Chapter Nineteen #2
‘OK. Message received and understood,’ teased Bets. ‘I’ve got a menu somewhere.’
They chose their food and then Ella left, heading down the road with Tess to change into some sensible shoes and a warmer coat. Ella couldn’t help feeling that Bets had engineered things, somewhat.
Predictably Tess was beside herself, twisting in and out of Ella’s legs.
‘Just let me change, you dumb dog. And I promise, we’ll go straight out.
’ As she glanced in the mirror in the hallway she winced.
There was just time to wipe away the spots of paint which had congregated in an acne rush across the top of her cheeks, run a brush through her hair, which had become flattened unbecomingly to her skull by her scarf, and maybe pop a quick slick of lipstick on.
Oh God, had Devon really seen her like this?
He was used to Marina and despite what he’d told her, she’d seen the woman on TV.
The woman was the patron saint of animal care and bloody gorgeous to boot.
Perhaps she’d brush on the barest touch of mascara.
Nothing to do with Devon. She pulled a face at herself, noting the nothingness of her hairstyle.
It reminded her she hadn’t had a haircut in weeks and that she usually never left the house without make-up.
There was nothing wrong with wanting to look nice for herself.
Nothing at all, she told herself firmly as she added a quick touch of discreet eyeliner to her eyelids and toyed with her blusher brush.
A tad of colour wouldn’t do any harm. She examined the results in the mirror.
Her heart sank. What was she thinking? She was going on a dog walk, for God’s sake.
The doorbell rang. She frowned at herself. It was too bloody late now. With a last look in the mirror, she tossed her head and marched down the stairs. Devon probably wouldn’t even notice and if he did, so what. It certainly wasn’t for his benefit.
Grabbing Tess’s lead, she opened the front door. Tess immediately came padding through. The dog had bat ears or extra sensory perception when Ella so much as touched the lead.
‘Hi, be with you in a sec.’ She pulled on her wellies and coat, and grabbed a scarf. ‘Right, all set.’
She switched on the porch light to guide her home later.
‘You look nice,’ said Devon.
Ella blushed. ‘Saturday night. Thought I’d make an effort for a change.’
Devon nodded and thankfully didn’t say anything else about it. ‘Which way shall we go. Quick circuit of the reservoir? Bets said she’d order the takeaway and go pick it up at seven, so we’ve got plenty of time.’
‘Don’t mind.’ Ella lifted her shoulders. ‘Reservoir sounds good . . . as long as the fishermen have all gone.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.’ He drew himself up tall, pretending to draw a sword. It struck her that he seemed lighter and less unhappy.
‘How was the painting today?’
‘Got loads done.’
‘What? In between the two of you strutting your stuff?’
Ella closed her eyes. ‘You saw us?’
‘Might have had a sneaky peek through the window on my way out.’
‘Please tell me you didn’t.’
‘Oh, I did.’ His mouth twisted in a teasing smile. ‘You both looked like you were having a great time. Was she OK?’
Ella exchanged a sad smile with him. ‘She’s really unhappy, isn’t she?’
‘Yeah, but very good at putting on a brave face. The happier and more exuberant she is, the more she’s trying to hide.’
‘I thought as much. Her and Jack, they’re very young, I guess.’
‘Yup. Too young, although for all that, I always thought they fit well. I believed they might make it through, but what do I know. I thought I’d got it all sussed and the happy-ever-after in sight.’ The bleak look was back on his face.
‘Did it not go well at the bank today?’
‘How did you guess?’
‘Because if it had you would have said something and the fact that you haven’t is probably to do with Bets being unhappy and not wanting to upset her any more.’
‘The bank basically told me to get stuffed. I’ve got no collateral. I can’t wait to tell Marina that one. Another ball-busting trip to London for me this week.’
‘But what about all the extra work you’ve been doing?’
‘As the bank manager pointed out, what if I got kicked in the leg by a bull and couldn’t work for three months? How would the bank get their money then?’
‘Seems rather short sighted of them.’
‘It’s all about risk. And I’m a poor risk.’
‘Could anyone else lend you the money?’ She thought of the holiday cottages – perhaps Geoffrey had some spare cash.
‘I can’t ask Dad. He’s already helping me out by letting me live rent-free in the barn and run the practice for him.
Usually you have to buy into a practice.
I’m not even sure what he’s living on at the moment.
’ He plunged his hands into his hair and looked up at the night sky.
