by Anna Jacobs
Cameron waited a moment to give Ella time to speak to her daughter, then went into the kitchen. ‘Need a helping hand?’
She turned. ‘I can’t keep expecting you to—’
‘We had this argument before. You don’t expect anything. I’m offering of my own free will.’ He caught hold of her hand and asked gently, ‘Bad day?’
She held back as he tried to pull her into his arms, then with a sigh she let him hold her close and rested her head against his shoulder.
‘Very bad,’ she admitted.
‘The visit didn’t go well?’
‘I didn’t expect it to. He tried to buy her affection.’
He could hear the scorn in her voice, could imagine how she’d have looked as she dealt with her ex. A strong woman, Ella. He liked that, had never been turned on by clinging, helpless females.
As she looked up at him, he couldn’t help himself. He’d been longing to kiss her lips and find out if they were as soft as they looked.
After a murmur of surprise and a slight stiffening, she relaxed against him and returned his kiss.
‘I’ve been wanting to do that for days.’ He was about to pull her closer when a car turned into the back yard, tyres crunching on the gravel. ‘Damn!’ He planted a quick kiss on her nose. ‘To be continued.’
She stepped back, face flushed, hands going up to smooth her hair. ‘It’s my first guests. They’ve been before, so I won’t be long.’
‘I’ll finish the washing up.’
‘Thanks. And would you just keep an ear open for Amy? I don’t like to leave her on her own in the bathroom.’
He started scrubbing out the baking equipment she’d used, but watched as she greeted the guests, talked for a moment or two, then stood back and let them find their own way to the chalet. She had a natural charm and warmth which made people feel welcome. He’d noticed it himself the first time.
‘It’s always easier when people have been here before,’ she said as she came back into the kitchen.
A voice from upstairs called, ‘Mummy!’
‘I’ll just see what Amy wants.’
When she came down, he had the kitchen clear.
‘Thank you so much!’
He gave a mock bow. ‘At your service, m’lady. What next?’
‘Once Amy’s out of the shower, I want to check that the chalet my ex was going to stay in hasn’t been messed up.’ She hesitated.
‘Go on. Give me a task, more than one. I mean it.’
‘Could you set two tables for four people each? And you—’
‘Will be eating with you in here.’
A smile slowly lit up her face. ‘You’re very determined.’
‘When I want something.’
The smile vanished and was replaced by a wary look.
He was puzzled. ‘What did I say wrong?’
‘Want something. Sorry. It was one of Miles’s favourite phrases. He wanted a lot of things.’
‘I’ll change that, then. Take your pick: desire, wish for, hope and pray for. I’m not Miles, you know.’
Her smile returned. ‘I shouldn’t blame you for how he treated me, should I? Only seeing him today brought it all back – what it was like to live with him, I mean. I was angry with myself. I must have been utterly stupid and naïve to be taken in by his charm. What he wanted was this place and the money it could generate, not me as a person. He tried to hide it but I could tell he was angry when I insisted on a pre-nuptial contract, listing what we had each brought to the marriage.’
‘And what you’d mainly brought was Willowbrook.’
‘Yes.’
The sound of water gurgling upstairs stopped. He gave her a quick hug before she could stop him. ‘It sounds as if Amy has finished her shower. Go and check that chalet. I’ll keep an ear open in case she needs anything.’
Ella sighed with relief when the guests had eaten and gone back to their chalets. She turned to find Cameron looking at her thoughtfully. He poured her a glass of wine, which she’d refused until then.
‘Thanks for your help tonight, Cameron.’
‘It was my pleasure. I’m finding it very interesting watching you work. You’re not only efficient, you provide a wonderful personal touch to your service.’
‘Fussing over guests costs very little and makes a big difference. I’d not have got the three stars without it, especially as some of our furnishings are not top class. And if I’m to get four stars . . .’
‘The furnishings seem all right to me.’
‘They’re not top quality.’
