by Penny Jordan
'Well, I've been round to your flat and packed what I think you'll need. I'm sending everything on by carrier, and it should be with you first thing tomorrow. I'll get the paints and brushes to you as quickly as I can. What colour are you doing the kitchen?'
'Yellow, I think, with touches of blue and white. It only has a small window, so that will look cheerful and bright. Oh, and while we're in Chester, Drew wants me to help him to revamp his wardrobe,' she added casually, adding in a conspiratorial whisper, 'He can't help comparing himself with Howard, and of course being colour-blind doesn't help.'
'Doesn't help what?' Jan demanded.
'Well, the way he looks. He wears all the wrong colours together, and his clothes never seem to fit him properly.'
'Oh, I see—you're going to give him a new image. Well, good luck. Whenever I take Luke shopping we end up having the most terrible row,' Jan told her forthrightly.
'Ready?' Drew asked, walking into the kitchen.
'Almost,' Holly told him, covering the receiver, and then saying a hasty goodbye to Jan.
They set off half an hour later. As Drew drove them toward the city, Holly brought up a problem which had been exercising her mind a great deal.
'It's all very well us deciding to make Howard and Rosamund jealous,' she announced, 'but how are we going to do that when they never see us together?'
'I thought perhaps that might be what you wanted… after Sunday,' Drew told her shrewdly.
For no reason at all, Holly felt herself growing hot and flustered as she remembered how Drew had kissed her, and how she had felt. He had simply been being kind to her, that was all. It was hardly his fault that things had well got a little out of control.
'Well, I was upset, seeing them together like that,' she admitted, and then rallied to add firmly, 'But I'm just going to have to get used to it.'
'You still think our plan will work, then?' Drew asked her.
Poor Drew. She tended to forget sometimes that she wasn't the only one suffering from a broken heart.
'Drew, I know it will,' she told him softly, reaching out to touch his arm.
It felt strong and hard beneath her fingertips, the sensation of the soft wool of his shirt moving against the warm skin, an oddly intimate experience. It made her feel peculiar inside, sort of aching and hot.
'But they've got to see us together,' she told him, quickly withdrawing her hand. 'We mustn't get disheartened.'
For some reason it had become very important that she kept the main purpose of her stay to the forefront of her mind. Sometimes, for some unaccountable reason it seemed in great danger of slipping slightly to the background and being overwhelmed by the pleasure she took in Drew's company, in her plans for the new business, in their discussions about both the past and the future, but more and more frequently about the future.
'Well, there's a local drama society's autumn play coming up soon. We could go to that.'
'Do you think they'll be there?' Holly asked eagerly.
Drew glanced at her. 'Rosamund's father is one of the sponsors. And then there's the "do" at the Grosvenor for Hallowe'en. Some sort of fancy-dress affair.'
'It doesn't sound Howard's cup of tea,' Holly said doubtfully. Howard hated dressing up; in fact, he hated anything that might in any way make him look even slightly foolish.
'It is at the Grosvenor,' Drew reminded her. 'There's also Lady Constance, the Countess of Telford's birthday party.'
'Of course. They're bound to be at that,' Holly agreed, brightening. The countess lived in a crumbling Tudor mansion several miles outside the village. She was notoriously eccentric, and had been a widow for as long as Holly could remember. Every year she gave a birthday party to which the entire adult population of the village were invited, with one stipulation, and that was that the ladies of the village provided the food and the men the drink.
The birthday party was an institution, and there was no way that Rosamund or her parents would miss it. For one thing, Lady Constance always demanded the presence of her aristocratic relations, and Rosamund's parents would never dream of missing the opportunity to rub shoulders with the county élite.
They were in Chester now, Drew deftly parking the Range Rover in a convenient place.
'I had intended to take you to the Grosvenor for lunch, but my mother rang this morning, and once she knew you were home she insisted on inviting us to eat with them.'
Holly had forgotten that Drew had told her that his mother had moved to Chester on her remarriage.
