onto the sofa and said, ‘You can tell Chef that I am sorry he’s been put to such inconvenience, Francis.’
‘He is happy to do it for you, Mr Gideon. We all want you to be better. My wife is hoping that she can welcome you to our home very soon. She wishes to thank you for the books.’
‘I won’t go without visiting her,’ he promised.
‘You bring his wife books?’ Josie asked when Francis had gone.
‘For their children.’ Then, before she could make something of that, ‘So, you’re abandoning me for the delights of the dining room?’
‘You don’t want my company, you just want my lamb,’ she replied. ‘I’m sure whatever the chef makes for you will be delicious.’
‘Low-fat girl food,’ he retaliated. ‘The chilli didn’t do me any harm. Quite the reverse. I was on the mend until you decided to kick me out.’
Until she’d turned up with a wedding dress.
‘I’m not keeping you here,’ she reminded him. ‘And, since you seem to be mobile, there’s no reason for you to stay.’
‘Who’s your date?’ he asked, ignoring her blatant invitation to remove himself.
‘Now you’re on your feet you can come to the dining room and find out,’ she said sharply, taking her tone from him. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, since I’ve been working, I’m going to take a shower.’
‘Don’t forget the matches. You’ll need to light the candles,’ he said as she opened the door. ‘Although, personally, I prefer to shower under starlight.’
‘Have you ever tried to put on make-up by starlight?’ She shook her head. ‘Don’t answer that.’
‘What’s the matter?’ he asked as she hesitated in the doorway.
‘Something…scuttled.’
‘What sort of something?’
‘How the heck would I know? It’s dark.’
‘You’re not scared of spiders, are you?’
‘I can handle the average bathroom spider,’ she said, ‘but this is Africa, where the spiders come larger, hairier. And they have teeth.’
‘Fangs.’
‘Fangs. Great. That makes me feel so much better.’
‘The thing to remember, Josie, is that they’re more frightened of you than you are of them.’
‘You know that for a fact, do you?’ she asked as she returned for the matches.
‘Any creature with two brain cells to rub together is more frightened of us than we are of them. From hippos to ants. They only lash out in panic.’
‘Well, that’s reassuring,’ she said. ‘I’ll do my best not to panic it, whatever it is.’
‘Do you want me to come and guard your back while you’re in the shower?’
She glanced at him and for a moment he thought she was going to say yes. Then, with a determined little shake of the head, ‘I don’t need a guard, I need a light.’
As she looked quickly away, the nets, glowing in the candlelight, moved in the light breeze coming in off the river and she was held, apparently entranced.
‘You don’t get that kind of magic with electricity,’ he said as her face softened.
‘No…’ Then, abruptly, ‘I’ll make sure to mention it to the photographer. Celebrity will like that nineteenth century effect.’
‘I’d be happier if you liked it.’
The words slipped out before he’d considered what they might mean. But then unconsidered words, actions had marked the day. He hadn’t been entirely himself since he’d smelled the tantalising aroma of coffee, caught a glimpse of Josie through the branches.
Or maybe he was being himself for the first time in a decade.
‘It’s a mosquito net,’ she pointed out. ‘What’s to be happy about?’
‘Of course. You’re absolutely right.’
She looked at him as if she wasn’t sure whether he was being serious. That made two of them…
‘So what am I likely to find in the bathroom?’ she demanded. ‘I’m assuming not hippos.’
‘Not great climbers, hippos,’ he agreed. ‘It’s probably just a gecko. A small lizard that eats mosquitoes and, as such, to be welcomed.’
‘Well, great. But will it take a bite out of me?’ she asked.
‘Not if you’re polite,’ he said, wondering if perhaps he might, after all, have hit his head. He didn’t appear to be making much sense. ‘Step on it and all bets are off.’
‘Oh, yuck…’
‘I’m kidding, Josie. They live high on the walls and the ceiling and, anyway, you’ll be safe enough in those boots. Just make sure you shake them out before you put them on in the morning.’
She glared at him.
‘Basic bush-craft.’
Her response to that was alliterative and to the point as she struck a match and, braving the dark, advanced to where a row of tea lights were set in glass holders on a shelf. The flames grew, steadied and were reflected endlessly in mirrors that had been carefully placed to reflect and amplify the light.
‘Okay?’ he called.
‘I can’t see anything that looks as if it’s about to leap out and devour me,’ she replied. ‘But, while this is all very pretty, I want lamps available for every bathroom. Big, bright gas lamps that will shine a light into every corner.’
‘Where’s the excitement, the adventure in that?’ he asked.
‘Believe me, Gideon, I’ve had all the excitement I can handle for one day.’
‘It’s not over yet,’ he reminded her. ‘Better leave the door open, just in case. All you have to do is scream…’
There was a sharp click as Josie responded by shutting the bathroom door with a firmness that suggested he was more trouble than an entire bath full of spiders.
Maybe she was right.
Gideon set down the glass, his grin fading as he leaned his head against the back of the sofa and closed his eyes to avoid looking at the wedding dress.
He’d get up, move it in a minute. For now he was content just to sit there, listening to the shower running in the bathroom, the comforting sound of another person sharing his space. Even if she was getting ready for a ‘date’.
Obviously,
