Under New Management

by June Hopkins

  Kieran feels every muscle in him relax. Thank God, he is actually rid of her. Threats or no threats, she is gone. He would deal with the fallout later.

  He watches through the window as the helicopter lands, without permission, on the lawn in front of the Hall. Kieran recognises her bodyguard as he jumps down and bends low to clear the blades walking towards the front of the house. Serena moves down the steps towards him and greets him at the bottom. She turns and points inside the Hall. As she totters across the gravel, the man heads up the steps towards the house. Kieran has a brief, ludicrous thought that the bodyguard is coming to shoot him. He shakes his head at his own over active imagination. Instead, the man appears loaded down with Serena’s luggage. He follows her across the drive towards the waiting helicopter.

  Eventually they strap into their seats and take off. Kieran watches as the helicopter rises and heads off across the fields. He lets out the breath that he hadn’t realised he had been holding. Thank God she has gone, he feels his body relax further. As for her threats, well they would just have to wait and see what she instructs her PR team to put out as her defence. He isn’t remotely bothered; half of what is written in the tabloid newspapers isn’t fit to wipe your backside on, anyway. However as Serena cleverly pointed out, people have a tendency to believe what they read and after all mud does stick. Kieran pulls his head up defiantly a determined look in his eyes. If it comes to it he is perfectly willing to carry out his own threat to Serena. No matter the distaste he feels for airing your dirty linen in public. He is prepared to do whatever is necessary to put the record straight and restore Mollie’s reputation. She didn’t ask for any of this and he refuses to allow this pantomime to tarnish her and more importantly any future relationship between them.

  He leaves the dining room and walks to the study where he spends a considerable amount of time organising the flight for the journey to St Lucia. He speaks to Bill to ensure he is happy to look after them. Bill is more than happy, he always got on well with the Browns when Jack and Mollie had been a couple years ago. Besides, Bill loves having guests over from home. He enjoys showing them round and having the opportunity to show them his new lifestyle. He insists they stay at the house and assures Kieran he’ll pick them up from the airport. Kieran confirms that he’ll email the flight details as soon as he knows.

  Chapter 35

  At eight o’clock that evening Mollie, Kieran, Marylyn, Johnny and Megan are having dinner. The rest of her family have been dispatched, rather noisily, to St Lucia.

  There was a running of the gauntlet earlier when a black minibus pulled up on the drive to collect them. The press had been gathering throughout the day and Mollie had found the whole situation surreal. They had all climbed into the vehicle as cameras flashed at them relentlessly. She was relieved once they’d managed to get out of the road, though they had to endure the same when dropping off Mollie at the Hall. Kieran had bounded down the steps to greet her and help with her large suitcase. She said her goodbyes to her family and watched as their van drove away from the Hall towards an airfield near Cheltenham.

  Meanwhile, Jack is having dinner with Lou. Mollie was chuffed to bits when she spoke to her earlier, after ringing to fill her in on the day’s events. It turned out Lou had a few events of her own to throw into the mix. Jack, having obtained her number from Dan earlier in the day, had called and is going to Lou’s for dinner this evening. Lou is beside herself with excitement. Mollie explained that she was moving into the Hall until things blew over. Lou is coming over tomorrow after work to see her and catch up.

  Johnny and Megan have made up in a big way. So much so, that Johnny has proposed and Megan has accepted. She believes his indiscretion to be nothing more than a drunken mistake and she loves him too much to lose him. As she points out to them all at dinner, “So what, she would just join all the other WAGs who had taken their unfaithful men back.” Johnny was mortified at this statement, which caused great hilarity for the rest of them.

  Mollie thinks it serves him right for being an idiot, but she also thinks why the hell should they let Serena ruin everything?

  They now sip champagne to celebrate. Mollie watches Angela as she clears the dishes. Why does the woman always look so shifty? Mollie frowns as she considers this and then the thought clicks. Mollie has a flashback to the previous evening. Angela! It was sodding well her, Mollie is certain of it! She remembers clearly now the way she had kept looking towards the window as if she were waiting for someone. She is the leak! Well bloody hell, the crafty cow!

