‘So there’s no need to be walking on eggshells trying not to upset me. I won’t take offence. There’ll be no nasty comebacks. Just say if you’ve changed your mind about the sitting.’
‘I haven’t.’
‘Well, good.’
‘I’ve just got a lot on my mind, that’s all.’
‘I’ll try to help with that,’ smiled Kieron. ‘You can talk while you sit.’
‘Talk to a Delaney about Carter trouble? I don’t think so,’ said Annie.
‘I told you. I’m not into all that. I’m like a priest, I hear confessions. And the confessional is confidential.’
Annie found herself looking at him properly for the first time. Ellie was right, he was easy on the eye – and so friendly. He stood up. He was tall and gangly, with big bony hands. His jacket was tweed with leather elbow patches. There was a long, unravelling, purple scarf around his neck.
‘You’re staring,’ he said.
‘Sorry.’ Annie stood up, flushing.
‘You think you like the cut of me, do you?’
Annie had to smile too now. ‘I’ll let you know.’
‘Fair enough.’
‘When I’m ready.’
‘I was jealous of my sister, Ruthie,’ Annie said as she sat in Kieron’s flat. It was way up in the top of a house in Shepherd’s Bush, with cold north light streaming through big windows. It was piled high with canvases and stank of paint and linseed and turps. There was a bed and a little kitchenette in one corner, and a Bobby Darin LP was playing on the turntable on the floor. There was a one- bar electric fire at Annie’s feet. It was a workplace rather than a home, but it was kept well.
‘Keep the fuck still, won’t you?’ said Kieron lightly, busy sketching away. ‘Why? Is she prettier than you?’ He stood back from the canvas and looked her over. ‘That’s hard to believe, at the risk of getting you a big head.’
‘She’s not prettier than me,’ said Annie.
‘What then?’
Annie shrugged. ‘Dad left. I was a daddy’s girl. Mum loved Ruthie, not me. I reminded her of Dad.’
‘Ah, that must be the handsome side of the family.’ Kieron was back at the sketching.
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