'James, her husband, will be there. He only works part-time now. He set up his own financial consultancy when he left the bank.'
'Do you like him?' Holly asked him as she waited for Drew to lock the car.
'Very much. My father became very embittered during the last years of his life. He resented being left the farm in a way, and that resentment spilled over into all our lives. My mother was very loyal to him and I do believe that they loved one another, but James has made her happy in a way that I suspect my father never did.'
'And the others—your sister and the boys, do they like him?'
'Yes. And so they should! He's financing John through med. school at the moment and Paul at Oxford. Lucy's in Canada working for a newspaper group over there.'
Something in his voice made Holly ask quietly, 'Do you ever wish that you hadn't been the eldest?'
He looked at her as though her perception surprised him.
'Not often now, although I admit there was a time when I yearned to travel the world. Farming's in my blood, though, and it was James who taught me that being a farmer, being tied to the land, doesn't necessarily mean that a man's brain has to atrophy. There are other ways of travelling, ways that don't necessitate a journey further than the nearest library or paper shop,' he elucidated. 'Mind you, I suspect that if James hadn't encouraged me to go to night-school, and then helped me through the estate management course, I would have been in danger of following all my father's mistakes and making more of my own. Everything in life can be an adventure and a challenge if you let it.'
'Oh, I agree,' Holly told him fervently, remembering how disappointed she had been initially when she learned during her first year at art school that she just did not have the talent to become the artist she had dreamed of becoming.
It had been a bitter pill to swallow, and for a long time she had gone around in a cloud of despondency. That had been when Howard was taking a sabbatical following the completion of his own university course. He hadn't been there when she needed him, she recollected wryly, and then chided herself for the disloyalty of her thoughts. It was hardly Howard's fault that she had discovered she would never make the grade as a painter when he wasn't there to comfort her.
'What's wrong?' Drew asked her, and she told him briefly, not mentioning her memories of Howard's absence.
'But in the end it all turned out for the best, because my tutor was so honest with me, he was able to direct me into other avenues, and I changed courses before it was too late—luckily for me. At the time I never imagined how much pleasure I would eventually get out of my work, especially when I'm asked to do murals.'
She went on to tell Drew about one commission she had received to copy a famous seventeenth-century allegorical ceiling from one of the great houses, but to give the cupids and cherubs the faces of various members of the family and friends. This ceiling, she added with a giggle, was in the bathroom.
'I expect it gave visitors quite a shock to look up and see their own features staring back at them. 'Oh, look!' she exclaimed. 'That looks like the kind of shop we need.'
They were almost opposite the window of a Jaeger shop selling classic men's separates. 'Do you want to go in?'
An exhausting two and a half hours later, Holly thought they had got a very good basis for Drew's new wardrobe. She particularly liked the chunky, soft tweed blouson jacket they had chosen, although Drew had demurred slightly about wearing the toning plain cashmere scarf with it.
T
he blouson was very dark charcoal grey with a fleck of pale and mid-blue, as well as off-white and rust. They had bought plain shirts in rust and blue to go with it, as well as a pair of trousers in plain matching charcoal.
There had been a few minutes' hiatus while Holly persuaded Drew that he had to have a couple of pairs of new jeans, especially when he discovered exactly what she had in mind. He had gone into the changing room and then emerged a good ten minutes later saying that the jeans were too fashionable for a country farmer, but nevertheless they were added to the growing pile of purchases.
Shoes, socks and ties to match the shirts, but in deep tones, a couple of sweaters, and then at the last minute, as they were leaving the shop, Holly turned to Drew and whispered urgently, 'Drew, what about underwear?'
And he dutifully disappeared back into the dark recess of the shop, to emerge a few minutes later clutching yet another carrier bag.
Holly would have liked him to have kept on the blouson jacket and the matching trousers, but he had refused, saying that he needed time to feel comfortable in them before he could wear them in public.
