by Fay Keenan
To a thunder of applause, Jonathan stepped down and walked over to join Caroline, Matthew and Anna. As he did so, Matthew clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Good job, Jonno,’ he said.
‘Thanks,’ Jonathan replied. ‘I aim to please.’
‘You’re not bad at public speaking,’ Caroline said, cradling her own glass of sparkling cider. ‘Even though The Cider Kitchen belongs to Carter’s and not me.’
Jonathan’s face softened as he saw the pride in Caroline’s eyes. ‘It certainly wouldn’t have been the success it is under anyone else’s management.’ He turned to his brother and Anna. ‘Do you mind if we head on over to the restaurant? I need to talk to Caroline about a few things.’
Matthew smiled. ‘Be our guest,’ he said.
Anna looked after Caroline and Jonathan as they left. ‘Do you think he’s finally going to get his act together now?’ she asked.
‘I bloody hope so!’ Matthew said. ‘Although I have to admit to being more than a little bit wary. I know this Paul Stone character has been dealt with, but she did pay him an awful lot of money before Jonathan found out.’
Anna shook her head. ‘She was terrified, Matthew. She’s not like you, with a network of people to fall back on when she needed them. She had nowhere else to turn, no one else to trust. Yes, she did the wrong thing, but can you honestly say, in her position, you’d have done anything differently?’
Matthew looked down at his wife. ‘You see the good in everyone, don’t you?’ he said gruffly. ‘Even when they might not deserve it.’
‘I just believe in giving people another chance,’ Anna said softly. ‘After all, it didn’t do us any harm, did it?’
Matthew shook his head. ‘For which I am eternally grateful.’ His face lightened. ‘And who’d have thought those archives of ours would have given us so much entertainment?’
‘It’s amazing what a little bit of research can do,’ Anna replied, nestling into Matthew’s arm that he’d slid round her shoulders. ‘And it was fun to put my academic training to good use again.’ Sometimes, it was easy to forget that, before Matthew, she’d had a career as an academic librarian, and an altogether different life, with a different man.
‘So how much of it was actually true, then?’ Matthew asked. After running the initial idea past her, he’d left Anna pretty much to her own devices as far as this evening had been concerned.
Anna paused for a moment. ‘Well, a man called Sykes, who was one of the tasters back in your great grandfather’s day was found floating face down in the vats in 1913,’ she said. ‘And it was well documented that he didn’t get on with Shallcross. Whether that was because Sykes was getting too close to Samuel Carter’s daughter Jane, and Shallcross was stepping in to prevent that, who can say. Your great grandfather and Shallcross were close friends, and Shallcross would rightly have been protective of Samuel’s daughter. As you know from the letters, there may well have been something going on between Jane and Tom Sykes; I never really got to the bottom of Elsie’s letters to your great aunt. There could have been another child in your dad’s generation somewhere, but he or she wouldn’t have taken Jane’s name if given up as a baby.’
‘Perhaps it’s for the best we don’t know for sure,’ Matthew said. ‘I’ve had enough trouble delegating to Jonno this year. Imagine if there’d been a third branch of the family to consider! And as for the body in the vat, if I remember correctly, the verdict on the death was misadventure in the end, wasn’t it?’ Matthew asked.
‘Yup,’ Anna said. ‘But for dramatic purposes, we had to have a bit of suspense. And as far as I know, Shallcross wasn’t embezzling from your great grandfather, although there were several anomalies in the books that couldn’t quite be explained away.’
‘Perhaps I can shed some light on that,’ Matthew replied. ‘My great grandfather was rather fond of racehorses, and one of the earliest versions of a sponsorship deal was on a horse that was stabled over at Kings Lyndon. I suspect there must have been a certain amount of funds redistributed for the stabling and having the odd flutter.’
‘It’s a miracle this business made it to the fourth generation!’ Anna snorted. ‘Did the horse ever win?’
Matthew’s face split into a wide grin. ‘Not that I ever heard of, but then my great grandmother was pretty fearsome by all accounts – I daresay he kept the winnings to himself!’ He drew his wife closer. ‘However true the story was, though, well done. It’s all going really well, and I think we’ve made a few inroads with potential new suppliers as well as keeping the old ones on side.’
‘I hope so,’ Anna said. She leaned into Matthew’s embrace. ‘In a few weeks’ time I’m going to be rather caught up with the new little person, so it’s good to do something a bit different now, while I can.’
A shadow crossed Matthew’s face, which was not unnoticed by Anna. ‘What is it?’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ Matthew said. ‘Perhaps it’s the booze, but I can’t help thinking about Dad.’ He swallowed. ‘He’d have loved this idea.’ Matthew glanced at the pencil portrait. ‘Caroline really captured him in that picture.’
Anna raised a hand to Matthew’s cheek. ‘He’d have had a whale of a time.’ She paused, and looked deeply into Matthew’s eyes. ‘You know, I’ve been thinking.’
‘About what?’
‘Well, I know we don’t know quite what we’re having yet, but how would you feel, if it’s a boy, about naming him after your dad? Another Jack in the family?’
