She dragged her case back to Finn’s garage, and the moment the door closed, she broke down. Burying her face in the cushion on the sun lounger, Ally sobbed herself to acceptance. There had been something between them and she’d ruined it by interfering. Caspar was wrong that she’d done it because her own life was a mess. It wasn’t.
Hadn’t been.
Oh God, maybe he was right.
Ally let out a shuddering breath. So what now? Should she try to put things right? Go ’round the village and apologize? It would only make matters worse. She curled up tighter on the sun lounger. Engaged? She’d been in bed with Caspar a few hours ago. How could he be engaged? No, she didn’t believe it. She did believe he wanted her gone. She’d been warned what he was like and had chosen to think she was different when she was just like all the rest.
Time to pack and leave, though she didn’t have anywhere to go. But the thought of seeing Caspar in Wyndale and not having him in her life was too much to bear.
How could everything so right turn so wrong? Caspar wasn’t a cruel guy, so why had—?
Ally’s eyes flashed open. Had she hit on the truth earlier? He wasn’t a cruel guy. He wasn’t doing this because he wanted to but because he had to, because he was protecting someone. Someone still in Albania. It could be dangerous for that someone if it was discovered Caspar was a spy. What more effective way to get Ally to leave than to tell her he was engaged to someone else and that she’d fucked up his life?
She sat up. Could that be right? Her shoulders sagged as the fountain of hope collapsed to a trickle. It made no difference. Caspar still wanted her to leave.
Ally soaked a facecloth, using the tap in the corner, and held it over her eyes. Crying was pointless. Accept it and move on. That’s the way she lived. Always look forward, not back. Run if the going got tough. Ally set up her laptop on the lounger. Maybe she could afford to buy a plane ticket and go to Finn. With a bit of persuasion, he might pay for it.
Twenty-seven new emails. Ally ran her gaze down them and let out a gasp. She’d had a response from the job application “inconsiderate, demanding bastard” looking for a slave. Ally clicked on the email and sighed. She had an interview at Manchester airport. That was convenient. She could not get the job and fly out to see Finn afterward.
Ally read the details.
Tomorrow at two in the afternoon. The Burton meeting room. She had to turn up with a bag packed, ready to leave. A decision would be made by six after all interviews had been completed. Wow. Did she really have a chance?
Had Caspar heard too? Ally took a deep breath and opened a new window. She hadn’t meant to look at Caspar’s password but he’d tapped it in as she watched. Ally logged on and crossed her fingers. A smile spread across her face when she saw the same email in his inbox. His interview was after hers. Oh, what was that message with her name? Ally knew she shouldn’t look.
She clicked on it.
Oh God, he’d bought a star for her with money he couldn’t spare. She slumped. It was a sweet thing to do but now it meant nothing.
She bit her lip and logged straight out. No point thinking about what might have been. Better to hope he got the job. Caspar would be perfect for it. Ally couldn’t do half the things specified in the advert. Though maybe she could add climbing and paragliding to the list now. Oh, and putting up and taking down tents. She’d better go and retrieve the one she’d erected for Geoff.
Ally carted the sleeping bag and the other things back to the garage before she tackled the tent. Getting it back into its bag proved trickier than she’d expected. Ally folded it in umpteen different ways before she finally wrestled it into submission.
“Am I too late to help?”
Ally looked up at Sean MacAlister. “Yep. Great timing.”
“It’s a gift.”
“You mean you waited until I’d finished.”
He laughed. “Want me to carry it for you?”
“Please. So how’s it going? Your mad wife set fire to the place yet?”
“Not yet. Christ, I’ll be in makeup for hours after that.”
Ally led the way over the drive. “Is the film staying true to the book?”
“You mean do they have mad, passionate sex and go and live in Hawaii?”
Ally raised her eyebrows. “I think you’ll find Rochester is blind for the first two years of their marriage and then he gets some sight back in one eye.”
“The director is planning a miracle.”
Sean lifted the tent back onto the hook in the garage and hung the bag of poles with it.
“Thank you,” Ally said.
“You’re welcome.” He stared at the sun lounger and Ally’s suitcases. “Are you living in here?”
“’Course not.”
Sean frowned. “You shouldn’t believe what you read in the papers.”
Ally blinked. The temptation to blurt everything out was strong but she resisted. Maybe this mess had taught her something. “That wasn’t the UK’s wettest summer on record?”
He chuckled. “Lina is not engaged to Caspar, nor will she be. She’s trying to deflect attention from her rather unfortunate fling with a married actor who has four kids and a saintly wife. I was first choice for the fall guy, but I came to my senses in time. She made sure photographers caught her and your boyfriend having tea in that café.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Sean raised one eyebrow.
“Things didn’t work out,” Ally said.
“You mean I’m in with a chance?”
“No.”
He clutched his heart. “You wound me.”
“You’ll recover.”
* * * * *
Rather than sit and mope in Finn’s garage, Ally decided to go for a walk. Maybe she’d get lucky and that hunter guy would shoot her—not fatally—and Caspar would feel sorry for her and he’d tell her he didn’t really want her to go and they’d— Yeah, right. Imagination running wild again.
