A Springtime Affair

by Katie Fforde

  ‘A mother is different, though.’

  ‘Of course. I did wonder if I’d never want her to have a man in her life but I’m fine about William. I mean, it took a bit of getting used to and a lot of blanking out about what they do that isn’t just having dinner or whatever, but basically I just want her to be happy.’

  ‘I’m sure James just wants me to be happy. And I am,’ he said. As they’d reached a set of traffic lights just then he took the opportunity to kiss her.

  Helena was glad Jago was driving – a glass or two of Prosecco would make the whole date a lot easier, at least in the beginning. If James didn’t like her, Jago would be torn between his girlfriend and his old friend forever. As for her liking James, she’d made up her mind to. A lot of things were a matter of choice, she realised, even those that didn’t appear to be.

  As arranged, Helena and Jago arrived first. James appeared minutes later. Amy was due half an hour after that.

  ‘Hey mate!’ said Jago as he and James hugged each other.

  ‘So this is Helena?’ said James. He hugged her too and she took it as a good sign.

  While Jago went to the bar, Helena and James inspected each other. She was a bit more intense with her inspection than he was. For her part she liked his curly fair hair, very blue eyes and intelligent expression, and thought Amy would too. He wasn’t as tall as Jago and, in Helena’s opinion, not as attractive, but he was quite good-looking enough, she felt.

  When they’d finished studying each other she smiled and he smiled back. ‘So, you’re a weaver?’ he said.

  ‘Yes. But Amy and I do a lot of workshops together which are more lucrative than selling the things really. I hope you’re not anti-weaver generally.’

  He laughed, as he was supposed to. ‘Certainly not. So far, I’ve never met a weaver I haven’t liked.’ He paused. ‘Of course you are the first weaver I’ve met.’

  She smiled. ‘Amy is also a weaver.’

  ‘Well, let’s hope she fits the pattern.’

  ‘I don’t know if there’s a pattern but she’s bright, and fun.’ She paused. ‘Jago says she’s jolly.’

  ‘You don’t agree with him?’

  ‘Oh, I do! She and I have a lot of fun but I’m not sure it’s a flattering description.’

  ‘I’ll let you know if I think she’s jolly.’ He winked.

  Helena decided she liked James – he was definitely jolly.

  As the evening was going so well, they decided to stay and eat. Amy and James seemed to hit it off and, Amy had confided, she fancied James really quite a lot.

  But while they were sharing a selection of puddings, Jago frowned and got out his phone. ‘Sorry,’ he said, having looked down at it. ‘I’ll have to take this.’

  Something in the way that he left the table made everyone else a bit less cheerful. ‘I hope it’s not something dreadfully wrong with one of his properties,’ said Helena. ‘We may need to leave at once to put buckets under burst pipes.’

  ‘Well, if you have to go, maybe me and Amy can stay on for a bit? Would you be up for that, Amy?’ James asked.

  ‘I should think that would be all right,’ said Amy. She sounded fairly relaxed about it but Helena guessed she was delighted by his suggestion.

  Jago came back. ‘We’re going to have to go, I’m afraid,’ he said.

  ‘Burst pipes?’ said Amy.

  ‘No. Why should it be burst pipes?’ Jago seemed confused.

  Helena got down from her stool. ‘We were just speculating about what your phone call was. I guessed a plumbing crisis at one of your rental properties.’

  ‘If only!’ he said. He pulled some notes out of his wallet and put them on the table. ‘Let me know if that’s not enough and don’t go crazy, kids!’ He gave a cheery smile but Helena could tell it wasn’t sincere. He was obviously very worried.

  He didn’t volunteer any information after they set off for home and eventually she had to ask. ‘I don’t want to be nosy, but can you tell me what the phone call was about or is it confidential?’

  He sighed. ‘I do have a business problem, I’m afraid. Which means I’ll have to be away for a while and I’m not sure how long.’

  ‘Oh.’ This was a shock but she didn’t want to appear clingy by letting him see how much of a shock. ‘But we’ll be able to keep in touch with each other?’

  He shook his head and looked straight ahead through the windscreen. ‘I’m afraid not. There’s no phone signal where I’m going. Or any Wi-Fi.’

