Castlemorton Mr Walker arrived exactly when he said he would and got out and opened the door for her. For the first time Alice found herself feeling horribly shy around him. She was still fearful that he might think she was fickle for being around Joe all night. "He scratched your face," he said. "It’s nothing, it’s barely anything." She felt more embarrassed about the whole episode than traumatised now. "I wish I’d got to the bastard earlier." Alice got into the front seat, and looked across at his profile as he pulled into the road. He also seemed to be avoiding looking directly at her. Maybe he was still hesitating, still wavering? She sensed that he was torn between wanting to be with her and what he thought was doing the right thing. It would be interesting to see how he would act at the festival. They drove to Jules’ house and Jules and Kate got in the back. Jules was all sly grins to Alice, who hoped that Mr Walker couldn’t see. She knew that any pointed remarks or innuendos from Jules would only send him further away again.
