The John Milton Series Box Set 4 by Mark Dawson

Author:Mark Dawson [Dawson, Mark]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unputdownable
Published: 2019-11-30T22:00:00+00:00

23

There was a branch of Nando’s just a short walk from Bethnal Green station. The road was busy here, with businesses on either side and the stalls from the market set up next to the kerbs. It was six and darkness had fallen two hours ago; the stalls were lit by artificial lights that had been fitted above, cables trailing to small portable generators that chugged away in the background. The trading day was drawing to a close, and the stallholders were trying to offload whatever they had left, calling out knock-down prices in an attempt to attract those passers-by who might be tempted by a bargain. There was a pub opposite the restaurant—The Star of Bethnal Green—and a sign in the window suggested it was suitable for GROWN-UP RAVERS and BOOZERS OF CHOICE. Hipster irony, Elijah thought. It was everywhere.

He was there early and, as he waited, he wondered whether he should have suggested somewhere else. The restaurant was busy, the clientele young and noisy. Alesha was a good five years older than he was, and, he thought, more sophisticated than this. He didn’t know anything about clothes and make-up, but even he could tell that the stuff she had been wearing at the press conference was expensive. He wanted to impress her, and he realised, with a dose of embarrassment, that his suggestion might not deliver the right impression. Elijah looked across the road to the pub; he wondered if he had time to stop in for a shot of Dutch courage.

But he didn’t; he turned and saw her making her way along the pavement from the direction of the station.

“Hello,” she said. “Sorry I’m late.”

“You’re not,” he said, hurrying to absolve her.

“I am. Ten minutes. The trains.”

“I only just got here,” he said.

“You’re too kind.” She stepped in closer, put her hand on his shoulder, and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “I’m pleased we could do this. I thought—you know, with the fight and everything…”

“I can still go out for dinner,” he said.

“Can you have a drink?”

“Course,” he said.

“I was thinking we could go over there first,” she said, nodding over the road to the pub. “I wouldn’t mind a glass of mulled wine before we eat.”

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