He paused to let her consider his words.
Pamela frowned in concentration. Who could it be? Someone from church? The daughter of one of Theo's business associates?
'I was sure you'd know right off without any help from me,' he said, causing her to raise her head and stare up at him. His expression, though deadpan, couldn't conceal the smile in his eyes.
Finally, she said, 'You must be mistaken. I can't think of anyone.'
'No?' he said, watching her reaction carefully. 'Not even Tessa?'
Pamela's reaction was immediate and overjoyed. Like an excited child she blurted, 'What? Tessa? Tessa's coming here? For how long? What about Albert Askrigg? You said I couldn't go visit her because of him-'
'This place is literally crawling with CID,' he assured her. 'She'll be safe; I'll make sure of that. Besides, you will want her here for our wedding, won't you?'
Pamela could only nod, feeling elated.
'As to the reason she's coming here,' Theo continued, 'Ellie let me know that Tessa was looking for just such a job. There were other . . . considerations,' he added thoughtfully, but didn't elaborate. 'The long and short of it is, she's coming here to live with us.'
Later that evening, as she lay with the man who would soon be her husband, she found herself thinking, 'How like him. I can't think of a kinder thing that he could possibly have done, yet without any mention being made of friendship or making up for not allowing me to go to Hornsea, or doing something to make me happy. It's as though he thinks of both Tessa and me as assets, and nothing more.'
She fell asleep unable to believe what her own thoughts were still telling her, yet not yet daring to believe that she had seen past his exterior.
Pamela's choice of "new" car, an ancient Austin that was in surprisingly good condition, had caught Theo entirely off-guard. In fact it was the only car on the lot that wasn't brand-new, its presence the result of a trade-in. Both Theo and the salesman tried talking her out of it, the salesman because Theo could obviously afford a brand-new and infinitely more expensive car and obviously wanted to spend the money, some of which would end up in the salesman's own pocket, and Theo because he thought Pamela wanted the car because it was only a few hundred pounds. But Pamela had fallen in love with the car on first sight, having spotted it when the two men were talking and looking over what the dealer had to offer. She had wandered off, and as though guided by fate or instinct, discovered the car where it lay deliberately concealed behind a dustbin.