William opened another door. ‘Bedroom, en suite, dressing room, etc. There are two more rooms upstairs. There’s a bathroom there too. You can’t have guests coming down the stairs in the night, especially if they’re Aunt Daphne.’
Gilly laughed, pleased to think of Daphne being here. Personally she felt a bit overwhelmed.
‘Imagine a big kitchen downstairs, opening out on to the courtyard garden.’
‘I’m doing that. It’s huge!’
‘Yes, too huge for one person, which is why I’ve never done it.’
‘Have you had this house long?’
He nodded. ‘Yes. I bought it about twenty years ago – it was derelict. I had a small legacy that helped with the deposit. The rent for the shop covered the mortgage.’
‘You’re telling me very clearly that you own this house,’ she said. ‘Because …’
‘Because of what that scoundrel Leo did, implying he owned a house he rented.’
‘I love the word “scoundrel” – it’s so charmingly old-fashioned.’
‘I am charmingly old-fashioned,’ said William.
Gilly laughed. She was beginning to relax a bit. She wandered around this amazing flat and tried to picture herself in it.
She would like being near the shops. She’d love to be within walking distance of nice restaurants. But how would she cope without her B & B guests? She needed work – not just for money but because she believed work was good for people. She went into the kitchen which was at the back and looked down at the courtyard garden. She could see Ulysses there, possibly curled up on top of one of the stone sinks, crushing the succulents or auriculas or whatever was growing there.
‘So,’ said William, who had let her roam about and explore. ‘Could you live here?’
She sighed and bit her lip.
‘If I was to offer you my heart and my home, so to speak. I mean, if you took my home and didn’t want my heart I would have to find somewhere else to live.’
She managed a laugh.
‘And I’m thinking that we will have to decide if we want to live together or carry on as we are.’ He looked at her with a mixture of seriousness and gentle humour. ‘How do you feel about it? I know it’s awfully soon to think about these things but I feel I’ve wasted enough of my life hoping you’d have a problem with your VAT so you’d come and see me. I want you there every day. Greedy though it sounds.’
She considered her answer. It was a big step and very early days and yet somehow she felt ready to face it. ‘I do always feel sad when you go home in the morning.’
‘So do I.’
‘But although this is a really lovely house – flat – whatever – I’m not sure it’s quite for me. The thing is, could you live in my house? I mean, I feel I’m asking you to choose between an amazing, prize-winning racehorse and a big, clumsy old Clydesdale with feet the size of dinner plates, hairy fetlocks, a head the size of a small child, which, however well groomed and polished, will always be a bit of a lump.’
He laughed. ‘I love that analogy! And I do have to tell you that I’ve always been very fond of heavy horses – and old houses in the country.’
‘And of course you could bring any favourite pieces of furniture. I could get rid of some of my stuff. Pass it on to Helena, possibly.’
‘Not your son?’
‘No. Martin wouldn’t want it. He and his wife have quite a different style to mine.’
‘I’ll think about what my favourite bits of furniture are.’ He frowned slightly. ‘I can’t think of anything except the desk that was my father’s.’
‘You wouldn’t want to bring that beautiful fireplace? I’m sure I could find room for it!’
‘I think you’ll find it’s fairly firmly attached to this building.’
‘Oh, shame. I was hoping for an upgrade,’ said Gilly. Then she became serious. ‘But what about the B & B? How will you feel about having to share your home with strangers? It’s not for everyone. Sebastian, my ex-husband, was horrified at the thought and he didn’t have to do it. Martin thinks it’s awful.’
‘I don’t think it will worry me. We could have our own space, after all.’
‘And you don’t have to sell this house. You could rent it. Keep it in case …’ She paused, worrying if she was saying too much. ‘If things didn’t work out.’
‘You know what? I think things will work out.’ He paused in his turn. ‘Shall I tell you when I decided to stop looking for women who might become life partners and only had very casual girlfriends?’
‘If you like …’
‘It was when you became a client.’
‘Oh!’
‘You were in a dreadful state and I knew that I had to bide my time – and it might be a long time – before I could do anything about it, but I fell in love with you the first moment you came into my office.’
Gilly took advantage of the sofa that was just behind her and sat down rather quickly. ‘Really?’
‘Yes. I hope that doesn’t seem stalkerish to you?’
‘It is a bit – surprising.’ She imagined herself as she had been that day, red-nosed, swollen-eyed, unable to think clearly.
‘It surprised me too, I must say,’ said William cheerfully.
‘Well,’ Gilly said after a long pause. ‘I’m glad you decided to do something about it eventually.’
‘Me too. And we mustn’t forget Daphne’s input. Although I did rather resent her interference at the time.’
‘I think we should tell her we’re together,’ said Gilly. ‘Have her to dinner or something.’
‘Mm. I’ve had something a bit more ambitious in mind.’
Gilly felt she should stop being surprised by William, given that at one time she had thought he was just a really nice accountant, but it was difficult.
‘Which is?’
William came and sat beside her. ‘Remember my surprise party?’
‘It wasn’t long ago. Even I can remember that far back.’
He laughed. ‘Well, it wasn’t quite the party I’d have liked because Daphne had got an old address book and so missed out on people I would have loved to have there. So I thought if I gave another party – same venue probably; it was OK – you could invite your friends and family too and we could announce ourselves as a couple.’
‘Unusual,’ said Gilly.
‘Well, I’d prefer to be able to announce something a bit more conventional but I feel it’s too soon.’
Gilly felt she knew what he meant but wasn’t quite sure enough of herself to follow this up. ‘Well, to be honest, I’d much rather have it at my house. We could have a marquee in the garden. It would be lovely. And it would make sense of the whole thing if you’re going to move in with me.’
‘It would be an awful lot of work for you. Although of course we’d get a caterer.’
‘I’d like to do the puddings myself – the fun part of a party.’
He took her into his arms. ‘That would be amazing! How soon do we think we could do it?’