Escape to Honeysuckle Hall

by Rebecca Raisin

  ‘You can’t order me out of here.’

  ‘Watch me.’ Leo takes a heavy step towards him and Harry quickly holds up his hands in surrender. For someone who can talk the talk, he’s certainly not so tough in the face of any real threat. ‘Fine, fine, no need for any manhandling.’

  With a grunt, Harry turns to me. ‘I’ll always love you, Orly, as long as you know that.’

  I can’t help but laugh. ‘You’ll always love yourself, Harry. But thanks for the reminder.’

  ‘Reminder?’ He lifts a quizzical brow in my direction.

  ‘Snakes may shed their skin, but they’re still snakes underneath.’ I grin triumphantly, the words a direct hit and well overdue.

  ‘Right. Well, when this amateur business comes crashing down around you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

  ‘See? Snake-like.’

  He turns on his heel and leaves, banging the door for good measure.

  I let out a long breath.

  ‘Are you, OK?’ Leo takes my other hand and we stand face to face. My heart flutters at our proximity – and because, no matter what, he’s always on my side. Instead of overthinking it, I lean up on tiptoes and kiss him softly. Nothing more than a quick brush lip to lip, but it’s enough to make my heart gallop and my head go hazy with desire.

  ‘I’m great,’ I say, my voice embarrassingly husky. ‘And thank you.’

  ‘You don’t need to thank me.’ Leo’s voice is a touch husky too.

  ‘Did you really mean his loss is your gain?’

  ‘I really did.’

  The air hums with promise and I don’t quite know what to say. Outside, the sound of raucous laughter brings me back to the present and I know I need to tend to my campers, but how to tell Leo what I’m feeling when it’s so new and fragile? I need to give this time, whatever it is, so it unfolds naturally like the bud of a flower about to bloom once it soaks up precious sunlight.

  ‘So, Leo, I’ve been meaning to ask: would you like to go out for dinner again? It’ll be me, Esterlita and a whole bunch of campers if you don’t mind sharing a table with us?’ I can admit to myself now that I want to be around Leo, even with a whole table of noisy campers. As long as he’s there, I’ll be happy.

  ‘I’d love to. What time shall I meet you for dinner?’

  ‘Eight o’clock tonight at the Tipsy Tadpole?’

  ‘Deal.’

  I know I need to return to the fray, but I really don’t want to leave Leo. With another quick kiss he leaves, taking all the air in the room with him.

  I compose myself, head to the bathroom and wash my face, hoping the lovestruck glow isn’t obvious.

  Still musing about Harry’s visit, I shoot a message to my former assistant Victoria:

  Hello darling, hope things are well with you. Loving life in Kent but just had Harry pop in for a surprise visit! Care to shed some light on what’s going on? =3 Orly

  If there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that Harry never tells the truth, not if it will get in the way of a good story.

  Chapter 26

  We’re on the way to the pub, meandering down the high street. A few of the campers are just ahead peering into shop windows. Noah still hasn’t appeared and his phone is off. There’s something odd about him, and I can’t put my finger on it. It’s not just that he’s unreliable, it’s that sometimes he’s also furtive. He’s not going to last as camp leader, that’s obvious, and I rack my brain thinking of another solution for the camp booked the following week. Could Noah be behind the notes? Then again, they started well before he arrived in town … although I suppose I don’t quite know when he did arrive in town. While his references had all seemed genuine, I guess they could have been falsified. I’ll need to do some digging on Noah and see what I can find.

  I notice Thomas and Teani are a few paces behind as he tells her all about his famous blueberry cheesecake recipe, and even shares the secret ingredient … thanking the berries for giving up their berry lives. Teani is in fits of laughter for the next five minutes.

  ‘Why don’t you open a café or something?’ she asks. ‘You love food, so why are you stuck in middle management, which you absolutely hate, when your passion is elsewhere?’

  ‘I’m not trained; I just love cooking and trying new food from all cultures. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to run a café.’

  ‘But you’re so passionate about cooking, and making people happy through food, it seems such a waste not to use that gift.’

