Heart in the Right Home

by Lisa Hill

  ‘Oh, you work for Hardwickes? Was this paid overtime then or their contribution to volunteering in the community? I work for the stores, in the village; I can tell you now, I’m not getting paid for today.’

  Both women laughed. Louise could see how attractive Rebecca was; it was clear James’ interest in her wasn’t purely professional.

  ‘I came to help because there was a glimmer of hope I might move out of Harrogate and settle in the village for a while, whilst the development gets built.’ Rebecca looked up and must have seen the look of surprise in Louise’s face. ‘If it goes ahead,’ she added. ‘It’s not a done deal yet. Anyway, I’ve just had the biggest showdown with Pamela, so it won’t happen now.’

  ‘The development or you moving to Clunderton?’

  Rebecca smiled. ‘Moving here.’

  ‘Well, Pamela Hardwicke isn’t the easiest of people to get on with, you should know that if you work for Hardwickes. But she’s only one person in a village with a population of nearly one thousand; I wouldn’t let her put you off. Have you worked for Hardwickes long?’

  Rebecca looked at Louise and hesitated. She looked down and wrapped a long piece of grass around her hand before pulling it. ‘Long enough to have had an affair with her husband.’

  Louise gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth. ‘It’s you! You’re the one that—’ Louise faltered. An image wandered across her mind of Duncan. She decided to edit what she was about to say. ‘—was involved with Edward.’

  Rebecca looked up, eyes full of worry, until she saw Louise smiling and both women dissolved into fits of giggles. Louise instantly knew she liked this woman.

  ‘Oh, stop it!’ Rebecca cried, clutching her stomach. ‘It’s so embarrassing; the entire village knows now, thanks to that onslaught in the refreshments tent.’

  ‘Well,’ Louise shrugged. ‘What’s to worry about then? If the entire village knows, it’s out in the open and you can go about your business. Which house were you thinking of moving to?’

  ‘One of the cottages in the high street. It belongs to Betty, Jude’s mum?’ Rebecca said it more like a question, as if Louise might not know where Betty’s cottage was.

  ‘Yes, I know, just the other side of the Clunderton Arms to us! If you moved, we could meet up of an evening, for a drink?’ Louise’s heart lifted at the thought of the opportunity to see Duncan more regularly.

  ‘That would be nice—’

  Louise felt like Rebecca genuinely meant it.

  ‘—but it won’t happen.’ Rebecca shook her head vigorously. ‘I did a stupid thing getting involved with Edward, and Pamela’s reaction has made me realise that I can never get involved with James now. It’s too close to home.’

  ‘It could have been worse; you could have slept with Drew.’

  ‘Pah!’ Rebecca clapped her hands together. ‘Lottie would have scratched my eyes out! To be fair, she’s the one who’s manufactured me getting this far. She thinks it would be good for me to move here. Get away from my flat and memories of Edward.’

  ‘Well, from what I know of Edward Hardwicke, you are better off without him. He could probably charm the knickers off of Mary Berry given half the chance.’

  ‘Gee, thanks, kick me when I’m down why not.’

  ‘Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean—’ Louise looked at Rebecca to discover she was smiling.

  ‘I knew what you meant,’ she said, unbuttoning the top of her blouse to reveal a pretty, lace-edged, white camisole underneath. ‘Gosh, it’s hot today; I totally chose the wrong outfit! I was going for conservative. I didn’t want James to think I’d gone to an effort for him and when I bumped into Pamela, I wouldn’t look like the scarlet woman.’ She tutted and pulled at another grass blade. ‘Hasn’t done me much good.’

  ‘You do like James, then?’

  She wrinkled her nose. ‘I’ve tried not to.’

  ‘Guilt over Edward?’

  Rebecca looked up. ‘You sound like you speak from experience?’

  Louise blushed furiously. ‘Oh, erm, no, I’ve been married for, well far too long to remember!’ She burst into run of loud guffaws, trying to banish the image of Duncan to the back of her mind.

  Rebecca looked at her curiously. ‘There is someone, isn’t there?’

  Louise shook her head assertively. ‘No.’ She wrinkled her nose, debating whether to admit how she really felt. ‘I could be happier in my marriage, truth be told, but I’ve never been unfaithful.’ She closed her eyes and tried not to think of Duncan again.

