The surprise trip was to Hobbs Hill, the one place in the area that Alys absolutely must see according to Moira and, as it was best reached by car, her aunt had asked Rob if he could drive her there. Privately, Alys doubted that anything was going to beat the immediate area around Northwaite, but she was happy to have a morning away from the café for a change, especially as the weather was so lovely on the chosen day. As they drove along, sunshine was pouring in through the open window on her side of the Land Rover.
Rob was fiddling with the radio controls. ‘Always seem to lose the signal round about here,’ he said. Alys was just about to tell him not to bother; that she was happy to experience the full glory of the view in peace, when he picked up a station. Through the static crackle, Alys made out a familiar beat, something that she hadn’t heard in a while. She laid her hand over Rob’s and he turned to look at her, startled.
‘Can we just listen to this for a minute, please?’ It was ‘Free’ by Ultra Naté and she’d loved it when she was at school, dancing around her bedroom to it whenever it came on the radio. Already she could barely keep still in her seat and her fingers were tapping out the rhythm on the door. She was painfully aware that an inane grin was plastered across her face and she fought down the urge to sing along, for Rob’s sake, but if she’d been alone she would have been belting it out.
The sentiment felt perfect for the moment. She was free, living her life as she wanted to, doing what she wanted to do. Corny though it was, it felt like a moment of affirmation. Here she was, on the road to Hobbs Hill with stunning views in every direction for miles as the sun burnt off any lingering morning mist. Her spirits soared along with the music, the track finishing just as they pulled into the hill-top parking area. No one else was around yet. Alys flung open the door of the Land Rover and took deep breaths of the air, which was faintly scented with wood smoke that drifted up from the wood burners in cottages far below. As Rob turned off the engine she was initially struck by the silence, until her ear became attuned to faint sounds: a distant tractor ploughing its way through the patchwork of fields down below, a skylark spilling its rapturous song from on high. Rob had already started out up a little grassy bank and Alys followed, feeling the pull in the backs of her calves. Heart pounding and rather more out of breath than she cared to admit, Alys reached the summit. She paused to take in the view, revolving slowly, drinking it in from every direction.
‘I never realised it was so beautiful up here. Thank you so much for bringing me!’ She turned to Rob and beamed. He looked taken aback and not a little embarrassed, but also pleased and proprietorial.
‘We’re lucky it’s such a glorious day. You really can see for miles. Look.’ Rob moved closer to Alys and pointed down into the valley. ‘That’s Northwaite over there. You can just see the church tower. And there’s Nortonstall beyond – it’s almost hidden in the bottom of the valley, but you can see where the river runs through it. And see those chimneys along the river?’ He pointed out the single brick-built chimneys, in varied states of disrepair, poking up through the trees all the way along the valley. ‘Those are all that’s left from the days of the cotton mills.’
Alys shivered, whether in response to the realisation of how small she was in such a vast landscape, or simply because her summer dress didn’t offer much protection from the brisk breeze on the summit, she wasn’t sure. Rob had noticed though.
‘You’re cold,’ he said. ‘Sit yourself down here, you’ll be out of the wind.’ And he steered her to a sunny spot in the lee of the hill. ‘Give me a minute. I need to get something from the boot.’
Alys sat in the little grassy dip and hugged her knees to herself for warmth. She’d put on her favourite vintage frock this morning, cornflower blue crêpe-de-Chine, sprigged all over with white daisies, but she wished now that she’d thought to bring the English summer essential – a cardigan.
Rob reappeared with a blanket, a jumper, a flask and a box that looked as though it was from the café. He spread out the rug and offered Alys the jumper. ‘Here you go. Found this in the back. Probably smells of sheep but it’ll warm you up a bit.’ She pulled it on gratefully, feeling warmer in an instant. The wool was a bit scratchy and it did indeed have a smell of the fields but also something else: an indefinable scent that she realised with a start belonged to Rob.
‘Thank you.’ Alys lay back and stared up into the sky, deepest blue and infinite, with white wisps of cloud scudding across. She searched for the skylark, still pouring out its song from on high, and thought she’d spotted it, a tiny dot hovering, but it was lost again in the blink of an eye. She scanned the sky again for it then raised herself up on her elbows as she caught the scent of coffee.
‘This is a treat,’ she said, watching as Rob poured coffee from the flask into two takeaway cups, and opened the box.
Rob smiled ruefully. ‘You’ve got Moira to thank for it. She planned ahead, luckily, and gave me this when I picked you up.’
Alys raised her coffee cup and touched it to Rob’s. ‘To Moira!’ she said. ‘And what have we here?’ She peered into the box. ‘Looks like lemon poppy-seed cake!’
Rob looked doubtful. ‘Mmm? Cake for breakfast?’
Alys laughed. ‘Try it. You’ll see. You’ll be a convert. It’s a recipe I’ve been trying to perfect for a while and it’s already a favourite in the café.’
They sipped their coffee and ate their cake, Alys chasing every last crumb from the box with her forefinger. Warmed by the coffee and the increasing power of the sun, she pushed up the sleeves of the jumper, then eventually pulled it over her head and wrapped it around her neck. Rob rolled up the sleeves of his checked shirt. They sat and gazed at the view in companionable silence, Rob occasionally pointing out one or two more landmarks. Alys had an almost overwhelming urge to lean into him, to rest against his arm and feel the warmth of him against her, to catch his scent. She checked herself just in time, taken aback at the sudden intensity of her feelings and trying to push away uncomfortable thoughts about Tim. At that moment Rob glanced at his watch and sighed.
‘I’d like to stay here all day, but I need to drive over Haworth way and check on a delivery that’s due. And I promised Moira I’d get you back in time for the late-morning rush.’ He turned to look at Alys and, to her surprise, leaned forward and brushed the tip of her nose with his fingers. ‘And you’re catching the sun. Your freckles are coming out!’