  ‘But what about your properties here? Will you need me to do anything for you?’

  ‘Sweet of you to offer.’ He gave her a warm smile and patted her knee. ‘I’ll sort things out before I go.’ He was silent for a few moments. ‘Will you be OK on your own in the house? It could feel a bit spooky with it being unfinished and everything.’

  Helena didn’t know if she’d be all right or not. She hadn’t minded living on her own in her little studio, but he was right, the house was a bit spooky, being big and half a building site. ‘I might ask Amy to come and stay if you wouldn’t mind?’

  ‘Of course not. She could have your old room. She’s fun, isn’t she? I think she and James will enjoy each other’s company even if they don’t get together forever.’

  Helena sensed he’d rather talk about Amy and James than his own situation. ‘Could you tell if he liked Amy? And you know what I mean when I say “liked”!’

  He chuckled. ‘I think he did. She’s sparky and fun and she’ll take his mind off his lost love.’

  ‘As long as his lost love doesn’t come between them.’

  Jago was thoughtful. ‘I don’t think she will. She wasn’t all that great, to be honest. Although she thought she was and James did too. Amy is a far better bet, relationship-wise.’

  Helena laughed. ‘Glad she’s been promoted from being “a jolly girl”.’

  ‘You took that all wrong!’

  They argued about it cheerfully for the rest of the journey home.

  In the morning he left, early, before Helena was properly awake.

  She tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t and found tears slipping out of the corners of her eyes as she listened to the birds and saw the room get lighter.

  In theory she had no reason to cry. Jago had been called away on business and had gone. It was no big deal. But somehow it felt like a big deal, as if something had changed – not necessarily between them but with him.

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  There was always plenty to do in the house and Helena’s building skills had come on a lot since living with Jago. She was best at pointing but she also tidied up a few half-finished sections of bricklaying. But when she could do no more and it was no longer silly o’clock, she went round to see her mother.

  ‘Hello, darling,’ said Gilly, without looking up from writing something. It looked like a list. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Mum! How do you know anything’s wrong? I’ve just arrived.’

  ‘I’m your mother. Don’t query the process.’ Now Gilly did look up. ‘So?’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong! Well, not really.’ Helena pulled out a chair and sat at the kitchen table, putting her arms on it. ‘Jago’s gone away, that’s all. I’m going to miss him.’

  ‘Oh, sweetheart, I’m sorry. That’s horrible. How long is he away for?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘But you can keep in touch with him? FaceTime? See how he is?’

  ‘No. He said he’d be out of contact.’

  ‘That is a bit harder to cope with, love. But you didn’t leave on bad terms or anything?’

  ‘Oh no.’ Although this was the first time he’d got up without making love to her, but she didn’t need to share that with her mother. ‘No, we’re fine but I’m a bit worried about him. He got this phone call while we were out with James and Amy last night and we had to leave the wine bar right away so he could make arrangements. Then he went really early this morning.’

  ‘If you wan
t to come home for a bit, do,’ said Gilly firmly. ‘Whatever your old mother is getting up to doesn’t stop this being your home, first and foremost.’

  Her mother’s invitation instantly made Helena feel better. She didn’t want to move back home but knowing she could made the prospect of being alone in Jago’s house seem less daunting. ‘That’s really kind of you, Mum, but I think I’ll be fine. I’m a big girl now, after all.’

  ‘You’ll always be my baby, darling,’ said Gilly, smiling fondly. ‘Now, I planned to make some soup. Do you want to stay and help me chop up vegetables?’

  ‘Oh yes, that would be fun.’

  They made soup and chocolate cake and by the time Helena left with the cake in a tin she felt a lot better.

  She was further encouraged by Amy’s eagerness to come and stay. In theory it was to plan weaving workshops but Helena knew the signs: Amy wanted to talk about James.

  To be fair to them, they did plan a couple and Amy was also keen to help Helena with her workshops to create wall hangings. They discussed sourcing fleece, dying it themselves or buying it already dyed and various other work-related subjects before Helena said, ‘Shall we order pizza and open a bottle of wine?’

