by Julia Bell
“Well, I suppose that’s that,” said the housekeeper taking a sip of her tea.
“It went well and I thought Hollie was so brave,” said Anna.
“Yes, such a determined little soul. But now we have to think of the future,” said Mrs Wilby. “We’re going to the Grange soon for Mrs Harrington’s belated birthday celebrations. So, we must go into Bristol and buy you a lovely evening dress for the party.” All the conversation since the funeral had been about the delayed visit to Jason’s boyhood home.
The telephone started ringing in the office and Anna stood to answer it. Yes, she thought grimly, it was time to tell Jason about her husband and the dreadful state of her marriage. But how she would explain everything she couldn’t imagine.
CHAPTER FIVE
A few days after Hollie had left for Canada, they all piled into the Volvo Estate and set off for the Grange. Ben drove and it was hoped that the journey would be trouble free. They travelled first through heavy city traffic and then into the countryside. It was going to be a hot day and as they drove along Anna insisted on winding down the windows even though Ben complained that that wasn’t necessary since the car’s air conditioning was in good working order. Anna would have none of it. She didn’t want to be closed in on such a beautiful day and wanted to feel the breeze in her face. Her excitement at spending time at Jason’s childhood home had made her feel carefree and contented as a small child and she had decided to enjoy herself.
The journey took longer than expected, as they were forced to stop while a farmer and his herdsman rounded up about a dozen cows that had escaped from the field and had wandered onto the road. The cows seemed to want to go anywhere but back to the meadow, the antics of the two men causing a great deal of amusement for the people waiting patiently in the car. Until one beast attempted to push its head through Anna’s window causing her to squeal.
Finally, they reached the gates that stood tall and proud at the end of the drive and Jason jumped out to swing them open. As the car passed through, Anna’s mouth nearly fell open in surprise. She had assumed that Jason’s childhood home was just a large house called the Grange, but it was obvious that it was much, much more. She noticed the wonderfully entwined leaves in the elaborate ironwork of the gate and then the drive up to the house. Closing the gates after them, Jason got back in the car and they drove up the drive and into the forecourt at the front of the house.
It was an impressive building, in the style of an Elizabethan manor with ivy growing along the walls. But the most wonderful adornment was the boxes and baskets filled to capacity with lobelia, geranium and chrysanthemums. The main entrance was set back in a substantial porch-like structure, above it three more storeys, with windows of small panes of glass. But to the left and right of the main door the building extended a good hundred metres in each direction as three storeys, until finally becoming four storeys again at each end. Anna smiled as she surveyed its expanse and wondered if it had changed much since it had been built. Somehow she felt very little had been done to the external structure except for the necessary repairs and maintenance.
“It’s wonderful,” said Anna, peering upwards. “It’s as though time has stood still.”
Jason responded with a chuckle, as he helped Ben to empty the luggage from the back of the Volvo. “That’s been said many times before.”
She followed Mrs Wilby through the sturdy oak door and into the main hall where a small figure with short, curly hair greeted them.
“My dears, you’ve arrived!” she smiled. “I was getting quite worried. The travel news seemed to say there were hold ups everywhere.” Suddenly a golden retriever appeared and made its way straight to Anna. She backed away alarmed at its wet, inquisitive nose that nuzzled her hand. The woman stepped forward briskly and caught hold of its collar. “Come away, Tess! People don’t want you slobbering over them.”
Anna felt embarrassed. “I’m so sorry. I’m not really a dog person. My mother wouldn’t have one in the house.”
“That’s perfectly OK, my dear. Please don’t worry about it. She’s very friendly though, so I’ll put her in the kitchen.”
“Oh, please don’t do that,” said Anna in alarm. “It’s her home not mine.”
Jason suddenly burst through the door with Ben hot on his heels. They dropped the luggage on the floor and Jason flung his arms round his mother, nearly pulling her off her feet.
