He could still remember that kiss. Twenty years, and God alone knew how many kisses with other women since, but that kiss was the one that stayed with him. Talk about crazy. He lost his heart to a sixteen-year-old girl that day, and he never got it back.
No. That wasn't exactly true. He had got it back. Later that night, as he stood waiting for a bus to take him to the station in Mistletythe, so that he could get a train home to his grandfather's, she had thrown it back at him, but in tiny little smashed up pieces. She had called him a bloodsucking pariah, and his grandfather too. And she'd told him that she never, ever wanted to see him again for as long as they both lived and that she wished that he were dead.
She had said a few other unpleasant things too, but having only recently lost his parents, being told by the girl he believed could make his future bright and perfect and blissfully happy, that she wished him dead, was really the last thing he had heard.
And later, when he asked his grandfather what happened at the house, and was told that Rufus had been trying to buy the place for a year, but that Bernard Bell had held out until that very day, he felt even more annoyed that Juliet had taken out her frustration on him – an innocent party. Once he'd calmed down, he could see it from her point of view.
'I've got to go back and explain,' he told his grandfather the following day.
'To her? To that Bell girl? To a sixteen-year-old with no money. Don't be ridiculous, Harrison. You have a bright future ahead of you. And so does Luke. Don't throw that away on some silly little girl. You can have any girl you want.'
'She's not a silly little girl, Grandfather. And she's the girl I want. I simply need to make her understand what happened.'
Rufus curled his upper lip and sneered at him. 'The Bows don't go grovelling to the Bells, my boy. They never have and they never will. I did them a favour by paying more than I needed to, to get The Grange. But our family has wanted that place for years and now, we've finally got it. It'll be yours one day, Harrison. Come your thirtieth birthday, you'll inherit the place. We can be the grand family we always should've been. You need to marry someone who can add to our wealth, not some girl who'll waste it like her foolish father has.'
Harrison laughed mirthlessly. 'I don't want to be a grand family. And when I marry, it'll be for love, not money. This is 1998, Grandfather, not 1798. Stuff like that doesn't matter these days. It hasn't done for decades.'
'It matters to families like ours, my boy. And believe me, it matters to the Bells, too. That girl would like nothing more than to get the house back, and what better way than to make the man who'll eventually own it, fall head over heels in love with her. Did it even occur to you that she knew exactly who you were? Good God, boy. Have you no sense whatsoever? Apart from the fact you only met the girl yesterday, can't you see what she's doing?'
Harrison was thrown off balance for a second. 'No. She hadn't a clue who I was. That's why she was so mad with me. I'm going to see her, Grandfather, whether you like it or not. And, yes, I've only known her for one day, but Mum once told me that when you meet your soulmate, you know. You feel it in every part of you. I felt it when I saw Juliet. And I believe she felt it too.'
Rufus thumped his fist on the desk and leapt to his feet. 'Your mother was an idiot, Harrison. She lived in the land of fairy tales. My son should never have married her, but like you, he wouldn't listen. Well, there was nothing I could do to stop him throwing his life away over a silly girl. But there is something I can do to stop you from making the same mistake.'
Harrison clenched his fists and glowered. 'Don't ever call my mother that again. She and Dad were deeply in love until the day they died. They were happy, unlike you. I'm sorry to have to break this to you, Grandfather, but just like with my dad, there's nothing you can say or do to make me change my mind.'
'Oh, isn't there?' Rufus said as Harrison turned to leave the room. 'Do you want to ruin your little brother's life too? Because that's exactly what you'll do if you go back to that girl. Today, or any day from now. Who do you think's paying for him to be at that posh school of his, eh? Who provides him – and you for that matter – with a roof over your heads? Stay away from that girl or believe me, things will change around here. And not for the better as far as Luke's concerned. I hope I have made myself clear.'
Harrison sucked in a breath but he didn't turn around.
'Even if it means I'll hate you for the rest of your life?'
Rufus gave a snort of derision. 'You won't hate me. I'm blood. But yes. Even then.'
Harrison had no choice. He could never do anything to jeopardize Luke's future; the ten-year-old had gone through enough.
