The Chic Boutique On Baker Street

by Rachel Dove

  Marcus sat at his desk, a pale ghost, with rabbit-in-the-headlight eyes. He opened his mouth to speak and, instead, a funny sound came out. A titter. Before Angela’s eyes, Marcus crumbled into a crying, hysterically laughing mess. He was clutching at himself now, trying to catch his breath.

  She looked at him, disgusted. ‘Heard a funny joke, have we?’ she sneered. ‘You need to pull it together, Marcus, because you are the joke.’ She hissed out the last words as she stared at him, arms folded.

  He abruptly stopped laughing then, slamming his hand down on the desk with a resounding boom. Angela jumped.

  ‘Get out, Angela, and don’t come back. You are fired,’ he said, voice quaking with rage.

  Angela flinched as though he had shot her. ‘Fired!? You can’t fire me, I’m your—’

  ‘You are nothing to me!’ he shouted. ‘You were a distraction, a bit of fluff, but I am beyond bored with you now, Angela. And you know what, you are mean. Mean, bitchy and cold. I was an idiot to even touch you.’

  Angela’s eyes glittered with anger, and her facial expression grew hard. ‘You will regret this.’

  Marcus chuckled as she stomped out the door. ‘I already do, darling, now don’t let the door hit you on your bony arse on the way out!’

  Relieved, he ran his fingers through his hair, wincing at the greasy knotted mess. Reaching into his bottom drawer, he pulled out his spare change of clothes and his washbag. Heading for the company showers, he felt rather like a man taking his final preparations before being taken out. For a nice lethal injection. He didn’t feel upset, or panicked, however, he felt relief. Great relief at making a stand for the right thing for once. And one thing was for sure, if he was to survive this at all, he needed Amanda. He needed to find her, and bring her home. What Marcus never considered was whether Amanda would want to.

  Eighteen

  Before Amanda had time to blink, the humid July turned into a very hot and summery August, and she awoke on the day before the summer county fair bursting with the joy of starting the next day in her new life. Friday morning brought with it the ladies group’s coffee and cake morning, a new initiative that was working brilliantly, and brought even more crafty villagers out of their homes and into the shop, latest projects with them. Amanda had began to stock little extras in her shop, such as novelty buttons, zips, threads and cottons, and had increased her profit by half. Life was pretty amazing, and she had long since stopped fretting over her bank account, which had now stabilised somewhat and was starting to look much healthier after the recent catastrophic haemorrhage.

  Amanda laughed at her companions as she padded down to the shop, the kittens barrelling down the stairs behind her. They had taken to sleeping in the basket in the back, unperturbed and uninterested in the people coming in and out of the shop. She loved their company, and their little personalities were so different. Perky was far from her namesake, in fact she was the grumpiest cat ever when she wanted to be, and Pinky was an uncontrollable ball of grey fluff, always the first one into the path of trouble, while Perky looked on, judging and tutting from a distance. In fact, the only person, other than her, that they seemed to calm down for and adore was Ben. She supposed it was his way with animals, but she had a feeling it was more down to the animals having an innate sense of sussing out how people really were on the inside. She had to admit, as dreamy village vets went, though her experience was limited in this field, she believed Ben had to be in the top five, at least.

  She was just chastising herself for thinking of him as she felt a drip on her nose. Bemused, she looked up to see a heart-stopping bulge in her ceiling. As she kept watching, the bulge suddenly bowed and burst, smacking Amanda in the face with a wall of water, and chunks of plasterboard and wood, one of which promptly conked her on the head, knocking her out. And that’s how the ladies found her, ten minutes later, water gushing into the stockroom, both cats patrolling round her like sentries.

  Amanda opened her eyes gingerly and smiled as she looked into the loveliest sight she had ever seen. Two swirls of grey and black, dotted with stars that twinkled and danced as she gazed at them. ‘Wow,’ she said, voice thick, dry as dust. ‘So pretty.’

  The swirls disappeared, leaving a plain cream backdrop. She heard a rumble then, two rumbles in fact, far away. She closed her eyes quickly as the noise increased. One of the rumbles was deep, angry, whilst the other was softer, trying to quieten the deeper one. She frowned, trying to decipher the sounds, and was suddenly glad her eyes were shut, as another bolt of pain shot across her forehead. ‘Ouch,’ she drawled.

