“Ah, right. Why are we in here?”
“At the end there is my little office. In an evening, when the staff have left, I use the rest of the staffroom too. I can use the little kitchen to make my dinner. There’s even a sofa and a TV.”
Of all the rooms in the house this one was the most modern, the one least like a stately home.
“So you spend your time in what I’m guessing is the only place in this whole manor that doesn’t feel like it hails from over a hundred years ago.”
“Yep, got it in one.” I set to pulling out plates and cutlery.
“Want me to put those out?” she asked.
“Yeah, please.”
“Smells great in here,” she commented, laying out the table mats and cutlery on the plain wooden table.
I’d have liked to have got something more contemporary but we had an old but not ancient wooden one already. I couldn’t justify buying new when we had something that would suffice.
“It does, doesn’t it?” I lifted the lid from the slow cooker and inserted a ladle. “I can’t take all the credit. This baby does all the work.” I tapped the ladle on the edge of the Crockpot. “I just stuff the ingredients in.”
“Doesn’t Mary cook for you?” India pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.
“Oh, she’d like to.” I chuckled. “And she used to, but she’s a bit of a control freak and if I was more than a few minutes late to dinner she’d lay into me. So in the end I decided it was better for my health to prepare my own meals. She’s still not happy about it, but I’m the boss so she doesn’t complain about it very often anymore. Just most days. Not every day.”
“I can quite imagine.” India moved her fork minutely to the left to straighten it. “She’s an interesting character, isn’t she?”
“Oh yes.” I lifted a ladle of steaming stew and carefully poured it into one of the bowls in front of me. “She really is. The longest serving member of staff here, you know.”
“Really, I thought that might be Gerald.”
“No.” I continued to serve, trying hard not to let my hand shake. The woman was yards away from me but I still felt her energy, her presence, and it disturbed me. “No, Gerald’s relatively new here actually. Arrived a year or so ago.”
“Oh, he knows so much about the place I thought he’d worked here forever.”
“No, he learnt all that as a paying visitor. He was well known, in fact. The only annual pass holder who’d visit at least once a week without fail. Sometimes the old guide would let Gerald lead the tour when his arthritis was playing up, he was that good. So when Fred retired it seemed natural to offer Gerald the job. He leaped at the chance.”
I walked over to the table with the bowls in my hands and placed one in front of India.
“Well, I am surprised, I thought he was more established than that.”
“Feels like he’s always been here.” I pulled out my chair and sat down. “Though not everyone likes him.”
“No?” India dipped her spoon into the bowl before her.
“No, he’s quite, well… How do I put it?” I dipped my own spoon in and brought the steaming contents to my lips. The aroma of sweet beef and rich gravy enveloped me. “He’s a bit of an acquired taste.”
“I must admit, there’s something about him that gives me the creeps a bit. I don’t know what it is.”
“I know what you mean, I wasn’t sure about employing him for the same reason but he got on so well with the other members of staff and his knowledge was so good, he didn’t even need any training. It was a no-brainer to give him the job really.”
“Oh yeah, he’s clearly very good at what he does. Do the tourists like him?” India sipped at the stew in her spoon then delicately nibbled on a piece of beef.
Everything she did seemed elegant to me. I shoveled another spoonful of food into me. I was starving, I’d not eaten anything all day.
“Most of them do, yeah. A few of the older ones who remember Fred aren’t that taken with him but mostly the visitors seem to like him. Well, there’s always people going on his tours and some of them are regulars who come back time and time again.”
“That’s really important.” India nodded. “It’s one thing getting new customers through the door but another entirely to keep them coming back. It’s a sign of a good and well run business when there’s return custom.”
Conversation flowed well, which was a relief after I’d managed to insult her profession so heavily. She made me laugh—how refreshing. I thought I’d forgotten how to.
“Do you need a hand with the pots?” India asked as she let her spoon fall into her empty bowl.
“Oh, no, I’ll be fine. There’s not much to do.” I picked up the bowls and took them over to the sink.
“Well, it’ll be done all the quicker if I help. Pass us a tea towel.”
“Fine, fine, if you insist, the tea towel’s tucked in here.” I moved away from the front of the sink so she could take the towel from over the handle.
“Well, it’s only fair. That was a delicious meal.”
“Glad you enjoyed it.” I smiled. “You can join me again tomorrow if you like.”
“Sure,” she replied easily, “that’d be great.”
“I’ve not even told you what’s on the menu yet.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be tasty.” She reached over to pick up the bowl I was just putting down after washing and her fingers touched mine. I let go quicker than I should and the bowl dropped. I went to catch it but she was faster and got there first, grabbing it before it smashed down onto the counter.
“Good catch.” I sighed. “Sorry about that, was a bit slippery.”
“I’m impressed with my reflexes.” She laughed. “I didn’t realize they were that good.”
“Well, I’m glad they are or I’d have Mary on my back for breaking it. She’s an absolute terror about stuff like that.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.” India chuckled. “She seems like she wants everything just so.”
When we finished washing and wiping I went to pick up the pile of cleaned items but India made the same move and we ended up chest to chest.