Matthew couldn’t speak for a moment, and his voice, when it came, was rather on the husky side. ‘I think I’d love that,’ he said gently. ‘And I think Dad would have been honoured.’ He pulled Anna to him in a warm, slightly shaky embrace. ‘I love you, Anna Carter.’
‘And I love you,’ Anna replied. Lost in the moment, they didn’t notice Meredith whipping a bottle of the sparkling cider wine from the bar to share with her boyfriend Flynn on top of the vats in the barn.
52
‘We’d better make this quick, I’ve got a lot to prepare for when the guests come back to the restaurant to eat,’ Caroline said as Jonathan walked her the short distance from the main barn back to The Cider Kitchen.
‘Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,’ Jonathan said lightly. ‘Emma’s been working her socks off all day and Gino’s prepared more or less everything, so it’s just a question of getting things out on time and looking gorgeous while you’re doing it. Which you do, darling.’
‘How fucking patronising can you get?’ Caroline, stunned, stopped walking. ‘I’m not just a pretty face at the door, as you well know.’
‘Quite right,’ Jonathan said gently. He took Caroline’s hand, and with his other hand he rummaged in the inside pocket of his jacket. ‘And I’d like to make that official.’
Caroline tried to take a step back from Jonathan, but he was still holding her hand. ‘What are you doing? You’re not going to get on one knee, are you? I don’t think I can handle that right now.’
Jonathan, preoccupied with getting whatever it was out of his pocket, stopped and looked at her. ‘Just as well that’s not what I’m doing, then.’ Finally, he pulled out his hand. He was holding a thick, cream coloured envelope. Silently, he handed it over to Caroline.
‘What’s this?’
‘Open it,’ Jonathan said gently.
With trembling hands, Caroline slid a finger under the flap of the envelope and then pulled out a thick sheaf of documents. As she unfolded them and read, she gave a gasp.
‘Is this what I think it is?’
‘What do you think it is?’ Jonathan teased.
Caroline glanced from the papers up to Jonathan’s face, which was lit up with a broad smile. He looked as confident and self-assured as the first time she’d seen him, at the top of the aisle at Matthew and Anna’s wedding all those months ago. But he also looked calmer, older somehow.
‘This is the deed of sale for the restaurant,’ Caroline whispered. ‘For the business and the freehold – the bu
ilding. Transferring ownership of the business, and the bricks and mortar, to me.’
Jonathan nodded. ‘It’s all yours now, Caroline; every last brick, tablecloth and wineglass. And The Cider Kitchen brand, too. It’s my gift to you. What I said earlier about it being your restaurant… it wasn’t a slip of the tongue. It really is yours now. If you want it.’
‘But… you can’t do that,’ Caroline stammered. ‘What about Matthew? What about the cider business?’
Jonathan cleared his throat. ‘We’re Dad’s joint beneficiaries,’ he said softly, ‘Although it’ll probably take months for all the paperwork to be sorted out, I’ve handed over what would have been my share of the cider farm from Dad back to Matthew in exchange for everything connected to The Cider Kitchen. And now I’m handing it to you. That makes Matthew the major shareholder in Carter’s Cider and gives him the autonomy he’s always wanted, and you get everything connected to The Cider Kitchen. Oh, don’t worry,’ he said quickly, seeing the alarm on Caroline’s face, ‘I’ve still got the minor stake in the cider farm and I’m keeping Orchard Cottage as part of the deal, too, so I won’t be out on the street.’
‘But it’s your birth right, too,’ Caroline replied, still stunned by what she was holding in her hand. ‘Why would you give that up?’
‘Because some things are more important,’ Jonathan said softly. ‘And, to me, you’re more important.’ He raised his hands to Caroline’s shoulders and regarded her intently. ‘I need you to know that I’m giving this to you with no strings. You can run things your way and I won’t be there, looking over your shoulder or questioning anything. It’s yours now, all of it. I don’t expect anything in return. Anything.’ He paused, waiting for Caroline to respond. When she seemed, for once, completely incapable of speech, he continued. ‘But, if you need me, if you want me to be there, then I would love to share it with you.’
‘Why?’ Caroline blurted out. ‘Why would you do this for me?’
Jonathan shook his head. ‘You are the most disagreeable, defensive, aggressively stubborn, bad tempered, irritating woman I have ever had the misfortune to meet,’ Jonathan said. ‘You argue with everything I say, you won’t take advice, you’ve single-mindedly ignored everything I’ve ever tried to do to make your life easier and I’ve got stitches in my arm from where I saved you from a drug dealer.’ He drew a deep breath. ‘But, in spite of all that, I’ve fallen in love with you. And I’m standing here wondering why the hell I’m bothering to tell you that because you’re more than likely going to chuck me out on my ear now I’ve insulted you so much.’
Caroline, still stunned, finally spoke. ‘I don’t argue with everything you say.’
‘That’s so you,’ Jonathan said. He looked around in mock astonishment. ‘I’m still here.’
‘Yes,’ Caroline said. She took a step towards him. ‘You are.’ Reaching up to touch his cheek, she shivered as he pressed his face to her hand like a cat. An alley cat; an unneutered tom who needed to claim droit de seigneur over every female who crossed his path. But was that really true anymore? From day one, she’d kept him at arms’ length, emotionally if not physically. She’d been so wary of his reputation, so determined to make sure she didn’t just end up as another notch on his bedpost that she’d been almost cruel in her quest to stay aloof. And really, what had he done to justify that?
