Chapter 24
24
As Annabelle and Charlotte approached the table once more, Tristan, Jamie and Nick all stood up. Tristan handed over Comet’s lead and Charlotte smiled gratefully at him. He didn’t seem nervous of her little cocker spaniel, which was something at least.
‘Ready to go?’ Tristan asked.
‘Sure, and thanks again for offering to give me a lift,’ Charlotte replied. After the conversation with Annabelle in the loos, she couldn’t get the comparison with Theo James out of her head when she looked at Tristan. She’d mainlined the Divergent films a few years back, and adored seeing the actor in The Gentlemen recently, too. She told herself firmly to get a grip. It was clearly the Jack Daniel’s colouring her perspective tonight.
Annabelle, Jamie and Nick all said goodbye outside the pub and headed to the battered Ford Mondeo estate that was parked a few spots away from Tristan’s Audi. Chatting as they went, Jamie, who was designated driver for the evening, tooted the car’s horn cheerfully as they pulled out of the car park.
Tristan unlocked the car and then opened the boot. ‘Will Comet be OK in here?’
Charlotte nodded. ‘Yup. He’s so knackered, he’ll just crash out, I would think.’
As if to contradict her, the spritely Comet jumped into the boot, looking far from tired, and Charlotte unhooked his lead. She was confident he couldn’t leap over the back seat to get to her and as he settled down in the back she and Tristan rounded the car and got into the front seats.
Tristan started the engine, and for a minute or two they drove in silence. Away from the chatter and the lights of the pub, Charlotte took a moment to relax, and she leaned back on the black leather seat, taking in the dimming silhouettes of the landscape as Tristan drove back to Nightshade Cottage. She felt content, energised by the socialising, but also ready to chill by herself for the rest of the evening. She was an introvert at heart but once she felt comfortable she enjoyed the company of other people. She got the feeling, having observed Tristan tonight, that he was the same. She found her eyes drawn to Tristan’s profile in the fading light. He had a prominent nose, and a generous mouth, and surprisingly long eyelashes. Realising she was staring, she turned her head back to the front before he noticed.
Very soon they’d pulled into the driveway, and Tristan briskly undid his seatbelt and opened the driver’s door. By the time Charlotte had located her seatbelt clip, he’d walked around to the passenger’s side and pulled open her door, too.
‘Thanks,’ she said in surprise. ‘That’s very chivalrous of you.’
Tristan raised an amused eyebrow. ‘Just wanted to make sure you didn’t sprain an ankle getting down. It’s not a car built for, er, shorter people.’
‘I’m not that short!’ Charlotte bristled slightly, but then remembered Annabelle’s words in the ladies’, and decided to smile. Tristan might not have the gift of the gab, but it was still a nice gesture. She stepped down and then went to let Comet out of the boot. He jumped down and then sniffed around the front garden before lifting a leg on one of Lorelai’s rose bushes.
‘Thanks for the ride home,’ Charlotte said. ‘I wasn’t really looking forward to walking back down that road in the dark.’
‘It can be dangerous,’ Tristan agreed. ‘I tried to ban Gran from walking down it in the winter, but she ignores me and still does it sometimes.’
There was a pause and Charlotte found herself looking up into Tristan’s face and wondering what to do next. Then she remembered the paperwork, which was obviously the reason he’d agreed to bring her home.
‘I’ll, er, see if I can find those forms, shall I?’ she said, making a move for the house.
‘Thanks. Gran’s probably locked up her side though, so I’d better use my key.’
Lorelai was obviously still up and about as there was a warm, cosy light emanating from the small sitting room at the front of the house, and the flickering glow of the television.
‘Gran’s probably binge-watching Ozark .’ Tristan glanced over his shoulder with a grin in Charlotte’s direction. ‘She loves a bit of drug heist drama.’
‘Really?’ Charlotte tried not to sound surprised. Nothing about Lorelai suggested a liking for fictional drug cartels, but the thought of it amused Charlotte.
‘Oh, sure – she bookends it with episodes of Antiques Road Trip . Best thing I ever did, getting her a Netflix subscription.’ Tristan reached Lorelai’s kitchen door and fumbled to get the key in the lock. Charlotte, unsure whether or not she should follow him through to Lorelai’s side of the house, hovered awkwardly on her side of the partitioned wall.
‘It’s all right, I’ll look where you told me they were, and if I can’t find them, I’ll let you know.’ Tristan finally unlocked the door and then paused. ‘I’ll give Gran a shout, too, so she knows she’s not being burgled.’