“We would have been here earlier, but we got held up by a herd of cows,” said Jason, winking at Anna. He bent towards the dog. “Hello you old thing,” he said vigorously rubbing her ears, before gesturing to Anna. “You’ve met Anna, Mother?”
Jason’s mother gave a bright smile and held out her hand. “Jason has told me all about you. I’m so delighted you decided to spend my birthday with me.”
“Thank you for inviting me Mrs Harrington. I’m so sorry you had to delay all your celebrations.”
“It couldn’t be helped and please call me Margaret! Now, let’s go into the parlour and have coffee. Leave the luggage there and I’ll get John to take it to your rooms.”
Anna looked about her. She was standing in a spacious hall, with a marble floor and large chandelier secured to the centre of the ceiling. On the oak-panelled walls were an assortment of antique weapons and there was even a suit of armour standing in the corner. By the stairs an exquisite grandfather clock ticked the hours away.
This was Jason’s childhood home, Anna thought, as a boy he had most probably slid down the banister and played in all the rooms. She watched his animated face, aware of his happiness and a sudden thought crossed her mind. Perhaps her revelation wouldn’t be such bad news for him, perhaps she was overestimating its importance to him? After all, it didn’t threaten her position, she could still remain his PA and even if she had put herself down as a widow on her CV, that still didn’t change anything. Except the fact she had lied. She swallowed and tried to shrug away her guilty feelings.
After their coffee, they all trekked upstairs to their rooms, the hub of their conversation and laughter echoing round the walls. Halfway up the grand stairway, Anna turned to survey the immense hall below her and then continuing her climb, was surprised to find Jason waiting for her at the top.
“I’ll show you to your room. It’s just along the corridor next to Ben’s and Mrs Wilby’s.”
“Thank you. There seems to be a lot of doors in this place,” she laughed. “Knowing my luck I’m sure to get lost.”
“You’ll soon find your way around.”
At the door to her bedroom, he left her. The room allocated to Anna was facing south-west, so receiving a great deal of the day’s sunshine. As she entered the room, she gave a cry of pleasure, for standing against the wall was a wide four-poster bed. She made her way round the room peeping into the cupboards and opening the drawers. Against the wall was a long mirror in which she could see herself from top to toe. Suddenly she spied another door and opening it, found herself in a wonderful Victorian bathroom with a large cast iron bath standing on claw feet. It had large brass taps and attached to the wall was a matching showerhead. Anna traced her fingers along the intricately decorated glass shower screen that covered half the bath. The sink and toilet were of the same design as the bath and positioned over the rails were freshly laundered towels. Margaret had even peppered the shelves with pot-pourri and bottles of bubble bath and shampoo.
Anna left the bathroom and ran over to the bed, launching herself on top of the duvet. The mattress was soft and huge enough to get lost in. She lay on her back and looked around her. The room created the impression of days gone by and it wasn’t only because of the bed, since the furniture seemed relatively old too. The carpet and curtains were quite new, she guessed. But the wallpaper was a good twenty years old.
There was a brisk knock on the door. She scrambled off the bed, tucked her shirt into her jeans and went to answer it.
“Is your room OK?” asked Jason.
“It’s absolutely wonderful.”
“Oh, good. I’ve come to say that lunch will be served in the dining room at one o’clock.”
She nodded. “That sounds great, but I’d love to have a bath first.”
“Feel free, but be warned! There’s plenty of hot water but the plumbing is a bit temperamental. It will probably spit at you.”
“Then I’ll just spit back,” she said crisply, closing the door on him.
After her bath she changed into something more presentable and made her way along the corridor to the head of the stairs. She met Jason coming the opposite way.
“I thought you might not find the dining room,” he said, smiling. “As you said, there’s a lot of doors in this place.”
At the top of the stairs was a large portrait and her eyes were drawn to it.
“Are these your ancestors?” she asked, gesturing towards the painting.