  Mollie’s phone rings, jolting her from her thoughts. She glances at the screen but doesn’t recognise the number. Without thinking, she excuses herself to the others while she takes the call. “Hello?”

  “Hello, is that Mollie Brown?” asks a male voice.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Ah good! Mollie, my name is Gordon Watts. You don’t know me but I have been speaking with your husband today,” he says smoothly.

  Mollie is slightly confused but continues with the call. “Oh right,” is all she can think to say. Kieran breaks from conversation and glances over at her. She shrugs at him to show she doesn’t know the caller and Kieran’s face changes. There’s an element of worry on his face which causes Mollie to think twice.

  Gordon continues in a very familiar manner and Mollie freezes with shock as he says, “Yes, David was very helpful earlier and has given me a very detailed account of you and Jack Murphy.” Now concerned, Kieran sees her turn very pale.

  “I have some great shots of you Mollie, with Jack. You were clearly very close. I assumed that was the reason for Serena’s attack on you last night. However, I now have other photos of you taken this morning which show you are also very close to Kieran McLaren. You do like to keep it in the family, don’t you Mollie?” Mollie goes very cold. She watches as Kieran jumps up from his chair and hurries round the table to her.

  Gordon’s sickly sweet tone continues to drip in her ear. He says something about going to press tonight and about giving her side of the story before he does, until the phone is dragged from her frozen hand. Kieran barks into it, “Who is this?” and listens for a minute until he snaps, “No she does not want to tell her side of the story. Be very careful what you print, or you and your paper will find yourselves in court. Kieran slams down the phone and looks at Mollie with concern. She stares glassily at them all as they look anxiously at her.

  Kieran kneels down next to her and takes her cold hand, “Mollie?” When she doesn’t respond he shakes her hand slightly, “Mollie, you OK?”

  She turns to look at him, her eyes wide with fear, “Oh my God! David has given him pictures of me and Jack from years ago. They have pictures of you and me this morning. He’s writing a story, he said,” She swallows hard and then in a whisper, “he said that’s why Serena hit me. He said I like to keep it in the family. Christ, what the hell has he written about me?”

  Kieran’s face is red with anger. The bastard! He’s going to sue the slimy little git for everything. He is shaking with rage.

  Marylyn pulls up a chair next to Mollie. She holds her hands and talks to her quietly as she calms her down. Megan and Johnny are tight-lipped; they know how it feels and are used to it, but they both remember the first time and it isn’t a nice experience.

  At that moment, Angela comes back into the dining room to bring coffee and clear the table after dessert. Mollie sees her out of the corner of her eye and loses the plot. It’s her fault! All of this is her fault!

  Without warning and making Marylyn jump, Mollie stands up and puts her hands, palm down on the table.

  “You!” Mollie hisses. The others turn to stare at her. Angela looks up from clearing the table to see Mollie glaring at her. She feels her heart jump with fear.

  “It was you!” Mollie points an accusing finger at her.

  There is an intake of breath as they all turn and stare at Angela.

  Angela stutters, “I’m sorry Miss Brown I don’t know what
you mean.” The colour rises over her chest, up her neck to her face.

  “You sold the information to the press! You told them about Serena! I saw you last night and you kept staring at the window as if you were expecting to see someone. How much did you get paid for betraying us all?” Mollie can’t help it, she’s seething.

  Angela feels herself welling up. Her throat closes as she tries to fight back the tears. She isn’t good at confrontation; she caves in every time. She should stand her ground and deny everything, but she can’t. Instead, she stares wildly at Marylyn and then lets out a choked, “I’m so sorry, really so sorry. That woman! It was about her. I didn’t want to cause trouble for anyone else. I’m really very sorry.” The plate she is holding falls onto the table and she rushes from the room.

  Mollie drops back down into her seat. She feels dreadful. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have confronted her like that. I should have waited until I was alone with her.” Mollie’s head falls as she feels the tears start. She feels she’s done nothing but cry for the last twenty-four hours and she needs to get a grip.