So they had moved into The Grange and Harrison spent the little time he was there, walking around the grounds, or locked in his room with a book and when he'd left a few weeks later to do some volunteer work abroad before starting university, he vowed he would never set foot inside The Grange again, nor drive along Mistletoe Row, the scene of one of the unhappiest times of his life.
And until last night, he hadn't.
Chapter Eight
Juliet needed some fresh air. The sun was still shining and it was so much warmer, yet Cinnamon was still curled up in front of the Aga where she'd gone as soon as the family went into the kitchen for lunch.
'I'm taking Cinnamon for a walk. Do you want anything from the shop, Mum?'
'No thank you, sweetheart. You got everything we needed yesterday.'
'D'you want some company?' Zoe looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled.
'That'd be nice.'
They grabbed their coats from the hall and walked out into the sunshine on Mistletoe Row, both of them turning to look up at The Grange. They glanced at one another and laughed.
'God. We're so predictable,' Zoe said. 'I knew you'd do that, and then I go and do the same.' She shook her head and sighed. 'So much for me being over it.'
'I'm not sure any of us will ever be over leaving there. It was a part of who we are. It's been in the Bell family for centuries. Not that exact house, of course, but parts of it. Do you remember the old photos and paintings hanging on the walls in the Gallery? The ones of the house throughout the centuries, not the paintings of our ancestors, I mean.'
Zoe shook her head. 'Not really. But I've seen all the photos Mum and Dad took before we left. It must've felt awful for Dad, leaving all those paintings behind. It's a bit like us moving out of the cottage now and leaving our photo albums and digital photos for the new owners. It's weird, isn't it?'
'Not as weird as it must be for the Bows to have to walk around and look at them. Are they still there, I wonder? I mean, perhaps that old git sold them all. Or put them in storage. Or gave them away.'
'Don't get upset. Your voice was rising with each sentence. They're all still there.'
Juliet stopped and looked Zoe in the eyes. 'Are they? How do you know? Oh. I suppose Daphne told Mum, didn't she? They're quite friendly, aren't they?'
'Yes. She pops in for tea sometimes. She's invited Mum up to The Grange, but of course Mum says no. Not because it would upset her, although I think it might in spite of everything they said today. She doesn't go because if old Bow found out she was there, he'd probably sack Daphne on the spot.' Zoe bit her lower lip. 'But I know nothing's changed at the house, well nothing much anyway because Luke told me it hadn't. He said if I walked back in there tomorrow, it would be as if I'd never left. He's said I could go, if I want, but I've always said no because if it is still the same, that would make it feel weird and it'd bring it all back again.'
Juliet sighed. 'I'd love to see the place again. Even if it did break my heart to do so.'
'I thought your heart was still broken from all those years ago? Sorry. Bad joke.'
'It is. Or it was. Now I don't know what to feel. What Mum and Dad said today was a real surprise. I had no idea Dad had been thinking of selling for over a year, did you? Oh, sorry, of course you didn't. You were five. The only thing that interested you were y
our Barbie dolls.'
'Yeah. I had a big crush on Ken. I don't think I've ever got over it.'
'Oh very funny.' Juliet gave Zoe a playful shove. 'Seriously though. What Mum and Dad said does sort of change things a bit. All these years I've been blaming myself – and Harrison, and it turns out it was nothing to do with either of us.'
'Yep. And just think. All of this heartache could so easily have been resolved, if only we were the sort of family who told each other things. And gave other people a chance to explain. Or even to say hello, before jumping into a car and slouching behind the seats like a child.'
Juliet tutted. 'I suppose that's a dig at me for this morning, isn't it? But come on. In twenty years, has he ever tried to explain? Or even tried to write to me? Or, since the popularity of social media, tried to find me on there and send me a friend request? Or anything, in fact?'
Zoe tipped her head from side to side. She often did that when she was thinking and Juliet smiled at her, now really glad to be home and with her family.
'No. You're right. He's never made the slightest effort to explain. Or to try to be friends. But have you ever wondered if there might be a reason for that? Apart from the obvious one of you snapping his head off the moment he came near, of course.'