  The low rumble grew closer, and she felt someone’s hand around hers. She gripped the warmth, squeezing it as hard as she could, which she suspected wasn’t much at all, since she felt as if she had no bones. The grey swirls, which looked like galaxies now, swam back into view as she opened her eyes slowly.

  ‘Amanda,’ a voice said softly. The voice resembled the loud rumble she had heard earlier, but kinder now. ‘You are in the hospital, you had a nasty knock.’

  Amanda tried to nod, but a warm hand touched her cheek, stilling her. She smiled at the touch. A thought flashed through her mind. ‘The cats?’

  The face smiled down at her, galaxy swirls dancing brighter. ‘They’re fine. Dotty has taken them to mine, you are staying with me till the shop is fixed. Luckily, the stock is all OK, so you can still do the fair tomorrow, if you are up to it. Anyway, the girls are sorting everything out, Agatha is there, so it will all be organised like a military camp now.’ A hand came across and brushed a loose strand of matted hair away from her face.

  She smiled lazily, enjoying the view. ‘I always knew I would drown eventually,’ she said to no one in particular.

  Ben frowned at her mutterings. Drown? He held her hand again. ‘Amanda, you didn’t drown, you are safe. They gave you something for the pain, I think you need to sleep it off.’

  Amanda shook her head weakly, wincing at the pain it produced.

  The hand around hers tightened. ‘Sshh, shh,’ the voice said. ‘It’s OK, just go to sleep.’

  ‘I can’t sleep,’ Amanda replied, fighting the wall of what was trying to pull her under. ‘He comes when I sleep, it all comes back.’

  Ben’s jaw tightened and flexed with anger. If I ever meet this douchebag, I won’t be responsible for my actions. ‘Amanda,’ he tried again. ‘Manda, you are safe now. I’m not going anywhere, it’s Ben. You don’t have to be scared.’

  Amanda, fighting to keep her fluttering eyes open, seemed to relax at these words, and her eyes started to close. A small smile glanced across her face and she laughed numbly. ‘Ben doesn’t scare me, silly,’ she said, each word spaced out as she fought to get them out before the drugs pulled her under. ‘He’s the one who saves me.’

  And with that, she was out. Ben froze in shock, staring at her now peaceful expression. He looked down at their hands, still clasped together. Bending his head, he kissed her hand tenderly. Save her? I can’t even save myself. He shuffled in his seat, making himself comfy by propping his head on his jacket, hand still in hers. He settled in for a nap, so he could be alert when she came round. As he fell asleep, he wondered how things would have been if they had met each other sooner, if their disastrous lives hadn’t set them onto the path they were on. Would they have liked each other? Ben couldn’t help thinking that things would have been so much easier if they had met each other first. When they were both brand new, not rebounding from pain and heartache. He smiled as she squeezed his hand, deep in sleep.

  One thing was for sure, he was glad he was there today. When Dotty had rang him in a panic, he had pretty much flown to Baker Street, willing his jeep to be faster, quicker, beating the paramedics there, and his heart had been in his mouth the entire time. His heart hadn’t hit a beat from the minutes between the call till he saw her, pale, unconscious, being stretchered into the ambulance. He hadn’t felt like that since the day his parents died, and it had awakened a fear in him he didn’t know still e
xisted. He knew what it was, how he felt, he just couldn’t work out what to do about it. Looking over at her again, her brown hair matted with dried blood, framing her pale, scratched and bloodied face, he registered how calm he felt now he was around her, close to her, and he decided to concentrate on that. One day at a time, till his fears subsided. The alternative was not something, especially after today, that Ben wanted to contemplate.

  Nineteen

  ‘Ben, I am fine!’ Amanda huffed, as he wrapped her in yet another blanket. She was dressed in a loose cotton dress, slip-on shoes and a very fetching head bandage from the hospital. She had plasters and dressings on her head and arms, where she had been scratched and cut from the debris of the water leak. She was sitting behind her stall on a very large and comfortable garden chaise longue, feeling more like a bandaged mummy than Cleopatra with all the hospital’s efforts, and blankets and cushions Ben had plonked her on. He shook his head at her, obviously irritated by her efforts to stop him helping her. He headed off to get them a drink from the nearby tea bar whilst she watched the rest of the stallholders set up.

