Random Acts of Kindness--Part 3

by Victoria Walters

  Chapter One

  Louise Morgan stomped over puddles as she walked through her small home town of Littlewood, her head covered by the hood of her parka. Usually she loved her town – perched up in the Surrey Hills, surrounded by green countryside – but today, soaked by rain even though it was the end of July, she felt decidedly grumpy with it. She had planned to spend her day off under a blanket on the sofa, but her friend Eszter Harris had begged her to have breakfast at the café, Brew, where she worked. Louise knew that the real reason Eszter was so keen for her to go there was because she thought Louise would spend the whole day wallowing, and annoyingly she was right.

  A few days ago, Louise’s older sister and housemate, Abbie, had gone back to London with her ex-boyfriend Jack. She had been unable to resist his offer that they set up a PR company together there. Louise was upset her sister had gone. She was trying to be excited for her but she couldn’t shake the feeling of doubt she had deep in her bones that Abbie had made a mistake in going.

  As Louise got closer to Brew, her bad mood started to lift as she thought about the delicious breakfast she would get there and the very strong cup of coffee she was craving. Maybe it was better to spend the morning with her friends rather than worrying about her sister. The sofa would still be there waiting for her that afternoon anyway.

  She reached the cosy, welcoming café that stood in the grounds of the stately home-turned-hotel, Huntley Manor, and walked in, pulling down her hood, and shaking off the rain. Harry and Joy, Brew’s owners, waved from behind the counter as Eszter called out ‘Good morning!’, and Louise smiled despite herself.

  ‘It’s horrible out there,’ she said, unnecessarily. If you couldn’t comment on the weather when you were British, then what could you do? She walked over to the counter and noted that the café was particularly quiet. Obviously everyone else in Littlewood had decided not to leave the shelter of their cars to stop off for coffee on the way to work.

  ‘How are you?’ Eszter asked her. ‘Have you heard from Abbie?’

  Louise shook her head. ‘No, nothing since she texted to say they had arrived, but I guess she has to settle in.’ Louise bit her lip. She wanted Abbie to tell her how well things were going so she could relax a little bit more.

  ‘Abbie will be fine; she can make a success out of anything,’ Eszter said. ‘I just wish she could have stayed here longer. We’ll all miss her.’

  Louise nodded. ‘It was all very sudden. I hope you’re right and everything will be okay. I can’t help worrying. Plus, selfishly, I didn’t want her to go. I liked having her here.’

  ‘We all did,’ Joy said. ‘Abbie knows what she’s doing. If she needs help, she will call you. Now, what can we get you? You look in need of sustenance!’

  Louise smiled. ‘Yes, please. A very large coffee and a full English today, I think.’

  ‘Eszter, why don’t you take your break, and I’ll bring you some breakfast too?’

  Eszter and Louise went over to a table by the window and sat down, Louise removing her many layers now she was in the warm café. She looked out at Huntley Manor standing tall through the sheets of rain still coming down. ‘I just thought she had settled in so well here,’ she said. Abbie had been working with the owner of the hotel, Thomas Huntley, to improve its fortunes using her PR know-how, and encouraging him to make improvements so that they could entice more guests.

  ‘She had, but she’d always planned to go back to London,’ Eszter said, gently. ‘And running her own business is a great opportunity, right?’

  ‘I know, I want to be happy for her, but I just can’t shake the feeling that Jack isn’t right for her.’

  ‘And you thought Thomas was?’

  ‘They were getting on so well. She was so excited about helping the hotel be more successful; I was surprised she was so eager to give it up and rush back to London with Jack, that’s all.’

  ‘I think Thomas was surprised too. He came in yesterday and seemed very down.’

  ‘They had an argument before she left, she told me,’ Louise said. ‘I think he was upset she was going and told her that he might just give up on saving the hotel; Abbie was furious with him.’ Louise sighed. She hated to think of her sister leaving town on such bad terms with him. ‘I thought there might have been something between them.’

  ‘But she still loves this Jack?’