'Like what?'
'I don't know. I'm just saying. You've said you thought you and he both fell in love at first sight but that you then discovered he was a liar, et cetera and you told him to get lost, and to never darken your door again. Or something along those lines.'
'Yeah. So?'
'So. Maybe that just proves he's the perfect gentleman. That he's noble and kind. Or something. What I'm saying is, perhaps he was simply doing what you told him to. What he thought you wanted. And that's why he's stayed away. Perhaps the guy's too bloody nice and moral and stuff like that. Even though his own heart is broken, he'll die before he hurts you again. You know, like a real knight in shining armour. Perhaps he's your Romeo, and he'll die for you.'
'I think you need to reread your Shakespeare, Zoe. That's not quite the plot. Romeo drinks the poison because he thinks Juliet's dead and he can't live without her. Then she wakes up, sees he's dead, goes on a bit about how unfair life is and all that stuff, then stabs herself because she can't bear life without him either.'
'Whatever. Hmm. Shakespeare in three sentences. I like it. Perhaps we should put on a Christmas play. The Bells do Shakespeare. What do you think?'
'That you need to get a life.'
'Hey. Look who's talking.' Zoe bent down and picked up a handful of snow.
Juliet pointed a finger at her. 'Put that down right now. I mean it, Zoe. Don't even think about it. Oww!'
The snowball hit Juliet in the centre of her chest and Zoe roared with laughter, while Cinnamon barked and jumped around in little circles, kicking up showers of melting snow. Almost as if the dog was joining Zoe in a victory dance.
'Right. You asked for it.'
Juliet let go of Cinnamon's lead and shovelled up snow with her gloved hands. Zoe hurriedly did the same and snowballs careered back and forth for several minutes, some of which hit Cinnamon, who whimpered, ran away and then came pelting towards them, knocking each of them flying, in turn. Juliet and Zoe lay on the snow, both curled up with laughter.
'I think Cinnamon won.' A man's voice said.
Juliet sat bolt upright and looked directly up at Luke Bow, standing just a few metres away. Panic set in immediately and her eyes searched frantically for his brother. Thankfully, Harrison was nowhere to be seen.
'Cinnamon cheated,' Zoe said, sitting upright too and stretching out her hands towards Luke.
To Juliet's surprise, he rushed to Zoe to help her up, before offering a hand to Juliet. She hesitated for a second but saw the look on Zoe's face, and gave in.
'Thank you, Luke,' she said, brushing snow from her coat and grabbing Cinnamon's lead as it dragged by her feet.
'Anytime,' he replied. 'Er. And maybe now would be a good time to tell you how sorry I am about your wing mirror. Did Zoe tell you I'll happily pay for any damage?'
Juliet nodded. 'She did. Thank you. But to be honest, there isn't much. Just a scratch or two, and considering how many other scratches there are on my car, one or two more won't make much difference. I was worried the glass might be broken, but thankfully it wasn't.'
'Harrison gave me a real bollocking last night when I told him I'd hit someone's wing mirror, and when he found out this morning that it was your car – Whew! I thought I was dead meat. Listen. If you don't want me to pay for it, what else can I do to make amends?'
Juliet shook her head. 'There's no need.'
Luke laughed. 'Oh yes there is. Big bro says so.'
'You could let her skate on the lake,' Zoe said.
Luke glanced from Juliet to Zoe and back again. 'The lake? The one in the grounds?'
Zoe tutted. 'No. The one in Hyde Park. Of course the one in the grounds, genius.'
'Okay. No need to get all high and mighty. Juliet can skate on the lake whenever she wants. So can you.'
'Thanks. But I'm not a skater.'
'And thank you,' Juliet added. 'But I'm not sure your grandad would approve.'
'Who cares what he thinks? Besides, Harrison as good as runs the place these days, albeit from afar. And he'd be more than happy for you to do anything you want on the lake. Hey, Zoe. I can teach you if you want. I'm not very good though.'
'If I wanted someone to teach me, I'd ask Juliet. She's brilliant.'
Juliet laughed. 'Maybe when I was younger, but I haven't skated much since ... well, not for years. I'd probably spend more time on my backside than my blades.'