“Oh, I’m sorry—”
“No, no, my fault.” I grabbed her arms instinctively to steady her. “I seem to be extra clumsy tonight.”
“I’m getting under your feet,” she replied. “I should get out of your way.”
“I quite like you in my way, India.” Why I said that I didn’t know. Her presence must have addled my brain.
“Really?” She looked to the side and pushed at her hair, hooking it behind her ear. She was blushing.
“Yes, well, it’s good to have someone around who seems to be on the same wavelength as me. I mean, it seems like you are. Not that you maybe want to be. Oh God, I should shut up now, shouldn’t I?”
“Maybe a good idea, Xander, but I know what you mean. I’m drawn to you myself.”
“You are?” I’d not let go of her, she’d not moved away from me. There was a tension in the air that seemed to keep us held in place.
“Yes, I am. I probably shouldn’t be, considering my career and all, but I can’t seem to help myself.”
Did she lift up to my lips or did I lean over toward her? Maybe we both moved. It was like I’d woken from a dream and I was already deep in the kiss, my arms wrapped around her, our mouths joined, our breath shared between us. All I could hear was the raging thump of my heart, all I could smell was the light rose and citrus of her scent, all I experienced was her. I was completely immersed in India.
Then the door creaked and we jumped apart.
“Oh, I’m glad you’re here, Mr. Patrick, I’ve been looking at the figures again and it’s wrong, all wrong.” Mary walked into the room, head down, eyeing a piece of paper in her hand. India coughed.
“Oh, India, hello dearie, I wondered where you’d got to.”
“Hi, Mary, Xander invited me to dinner. I was just leaving.”
“Right
o, dear. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Mary.” She headed past her to the door. “Goodnight, Xander.”
“Night, India.” I waved. My heart plummeted. What must she be thinking? What could have happened if Mary hadn’t disturbed us when she had?
“We did a full stocktake, Mr. Patrick, and we’re down two hundred quid. I can’t work it out at all.”
“I don’t know.” I scraped my fingers through my hair as I held the stocktake figures in my other hand. “Are you sure someone isn’t nicking?”
“I don’t think so, I really don’t. I mean, it’s usually me on the till then it might be Harry or Jenny but Phil never goes near the till and in the last couple of days it’s only been me on the till and I’m not on the take, Mr. Patrick.”
“I know, Mary, I know. Is someone taking stock then?”
“That might be it but there’s no firm evidence of it. If they’re taking it, they’re taking from the items we produce on the farm. We keep precise numbers and details on the bought in stock but maybe we’re a bit less thorough with the home produced stuff.”
“Can you keep a closer eye on that then, Mary?”
“Aye, I can at least try.” She nodded.
“And keep an eye on Harry and Jenny. You might have been on the till lately, but they’ve still got access to it through the day. You’ve not been on the tills all day, surely.”
“No, young India took over for a bit, but I’m sure it wasn’t her.”
“No, I’m sure too. This problem started long before India arrived, but someone could have got to the money while she was in charge. She’s not used to the job like you, Mary.”
“We need to do something, Xander. This has been going on for three months now. If we continue to lose so much, we’ll not be able to keep the shop going. It’ll go from making us a great profit to being a drain. We’re not far off it, Xander, we’re not.”
“I know.” I sighed. “Maybe we need to install some video cameras?”
Mary’s face soured, her lips pursing, her eyes darkening.
“Well, you know what I think about that, Mr. Patrick.” Mary most often called me Mr. Patrick when she was mad at me. “But apart from it being a complete and utter invasion of privacy it would be very costly to buy. We can’t afford it.”
“If we keep losing money, we’ll have to do something, Mary. It makes me sick to my stomach to think someone, somewhere at Mallard’s, is stealing from me.”
“I know.” Mary gripped my arm. “Me too, me too.”
“Thanks for all you do.” I smiled at her. “Without you, I’d have gone under already.”
“Oh, hush.” She shook her head, spots of red highlighting her pale cheeks. “I just do my job.”
“Your job is vital to Mallard’s, vital to me. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Always, Xander, always. Mallard’s is my home.” She squeezed my arm then let go.
“Just check those figures over, check I’ve worked it out right. I’ll do what I can to tighten things up in the shop tomorrow.”
She headed toward the door then stopped partway there.
“Ooh, what is India doing tomorrow? I don’t think we worked it out.”
“Well, she’s done the tour with Gerald and spent the day in the shop with you. She could do with experiencing the farm and the gardens.”
“I’ll talk to Graham in the morning then. She can join the groundsmen tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I need to meet her, too, she’s doing some kind of interview. Get her to come to my office at four tomorrow, will you?”
“Yes, boss, will do. I know the article she does for us will bring in the crowds, Xander.”
“I think you’re right, Mary. Well, I hope you’re right.” I sighed.
“I’m always right.” She winked at me, her soft face wrinkling with mischief. “You should know that by now.”
“Oh, I do, Mary, I do.” I grinned. “I never forget it.”
She laughed and shook her head. “See you later.”
“Bye, Mary.”