  ‘Seems so. I just hope he pulls his weight and doesn’t leave everything to Abbie.’ She smiled at Joy then as she brought over two coffees and two large, steaming plates of eggs and bacon. ‘This looks amazing.’

  ‘I hope it will cheer you both up,’ Joy said, giving them a stern look. ‘You’ll frighten away our customers with those serious faces.’

  ‘What’s on your mind?’ Louise asked Eszter when Joy left to serve someone who had just walked in. ‘The cookery class?’

  Eszter nodded. ‘I just want it to go well.’ Eszter’s daughter Zoe had been upset after they had taken a class at the community centre because some of the kids there had made fun of her accent. They had come over from Hungary for the summer to visit her mother-in-law, Anne. It had been Joy’s idea to run a cookery class at Brew to try to help Zoe make friends with the local children.

  ‘Who can resist Joy’s cakes?’

  Eszter smiled. ‘Anne has been really worried since Zoe said she wanted to go home. She’s only just getting to know her granddaughter, so it would be a real shame to leave now. Hopefully once the kids get to know Zoe, and they all have fun in the class, she’ll stop saying it. It was a real surprise, I think, to both of us. We’d only been made to feel welcome here before.’

  ‘Zoe is just a bit different in the kids’ eyes, that’s all. As you say, once they all have a chance to get to know each other, then they’ll forget that she doesn’t come from here. Joy will bring everyone together, she always does.’ Louise smiled over at the café owner who was bustling about behind the counter. Behind her was the Kindness Board, hung up by Joy and Harry to encourage locals to write up acts of kindness that others had done for them. ‘Kindness will always win out.’

  Eszter nodded. ‘Joy’s philosophy is a good one. Let’s hope it works on children as well as adults.’

  Louise looked out of the window then and saw Thomas Huntley walking past, wrapped up in a coat, hands in pockets, with his head down. He cast a subdued figure as he strolled past Brew and walked towards his family home. ‘I hope he’s okay,’ she said, frowning.

  Eszter followed her gaze. ‘He won’t really give up on the hotel now that Abbie’s gone, will he?’

  ‘Maybe I should talk to him?’

  ‘It can’t hurt. I hope Abbie realises how much we all miss her.’

  ‘I wonder if she misses us too.’

  Chapter Two

  Abbie smiled as Jack walked into the open-plan kitchen-living room in his riverside flat in London. She hadn’t slept well again so had got up before him and started to make them breakfast. ‘Are you hungry?’ she asked, holding up a spatula. ‘I made pancakes and eggs and there are still loads of pastries left from the weekend.’

  Jack came over in his suit to kiss her on the cheek. ‘Darling, I can’t. I’ll be late if I stop to eat all this.’ He grabbed a muffin from the plate. ‘I’ll take this to go. Shall we have a takeaway tonight?’ He moved away to pick up his briefcase and phone.

  ‘Sure,’ she said, trying not to be disappointed. ‘What time will you be home?’

  ‘Hopefully not too late. Decided on a name yet?’

  She shook her head. ‘But I’m almost there.’

  ‘I know you are. You’ll think of something perfect. See you later!’ He left in a whirl, shutting the door of their flat with a bang.<
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  Abbie sighed. She had been back in London for a few days and had spent most of that time in Jack’s flat watching him go to work, trying to start planning their company on her own. He obviously had to stay in his job for the time being, as they needed some income coming in, after all, but she was feeling the pressure of coming up with all the ideas on her own. They needed a name and a business plan so they could approach investors. Jack had suggested the night before that they put the company in her name for now, as he still worked at City PR and didn’t want anyone there finding out he was planning to jump ship until he was ready to go. It made her even more nervous to think that this would all be hers.

  If she was completely honest with herself though, the real reason she hadn’t slept well was because she kept thinking about Littlewood.

  She grabbed her phone to text Kate, her former roommate and university friend, asking if she fancied breakfast before work. Kate replied straight away to say she would pop in. It was on her way and they’d barely had time for a proper catch-up. Abbie was relieved she wouldn’t have to spend the whole morning alone with her thoughts. She didn’t want to end up eating all the food by herself either.

