“He’s a lovely animal, kind natured and always does his best. He would have been upset at knocking you over and he may never get over a dog attacking him.”
“She was protecting me,” the tears were flowing freely now and she bit her lip to prevent her sobs escaping.
They were on a quiet moorland road now and Roman pulled over. Taking her in his arms he held her gently. “Please don’t cry my love. None of this is your fault, Misty is fine and Boris very sensibly found his way home. With any luck she’ll sell him and he’ll end up in a decent home.”
“But if he’s frightened of dogs surely no one will want him?” Bella sniffed then blew her nose on the tissues he gave her.
“He’s a lovely experienced eventer so someone will want him, and if not I’ll buy him.”
“You? I didn’t know you rode.”
Roman laughed “With my family it was a necessity. I could ride before I could walk.”
To his delight Bella smiled “I think that must be a slight exaggeration.”
He pretended to frown then said “Well, very slight.”
As she wiped her eyes he started the car, pulled back onto the road and they drove on towards his home.
When he drove up the long gravelled drive, through an avenue of white poplar trees, towards the mellow old manor house, she exclaimed at the beauty of it. “What a lovely house.”
“Mmm, my ancestor who built it had perfect taste, even if he was a profligate womaniser and rake,” Roman grinned.
“I wondered where you got it from.”
“I’m wounded that you think so poorly of me.”
They were both laughing, when as he pulled up in front of the house the door opened and a plump rosy cheeked woman came out to greet them. Roman jumped out of the car and hurried round to help Bella out as the woman came forward and said “Welcome my dear. My, you are in the wars! I’m Mrs Bainbridge by the way, housekeeper to this young devil.”
Bella smiled and shook her hand “Thank you for agreeing to look after me, I promise I won’t be any trouble.”
“Don’t you worry my lovely. It’ll be a pleasure to have another woman around. Come in, let’s get you settled. Now, do you want to lie down or will you be alright in the snug?”
“The snug sounds perfect. I’ve been in bed enough.”
Roman held her arm as she walked up the three steps to the front door. The warmth of the house welcomed her and she looked around with pleasure. The floor was the original stone slabs with a thick runner down the middle; a long oak table stood against the wall to her right and ahead of her a large staircase disappeared into the lofty heights. The high ceiling had moulding all around it with an ornate rose in the middle from which hung a sparkling crystal chandelier, and the walls were covered in family portraits dating back centuries.
The first door on the right led to a large dining room and on the left was the snug. The walls in here were covered in seascapes, hunting and shooting scenes and portraits of what Bella assumed had been favourite horses and dogs. It was quite a large room by her standards but it felt cozy, with soft armchairs and a comfortable sofa, in front of a large open fire. Because of the time of year, a large display of flowers and foliage stood in the hearth, but she could imagine how lovely it would, be with a roaring log fire in the middle of winter.Settling her on the sofa, with cushions at her back and a soft throw over her feet, Roman left her to go and bring in her case leaving Mrs B. to fuss over her.
Half an hour later, her feet now resting in Roman’s lap, Bella tucked into homemade scones, jam and clotted cream, washed down by a large, porcelain, mug of tea.
Feeling replete and sleepy, she stifled a yawn then said “God I am awful. I haven’t given poor Misty a thought.”
“She’s fine, but we’ve had to put her in a cage as she was tending to leap about. All she wanted to do was play with Hamish, but Jess said to try and stop her from jumping on and off things for a few days.”
“Oh poor baby,” Bella cursed her weakness as tears flooded her eyes.
Roman lifted her feet and slid off the sofa to take her in his arms. “Don’t cry sweetheart, it won’t do your headache any good. Misty is perfectly happy, she’s been fed, walked a little and Hamish is lying outside the cage, keeping her company. Best leave her to settle. If she sees you she’ll get excited again and it won’t do her leg any good. Leave her for a few days until both of you are over the worst.”
Snuggled into his arms Bella swallowed her tears, knowing he was right and it was best for her pet to stay calm and not do any more damage to her leg.
“You’re right” she said, “it would be selfish of me to stir her up and then have to leave her.”
“It’s only for a couple of days. It was either keep her restricted or give her a sedative and I’m not a fan of giving animals too many drugs.”
Bella bit her lip “Did the vet tell you how much the bill will be?”
“We won’t know that until they’ve finished treating her, taken the plaster off and ensured that the green stick fracture hasn’t worsened and is healing. Anyhow don’t worry about it, I’ve told them to add it to the estate’s bill.”
“You shouldn’t have done that” Bella said angrily. “I’m quite capable of paying my own bills.”
“Of course you are, but the vets don’t know you, you’ve got no pet insurance but they do know me and we have an account. You can pay me when we know how much it is.”
“Oh!” Bella bit her lip. “I’m sorry, I sound so ungrateful for everything you’ve done. It’s just...”
Roman cut in “I know you want to stand on your own two feet and I respect you for that, sweetheart, but if your boyfriend can’t help out occasionally, who can?”
She looked at him wide eyed, then smiled shyly “Boyfriend?”
