‘Actually, I believe you’ll find Henry in the conservatory at this time of day. I’ll ask one of the carers to show you the way. If you’d just take a seat over there for a moment, someone will be with you shortly.’
I dutifully crossed the foyer to sit on one of the velvet-covered armchairs I’d been directed towards. As the minutes ticked past, I was beginning to regret turning down Rhys’s offer to come with me.
‘I can easily rearrange my morning,’ he assured me, buttering slices of toast for both of us. I liked seeing him in my kitchen on the mornings when he stayed over. It was a novelty that I really didn’t think was ever going to wear off.
‘That’s lovely of you, but I’ll be fine on my own.’
He’d abandoned the butter knife and come around the kitchen island to slide his arms around my waist.
‘I know that. You’re the most capable woman I’ve ever met. I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to do everything alone if you don’t want to. If you need someone to lean on, you can lean on me.’
‘Same,’ I said.
He gave me a kiss that tasted of butter, marmalade, and a promise of tomorrow. It was a sweetly intoxicating combination. My hands slid to his shoulders, revelling in the solidity of him. It was hard to imagine a time when Rhys would ever need to lean on me, but it was a lovely sentiment.
After ten minutes a young, cheery-faced carer bounced into the reception to escort me to Henry. I’d spent the intervening time studying my surroundings, noting with interest that everything around me looked expensive. I’d seen enough furniture in my job to recognise the difference between antique and reproduction, and these were definitely the real deal. I knew nothing of Henry’s personal circumstances, but clearly being a maths teacher was far more lucrative than I realised, because this place must cost a fortune.
What I hadn’t allowed myself time to consider, I realised as I fell into step beside the carer, was how to explain to Henry why I was there. I wanted to make sure you were alright was almost as ludicrous as I wanted to make sure you weren’t a guardian angel. Before I could find a solution, the young girl turned one last corner and we came to a stop before the doors of an enormous conservatory. Beyond the glass I could see a room filled with ferns and palms and dotted among them were comfortable armchairs and settees.
My first sweep of the room failed to spot its single occupant, but the girl beside me gave a smile and inclined her head towards the far end of the room, where someone was sitting in a wing armchair reading a newspaper. Protruding above the top of the broadsheet were tufts of silver-coloured hair.
‘There he is. In his favourite spot,’ she said, frowning as the pager clipped to her uniform suddenly trilled and flashed red. ‘Sorry, I need to answer this.’
‘That’s okay,’ I said, my hand already reaching for the door handle. I fixed a smile on my face and made my way across the gleamingly polished wooden floor towards my friend.
‘Hello, Henry.’
I’m not sure which of us was the most startled. He dropped his newspaper at the sound of my voice, and my jaw dropped just as fast when I saw the large wound dressing on his forehead. Creepingout from beneath it was a yellow-tinged bruise that didn’t stop until it reached his cheekbone.
‘Ellie, what are you doing here?’ Henry exclaimed, immediately moving as though to stand up.
My eyes took in the tremor in his hands and the walking stick beside his chair.
‘Please don’t get up,’ I said, taking a step towards him, aware that my heart was thudding in my chest. I’d been right. There had been a reason to be concerned. But how on earth had I known it?
‘What happened to you, Henry?’
‘Gravity,’ he said with a rueful smile. ‘Well, that and a tiny altercation with a rug and a slippery floor.’
‘Oh my God, did you break anything?’
‘Bone-wise, happily no,’ he replied with his usual acerbic wit. ‘But there was a vase on a nearby table that didn’t fare so well.’ He raised a hand and tapped the covered head wound with his index finger. ‘I got this from the table. It’s all so silly, really. Just a big fuss over nothing.’
‘It looks a little more serious than that, if you don’t mind me saying,’ I said, my eyes going from the dressing to the bruise, and then to the stick. ‘But I’m glad it wasn’t any worse.’
Henry nodded sagely. ‘It’s nowhere near as dramatic as being struck by lightning. You still win with that one.’
I shook my head, but my smile made its first tentative appearance. ‘I don’t think it’s a competition.’ I could still vividly remember the look of absolute horror on Henry’s face when I’d told him what had happened to Rhys and me.
Without waiting to be asked, I slipped onto the chintz-covered armchair beside him.
‘Well, I’ve answered your question, Ellie, but you still haven’t replied to mine. What are you doing here?’
‘I came to check you were okay, obviously,’ I said, still covertly scanning him for further signs of injury. ‘I realised I hadn’t seenyou at the cemetery for quite a while, and I started to worry that something might have happened. With good cause, as it turns out.’
‘You came all this way for a casual acquaintance who you sometimes see at the cemetery?’
I leant closer and placed my hand over his.