  ‘Yes, well that’s the irony, isn’t it?’ There was a begrudging edge to Rebecca’s voice. ‘Pamela was the one who went off with Jack and yet I’m the one who is left to feel eternally guilty for my part in the break-up of their marriage.’

  Louise shrugged. ‘Then don’t.’ She wished she could be so easily swayed by her own advice.

  Rebecca stopped tugging on grass blades and looked up. ‘You’re not the first to tell me that, but it’s not easy. I carry the guilt around inside me. So many people know about my relationship with Edward; how stupid would I look, getting it on with his son?’

  Louise shrugged. ‘Perhaps James has all the qualities you saw in Edward but is generally a nicer person.’

  Rebecca threw her head back and laughed. ‘See! This is what I think, but I thought I was mad for thinking it.’ Her face fell. ‘There’s still Pamela, though, and she evidently hates me.’

  It was like someone opening the door to the future. If Louise left Johnnie, not necessarily for Duncan, but if they got together in the future, would the girls hate her? She couldn’t live with that.

  She needed to stop thinking about Duncan and focus upon getting her marriage back on track.

  Louise watched Rebecca gaze out over the pond. She looked like a little girl, cradling her knees in her arms. ‘Do you really like James?’

  Rebecca turned and nodded. ‘I do.’

  ‘Then isn’t he worth fighting for?’

  Rebecca squinted in the bright sunlight. ‘How?’

  ‘Go back over there and put your side of things to Pamela.’

  ‘Oh, no…’ Rebecca began waving her arms, like she was about to have some sort of panic attack. ‘There was that woman, with her; her sister, I think. She looked like Godzilla… she might give me more than a verbal assault if I go back.’

  ‘I’ll come with you,’ Louise said, standing up.

  ‘Pardon?’

  ‘I run a shop; I’m very good and dealing with bolshie, know-it-all customers. She won’t get past me without a quip or two thrown back at her.’

  ‘Do I have to?’ Rebecca put her head between her knees and her long ponytail flopped onto the grass. ‘Give me a rundown property to get rid of any day over this!’ she mumbled.

  ‘Come on,’ Louise took Rebecca’s hand in hers and dragged her up. ‘One day you’ll thank me.’

  Rebecca took it and rose to her feet. ‘I’ll remind you of that when I leave this fete on an ambulance stretcher.’

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Lottie was feeling rather pleased with herself, she decided, trotting around the school playing field in her mid-heeled court shoes. Okay, Rebecca was right; she was emanating her inner Kirstie-Allsopp-does-crafts, but if the queen of property could break into handmade fairs, why couldn’t Lottie do the same at a village fete? She clutched her clipboard under her arm and checked the schedule. The dog agility contest was taking place in the main arena and she wasn’t needed to announce the raffle draw for another forty-five minutes, giving her plenty of time to call in at the plant stall and see whether Pamela had yet to be reunited with Jean and check on whether love had blossomed between James and Rebecca in the refreshments tent. It didn’t take her long to realise the only thing blossoming in there was a bunfight; she could hear the raised voices from three stalls down.

  And sadly, she recognised every one of them.

  Ducking into the entrance she was confronted by a sea of faces; lots of fete-goers having abandoned their sli
ces of cake and tea to watch the spectacle playing out between the Hardwicke family. Lottie rolled her eyes. They were in danger of becoming the Dingles of Clunderton.

  ‘What’s going on?’ she hissed at Drew, as she sidled up to him.

  ‘Oh, here she is; the troublemaker.’ Jean said, sneering at Lottie.

  ‘Lottie, did you invite Rebecca here today?’ Pamela asked.

  ‘Lottie, ignore Mum; she’s totally overreacted!’ James added.

  ‘Lottie, you’ve gone too far this time!’ Jack raised his voice to be heard.

  ‘The shit’s hit the fan, darling,’ Drew whispered in her ear.

  ‘Enough!’ Lottie raised her hands and her clipboard to the gathering of rowers. ‘What’s happened?’ She directed her question at Drew.

  ‘Mum’s gone off on one at Rebecca and Rebeca’s stormed off; Jean intimidated her,’ Drew added.

  ‘Well, she had an affair with Edward!’ Jean blustered.

