Chapter 24 #2
I didn’t expect to spend most of the night following my launch staying up to write this letter, but it’s important for me to set the record straight.
We’ve not had the chance to get to know each other very well, and yet I find that your good opinion matters to me a great deal.
I’m happy to discuss any of this with you, and I hope going forward we can develop a more amicable neighbourly relationship.
Yours,
Jack Siddall
I read the letter a second time to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.
It was a strange mix of formal and friendly, but it was that combination which made it sound so sincere.
I could hear Jack’s voice in every word, both earnest and slightly awkward, a normally private man I’d struggled to get a read on from the beginning who had chosen to open up to me, not because he was obliged to, but because he wanted to – and believed – it was the right thing to do.
He was embarrassed by his social unease which had manifested as rudeness, and I felt equally ashamed of the way I had acted in return, repeatedly lashing out at him instead of showing the compassion and understanding I normally prided myself on.
My behaviour towards him so far had not been deserving of his honesty, but I was grateful he had gifted it to me.
I turned to the photocopied pages and scanned through them.
There it was in black and white, the Oxford Boating Association agreement with the Jericho Wine Barge, for a single mooring position, exactly as Jack had said in the letter.
I felt myself grow hot with embarrassment at how wrong I’d got it.
I could blame Liam for playing on my fears, but it had been my prejudice against Jack which had made it easy for him to do so.
I had been so easily taken in by Boaty Liam, my star-struck gratitude for his help in advertising my first Blind Date with a Book night blinding me to his duplicity.
And then there was the matter of the mishaps which had beset me of late. Although Jack could offer no proof of not being involved, my gut told me his denial rang true. They were either coincidences, or somebody else was behind them.
I considered the issue as dispassionately as I could.
Unless some kind of magic had occurred, in which case presumably my invitation to join Hogwarts was on its way, there was no denying that my power cable had been stolen by someone.
But Liam had gone out of his way to lend me his spare and had seemed as shocked as I was about the incident.
I could see no benefit to him in stealing it.
And just because Nana Rose had never experienced a snap inspection, it didn’t mean they never happened.
The Oxford Boating Association had many members, any of whom could have demanded the inspection.
In fact, now I thought about it, wasn’t there a good chance the reason for Eric’s caginess was that he didn’t want to admit he’d been the one to instigate it?
The Oxford Canal had always been his main love, and keeping its residents in line was a responsibility he took very seriously.
If he had concerns about the Bookship and the way it reflected on the Oxford Boating Association, then it would make sense for him to apply pressure on me to bring my boat up to the standard he expected from businesses along the canal.
My brain was throbbing with it all. But I’d rushed to conclusions about Jack and look where that had got me.
I rubbed my eyes, which felt tired and achy after my disturbed night followed by the long period of deciphering Jack’s handwriting and poring over the tiny print of the documents he’d included.
I felt confused and upset, let down by Liam, and embarrassed by my behaviour concerning Jack.
Having read Pride and Prejudice at least once a year from the age of seven, I thought I’d learnt the lesson about not being charmed by Wickham types.
Not that I was likening Jack to Mr Darcy, although I reckoned the pair of them would probably get on famously with their similar awkwardness.
‘You were right all along, Hilda, and I was wrong,’ I said, scratching her between the ears.
‘You immediately clocked Jack as being a decent sort and wanted to spend time with him, while you either ignored Liam or were grumpy whenever you saw him. I promise to pay more attention to your character assessments in the future.’
She grunted and rolled on her back, inviting me to tickle her tummy in recompense.
‘The question is, what do I do with this information now I have it?’ I wondered aloud.
Thinking about Liam was easier than considering how I was going to interact with Jack in the future.
It wasn’t like I could do the ultra-mature thing of avoiding him until he forgot all about me.
The man was going to be living next door for the foreseeable future.
And I was going to have to thank him for retrieving my Oxford Bookship sign from the canal.
Jack had written to me, so I could take the coward’s way out and write a letter in response, but I knew I wouldn’t do that.
I was a big enough person to admit to my mistakes in person, and I would do it.
Only perhaps not today. I’d experienced enough emotional turbulence in the last twenty-four hours.