Free Restoring Grace by Katie Fforde Page B

sleeve of her nightie.
    ‘Grace, why
are you crying down here in the dark?' For a couple of moments, Grace tried to
bluff her way out of it. 'I'm not crying . .
    ‘ Yes, you are. If you're not, what else could you
possibly be doing? I'll put the light on.'
    ‘No! Please
don't. I'll get a candle.’
    Once the
candle was lit, Ellie realised that Grace had her
duvet with her, which was why she'd looked such an odd shape.
    ‘ What's going on, Grace? What are you doing here?’
    ‘ I could ask you
the same question! Oh, I didn't wake you, did I?'
    ‘ No. I was hungry and I came down for a biscuit.
What's your excuse? It's freezing down here.'
    ‘I know.
That's why I brought my duvet.'
    ‘But why are
you here?' Ellie wondered when persistence became plain rudeness.
    Grace
sniffed again and found a tissue up her sleeve.
    ‘ I woke in the night and - and I felt like crying,
so I came down here, so as not to wake you.'
    ‘ Oh, love!' Ellie came over to Grace's side of the table and sat down next to her, so she could put her arm
round her - and also sneak a bit of duvet, for warmth. 'Is it Edward?’
    Grace
nodded.
    ‘Do you want
to talk about it? It might help.'
    ‘I don't
know! There's been no one - I'm not in the habit—'
    ‘Can't you
talk to your sister about it?’
    Grace shook
her head. 'No! I pretend I'm perfectly all right in front of her.'
    ‘Wouldn't
she be sympathetic? After all, we've all been dumped.'
    ‘ Not Allegra. Besides, the words "I told you so"
were practically written for her. She's been
"telling me so" about Edward ever since he first took me out.'
    ‘ Tell me then. I'm sure it's good for you. Sort
of . . . what is the word?'
    ‘Cathartic?
You may be right.'
    ‘So give!'
    ‘ There's nothing that
you don't know, it's just it's been nearly two years and I'm so bored of
being so unhappy! When will I get over him?'
    ‘ Well, does it go in phases, or is it constant?'
    ‘ Fits and starts, really. I seem to be getting on quite well, don't think about him for quite long
periods of time and then, woomph, something reminds me of him and it
all comes flooding back and it's worse than ever. It's almost better if I do think about him all the time, then at least
it doesn't take me by surprise.'
    ‘ Have you cried every night since he's been
gone?’
    ‘Oh no.
Quite often I sleep straight through.'
    ‘So what
happened this time?'
    ‘ T don't know really. I think it's
something to do with having had such a good time with you. Maybe I have to come
down as much as I went up.'
    ‘That seems
very unfair.'
    ‘ Nothing's fair, Ellie. We all know that.'
    ‘ So do you
think my being here will make things worse
for you? If so, I could easily find somewhere else to live.'
    ‘ No! Please
don't do that! It's been such fun, and I even think I'll get to like the
mural in time. I just think having good times
sort of points up how bleak I feel inside.'
    ‘You won't be bleak inside for ever,' said
Ellie, wondering what on earth she could say to make Grace less desolate.
    ‘ I have to
believe that. I do believe it, because as I said, sometimes - a lot of the time - I'm fine. Then I go
back to being heartbroken. I'm a recidivist.'
    ‘Ooh, what's one of them?’
    Grace had to smile at
Ellie's attempt to make her laugh. 'It's someone who constantly
reoffends. I keep getting heartbroken all
over again, when I should have been over it ages ago.'
    ‘ I don't
suppose you do it on purpose, but I do think a distraction would be a good idea. Are you sure we can't go on
the pull together?'
    ‘What?'
    ‘Go out to pick up men. It would be fun,
really—'
    ‘No,' said Grace firmly. 'I am in no state -
never have been actually - to go out and pick up men. And I don't expect you are either, seeing as you don't drink,
and even I know that to "go on
the pull" you have to be completely rat-arsed.'
    ‘ Ooh! Not quite as out of it all as you like to
pretend. You know some of the language.'
    ‘Only a
smattering and I'll never be