He could see her frowning again. ‘Come and sit down a minute. We’ll clear up together afterwards. I need to discuss something with you.’ He waited till she was seated. ‘The guy who showed me the house today is a local expert on listed buildings. I was telling him about Willowbrook.’
‘Been there, done that. It’s not special enough.’
‘But have you really been there? He says he’d have heard if there had been any enquiries, even casual ones, about listing this farm. He hadn’t realized parts of the structure were medieval.’
She stared at him as this sank in. ‘Are you sure?’
‘Not a hundred per cent, but it’s his guess that no effort has ever been made to list Willowbrook.’
‘But Miles said . . .’ Colour flared in her cheeks. ‘Why would he—’ She broke off.
Cameron waited patiently, not interrupting her thoughts. It was obvious why her ex hadn’t wanted the place listed: he’d wanted to sell it for development.
‘I’ll look into it – properly this time. Willowbrook deserves preserving – and having an officially historic property won’t hurt when people are looking for somewhere to stay.’
‘I agree. I’ve arranged for Julian to come and look round on Tuesday, if that’s all right with you, just to have a preliminary squiz at things, nothing official. He’ll be able to give you a better idea of where you stand.’
‘That’s fine by me, as long as he comes during school hours. I don’t want Amy saying anything about this to her father.’
‘Ten o’clock in the morning suit you?’
‘That’s fine.’ She couldn’t hold back a yawn.
He stood up. ‘Let’s clear up, then I’ll go to bed.
When they’d finished, he hugged her and ran one finger down her cheek. ‘One day, and not too far from now, I hope, we won’t say goodnight with a mere hug.’
Warmth ran through her body and she couldn’t move for a moment.
It was he who took a step backwards. ‘I never take advantage of exhausted women, though. Do you ever get a real rest, Ella? Take a holiday?’
She shook her head, hesitated, then moved across to kiss his cheek, lingering for a moment, eye to eye, then stepping back with a tired sigh. ‘Thank you, Cameron.’
‘For what in particular?’
‘For everything. Just being there for me. I’ve been alone for a long time.’
She marvelled as she locked the outer door behind him and walked slowly up the stairs. She felt as if she’d known him for years and she trusted him as she hadn’t trusted a man since Miles. What was there about Cameron O’Neal that did this to her?
She was still trying to work that out when she fell asleep.
The phone rang soon after Miles got back to his flat that evening. He stared round sourly as he went to pick it up, hating the contrast with Willowbrook. His place was small because that was all he could afford – tiny was a more accurate word, because it was only a studio apartment. It was a decent address, which was what mattered, but he never brought people back there.
And there Ella was in that rambling old house, with space for several families, just wasting a valuable resource. Well, he was more determined than ever after his visit. He was going to get some benefit from the years he’d spent commuting to the wilds of Wiltshire, putting up with the inconveniences of a house that was well past its use-by date and a wife who was so naïve a baby could have stolen candy from her
.
‘Miles? Is that you? All I can hear down the phone is breathing?’
He realized he was holding the receiver near his mouth but hadn’t spoken. ‘Mother. Sorry. I was miles away. How are you?’
‘The same as I was when you rang me a few days ago. Did you go down to Willowbrook? How’s my granddaughter? Will Ella allow me to visit?’
He definitely didn’t want his mother to see how his daughter reacted to him, he decided. She’d never let him live it down. ‘Ella’s thinking about it.’
‘I thought better of your powers of persuasion.’
‘She always was a stubborn bitch. Look, I have to go out. I’m meeting someone for dinner. I’ll ring you next week after I get back from Willowbrook. I’ll do my best to persuade her.’
Stephanie Parnell put down the phone, feeling desperately disappointed. She’d guess Miles hadn’t really tried to persuade Ella to allow her to visit her only grandchild. Other people’s needs were never a high priority with him. He was her younger son but her second husband’s only child, and the lad had been spoiled, no doubt about that. Not by her – she wasn’t stupid enough – but by her ex, who had believed money solved everything. It hadn’t got him very far with Miles, though. Fred now saw even less of his son than she did.
