by AJ Adams
The second Mia bounced off, Rex whipped out his phone. I didn’t like the glint in his eye, so I stayed and listened. “Wendy? Has Amy Finch paid her stable fees yet?” He listened a second, lips thinned. “I see. Okay, call her up and tell her to remove Moonlight and Blue Lightning by noon today. Then inform the Jockey Club we’ve blacklisted her for non-payment.”
So much for Rex having a soft side; this was the full-blown lean and mean in action. Being kicked out of the stables might be awkward all by itself but being blacklisted meant Amy might be barred from entering her horse in races. Everyone who’d come within three feet of Amy Finch knew she had big ambitions for her mare, Blue Lightning. Rex, as always, was going straight for the jugular.
I leaned in and plucked the phone from his hand. “Wendy?”
She was squawking in shock, “Blacklist her? Are you serious? She’s not that far behind.”
“Wendy, it’s Lacy here. Listen, wait with all that, okay? Rex is fuming. Let me talk some sense into him.”
There was a clatter of hooves and snorting from a stable filled with happy horses. “Erm, okay,” Wendy said, relieved. “But Lacy, what’s going on?”
“Amy Finch dissed me, Mia heard about it, and so Rex is out for blood.”
“Oh crap,” Wendy sighed. “Right, I get it. Thanks, Lacy.”
When I handed him his phone, Rex’s face was set to stormy. “That bitch had no right to criticise you and even less to spread it to the kids,” he said coldly. “She’s going to get what she deserves and don’t you even try talking me out of it.”
“It will be lovely when the Pony Club give Mia the cold shoulder.”
Rex froze. “What do you mean?”
“If anyone who says a cross word to Mia and me has you on their case, we’ll run out of the few people who are still talking to us damn quick. I don’t mind but Mia will.”
“But you heard what that bitch said!”
“Yes, and she probably didn’t even know her daughter overheard her, or that she repeated it.”
Rex’s fingers were drumming an angry tattoo on the table. “It’s clear you don’t know Amy Finch.” But it was clear he wouldn’t be taking his revenge. “She’s got no right to slag you off. She has it off with Wally every Tuesday afternoon.”
Trust Rex to have the dirt on her. I ignored the fantastic bit of gossip and went for soothing the beast. “She’s just repeating what they’re saying in the village. You know they’re all blaming me for the war.”
“They should all mind their own fucking business!”
I was straight over and giving him a hug. It was like embracing rock, he was so tense, but I got where he was at because we’d been dealing with this all week. “Come on, love, let’s not worry. The Horde are playing mind games, but they can’t keep it up forever.”
“I asked Harding to back us up but he won’t,” Rex confessed. “And short of beating the crap out of him, I don’t think I can force him.”
“I’m not sure an endorsement from a bleeding wreck would help,” I pointed out. “But it’s okay. The village will see through all of this nonsense soon enough.”
“And in the meantime, you’re taking the heat.” Rex was grumbling, but to my relief, his arms were curling around me. “It’s not fair.”
“Luckily I’m pretty.” I kissed him. “And I have you.”
“I should be protecting you.”
Men, right? “You’ve got a touch of the caveman, Rex Winslow.”
The arms were tightening around me. “I thought you liked alpha males,” he grinned.
“I do.” I bumped my nose against his neck. “See? A pony kiss for you.”
“God, that pony play shit is seriously fucking perverted.” Crush was blasting into the kitchen, the rest of the executive behind him. “Is that why you have stables, Rex? Are you prancing around wearing a saddle as you play hide the sausage?”
Rex was laughing, “Sure, I’m a total stud, haven’t you heard?”
“You’re a filthy randy bastard.”
I heard the telltale sounds of Mia coming back. “Boys, reign it in, okay?”
The second my little one appeared, the MC were all over her.
“Mia! Looking good, princess!”
“How’s Buttercup?”
“Pony Club badge today, right?”
I’m telling you, the Disciples will go one on one with grizzly bears and think it’s a good time but around Mia, they were soft as butter. She was giggling as she told them her news, demonstrating pony kisses with Buttercup, and soaking up their warmth.
