NIGEL
Nancy was working on her laptop at the desk by the Aga. ‘Are you sure you don’t want me to help?’
‘No, it’s Mother’s Day. I said I’d wait on you and I am. Do you want another cup of tea?’
She smiled. ‘Of course I do. I’ve enjoyed today. Thank you for making the effort.’
‘It was long overdue. Sorry.’
‘You’ve always sent me flowers.’
‘Confession time. My PA always sent you flowers.’
‘Well, in that case, you can cook for me next year as well.’ She laughed. ‘Assuming you’re still here.’
‘I’ll still be here.’
‘You’re not tempted to get a job in the States so you can see your girls?’
He sighed. ‘I’ve considered it. But neither of them has reached out to me or replied when I’ve tried getting in touch.’
‘I’m sure they will eventually.’
‘You’re more sure than I am. Anyway, I’ve felt more loved and cared for here than I have for a long time in New York.’ He carried on loading the dishwasher.
‘Why was New York so appealing for so long?’ she asked. ‘And don’t say career because you could have built a decent career here, or just spent a couple of years in New York for the experience and then come back?’
Nigel stopped loading the dishwasher. Now would be a great opportunity to get everything out in the open.
‘Several reasons.’
‘It wasn’t just Helen, was it?’
‘What about Helen?’ How much did she know on that front?
‘That you thought she didn’t love you as much as you loved her.’
That was either a very lucky guess, or she could read his mind. Whichever it was, there was no point in denying it. ‘That was part of it.’
‘And the rest? I wasn’t oblivious to the fact that you stayed away from here as much as possible after you went to uni.’
He’d wanted to be open about this for so long, but now that the opportunity was there in front of him, saying it out loud seemed impossible.
Nancy shut her laptop. ‘If you don’t want to talk about it yet, we can let it go, but I think you need to be honest with yourself and me if you ever want some peace.’
He took a deep breath. ‘I saw something I shouldn’t have when I was staying in your flat in London over the summer holidays, just before I went down to Oxford. Dad with …’
‘You don’t have to say anymore. I thought as much. I hope it wasn’t too graphic. I was fully aware that your father was unfaithful to me on numerous occasions.’
‘Compared with the way he died, it was positively vanilla. But I didn’t know you knew he was having an affair until Mark said a few weeks ago. Why did you put up with it?’
‘It was a different time. And I was happy here. He sowed his wild oats and let me get on with my life. I wasn’t exactly a saint.’
‘I’m not judging you for Julia.’
‘Thank you. But that wasn’t what I meant.’
What the hell did she mean then? Then he put two and two together. Surely not. Nigel felt faint. He grabbed a chair and sat down by the table. ‘How many other half-siblings have I got?’
Nancy smiled. ‘None.’
‘Thank God. For a minute there, I thought you were about to tell me Mark had a different father.’
‘No. You might be complete opposites, but you are both Xander’s sons.
’ She got up and headed towards the sink with her empty mug.
‘I appreciate you not telling me at the time. I’m not sure what I would have done, knowing that you knew.
When you repeatedly went out of your way to avoid your father, it dawned on me what must’ve happened.
I’m sorry you felt you had to move away.
I’ve been intending to broach the subject with you ever since Xander’s funeral, but we never seemed to be alone until today. Did you tell anyone?’
‘Only Helen.’
Nancy nodded. ‘I know you think I’m a meddling matchmaker, but it really is frustrating watching the two of you walking on eggshells around one another.’
‘Well, you said it earlier. I love her more than she loves me.’
‘That isn’t actually what I said. I said you thought she didn’t love you as much as you love her.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘You’re back to matchmaking again.’
‘I notice you haven’t invited Helen here for Sunday lunch yet,’ Nancy said.
‘Her boys were making her lunch today.’
‘But there have been several other Sundays. They come round with amazing regularity.’
‘I didn’t think it was my place to invite her.’
‘This is your home. Of course you can ask her over. And you know how I love having guests. Particularly ones who already feel like part of the family. Why would you think she wasn’t welcome?’
‘It’s not that. Visiting here can be intimidating sometimes.’
‘Are you saying I don’t make our guests feel welcome? Helen was in and out of this kitchen for years when you were younger. If she found us intimidating, she would’ve kept away.’
‘There’s always that undercurrent of “why aren’t the two of you an item?” Helen and I are friends and nothing more.’
‘When have I ever pushed you two together?’
‘Apart from your comments just now? New Year’s Day. I hadn’t seen her for donkey’s years, and you were clearly angling for me to ask her out.’
‘I thought you’d appreciate more time together to catch up, that’s all.’ Nancy rinsed her mug under the tap. ‘You were always so much happier when she was around when you were younger. Anyway, you did ask her out.’
He sighed. ‘Not on a date. I just wanted to see how she was faring after her divorce.’
‘And after that, you needed to know how well she plays tennis, how good she is at walking, how much she enjoys swimming and eating out, and how good she is at teaching you to cook again.’
‘We’re friends. Friends spend time together doing things they enjoy. And how did you know about the cooking?’
‘I’m not deaf and blind - I heard the conversation you had with her this morning about whether you should parboil the potatoes because you couldn’t get the same variety that you used on Tuesday. Did she advise you to abandon the meringues and go out to Marks & Sparks as well?’
He laughed. ‘No, that was entirely my own decision, though she did text me to say they were beyond saving when I sent her a photo.’
‘I’m grateful for that. I saw them in the bin. I’m not sure how you got them so wrong.’
‘It’s a good job I have no desire to become a chef. But to get back to your original question, I would like Helen to join us for Sunday lunch, but please resist any potential daughter-in-law-related conversations. I don’t want to scare her off.’
Nancy raised her eyebrows. ‘So you’ll invite her next Sunday?’ she asked as she grabbed a tea bag from the jar.
Nigel got up. ‘I’m supposed to be making that tea for you.’
‘It seemed like it needed a little help to get into the teapot,’ she said. ‘And don’t change the subject.’
He grinned. She wasn’t going to let this go, and let’s face it, he would love Helen to be there on Sundays. ‘I’ll ask her when we go for a walk tomorrow.’
‘Excellent. I promise I will steer clear of any conversations involving rings, living arrangements, and weddings. I will treat her just like I’ve always treated Em and Jack.’
That wasn’t remotely reassuring, given that he suspected his mother had had a significant hand in getting Jack and Em together. Perhaps if he briefed Helen first, it would be less of a risk.
‘And she can bring Rocky too. It would be lovely to have a dog around the house again.’