In the end I chose a more classic ensemble for the speed dating night, picking out an old navy wrap dress that I knew Harry had loved. Teaming it with a pair of grey ankle boots for a more youthful appearance than heels, I surveyed myself in the mirror feeling oddly anxious. This evening was only supposed to be a bit of fun. I didn’t expect to meet anyone and honestly speaking, didn’t want to, but this was the first time I had put myself in a position where potential romance was in the air, and in a funny way it felt as though I was cheating on Harry. But then again, I thought, smoothing a crease from my dress, now I knew about Jack’s letter I couldn’t help feeling as though my marriage to Harry meant I had been cheating on Jack.
I shook my head and flung open the bedroom door. It was all such a muddle and tonight I wanted to forget the past and focus only on the future. Clattering down the stairs, I found Erin in the kitchen drinking what looked like a fishbowl of red wine.
‘Dutch courage?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow.
Erin shot me a weary smile. ‘Something like that. It’s been a long day.’
‘Rachel work you hard?’ I asked, helping myself to a glass from the cupboard and pouring a generous measure of Malbec straight into it.
‘Mmm.’ Erin gave a non-committal shrug, taking another slug of her drink.
Taking a deep gulp from my own glass I looked across at Erin. She was staring at something on her phone. I wanted to ask her what was so important but she looked as if she might bite my head off so I held my tongue.
‘Looking forward to tonight?’ I tried again, taking a seat opposite her at the table.
Erin put the phone down and rolled her eyes. ‘I think “looking forward to” is a strong term Lydia, but I’ve made up my mind to make the best of it, if that’s what you mean.’
‘It’s a start,’ I chuckled, ‘and I’m pleased to see you’ve made an effort. You look lovely.’
Self-consciously, she looked down at herself as if seeing her outfit for the first time. She was only wearing jeans and a blouse, but the blouse was a vivid emerald green that skimmed her curves and complemented her hair so beautifully, she looked utterly gorgeous.
‘It was the first thing I found,’ she said ruefully. ‘I only got back twenty minutes ago.’
‘Well, you’ve scrubbed up well,’ I teased.
‘Thank you,’ she replied. ‘You look lovely as well. I love that dress.’
I gave a mock swish of my hair. I’d had it cut into a bob earlier on and was still getting used to a cold neck. ‘This old thing?’ I said in a fake American accent. ‘Hopefully I won’t send all those suitors running for the hills.’
Erin narrowed her eyes and looked at me crossly. ‘Don’t say things like that. You’re a fabulous looking woman and any man would quite frankly be lucky to have a date with you. Don’t put yourself down like that, Lydia, there’s plenty of life in you yet.’
I set my wine glass down in surprise. This was the most animated I had seen Erin in days. I was about to ask if she was all right when I saw her glance at the clock.
‘Shall we go? It’s gone half seven and I don’t want to get on Ginger’s bad side.’
‘Nobody wants to get on Ginger’s bad side,’ I agreed, getting to my feet.
We made our way out into the cool evening air and began our walk into town. The pub that was the venue for tonight’s speed dating event wasn’t far away. In fact, nowhere was far away thanks to the Circus’s closeness to the city centre, which was another reason I’d never bothered to learn to drive. I glanced across at Erin. She still looked deep in thought. I pursed my lips; whatever this was, it stopped right now.
‘Right, that’s it. Out with it,’ I demanded stopping in the middle of the road.
Erin whirled around in surprise. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean you’ve got a face like a smacked arse, as my father candidly used to say. Whatever is wrong?’
‘I had a message from Cara today,’ she said in a quiet voice. ‘She wants to talk to me, but I can’t face the idea of talking to her.’
‘Cheeky madam. Hasn’t she caused enough damage?’ I growled. ‘And is that what’s really on your mind?’
Erin’s cheeks flushed red. ‘Yes, why do you ask?’
‘No reason.’ I shrugged. ‘I just wasn’t expecting you to come out with it so easily.’
‘Oh.’
‘So I take it you’ve ignored her?’
‘Yes, but I can’t stop thinking about what she wants.’
‘It doesn’t matter what she wants,’ I pointed out. ‘She can tell you she’s about to marry Prince Charles and become Queen of England, it has no bearing on your life because she isn’t in it any more.’
There was a pause then as Erin seemed to think through what I’d said. ‘And what about if she doesn’t feel the same way? What if Cara keeps on at me? She can be relentless sometimes.’
‘Well, it seems simple enough to me,’ I said. ‘Why don’t you just block her number? And Brad’s too for that matter. There’s no reason you ever have to hear from them again if you don’t want to. They don’t know where you live or work now, and I’m fairly confident from what I know of Rachel that if they try to ask her for details she’ll tell them where to go.’