  ‘For goodness sakes!’ Lottie cried. ‘Look—’ a year ago, Lottie would have quivered into a blubbering mess at this level of animosity, but she had changed since then, and she wasn’t putting up with this kind of behaviour in front of the entire village. ‘With the greatest respect, Pamela, Edward is petitioning you for divorce on the grounds of adultery—’

  ‘Is he?’ Audrey asked, sounding astonished.

  ‘Yes,’ Pamela said, meekly.

  ‘—but you could counter-petition him and, if you ask Rebecca nicely, she might be willing to provide evidence that it was, in fact, he who was the unfaithful one—’

  ‘Lottie does have a point, Pam.’ Jack interjected.

  ‘—Jean,’ Lottie continued, ‘I am really pleased to see you here, but don’t accuse me of making trouble; Pamela is the one who wanted you here, because she wants to have some sort of relationship with you again. Am I right?’ Lottie raised her eyebrows at Pamela.

  Pamela looked down at her feet. ‘Yes,’ she muttered.

  ‘Oh, right,’ Jean said, gruffly. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘James, I suggest you go and find Rebecca and see if you can get her to come back and speak to Pamela, amicably—’

  ‘No probs,’ said James, rushing off.

  ‘— and I suppose you and I, Drew, better take over serving refreshments until our volunteers return.’

  ‘Dammit, Lottie, you are incredibly sexy when you’re angry,’ Drew whispered, in her ear.

  Lottie grinned.

  Jack grinned too. ‘That’s my girl.’

  Pamela scowled at Jack.

  ‘What?’ he asked. ‘She did make some fair points. You go and find Rebecca and I’d better get back to the plant stall.’ He planted a kiss on the top of Pamela’s head.

  ‘Now,’ said Lottie, hooking her arm through Audrey’s. ‘Let’s get you and Jean some afternoon tea.’

  ‘That’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard all day, Lottie,’ Audrey said, squeezing Lottie’s arm.

  ***

  Pamela watched Jack purposefully stride off, snaking through the tables of tea drinkers and ducking out of the tent. He obviously thought confronting Rebecca was something she should do alone.

  ‘Do you remember the first time I brought Rebecca home to meet you?’

  ‘Hmm?’ Pamela stole her gaze away from the tent entrance to see Drew was still standing here with her. Loving, reliable, Drew. She suddenly felt assured again. ‘Not really, no.’ Secretly, Pamela was pretty sure Drew had held a torch for Rebecca for the three years they were at uni together, something he vehemently denied whenever James teased him about it in Lottie’s presence.

  Evidently, Rebecca Cavendish was like a siren to Hardwicke men.

  ‘You said that you saw a lot of yourself in her and that one day she would break someone’s heart.’

  Pamela searched the recesses of her mind and smiled. ‘I did, didn’t I? She was always so vibrant, go-getting; knew her own mind. I was like that when I ran off to Oxford with your father. I thought I was moving onto better things, not getting stuck at home with two young children to raise.’

  Drew pursed his lips together and looked at her sympathetically.

  ‘So, what you’re saying is that she has fallen foul of your father, the same way I did? Tsk.’ She batted a dismissive hand and scratched her neck. ‘I suppose you have a point but when I said she was going to break someone’s heart, I never imagined it would be mine.’

  ‘Ahem,’ Drew cleared his throat. ‘I think someone might have developed feelings for Jack while they were still living with Dad?’ He raised his eyebrows.

  ‘Oh, don’t go there, Drew! Jack and I weren’t doing anything…’ she lowered her voice, ‘physical.’

  Drew dug his hands deep into his jeans pockets, as if he was trying to protect himself against the fall out of what he had to say next. ‘But you had become emotionally involved with him.’

  She scowled up at her son, towering above her. ‘That’s as maybe.’

  ‘Can you remember why you decided to move to Clunderton last year?’ Drew continued with his fait accompli.

  ‘Because I wanted to be nearer my grandchildren.’ She snapped.

  ‘And?’

  ‘Ugh.’ Her shoulders slumped. ‘Because I’d found out about another one of Edward’s indiscretions.’

  ‘Another.’ Drew looked at her sympathetically, again. ‘Rebecca wasn’t the first and she wouldn’t have been the last, if you’d stayed with him, would she? And I hate to admit when Lottie is right about anything, but she makes a good point; if you want to come out of this divorce with everything owed to you, you may need Rebecca’s help.’