Pulling her to him he kissed her lightly then said “I hope I am, after all I am your lover. Or are we just friends with benefits?”
“It’s just that boyfriend sounds so teenage-ish. But I do hope we are more than friends with benefits.”
Kissing her again Roman said “Oh we definitely are because, Bella Carrington, I’m smitten by you, can’t get enough of you and hope you feel the same way.”
The tight feeling she’d had in her chest since Gervaise’ betrayal finally disappeared and as she rested her head on his shoulder she said “I do, I think I’m falling in love with you but I’m so afraid.”
“I know because I am too, but please don’t let the past spoil what I know we can have together.”
Bella shook her head “I’ll try my best not to. But I need to prove to myself that I can stand on my own two feet. I need to be independent for a while.”
“Sweetheart, it was what made me fall for you. Your determination, hard work and true grit, and of course the fact that you are a beautiful, desirable woman, who turns me on every time I’m near you.”
“Even covered in cobwebs dirt and paint?”
“Oh yes, it was the scruffy decorator I fell for at first sight. Then when I saw you dressed up I was lost.” Roman grinned then claimed another kiss.
As he moved away she tried to stifle a yawn and then giggled as he said “Well if that’s the effect my love making has on you, I’d better up my game.”
“Later,” she smiled “I can hardly keep my eyes open. I think the pain killers have caught up with me.”
Standing up Roman said “That’s good, sleep heals. Lie back and fall asleep, I have some work to do for a couple of hours. Mrs. B is going to do a very light supper at about seven thirty and we’ll eat in here. Do you need the toilet or anything?”
“No thank you, I’m good. A sleep would be nice though, they had me up at six.”
He kissed her on the forehead, pointed out the bell that Mrs. B had put on the table and left her to sleep.
Three weeks later Bella was busy in her open barn with an ever watchful Misty refusing to let her out of her sight. The lump on Bella’s head had gone down and the bruising was now just a faint yellow, her shoulder only ached if she used it too much, or picked up something heavy. Misty’s leg had been x-rayed and was healing well and she now only had a support bandage on it, although she was still restricted to short walks, which suited Bella fine as she was trying desperately to find the money with which to repay Roman.
Because of this she had spent part of her carefully hoarded savings to have the internet installed. Luckily for her when the telecom man came to see about a new line, he had discovered that there was actually an old connection, which Lucy must have had installed many years ago, and it was still viable. To Bella’s delight it was just a case of buying a house phone and deciding which internet provider to have. Her old computer would have to do until she could afford another, and although it was slow it could still be used to sell her upcycled goods, throws and cushions on ebay.
Now that the cottage was comfortable to live in she was working flat out to make things to sell, and to her delight they were selling well, at a very decent profit. The open barn was now her workshop but she knew that come winter she’d need to have a warm dry place to work in. She made her cushions and throws in the evening, often working into the small hours to finish something and get it on line.
Her love affair with Roman was still intense, but while they were both eager to make love, their friendship and the fact that they enjoyed each other’s company meant as much to them both. The only thorn in their sides was Louisa. She was telling all who would listen that Roman had jilted her, and she was heartbroken and ill because of his cruel treatment. On many occasions Bella had seen her watching her, either from horseback or in her car and on the nights that Roman stayed over they were often woken in the early hours of the morning by Misty’s hysterical barking, and the sound of a car on the drive. At Roman’s insistence Bella had reported every incident to the police, but as nothing had been damaged or broken into they told her that there was nothing they could do.
Mulling over all that had happened, Bella was sanding down a lovely old console table, that she’d picked up at a boot sale, when she heard the growl of Roman’s land rover coming up the drive. Going out to greet him she melted into his waiting arms for a long lingering kiss. As they released each other he said “Who needs the perfume of
Channel when the sexiest perfume in the world is woman, sawdust and white spirit?”
Bella laughed, when once she would have been embarrassed “Is that the odour of the cowshed surrounding you?”
Sweeping her into his arms once again he said “Us country folk know how to woo a woman.”
Her stomach pooled to liquid and she clung to him as his tongue invaded her mouth, gently savouring her. She clamped her legs around his waist causing him to step backwards, as there was a bang and something flew past her ear, stinging it before passing along the side of Roman’s face causing hot blood to spurt. He flung them both to the floor as Misty ran to the end of her long lead barking angrily.
“Stay down” he ordered her, “crawl behind the land rover. Some idiot is firing a rifle up on the moor.” Then he crawled to Misty, slipped her lead and dragged her behind the vehicle to join Bella.
Hamish was desperately trying to get out of the cab, making the four by four sway from side to side and Roman shouted at him to lie down. With both dogs barking wildly Bella couldn’t hear anything but when something hit the canvas tilt on the back of the land rover she realised that someone wasn’t just shooting on the moor, they were firing at them. Roman was trying to see where the shots were coming from, but every time he peered round the wheel arch another shot came perilously close. The side of his head was pouring with blood as was Bella’s earlobe and it looked as if the shooter wasn’t going anywhere.
