‘This is cosy,’ he remarked, glancing around him.
‘It does us well enough,’ Cryssie replied, wondering what he was really thinking. She could only imagine the splendour of his surroundings, and ‘cosy’ would not be an appropriate word! ‘The house is a bit on the small side,’ she admitted, ‘and when Milo grows into a long-legged teenager it might be more difficult to accommodate us all.’
As they sat with their drinks, he said, ‘Have you told Polly about our—your—future plans? Or that Hydebound is coming to an end?’
‘That’s not the sort of thing I discuss with Polly,’ Cryssie said slowly, thinking privately how lovely it would be to have someone to come home to who would be interested in what she’d done all day. ‘She finds it hard to be bothered with life outside these four walls, so I never mention anything.’
There was silence for a few moments. Then he said, ‘She’s a very beautiful woman.’ He paused. ‘How does she spend her time?’
‘Doing nothing very much at all,’ Cryssie replied. ‘She has trained as a beautician, but she suffered postnatal depression after Milo was born, and finds it hard to stick at anything for long. So it’s best for her to be here, seeing Milo to and from school, and for me to earn our keep.’ She looked away. ‘It works perfectly okay,’ she said, ‘and as long as Milo has everything he needs, both emotionally and physically, then I’m happy.’
As if on cue, a small face appeared around the door, and Cryssie looked up in surprise.
‘Milo! What are you doing awake, darling?’
The child came over and immediately got up onto Cryssie’s lap. ‘I had a bad dream. I can’t sleep,’ he said. ‘And I heard voices.’ He looked across at Jed, who grinned.
‘Hi, Milo,’ he said easily.
‘Hi,’ the child said, unabashed.
‘This is Mr Hunter, Milo,’ Cryssie said.
There was a pause. ‘Is he your friend, Cryssie?’
Cryssie smiled as she kissed the top of the curly head. ‘Yes, he’s my friend,’ she said, shooting a quick glance at Jed, whose dark eyes held her captive for a second.
After a minute, Milo said, ‘Did Mummy tell you I want a new bike for my birthday, Cryssie?’ he asked.
‘She did, Milo. We shall have to see what we can do, shan’t we? Perhaps we’ll go to the shops at the weekend and see what they’ve got, shall we?’
‘And I’ve got to have a proper school uniform,’ Milo said importantly. ‘Mrs Hobson told us this morning. I’ll have to wear a tie!’
‘Oh, you’ll look so grown-up!’ Cryssie said fondly. ‘Don’t get any bigger, Milo,’ she added. ‘I like you just as you are!’
The child snuggled into Cryssie as if he never wanted to let her go. ‘Can I sleep in your bed tonight? I don’t want to go back into my own room.’
‘We’ll see. You close your eyes now, and we’ll go up in a minute.’
Milo did as he was told, and was soon breathing deeply as Cryssie and Jed sipped their coffee. Presently, the man said, ‘What a beautiful child.’ He paused. ‘Am I allowed to ask who his father is?’
‘No one really knows,’ Cryssie replied. ‘Even Polly’s not sure, and she wasn’t interested enough to pursue the matter at the time. Great-Aunt Josie, who practically brought us up, had died a year earlier, then Poll found out she was pregnant and everything seemed to go pear-shaped at once. Anyway…’ She paused, burying her face in Milo’s curls. ‘What does it matter now?’
Jed nodded slowly ‘They’re very lucky to have you,’ he said.
‘And I’m lucky, too,’ she countered at once. ‘I’ve got everything I need.’
He looked at her quickly. ‘Not many of us can say that,’ he remarked.
The child stirred, and Cryssie said softly, ‘I’d better get him back to bed…’
Jed stood up immediately. ‘Here—let me take him. He’s nearly as heavy as you, I should think!’
And with one easy movement he lifted Milo from Cryssie’s arms and let her lead the way upstairs to the diminutive but prettily equipped bedroom. Laying the child down gently, he wrapped the duvet around his small shoulders.
‘I notice he didn’t wake his mother with his nightmare problem,’ he whispered, still gazing down at the sleeping child.
‘No, I’m always the first to know about it.’ Cryssie smiled.
Together, they went silently down the stairs and, after calling a cab on his mobile, Jed stopped by the front door. ‘Remember—ten o’clock on Sunday. Don’t be late,’ he said abruptly.