Second Thyme Around by Katie Fforde Page B

hear.
    ‘Oh God!’ said Perdita. ‘I’m leaving, before the violins start.’
    When she got home and opened the card, inside it, as well as a beautiful Madonna, were neatly shredded strips of cheque.
     
    Janey, whom Perdita ran into in the post office, was bubbling with Christmas spirit and enthusiasm. ‘When I found out that Lucas was going to be on his own for Christmas, I invited him round.’
    ‘To have Christmas with your family? How kind.’ How brave, how foolhardy, she thought. And how surprising that he accepted.
    ‘We’ll all have Christmas lunch together, of course, but in the evening we usually go round to my auntie’s. I thought me and Lucas could stay behind. He’s not going to want to have tea with my Auntie Susan, is he?’
    ‘Possibly not. But what will you do with him?’
    Janey blushed. ‘I thought we could watch the film on telly.’
    ‘Really, Janey, don’t you think Lucas is a bit old for you?’
    ‘No. He’s gorgeous. And I’m sure he’s just grumpy because he’s lonely. I mean, fancy being on your own at Christmas!’
    Perdita did fancy that very thing, quite a lot, but knew Janey wouldn’t believe her. ‘You’re so kind and generous, Janey, I just don’t want you to get hurt.’
    Janey sighed ecstatically. ‘I wouldn’t mind being hurt by Lucas. One night of passion would last me for years. I mean, I know he’d never look seriously at a girl like me, but he might just …’
    At this moment, the queue shuffled on, but Perdita was horrified. Janey had no notion of what she was saying. A crush was one thing, but for Janey to sacrifice her body – quite possibly her virginity – to Lucas, was very much more serious. She was only eighteen, after all.
    Perdita sacrificed her place in the queue, so she could keep talking to Janey. ‘You wouldn’t do anything silly, would you?’
    ‘It’s up to me what I do, Perdita. And anyway, what’s all this about a boyfriend? You didn’t tell me about him! And spending Christmas together! It must be serious! How dare you not tell me something so wonderful?’
    Perdita took a deep breath. ‘We really can’t talk here,’ she said. ‘Let’s meet for a drink, and I’ll tell you all about it.’
    ‘OK. White Horse, Thursday night, eight o’clock? We
can both walk there, and I’m not working then.’
    ‘Sounds good, as long as I’ve got my Christmas shopping done by then.’
    ‘But, Perdita! That’s the day before Christmas Eve!’
    ‘Is it? Oh, plenty of time then. Yes, that’ll be great.’
    Perdita retreated to the back of the queue to contemplate the evils of deception, and to speculate about whether she could trust Janey with the truth about her fictional boyfriend, or if there was a risk she might let something slip to Lucas.
    As things turned out, Perdita was spared the decision. Geoff, her broken-hearted chauffeur, rang to ask if he could pick her up the night she had arranged to go for a drink with Janey. Perdita couldn’t do anything but agree, and rang Janey to cancel.
    ‘I wasn’t expecting him before about midday on the Friday,’ she explained. ‘But he’s managed to get away early, so I couldn’t complain.’
    ‘But where does he come from? I thought you said you never went on dates?’
    ‘Honey, I really can’t tell you all about it now. I’ve got to rush out and do some shopping, but I promise I’ll give you a blow-by-blow when I come back. Now you won’t do anything stupid with Lucas, will you? I mean, I know he’s terribly sexy and everything—’
    ‘How do you know?’ Janey interrupted indignantly. ‘I thought you hated him!’
    ‘I do, I do! But I can tell you find him sexy, and I just don’t want you seduced by a bastard, that’s all.’
    ‘It’s really none of your business who I’m seduced by, Perdita.’
    ‘Oh, Janey, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be bossy, but I’m just worried about you, that’s all. You’re so young and lovely, and Lucas is old—’
    ‘And