“Yes, they are. May I introduce you to Frederick and Elizabeth Harrington.” The portrait depicted a middle-aged man in long tailed coat, waistcoat and cravat standing behind a chair on which sat an attractive woman with fair hair and dressed in late Georgian period. Her blue dress was pinched tight at the waist and then flowed out in endless silk and lace. The elbow length sleeves were gathered with wide, ruffled lace and round her throat she wore a white, silk ribbon. Her smile was barely perceptible, but there was a glint in her eyes as though she was amused at something just said to her. In the background Anna could just make out the fuzzy image of the Grange. “He’s the Harrington who bought the place. My grandfather about six times removed, I think, but the lady is my favourite. When I was a young boy, I would stand for hours looking...” His abrupt break in conversation, caused Anna to glance quickly at him. He was staring at the painting with a bewildered expression. Then he turned to look at Anna before returning to gaze at the woman in the portrait. “Good God! It’s you. It’s definitely you.”
“Me? Oh Jason, I don’t think so!”
“It is you! Same eyes and colour hair, same face and figure!”
Anna began to feel cross. “Oh, don’t be silly! I’m nothing like her!” She ran trembling fingers through blonde hair that was cut in a neat bob.
“Take a look for yourself.”
She studied the portrait closely and saw that he was right. She did bear a resemblance if a person looked hard enough. Suddenly Anna closed her eyes in shocked awareness.
“That’s why you thought you knew me the day of my interview! I’m the lady in the portrait. The one you’ve admired since you were a boy.”
“Maybe. But I didn’t connect you at all with this painting, when I first met you.”
A terrible thought came into head. “Oh God, you didn’t employ me because I fitted a boyhood fantasy, did you?”
He swung her round to face him, his hands gripping her shoulders firmly. “No, I did not! Don’t you dare start accusing me of ulterior motives. I’m a businessman and I run my business with logic and a great deal of acumen. I do not go around making decisions based on whims and speculation.”
“Then why did you employ me, if not because I reminded you of her?” She nodded in the direction of the portrait.
“Because you had the right qualifications and the right experience.” He paused slightly. “I felt that we would work well together and…” He licked dry lips. The time wasn’t right to tell her how she had affected him the moment she had walked into the office, walked into his life. He had been so pleased that she fitted his specifications for a PA and then been bitterly disappointed when she had turned down the job. For weeks afterwards he had felt a melancholy that had stifled his thinking and made him restless. When he had come back from New York to find her sitting at Sharon’s desk, he actually believed jet lag was causing him to hallucinate. He would tell her how he felt, but he would choose his moment. “After all, I was right, wasn’t I? You turned out to be an excellent personal assistant,” he added, watching her.
“You’re a smooth one,” Anna muttered.
“Thank you, kind lady!”
She knew by his smile that he hadn’t taken offence and looked at the portrait once more. “I can see a family resemblance in both of them. You have Frederick’s eyes but Elizabeth’s smile. But she is lovely.”
“As I said, just like you,” he grinned. She ignored him and Jason decided that they had spent enough time looking at his ancestors. “Come on, let’s go down to lunch before Mother sends someone to search for us.”
Margaret Harrington put down her cup and glanced towards her son.
“You must give Anna a tour of the old place.”
“Would you like to look round?” he asked, halting Anna’s advance on the bookshelf where she intended to examine the reading literature.
“Yes, please, I’d love to,” said Anna eagerly.
He opened the door and both passed through into the hall.
Margaret smiled after them. “She seems so nice and Jason told me how wonderful she’s been, through Kiera’s illness. And a widow too. I wonder if they…Oh, never mind. I’m just a silly old woman matchmaking again.”
Mrs Wilby chuckled, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. “You’re not a silly old woman at all. And as for those two, well, I wouldn’t be surprised if Jason has got something on his mind. I’ve worked for him for nine years and I know him well.”
“I suppose we’d better start in the hall.” Jason looked around the great expanse. “Although I must warn you, the east wing is closed up now and the rooms there are given over to storage and the stables are full of old junk from the farm.”