  ‘Thought you’d never ask!’ said Amy. ‘But let’s make pizzas in the frying pan. Cheaper.’

  ‘I’ve got wine already and cake for pudding. So, how did it go with James after we left?’

  ‘He is so lovely!’ said Amy. ‘Obviously it’s far too early to say for sure but he sent me a text this morning saying how much he’d enjoyed meeting me.’

  ‘Really? That soon? That’s amazing!’

  ‘I know! So unlike a man. He’s very keen that we should meet up again though. No date made yet, but hey! And he is so nice.’

  Amy went on to tell Helena every little thing she knew about James. Not, Helena realised, because Amy thought she needed to know all that, but because she just wanted to talk about him. She was attracted to him and had ‘mentionitis’. Still, it was all good stuff and useful to know. He was Jago’s best friend.

  Suddenly Amy said, ‘I know! Let’s check him out on Facebook!’

  ‘You don’t expect me to believe you haven’t already done that, do you?’ Helena had found a mixing bowl and a packet of flour. Amy would make the pizzas.

  ‘Well, no, but he may have put something about me up there.’

  Helena couldn’t help laughing. ‘Really? What would he say?’

  ‘I’ve met a gorgeous new woman, really hope she’s as into me as I’m into her. Obvs.’

  ‘Honey! There’s pinging off a text to someone you’ve just met and there’s turning that someone into a girlfriend …’

  ‘I know there is a bit of time in between but I haven’t felt like this for so long. Let me enjoy it!’

  ‘I’m really not raining on your parade,’ said Helena gently. ‘I’m just managing your expectations.’

  Amy was rueful. ‘OK, OK, I know. But let’s get these pizzas on and then we’ll have a peek. I want to check out how he looks in swimming trunks.’

  There was a good array of photos and, to Amy’s delight, a couple of James on a beach. There was one of him in skiing gear, holding some kind of trophy, standing in front of a row of laughing friends.

  Helena, crunching pizza, looked over Amy’s shoulder. ‘Hang on!’ she said. ‘That’s Jago.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘In the background. Look.’

  Amy peered at the group of young men standing behind James. ‘Which one?’

  ‘There. Look.’ Helena touched the screen with her finger.

  ‘Helly! He’s wearing a big hairband, ski goggles and is looking away from the camera. How on earth can you tell?’

  ‘Well, I just know. It’s him. I know it is.’

  ‘You and your spooky “super-recogniser” stuff!’ Amy was dismissive but indulgent.

  Now it was her man in the photos Helena was a bit more interested. ‘But that’s weird. He’s tagged wrongly. You’d think James would get his best mate’s name right.’

  ‘It might not be him. And anyway, he may not have put the photo up there.’

  ‘But it is him. And apparently he’s called Jonathan Relto.’ Something stirred in Helena’s memory. ‘Wasn’t Relto the name of that company that was responsible for all those people nearly dying in a fire? There was a dramatic rescue and several fireman got medals for gallantry.’

  ‘No idea,’ said Amy. ‘Let’s google him.’

  Helena’s legs turned to rubber. She felt as if all her life force was escaping out of her body as she read. There were many more pictures of Jago available, ones that even Amy had no problem in recognising. Only he wasn’t Jago, the man she loved. He was Jonathan Relto, nephew of one of the worst landlords in history. His uncle had only missed going to prison because of a very clever lawyer. Worst of all, Jago had worked for him. She developed a cold sweat and her mouth went so dry she couldn’t speak.

  ‘Oh, Helly,’ said Amy, looking at her friend with concern. ‘Would you like some water?’

  Helena nodded. While Amy went to fetch her some, she tried to get her brain to work. Amy came back with water, she sipped some and managed to speak. ‘I don’t know what to do.’

  ‘Is there any brandy in the house?’ asked Amy.

  ‘You’re not supposed to give brandy for shock. It gives you hypothermia or something.’

  ‘Don’t be ridiculous!’ Amy was dismissive of this namby-pamby response. ‘I’ll find the brandy. It’ll make you feel a bit more in control.’

  Helena remembered the first time Jago had offered her brandy, after she had rescued the kitten. That time she had asked for tea instead, but this required something stronger.