Watching them, it came to me that this was what she’d been missing all her life. She always had me, and Rachel and Alex were there for her, but thanks to my work, we’d been pretty much alone. Here at Perdition, Mia was enveloped in love and acceptance.
“Sweetheart, is it okay if I come to Pony Club with you?” Kraken was hunkering down as he spoke to her. “I’d like to meet Snowflake.”
It was beautifully done, but I knew it meant trouble.
“With Miss Bonnington, there’s a tonne of visitors coming in,” Crush said softly. “We’re just thinking safe is better than sorry.”
I looked at the giant hand on my elbow and winced in sympathy. Like the rest of the executive, his knuckles were bashed and swollen. I knew without even thinking about it that the jacket and tee hid some impressive bruises because Rex was the same.
All that week, Pig had been aiming saboteurs at Bonnington. It was nothing big, just bar fights and vandalism, but the constant battle was draining the MC. Working all day and fighting half the night isn’t sustainable. Rex was on four hours a night, sometimes less, and although he refused to admit to it, I knew he was shattered.
Worse, it was hurting the village. Rex and I had been working to repair the damage, with him talking up their spirits, and me pulling every string I had online, but I was uncomfortably aware that we were fighting an unending tide of trouble.
With business as usual, we were only just keeping on top of it. Now, with Miss Bonnington coming up, we were all worried that the Horde would be going all out. And with Jason still wanting his crazy revenge and Pig having no brakes, they’d be after Mia and me.
“We’d love Kraken to come, wouldn’t we?” I said to Mia. “And we’ll go by car today instead of walking.” It was safer, and if I saw Jason, I’d bloody well drive over him.
“Viper’s going too,” Rex said. “He’s on his way now.”
I felt a little silly, going a mile down the road from Perdition with an escort of Disciples, but Viper and Kraken knew better.
“Better safe than sorry,” Kraken grinned. “And I like watching the horses and donkeys anyway.”
Viper was blabbing as always. “Rex didn’t want you to know, but your ex has gone completely mental.”
“What’s he doing?”
“Getting drunk and beating up on girls.” Viper lowered his voice. “Pig doesn’t give a shit, he’s that way himself, but Barrows is uncontrollable. He’s put three into hospital just this week.”
I couldn’t help but shiver. “He was never nice, but that’s not like him. Do you think he’s doing drugs as well?”
“Who knows,” Kraken shrugged. “But it costs Pig a fortune in payoffs.”
“Enough to kick Jason out?”
“Probably not. Pig used to work with a human trafficking gang. They got picked up and jailed, but from what we hear, he’s reached out to some new people.”
“What’s that got to do with Jason?”
“Barrows is making fake degrees, and Pig is selling them to migrants hoping to qualify for citizenship. At a grand for a Bachelor degree and triple that for a Ph.D., they’re making a fortune.”
“But surely that won’t work. I mean, they’ll check with the schools.”
“Pig has bought details of real graduates in Eastern Europe and Asia,” Kraken explained.
“So if anyone checks, it looks sound?”
“Exactly.”
; “Does it matter a lot? I mean how serious is a fake degree?”
“It’s going to cause a shit storm,” Viper grumped. “Remember that Mkhitarian bloke from Georgia? It took two years before they realised he wasn’t a real doctor. And that was after he’d worked in seven hospitals.”
My stomach almost hit the floor. “Christ, we’ve got to stop them.” I remembered Mia just the week before, holding out her arm as the doctor checked her over and gave her a shot. “Someone could die.”
“They’ll go down, love,” Kraken assured me. “We’re all on it. It’s just a matter of time.”
There wasn’t anything I could do, so we watched Mia ace her first Pony Club badge, met Rex in the village for ice-cream, and then I spent an hour getting as many people as possible to share the promos for Miss Bonnington on the Sunday while Mia read her favourite pony books.
At five o’clock I put it all away and went to get ready for the charity dinner. “It’s very posh,” I told Mia, “so put on your pink dress, brush your hair and make sure Buttercup’s mane and tail are free of knots and tangles.”
