adjust. But immediately the mental picture of his wife made him think of his three children—his two sons and Freya—who, at nine years old, was so like Elspeth, with her glossy brown hair and hazel eyes. He frowned slightly as he thought of his daughter. She was the difficult one—the one he didn’t seem to have the same rapport with as he had with the boys, he realised. And because of that he’d reluctantly agreed to Freya’s request that she should be a weekly boarder at her school, to be with her best friends. He’d been determined to try and keep them all together, a close family, and this move had seemed to dent that somewhat. But he’d finally agreed, and he had to admit that life had become a bit easier without his daughter’s occasional difficult temperament to deal with. And the weekends, when the family was complete, were usually trouble-free.
Thankfully, soon they were loaded and ready for take-off, and as the aircraft began bumping rapidly along the runway, Lily caught her breath, her knuckles white as she gripped the arms of her seat.
Feeling her tense, he looked across at her. ‘Does this bit bother you?’ he asked mildly, and she was surprised at the question, because it indicated a concern for her. Why should a complete stranger care how she felt? About anything? But those few words sent an unexpected rush of warmth through her, and she smiled up at him quickly.
‘No, of course not,’ she lied. ‘I’m fine.’
He raised one eyebrow briefly, clearly not believing her, but said no more, and in a few minutes they were airborne. People began undoing their seat belts, and Lily’s companion immediately got up to retrieve his briefcase from the locker above them. Good. He was obviously going to be deep in paperwork. There’d be no need for pointless conversation. He took out a folder, then shut the case firmly—giving Lily a brief glimpse of the name on the identity panel.
‘Theodore Montague’, she read. That was all, but it fitted the man exactly. He couldn’t have been called anything else! But what a handle! Would anyone ever dare shorten it? Did his nearest and dearest call him ‘Theo’ or ‘Ted’? Somehow she doubted it.
Leaning forward, she pulled out a magazine from her holdall, flicking the pages idly She was seldom able to read anything worthwhile on journeys. She couldn’t believe how some people could get stuck into a novel, much less concentrate on important matters—as the man next to her was obviously doing…
Presently the chink of cups and spoons announced the arrival of the refreshment trolley, and Lily thought that a cup of coffee would be more than welcome—she’d not eaten any breakfast before she’d left home. A flight attendant came alongside them and gazed down at Theodore Montague, clearly captivated, flickering her false eyelashes at him coquettishly before asking him what he wanted. He turned to Lily.
‘What would you like?’ he asked, his deeply intense eyes looking straight into her smoky-blue ones, and once again she was touched by his consideration. No one had ever bothered to put her first in these circumstances, she thought.
‘Oh—just a black coffee, please,’ she replied quickly. ‘No sugar…thank you.’
‘Snap,’ he said easily, and for the first time she saw the uncompromising lips part in a brief smile, giving a glimpse of strong white teeth. He looked up at the attendant. ‘Then that’s two black coffees, please,’ he said casually.
As they sipped the scalding liquid, he looked across at her. ‘You don’t like in-flight food, either?’ he asked.
‘Oh, I expect it’s quite nice,’ Lily replied, ‘but in these cramped conditions, and with everything shrink-wrapped in plastic, I find my appetite disappears straight away.’
‘My own thinking exactly,’ he said. ‘Anyway, on short flights food is hardly an imperative, is it?’
So…they were beginning to make conversation—and for once Lily felt totally at ease. With no trouble at all he seemed to have completely disarmed her, and she relaxed in her seat.
‘I can’t think that either of us are on holiday,’ he murmured. His eyes ran the length of her body and back again to meet her gaze. ‘We seem to be the only passengers not wearing jeans and T-shirts.’
‘Actually, I’m going to visit my brother in Rome for a few days. He part-owns a hotel there,’ Lily said. ‘And I’ve got some thinking to do,’ she added. Now, why had she said that? she asked herself crossly. It was the sort of thing that would invite him to question her. But he didn’t. He gave her a long, slow look, and she had the awful suspicion that he could read her mind and knew all about her already! Which was silly.
‘And you—you’re not on holiday?’ she asked tentatively.
‘Grief, no—I’ve a seminar to attend. I managed to avoid it last year, but I’m due to give a paper this time, so there’s no getting out of it I’m afraid. Still…’ He smiled that devastating half-smile again. ‘I’m sure I’ll survive. Rome is a good place to spend a few days—for whatever reason.’
There was a companionable silence between them for a while as the aircraft droned on.
‘What’s the seminar about?’ Lily asked curiously, suddenly wanting to know more about the man, what he did. Would it be marketing? Public relations? Something important in the City? She was surprised at his reply.
‘I spend my life thinking about children,’ he said casually. ‘I lecture in paediatrics, which is all very well, but it means that I don’t get to spend much time on the shop floor, so to speak.’ He shrugged. ‘Still, you can’t do everything, and I’m apparently deemed more use on the lecture circuit at the moment.’ He paused. ‘I expect that will change in due course. Life never stays the same for long, I find.’ He pressed his lips together tightly.
Who could ever have imagined the nightmarish situation that had taken his beautiful wife from him so tragically? That an unidentifiable virus would end her life so dramatically, so unexpectedly? It had taught him not to look too far ahead, or to take life for granted.
Lily sensed his change of mood at once, and it made her want to tell him about herself, about things… ‘Well, I’m hoping to change my life in some way,’ she said, ‘but I don’t really know how to.’ She paused. ‘I did a cookery course after I left school, which was OK—but I got sick of cooking for other people all the time, even though it was good experience in London hotels and clubs… Last year I thought I’d have a go at nannying…’ She shuddered. ‘It was not a good move. I think I was unlucky with the family who employed me—very spoiled eight-year old twin girls. They were awful. But so was I,’ she added truthfully. ‘They ran rings round me, and I just didn’t know how to handle the difficult situations that seemed to crop up on a daily basis. I was beginning to get more switched on by the end of the contract, but not enough for me to contemplate pursuing that particular career any further.’ She sighed. ‘You have to live in order to learn, don’t you?’ she said wistfully. ‘I’d have loved to love Bella and Rosie, and I did try. But I don’t think they wanted to love me.’
He had not taken his eyes from her face as she’d been speaking, and he nodded slowly. ‘Everyone hits the buffers at some time in their lives,’ he said. ‘And all experience—even hurtful experience—teaches us something, I suppose.’ He opened the folder on his knees again. ‘I do hope you find what you’re looking for,’ he added quietly.
‘It’s brilliant to see you again, Lily!’
Lily smiled across the table at her brother, feeling a glow of sisterly affection sweep over her. They were sitting in Agata
