then, who knows, I might need to buy next door as well.’ They chatted some more about the house and in the end, she agreed, if it was going up for sale, she’d leave it to the experts. Elizabeth felt that by the time she flicked on the kettle, another small piece of her future was in some way falling into place.

‘Tea or coffee?’ she asked lightly.

‘Neither – I thought, you might like something a little stronger.’ He reached into the bag he’d placed on the table and took out a bottle of Hennessy.

‘That’s certainly going to warm us up more than my ordinary old pot of tea.’ She smiled and reached up to take down two wide tumblers.

‘Brace yourself,’ he said lightly as he poured a generous measure of brandy for them both. ‘I hope you’re not planning on swimming after this. I might have to follow you down and supervise!’

Elizabeth smiled at him. ‘So what exactly am I bracing myself for?’ she asked, sipping her drink slowly. It was delicious, a heady mix of warm and cool with the heavy smoky aroma of a man’s drink, but the delicate fruitiness of something that was expensive enough to appeal to even the lightest drinker.

‘This,’ he said, reaching into the bag once more. ‘I’d like you to take a read and tell me what you think.’ He was smiling at her now.

‘Is this your new book?’ she asked, wishing she could remember where she’d left her reading glasses, then realising they were hanging about her neck since she’d only just left the surgery. She fumbled with them for a moment, breathing on them and wiping off the day’s wear and then she placed them delicately before her eyes, before scanning over the first A4 sheet. ‘Oh, is it…’ She looked at the date again, just to check. ‘Oh, my goodness, it is the one you’re working on now.’

‘It’s almost finished. Actually, they’re waiting for it in London and I’d been about to send it over a few days ago… Then I thought that perhaps you should have a read first.’ He smiled again, but there was a hint of embarrassment about his eyes. ‘I stayed up all night formatting it, so…’

‘But why me?’ She was a little incredulous, and frankly quite chuffed. ‘I mean, I feel very honoured, but surely there are people who know far more about books than I do.’ She nodded towards the book at his elbow. ‘All I ever read are romances…’ She laughed thinking of the little bookshop and the hours she’d spent there too many years ago now.

‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ he said gently. ‘My mother reads exactly the same and she is my best critic. She could spot a missed emotion a mile off and thankfully she’s not afraid to tell me either.’ His smile remained, but his eyes saddened, and she had a feeling that occasionally, he must miss having his own family close by. ‘Anyway, I don’t want you to edit it, or anything like that; I just want to hear what you think of it.’

‘I’d be delighted to do that…’ She looked down at it again. ‘Is it almost finished?’

‘The first draft almost is, but this is a cleaned-up copy of the first third of the book…’ he said a little casually, but then he leant forward. A playful look about his eyes made her lean in closer to hear his next words. ‘Okay, well this is between us, it’s slightly longer than I’d planned, but how can you contain all of this…’ He waved his arms about and she assumed he was talking about the landscape and not her rather gloomy kitchen. ‘I’m hoping my agent will pitch it as a movie idea.’ He exhaled as if it was something he’d had to keep to himself, and then he picked up his brandy and sipped it pleasurably.

‘A movie? How exciting – imagine, Ballycove on the big screen,’ she said and then she thought of something: ‘I wonder if they’d come and film here…’

‘Oh, don’t worry about that, it’s a long way off. Really, I just want you to tell me what you make of the characters and the story, nothing more. If you like it.’ He stopped. ‘If you’re okay with it, then I’ll send it off.’

‘If I’m okay with it?’

‘Well yes, you see…’ He looked out the window for a second and she could almost see a little emotion that might be exactly what she felt before Lucy took the idea of their fundraiser in her hands; it was apprehension. It crossed his features only fleetingly, but it was there. ‘It’s set here, in Ballycove.’

‘Yes, don’t tell me are we all in it?’ She was joking now, rubbing her hands together.

‘No, not all, but the main character is a lot like…’

‘Seriously, who?’ Elizabeth figured it had to be the new lady vicar or perhaps it was Lucy; how deliciously perfect if it was. ‘Please, you just have to tell me.’

‘Well, it’s… you, actually,’ he said, a small hint of a smile hiding at the corners of his lips confirmed that he wasn’t kidding; he was actually serious.





24


Lucy


By the grace of God, or perhaps just her own conniving and surreptitious evasion, Lucy had managed to keep herself so busy that she didn’t break down with the heavy sadness that weighed on her every time she thought about her mother. Still she felt as if she was teetering on the edge of having her heart broken once again – only this time, there would be no repairing the fracture losing Jo would cause.