Ally headed through the woods toward Wyndale Hall. She didn’t intend to get too close, but she was intrigued to see what it looked like before she left.
Big, gray and gloomy was the answer, though the battlements around the top made it look more attractive. The vehicles connected with the filming were parked along the drive, well away from the front of the house. Ally cut back into the woods and looped in a circle, hoping it would take her back to Finn’s place.
Something smacked onto the ground in front of her and Ally yelped. A hammer? “Damn and blast,” a man said.
Ally looked up at a tree house with a broken balcony.
“Shall I bring the hammer up?” she called.
There was a pause before she heard the answer. “Please.”
Ally climbed the ladder and stepped onto the wooden surround. She bent to go inside the doorway and cringed. Sitting by a hole in the floor was the man who’d shot the deer.
She handed him the hammer. “I’m trespassing again.”
“So I see.”
Reassured by the twitch of his lip, Ally looked around. “Wow, this is great. I’d have loved a hideaway like this when I was a child.”
“My daughter used to bring her dolls up here and have tea parties. My son pretended to be Robin Hood and fired arrows out the windows.”
“Are you mending it for your grandkids?”
“No grandchildren yet.”
“Why are you working on it then?”
“Because my children loved it and I rather like it too.”
Ally grinned. “Do you sneak up here to get away from things?”
He laughed. “I might.”
“I’m Ally.” She held out her hand.
“Short for?”
“Alexandria.”
“Pleased to meet you, Alexandria. I’m Leonard. Do take a seat.”
Ally sat on the floor.
“Do you live in Wyndale?” he asked.
“Not for much longer.” To her dismay, her chin began to wobble.
&nb
sp; “You don’t want to leave?”
“No.”
“Then don’t go.”
Ally sighed. “It’s not that easy. The reason I want to stay has made it clear he wants me to go. Only I know he doesn’t mean it.”
“That made no sense at all. What’s this reason’s name?”
“Caspar.”
“Ahh. Then it does make sense.” Leonard handed her a piece of sandpaper and a piece of wood. “Smooth the edges for me.”
“What did ‘ahh’ mean? Are you another one who doesn’t like Caspar?”
“He doesn’t make it easy to like him. What have you done to upset him?”
Ally had no idea why she was considering unburdening herself to a guy who the last time they’d met had almost shot her, but she wanted to talk to someone and Sean MacAlister hadn’t been that someone. Too easy to let him put his arm around her and offer a different form of comfort.
“Promise not to repeat what I say? I’ve gotten him into enough trouble. I told someone I thought Caspar was a spy.”
“Why did you think that?”
She rubbed at the wood. “Because I know Caspar’s a decent guy. He left his sister alone and he shouldn’t have, and he has to live with that. But whoever he went to meet must be someone he has to protect even now, otherwise why not tell the truth? He wouldn’t have left his sister without good reason. He loved her too much. I don’t understand why people can’t see that.”
“Did he tell you that?”
“He told me he’d f—had sex with a woman in the washroom, but he’s lying. He’s continued to lie to protect someone. He went to prison to protect them too, and I might have put both of them in danger because I opened my big, fat mouth.”
“So why did you do that?” Leonard asked.
“Because I wanted people to see the man he really is. He was so unhappy. I thought I could make him smile again.”
Leonard passed her another piece of wood. “You know he has a terrible reputation with women.”
“Sleeping around is another defense mechanism to keep people at bay. One-night stands mean he never gets involved.” But he had with her. Ally swallowed hard.
“I thought he was engaged to this actress,” Leonard said.
“No. Caspar said he is, but he isn’t. He’s using her to push me away, and Lina’s using him to deflect attention from—someone she’s involved with.”
“He wants you to leave Wyndale, he’s pretended he’s engaged and you’re still here?”
Ally rubbed harder with the sandpaper and felt the wood heat under her fingers. “He doesn’t know what’s good for him, but I don’t want to make his life even more difficult. People in the village are talking to him now. Did you know he saved a man’s life in a mountain rescue exercise? He volunteered months ago but they never called him. I persuaded them to include Caspar, and if he hadn’t been there, Neil might have died.”
“I’d heard about Neil. Caspar did a grand job.”
“I wish Caspar could find work. He’s tried so hard, but you have to say on your application that you’ve been to prison. What chance does that give him? He’s got no money. He lives from day to day. His fridge was empty before I put my food in it. If I leave, who’s going to feed him? If I leave, who’s going to lo—look after him?”
Ally gulped. “Oh damn. Please forget I said all that. The last thing I should be doing is talking about him. That’s what got me into this mess in the first place. Please don’t say anything. I’m so stupid.”
“No you’re not. I won’t say anything.”
“I better go. I might not want to leave Wyndale, but I want to do what’s best for Caspar. Oh God, do you think I should leave?”
Leonard stared straight at her. “You should do what you want.”
She got to her feet. “I don’t know what I want anymore. Maybe I should leave today. I’m just making things worse by staying.”
“No, don’t go today. I won’t repeat what you’ve said and you don’t leave. The world might look different in the morning.” He smiled at her. “Sleep on it.”
