Finding Home by Kate Field (read book .txt) 📗

same time and in the same place, in case you were going to ask that next. I’m beginning to think doing the accounts is easier than inviting you for dinner.’

‘You know I’m working at the Boat tonight?’

‘I do. The meal will be ready in plenty of time.’

‘Great. I could…’ Mim stopped. She’d been about to say she could get used to this, but luckily her brain had put a brake on her mouth for once. She didn’t want him to think she was making herself too comfortable here, or reading anything into the invitation other than one friend offering to share a meal with another. ‘Can I ask a quick question about the bank statements while you’re loitering here? There are some payments in and out and I can’t tell if they’re to do with the business or not.’

Corin leaned over her shoulder to look at the computer screen while Mim pointed out a couple of the entries she was querying. Each week a huge sum of money – in her eyes – was paid in, and the majority of it was paid out again almost immediately.

‘That’s nothing to do with work.’ Corin straightened up. He scratched the back of his neck. ‘That’s a payment from a trust fund my grandparents set up.’

‘Oh.’ There wasn’t much more Mim could say. She had no experience of trust funds or grandparents. And the sort of figures she was seeing here… She’d known Corin was rich, but this was beyond anything she might have imagined. What was a man with this sort of money doing making tea for her? ‘You must really love wearing jumpers full of holes. You could buy dozens of new ones.’

‘I know how it must look. Further proof that I’m part of the elite, snobby rich. But I meant what I said before, in Beremouth. I may have been born into it, but it’s not what I choose to be.’ Corin studied Mim for a moment and then opened the drawer of the desk. There was a photograph album in it and he opened it on a specific page. ‘This is a school I sponsor in Rwanda. I worked there for a year and it was the most amazing and humbling experience of my life. The children are incredible and so keen to learn. My clothes don’t matter. Their education does. Giving these children a better future matters.’ He found another photograph of a girl aged about ten. Her gorgeous smile filled the picture. ‘This is Benite. She wants to be a doctor and save lives. I’d wear rags if it would help her achieve that.’

The passion in his voice was unmistakable. His gaze was steady on hers, as if he was willing her to look beyond the surface and see who he really was. She broke eye contact, telling herself not to be so fanciful.

‘You give your money away?’ she asked.

‘Most of it. Olly set up a charity for me.’ He smiled and Mim realised why he had been so knowledgeable about setting up the As You Like It charity. Why hadn’t she spotted that before? ‘It’s not really mine, is it?’ Corin continued. ‘I didn’t earn it. I doubt my grandparents would have approved but I can’t think of a better way to spend it.’

He wandered over to the kitchen and Mim stared after him, as if she hadn’t really seen him until now. Forget the accent and the privileged upbringing, the family estate, and the trust fund. They didn’t define him or make him who he was, any more than her past defined her. When all else was stripped away, he was a kind, hardworking man, doing his best to make a difference where he could. How had she, of all people, judged him on the external trappings? Soul to soul, heart to heart, mind to mind, they were more similar than she could have imagined.

By the end of the afternoon, Mim had prepared a basic spreadsheet of his income and outgoings.

‘It should be straightforward now if you keep on top of it,’ she said. ‘You can easily extract the information you need for your tax return when it’s due.’

‘You’re a star.’ Corin crouched next to Mim as he looked at what she had done. ‘This is worth more than a brownie and lasagne.’

‘Don’t forget the cups of tea,’ she said. She shifted in her chair, unsettled by his proximity in a way she had never been before, newly conscious of him on a fundamental level, as a man, not as the son and heir of Vennhallow.

‘It’s worth more than all that.’

‘Don’t go overboard. This is basic stuff. Someone with bookkeeping or accountancy skills could have done a more sophisticated job.’

Corin stood up.

‘Why don’t you get more qualifications? You clearly have a flair for numbers. Or what about hotel management, using your experience?’

‘I’ve tried formal education,’ Mim said, relaxing now that he had moved away. ‘It didn’t go well. I must be a bit thick.’

‘That’s not true. You haven’t had any support before. You have us now. You’re not on your own. Why not think about it?’

Mim did think about it; it was in the back of her mind all through the meal later, despite the interesting stories that Corin told her about his time abroad. Perhaps she wasn’t really thick, but it had been hard to focus on studying when she’d moved from school to school so often and no one had cared whether she did her homework or revised for exams. Why shouldn’t she try again now and see what she could achieve?

The time to leave for the Boat came round too soon.

‘I’m seeing Henry Burrows tomorrow night,’ Corin said, as Mim picked up her bag and reluctantly headed for the door. ‘How did the meeting with him go? Is there anything you need me to follow up?’

‘No, it was great. He showed me round the site and we agreed that the charity guests could have a special pass to use the facilities there.’