“All the Pony Club are coming,” Mia said excitedly. “And Brianne says we’re having sausage rolls and cake. She said it will be chocolate cake, my favourite.”
What a difference a week makes, right? Since she’d apologised, Brianne certainly didn’t like me any better, but she did get on with Mia. And by the sound of it, the woman was doing her best to be nice. “It sounds awesome.”
Unlike Mia who was looking forward to her party, I was nervous. Apart from Rex’s posh friends, the village were turning up, too. With all the gossip over the week, they were sure to be judgy, and as I wasn’t half as sanguine as I pretended, I wanted to look my best.
Blessing Rex for the dresses he’d given me, I put on the sky blue sweep of silk. Dramatic eye makeup, gold and blue, bright glossy red lips and blusher with a gold sparkle made for a glam look. To top it up, I put up my hair in a sexy French twist.
I was securing it with a final hairpin when Rex walked in. “Angel, you look delicious.”
He was smiling, but there were rings under his eyes. I was in his arms soaking up the warmth of him, but I was also worried. “Rex, you’re up all night fighting the Horde and working all day at the marina and in the village. You’re not Superman; you need an afternoon nap.”
“Yes, mum,” he teased.
The shining dark gold hair and heavenly eyes slanting sleekly drew me in as always, going straight to my heart. Okay, perhaps a bit lower down. I rubbed up against him, loving the way he felt. His hand was making its way down the back of my dress too. “Cheeky.”
“Hmm, yes. Rich, pert and spankable.”
“I’m not wearing knickers.”
“Damn, I should’ve made time for that nap.”
With the warm hands burrowing away, my mind was on a quickie. “Is that a cricket bat in your trousers or are you just happy to see me?”
.”Lord, you’re such a temptation that I almost forgot.” Rex dug into his pocket, producing a velvet box. “For you.”
They say your engagement is one of the most important moments of your life, but I admit I wasn’t taking my time to savour it at all. I had the wrapping off it in a microsecond. Then I stood gawking. “Wow.”
He’d given me an oval stone, as big as a robin’s egg and so deep blue that it was almost purple. It was surrounded by five leaves embedded with sparkles and set into a wide rose gold band. It was glorious and unusual, an exotic jewelled flower.
“Dear God. Is that -? Are those -?” I was stammering. “Is it real?”
“Of course. Do you like it?” Rex asked anxiously.
I was giving him kisses before he could say another word. “I love it! But Rex, couldn’t you get anything bigger? It doesn’t quite cover my whole hand.”
He was grinning at me. “There’s a reason for that.” He dug in his other jacket pocket, bringing out a velvet box big enough for lingerie. “It goes with this.”
The five huge sapphires were set in an intricately worked rose gold collar studded with diamonds and pearls, all nestling in dozens of ornate leaves. It was an antique, the kind of necklace you see in museums. Just holding it made me feel like a princess. “Oh lord, Rex, it’s gorgeous!”
“It was brought home by the second Lord Ravenshurst, the one who fought in the Hundred Years’ War back in the 1400s.” Rex was working the clasp. “It’s been passed down from mother to daughter ever since.”
I gazed at myself in the mirror. “I feel like Rebecca Ferguson, you know, the one played the White Queen in that miniseries.”
“This predates her,” Rex said casually. “When my ancestor snaffled this, Margaret of Anjou was queen.”
“Wow.” I couldn’t take it in. There was me, basically your girl next door, wearing a five-hundred-year-old necklace straight out of the History Channel. “Erm, Rex, what’s this worth? I mean,” I said hastily, “it’s insured, right?”
“Yes, it’s insured. Sotheby’s valued it at eight million,” Rex shrugged. “But it’s not ours to sell. It belongs to the family.”
“You mean it goes from generation to generation. Like royal crowns.”
“That’s right. A kind of life loan.” Rex was digging through his pockets again. He brought out another box, pink velvet printed with horse hooves. Suddenly, he looked almost shy. “The necklace you’re wearing is an heirloom,” he explained. “The ring is yours, though.”