'Now's the time to find out,' Zoe said. 'What about tomorrow morning? Around ten, let's say.'
Luke shrugged. 'Sounds good to me. Tell you what. Why don't we all go?'
'No!' Zoe shot a look at Juliet before smiling at Luke. 'I think Juliet would prefer to be alone, wouldn't you?'
Juliet looked from her sister to Luke and back again. She longed to skate on the lake once more. That was one of the things she had missed. She'd skated on rinks in Bristol once or twice but it wasn't the same. Nowhere near. There was something about the lake at The Grange that was magical. It was large, for one thing. And it was sheltered by trees on two sides – the wood, and a small apple orchard, which would be filled with mistletoe at this time of year, just like the orchards either side of Mistletythe Lane. To feel the cold wind in her hair as she skated on the lake, after all these years, would be a dream come true.
'If I were to take you up on the offer then yes, I'd rather skate alone. At least, for a little while.'
'Fine by me. I'll tell Daphne you'll be there. Just in case she looks out and thinks someone is trespassing. Not that you would be. But Grandfather is hot on that sort of thing and if Daphne knows you're there, it'll mean she can keep him at bay.'
'Oh. I don't want to cause any trouble.'
Luke smiled warmly. 'You won't be, I assure you. Far from it.'
'And Harrison?'
'What about him?'
'He may very well object.'
'Nah. Besides, I won't tell him. He's got Kiki with him so they'll be pretty busy anyway.'
That was not what Juliet wanted to hear. She could easily imagine how busy the man would be. And who could blame him? Kiki was the most beautiful woman in the world, after all. With a figure to match, from the brief look Juliet got of her that morning.
Not that she was jealous or anything.
Damn the woman.
Chapter Nine
He may as well accept it. Even after twenty years it was clear Juliet was never going to acknowledge that she might have been wrong about him. Or at the very least, may have judged him harshly for any part he may have inadvertently played in his grandfather's purchase of The Grange.
When Luke had asked him to come and spend Christmas and to try to put the past behind them, a tiny part of him had hoped he might bump into Juliet and that she would smile t
hat smile of hers; the one he still remembered after all these years. That she would say hello, ask how he was, and tell him she was sorry for the way things turned out between them. He'd invite her for a coffee, or perhaps a glass of wine. Not dinner. It would be too soon for dinner. He didn't want to rush things this time. She'd say yes, of course, and they'd spend a convivial hour or so catching up with one another's lives. He knew she hadn't married. Luke had kept him informed in passing and once Daphne moved in and became friends with Juliet's mum, he gleaned a few more details. He would suggest a walk, and somehow, he'd work it so that they ended up at the lake, possibly as the sun was setting. Once there, they'd sit on the bench, as they had twenty years ago, and it would all come flooding back. The way they looked at one another, the way they felt.
Or did that kind of thing only happen in romance novels and films?
It certainly hadn't gone that way in real life. She hadn't looked into his eyes that morning and rushed into his arms. She hadn't even smiled. If looks could kill, he'd be dead and buried, six feet under. She had taken one look at him and fled like a gazelle with a lion at her heels. She'd shut herself in her dad's car and skulked behind the seats as if he were one of the walking dead and she had to hide from him at all costs.
So probably no point in calling round and asking her out for coffee then?
God, what an absolute loser he was. He'd spent twenty years as good as pining for his so-called lost love and all she does is ignore him. Perhaps it was time he got the message. Juliet Bell would never admit that she was wrong. And she'd never give him the time of day, let alone go on a date.
'Yoo-hoo. Harrison. Luke says we're going to the pub.' Kiki's sultry tones wafted along the hall from the doorway of the Dawn room and Harrison smirked.
He'd foolishly asked Daphne to move Kiki from the Rose room last night when he'd gone downstairs for dinner.
'Certainly, Harrison,' Daphne had said, looking a little bewildered. 'I assumed you would want your assistant to be near to you, but yes, I'll move her to a room at the other end of the hall. Leave it with me. I'll have the Dawn room ready before you've finished dinner.'
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