It would be different because it would be a world without Caspar.
“’Bye,” Ally said. “It was nice to meet you.” She climbed down the ladder.
* * * * *
Caspar pushed open the door of The Rumblin’ Tumand heard Rose call, “I’m about to close.”
“I don’t need serving.”
She turned and gave him a smile. “Hi Caspar. No Ally with you?”
“Things didn’t work out.”
The corners of her mouth turned down. “Well done. You almost lasted a week.”
“It might have been longer had you not announced to the entire village that I was a spy.”
Her cheeks tinged with pink. “I didn’t actually—”
Caspar kept his voice level. “Undo it, Rose. I was a number cruncher, an economics advisor. I’m now an unemployed layabout. If I’d been a spy, don’t you think I’d have managed to find some sort of work? Keep your nose out of my business.”
He turned and walked out.
“James Bond had better manners,” she called.
“Keep your nose out of my business—please.”
Caspar slammed the door.
He didn’t want to go home, didn’t want to sit in an empty house with nothing to look forward to. A bus was coming toward him and Caspar reversed course and returned to the stop. He’d go and see Neil in the hospital.
* * * * *
Ally woke with a start and almost tipped over the sun lounger. Someone was banging on the door. Caspar? She hurried to answer it and gasped when she saw who stood there. “Geoff? What are you doing here?”
“Needed to talk to you.”
“Come in.”
Ally was confused. She thought Geoff had driven her friends back to London that morning.
“Has there been an accident or something?” she asked.
“Not yet.” He chuckled.
Ally wasn’t sure what was funny.
“Think we could go for a walk?” he asked. “It’ll help clear my head. I’ve been in the car for hours.”
“I’ll get my coat.”
Ally pulled on her coat, grabbed her purse and locked up behind them.
“Actually, let’s get out of this village,” Geoff said. “I’ll drive us up into the moorland. I want to ask you about Emma.”
“Okay. Oh, new car?”
A dark-colored car stood on the limestone chippings.
“Yep.”
Ally felt her spirits lift as they pulled away from Wyndale. Leaving was the right thing to do. Being near Caspar would be torture. Not fair to him either. She had no hopes of landing that job, but maybe she could help Caspar secure it. Ally glanced across at Geoff. His brow was furrowed. Had he broken up with Emma? Ally was flattered he’d driven up to talk to her.
“Going to give me a clue?” Ally asked. “Good news or bad?”
“Both.”
“Ah.” She exhaled. Wasn’t that always the way? She stared out of the window. “It’s pretty around here, isn’t it? Whereabouts do you come from? I don’t remember you saying.”
“Canterbury.”
“I’ve never been there.”
When Geoff didn’t say anything else, Ally fell silent too. He’d tell her in his own time. He pulled off the road into a clearing at the edge of woodland that rose up a valley side.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said. “Leave your purse in the car. I’ll lock up.”
“I’ll stuff it under the seat.”
As Geoff got out, Ally retrieved her phone and pushed it in her pocket. Just in case Caspar… They walked into the woods and the level of light dropped. Ally felt a shiver of unease.
“Has Emma been unfaithful to me?” he asked.
Oh God. “Not that I know of.”
“She’s never said anything about another guy?”
Ally shook her head. “No.”
“What about Sean MacAlister?”
Ally didn’t know what Emma had gotten up to after she’d left the pub with Caspar but doubted it was anything involving Sean.
“Just because she fancies him doesn’t mean she’d cheat on you.” Actually, Ally was fairly sure Emma would’ve jumped on Sean given any encouragement at all. “She’s always saying how great you are.”
They followed a track out of the woods, diverted left…right, and Ally had the strange feeling Geoff knew the way. He walked with a sense of purpose rather than strolling.
“Have you been up here before?” she asked.
“I had a wander around while you were off paragliding. There’s a lovely spot just above the trees. Brilliant view.”
Ally’s unease faded. “So did you ask Emma?”
“Ask her what?”
“If she cheated on you.”
“The bitch would only lie,” he snapped.
Bitch? Ally hadn’t ever heard Geoff sound so angry, and it had come out of nowhere. When he turned onto a narrower track, Ally stopped. “Where are we going?”
“Just a bit farther.”
I don’t like this. While his back was turned, she took her phone from her pocket and slipped it into her sock. Oh God, why did I think I needed to do that? He stopped and looked at her and she rubbed her calf.
“Geoff, what are we doing up here? It’s going to be dark soon.”
He turned and moved toward her, and as Ally stared up at him, he suddenly looked very big. Where could she run? Was it better to hide?
“I want to ask Emma to marry me,” he said, and smiled. “I want to make it perfect.”
And he had to drag Ally all the way up here to ask about that? He was lying. He was trying to set her at ease. Hadn’t worked.
Run.
Ally took one step backward and Geoff caught her wrist. “Careful, you don’t want to fall.”
Oh God. Ally fought to stay calm and she laughed. “I’ve had enough falling to last me a lifetime.” Let me go and I’ll believe I’m being paranoid.
He didn’t.
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