  She thought of that morning, in the hospital. She had woken up in a side room with Ben sleeping in the chair next to her. His hand was wound tightly around hers, and he had splashes of blood on his clothes, and she wondered how he had got them. Why was he there? He slept fitfully, tossing his head occasionally, probably uncomfortable, and she realised from his five o’clock shadow that he had been there all night. He hadn’t left her side since, although they had not spoken about anything, aside from her pain level and comfort. She was pretending to be annoyed at his attentions and mitherings, but, deep down, she was actually really enjoying being looked after by someone for a change, even though he was being a grumpy sod in the meantime. He was gruffer today, more protective, take charge than he usually was, and Amanda had to admit that she found him even more attractive as a result. Great, club me now, caveman! Get a grip, Amanda. She shrugged her own thoughts away as she battled against her old self, the tough independent woman she presented to the world. She had just had a concussion, after all—she was allowed a little romantic fantasy for her troubles. She blushed furiously at her own musings as Ben appeared in view, cup of tea and biscuits in hand. He sat next to her, perched in a plastic garden chair, and offered her the tea. She took it from him gratefully, and resisted the urge to smack him one when he eyed her like a baby drinking from an open cup for the first time.

  ‘Ben,’ she said, trying to keep the tension from her voice. ‘I have drunk tea before, I’m fine.’ He looked away sheepishly then, nodding once. ‘Are you not at the vet’s today?’

  Ben shrugged. ‘No, I have taken a few days off, I have a locum friend—he has stepped in for me.’

  Amanda’s face dropped. ‘Because of me?’

  ‘I told you this morning, you are staying with me till the shop is fixed up, and you can’t be left alone with a concussion anyway. It’s all arranged, don’t worry.’

  Amanda kept her eyes trained on her tea. ‘I could have stayed in a hotel, or with a friend. Agatha would have probably let me stay.’

  Ben shook his head. ‘No, she couldn’t have done that.’

  Amanda looked at him, puzzled. ‘Why, cos she doesn’t have the room?’

  Ben’s eyes darted around before he answered. ‘Er, no, of course not, but … but the cats and the dogs together? Not a good combination. Besides, Dotty already packed you some things, they are already at mine, it’s fine.’

  Amanda nodded. ‘OK, well … thanks.’

  Ben positively sagged with relief. ‘It’s better for everyone, trust me.’

  She wondered what he meant by that, and was about to ask, when the ladies arrived. Ben swiftly took his leave to go and check on the vet’s stall as the women smothered her with kisses and interrogations of her night, before they started to set up the New Lease of Life stall.

  As Ben looked back at Amanda, all swaddled up, laughing at something Hetty said, he felt a huge urge to protect her, and he resolved to hurry back, once the swarms had dissipated a little. He was glad that she hadn’t pressed the issue of staying at his, or picked at how it had come about. The truth was, he wanted to look after her, and had knocked back the women’s offers of putting her up. Since seeing her on that floor, vulnerable and hurt, something had shifted in him, and until he could figure it out himself, he couldn’t put it into words. All he knew was that he wanted to be the one to look after her, keep her safe. That was all he could wrap his head around for now. She seemed to be mightily peed off at the prospect, but, so far, she was going along with it relatively quietly, although he suspected that this was due to her feeling too ill to put up much of a fight.

  All too soon, the county fair was ready to open. The atmosphere in the grounds of the Mayweather estate was a positive frisson of excitement. A real feeling of community had descended, even more than Amanda usually saw exhibited due to the threat to the community centre, and she was loving every minute. The ladies had done a fantastic job with the stall; the stock looked amazing, everything was just so, all neatly labelled and priced, and all Amanda was allowed to do was make change for the sales, the float tin on her bundled lap. She felt ridiculous, but she didn’t make too much of a fuss as she realised that, actually, she did feel pretty shocking. She was just grateful to be an observer of the day.