  ‘I guess. I’ve never really thought about making it into a career before.’

  ‘What about a food truck? Fewer overheads, more ability to move, to not be tied down. Then you can still follow your other passion – travel. You’d have more flexibility that way.’

  ‘I’m going to look into that, Teani. Thank you! I’d be the happiest man on the planet if I could quit my job and do something that I loved. I don’t know why I never thought of it before.’

  ‘Because you were too focused on your current job and caught up with all the things you hate about it. Trust me, I know the feeling well. But after our talk the other day, I think I’m going to look for a manager and take that year off, like we discussed. Life is too short not to take chances. I keep thinking of when my health declined so rapidly and all the regret I felt, how trapped I was. And now I’ve got those healthy boundaries in place, why wouldn’t I follow that dream while I can? It’s a no-brainer. I wish the same for you, Thomas. Maybe we’ll meet under a different patch of sky on some exotic island sometime?’

  ‘I’d love that, Teani. I really would.’

  The camp is working its magic! When these two arrived they were stressed, lost and anxious about work and balance. I really hope when they leave they take this enthusiasm for change with them. I know how scary the thought of starting over is, but I also know how life-affirming it can be.

  I’m grinning like a fool when my phone rings.

  ‘Hello Orly!’

  ‘Victoria, how are you?’ Her voice makes me smile. I miss working with Victoria, and wonder if I can tempt her away from London life if the camps get busy. She’d make a great addition to Honeysuckle Hall.

  ‘I’m good, thanks. I’m so pleased things are working out well in Kent. I miss you like crazy. The office isn’t the same without you, but I’m working with Angela now, so at least there’s that.’

  I slow down and let Thomas and Teani go ahead. ‘That’s good to hear. So tell me what’s been going on?’

  She exhales. ‘Where do I even start with Harry …?! So, Carly C dropped him like a hot potato allegedly because he tried to get her to fire her manager of five years, so he could take over her career! Good ol’ Harry trying to muscle in, I guess! But it gets worse, and this is why I called instead of texting you. There’s an internal investigation happening at Excès as we speak because while Harry was away canoodling with Carly C, accounts here noticed some discrepancies …’

  ‘No!’

  ‘Yes! Going back almost since the business started. Claims for all sorts of business expenses that weren’t legit, but also chunks of money missing and all signs point to Harry.’

  ‘He stole money from Excès?’ It’s one thing to claim fake business expenses, but to steal money as well? What was he thinking?

  ‘Looks like it. And the withdrawals kept getting bigger and bigger, as his confidence grew, I guess.’

  ‘How did they not catch it sooner?’

  ‘It had been put down to clients squabbling over the price of things. When you look back it’s so obvious. Remember how many times he claimed that rich people were such bad payers?’

  ‘Gosh, yes, so many times that I actually believed it. How could I have not seen any of this?’ Guilt plagues me as I think of the rest of the staff at Excès being stuck with Harry’s debt. ‘Are they pressing charges?’

  She lowers her voice. ‘Depends on whether he returns the money. They’re thinking it’d be best to keep it out of the press, and if he repays it and f
orfeits his stake in the company then they won’t. It wouldn’t look good for Excès if this all came out.’

  ‘No, it wouldn’t. Well, I guess that explains why I suddenly had him on my doorstep.’

  ‘He has some nerve but I can’t say I’m surprised. Tell me you kicked him out?’

  I laugh, feeling the freedom of not being mired down by any more Harrys of this world. ‘Kicked him out – but not before I doled out some home truths, and boy did that feel good.’

  ‘Bloody brilliant, Orly. So proud of you for the way you handled the whole fiasco. It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and pack it all in like that.’

  I think back to how scared I was at making such a huge change but I’m so proud I did it too. ‘If it wasn’t for that snake, I think I’d still be stuck in a rut, so there’s that to consider. This place is just what I needed, and I hope you’ll come and visit whenever you can get away.’

  ‘You can count on it. Oh, by the way, I saw your ads in my local paper! Someone at book club mentioned it and suggested we book a camp! I was delighted to tell them I knew you personally.’

  ‘Really? That’s so cool!’

