Chapter Forty-Five

Later that day, Cassie had a second visitor on the boat and this one did ask for permission to board, but then Archie had always had the loveliest manners.

As he climbed into the cockpit she threw her arms round him.

He seemed startled, but after all the shit that had gone down over the last few days, she had a sudden need for the feeling of his lean but solid body against hers, his long arms around her, making her feel safe.

After getting them both cold beers, they went up on deck where she and Flyte had sat earlier. There were two coots near the opposite bank, where part of the canal had been cordoned off for nesting birds. These ones were busy building their nest – a joint endeavour, she was pleased to see – bustling back to and from their new home with strands of marsh grass in their beaks.

She kept sneaking looks at Archie's profile, hearing a treacherous little voice in her ear: Could they give it another go ? She'd probably have to move into a flat, of course, but hey, life was all about compromise, right?

He told her he was loving the Gloucester placement, before asking, ‘How's life at the mortuary? Your guests giving you any trouble?'

Ha! Her guests gave her far less grief than the living.

‘You know, same old same old,' she said with a wry grin. The Bronte story was too complicated to get into and no way would she be sharing the SkAR incident with him. She had no doubt that he would believe her, but the dark side of male behaviour was simply beyond Archie's sunny worldview – a view she had no urge to pollute.

‘I've missed you,' she told him quietly, frowning into her beer bottle.

‘You too,' he said.

But she couldn't decipher his tone.

They watched while one of the coots – presumably the female – climbed onto the new nest, turning one way and then the other, before settling – exactly like a human checking out a new sofa.

‘I didn't just come to get my stuff,' admitted Archie. ‘There's something I need to tell you' – finally meeting her eye. ‘I'm seeing someone.'

Ohhh. The cocoon of comfort his hug had wrapped her in evaporated, leaving a chilly hollow in her gut.

‘Congratulations!' Pathetically grateful for the shiny, meaningless word to disguise her shock.

‘I know it's .?.?. really soon after we broke up,' he said, seeking her gaze anxiously. ‘But I guess our conversation at the pub made me focus on where I want my life to go. You know, a couple of kids, countryside, fishing, horse riding.' An embarrassed shrug. ‘All the Hooray pursuits.'

She had a flash of insight.

‘It's L?titia, isn't it?' Picturing the fawn-faced racehorse blonde who'd come over to chat to ‘Arch', her old friend – and ex-boyfriend – during that ludicrous dinner in deepest Wiltshire.

His look of surprise was followed by a sheepish half-smile. ‘You really are a witch. I know it all seems super-fast, and I can't quite believe it myself, but after we .?.?. ran into each other that night she got in touch.'

I bet she fucking did. Anger elbowed its way into her state of shock. Cassie might have ‘feminist' written through her like a stick of rock but she wasn't na?ve about the aphrodisiac effect of seeing an old flame with a new squeeze.

‘But .?.?. wasn't she engaged to some other guy?!'

Another grimace ‘Yeah, she realised Angus wasn't right for her after all.'

They both watched as on the other side of the canal the male coot paddled towards the nest with a beakful of grass so long and unwieldy that he was struggling to keep it aloft. For some reason the sight made her want to cry.

Recalling her intense, if short-lived, crush on Ethan, Cassie wondered if Archie was repeating her mistake.

‘Look, Archie. I wish you tons of luck. You deserve to be happy.' She paused. ‘But can I say something as a .?.?. friend? You do know that emotions can get a bit .?.?. out of control after a split?'

‘You're saying it might be a rebound thing.' He tipped his head, acknowledging the point. ‘It did occur to me. But you know, Letty and I do have previous, so .?.?.'

He looked at her, his eyes serious yet full of warmth. ‘You're the best, Cassie. I'll always treasure the memory of our time together.'

Hearing those words, which filed their relationship irretrievably in a box labelled ‘the past', Cassie had to bite the inside of her cheek – hard – to quell the tears building behind her eyes. His eyes were still on hers – crinkled with concern. Seeking absolution .

‘It's all good, Archie. I'll remember it too,' she said, managing a smile. ‘Just do me one favour, will you?'

A wary nod. ‘Sure.'

‘When you move to the sticks, promise me you won't murder any innocent foxes?'