‘You’ve saved my skin on so many occasions,’ she said softly. ‘Are you prepared to keep doing that?’
‘In a heartbeat,’ Jonathan whispered.
‘I’m not sure,’ Caroline said wryly. ‘I’ve never liked having my space invaded, and you’re like wood smoke; I can smell you even when you’re not there, I’m aware of your presence hours after you’ve left. I don’t think you ever truly leave me, Jonathan. But, I love you too. Much against my better judgement, and because, after all this time, I can’t not.’
He smiled. ‘I know.’ Reaching up for the hand that was still resting on his cheek, he clasped it in his. ‘I knew quite a while ago, but I thought I’d let you work it out for yourself.’
‘Do you ever stop being insufferably smug about everything?’ Caroline asked, her hand starting to tingle from Jonathan’s warmth and nearness.
‘Not really,’ admitted Jonathan. ‘But this time, Caroline, I need you to know that I’m absolutely serious.’ Drawing her closer, he leaned into her, until his lips were a breath apart from her own. Before Caroline could draw breath to object, Jonathan’s lips had met hers in a kiss so sweet, so gentle, so tentative, that for a moment she didn’t, couldn’t believe that it was him.
‘Marry me, Jonathan,’ Caroline breathed when they broke apart. ‘Not in a year, not in a month, but next week. Marry me, love me, and share this place with me. Please.’
Jonathan smiled. ‘Are you begging me, Caroline Hemingway?’
‘As close as I’ll ever get to it,’ Caroline replied. ‘And I’m not going to repeat it, so you’d better answer.’
‘Then let me do the asking,’ Jonathan said, even though he’d sworn he wouldn’t. ‘Believe it or not, I’m an old fashioned boy at heart.’ He looked her in the eyes. ‘I love you. Will you be my wife?’
Caroline, who up until now had been doing a passable impression of keeping her emotions together, whispered ‘Yes. Yes, I will. For always.’
Grinning broadly, Jonathan’s arms slid around her. ‘I knew you would,’ he replied. And before Caroline could protest, he kissed her again. Drawing her closer to him as the kiss deepened, both of them jumped as Jonathan’s phone started to ring. ‘Oh, go away,’ Jonathan muttered as his lips parted from Caroline’s momentarily.
‘You really should answer that,’ Caroline said wryly, remembering Halloween night when they’d been interrupted by a call from Jonathan’s date. ‘It might actually be important tonight.’
‘Really?’ Jonathan grinned into the kiss. The phone continued to ring. ‘Oh, all right then.’ He rummaged in his jacket pocket and answered the call. ‘Hello?’ Listening intently, a huge grin lifted his features. ‘That’s great news. OK, darling, thanks for letting me know. Wish them both the best of luck when you speak to them later. Oh, and darling,’ Jonathan paused, glancing at Caroline. ‘You were right. You’d better buy a new dress. Yes, that’s right. I’ll see you in a bit. Bye.’
‘Who was that?’ Caroline asked.
Jonathan slipped his phone away and took Caroline’s hand as they walked up the path to the restaurant. ‘It was Merry,’ he said. ‘Anna’s gone into labour so she and Matthew won’t be making it to the celebration dinner after all. They’re on their way to St Michael’s Maternity Hospital as we speak.’
Caroline’s stomach fluttered. ‘I thought she wasn’t booked in for the C-section until next week?’
‘Well, this one’s going to be a little early, it seems,’ Jonathan said. ‘But I’m sure they’ll be fine. Oh, and Merry sends her congratulations,’ he paused. ‘She’s thrilled that you’re going to be her new aunt as well as her boss.’
‘She’d better not expect any special treatment in this place,’ Caroline said, opening the door to The Cider Kitchen. ‘Business before pleasure and all that.’
‘So long as you’re going to break that rule for me, now,’ Jonathan said softly as they both crossed the threshold. ‘After all, we’ve waited long enough.’
April
53
‘Well, it’s now or never!’ Caroline stood up from the dressing table and took a deep breath.
‘You know Anna’s going to go ballistic when she finds out, don’t you?’ Jonathan said from where he was lounging on the bed behind her. ‘She’ll never forgive you for not letting her in on the secret.’
‘Oh, I think she’s got a fair idea what this is all about,’ Caroline said. ‘I mean, we were hardly subtle about taking time off together, were we? She fiddled with the platinum wedding band on her left hand, which sat perfectly under the large Solitaire diamond that Jonathan had given her shortly after they’d proposed to each other bac
k in November. ‘And she’s got her hands full with baby Jack at the moment, anyway. There’s no way she’d have been able to jump on a flight to Mauritius with a four month old baby, and Ellie, of course, in tow.’
‘Perhaps,’ Jonathan slid off the bed and crossed the room to give his new wife a long, lingering kiss. ‘And to be fair, I far preferred that it was just you and me on that beach. As I said the night we first met, I’ve never been one for weddings.’