  Marylyn is stunned. To think she nearly offered that woman a job. It just goes to show. Marylyn has to admit to wondering about Angela today, too. She had seemed particularly nervous but Marylyn had shrugged it off. After all, everyone was jumpy today. She leaves the room. She is going to speak to her cook.

  Kieran is livid. Christ, it is one thing after another! He needs to speak to their solicitor, to see if he can obtain a press injunction on David’s story. There must be a way of doing something.

  Kieran speaks quietly to Mollie. He reassures her and persuades her to go upstairs to her room. Perhaps she should take a bath to help her relax and have an early night. Mollie doesn’t argue and saying goodnight to the others leaves the room. Kieran follows her into the corridor. “Mollie please don’t worry. I’m going to see if I can get the story blocked even if it’s a temporary injunction. I’ll deal with this, I promise. Would you like a nightcap before you go up?” Mollie shakes her head. He smiles, “OK, well try to sleep and I’ll see you in the morning.” He kisses her tenderly on the mouth which causes Mollie to rock slightly. As he moves away from her, she opens her eyes and stares at his worried face. She makes the decision there and then to stop being such a big girl’s blouse. She’s stronger than this. She’s not going to be beaten by a cheap story in a newspaper.

  Steeling herself, she looks up at Kieran, “Do you know what? Let them do their worst. Publish and be damned. If you don’t mind, I’d like to be there when you ring your solicitor. I want to know what we’re dealing with. Is that OK?”

  Kieran gives her a wide smile. “That’s my girl,” he says with pride.

  “Your girl? That’s a little presumptuous, Mr McLaren,” she teases him.

  Kieran moves towards her with intent. She feels her heart quicken as she gazes into his eyes which are darkening by the second. Kieran stares down into her eyes, his strong features tightening. “I want you to be my girl, Mollie Brown. If you’ll have me?”

  Mollie takes a deep breath, her legs tremble. What’s a girl to do?

  At a loss for anything else to say, she simply says in a breathless whisper, “OK”. Kieran swoops down and drags her against him. His lips move over hers and the intense kiss is filled with longing and relief.

  They lose themselves until Marylyn returns from the kitchen after some very strong words with Angela. She has been told to vacate the building immediately. A shamefaced Angela had gone to her room to pick up her belongings. However, although she feels guilty for the trouble caused the thought of the money heading her way cheers her immensely. All had not been lost. Maybe it was time to consider a new career.

  “Get a room you two. Honestly!” Marylyn says cheerfully as she moves past them into the dining room closing the door with a chuckle.

  They pull back slightly but still have their arms round each other. Mollie looks up into his eyes, “How about we kill two birds with one stone?” Kieran looks at her questioningly.

  “Well, how about we have that nightcap in your room? I’m sure the solicitor will still be there in an hour. Surely you aren’t going to turn me down again are you Mr McLaren?”

  Kieran gives her a wide sexy smile. He raises an eyebrow, “You can be sure I won’t be making that mistake again but only an hour? You underestimate me Ms Brown.”

  “Really, Mr McLaren?” She challenges him with smirk.

  “Oh yes, really. How about I grab a bottle and you get your gorgeous ass up to my room and I’ll prove it to you. You know where it is.”

  “As you asked so nicely and you noticed my gorgeous ass, I’ll see you in a minute.” And with that, she turns; throwing him what she hopes is a seductive look over her shoulder. Giving a little ‘Marilyn Monroe’ style shimmy she wiggles her bottom before heading up the stairs.

  Kieran gives her a challenging look then dives towards her as she steps onto the stairs. Slapping her playfully on her backside he says in a husky voice, “Sod the drink, we’ll have it later.” Mollie shrieks with giggles as he chases her up the stairs.

  Chapter 36

  Mollie is in the bedroom gazing out over the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea. Kieran’s mother, Marylyn, is out on the balcony, having a calming cigarette, a habit she rarely indulges. Lou sits at the dressing table while the hairdresser teases her hair into soft waves which he piles on top of her head to gently tumble down her back.