  Abbie sat down at the glass table and poured herself a coffee. She looked across at the window that displayed a pretty impressive view of London. It was a grey, cloudy morning that promised rain on the horizon, but she’d thought that she would feel happier at being able to look down at her beloved city than she did. She put it down to the fact that she had left Littlewood so abruptly, and that she had upset everyone by doing so. She thought of the look on Thomas Huntley’s face when she told him she was going back to London. It was only there for a moment before they ended up rowing, but it was an expression of pure disappointment. She really felt as if she had let him down.

  Jack had told her not to be such a walkover – that she had been giving Thomas her PR expertise for free and he needed to sort his own business out. But that went against the kindness pact she had made with her sister and Eszter, and she had been feeling really good about helping Thomas to save Huntley Manor. They had been renovating the ballroom after she suggested it was a room people would love, and they had been planning a big party at the end of the summer to mark its reopening.

  Abbie had fallen in love with the hotel. Huntley Manor had reminded her so much of her grandparents’ home in Cornwall that her family had sold, and she didn’t want Thomas to have to go through the same heartache. But now that she had gone back on her promise to help him over the summer, she was worried he would do just that.

  Abbie sighed as she sipped the coffee, willing it to make her feel slightly more human. She wished she could keep everyone happy, but it was proving impossible. Jack was so excited for them to have their own business, and she knew it was a great opportunity, but she wished she could feel more enthusiastic about it.

  The flat doorbell buzzed and she jumped up to let her friend in, pleased to have a distraction. Kate was a willowy blonde who worked as a journalist for a London paper. They had been firm friends since university, and she had missed living with her. They had often spent their Friday nights watching TV in their PJs, wine and snacks scattered everywhere, putting the world to rights.

  ‘Hello, stranger,’ Kate said, pulling her in for a tight hug. She leaned back to look at her. ‘I think the countryside suited you – you look great.’

  ‘It was a more relaxing pace of life, for sure. Come in and help me eat all this food please.’

  Kate followed her into the living area and whistled. She had never seen Jack’s flat before. ‘He definitely makes more money than us.’ She laughed. ‘Blimey, you have a feast here.’ She sat down at the table and Abbie handed her a plate and a coffee. She had gone a bit overboard with the tray of pastries, the scrambled eggs and bacon, pancakes and fruit basket, but that’s what insomnia did to her. ‘So, how is it being back in London? Did you miss us? Or have you become a country bumpkin?’ Kate tucked into the food as she waited for Abbie to reply.

  ‘I enjoyed it there more than I thought I would. It was lovely living with Louise, and I actually found a project to work on, which I’m a bit bummed about not being able to finish actually.’ She told Kate all about Huntley Manor.

  ‘It sounds like something out of Jane Austen! This Lord Huntley, is he an eligible bachelor? A Mr Darcy? Do I need to book a stay there?’

  Abbie laughed. ‘He’s really nice. I feel bad for coming back here. I hope he’ll be okay without me.’

  Kate looked at her. ‘But Jack made you an offer you couldn’t refuse? I’m sure Thomas understands. I was surprised though. I thought you and Jack were over for good. Where is he anyway?’

  ‘At work.’

  ‘Oh, he’s found something while you work on the new business then?’

  ‘What do you mean – found something?’

  Kate looked at her for a moment, then she frowned and put her fork down. ‘Hang on, he has told you everything, right?’

  Abbie suddenly felt nervous. ‘Told me what?’

  ‘About City PR?’

  ‘What about them?’

  Kate sighed. ‘He was suspended, a week or so ago. They’re investigating whether he’s stolen money from the company. I heard it from Melanie,’ she said, referencing the receptionist at Abbie’s old office. ‘She said the whole place was in uproar.’

  ‘That can’t be right. He’s been going to work every day since I came back.’

  ‘I don’t know what to tell you; she was pretty definite about it. Do you think he was too scared to tell you?’