‘OK then. Well, thanks again for the lift, and goodnight.’
‘Goodnight.’ Tristan obviously had the forms on his mind because before he’d even finished speaking, he was through the door.
Charlotte got out her own keys and let herself through to her side of the house. She didn’t bother switching on the main light as the moon was starting to rise and she could see well enough. She flipped the switch on the kettle, grabbed a mug from the cupboard and was just putting some fresh water down for Comet when a tap at the pane of glass in the back door made her jump out of her skin. Comet gave a protective yap and then rushed to the door, tail wagging.
‘Sorry,’ Tristan said, obviously having seen her jump. ‘I didn’t mean to give you a fright. I just wanted to let you know I found those papers, exactly where you said you’d left them.’
‘Good,’ Charlotte replied, once her heartbeat had slowed down. ‘I wouldn’t be much of an archivist if I didn’t know where I’d put things.’
‘It’s odd,’ Tristan mused. ‘I mean, Gran can’t have missed them – they were right there on the kitchen table.’ His eyes met Charlotte’s and she could see the questions in them.
‘I’m sure she just didn’t realise,’ Charlotte replied quickly. ‘Maybe she’d shoved her newspaper over them, or something.’
Tristan gave a brief smile. ‘You’re probably right,’ he said. She got the sense he was trying to reassure himself as he said it. ‘She’s getting on a bit now, and sometimes people her age can be forgetful, can’t they?’
‘Absolutely.’ Charlotte nodded and tried not to think about other reasons Lorelai might have lapsed. Living out here in the middle of nowhere with a succession of lodgers in the annexe wasn’t an ideal prospect if there was anything more seriously wrong.
‘Look, I know it’s a lot to ask, but would you mind keeping an eye on her while you’re here?’ Tristan ran a hand through his hair, looking distinctly nervous. ‘I know you’re just the lodger, but if you notice anything odd about her behaviour, anything at all, it would take a load off my mind if you could let me know.’
‘Of course,’ Charlotte replied. ‘I’m sure I’ll see you around the building site when you move your office up there. I’ll let you know if I see anything concerning.’
‘No,’ Tristan said. ‘I think it might be better if I gave you my number. That way, you can text me if I need to come and check on her.’
Charlotte’s face flushed. She’d been hoping that Tristan might give her his phone number, but these weren’t exactly the circumstances she’d been wishing for. ‘That sounds like a good plan.’ She whipped her phone out of her jeans pocket, and they swapped numbers. Her heart gave a little extra thudding beat as Tristan’s number appeared on her phone after he called it.
‘Thanks, Charlotte,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but it’ll put my mind at rest if you could let me know if you spot anything out of the ordinary.’
‘I will.’ Charlotte looked up at him, and for a long moment, their eyes locked. Despite the step from the door to the patio, they were standing very close to each other, having checked the phone numbers, and now Charlotte wondered how to break the moment.
In the end, it was Comet who did it for them as he meandered past Tristan, giving him a cursory sniff on the way, as if he was saying, ‘Well, are you staying or going?’
Tristan reached down and gave the dog a pat. ‘I hope you both had a nice time tonight,’ he said as he straightened back up. ‘Annabelle, Nick and Jamie are all great company.’
‘Yes, they are,’ Charlotte replied. ‘And it was nice to get to know you a little bit better, too.’
Tristan glanced away and Charlotte wondered if she’d made him uncomfortable.
‘I enjoyed getting to know you a bit better, too,’ he said softly. ‘Let’s do it again sometime.’
‘I’d like that.’ Charlotte gave a grin. ‘Well, you know where to find me.’
‘I do.’ Tristan fumbled to put his mobile back in his pocket. ‘So,’ he said quietly, ‘goodnight then.’
‘Goodnight.’ Charlotte watched as he moved away from the doorstep, rounded the corner of Nightshade Cottage and then she heard the engine start and the Audi pulling out of the drive.
For the second time that night, she jumped out of her skin as another voice floated softly across from the other side of the patio. ‘Silly boy,’ Lorelai said, more than a trace of humour in her voice. ‘As if I’d be losing my marbles!’
Charlotte, once over the surprise, gave a short laugh. ‘You hid those papers on purpose, didn’t you, Lorelai?’
Lorelai, close enough for Charlotte to see the feigned look of innocence in her eyes, gave a grin in response. ‘Well, what was I supposed to do to encourage the two of you to stop snapping at each other? And from what I’ve just seen, it worked!’
Charlotte shook her head. ‘Lorelai,’ she said gently, ‘has anyone ever told you you’re incorrigible?’