  Pamela folded her arms as if she wanted to protect herself from all the painful memories. Her eyes began to well up. ‘It still hurts though, Drew,’ she croaked.

  He put his arms around her and walked her to the table furthest away from all the hubbub in the tent. Gently he guided her into a seat.

  ‘James deserves to be happy as well though, doesn’t he?’ Drew’s voice was almost pleading.

  Pamela sighed. ‘Yes. But couldn’t he have found someone else to make him happy?’

  Drew raised an eyebrow. ‘Touché, Mother. You’re marrying my father-in-law.’

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Strolling across the playing field with Louise, Rebecca felt more confident than she had all day, even knowing she needed to confront Pamela. Even more reassuring was James running across the field, a hint of his toned body showing through his well-cut shirt and jeans as he ran.

  ‘Well, whatever’s happened, a certain someone’s still keen,’ Louise said, nudging Rebecca.

  Rebecca grinned. ‘You sound as eager as I feel.’

  ‘When you’ve been married as long as I have, you have to make do with living vicariously.’ Louise came to a halt and smiled. ‘I’ll leave you here; looks like you’ve got another hand to hold when you see Pamela. Good luck.’

  Louise launched into a big hug and kissed Rebecca on the cheek, leaving her slightly dazed.

  She returned the gesture. ‘Thank you,’ she said, as wholeheartedly as she could. ‘When I’ve moved into the cottage—’

  ‘Ah, so a decision has been made!’

  ‘— hopefully.’ Rebecca paused and smiled. ‘Anyway, when I’m settled in the village, we must go for that drink.’ There was something about Louise’s face which had made Rebecca instantly take to her. Perhaps it was her haphazard blonde, frizzy hair or her freckly face but she looked wholesome and honest; the sort of person you could confide in, which she had instantly proved.

  ‘Sure,’ Louise nodded. ‘Just pop into the stores; I’m never anywhere else.’ She let out a hollow laugh and Rebecca saw a sadness in her eyes she hadn’t noticed before. She decided that when this business with Pamela was sorted – whether her and James became a thing or not – she would seek out Louise and take her for a drink. Rebecca couldn’t put her finger on it, but she had a feeling that not all was roses-around-the-door and happy-ever-afters at the stores.


  ‘I will.’ Rebecca nodded.

  Louise waved and turned, heading in the direction of the ice cream stall. Nerves were beginning to creep back in as James approached; apprehension for what was to come no doubt.

  ‘Hi,’ he said, breathlessly, grinning down at her. ‘You okay?’

  She averted her gaze, looking down at her navy loafers and nodded. She didn’t feel okay but if everything was ever going to be okay again, then she needed to do this.

  ‘Mum was bang out of order,’ James continued.

  Rebecca looked up at him. ‘She has every right to be; I’m the one in the wrong.’ Her voice sounded monotonously flat, even to her. It was a fact though; one that she’d never be able to forgive herself for, let alone anyone else. Everyone – Lottie, James, Audrey…even Louise who she’d only just met – wanted to blame Edward, but Rebecca was a big girl; she was responsible for her own actions.

  Now she needed to face the consequences.

  James took her hand. ‘Stop talking like that. Dad—’

  ‘No, James,’ she said firmly, squeezing his hand to soften her harshness. ‘I knew what I was getting into and, foolishly, I didn’t put a stop to it. You can blame this all on Edward if you want, but I’m equally to blame and I need to admit that to your mum.’

  He looked down at her intensely, his dark, chocolate eyes penetrating hers, full of meaning, but she didn’t have a clue about what. ‘There’s the Rebecca I remember.’ He smiled.

  It all happened in a blur. One second, she was looking up at him, the next she had succumbed to his lips, oh those warm, inviting lips. For years, on and off, she had imagined this moment and now it was happening and all she could do was allow him to take the weight of her in his arms while she fervently kissed him back, her tongue finding his. It was the most wanted she’d felt in ages.

  Eventually, he broke away.

  ‘You don’t know how long I’ve waited to do that.’

  She smiled, still letting him take her weight. ‘About two decades?’

  He chuckled, his face still inches apart from hers. ‘Pretty much.’

  ‘Look at the pair of us,’ she said, finding her feet and taking responsibility for her own body mass again. ‘We’re like a pair of teenagers making out at the village fete.’