Anything but Vanilla(27)

‘No.’ That was the point: Graeme wouldn’t have to cross continents. He’d be there. She shook her head to clear it. ‘No,’ she repeated. ‘I’ve only seen her with an old BlackBerry,’ she said, catching up. It didn’t rule out the possibility that she had another phone, of course. One that was kept for special calls.

Just because Alexander’s postcards were a rare event, it didn’t mean that they didn’t talk to one another when he was lying in his jungle hammock.

It was a thought that jarred, although... ‘How did you manage to receive a call from her, if you were in a mosquito-infested jungle?’ she asked.

‘Despite my Victorian occupation, I have a twenty-first-century satellite link to keep in touch with the outside world. But to answer your question, Ria has never mentioned another number to me. I was rather hoping you might know of one. She did trust you with a key.’

‘She trusts you with her bank account.’

‘It was a condition of bailing her out last time.’ He put the cup in the sink. ‘Maybe Nancy can tell you what the magic ingredient is.’

‘I’m not having much luck with phones today. Her number went straight to voicemail, too.’ Which was odd. She wouldn’t have switched it off if she was job-hunting. ‘Maybe the battery’s flat.’ It was that kind of day. ‘I’ve left a message but if she hasn’t called me back by three I’ll go along to the school and catch her there. You’ve no objection if I ask her to come in to work tomorrow?’

‘Would it make any difference if I had?’ She didn’t bother to answer that. ‘I thought not.’ He shrugged. ‘You can ask but you’ll have to pay her.’

‘Friday is a busy day,’ she pointed out, ‘and we’ve been promised a heatwave for the weekend. You’ll shift a lot of ice cream. If you talked to the Revenue, explain that you’ve got someone interested...’

‘Forget it. I’ll be talking to the bank and Ria’s accountant about winding up the business.’

‘Actually, I don’t think you’ll find him at his office. I’m sure Ria mentioned that he’d been taken ill. A stroke, I think. So that’s one thing you can cross off your list.’

‘He has a partner.’

‘Selling ice cream is a lot more fun,’ she assured him. ‘Really.’

‘Maybe, but I didn’t fly halfway around the world to stand behind an ice-cream counter.’

Which begged the question, why exactly had he flown halfway round the world? It was none of her business. At all.

‘Okay,’ she said, with what she hoped looked like a careless shrug, ‘if I can’t tempt you, I’ll pay Nancy, but I’m not a charity. If I’m paying rent for the premises and paying the staff, I’ll buy the ice cream and bank the takings.’

That raised a smile. ‘The first sensible thing you’ve said today.’

Actually, it wasn’t. Ria might have the magic touch with ice cream, but she was the one with an instinct for business. Her offer to buy Knickerbocker Gloria might have been a throwaway remark but, the more she thought about it, the more excited she became.

It had been her sister who, without any business experience, had seen an opportunity and changed their lives. They’d all helped—she’d been the one who knew about regulations, accounting procedures, tax—but it was Elle who had seized the moment. Suddenly she was having a ‘big idea’ of her own. Maybe the ‘big idea’.

She was shaking a little as she grinned back at Alexander. ‘I’m glad you approve. So, do we have a deal, Alexander West?’

‘If you can pay a month’s rent in advance, Sorrel Amery.’

‘A month?’

‘It’ll take that long to prepare the accounts, negotiate a new lease with the trust, contracts. Take it or leave it.’

She shrugged. ‘I don’t seem to have much choice. How much are you going to charge me?’ she asked. He wasn’t the only one who could ask a ‘catch’ question. She knew exactly how much rent Ria paid.

He didn’t ask for a penny more.

‘Will that be in cash?’ She was pushing her luck, but she didn’t want him to know that a month suited her very well. She needed time. ‘Without the telephone you won’t be able to use the card machine.’

‘A cheque would be tidier. Make it payable to The WPG Trust.’ Then, as if it had just occurred to him, he said, ‘Oh, no. You don’t carry a cheque book with you.’