  Abbie shook her head. ‘This makes no sense,’ she said, but then she thought about it. Maybe it did make sense. If he had been suspended, maybe that’s why he came to see her in Littlewood. He knew he would need a new job, and that she didn’t have one, so thought they could run their own business together instead. ‘Oh, God, is that the real reason why he suggested our company should be in my name? Because no one is going to invest in something run by someone who steals money.’ She felt sick and pushed her plate away. ‘I can’t believe he would keep this from me. I’ve dropped everything to come back here for him.’

  ‘Hang on; maybe it’s not as bad as we think. Melanie does like to exaggerate, doesn’t she? And you said he’s been going to work, right?’

  ‘Unless he’s been putting on a suit and pretending to go. No, seriously, would anyone actually do that?’ They stared at one another, trying to decide if Jack could be that person.

  ‘There’s only one way to find out!’

  ‘I need to go to City PR,’ Abbie said, jumping up. She had to know if Jack had been lying to her or not.

  ‘I’m coming with you.’ Kate grabbed a Danish pastry and followed Abbie towards the door.

  As they left, Abbie couldn’t help but worry that her sister had been right all along. Had she really made a huge mistake in coming back to London? With a sinking feeling that refused to leave her stomach, they flagged down a taxi and headed to her old office to see if her boyfriend was really there or not.

  Chapter Three

  Louise walked in to Huntley Manor through the large oak door. She asked Amy, the receptionist, where she could find Thomas and was directed to the ballroom. It had been a stunning space used for many parties and events through the years, both when it was just a stately home and when Thomas’s parents ran it as a hotel, but it had fallen out of use and Thomas had left it locked up until now.

  She had never taken Abbie for a romantic, but when Louise walked in and saw how the ballroom was taking shape, she thought that her sister must be one at heart. Even Louise, who was herself firmly against romance since her childhood sweetheart had left her at the altar, stood in the doorway, her mouth open as she took the room in. She could instantly picture people in years gone by floating around, the room lit by candlelight, the clinking of crystal glasses, soft music playing, the formal dancing and coy glances at beaus, the rustle of long dresses . . . it all seemed to be happening right in front of her e
yes. ‘This room is beautiful,’ she said.

  Thomas turned around and smiled at her. ‘There’s a lot more to do, but it’s starting to look like how I remember it again.’ He gestured to the room. ‘It brings back a lot of memories.’

  ‘I bet. I just wanted to see it, after Abbie told me so much about it. I hope that’s okay?’ Louise hadn’t spent much time with Thomas; she had always been slightly intimidated by him being a lord and he seemed to keep himself to himself. But she had only ever heard good things said about him in the town, and she wanted to make sure he was okay now.

  ‘Of course. How is Abbie doing?’ he asked, not quite meeting her eyes.

  ‘I haven’t heard much from her; I expect she’s busy getting settled. There’s a lot for her to do.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I suppose I wanted to make sure that you were still renovating this room.’ Louise looked at him. ‘She mentioned that the two of you had words before she left.’

  Thomas sighed. ‘I’ve decided to wait until the ballroom is finished before I make any decisions about the future. I know that Abbie was convinced we could save this place from closing, and I’d like to believe that she was right, but the debts are building. The bank tells me I can make more from a sale if the room is renovated, so at least I have some time to think it all over.’

  ‘Well, I know she really wanted to help you keep this place open. It’s such a lovely building, and I know the history of it is really important to the town. I hope you can make it work. If there’s anything I can do, just let me know. Please.’ Louise felt guilty that Abbie had left halfway through the project, although it wasn’t her fault, but it was her hometown and she didn’t want anyone to be unhappy there.

  ‘Thank you. Actually, I’m glad you’re here. I have something to show you.’ He led her out and they walked through the hotel.

  They entered the grand library, which was now his office, and she could see why Abbie had been so captivated by the place.

  ‘Abbie told me that this house reminded her of the home your grandparents had when you were growing up, and that it was sold and divided up into flats.’