  Amy had obviously managed to find it and held out a glass to her. Helena took it and sipped, and as she felt the strong liquor reach her bloodstream she realised that Amy was right, her limbs did feel more connected to her body. ‘I feel as if I’ve been run over by a train,’ she said.

  ‘It must be awful. I’m so sorry!’ said Amy.

  ‘Jago – the man I thought I loved – is not who he said he was. He’s this other, horrible person, very nearly responsible for people dying!’

  ‘They didn’t die though. And you don’t know how much he had to do with it. He may have worked for the company but he could have been a caretaker or something.’ Amy sounded as if she was desperate to say something comforting but couldn’t think of anything sensible. ‘If he was responsible, he’d have gone to jail and his uncle avoided that,’ she added.

  ‘Oh, come on! As if! Besides, he’s lied to me. I can’t forgive him. I’m leaving here.’ She paused and looked at her glass. ‘Tomorrow. I’m over the limit now.’

  ‘You were over the limit a few glasses of Prosecco ago,’ said Amy. ‘And don’t overreact. Jago didn’t lie to you; he just didn’t tell you everything.’

  ‘That’s as good as lying, isn’t it?’

  ‘Not really. I know you’re living together but you haven’t known him that long. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to bring up. “By the way, my uncle’s company was responsible for that awful fire, when people nearly died, years ago.”’

  ‘But when would he have told me? Soon? Never?’ Helena still felt horribly deceived.

  ‘I don’t know, Hells, but you can’t think badly of him because he didn’t blurt it out when you first met. Have you told him everything about you?’

  ‘I may have kept quiet about some unfortunate music preferences when I was twelve, but mostly, yes. He knows all about my parents’ divorce and how it affected me. He knows everything remotely important.’

  Amy put her hand on Helena’s arm. ‘It needn’t be a deal-breaker, Hel.’

  Helena shook her head, still in despair. ‘We haven’t actually made any sort of deal. I just moved in as a lodger and then changed bedrooms. I feel such a fool! I feel I’ve shacked up with a complete stranger. I just fell in love and followed my heart and my lust.’

  ‘I think
you are overreacting.’

  ‘Amy, you saw what was on Google!’

  ‘I’m not saying the fire wasn’t awful – not for a second – but just because it was Jago’s – or Jonathan’s – uncle’s firm, it doesn’t mean he had anything to do with it.’

  ‘Then why change his identity? Is that what normal, innocent people do?’

  ‘Well, maybe! Maybe having that name meant he couldn’t get work, or start a business or anything.’

  ‘I don’t know, Ames. I just don’t know. I just feel terribly let down.’

  ‘But he’s been lovely to you—’

  ‘But who has been lovely to me? And why? Is it Jago or Jonathan?’

  ‘He won’t have a hidden agenda. What has he got to gain from being nice to you?’

  ‘He has a hidden past, why not a hidden agenda? I just feel I’m in the middle of a bog and everywhere I put my foot it just sinks in. I have to get away.’

  ‘You’re not being logical!’ said Amy.

  ‘Well, sorry!’ said Helena. ‘The man I’ve been living with – the man I thought I loved – has turned out to be someone completely different. Sorry I can’t react in a calm and reasoned way.’

  Amy was getting fed up. ‘OK, I’m going to make tea and toast. We’re going to eat it and then go to bed. I promise you, this will look better in the morning.’

  ‘You sound just like my mum.’

  ‘I’ll take that as a compliment. Your mum talks a lot of good sense.’

  ‘I’ll sort out some sheets for your bed,’ said Helena. ‘If I think of this as a sleepover, maybe I won’t feel so utterly miserable.’

  After a drawn-out breakfast, Amy had persuaded Helena not to do anything rash until she had talked to Jago.

  ‘He’s entitled to give his side of the story,’ she said. ‘You’ve just seen a lot of stuff on the internet. We all know you can’t trust everything you see on there.’

  ‘I do get that,’ said Helena, although she was still reluctant to accept it. ‘But how do I speak to him when I don’t know where he is, and can’t contact him? I don’t know how long he’s going to be away for and, frankly, I can’t cope with waiting for him to get home. “Hi Jago, or should I say Jonathan?”’