  Agatha was not underestimated, she saw; the whole fair was amazing, ran like clockwork and looked effortlessly seamless. She saw a lot of people from the village that she knew now, from being out and about with Ben, at the surgery or from her shop. Her shop! She felt a huge pang of panic as she remembered about her shop, her livelihood, closed till the workmen of the village got today over with and returned to work. Every villager had a part in the fair today—Amanda even ventured that the church was on hiatus, as she could see the vicar, Mr Blendergast, judging the bonny baby competition, working his way through a huge plate of treats the mothers kept refilling, hoping to sway his sweet tooth towards their bundle of joy for the rosette. She tittered to herself at the sight, and immediately regretted it as a stab of pain zinged across her forehead. Ben was at her side in seconds, as if from nowhere, and he gently touched her face. He set two cups beside them. ‘I knew it was too much, I said to the hospital you needed to be kept in another night, damn it!’

  Amanda pushed him away feebly. ‘Ben,’ she said, stroking his arm as an afterthought, to relieve the hurt look her push away had provoked. ‘Sorry, but I am fine. I am sat here like the Queen of Sheba, the girls are here, I am sat watching, not doing a thing!’

  Ben’s face smoothed out somewhat with relief. ‘OK,’ he acquiesced.

  Amanda glanced across at him, and he smiled bashfully back at her. She leaned forward a little, giving him a little sign to kiss her, an impulse, but he looked away, changing the subject. Amanda’s face flushed, embarrassed by the apparent rebuttal. Why the hell did you do that, Amanda? She frowned, her head suddenly feeling very foggy indeed, and she knew it wasn’t just down to the concussion.

  Ben watched her sip her tea, wishing that his was laced with arsenic. Bloody idiot, he berated himself grimly. She wanted you to kiss her, and you moved away. He had wanted to kiss her, that’s all he had thought about since he saw her on that stretcher, but he was aware that she was delicate, in pain, and he didn’t want his passion to overtake him, and hurt her. So he had moved away, trying to be the gent, and he knew from her face that he had confused her. He wanted to slap himself. Hard. One thing was for sure, for a man who lived with loads of women looking after him, he sucked at figuring them out sometimes. He finished his tea in a noisy gulp, and turned to her quickly. Amanda was looking at him as though he were mad. ‘Ben, that tea is like lava! Are you OK?’

  He shook his head, ignoring the burning sensation on his tongue. He took her barely touched cup from her, set it on the grass and gently cupped her face. ‘I have wanted to do this since last night,’ he said, gently touching his lips to hers, trying to fight the
urge to deepen it. Amanda made a little sound, and he froze, pulling away. ‘Did I hurt you?’

  Amanda’s eyes were shut tight. The little moan that had just escaped her lips was a pleased sound, and she was mortified that he heard it. She opened her eyes and shook her head, smiling. ‘No, Ben, you could never do that.’

  Ben smiled, his white teeth flashing as they looked at each other.

  The stall started to get busy then, and they reluctantly moved away from each other. Almost worth a bump on the head, Amanda thought to herself, as she dealt with a customer from her sick chair.

  The fair was a resounding success, and the day soon wore on. Amanda was in her element—most of her stock was sold, and she had a whole notepad full of orders and contacts. The ladies had been amazing, wrapping up purchases, dealing with the throng of people, constantly keeping her wrapped up against the elements. She had also drunk enough tea to sink a battleship. She was just getting up to head to the Portaloos when Ben reappeared. He looked startled that she was trying to get up. He helped her move the blankets from her feet, he looked at her enquiringly.

  ‘Do you want another drink? Because I can get you one, if you like?’

  Amanda burst into laughter and then winced, twice, for her full bladder and pain in her head. ‘No, no more tea I beg you,’ she said, giggling. ‘I … er, I need the toilet.’

  ‘Oh,’ Ben said, a small smile playing on his lips. ‘I see. Let me help.’

  He gave her his arm and she took it gratefully. They were just making their way across to the loos when they heard Grace’s soft timbre over the tannoy. She was just starting to thank people when Amanda reached the toilets, grateful that there was no queue. Ben waited outside, pacing up and down until she knocked on the door to tell him she was finished, and he practically wrenched it open, just to see for his own eyes that she hadn’t fallen down the toilet or passed out. Amanda was shocked by the look of worry and relief on his face, and felt her heart leap as they locked eyes.