‘OK.’
‘I do have some good news,’ my friend offers. ‘We counted up the money from the open day last night and we took a shade over two thousand pounds. How about that?’
‘We did? That’s fantastic.’
‘People were very generous and I have plans for lots more,’ Bev says with a wicked twinkle in her eye.
‘It’ll be like Alton Towers,’ I tease.
‘Never,’ she says, ‘But it will help our finances considerably. More importantly, the kids love it too. It’s good for them to be involved in something like this. They were all so proud of themselves, they were buzzing.’
‘I know and I’m very grateful to you for pushing me out of my comfort zone too. Just be gentle with me. This is all very new.’
Then the students start to turn up. ‘I’ll sort this lot out,’ Bev says. ‘I bet they’ll all still be hyper today. You tend to Lucas.’
‘Thanks. You’re an angel. I’ll go and see how he is.’ But before I can do that, Matt’s car turns up too.
‘Aye, aye.’ Bev nudges me. ‘Hot Mayor alert.’
With a grin at her, I go over to the gate and Matt jumps out of his car. ‘Can’t stop,’ he says. ‘On the way to an event. Christmas craft fair to open.’
‘It’s good to see you.’ And seeing him has, indeed, lifted my spirits. ‘I was going to contact you to thank you for all your help at the open day. Bev’s just told me we raised over two grand plus we had a very generous donation from our celebrity Santa.’
‘Wow. That’s great.’
‘Thank you for being part of it.’
‘You know if there’s anything else you want me to do, you only have to ask.’
‘Well . . .’ I say hesitantly. ‘There is one thing. Penny and her mum are moving into the cottage at Shelby’s manor. I was wondering if you were free at all on Friday. They need to get out while her husband is at work. If you have any time at all . . .’
‘I’ll make time,’ Matt says. ‘Tell me when and where you want me and I’ll switch my diary around.’
‘You’re so very kind.’
‘There is, however, a price,’ he says with a grin. ‘You have to come to my charity ball.’
‘I thought you’d be taking Victoria. She seemed very nice.’
‘She is.’ He holds out his hands. ‘It didn’t quite work out for us. A few dates and the conversation ran dry. We’re different people. She wants fancy bars and designer what-nots. Like you, I’d rather be a foot-deep in cow poo.’
I laugh. ‘And I thought I came across as an elegant sophisticate.’
‘Say you’ll come,’ he begs. ‘It’s for your cause and I hope it will raise a lot of money. It would be so much better if you were there.’
‘How can I say no?’
‘Excellent. I like a bit of gentle bribery and coercion.’
Weirdly, I no longer feel quite the terror that I would have done at the thought of attending a posh event like that. I’ve come a long way, I’ll tell you. I have to thank Bev for that, and Shelby. They’ve both forced me to do things that I could never have imagined before.
‘Why are you grinning?’ Matt asks.
‘Not so long ago something like a charity ball would have filled me with dread, but I might actually be looking forward to it. Just a little bit.’
‘I’ll make sure you have a great night.’
And, the thing is, I know that he will. Matt won’t ditch me while he talks to pretty young things or holds court. Above everything, he’ll make sure that I’m all right, that I enjoy myself too. ‘Stay for tea?’
‘Can’t,’ he says. ‘I have to dash. I just wanted to say hello while I was passing. Let me know what time on Friday and I’ll be there.’
I lean on the gate and watch him go. It’s totally and utterly wrong of me to be relieved that it didn’t work out with Victoria, right? But I am.
Chapter Seventy-Six
Lucas is quiet and withdrawn but I’m sure that, given time, he’ll learn to live with this new pain. But it’s so sad that he has to. My heart still bleeds for him.
In the evening, I go with Bev and Alan to clean the cottage for Penny and her mum. Lucas comes along too and we add a few extra touches to make the place seem more welcoming.
On Friday morning, Matt turns up as promised and we drive to Penny and Jess’s current home. I probably could have done this myself, but it’s nice to have Matt as back up in case there’s any trouble. When we arrive, they are both ready and waiting, anxiously, suitcases packed. As quickly as we can, we load them into Matt’s car. Thankfully, there’s no sign of her husband or any nosy neighbours, but I can tell that they’re both nervous and keen to be gone.
‘It’ll be OK,’ I assure them. ‘We’ll support you all we can.’
‘There’s so much to think about,’ Jess says. ‘My brain’s in a spin.’
‘I think you’ll feel better when you see where you’re going to live. It will give you some breathing space, if nothing else.’
So we set off, two fearful women in the back of the car, and head towards Homewood Manor. They’re quiet en route and I understand that. They don’t know what the future holds and have put a lot of trust in me to bring them this far. Yet as we turn up at Homewood Manor, punch in the security code and wait for the tall gates to swing open, I hear Jess gasp.
‘Is this where we’ll be living?’
‘Yes,’ I say. ‘You’ll be safe here.’
‘Look at this place,’ she whispers. ‘Won’t we be grand, Penny?’
‘You’re in the cottage next door to the main house,’ I tell her. ‘But there’s a housekeeper who lives here and a gardener who comes in every day. So you won’t be completely by yourselves. You need a code for the gate and the whole place is covered by CCTV. It’s as private and secure as it can be.’
‘Who lives here?’
‘It belongs to my partner, Shelby. But he’s away at the moment.’ And for the foreseeable future. ‘You can stay as long as you need to.’
We pull up next to the cottage and, with Jess and Penny still looking slightly dazed, go indoors.
Waiting inside are Bev and Lucas. Dear Bev has laid out a nice lunch ready for us all. She’s also done a big shop for Penny and Jess and I know that the cupboards are filled with enough food to keep them going for the next few weeks, at least.
Lucas is standing by the Christmas tree that we put up as an extra surprise and, as soon as he sees us all, he turns on the lights. ‘Ta-dah!’
They fill the room with a welcoming glow.
Jess looks at me astounded. ‘You’ve done so much.’
‘We wanted to make it as cosy as possible,’ I say. ‘I hope you’ll be comfortable here, but do let me know if there’s anything else you need. We’ve tried to think of everything.’
‘We’ll be happier here,’ she says. ‘I know. Won’t we, Pen?’ She hugs her daughter to her.