I turned away and saw an elderly man taking a photo of his wife in front of an extraordinary church. They swapped positions and the wife took a photo of her husband. They were laughing and looked so in love. I let go of Richard’s arm and walked over to them.
“Excuse me, would you like me to take a photo of the two of you together?” I asked.
“Oh… yes please. That would be wonderful!” The lady handed me their camera, grabbed her husband and started to organise where they were going to stand for the picture. I smiled patiently.
Richard walked up from behind me and whispered into my ear. “Do you know how to work one of those things?” he asked sarcastically. I ignored him.
“We’re ready!” I took the picture for them and took another one to be on the safe side.
“Oh, thank you my dear. It was so kind of you to do that for us,” the elderly man said.
“That’s fine.”
“You’re a very lucky young man. You have a beautiful woman there,” the old man said to Richard.
“And so do you. Good evening,” Richard nodded with a smile, then took hold of my hand and led me further down the street. I was caught off-guard and didn’t know how to take it back. I tried to remember Mary Poppins and the chimney sweep to keep my mind off the fact that I was holding hands with him.
We entered the most charming little café that had a few chairs and tables outside. We went in and immediately felt the warmth of the restaurant. Richard raised his hand and a man came out, ecstatic to see him.
“Good evening, Mr Cartwright. It is so wonderful to see you again,” the man said. He had a strong French accent, was short and very welcoming.
“Thank you Christopher.”
“Can I trouble you for two of your famous hot chocolates?”
“Of course! Please, sit wherever you like,” he answered.
“I know that we English folk, for centuries, have been famous for our tea drinking, but this hot chocolate is… well… I will let you judge for yourself.”
Richard made his way to a lounge in front of a roaring fire; he must have noticed me shaking outside. Nevertheless I couldn’t get to it fast enough.
Richard turned to face me.
“Are you warm?”
“Yes, thank you. This café is beautiful. It has a very cosy feel to it. It’s lovely.”
“I agree. This café has been here as long as I can remember.” Our drinks arrived, but I didn’t feel like it. I still had a dull pain in my stomach because of everything that had happened this evening and was anxious at what was yet to come. He looked at me surprised that I hadn’t tried my drink.
“Catherine, I’m sorry, I should have asked you what you wanted to have rather than ordering for you,” he said and raised his hand to get a waiter’s attention.
I quickly grabbed his hand and brought it back down. He face seemed to be pleasantly surprised by me touching his hand, so I quickly let go and grabbed my glass with a red face.
“Richard, this is fine. Really.”
He finally looked away from me, shaking his head with an expressionless face.
“Is something the matter?” I asked.
“No… not at all,” he replied but I knew something was.
Our time in the café was awkward. There were moments of silence where Richard would sit quietly and just stare at me. To escape his gaze, I would look away and stare at everything that was around me. Luckily for me, there was a lot to look at: the painting, lighting and mirrors were mixed together quite tastefully. The music was French, which was calming. The café was full; all the patrons were dressed in accordance with the cool weather and took pleasure in the warmth of the café. Every so often I would feel ill that I was here alone with Richard, and not with James. I couldn’t possibly begin to imagine what James would be thinking now. I tried to recall our last encounter but it was too hard, I was being watched and I needed to close my eyes to remember his face, his words.
Forgive me James.
“There hasn’t been one person who has noticed you tonight who did not smile,” said Richard interrupting my thoughts.
“What? You’re being silly!” I replied, looking away.
“Really, I am the envy of Bath tonight!” he declared.
I shook my head and giggled against my will.
“Would you like to leave now?”
“Yes… please.”
With a wave goodbye to Christopher, we were off. When we got back to the car, Richard opened the door to let me in and went around to the other side and let himself in. We drove a short while until we reached our destination, his home. As we passed the iron gates and drove up the steep driveway, I couldn’t help but feel anxious. All this time, I was thinking of Mary Poppins, but I don’t ever recall her spending the weekend alone with Bert at his home. Suddenly, everything I had forgotten about was now in front of me.
Why am I here and what is Richard expecting?
My thoughts were interrupted by the car coming to a halt. It wasn’t until I got out of the car that I noticed the house.
Oh my god! This can’t possibly be his house! It stood two-storeys high and three houses wide, with countless windows at the front. Through every window you could see a chandelier lighting up each room, giving an impression that the house had one hundred guests in it already. There were six pillars at the front of the house and two on either side. I found myself smiling, my eyes wide open to take it all in. Not so much shocked by the grandness but intrigued.
From the front doors came two uniformed men. One handled my alarmingly light bag and the other brought in Richard’s bags and packages.
“Welcome to my home,” Richard said from behind me. I turned to him. He was leaning back on his car with his arms crossed over his chest. “I hope it is to your satisfaction?”
“May I?” he said as he put out his hand to escort me up the white marble stairs, probably thinking I would fall.
As we got into the foyer, I couldn’t help but look around at everything. It was all light and pure.
“I took the liberty of placing you in the room next to mine. Just in case you need anything, I won’t be far away. You are most likely tired. I will show you to your room now if you like.”
I smiled and followed him up the stairs.
“After breakfast in the morning, I will give you the grand tour and, if the weather permits, we will go for a ride.”
“Ok…” I said apprehensively.
As we got to my room, there was a woman already inside, pulling back my sheets and closing the curtains. On the bed were the bags and packages I had seen the driver bring in from the car.
“What’s all this?” I asked Richard.
“Well, please forgive me, I hope I have not overstepped my place. When you made mention that you did not have a coat and a few other items, I had Michael call in on an old friend of mine who owns one of the boutiques in the village. I asked her to get everything a beautiful woman would need to pack for a weekend away.”
“Richard, I can’t accept all this,” I said, shaking my head.
Richard seemed frustrated, and I could tell he wanted to come into my room, but he didn’t take a step.
“You must, unless you are planning to side-saddle tomorrow. It’s nothing in comparison to you agreeing to come here. Goodnight.”
He then nodded and closed the door. Just like that, I was alone in an unfamiliar place again, but this time Richard was next door to me, not James. The moment he left, my heart started to race again. It was like it was put on hold while Richard was around.