  ‘Onwards and upwards,’ she says. A few minutes later we ring off and I’m left with a fuzzy head at all that’s happened since I’ve been gone. And how lucky I am to have seen through Harry’s ploys.

  I catch up to the group. ‘I don’t know about you, but I am ravenous,’ I say.

  ‘Me too,’ says Thomas and sneaks a glance at Teani who turns and smiles at that exact moment. Could love be on the menu …?

  *

  The pub is as busy as it was the first time I went. We have booked a table around the back, which gives me a good view of the bar and the locals. Just who can I ask about the notes? A detective I will not make. But I need this last piece of the puzzle solved before I can truly settle in at Honeysuckle Hall. When Maya told me to go get the answers at the pub she didn’t mention who I should approach. Sadly no one is wearing a neon yellow sign that says: Ask me!

  The campers all order dinner and laugh and chat about the day while I make my way to the bar on the premise of ordering a few bottles of wine for the table. I spot Bob, and figure I’ll start my queries with him. His wife Iris clearly didn’t want to be seen talking to me, so maybe he knows exactly who’s behind it.

  ‘Bob, hey!’ I say, grinning, trying to look cool as anything because I’m nervous about asking him in case it makes for more gossip. I must appear anything but cool as he frowns.

  ‘Are you OK?’

  Golly. OK, duly noted: don’t try and act cool when you are not cool.

  ‘Just grand. Fabulous, in fact. I wanted to thank you again for delivering the furniture to the hall.’

  His frown deepens. ‘Well, it’s my job.’

  ‘Yes, a fabulous fabulous job.’ My sunny personality isn’t winning him over. What am I doing wrong?

  ‘Look, I don’t want to tell anyone how to live their life, but if you’re in charge of a hall full of people don’t you think you should lay off the booze for a bit?’

  Mortification colours me scarlet. He thinks I’m drunk?! I haven’t even had a sip of wine yet! And of course, that’s when the waitress arrives to take my order. ‘Three bottles of sav blanc please.’ I cough.

  ‘Don’t worry, Bob. I haven’t succumbed just yet. I’m actually interested in picking your brains.’ The poor man looks fearful, as if I’m literally going to get an ice pick and start chopping away at his grey matter. This is not going well.

  ‘Oh, yeah?’

  ‘Yeah. I’m just wondering if you know if someone perhaps isn’t my biggest fan? Someone’s been leaving notes around the hall warning me to take my business elsewhere, saying that I’m putting people in danger – that kind of thing. Seems like I’m not welcome, by at least one person in town.’

  His shrewd eyes shine with a sort of awareness before the shutters come down. ‘Can’t help you, love. But a word of advice. Sometimes it’s better to leave these things alone, eh? Let the past stay in the past.’ With that he turns abruptly and leaves me with only the back of his shirt for company.

  OK, so that didn’t go as planned. Bob is a funny one who seems to run hot and cold with me, or is it that he knows and doesn’t want to tell me? I head back to the tables with the wine when Lulu asks, ‘Where’s Noah? I thought he said he’d be right along?’

  I gaze around the Tipsy Tadpole, but there’s still no sign of our intrepid camp leader … ‘Taking an early finish today.’ I don’t want the campers to know the guy I’ve hired is so undependable. Somehow I knew Noah was never going to stay. Either he is a fickle nomad who doesn’t like being told what to do or he is the culprit behind the notes. Either way, it’s not good being a camp leader down. I pour myself a big glass of wine and catch Bob’s eye at the same bloody time. There’s nothing else to do; I raise my glass in salute to him and then take a big slug knowing I’ll be called Orly the lush, soon enough!

  Chapter 27

  ‘He didn’t!’ Maya gasps so loud I think she’s at risk of passing out.

  ‘He did!’

  ‘And he came to you with that bollocks of a story?’

  ‘Yep.’

  Maya stares back at me through the screen, shaking her head back and forth as shock stuns her quiet. Bai bustles over and waves. ‘We miss you, Orly! Come back soon. Maya is eating your share now, and I’m worried she’s going to turn into a dumpling.’