“We need help,” Roman said, “I’d better call the police, although god knows how long it will take them to get here. They’re not particularly thick on the ground in Devon.”
Taking out his mobile he cursed “Damn and blast, there’s no bloody signal.”
“Mine doesn’t work down here either, we’ll have to get into the house.”
“It’s too far to run, whoever’s shooting is a fairly decent shot and once I move I’ll be a sitting duck,” Roman said running his fingers through his hair in exasperation.
“Look, the driver’s door is facing away from the moor. You could get in and drive right up to the front door.”
“I can’t leave you with no cover.”
“Let’s undo the tilt. We can lift Misty in and I can slide in and lay on the floor. The sides will protect me.”
Roman thought about it “OK, let’s do it.”
Luckily he had his trusty old swiss army knife in his pocket, so they cut the ropes that held the tilt in place, Bella slid over the side her, shoulder complaining badly and Roman passed Misty to her. To keep the pup down Bella lay on top of her as she struggled wildly. Then Roman was in the cab pushing Hamish down into the footwell, and manoeuvring carefully pulled up to the front door. They scrambled out, dogs as well, and into the cottage, breathing a sigh of relief as they shut and locked the doors and windows.
Roman grabbed the phone and dialled 999, asking for the police. When he explained what was happening he was advised to stay on the line and stay put, and that help was on its way. Bella had dashed into the bathroom to collect flannels and towels to staunch the blood from their heads and they huddled under the living room window, thankful for the heavy stone that surrounded them.
It seemed like hours as they waited for rescue but was in fact only thirty five minutes before they heard the whump, whump, whump of a helicopter, then the screams in the distance of police sirens.
Five minutes later two black clad figures approached the cottage, and the person Roman had been talking to on the phone advised him to open the door, and lie on the floor, which they both did while hanging onto their dogs. The two armour covered figures entered the cottage, checked them both for weapons and allowed them to stand up then sit in the armchairs, while they asked for details of the shooting and examined their wounds. Both were superficial, a nick out of Bella’s ear and a groove along Roman’s cheek. They’d stopped bleeding thanks to the pressure they’d applied with the towels,; Bella’s ear once it was cleaned didn’t need anything doing to it but Roman’s cheek was given a gauze pad held in place by tape.
Now that the danger was over Bella couldn’t stop shaking so Roman made her a strong cup of tea which the swat team declined as they were ordered out onto the moor in search of the shooter, however a detective inspector and his sergeant accepted as they listened to Roman’s account of what happened.
“So Mr.Cowle, can you think of anyone who might hold a grudge against you?” the inspector, called Greaves, asked.
Roman shook his head “Not enough to shoot me.”
“What about you Miss Carrington?”
Bella bit her lip and looked at Roman “What about Louisa?”
“Louisa who?” Greaves asked.
Roman sighed “Louisa Patterson, she owns Deep Moor estate.”
“So why would she try to shoot you?”
“She’s jealous that I’m with Bella, and has made a nuisance of herself.”
“So she’s an old girlfriend of yours is she?”
“Twenty years ago, while we were at school, yes. But not since then.”
“She thinks she has a claim on Roman, because their fathers used to joke about them getting married and joining their estates, as they did in the olden days. If you ask me she’s bonkers.” Bella had had enough.
“Has she done anything to make you believe she’d go as far as to shoot you?” Greaves asked.
“She mowed me down with her horse
and dislocated my shoulder.”
“Deliberately?”
“Well, I can’t prove that it was deliberate but I’m certain it was.”
“Did you report the incident?”
“No, as I say I couldn’t prove that it was deliberate and I didn’t want anymore trouble. Roman told her to leave us alone and I thought that would sort it out.”
At that moment the officer in charge of the swat team entered the cottage “We’ve found the place the shooter was lying, no sign of any cartridges but the grass is freshly pressed down. We’ve got a dog and handler trying to follow his trail but the dog’s having trouble, and the helo hasn’t spotted anyone from the air. They seem to have vanished.”
“What if they were on horseback?” Bella asked.
“Could be, there’s so many hoof prints and horse droppings on the moor it would be impossible to pick out one individual. Also the moor is crisscrossed with tyre tracks from quad bikes and four by fours.”
Two hours later the police had called off the search, Bella and Roman’s statements had been taken and the police departed with a warning to be careful and report any further incidents, no matter how insignificant they seemed.
“Well that was a complete waste of time.” Roman said, “I wonder if they’d have taken it more seriously if we’d been actually shot?”
“They were very thorough and I expect they’ll follow it up, perhaps they’ll interview Louisa.”
“I just can’t believe what is happening. I’ve always known she was unstable but not enough to hurt people.”
“And what about animals?”
“I’ve seen her lose her temper with her horses on odd occasions over the years and she’s never got on with dogs, but she always managed to control herself before she actually hurt anything.”
“Well she certainly hurt Boris, that day she came here, his side had huge weals along it.”
“Mmm, she got sent home from hunting a couple of times when we were kids, but I thought that she’d grown out of her tantrums.”
The Wishing Well Page 10