A Jersey Affair

by Georgina Troy

  ‘It wasn’t quite like that. He’s not as callous as you think, Ol,’ she insisted, though not quite sure she was right. ‘He did say that I would still get the compensation, if I agreed to leave.’

  ‘And you believed him, of course.’

  Despite what she was telling Olly, she did wonder at her judgment in men, which she knew fell very short of being on the clever side.

  ‘Hey, don’t listen to me,’ Olly said, taking several biscuits from Paige’s cream enamelled tin. ‘I’m being selfish.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Because if you move elsewhere I wouldn’t be upstairs from you, and couldn’t keep popping down to see you, could I?’ He raised his eyebrows.

  ‘True, I hadn’t thought of that,’ she said, taking a moment from counting her takings to watch him, wondering if his bad mood might have something to do with what had happened between him and Clem.

  ‘You also need me to help with the new website,’ Olly added. ‘especially if you want to establish your brand properly. Eventually you might even be able to forget about having to run a shop at all, then you wouldn’t have to think about forking out for rent.’

  She rubbed her temples wearily. ‘I know, you’re right and I can’t wait to re-launch the site.’

  ‘Great. I wish you’d listen to me more often, instead of some jumped-up bloke with a smart haircut who you’ve barely known for five minutes. You’re wasting valuable time by not getting on with it.’

  Paige puffed up a cushion to get more comfortable, not bothering to argue. ‘Fine, put a few ideas together and we’ll go through them.’

  ‘Shit!’ shouted Olly, grabbing the remote control. He turned the volume up to eardrum bursting level.

  ‘What’s the matter now?’ She stopped sorting the bank notes to see what was so interesting.

  ‘Look,’ he shouted his face the picture of shock. ‘There’s a picture of Sir Edmund Blake on the news.’

  She looked up as the picture disappeared, to be replaced by Sebastian surrounded by journalists and camera crews as he tried to walk along the road, his expression set hard. She strained her ears to try and find out what was going on.

  ‘What’s happened? Did you see?’ She couldn’t make out what the news alert was actually about, but there seemed to be much jostling and shouting going on, and whatever it was, it must be important to warrant so much press attention.

  He shook his head. ‘It’s on the main BBC news, so it must be something big.’

  ‘I wonder what he’s involved with now?’ she said thoughtfully.

  ‘Balls, they’ve gone on to something else. Let’s look at Sky News.’ Olly hurriedly changed the channel once more, before Paige had a chance to disagree. ‘Yes. Look, it says on the breaking news ticker tape thing under the presenter. Oh my God, Paige, Sir Edmund Blake is dead.’

  They looked at each other in stunned silence for a second, before turning their attention back to the news. ‘Do you think we won’t have to worry about a takeover now?’ Olly asked, in hushed tones.

  Paige shrugged. ‘No idea,’ she said. Catching a glimpse of a picture of Sebastian on the screen, she went cold. ‘Olly, look,’ she whispered.

  He followed her gaze, reading the caption under Sebastian’s photo. ‘Well, none of us saw that one coming did we? He wasn’t just Sir Edmund’s hatchet man at all,’ he laughed, clapping his hands together with glee.

  No,’ said Paige, sickened with shock. ‘I did think he could be the uncle Sebastian talked about, but he always referred to Sir Edmund Blake in quite a formal way so I wasn’t sure. And he is his nephew. Blimey, Ol, I thought Sebastian worked for him, I didn’t realise the uncle he talked about in Sorrento was Sir Edmund Blake.’

  ‘How the hell did we miss this nugget of information?’

  Paige shook her head. ‘I’ve no idea,’ she said wondering why she’d never connected the two men before.

  ‘Then again,’ said Olly, the excitement in his voice obvious. ‘Why would we connect Sebastian Fielding to Sir Edmund Blake? They have different last names and it’s not as if any of us mix in the same circles.’

  Paige shook her head, only half listening to what he was saying. She stared at the composed, but grief-stricken face displayed in all its glory on her 32-inch television screen. Her recent disappointment in him seemed ridiculous now. Gazing at his image, she wanted more than anything to protect him from the bellowing crowds of cameramen and television crews, as they shouted a constant flow of unintelligible questions at him. Only he wasn’t hers to comfort, was he?

  Chapter Twenty

  ‘Sebastian. Over here.’ Click. ‘Oi, Fielding.’

  ‘Sebastian.’ A microphone was thrust in front of his face, narrowly missing his mouth. Sebastian pushed it and another three like it away. ‘Sebastian, I’m Jeff Spires from Channel 104. Can you tell us if your uncle had suffered from a heart condition before this fatal attack?’

  ‘What’s going to happen to his empire now? You’re the obvious one to take over from him. Sebastian.’

  He held a hand up in a vain effort to stem the flow of questions being shouted at him as he resolutely made his way from the car to his London office. Someone pushed into his back. He ignored them, thankful for his strength which prevented him from being dragged forward with the baying crowd.

  He reached the steps of the glass-fronted building and turned round to face the horde. ‘I’ll be giving an official statement shortly. I’m sure you can understand that my uncle’s death has come as a terrible shock to everyone close to him and we need a little time to gather our thoughts.’

