Chapter 8
8
The day before Finn and Jade went to dinner with Sarah and Callum to chat about all things wedding, Finn had his meeting with Eleanor Smythe in Salisbury.
Jade knew he was a lot more nervous than he was letting on. He’d put on his smartest clothes, which meant a shirt and trousers, and now he was standing in reception while she fielded calls.
‘Do you think I should wear a tie?’ He had a maroon one rolled up in his hand.
‘If you want to – would you feel comfortable?’
He put it on, tying it expertly, and Jade remembered he’d once had another life where presumably a shirt and tie was the norm. He’d been an electrical engineer in a switch-making company. Since he’d come to work for her, he’d lived in faded cut-offs and tee shirts in summer and jeans and striped rugby shirts in winter – they rarely went anywhere you had to dress up.
‘You scrub up well, darling.’
‘Thank you.’
‘But I don’t think you need the tie.’
‘No, me neither.’ He took it off. ‘I feel less nervous without it.’
‘You’ll be great.’ She stood up to hug him. ‘She’ll be lucky to have you – that Eleanor.’
His grey eyes warmed. ‘Thank you. Have a good day. I shouldn’t be too long. Is there anything you need doing in Salisbury?’
‘Not unless you fancy doing a home check. I’ve got a couple interested in rehoming a small dog.’
‘I could do that. What does it entail?’
Surprised, she glanced at him. Finn didn’t usually get involved with anything directly animal related.
‘It’s just common sense, really. They sounded like nice people when they rang, but it’s easy to pretend on the phone. One of the reasons I do a home check is to make sure they are who they say they are and that they’re not bonkers. Then I ask them a few pertinent questions. Have they considered what they’ll do when they want to go abroad on holiday? Are they aware of the costs and commitments of owning a dog? These two said they’ve had dogs before so they should be. I also make sure they’ve got a fully fenced garden, which literally means walking around the perimeter and checking there’s no gaps. We did a home check once before if you remember – we went out to see Reg Arnold, our dog food supplier.’
‘I do remember. That one worked out well, didn’t it?’
‘It did. He’s still got Candy. He takes her around in his van when it’s not too hot and she always looks happy.’
Jade handed Finn a leaflet. ‘I usually give prospective rehomers one of these. All the ins and outs of dog ownership are on here. There’s also the contract we get them to sign – so you can leave that for them to look through as well. Don’t get it mixed up with your art contract.’ She chuckled.
‘I’ll do my best. It will be a nice diversion from art. Are they expecting me?’
‘They said a Wednesday or Friday afternoon was good and I said I’d ring before I went. I’ll text you the address and phone number. Thanks, honey.’
He blew her a kiss from the door. ‘Happy to help.’
Jade watched him out of the reception window as he strolled across to his car. He’d been quieter than usual for the last few days. She knew how much this meeting meant to him. Having Eleanor Smythe as an agent could really launch his career, but until that contact was signed, nothing was in the bag. Hopefully he’d be back to his usual upbeat self after today.
Once or twice, she’d wondered if anything else was bothering him. But Finn had assured her it was just the stress of the impending interview and Jade was pretty sure he’d have said if there was anything else.
Maybe he was having second thoughts about the double wedding. She decided she’d quiz him on that later too. They could make sure they were on the same page before they saw Sarah and Callum.
* * *
The meeting with Eleanor Smythe wasn’t quite what Finn had expected. He’d known what she looked like, because he’d seen photographs online, but she was older, smaller, and more casual than he’d anticipated. She was wearing jeans and some kind of flower print top that looked expensive.
She had asked him to take some canvases with him. She’d specified which ones she wanted to see from the photographs he’d sent her, but to Finn’s surprise that didn’t seem to be as important to her as the interview itself.
So far, she’d barely glanced at the two canvases he’d lugged up in the lift to the top floor, which was where her office was. She gestured him to a seat opposite a large wooden desk in a room strewn with other artists’ work. The walls were dotted with it too, and Finn recognised a couple of famous names, which made him feel even more nervous. He hadn’t realised she represented so many well-known artists.
For about half an hour she cross-questioned him about his plans. Was he serious about his career? Yes. Did he have another full-time job? Not exactly . Did he have a family and were they supportive? Yes. Very much so . How much time did he have to paint? Time wasn’t an issue.
Throughout her quick-fire questions, Eleanor nodded and occasionally paused to think, but made no notes despite the details she was eliciting from him. He wondered if she had a photographic memory.
But then at the end of the interrogation, she leaned across the desk and her serious face warmed into a smile. ‘Thanks for all of that. I think we’ll get along well. I mainly asked you to come here so I could make sure you are who you said you are, and that you’re not bonkers. And of course to check you’re committed to your career and fully invested in your future. It’s easier to tell face to face than it is on the phone.’
Finn was startled. Her words were so similar to what Jade had said earlier that for a moment he was lost for words.
‘I haven’t offended you, have I?’ She didn’t sound as though she cared too much one way or the other.
‘No. Not at all.’ He explained about the dog home check he’d been entrusted to do, and Eleanor burst out laughing. ‘Your fiancée sounds very sensible. People lie through their teeth when they’re trying to get something they want. They’ll say anything.’ She steepled her hands and looked at him properly. ‘It must be interesting living in an animal sanctuary. My mother used to keep alpacas.’
‘Right,’ Finn said. ‘Was that for the wool?’
‘I think she got the first one to protect her hens. Alpacas dislike foxes almost as much as hen keepers do, but then she realised she’d need two – apparently you need to keep them in pairs – and so she ended up with a few, and she did sell the wool, yes.’ She paused. ‘She doesn’t have them any more. She’s ninety-eight but she has great memories and she’s sharp as a tack. I told her about your spaghetti theft incident. She hasn’t laughed so much in years. So I thank you for that.’
