When Saturday dawned, he glanced out of the window to see it had already started raining, and by the time he left it had turned into a steady downpour, making him dash for the car and get the wipers going. Assuming the weather would have put a lot of people off, he pulled in at the schoolhouse, expecting to find plenty of parking space. Instead, he had to park some distance away and make another dash for shelter, to find the schoolhouse crammed with people, some standing patiently at the back of the hall. I should have thought that would happen, Robert marvelled to himself, remembering Tom’s fame as a novelist as he fumbled for his invitation letter before being ushered to a reserved seat at the front.
Sinking into his seat, he just had time to catch a glimpse of Jill in the row behind as
