|
Chapter 21
Ralph didn't seem surprised to see Amelia-Rose.
"I'm just having a shower," he said needlessly, as he dripped water on the caravan floor.
"You can come in if you like while I get finished. Take your shoes off though. The mud is really difficult to get off the carpet."
Amelia-Rose nodded her thanks, kicked off her shoes and, with bare feet, stepped into the caravan. It swayed slightly with her weight and the floor sounded hollow as she padded across to his lounge area at the front. His bedroom was at the other end and she smiled as she saw him tidying it before he got back in the shower.
For a bachelor, the caravan was remarkably tidy. It was easy to see his interests. There were cameras and musical instruments everywhere. Photographs were hanging from cotton held away from the wall by lumps of wood to enable both sides to dry. Most of the photographs were of the surrounding countryside. There were also piles of music, some notated by hand and some printed.
After a few minutes, Ralph came in to join her, his hair sleeked back and his face glistening with the warmth of the shower.
"Had a good snoop have you?" He said it with an easy smile.
Amelia-Rose grimaced. "It's amazing what people's belongings tell about them. The one thing I noticed was that you don't have a computer. They seem to be ubiquitous these days."
"To be honest, I'm happy just to have hot running water here. In fact I do have a computer but I keep it at my London flat."
He stood casually with his hands in the pockets of his corduroy trousers.
"Thanks for the violin, I'll look after it."
"I knew you would, otherwise I wouldn't have lent it to you."
Amelia-Rose looked at Ralph shrewdly.
"I saw Kate leave just now." She pushed a wisp of hair behind her ear, her eyes widening, carefully watching for his reaction.
"It was an unexpected and whirlwind visit!" said Ralph laconically.
"But a welcome one, I expect!"
"Can't complain," he said non-committally. "But she does seem to be keeping an eye on me at the moment.
"I wonder why she's doing that?" Amelia-Rose was not going to let him off the hook.
"She obviously sees something ... Maybe she thinks that I fancy you..."
His directness made Amelia-Rose color up. She sat down on the bench seat by the window and leaned her elbows on the table, cradling her head in her hands and drawing her hair away from her face.
"Phew! You certainly know how to leave a girl speechless," she said.
He reached into a cupboard, pulled out some cereal and then some milk from the fridge and seated himself opposite her.
"I'd like to photograph you some time," he said changing the subject and giving her some time to recover.
"Is that your job? Do you take photographs for a living?" She welcomed the change of topic.
He crunched his cereal. "I produce coffee table books for people who want to bring a bit of the country into their living room but who would never dream of getting their feet muddy. It makes a living but it'll never make me rich."
"Money isn't everything," said Amelia-Rose, "you seem to have many better things in your life already. And, do you have a little lady waiting for you back at your London flat?"
"There used to be but she's long gone now. I spend at least as much time down here as in London and occasionally I travel abroad where I have a fairly large network of friends who share my musical and photographic interests. It's a nice way to work but it's also hard to keep relationships going sometimes."
"But you must have lots of opportunity to get into new ones?" Amelia-Rose could feel his stockinged foot touching the tips of her toes. Although she had been aware of this for some minutes, she hadn't moved her foot... yet.
|