‘Oh God, it’s all such a mess. Marina’s still making noises about us getting back together again. ’
‘Oh.’ Ella didn’t know what to say. Should she be encouraging? She had no idea how he felt about Marina. Did he still love her? How could he not – she looked stunning, super-organised, efficient, successful, perfect girlfriend material. He hadn’t given much away about her.
‘I know part of it is because she’s realised how much she relied on me for help with diagnosis.
She’s had a couple of complaints apparently from viewers about duff information.
She never was much of an academic. Scraped through her degree.
Not that she’d ever admit that to anyone.
And spending so much time filming, she’s not kept up with new research the way she should. ’
‘So do you think you might go back to her?’ Ella asked tentatively.
‘Who knows?’ He shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘Financially, it would make life easier if I did go back. And I could practise the area of medicine I really want to get into.’
Poor Devon, he sounded as confused as she was.
It made her feel guilty. She needed to speak to Patrick, not keep him hanging on.
Speaking freely to Devon the other day had made her realise she couldn’t ever go back.
Aside from not wanting the same as her ultimately, he hadn’t done anything wrong.
It wasn’t as if they’d ever talked about family or marriage. They’d each made their own assumptions.
They continued their walk as daylight slipped into dusk. It gave the reservoir an ethereal feel, mist floating over the water, ducks hugging the edge.
‘I’ve started painting again.’ Ella didn’t know where the words came from or why she thought Devon would be interested but they burst out of her as she watched the wind tossing the water up into a crossfire of ripples.
‘What, different from the mice?’ asked Devon without missing a beat.
‘Very different. Landscapes. Watercolours even. I’ve never done them before. They never appealed. I think they might qualify as real art.’
‘Glad to hear it.’
‘Not that they’d get any critical acclaim or anything but I’m doing them because I can’t not.’
‘Would you believe me if I said that’s why I practise veterinary science?
I can’t not do it any more. I think that’s why it was easy to leave Marina.
I hated what I was doing. Clipping guinea pig toenails.
Trying to persuade owners of overweight pugs to put them on diets.
Whereas, even at four in the morning,’ he shot her a mischievous look, ‘I don’t mind getting out of bed to help deliver a breeched foal.
I never ever thought of doing anything else and I loved my job until moving to Islington. London was where it all went wrong.’
‘But you’re getting back on your feet now.’
‘I would be if I could just clear this debt. Looks like I’ll be doing locum work on call for quite some time, which I don’t mind but it’s just knackering and then I worry I might make a mistake through sheer tiredness.
I nearly totalled the car last week coming back from stitching a sheep back together in Eaton Bray. ’
‘That’s not good, Devon.’
‘What is it about you? I spill all my secrets.’
‘Maybe I’m a secret agent in disguise,’ suggested Ella, with a quick light-hearted grin.
‘You’re certainly a champion painter. I can’t believe how much better Bets’ kitchen looks.’
‘Hmm, and I can’t believe that you didn’t show up until beer o’clock,’ teased Ella.
‘Ah, I have a good excuse, Buster the knicker-stealing dog. Unfortunately he ate them.’
‘Seriously?’ Ella tilted her head, checking his expression. She had a feeling he was having her on.
‘Yup.’
‘Eeuw. What do you do about that?’
‘Emergency op to retrieve them. If it weren’t for my financial situation I’d be investing in keyhole surgery equipment and using cameras. Something like that can be retrieved, the same way they went in. Although they don’t come out in the same state they went in.’
Ella shuddered. ‘I dread to think. Do you get that sort of thing a lot?’ She’d never really considered the sort of things he dealt with on a daily basis.
‘On a reasonably regular basis.’
‘How much does one of those cameras cost?’
‘Tens of thousands of pounds and there’s the training, although I had started that.
’ A dark expression doused the enthusiasm on his face.
‘I started the training when . . . well, you know I told you the other day about the weasel. The course finished early that day, the lecturer wasn’t well .
. . cliché of clichés I came home earlier than expected to find Madam and the weasel giving our bed a through road test.’ He screwed up his face.
‘For a little guy he certainly had some stamina.
‘I did carry on the training but then it quickly became apparent that at the moment I can’t afford it or the equipment, but one day. It can make such a difference . . . ’ he trailed off. ‘Sorry, I’m getting evangelical.’
‘No, it’s interesting. So how does it make a difference?’