  I laugh. ‘That’s not fair that she’s eating my share! I bet she’s eating all the chilli sauce too?’

  Bai shakes her head. ‘No, she says it gives her indigestion.’

  ‘What? You love the chilli sauce.’

  Maya makes a face. ‘About that …’ she says, and rummages in her bag for something. ‘So, remember I said I needed to explain about Preston?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘Well, we broke up.’

  ‘Oh, Maya, I’m sorry!’

  ‘No, you’re not. You’ll do cartwheels in celebration when I end the call.’

  It’s my turn to laugh. ‘True. OK, I’m not sorry he’s gone, but I’m sorry if you’re sad about it. I know you liked the obligatory bad boy for whatever reason I cannot fathom, but hey, who am I to talk? I’ve been going out with a thief!’

  ‘So maybe the next lot of boyfriends will be our princes?’

  ‘Maybe.’

  ‘But to answer your question, no I’m not sad about breaking up with Preston. It was my choice. I can feel time marching on, Orly, so I made a decision a while back and it’s come to fruition.’

  She holds the little grainy black and white picture in front of the camera.

  ‘Maya, is that what I think it is?’

  She grins. ‘It is! It’s little baby Martinez! We are five months along already.’

  Bai stands behind her, hands over her mouth, before jumping up and down and shrieking. The air in my lungs leaves with a whoosh. It takes me a minute to pull enough oxygen back to talk.

  Bai hugs Maya from behind and speaks in rapid-fire Chinese, gesturing to staff to bring something to Maya. Probably dumplings for the baby!

  It hits me. ‘Five months along, so you were pregnant when you came here, but I saw you drink, you had that blue cocktail …’

  ‘Mocktail. Esterlita knows. She said she saw it in a dream.’ Maya shrugs as if this is totally normal. ‘And I kept topping up your glass with bubbles so you never noticed mine was fizzy water.’

  God, I’m so dense sometimes. ‘How, what … who?’

  She takes a deep breath. ‘I went to a clinic and found myself a donor. He’s a student at university studying to be an engineer. I know, I know, how dull, but his passion is art. So I think he might use both sides of his brain, and then you have my genes: the medical side should come in handy but also my love for music. I should have a well-rounded little poppet.’

  ‘Wow, Maya. Just. Wow.’ Tears spring to my eyes, imagining Maya as a mum, the one thing she has yearned for, for such a
long time.

  ‘I know, it’s a big shock. It was so hard hiding it from you when I came to the hall, wearing those voluminous clothes and not eating the stinky cheeses. But I didn’t want to distract you while you had all those nerves about the first camp.’

  ‘Oh, Maya, no it wouldn’t have distracted me! Not at all. We would have had cause for a great celebration. I still can’t believe this is happening. What will you do about work?’

  ‘I’ve given a month’s notice; I’m going to come back in a year or … two. I’ve got enough saved to tide me over for a bit. I’ve been planning this for quite some time and I can’t believe it’s finally happened.’

  ‘Please tell me you’re coming to stay at Honeysuckle Hall?’

  She waggles her brow. ‘I was hoping you’d say that!’

  ‘Really? You are?’ My tears become torrents.

  ‘Yes, although I’ll probably rent a little cottage up the road or something. I don’t want to be in your way and you know how messy I am and how much you hate that. I can only imagine having a baby will produce even more mess. All those toys and whatnot.’

  ‘For a someone with such a precise job you really are very messy.’

  ‘Organised mind, steady hands.’

  ‘And an absolute disgrace at picking things up.’

  ‘Eh, you can’t have everything.’

  ‘OK, get down here as soon as possible and at least stay at the hall while you’re growing little baby Martinez.’

  ‘I will. I’ve got a month to go and I’ll be there.’

  ‘Four whole long weeks away!’ I think of the guest room and how I can make it even more of an oasis for my best friend, so she can rest and put her feet up when her ankles swell. She’ll need books about pregnancy, about parenting, maybe some rom coms for relaxation. Then there’s some extra-wide pillows so she can get into a comfortable position when her belly grows to the size of a watermelon. There’s so much to do!