Katie Fforde - Going Dutch

What seemed like a lifetime later, Dora and Carole came up with the pudding. It looked very impressive.

‘We found some frozen puff pastry in the freezer, all ready rolled out, so really easy,' said Dora.

‘And then we put fruits of the forest on it,' went on Carole proudly. 'And here's some ice cream.'

‘It looks great,' said Tom. 'Well done, girls.'

‘Are you going to let him get away with that old-fashioned, sexist and patronising remark?' said Jo, smiling to take the sting out of her words. She didn't really think Tom was sexist or patronising, but her mouth and her brain weren't really communicating properly at the moment.

‘Tom can say what he likes,' said Carole. 'We love him.’

Jo saw Dora flinch and her heart blipped in sympathy. Jo's growing suspicion that Dora did rather like Tom strengthened.

‘Now, Ed,' went on Carole, 'do you want some of this?'

‘Never been known to say no, that's me,' said Ed, bliss fully unaware of any strange atmospheres flitting about the table.

‘Help yourself to ice cream,' said Dora, handing him a tub and a scoop.'Marcus, what about you?'

‘Just a small portion, please. I ate rather a lot of whatever that first course was.’

Carole opened her mouth and then shut it again. Possibly she'd been about to chide him for having pudding, and then remembered his diet was no longer her responsibility.'And salad. The salad was fab, Carole,' said Jo.

‘It only takes a little imagination. Anyone can do it.' Carole smiled and Jo, whose own salads were fairly fab, tried hard not to feel patronised.

From the head of the table, Marcus said, 'At the risk of sounding like Captain Bligh, can I suggest we all turn in early tonight? I want to get off as soon as we can, soon after six, if possible.'

‘Right you are, Skipper,' said Ed. 'I did tell you I've got to get off home as soon as we tie up? I'll be back to take her home again, but I'm expecting another grandchild any day.'

‘Grandchildren, how lovely,' muttered Jo, wondering if she'd had too much to drink and pouring herself a glass of water.

‘There's no point in people hanging around in dry dock,' said Marcus. 'I'll call you all about the return trip.'

‘Well, count me in for that,' said Tom. He went on, 'I wonder if anyone's got a phone that works here? I promised I'd give my parents a ring to say we got here safely. My mother's going off on a walking holiday soon and she didn't want to go to Peru not knowing about me.'

‘My phone works here,' said Marcus, pulling it out of his pocket. 'Does anyone else need to use it?'

‘I suppose I should tell my parents too,' said Dora. 'I also ought to ring the boatyard, to see how they're getting on without me.'

‘They were expecting that barge, weren't they?' said Tom. 'There was a lot of work to be done on the interior. It's going to be converted to a gym.'

‘Well, as I said, we'll be here for about ten days with nothing much to do. Public transport's really easy. You could pop back quickly if I needed you in a hurry.'

‘I must say I would like to go back to work if I could,’

said Dora. 'I'd only just started the job when I went on holiday. They were very nice about it but I do feel guilty.'

‘I'm certainly going back,' said Carole. 'We can travel together, with Tom.'

‘And me,' said Ed.

‘What about me?' said Jo, realising that none of them except Ed and Marcus had really thought about what they would do once they arrived.

‘It's rather difficult for you to go home, Jo,' said Marcus, 'because you're here already.’

Her befuddled state meant it took her a second or two to work this out. She smiled weakly.

‘Here's the phone, Tom,' said Marcus. 'You asked first.’

Although Tom took the phone a little way away to use it, they couldn't help hearing the hellos, the fines and, 'Brilliant, thanks.' Then there was quite a long silence before he almost shouted, 'Sweet! That's fantastic! I'll get on to him right away.'

‘This is such good news,' he said when he came back to the table. 'My mum told me a mate of mine's got tickets to a music festival, right here in Holland! We're definitely going, Dora.'

‘But, Tom, I should go back to work!'

‘Not at all,' he said, 'you told them you were going to be away for at least ten days. The festival's only for this weekend.'

‘Oh, can I come too?' asked Carole.

Tom shook his head. 'Sorry, mate. Only two tickets and we've got to share a tent.'

‘Oh, camping,' said Carole. 'Maybe not.’

For a second, Carole and Dora were in perfect agreement.

‘Do we have to?' said Dora.

‘Yup. You promised.’

As Dora didn't want to tell everyone about the whole dare thing and was secretly very pleased at the way Tom had stopped Carole butting into their adventure, she decided to just go with it. 'OK, I suppose I did.'

‘We can take the train,' he said.

‘The station's just up the road,' said Ed. 'When we get to Dordrecht.'

‘What will you do, Carole?' asked Marcus, sounding concerned. 'Travel back with Ed?'

‘Of course, if he doesn't mind. I can stay on Hildegarde, can't I?'

‘For as long as you need to. I won't be there for at least a fortnight, possibly longer.'

‘Thanks, Marcus, that's cool.’

A vague but persistent feeling of panic was rising in Jo and however hard she tried to squash it, it persisted. Everyone was making plans to leave, except for Marcus. Where was she going to go? She could probably stay with Tilly on Appalachia for a few days, but Jo knew she had a lot of guests coming soon. There were Miranda's two rooms above the shop she'd been offered, but they weren't currently fit to live in. She chided herself for not thinking ahead, so worried had she been by the journey out. 'I think I'll make coffee,' she said, in the hope that a solitary moment would give her a better idea of where she could stay until The Three Sisters came home.

‘I'll help!' said Dora, getting to her feet, ignoring Carole pouring more wine into Tom's glass and then her own.

‘Can I have a word?' asked Dora when they were in the galley.

‘Yes of course. What is it? Are you worried about this music festival? You don't have to go if you don't want to, you know. Don't feel pressured.'

‘It's not me, it's you!'

‘What do you mean, me?'

‘Are you happy to be left alone with Marcus? Everyone is going back to England when we reach Dordrecht and you're going to be left with him. Is that OK?’

Jo sighed. 'I think so. Besides, I can't think of where else to go.' She ran through her list of potential spare beds with Dora and they agreed that none of them were really an option.

‘And you can't stay at your house, what with the Floosie pregnant and all.’

Jo shuddered visibly. 'Absolutely not.’

Then the door opened and Marcus appeared. 'What are you two plotting?’

They both jumped guiltily. 'We're not plotting,' said Jo, indignant but guilty.

‘I do hope you're not planning to jump ship, Joanna. I still need a cook. Besides, it'll give you an opportunity to explore a bit. A bit of a holiday before the trip back.’

Dora heard Jo exhale although she knew her landlady was trying to control it. 'Yes,' Jo said weakly.

Dora made a decision. It was obvious that Marcus unsettled Jo, but in spite of everything Jo had said about him up until now, it was possible that she rather liked him. They'd known each other in the past and Jo hadn't said, 'Don't leave me alone with him at any cost,' or anything like that. And it would do her good to spend some time with a man who wasn't her husband and who did seem to value her company. Jo could do with another friend right now. 'You did say earlier it was a shame there wouldn't be time to see more of Holland.'