Finn relaxed for the first time since he’d arrived. He knew it was going to be OK. And it was. They breezed through the paperwork after that, and then Eleanor looked at her watch.
‘I have a lunch appointment, Finn, so I must fly. But I’ll be in touch about the exhibition.’
‘Would you like me to leave these canvases here?’
‘No, no. I’ll let you know when I need them. Good to meet you. Keep painting. Speak soon. Yah?’
Finn refuelled his car and grabbed a meal deal, which he ate parked in a layby before phoning the couple about the home visit, who said they’d be very happy to see him in the next hour or so.
They sounded great on the phone. And when he tracked down their little house on the north side of Salisbury, Babs and Andrew Mason seemed just as nice face to face. They didn’t seem bonkers and their little garden was fully fenced. Finn’s intuition told him that Jade would like them too. They clearly loved dogs as much as she did. They had a rogue’s gallery of previous dogs they’d owned adorning the walls of their lounge.
‘We always get their portraits done,’ Babs explained as she told him a little about each one. ‘The white Highland Terrier was called McKenzie. He lived to the grand old age of seventeen. We still miss him, don’t we, darling?’
Andrew nodded seriously.
‘And that little brown border terrier – she was a minx, wasn’t she, love? She was a rescue as well though, so we forgave her. You can never tell about their background so you need to be forgiving.’
‘They’re great portraits,’ Finn said. ‘Almost photographic.’ He peered in to look at the artist’s signature.
‘They are, aren’t they? They’re done by a friend of a friend. She’s an accountant by trade, but she does these in her spare time. She’s very talented. But she doesn’t have much confidence. We always pay her more money than she asks.’
Finn agreed that she was very talented. He’d done a few animal portraits for Jade for her sponsorship packs and animals weren’t easy to master. His hadn’t been proper portraits either – they’d just been sketches. He wondered if all artists were the same. Filled with self-doubt about their abilities.
He left Babs and Andrew the contract to read and told them to get in touch if they had any more questions, but that as far as he was concerned they’d passed the home check with flying colours. They were delighted and Finn got a sense of what Jade must feel all the time. A deep sense of satisfaction. It was very rewarding being an animal matchmaker.
He was on his way back home when he had a phone call from his father. Ray phoned him so rarely that Finn thought something might be wrong, so he pulled over to answer it.
‘Hi, Dad. Is everything OK?’
‘Everything’s fine with me, lad. I was wondering the same about you. You haven’t called me in two weeks.’
‘We spoke on Wednesday, didn’t we?’
‘A week ago, Wednesday, we spoke. Not this one just gone.’
Finn realised his father was right. He hadn’t called because it had been the day he’d spoken to Caitlin Neale and he’d needed to tell Jade about that conversation before he mentioned it to anyone else. He still hadn’t told Jade. A part of him was still trying to process it. Or maybe he’d just buried it. He wasn’t sure.
‘Sorry, Dad. We’ve been a bit busy.’ He told his father about the meeting he’d just had with Eleanor Smythe and the contract they’d signed. ‘So I now have an agent,’ he finished.
‘That’s grand, lad. I’m made up for you. I really am. Dorrie will be too when I tell her. Dorrie,’ he yelled. ‘Our Finn’s just got himself a top-notch artists’ agent. That’s grand news, isn’t it?’
Finn could hear Dorrie’s bubbly voice in the background.
‘She sends her congratulations,’ Ray said, coming back to the phone. ‘She also wants to know if there’s any news on the wedding? Have you set a date yet? You’re not going to just spring it on us, are you? She said she’ll need plenty of time to choose an outfit.’
‘Funny you should mention that as it happens. I do have some news.’
‘Hang on a tick. I’m going to put you on speaker. Save repeating everything. There you go. Dorrie’s listening now too.’
Finn told them about the possible double wedding and heard Dorrie’s squeals of excitement. ‘Oh, a double wedding. How fabulous. Isn’t that fabulous, Ray. Everything doubled up.’
‘We haven’t definitely decided on the double wedding,’ Finn cautioned. ‘So keep it to yourselves for now. We haven’t said anything to Ben yet. So if you speak to him, not a word.’
‘Not a word,’ Ray said. ‘We can keep a secret, don’t you worry.’
Finn knew that was true. His father had always been tight lipped. Suddenly he wanted to ask Ray if he knew that Bridie hadn’t really gone back to Ireland. If that had just been a line he’d told Finn so he didn’t feel as hurt. Had he been trying in his own clumsy way to protect him from a dreadful truth? Bridie hadn’t loved either of them and she’d just left because of that. Had Bridie and her whereabouts been the biggest secret Ray had ever kept?
It was on the tip of his tongue to ask his father now. To let it all come pouring out and demand that he be told the truth. But questions like that were best asked face to face. That had been a repeating refrain all morning. People could say anything on the phone. It was easy to lie if you didn’t have to look someone in the eye to do it.
Finn made a split-second decision. He would ask his father. But he would go up to Nottingham and do it face to face. He could tie it in with a trip to tell them about the wedding plans.
‘I’ve got to go, Dad. I’m in the car. But Jade and I are seeing Sarah and Callum tomorrow about all things wedding. And as soon as I know more I’ll let you know. I might even come up and see you. If Jade can spare me for a few days.’
‘That would be grand, lad.’ Finn heard Dorrie’s murmur of agreement in the background. ‘It will give us something nice to look forward to.’