What was she going to do? If this was an important business deal, she’d be taking care of things herself, not leaving it to an underling. And it was important to her. Very. She had only one grandchild, because her older son was gay. Lately she’d felt a desperate hunger to be part of Amy’s life.
She went to switch on her computer and see if Willowbrook had a website. It did. Pretty but very simple, rather amateurish actually. But there were some good photos that reminded her of how pretty the place was.
She wasn’t going to wait for Miles to do something, she decided suddenly. She’d book a chalet and spend a few days there. She now had plenty of time for trips or for anything else she wanted to do.
But would Ella allow her to visit?
Eleven
Rose didn’t bother to call Ella first, simply drove out to Willowbrook on the Sunday, determined to find out what had happened to Oliver’s letter. She’d spent a restless night, dreaming of what ifs and maybes. Could the two of them have found a way to compromise? She still didn’t feel that would have been possible. She’d needed to stay in Wiltshire, had been immersed in painting its wildlife for years; he had needed to gain experience overseas in emergency medicine, the area in which he was determined to specialize.
She parked her car and as she was walking towards the house, saw Amy come out of the old barn with her friend. At the sight of her favourite aunt, Amy let out a shriek of delight and dragged Nessa across to greet her.
‘Me an’ Nessa have found a new hidey hole. Come an’ see it!’
Rose resisted the enthusiastic tug. ‘Later, darling. I need to see your mummy about something first. Where is she?’
‘She and Mr O’Neal are in the kitchen. She’s been talking to him for hours already.’
‘Who’s Mr O’Neal?’
‘He’s a guest, but I wish he was my father, ’cos he’s nice. My real father came to visit us yesterday and he isn’t nice. It’s not fair! I have to see him when he comes, even though I don’t like him.’
Rose stared at her in shock. Miles was back! Ella was crazy to let him come here. It was like inviting a man-eating tiger into your parlour. What did he want now? He’d not have come purely to visit, that was sure. He must see a chance of making money out of the place. Money was the only thing he really cared about.
She realized Amy was looking at her pleadingly. ‘I’ll come and see your hiding place in a little while, darling.’ She walked to the house and rapped on the kitchen door by way of a warning, but could see at once that all her cousin was doing was sitting chatting.
Rose gave the guy a quick once-over as she went in and admitted to herself that Amy had a point. Mr O’Neal was extremely attractive, a man with class, presence and a very warm smile. From the way he was looking at her cousin, he found her attractive. Don’t push this one away, Ella, Rose prayed. She knew how lonely her cousin felt sometimes. Well, she’d felt the same way herself since Oliver left.
After introductions, Cameron said he had some phone calls to make and left the two women alone.
Rose waited till he was out of earshot to speak. ‘Sorry to interrupt your tête-à-tête.’ To her amusement, Ella blushed.
‘It’s not – we weren’t . . . I’ll put some more coffee on and—’
‘Who is he?’
‘Just a guest.’
‘From the hungry way he was looking at you, he’s more than “just a guest”, surely?’ She grasped her cousin’s hand. ‘It’s about time you dipped a toe in the water again and started dating, don’t you think, love?’
‘I – we’ll see.’
Rose knew that flat, determined tone so didn’t pursue the point. She waited until the mug of coffee was in front of her to say, ‘I’ve seen Oliver.’
‘And? Is he upsetting you?’
‘Not exactly. He says he’s only here for a few months.’
Ella looked at her in surprise. ‘I thought you were never going to speak to him again.’
‘That was when I thought he’d gone away without a word and . . . Ella, he’s insisting he gave you a letter for me just before he left. Do you remember that?’
‘He definitely didn’t give me a letter.’
‘Oh.’ She stirred the coffee, though there was no need. ‘He seems pretty certain he did and he doesn’t usually lie.’ She held up one hand to prevent her cousin speaking. ‘I know you don’t lie, either, so . . . I must admit I’m a bit puzzled. I’ll get back to him for the details.’
