‘She covers herself in perfume before she comes round?’ Daniel leaned back in his chair and grinned at his brother. ‘Sounds as though she’s interested in something other than the welfare of the children.’
‘Unluckily for me.’ Patrick scooped the kitten from Alfie’s lap. ‘Mary, go to the kitchen.’
‘That’s Joseph. I don’t know how you can do your job if you can’t tell the difference between a boy and a girl.’ Alfie pushed his bowl away and looked at Daniel. ‘Can’t you stay with me tonight?’
‘I have a hot date.’ Glancing at his brother, who was still on the phone, Daniel leaned forward and lowered his voice. ‘So, Agent Alfie, you wouldn’t happen to know where Stella is meeting this mystery man of hers, would you?’
‘Yes.’ Alfie picked up his drink. ‘I would.’
Daniel lifted an eyebrow. ‘And are you going to tell me?’
‘I might. But it’s going to cost you.’
Daniel gave a disbelieving laugh. ‘You think I’d pay you for information?’
‘I suppose it depends how important it is to you.’ Alfie slid off his chair and took his bowl to the kitchen.
Daniel followed. ‘You’re a tough negotiator.’
‘You don’t have to pay if you don’t want to know.’
Out of his depth, Daniel took a deep breath and glanced through the door towards his brother, who was now on the phone again, talking to the hospital. ‘How much is it going to cost me?’
Alfie set the dishwasher to rinse. ‘Two pounds fifty.’
‘That’s daylight robbery.’
‘Fine. Why do you want to know where she’s going, anyway?’ Alfie frowned. ‘You two don’t go out together any more. She thinks you’re too macho and you’re worried because she wants babies. I’m only ten but even I can see that that’s going to be a terrible relationship. Kids are a lot of work. I know, because I am one.’
‘She thinks I’m too macho?’ Daniel ran his hand over the back of his neck, unable to believe that he was having this conversation with a ten-year-old. ‘Where do you hear these things?’
‘Stella talks to me. That’s why I like her. She doesn’t treat me like an idiot.’
‘Alfie, you’re no idiot.’ Daniel dug his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. ‘Five pounds.’
Alfie’s eyes widened. ‘I don’t have any change.’
‘I want to know everything that Stella has told you about this guy.’
‘All right.’ Alfie folded the money carefully and tucked it in his pocket. ‘They’re meeting in the Drunken Fox at eight o’clock.’
‘How are they going to recognise each other?’
‘She’s going to wear red.’ Alfie pulled a face. ‘I hope the guy likes red. She didn’t know whether to wear the red one or the black one, but I said red because I thought she looked nicest in that one. Sort of like a girl from the movies.’
Daniel inhaled sharply. ‘You should have gone with the black.’
‘You don’t want her to look nice?’
‘Red is …’ The colour she’d always worn for him? He’d loved her in red. For a moment his brain tortured him with a mini-clip of Stella in red. The soft red jumper she’d worn the first night he’d kissed her, the silky red dress she’d had on when he’d proposed. ‘You should have told her to wear black.’
‘Why? She looked better in the red.’
Precisely, Daniel thought viciously, searching for an excuse to stride across to the stable, knock on the door and stop her going out.
‘Why are you giving my son money?’ Patrick ended the phone call and walked into the kitchen, Posy in his arms.
‘I’m his uncle.’ Daniel walked across and kissed Posy on the top of her head. ‘I can give him money if I want to.’
Patrick’s eyes narrowed suspiciously but at that moment the doorbell rang. ‘That will be Mrs Thornton. Alfie, make sure you’re in bed by eight-thirty. No messing around. And don’t watch anything unsuitable.’
‘Just go, Dad.’ Alfie lowered the kitten gently to the floor and handed Posy her doll. ‘We’ll be fine. If Mrs Thornton dies of old age, I’ll call you.’
‘Don’t be cheeky.’
Daniel walked towards the door. ‘I’ll catch you later.’
Patrick reached for his coat. ‘Lucky you, having a night off. Are you seeing the lawyer?’
‘Yes.’ And Daniel strode out of the house before his brother could question him further.
For some reason he didn’t want to examine too closely, he wasn’t prepared to tell Patrick how he planned to spend his evening.
Nodding to the woman on the doorstep, he made for his car.
CHAPTER FOUR
STELLA turned sideways and looked at herself in the mirror. Was she overdressed? Perhaps she should have just worn jeans. On the other hand, if it went well they were going on to a restaurant afterwards, so jeans might not be dressy enough.
She looked fine. It was just that the dress reminded her of Daniel.
He’d always loved her in red and the last time she’d worn this dress they’d—
Remembering what they’d done, Stella yanked the dress over her head and threw it on the bed with the other clothes she’d tried on. It was no good. She couldn’t wear it. It just felt wrong. And the pile of clothes on the bed was growing.
Stella stared in the mirror, reminding herself that this was a new relationship. A whole new chapter of her life. And Daniel wasn’t in her life any more.
And the fact that she couldn’t stop thinking about him made it even more important for her to go out with someone else.
Exasperated with herself, she grabbed the red dress again, relieved that no one was watching her. If anyone had seen how indecisive she was about a stupid dress, they’d fire her from her job.
She zipped it up a final time and then tried to do something with her hair, but there was so much static after all the clothes she’d pulled on and off over her head she just gave up in despair and left it loose.
Realising that she was going to be late if she didn’t move fast, she eyed the clothes on the bed and decided she’d have to tidy them up later. Grabbing her favourite pair of black boots, she pulled them on and dragged her coat out of the wardrobe.
By her bed were various bags, filled with the beginnings of her Christmas shopping. Realising how much she still had left to do was enough to induce a panic attack, so she put the thought aside and reminded herself there was plenty of time until Christmas.
Fifteen minutes later she was in the car park of the pub, her heart thumping so hard she felt dizzy.
What if she knew someone in the pub?
She’d intentionally picked somewhere she didn’t usually go, but this part of the Lake District was a relatively small community.
What if Alfie was right and Mr ‘Caring of Cumbria’ was a creep?
Feeling like turning round and driving straight home, it took all of her willpower to step out of the protective cocoon of her little car and walk across the icy car park to the small village pub.
What was the matter with her?