Chapter 47
Andrea had clearly warned James he was about to be in BIG trouble because when Felicity got home that night, she found him on the floor in the lounge surrounded by sofa cushions which he had upended on all sides.
In fact she could barely see him at all except for a tuft of his blond hair, but she knew he was in there because the cats were hurling themselves at the structure on all sides.
Whether they were trying to get inside or knock it down was anyone’s guess.
Felicity sat on the armchair and tried to keep her voice gentle. ‘Did you build a fort?’
After a beat a voice came from inside. ‘It’s more a castle, I like to think.’
‘It’s very impressive. But it won’t protect you this time I’m afraid.’
‘Are you sure about that?’ came the voice again.
‘It’s very well built.’ As he said those words Bobby hurled himself at one corner and knocked an entire side down flat.
James hastily reached to pull it back up but Felicity had already seized the moment and jumped onto it with a deftness that surprised even herself.
She crossed her legs to steady herself and looked across at James, who was sitting with his back against the sofa frame, his face tense.
Holly immediately waltzed in and curled up in his lap.
He rubbed her little ginger ears absent-mindedly.
‘Halt, who goes there?’ he said, his voice wobbly.
‘You look braver than you sound,’ she said.
‘I’m a bit worried I’m about to get a strip torn off me.’
Felicity pretended to look at her watch. ‘Not straight away. I thought we could at least talk first.’
‘Phew. Okay. Talking I can do.’
‘Are we doing it in the fort?’
‘I think so, yes,’ said James. So Felicity crawled a little further in and leant against his side. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and made a happy sighing sound into her ear. A sound she loved so much she forgot to be mad for just a bit.
‘So, Mr Penguin Man. We’re moving to Guernsey, huh?’ she said, eventually.
‘Not necessarily. I mean, only if you want to. I’m so sorry, Felicity. I should have told you. I should have asked. I should have… done it differently.’
Felicity sighed and ruffled Holly’s ears. ‘I know why you did it like that.’
‘I don’t want you to think we all went behind your back.’
‘Well you did, didn’t you?’
‘Not in a bad way. Not really. We just thought you might not like the idea.’
‘I don’t know how I feel about it, to be honest.’
‘So we were just exploring the possibilities before we told you, that’s all.’
Felicity leaned into him, breathing in his lovely clean-laundry smell. Be honest. ‘I get it. I do. But you also know I have trust issues. This is really not ideal for me when all the people I do actually trust in the world have been going behind my back.’
James inhaled sharply. ‘When you put it like that it actually sounds terrible.’
‘I know, right?’
He squeezed her tight. ‘I’m so sorry.’
‘So, what now? I mean, how does this even work, all this? What will you do about your job? I’m not exactly the breadwinner here. And how am I meant to cope without Sophie?’
James kissed the top of her head. ‘Well, my job I can actually do anywhere, I do most of it from here, after all. I only have to go to London occasionally and there are ferries and planes and all that jazz. As for Sophie, that’s a bit more tricky…
but I’m sure she’ll be able to visit, once we find somewhere?
She can fly or even get the ferry. We just need to make sure we’ve got enough space on the drive for all her Range Rovers. ’
‘I suppose so,’ said Felicity absently, her mind whirring.
‘The most important thing is, we’ll be together,’ he whispered. ‘And there will be donkeys.’
‘This is true.’
‘Felicity? I really am sorry.’
‘It’s okay,’ she mumbled. ‘Just no more surprises, okay? I mean it.’
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘No more surprises.’ Was it her imagination or did his voice sound a little strangled?
He may have said no more surprises, but the very next morning James told her he had to go away for business for a couple of days.
‘Sorry,’ he had said, over their cereal and coffee.
‘I know I promised but this is for work, I’ve got to go to Manchester for a conference but I’ll be back by Friday.
Then we can talk through the whole Guernsey thing properly, okay?
There’s no pressure, remember. It’s got to be right, for both of us. ’
Felicity had nodded reassuringly. ‘Of course, that’s fine.’ There was nothing else she could have said. But deep down inside her there lurked a familiar and rather ominous sense of doom.