The coffee slopped over the edge of her cup and she stared down at it, her thoughts churning. Surely she couldn’t be wrong? Oliver wouldn’t lie to her about something so important, would he? No. He definitely hadn’t been lying. She knew him too well to be fooled about that. She’d seen real pain in his eyes, pain that matched her own at his desertion.
She changed the subject and started telling Ella how light and airy her new flat was, perfect for painting. She hoped the repairs to her old cottage would take a while.
Eventually she took her leave without further mention of the letter. She knew Ella was dying to find out more about her and Oliver, but she wasn’t ready to talk about him, even to her cousin. Well, she didn’t know where they stood yet, did she? They’d barely re-established communications.
The two children had obviously been keeping watch, because as Rose left the house, they came rushing out of the barn, moving so quickly Amy nearly fell over. Nessa steadied her friend in a way that showed she’d done it many times before. That brought tears to Rose’s eyes. Amy took her disability in her stride, but those who loved her ached for her sometimes as she stubbornly struggled to act as normally as possible.
As Amy grabbed hold of her aunt’s arm, Nessa hovered shyly behind her friend, nodding vigorously to support the repeated demand that she go and see their hiding place.
Rose hesitated. The last thing she wanted at the moment was to delay confronting Oliver. But she could never say no to Amy, so she followed them into the barn, saying, ‘Only for a minute or two.’
‘Stand in the doorway,’ Amy ordered. ‘Now, close your eyes and count to thirty slowly.’
Rose did as she was told, counting aloud, hearing muffled sounds as if something was being dragged along the floor. When she opened her eyes, she was alone. Light was slanting through the doorway behind her. Motes of dust were dancing along the sunbeams that crisscrossed the empty interior. But there was no sign of the two little girls.
‘Where a–a–are you?’ she called playfully.
Normally this would have been answered by muffled giggles, but this time there was silence. The barn seemed empty. Amy played here sometimes when the weather was bad. There was a swing suspended from one beam, a skipping rope lying on the grou
nd and a pink fairy wand resting on top of a partition that separated three stall-like storage areas, one of which had a rug and cushions in it. Rose checked each of these but they were empty.
‘Amy, where are you?’ she called more sharply, frowning now. She hoped the children hadn’t found somewhere dangerous to hide. ‘Amy?’
Still only silence answered her.
Then suddenly there was a scraping sound to one side and as Rose swung round, a section of the wooden wall began to move outwards. She knew there were secret hiding places at Willowbrook, because Ella had told her that the details of these were with her lawyer, in case anything happened. This had to be one of the old farm’s secrets, surely?
She was quite certain Ella wouldn’t have told the children about it because she’d never have let a stranger into the secret. Why, she hadn’t even told her own cousin. And were such places safe for little girls to play in? What if they’d got trapped inside? Would their cries for help have been heard?
She hurried forward as the secret panel swung fully open, but her niece’s face was so gleeful, Rose bit back a scolding and contented herself by asking, ‘Does your mother know you play here?’
Amy shrugged. ‘She’s been busy. Me an’ Nessa only found it last time she came here to play with me. Isn’t it cool?’
‘Yes. Will you show me how it works?’
They demonstrated how to open it from outside, then urged her to step inside. Before she could stop her, Amy had closed the panel again, standing on tiptoe to do it.
To Rose’s relief, some light filtered down from above their heads because she didn’t like dark, enclosed spaces, could fully understand Oliver’s problem with them. The hidey hole wasn’t large, but it had room for the three of them and there was even a narrow wooden bench to sit on.
‘How did you find it?’
‘The lady comes in here. Only she walks through the wall. Ghosts can do that, you know.’ Amy clapped one hand to her mouth. ‘Mummy said not to talk about our ghosts, but I’ve only told Nessa and you know about them already, don’t you, Auntie Rose?’
‘Yes.’ But it made her blood run cold to hear the child talk so casually about seeing a ghost. She had no doubt Amy was telling the truth. That child couldn’t lie to save her life. She must have seen something, and Rose knew her cousin had too. The thought of that made goose flesh rise on her arms. ‘Um – how do we get out of here?’