Chapter Nine
India Grace
We’d kissed. I was supposed to be avoiding him, trying to keep out of his way, and we’d kissed. I’d agreed to share a meal with him and somehow that had led to lip-locking. And God knows where it would have ended up if Mary hadn’t intervened when she had.
I lay in bed, blankets cuddled up tight under my chin, thinking it all over. The meal had been nice, we’d talked about all sorts of things, not just the hall but hobbies and art, even mentioned football at one point and strayed into the realm of politics. Xander was a good conversationalist. It was a surprise, but I found myself feeling quite relaxed in his presence.
Once I’d been sure he had no idea of my connection to his father, I’d found it surprisingly easy to relax. I even enjoyed talking to him. I didn’t have many friends. I talked to folks at work but we didn’t spend any social time together, except the Christmas party, and I rarely attended that.
I really shouldn’t have let him kiss me. Although, to be truthful, I could have kissed him. I didn’t remember those finer details. I remembered how his mouth felt against mine, how his lips had been hot and malleable, his body hard against mine. I remembered his musk, light and spicy. We’d kissed but how that had started I had no real clue.
How was I going to face him? At least there was only one last day to spend at the manor. One day, another night then I could go home.
* * * *
My lips danced over Xander’s, I pulled him close to me. I could feel his body heat, his hands resting on my hips, but then everything was cold, oh so very cold, and the hands on my hips fell away and when I looked again it was his father’s corpse I was kissing.
My screams morphed into a gasp of shock, the body was gone and a newspaper rested between my hands. I looked down and the front page was a giant photo of Xander and me kissing.
“I can’t look at you, you dirty, evil fucking bitch.” Xander’s face contorted with anger. “You killed him!”
I woke with a vision of Xander’s face and grief etched into my mind. There was no way I could let myself give in to my desires once more. There was no good way that any kind of intimacy between Xander and me could end well.
* * * *
“Morning, India.” Mary stood at the bottom of the stairs, bright red waterproof top and trousers contrasting with yellow wellington boots.
“Xander said to send you out with the groundsmen today. Have you got a waterproof?”
“Yes, I have.”
“Nip up and get it, love, you’re going to need it. I’ll take you over to where the guys are working before I get to the shop. Make sure you wrap up warm too. The weather’s taken an awful turn.”
I didn’t realize just how cruel Xander was until I got outside. To say it was raining was more than an understatement. Some vengeful god was raging in the skies, throwing buckets of freezing cold water at the earth, the contents of which seemed to be focused on me. To add insult to injury, the winds were joining in too, battering the waterproof around me, snatching the hood from my head, exposing my hair to the lashing rain.
“Awful weather, isn’t it? I wouldn’t blame you if you refused to go out in this.” Mary battled into the wind beside me.
“No, I need to do it—this is what the staff have to deal with. It’s what I have to deal with.”
“Well, good luck.” She came to an abrupt stop and glanced around, squinting into the rain. “Oh, there they are, up in the back corner there.”
I squinted in the direction she pointed. I could just make out a huddle of bodies toward the far end of the lawn.
“You get off to the shop, Mary. I know where they are now.”
“Are you sure? I’ll walk over with you if you want.”
“No, it’s fine, you get in the dry and the warm.” I really didn’t want the poor woman to get any wetter.
“Well, okay then. Oh, Mr. Patrick wants to see you at four.”
>
I looked blankly at her.
“You’re interviewing him or something, yes?”
“Oh, right, yes, of course.”
“He said you should go to his office at four.”
“Right then, thanks, Mary, I will.”
“And don’t let Graham bully you. If it gets too much for you get indoors. It’s not your job to be out in this.”
“Thanks, Mary. I can look after myself.”
“I know you can. See you later, India.”
“Bye, Mary.”
I didn’t turn to watch her go. Instead I put my head down and forged forward. When I reached the three bodies, they ignored me. They were focused on a length of wood. One was holding it in place, another hammering nails into it and another held the post of the existing fencing in place.
Once the hammering had ended I shouted up, “Hello there!”
No one looked at me.
“I said, hello, I’m India, I’m here to help.”
Finally the man doing the hammering looked up.
“Oh, you did come then,” he proclaimed gruffly. “We thought the shower might keep you indoors.”
I had the measure of Graham within a few moments. He thought that strength was all physical and that he was the top dog. An alpha male—in his own mind, anyway.
“I wasn’t going to let the weather stop me experiencing all the manor has to offer. What can I do to help?”
Graham pulled back his lips and sucked air between his teeth. “I’m not sure there’s any light duties need doing today.”
I wasn’t going to rise to his barbs. I knew his type, he was digging for a reaction.
“Well, what are you doing? I’m here now, I might as well help.”
“We’re checking all the perimeter fences,” one of the other green-clad figures said.
I was a little bit surprised to find it was Jenny.
“Now Harriet’s had her babe,” Jenny continued, “Xander said it’s a priority that the whole place is enclosed properly.”
“Yeah,” the other figure spoke up. He was testing the repair Graham had made. “We’ve done over by the barns already.”
Good Manors Page 7