‘I can’t do that!’ Erin gasped, before the tiniest bit of doubt passed across her face. ‘Can I?’
‘Of course you can!’ I said crossly. ‘They have stolen enough of your life, Erin, do not let them take any more. Now is that it?’
Erin nodded, clearly thunderstruck at either my outburst or the fact I knew about blocking numbers on mobiles.
‘So let’s go then,’ I said more gently this time as I linked my arm through hers. ‘There’s no reason for those terrible people to bother you any more.’
With that, Erin flashed me the first genuine smile of the evening and together we carried on down the hill towards the pub where destiny awaited.
*
An hour later, the wine was flowing and I sat at a table waiting to see what the evening held. The moment we arrived, we were handed a glass of lukewarm prosecco and told by the bar staff that were running the event we would have two minutes with each man before a bell rang, indicating they were to be sent on their way. Then we were handed a sheet of paper, told to make a note of anyone we liked and at the end if any of the men we liked had also ticked our box, so to speak, we would be paired up.
The room was divided into three tables: twenty to thirty, thirty to fifty and fifty and over. I was delighted to see that I wouldn’t be faced with the indignity of having to chat up a child in their twenties and so took my place next to a woman in her fifties who looked frankly terrified.
I smiled at her, trying to put her at ease and then glanced across the room at Erin. She seemed to have calmed down since her revelation about Cara and was now happily chatting to another woman her own age at the twenty to thirty table. I tried to catch her eye but all too soon a large gong sounded and then what seemed like a horde of men appeared from a door behind Ginger.
It was hard not to stare and make judgements as they all filed into the room like cats flocking to an open tin of tuna. Some were fat, some were thin, some clearly hadn’t made an effort with ripped jeans and too much aftershave. And then there were the ones that looked as if they were about to be hanged, drawn and quartered. I watched as they all sat at their appropriate tables, and looked expectantly at a well-dressed man in his sixties who came to sit opposite me. Tall with a full head of hair and what appeared to be all his own teeth judging from the smile he flashed me as he sat down, I smiled in what I hoped was a welcoming fashion.
‘Lydia,’ I began, extending my hand out for him to shake.
‘Marcus Reiss,’ he said, ignoring my offer of a hand to shake and instead kissing the back of it. ‘I’m in property development and about to retire with several million in the bank. I’ve just bought a yacht I’ve christened King of the Sea, been married twice before but now looking for love or something that passes for it.’
As he paused, I realised this was my opportunity to speak. ‘Well, I’m Lydia,’ I began cautiously. ‘I’m an antiques dealer and my husband of over fifty years passed away recently—’
‘Very sorry to hear that,’ he said cutting across me. ‘But Lydia we only have two minutes and what I really want to tell you is I think you’ve got the most fantastic body.’
I blinked in surprise. ‘Er, thank you.’
Marcus leaned across the table earnestly as I took a sip of wine. ‘I mean it. The moment I saw you, my first thought was, Mummy stop it!’
‘What?’ I spluttered almost spitting my wine out.
Mistaking my surprise for gratitude, Marcus ploughed on. ‘I love an older woman and I have to say, you really do it for me, Lydia. Seriously, I mean, phwoar!’
I set my wine glass down and glared at him. I might be old but I wasn’t stupid. ‘If you’re here to mock me for being older than most of the young things at this event then can I suggest we cut short our two-minute date and settle for thirty seconds instead?’
A flicker of alarm passed across Marcus’s face as he leaned back in his chair and raised his hands in horror. ‘No, Lydia, you’ve got me all wrong. I’m not here to mock anyone. I really like you, you’ve got a certain Mary Berry quality about you.’
I’d heard enough. Who the hell did this man think he was? Not only was he rude and disrespectful, but he seemed to have me down as some sort of cougar. I wouldn’t mind but on closer inspection he obviously dyed his hair and wore make-up – badly applied, I might add. It seemed he was a similar age to myself.
‘Well?’ Marcus asked hopefully, mistaking my silence once more as serious consideration. ‘Why don’t we just take off? I’ve a room booked at the Hilton. You could come back with me. If you’re hungry, I’m sure I’ve got something that would tickle your fondant fancy, eh, Mary? What do you say?’
The sight of his hopeful little arrogant face sent me into a white-hot fury. Before I could change my mind, I got to my feet and threw what remained of my prosecco straight into his cretinous face. ‘You’re a disgrace,’ I shouted. ‘I’d describe you as a pervert but I think that’s doing perverts a disservice.’
With wine dripping from his forehead, Marcus looked at me in astonishment just as the gong rang, signalling him to move on. Never had the phrase saved by the bell been more appropriate. As I watched him slink off to the bathroom all the while shouting blue murder, I sighed, thinking how right Erin had been about this entire evening – disaster barely covered it.