Page 75 of Watching Henry

“Me and Colby? Is that what you think? Oh no, dear. He and I were over a long time ago. And that's just as it should be. No, no, there was someone else. A nanny too, as it happens. Ariel, her name was. She looked after the children before you and Hadley. And, well, she and I, we connected. Really connected.”

And Florence put the pieces together. Mrs. Mercier had told her that Ariel had been involved in the divorce. Like an idiot, she'd assumed that it was Mr. Allan that had had the affair, but apparently she'd been wrong.

“I let her go,” Maeve was saying. “Let her just walk out and then I went to India because I thought it would make things better. It hasn't though. Not at all.”

“Perhaps you could call her?” Florence said, gently. “Explain things. Perhaps it's not as over as you think.”

“I sent her away,” said Maeve. “Told her she was too young for me, told her she needed to live her own life before she could fit into someone else's.”

“There's no shame in admitting you made a mistake,” Florence pointed out.

Maeve smiled a little. “You're a smart girl,” she said. “Smarter than you think you are, smarter than you're behaving, certainly. If you could see your way to a little balance, a little flexibility, I think you'd find life a lot easier. Let yourself go sometimes.”

Florence wondered how much of this conversation Maeve would remember in the morning.

“And you need to talk to the town agony aunt,” Maeve said. “Not to me. Eleanor is far better versed in matters of the heart than I am. You must go to the coffee shop, I insist. Have the morning off tomorrow, go and see what Eleanor has to say about matters.”

Florence already knew what Eleanor had to say about things. But she did owe Eleanor an apology for leaving her short-handed, it was the least she could do to say sorry face-to-face. Plus, there was a desperately-needed last paycheck to pick up.

“Thank you,” she said.

“Just talk to her,” said Maeve. “Don't be unhappy if you don't need to be.”

But what if she did need to be? Florence sighed and smiled and left Maeve to her bottle of wine and her thoughts.

THE COFFEE SHOP bell dinged as Florence pushed through the door. She carried a bunch of flowers as an apology, and she found Eleanor stacking cups onto the shelves behind the cash register.

“Oh, Florence, how lovely to see you. Are those for me?”

“They are, along with my apologies,” Florence said, handing over the flowers.

“I'll put them in some water. You'll stay for a coffee, I assume? As you can see, I'm run off my feet here.” Eleanor gestured around at the empty shop.

“Er, yes, yes, of course I will,” Florence said, though she'd been thinking about going for a quiet, calming walk, time to clear her muddled head.

“And you've nothing to apologize for,” said Eleanor as she went behind the counter and started the coffee machine.

“I left you in the lurch, I'm afraid.”

“You did what you had to do. It's those little kiddies that are the most important, don't you worry about me.”

“No, I should have given you notice,” Florence protested.

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I'm far more worried about you. You're pale as ice, Florence. Are those kids running you ragged without Hadley there to help?”

Florence couldn't help but flinch at the mention of Hadley's name. It still stung her. “No, no, it's fine.”

Eleanor came back, putting two cups down. “Then what is it? You can tell me. I can see that you're unhappy Florence. A trouble shared is a trouble halved and all that. Don't keep things to yourself.”

“It's... it's all...” Florence sighed. She hadn't intended to talk to Eleanor. But she'd forgotten just how comfortable Eleanor made her feel, how much like sharing she made her feel. “It's a lot.”

“Then start at the beginning,” Eleanor said, picking up her coffee.

To her surprise, Florence found herself spilling her heart to Eleanor's pleasantly listening ear. By the time her coffee was drunk, her story was told.

“So, you see, how could I take the risk of telling Hadley how I feel without any kind of security?” she said. “I have so much debt to pay off, and Hadley isn't the most dependable of people. She wouldn't understand. Not really. I need to concentrate on my career, not go waltzing after women I barely know.”

“But you have feelings?” Eleanor asked.