She looked around her own bedroom with critical eyes. Nothing had been done to it since she had moved out. It was in good condition, but dated. The wallpaper was old-style floral and the bed and the dressing table harked back to a different era—the era of cheap reproduction furniture that was functional but lacking in style. It had served its purpose and, for the first time, Alice was slightly ashamed that she had not encouraged her mother to do some basic renovations to the house.
Yes, some of what she earned went on paying her mother’s therapist, but there was always enough left over to spend a little on the house.
Her mother, whilst she probably would have been able to afford some of those renovations, would have swept aside the suggestion as being a waste of money. That, like so much else, was a legacy of her past, unhappy life, where money had never been thrown around and where the housekeeping had been frugal.
Eager to get downstairs and curtail whatever conversation Gabriel was having with her mother, Alice showered and changed as fast as she could. The black trousers, which had been folded on the bottom shelf, thankfully still fit; the red jumper might be baggy but its colour had not been diminished in the wash, and at least it looked jollier than the greys, blacks and dark blues that comprised most of the rest of the wardrobe of clothes.
As an afterthought, she applied a light covering of make-up—some mascara, a little blush, some lip gloss.
I couldn’t get you out of my head...
She could feel his remark burning a hole through all her defences, worming its way past her conviction that it was just another example of his arrogance, and she groaned again.
She barged into the kitchen to find Gabriel enjoying a cup of tea and her mother giggling. Giggling! They both looked up as she entered, like a couple of kids found out in a conspiracy. Alice took a few deep breaths, gathering herself and resisting the urge to ask them what, exactly, what so funny.
She had been gone less than forty minutes and they had become best friends!
‘This is all I could find to wear,’ she said ungraciously, and was treated to a wolfish smile from Gabriel.
‘You look lovely, dear. Doesn’t she look lovely, Gabriel? You should wear red more often. It suits you.’
‘It certainly does...’ he murmured. ‘We’re going to an Italian restaurant. Your favourite type of food.’
Pamela looked between them with keen interest. ‘How do you know that?’ she asked with, Alice thought, a complete lack of tact.
‘Oh, I know a great many things about your daughter, Pamela...’
‘Because,’ Alice snapped, ‘when you’re stuck in someone’s company for days on end, you tend to find out superficial things about them. Like what their favourite cuisine is.’
‘Stuck in my company? I got the impression that you rather—’
‘Okay,’ Alice interrupted hurriedly, before something was said that would have her mother’s curiosity spiked even more than it already was. ‘Shall we go? I don’t want to be long, because...’
‘Where will you be staying, Gabriel?’
Gabriel shrugged. ‘Well, I hadn’t thought ahead.’
‘You’ll save some money if you stay here. The spare bedroom is small but it’s tidy. I use it as a sewing room, but I could just pop my bits and bobs in my sewing box.’
‘Gabriel doesn’t need to save money, Mum. And I’m sure he won’t be staying overnight.’
‘It’s way too late for me to drive back to London,’ Gabriel said thoughtfully. ‘And don’t we all need to save money?’
Alice controlled hysterical laughter. This was the man who travelled first class and only stayed in the finest five-star hotels. She doubted the concept of saving money had ever crossed his radar.
‘It would be rude of me to turn down such a kind invitation.’ He smiled at Pamela, the sort of smile that would have had any woman on the planet eating out of his hands.
‘No,’ Alice inserted firmly. ‘If you really can’t drive back tonight, then I’m sure we can fix you up with a pleasant local hotel. Closer to Exeter, of course, because I’m sure you’ll want to visit Harrisons first thing Monday...’
‘Of course you must stay here, Gabriel. I’ve never seen my daughter as happy and as fulfilled as she has been since she’s started working for you. And if in return you want to buy me a new toaster, well, then it would be downright churlish of me to refuse...’
With which, she shooed them both out of the house.
Head held high, Alice snatched her jacket from the coat hook by the front door and stormed out into the cool darkness. She closed her ears to the friendly banter between Gabriel and her mother and, when the front door had been quietly but firmly shut on them, she turned to him, hands on her hips.