“When did the horses go?”
“My father sold them about twenty years ago. Then the stables were made into a garage. Now, people tend to park in the drive.”
“I guess you can ride.”
“I can, but I much prefer to drive. I find riding a little wearing on the...clothes,” he chuckled. “Have you ever ridden a horse?”
“Goodness no, I don’t think I’ve been anywhere near one. This is an enormous place. Do you have many staff?”
“Well, John and Irene ‘live in’ with their daughter Fran. They have an apartment above the kitchen. We have six part-time ladies who come from the village, but we have more outdoor staff as the grounds are open to the public in the summer.”
“Doesn’t your mother get lonely, living in such a big house on her own?”
“Not at all. She’s turned it into a thriving business. The Grange has been catering for business conferences and seminars for years. And she’s just recently got a licence to hold weddings here.”
“Oh, Jason, that’s lovely. Imagine getting married here.”
He nodded. “They’re intending to hold the ceremonies in the morning room and then the receptions can be in the ballroom. That’s the only room that leads out onto a veranda and from there a flight of steps takes you outside to the gardens. There’s a good two acres of garden for the photographs.”
Anna looked about her, imagining the brides floating through the grand hallway to get married. So different from her own functional register office wedding.
“How old is this place?” she said, her gaze searching the ceiling and examining the magnificent cornices.
“Well, it was built in the sixteenth century, by one of the noble lords at the court of Elizabeth the first. It’s had quite a few owners since then but it was bought by my ancestor, Frederick Harrington, at the end of the eighteenth century.”
“He must have had quite a bit of money. This place would have cost a fortune in those days.”
Jason looked away in embarrassment. “He was already a wealthy landowner, but I’m sorry to say he increased his fortune with the slave trade.” He saw her shocked expression and nodded. “I know, it sounds dreadful. But in the eighteenth century, Bristol was heavily involved in such business. My ancestor jumped on the bandwagon, I guess. There was money to be made and he saw his opportunity.”
She grimaced. “Oh well, it’s not fair to judge them by today’s standards. It wa
s a different time and different thinking. I suppose a man had to make a living or his family starved to death.”
“I’m glad you understand.”
“Did his children join him in that business?”
“He had about four children, but only one survived to adulthood, a son, who followed him into the family business. If I remember rightly he was injured in a duel and walked with a limp from then on.”
“And I expect the duel was over a woman!”
“Most probably.”
She sniffed with disdain. “Why do men have to make fools of themselves over women?”
“Oh, testosterone, I should think. It’s a natural process,” he said, his lips twitching slightly.
“But marriage should be…” She stopped, horrified, before saying, “Let’s get on with the tour.”
Jason walked across the hall and opened a door. Anna preceded him and entered a room that filled her with delight. The sun streamed through long windows, sending shafts of light bouncing off the furniture and walls. She looked about her in wonder. This room was similar to the parlour, although slightly larger and boasted a huge fireplace and oak panelled walls. Dotted around were armchairs and couches, of which there must have been a complement of at least three suites. In the corner was a small mahogany desk.
“This is a gorgeous room,” she said.
“Yes, it’s the morning room and where the marriage ceremonies will be held. After it’s been decorated, of course.”
They moved back into the hall, where he continued to guide her through the remaining rooms, the library, Margaret’s study and the games room that sported a snooker table, before taking her down to the kitchen to introduce her to the staff that helped Margaret to run the Grange. He informed her as they walked about the history of each room, his love for the house so apparent.
Wonder and awe engulfed Anna as she followed Jason into the final room on their tour. She made her way to the centre of the floor and stared about her. She was in the most magnificent place she had ever seen, obviously the ballroom, since it was spacious and light with five great windows set in bays. Two chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the floor was polished wood covered with a thick burgundy carpet. On the walls was plush red and gold wallpaper and a sculptured gold frieze depicted birds, foliage and fruit. But the most impressive feature was the huge white marble fireplace, one at each end of the room.