  “Come on Mollie, time to get dressed darling,” Lindy calls from across the huge, white room. Mollie turns and smiles at her mother and still in her silk kimono, walks over to stand in front of her. Suddenly Megan and Julie, dressed in their finery and carrying two bottles of pink champagne, fly through the bedroom door giggling. Megan moves to a long white table and opens the first bottle, “Come on you lot, get a move on! We’re supposed to be at the beach in half an hour.”

  With a loud explosion, the cork shoots from the bottle and strikes the ceiling and the women all squeal. Miraculously, Megan manages to save the precious liquid and pours it into the waiting crystal flutes.

  Mollie removes her robe and stands in her oyster pink underwear and nude stockings; a blue garter is around her right thigh. She steps into her wedding gown, a pool of satin and tulle, which Lindy has laid out on the floor. After much fiddling with the tiny buttons, finally she’s ready and the women each gush about how beautiful she looks. The oyster pink gown has spaghetti straps with a corseted bodice; the skirt is full and falls in a waterfall effect to the floor with a mermaid tail at the back. The dress is stunning.

  Mollie’s hair is dressed in a half up half down style and falls in blonde waves past her shoulders. She has no veil, only a lilac orchid which is pinned into her hair above her right ear.

  Her hand reaches up to the necklace at her throat and she runs her fingers over it lightly. The necklace is a beautiful string of pink Victorian cultured pearls, a wonderful surprise gift from Lord Sedgwick. Earlier that morning he had given her a very old oxblood leather case and Mollie had been dumbfounded when she’d opened the lid and saw the pearls on the satin lining. The colour is perfect and when she told him so he winked at her and tapped his nose conspiratorially. Mollie remained confused until Lindy enlightened her later.

  Weeks ago Lord John had asked Lindy about the colour theme for the wedding day. When she had told him pink he had smiled and simply said, “In that case I have the most perfect of gifts for Mollie.” The necklace is a family heirloom; it had belonged to his great grandmother and Mollie couldn’t have been more touched.

  Marylyn has lent her a bracelet of pink pearls, it seemed they were all in cahoots and she now has her ‘something old, new, borrowed and blue’. She couldn’t be happier.

  As Lou’s hair is now complete, she joins Megan and Julie and they stand before Mollie ready for her inspection. They salute smartly causing her to giggle at their antics. Her three bridesmaids are gorgeous in pale lilac taffeta and tulle; their dresses are fifties style
with stiff petticoats and corseted bodices. They each carry a smaller version of Mollie’s bouquet, a simple arrangement of long stemmed pink and lilac orchids with steel grass. The stems are tightly bound with pale pink ribbon. Megan hands round the champagne to the others, but picks up a glass of orange juice for herself. She had married Johnny only four months ago and is now fourteen weeks’ pregnant.

  Mollie takes a gulp at her champagne; she feels very jumpy and watches her mother and Marylyn to distract her thoughts. They sip their drinks and chat comfortably. To Mollie’s relief they have become firm friends during the last year and often spend time together. David’s mother had barely acknowledged Lindy’s existence and as for Jim, well she avoided Jim like the plague. Then again, he had dragged her off her chair at the wedding reception, demanding in his booming voice, “Come on Cora you miserable old trout, dance with me.” Mollie sniggers to herself as she remembers the horror on Cora’s face as she found herself forced into attempting to move her bony body gamely to ‘I’m too Sexy’ by Right Said Fred, as Jim drunkenly lurched around her making lewd hand gestures. From that moment on Jim was dead to Cora, but to be fair he had been barely breathing beforehand where she was concerned, so it hadn’t taken much.

  Lindy looks the perfect mother of the bride in her blue designer calf length fitted dress. Marylyn also looks splendid in a purple, soft and floaty two-piece. Mollie gulps the last of her champagne and puts down her flute onto the table. She takes a deep breath to calm the butterflies in her stomach and gives them all a wide smile, “Well then you lot, shall we? I don’t want to keep him waiting.” They all excitedly finish their drinks. Mollie leads them elegantly from the room and walks along the long airy hallway to the ornate bleached wood curving staircase.