To the salesman's credit, he hadn't batted an eyelid at the awful combination of colours he had chosen to wear, which was more than could be said for his mother when she answered the door to them half an hour later.
Drew's mother and stepfather had a pretty house just outside the city centre, in a Regency terrace of soft red brick, with a long back garden that was completely walled.
'Come on in, both of you. Lunch is almost ready… You must be exhausted,' she added to Holly, when she had criticised her son on his choice of clothes and learned how they had spent their morning.
'You told me that you were bringing Holly to Chester so that she could look for possible premises,' she told her son severely, leading the way down a narrow hall and into a small, sunny dining-room. 'James will be down in a minute,' she told them as she offered them a pre-lunch sherry. 'Holly, you haven't changed at all, other than to grow even prettier,' she added with another smile. 'How are your parents? Still in New Zealand?'
'Yes. They've decided to live there permanently,' Holly told her.
She remembered Drew's mother as being a rather silent, harassed woman and she had been surprised to be greeted by this elegant, grey-haired fashion-plate with an almost model-girl figure, and a teasing, mischevious smile, especially when she looked at her oldest son.
'So you're staying with Drew.'
'Well, I had booked in at the Dog and Duck, but my car broke down.'
'And is still in Murphy's garage, awaiting a new tyre,' Drew chimed in, 'but it should be ready soon.'
'Drew's been very kind, taking me in,' Holly said awkwardly, not sure how much, if anything, Drew's mother knew about their plans.
Above her downbent head, mother and son exchanged a long look, and then Drew said easily, 'Well, all the kindness isn't on my side. Holly's going to paint the kitchen for me, and she's also revamped my wardrobe.'
'Not before time,' his mother agreed. 'Honestly, Drew, where on earth do you get your clothes? Ah, here's James,' she announced, getting up as her husband walked into the room.
James Talbot was a tall, spare man with grey hair and shrewd eyes. He shook Holly's hand firmly, and smiled at her. 'Drew tells me that you're interested in setting up a business locally,' he commented when they were all sitting round the table, eating Drew's mother's excellent lunch.
'Yes. Well, yes… although I'd only be involved as a very junior partner.'
She went on to explain Jan's business methods and expertise, until Drew cut in quietly, 'What she isn't telling you is that Holly herself is extremely well thought of by her employers. So well thought of, in fact, that they'd be wanting her to take full control.'
It was an odd sensation being part of a family group again, and listening to their warm and genuine praise. Holly missed her parents and her brother, but she was sensible enough to realise that it served no purpose to dwell on how alone she sometimes felt. But being with Drew and his family brought a painful lump of nostalgia to her throat, making it difficult for her to do anything more than shake her head in Drew's mother's enthusiastic approval of Jan's plans.
'And of course it would be so lovely for you to be home again. You know, Holly, you've never struck me as a city girl at all,' she added, unwittingly echoing Drew's own remarks.
'I don't think I am,' she agreed, and then her eyes clouded because, if she did succeed in getting Howard back, it would mean a return to London and the life they lived there, for she was quite sure that Rosamund's father would not allow him to remain in his prestigious job if he was no longer engaged to Rosamund.
Over coffee, Drew and his stepfather discussed investments and the financial aspects of farming, while Drew's mother brought Holly up to date on the lives of her other offspring.
There was a seven-year gap between Drew and his sister, and then another year between her and the twins, but Holly had only known them casually. However she was genuinely interested »in their lives, even if occasionally she did find her concentration wandering to Drew and James.
'Drew has rather a flair for the stock market,' Louise told her, obviously aware of Holly's momentary lack of concentration. 'James believes he could have had a good future in it if he hadn't been so determined to farm.' She sighed faintly. 'I felt so guilty when Drew had to leave school after his father died, but he assures me that if he had his time all over again, he wouldn't change anything. A mother shouldn't have favourites, but I've always been that little bit closer to Drew than the others, perhaps because he was older at the time of his father's death. Don't hurt him, will you, Holly?' she asked quietly.
