‘With pleasure,’ he’d growled, suddenly reaching over and with one arm scooping me on top of him before rolling so that I was pinned below. We’d both been late for work.

28

‘You’re totally glowing.’ Poppy leaned forward at the kitchen island and rested her chin in her hands. ‘And now you have to tell me exactly why. All the details, please.’

I laughed and pushed the cup of tea towards her, alongside a slice of iced carrot cake that I’d made earlier. It was Jack’s favourite and I got additional pleasure from whipping one up these days. He’d always been appreciative of my cooking, but now there were extra benefits to the gratitude.

‘Come on,’ Poppy said, through a mouthful of cake. ‘I’m on tenterhooks here.’

I laughed and waved her away as I reached across to answer my mobile. I didn’t recognise the number but swiped to answer it.

‘Lily?’

‘Who’s calling?’

‘It’s Sanjid. I work with Jack.’ I knew who he was. Jack had kept in touch with colleagues and friends from Kew and, when he was looking to take on more staff now that the business was growing, he’d put feelers out for an up-and-coming talent whom he could mentor. Sanjid had been one of the candidates. Jack liked him from the start. He had a flair for the work, enthusiasm, and an almost insatiable thirst for learning. Jack had told me that it wouldn’t surprise him if the young man was exhibiting at Chelsea within the next five years. But why was he ringing me?

‘Hi, Sanjid. Is everything OK?’

‘Kind of.’ The tone of his voice didn’t match his words and I placed one hand on the cool quartz of my worktop to help the sudden rush of blood to my veins.

‘What’s wrong?’

‘There’s been a bit of an accident.’

I felt behind me for the kitchen stool and sat down, awkwardly and heavily. Poppy, having seen me change colour, was by my side asking in a whispered tone what was wrong.

‘What exactly do you mean, a bit of an accident? Is Jack all right?’ I forced myself to stay calm and keep my words measured and steady.

‘Yes, but I think he needs some stitches and I’m not insured to drive the pickup.’

Oddly enough, Jack had just been speaking about this last night, and I knew it was on his to-do list for this evening. At least, it had been.

‘Are you still at Mrs Dorsey’s?’ I asked.

‘Yes.’

‘I’ll be there as soon as I can. Tell him not to move or do anything stupid.’

‘He said he’ll drive himself.’

‘That’s exactly what I mean by making sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Get several people to sit on him if needs be, but keep him there.’

We hung up and I turned to Poppy. ‘Can you take Clive?’

‘Of course,’ she said, already grabbing his lead from the hook and calling him over to her. ‘What’s happened?’

‘I’m not sure. Jack’s had some sort of accident and Sanjid thinks he needs stitches.’