‘Is it, though? If I’m honest, I thought you’d turn out to be a pisshead like your dad.’
‘Believe me, I make a fool of myselfwithoutalcohol these days.’
‘I also thought you’d be back from wherever it was that you went within a couple of months, having drunk away the money that you stole.’
Harry took the opportunity to retrieve an envelope from his coat pocket. He handed it to Jack.
‘I’m sorry about taking your money. I’ve had it ready to give back to you, but I hadn’t found the right moment. I’ve brought it out with me several times, but it felt that apologising wouldn’t be enough, so I bottled it altogether. But when Eliza told me she’dbeen trying to find the right time to tell me about Willow, well, I realised there might never be a right time. There just needed to be a time.’
Jack didn’t take the envelope. ‘Thanks for the gesture, but it’s not necessary. We were seventeen, young and foolish. I’ve done things I’m ashamed of when I was younger.’
‘Like what?’
Jack thought for a moment. ‘I screwed over Owen to get my job at theHedworth Newsby stealing some of his leads.’
Harry threw back his head and laughed. ‘That’s not the same thing.’
‘Of course it isn’t.’ Jack smiled. ‘Plus then I became an author. It’s why he doesn’t think much of me.’
The envelope was still in between them. Jack covered Harry’s hand with his own and pushed it down.
‘Keep the money. Bank it for a rainy day or get yourself something nice with it. Perhaps it could run to a new settee and furnishing for the cottage, because I’m taking bets that everything I remembered from our teens will still be in that house.’
Harry nodded. ‘It’s like a museum. But I won’t be hanging around once it’s sold.’
‘Don’t you want to get to know Willow?’
‘Eliza said she lives in Manchester. I could get work on a site perhaps and see her regularly. That is, if she wants to see me.’
‘She will.’ Jack drained the rest of his drink. ‘I think you should stay in Somerley for a while.’
‘I don’t have any reason to.’
‘Maybe you should find one. But don’t rush off, not after so many years away. It’s good to see you looking so well, considering.’
They sat in silence for a moment, each deep in thought.
‘What did you do on the building sites?’ Jack asked.
‘Anything that needed doing. I can plaster, lay bricks, and I have plumbing and gas certificates.’
‘I have some work at the hotel if you’re interested?’
‘I could do with something to tide me over. What do you have in mind?’
‘Can you meet me there tomorrow and I’ll show you? We could discuss it over lunch.’
‘I’d like that.’
‘There’s also a cottage I’ve bought for Eliza that needs a fair bit of work. I’ve had a couple of quotes in and I’m waiting on another. Maybe we could come to a deal if you’d like to put in a bid? I’m happy to chip in some labour myself, and there are a couple of lads who work on the gardens who can help out, too.’
Harry shook his head.
‘You don’t want to do that?’
‘No, I don’t mean… I’m shaking my head because I can’t believe you’d give me the opportunity.’
‘You’re like family, even more so now, I guess. Maybe it’s time to bury the hatchet.’
