Christmas with Her Ex(14)

‘Oh, my goodness. Winsome Black. What on earth are you doing here?’

‘I could ask you the same thing! What an astonishing coincidence!’

Lady Geraldine’s headshake was incredulous. Her red hair shone as she shook it. ‘It’s a small world, isn’t it?’

She waved a ring-encrusted hand at the young woman accompanying her and Connor remembered seeing her at the station too.

‘Winsome’s an old friend that I haven’t seen for years. We worked together once on a huge fundraiser for that children’s charity.’

‘One Last Wish.’ Winsome nodded at Charlotte. ‘Such a worthy cause. They made wishes come true for terminally ill children.’

‘This is my granddaughter, Charlotte,’ Lady Geraldine said.

‘And this is my grandson, Connor.’ Connor shook hands with the young woman and they both smiled at each other in mutual indulgence of people they cared about.

‘She and her… fiancé are keeping me company… ’ Lady Geraldine’s smile was poignant. ‘This trip is my last wish… ’

‘Oh, surely not… ’ Winsome smiled. ‘I seem to remember you telling me that age is only an attitude.’

Lady Geraldine opened her mouth but then noticed that they were creating a human traffic jam in the narrow corridor. ‘We’d better get a move on,’ she said. ‘But we must get together, Winsome, and have a proper chat.’

He heard his grandmother say, ‘That would be lovely.’ No doubt it would be excruciating but he was in for the lot.

‘How about afternoon tea? We could meet in the bar at, say, four o’clock?’ So he wasn’t invited.

Connor bit back his smile as he heard his gran’s, ‘See you then.’ And both elderly ladies continued on their way. No doubt he could find something to amuse himself with. Or just sit in peace.

Back in her own cabin, Kelsie curled her legs up on the seat and leaned on the window to stare out. She was exhausted and yet felt strangely alive after such a fraught lunch.

Twitchy even, when wine usually made her feel sleepy.

She needed to walk but there was nowhere to go except towards a whole row of little compartments that just might contain the Blacks, and she wasn’t ready to know which cabin was theirs.

Lulled by the passing countryside, the time passed in fuzzy daydreams of long walks holding hands, stolen kisses and the protectiveness of Connor’s arm around her shoulders when she’d been a heck of a lot younger than she was now. She didn’t want to remember and she finally stirred herself to distract her mind.

Thankfully, afternoon tea, tiny fruit custard tarts and Earl Grey tea, plus scones and cream, arrived via Wolfgang and a silver tray. She’d be ten kilos heavier by the time she finished this trip, she thought as she poured herself a long aromatic stream of tea from the silver jug he offered. She waved to a magazine on the table.

‘There’s a brochure with signature items for sale. So is there a shop on the train, Wolfgang?’ Window shopping. Always a sure-fire way to divert her thoughts.

He smiled. ‘Of course, madam. A boutique,’ he corrected gently. ‘In the foremost car. The boutique manager will be happy to help you.’

‘Excellent. Then as soon as I finish this I might go for a wander.’

‘Certainly. In a few moments the train will change direction and the bend in the track is very famous. If you watch as we navigate the curve, at one point you will be able to capture the whole train in one photograph at the correct time.’

It seemed that was a compulsory achievement as a passenger so Kelsie nodded and patted her camera until Wolfgang nodded approvingly.

‘Then in one hour we stop in Innsbruck for thirty minutes to change engines. You will be able to walk around the station for a short while as well, before you dress for dinner.’

Obviously her attire wasn’t suitable for the evening meal, Kelsie thought with a spurt of amusement. She wondered if she should reassure him that she would pay the proper respect to the dress codes but no doubt he would already have seen the hanging dress.

Meanwhile, afternoon tea in the bar car was even more civilised than in the carriages, and the two older ladies settled down for a lovely gossip.

‘There’s nothing like a proper afternoon tea, is there?’ Lady Geraldine sighed happily as she stirred sugar into her second cup and they both listened appreciatively to the sound of silverware tapping against real bone china. ‘Did you know you can buy these lovely cups and saucers from the gift shop?’

Winsome didn’t like to say she’d been on this trip so many times she knew every corner of the boutique. ‘I’ll have to have a look. I’m planning to go there after this.’