Don't hurt him? What kind of relationship did Drew's mother imagine they had?
'Drew tells me he's suggested Nantwich as a possible venue for your new business,' James announced, breaking into their conversation. 'It's a good choice. I'll tell you what, why don't the four of us go on Sunday? We could have lunch at Rookery Hall.'
Holly knew about the prestigious restaurant which had opened in the Victorian mansion just outside the town, but she hesitated before agreeing, looking questioningly at Drew. 'What about the stock?'
'I can get Tom to come in if I pay him overtime,' he assured her.
'Well, why don't we meet at around eleven? We can show Holly the town and then have lunch.'
'You won't recognise it,' Drew's mother told her. 'One or two very good dress shops have opened there, and the most wonderful place selling leather shoes and bags. They are out of this world… Italian mainly, I think.'
'Mmm. Just as well we're going on Sunday,' James said drily, 'otherwise I suspect my bank account would receive a battering.'
They all laughed, and Drew stood up. 'Holly hasn't checked out Chester yet, and I don't want to be back late. Simon wants to leave early tonight.'
Simon was one of the four men Drew employed on the farm, and Holly knew now that whenever one of them wasn't available it meant additional work for Drew himself. She felt guilty at taking up so much of his very precious time, but, when she said as much after they had said their goodbyes, he shook his head, telling her that she was being silly.
'I can't get over how much your mother's changed,' she marvelled.
'Yes, marriage to James suits her.'
'Drew…' She hesitated and then said quickly, 'I think your mother believes that you and I… well, that we're involved,' she said awkwardly.
'Involved?' He stopped walking and turned to stare at her, one eyebrow raised. 'Do you mean she thinks we're lovers?' he asked her drily.
'Well, yes.'
'And you want me to correct that misapprehension, do you, Holly? Hasn't it occurred to you that that's exactly what we don't want? You were the one who suggested we pretended to be in love,' he reminded her.
She said nothing. How could she? How could she explain to Drew how much she hated deceiving his mother? And how awful she had felt when she had asked her not to hurt him? She hadn't rea
lised when they first embarked on this deception just what was going to be involved, she realised drily.
As an ex-bank manager, James had had several excellent suggestions to put to Holly as to how to conduct her search for premises, and had even offered to make covert enquiries among his business acquaintances, many of whom were connected with local business and property in one way or another.
Visits to a couple of local estate agents had soon ascertained that rentals in the better parts of the city were very high indeed, and Holly's face reflected her dismay when she and Drew left the third agent they had visited.
'To make enough profit just to pay the rent and rates, I'd have to make an outstanding success of the shop from the word go,' she told Drew glumly, 'and that just can't be done. It takes time to build up a good reputation. People pass on recommendations from work they have done or seen. Of course, advertising helps, but to cover those sort of costs…'
'Don't get downhearted,' Drew advised her. 'We haven't exhausted all the possibilities yet.'
But Holly wasn't listening to him. 'And then there's setting up the showroom as a display case for our work. In London Jan has a cabinet-maker who she used to fit out the shop with display cupboards for the fabrics, which I dragged and stencilled,' she explained to him. 'They look really effective and it shows people what can be achieved, and how high our standards are. It's fitted out as a sort of drawing-room-cum-study, and I know it cost the earth for the units.'
'Well, we could get round that problem easily enough. I'd be happy to build the units you need, Holly. That's if…'
'Oh, Drew! Would you?' Her face was alight with pleasure and relief, but then it fell again. 'But the time… and you so busy. I couldn't ask you to…'
'You wouldn't need to ask,' Drew pointed out wryly. 'I've already volunteered. Unless of course you're just being tactful, and my workmanship isn't of a high enough standard. It is only a hobby, after all.'
'Not good enough? Drew, those units in your kitchen are among the best I've ever seen!'
'Well, then, we've solved one problem, and we'll soon solve the others.'