“Thank you!” I was kissing him again. “I love it, I really do.”
But Rex was still a bit uptight. “I got this for Mia.” He flipped open the box. “I thought she’d like it.”
He’d bought her a necklace with a horseshoe pendant, also studded with sparkles, and flanked by her initial and a birthstone charm. The name on the box, Mappin & Webb, Royal Warrant holders since 1897, told me I was looking at white gold and diamonds.
“Diamonds for April, they said in the shop.” Rex was nervous again. “Did I get it right? Because they’ll take it back.”
“Oh, Rex!” I was in floods, ruining my gold and blue cat eyes. “It’s perfect. She’ll adore it.”
“Then why are you crying?” he laughed.
“Because you’re the sweetest, kindest, most thoughtful man alive.”
“I’m glad I have one fan,” Rex grinned. “Everyone else says I’m a total bastard.”
“You have a couple of rough edges, but at heart, you’re a softie.”
“Actually, I have a hard-on for you.”
“Funnily enough, I was thinking along the same lines.”
My cat eyes makeup didn’t survive, but half an hour later we were in the yellow drawing room, looking perfectly presentable. “Nobody’s here yet. I could’ve put my party face back on.”
Unlike last time where I’d made a late entrance like any other guest, Rex put me firmly into the hostess role. “You have to be here early, to greet people as they come in.”
“But I don’t know half of them!”
“Formal parties are easy because Mitch will announce people as they come in.”
“What? With fanfare like the films?”
“No,” he laughed. “He just opens the door, walks them in, and says their names and titles.”
“Oh. So I should be hovering by the door?”
“Exactly.”
It wasn’t a surprise that my role was carefully orchestrated, I suspected it was that way in all the country houses, but it turned out that there were special arrangements for kids as well.
“Mia, you meet everyone with us, and then you take your friends for supper in the music room,” Rex informed her. “Wendy will be there to look after you, and there’s a film for you, Frozen.”
I admit, I was a little worried but as the film was a favourite, and Mia worshipped the stable manager, my little one was already smiling. Still, “You’ve got your phone,” I told her. “And you know I won’t be far away.”
“Worried?” Rex asked me quietly. “Wendy
is very good with kids.”
“I’m just not used to this,” I confessed.
“We’ll all be fine.”
“Oh lord, I hope so.”
Ulke was the first to pitch up. She swept me up with a “Lacy, darling!” and then she was exclaiming over Mia and the Ravenshurst necklace in equal measure. “How lovely you look! How exciting it all is!”
Her husband, John Paddington, was right behind her, smiling as he hugged me. “You look glorious, darling. It’s so good to see you again.”
That settled me, and I heard myself greet the next couple, and flawlessly moving to introduce Mia to all the ladies, and the men to my little one, just like the posh folk did.
It was all going with a swing, and it was even better when lots of village friends, including Wally from the Dog and Duck, Suzie from Locks beauty salon, and Dot and Rob who ran the Feathers Hotel, turned up.
“We’ve come to support the hospital,” Dot smiled.
“And to raid Rex’s cellar,” Wally grinned.
But when Lady Constance arrived, with brother Freddie in tow, I understood we had a problem.
“We came to offer support,” Lady Constance said. I thought she meant the hospital, but then she hugged Rex. “Ludo Hyde is furious. What on earth possessed you to speak to Nathara like that?”
“Did you hear what she was saying?”
“She’s poison,” Lady Constance agreed. “But Rex, you must learn a little diplomacy. Less of the hammer and more of the velvet glove.”
“Ludo wants your hide,” Freddie quipped. “And David says his board isn’t best pleased either. Kennard Wilton is putting it about that you’re the devil himself.”
Rex didn’t say a word, but his jaw was rigid with tension.
Lady Constance lowered her voice. “Rex, is it true that Percy Whittington and the Featherstones refused their invitation for tonight?”
The banker with the sailing fetish and the wanna-be interior decorator snob.
“Quite,” Rex said coldly. “The bishop declined as well. Apparently, I’m worse than tax collectors and sinners.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Just a little while before, these people had been vying for invitations to Perdition.