CHAPTER TWENTY
I laughed. ‘But there won’t be. Not after all this time.’ I swallowed. ‘Will there?’ I looked at Dan, hardly daring to hope.
He folded his arms and studied me, an amused light in his dark eyes. ‘You’d better find out.’
My heart was racing as I reached inside and felt around.
But all I retrieved was a bit of moss and something slimy, which I shook off instantly with an exclamation of disgust.
‘Never mind,’ said Dan. ‘It was worth a try.’
‘But highly improbable that a letter would have survived after all these years for us to find!’
I felt ridiculous now for even imagining it was a possibility . . .
*****
Later, Dan phoned the hotel and booked us in for another night.
It was his suggestion that we catch a train home in the morning.
I tried to argue, saying it would be so expensive, but he said it had been a long day and we hadn’t even been along to the hotel spa yet.
Even when we got back to the hotel and I mentioned I had no swimwear with me, he wasn’t deterred.
‘There are shops in Alton. You can kit yourself out there?’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Let’s catch the bus if you’re worried about taxi fares?’
‘Oh. Well . . . all right.’
‘I’ll check at reception for transport times, okay?’
‘Okay.’
I stared after him. There it was again, that youthful energy . . . that spontaneity . . . the deciding to do something without thinking about the possible negative consequences!
He was gone like a whirlwind and I felt myself carried along in his wake.
Was it a symptom of getting a bit older and wiser?
This creeping fear that a plan made in haste could sometimes go wrong?
Had I really been more fearless in my twenties?
Or had I always hesitated before taking a chance on something that was unchartered territory for me?
My mind was already turning somersaults, thinking of reasons not to do this.
What if we got the bus along to Alton, but the bus back was cancelled because of the snow? We’d be stranded in Alton and we’d need to get a taxi which would be horribly expensive. Then by the time we arrived back at the hotel, the spa might be closed.
Also, how the hell was I going to find a swimsuit that was flattering enough in such a short space of time? Were my legs hairy? Would I have to find a chemist and buy a razor?
There were so many questions that in the end – if it was up to me – would probably make me decide not to bother!
But I’d agreed to it now.
And the strange little tingle of excitement inside told me I was glad I had . . .
*****
As it happened, our trip to Alton went off relatively smoothly.
The bus was on time, although the journey took almost an hour due to the fact that it trundled along a winding route through what seemed like every cute village in the county of Hampshire.
I didn’t mind at all. Each village we passed through was like a scene from a Christmas card with snow like thick icing covering roofs and lawns, and sparkling in the trees and hedgerows.
On the way, we talked about our trip to Chawton, and I asked him about Arabella.
I’d been burning with curiosity to know if they were in a relationship but hadn’t felt I could ask.
But I felt much more comfortable in Dan’s company now, having spent the day with him, and it felt natural, not awkward, to ask about her.
‘We work for the same company. Arabella is in admin and we’ve both been tasked with setting up a branch office in Sunnybrook,’ he explained.
‘Right.’ I searched for something complimentary to say about her. ‘Arabella seems . . . very bright.’
‘She’s sharp as a tack. Sometimes far too sharp for her own good. But she’s great at getting things done.’ He grinned. ‘There’s nothing going on if that’s what you’re thinking. We’ve just been thrown together quite a lot recently.’
I shook my head. ‘I wasn’t thinking that at all,’ but I knew my reddening cheeks were telling a different story.
I studied Dan’s profile as we drew into Alton. Dan might not be interested in Arabella, but I had a feeling that given half a chance, she would definitely be pushing for them to be rather more than work colleagues.
Alighting from the bus, it was then a mad dash to find a shop selling swimwear. The next bus back to the hotel left in forty minutes so I would have no time to linger.
Spotting a clothes shop, I pointed and said to Dan, ‘I’ll dive in there and see if there’s anything suitable. I won’t be long.’
‘I’ll have a wander around while you’re busy.’ He grinned. ‘Hate shopping for clothes myself. Good luck with your mission.’
I smiled and said I’d see him at the bus stop. I was secretly relieved that he wasn’t coming into the shop with me while I looked at swimwear. It would have felt awkward searching for skimpy clothing with Dan watching!
Luckily, their range of swimwear was fairly decent, bearing in mind it was the middle of winter.
I supposed a lot of people went abroad at this time of the year to escape the British winter.
I hadn’t bought a swimsuit in years, and I definitely wasn’t brave enough to go for a bikini, but I found a navy all-in-one that would definitely do the job.
I picked it up, about to ask if I could try it on, when my eye suddenly caught a lilac one-piece with a pretty pink floral design over the top half. It was cut rather high on the leg but I decided I’d try them both on.
The navy one was simple and practical. Exactly what I needed for a swim in a hotel pool. But when I tried on the lilac swimsuit, I was surprised at how flattering it was on me, emphasising curves in all the right places.
I frowned anxiously at myself in the full-length mirror of the changing room. Was it too daring? I’d always hated being the centre of attention, much preferring to blend quietly into the background.
Which one? Decisions, decisions!
Should I buy the practical, no-nonsense one? The one that said simply that I was in the spa to swim. Nothing else. Or should I opt for the pretty, feminine one that revealed rather more of my assets and was a little bit flirty.
I looked at my phone and was shocked to see that while I’d been standing there dithering over my decision, time had been moving on.
Then I got cross with myself for making such a big deal over buying a silly swimsuit – a garment I was going to wear once and then probably stuff in a drawer at home for years.
Wyatt didn’t like flying, so my dreams of a romantic getaway in the sun with him had been crushed early on.
He was always too focused on furthering his acting ambitions to have time for holidays, anyway.
Why are you so worried about what you’ll look like, Lizzie?
Just buy one and get out of there!
So I made a decision, got dressed in a hurry and rushed out to pay for it, hoping I wouldn’t regret my choice . . .
*****
The bus for our return journey was only five minutes late, which meant we’d be back at the hotel in good time to spend an hour or so in the spa before dinner.
Before rushing to meet Dan at the bus stop, I’d managed to nip into the chemist’s and buy anti-perspirant and a razor to tackle my legs. And now we were swaying along, enjoying the snowy views, and I was thinking rather guiltily that I hadn’t enjoyed myself this much in a long time.
It was mainly because of the whole exciting thing of seeing Chawton again, of course. It had given me the usual buzz to be in Jane Austen’s cottage again, and even more thrilling this time had been the search for places mentioned by Charlotte in her notebook diary.
I was enjoying discovering it all with Dan, of course, but I’d be having just as great a time if I was here with Wyatt.
I frowned, thinking about this. I could picture Wyatt now, taking selfies in front of Chawton Cottage and dreaming up another amusing social media story. Would he be interested in following the leads in Charlotte’s precious diary? Probably not. Wyatt would have made the trip all about him.
The reason I was loving this was partly because Dan actually shared my curiosity. He’d seemed almost as keen as I was to explore the places mentioned in the diary and to try and discover the identity of the mysterious ‘J’ . . .
Feeling rather disloyal, I dug out my mobile. ‘I’m just going to phone Wyatt. He’s probably wondering what on earth I’m up to.’
Dan gave a brusque nod. ‘Of course. Go ahead.’
He turned away and looked out of the opposite windows – deliberately, I thought, to let me know he wasn’t listening.
But the mention of Wyatt had cast a shadow over the day.
Once again, I found myself wondering why on earth two grown men were still at loggerheads over something that had happened between them literally years ago . . .