  ‘Sebastian!’

  He heard his name being shouted out; he was unsurprised that no one was giving him the time to come to terms with what had happened the previous night. Well they’d just have to wait. He turned and waited as his driver opened the front door, closing it quickly behind them.

  ‘Thanks, Joseph,’ he said. ‘I don’t know if you want to wait in here, and maybe have a coffee while I go to my office for a bit?’

  ‘No, sir, I’ll return to the car. I think I should go and take it round the back away from those bloody vultures out there.’ He opened eyes wide. ‘Um, I’m sorry, sir, I shouldn’t have sworn.’

  Sebastian patted the older man on his shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, Joseph. We’ve both been through a bit of a rough time this morning. Once you’ve parked the car, come to Reception and I’m sure they’ll make you a coffee. I shouldn’t be too long.’

  He forced a smile at his secretary and nodded when she offered him a coffee, then closed his office door with relief and sat down. Mrs Hutton had left a message an hour earlier.

  ‘Mrs H, how are you?’ he asked, when she answered his house phone.

  ‘I’m fine, Sebastian. It’s you I’m worried about.’

  ‘Any reporters at the house yet?’

  ‘A few, but I’ve told them you’re not going to be back here for the foreseeable future. I don’t think they believed me though, because they’re still camped outside. Poor Harley has had to make do with the garden today. I thought about taking him for a walk, but couldn’t get as far as the front gate without them shouting at me.’

  ‘I’ll be back as soon as I can and I’ll take him out somewhere by car. Are you OK apart from that though?’ He hated to think of the paps shouting at Mrs Hutton.

  ‘Yes, don’t worry yourself about us. Harley growls at the door and goes mad every time one of them dares to call through the letterbox. I think they’ve decided to watch us from a distance.’ He heard her patting the dog’s head. ‘You’re a good boy for Mrs H, aren’t you, Harley?’

  ‘He is. Now remember the list I pinned up for you in the kitchen, Mrs H, the one with the names and emergency numbers on? If you have any problem at all and can’t get hold of me, you must call these. I’ve listed them in order of importance, so start at the top.’

  ‘You’ve told me this before. Now stop fretting about us, we’re fine. Your lawyer chap told me that they’re send
ing a policeman to stand outside the front door.’

  ‘Good. I’m relieved. I don’t want you being pestered.’

  ‘The only person I’m worrying about is you. Now, you get along and speak to those paparazzi stalking your office. They made me mad watching them pushing and shoving you like they did. No manners, some of those journalists.’

  ‘Thanks, Mrs H. I’ll call you later.’

  Sebastian turned off his phone, relieved to have been reassured that his housekeeper and dog were fine. There was a knock on the door. ‘Come in, Caroline.’ He watched as his secretary placed his cup of coffee on his desk. ‘Has Linda called from the Jersey office yet?’

  ‘Yes, Sebastian. She said she’d emailed you the public statement from the PR company. They’re waiting for you to approve it and then they can send it out to the newspapers.’

  ‘Give them a call. I’ll go through their draft now, but I don’t want them to release any statements until I’ve spoken to the reporters waiting outside here. They’ll pretty much say the same thing anyway, but I want to give the statement first, so it can be televised.’

  ‘Of course.’ She smiled at him, before turning and leaving his office.

  Her gentle smile reminded him of Paige. Had she heard the news, he wondered. There was already too much emotional distance between them. Would discovering his connection with Sir Edmund make matters worse? Probably. She already thought they were too unalike to stand a chance of making any relationship work. Sebastian dropped two lumps of sugar into his drink and stirred. Who was he trying to kid? It was their professional differences that were causing them such insurmountable differences, not their social circles.

  ‘Olly, hurry up. Sebastian’s come back out to speak to the reporters.’ Paige’s heart contracted to see Sebastian looking so alone, as the reporters screamed questions at him. Each trying to shout louder than the next and not caring how much pain he was going through.

  Olly came back in and handed her a mug of coffee, holding out an open packet of chocolate Hobnobs. ‘Here, take one of these.’

  ‘No thanks,’ she said, waving them away. ‘Doesn’t life really stink sometimes?’

  ‘You’re not wrong there. That lucky bastard has it all. I thought I disliked him before, now I loathe him.’

  ‘Olly.’ Paige was horrified to hear him say something so callous. ‘How can you say that, his uncle has just died and he’s being hounded whenever he steps outside, he’s obviously going through hell.’

  ‘Well, I’m bloody jealous of him. I don’t mind admitting it, and I hope this means he doesn’t come back to Jersey. We’ll all be well rid of him and his board of directors.’

  Paige tried to think of Sebastian from Olly’s point of view. ‘I doubt Sir Edmund’s death will make any difference with the reorganisation plans. I think Sebastian will simply carry on with the takeover and the rest of businesses now.’

  ‘You’re probably right.’ He took another biscuit from the packet, dunking it in his drink before popping it into his mouth, dropping some of it onto his lap. ‘Bollocks.’

  ‘He’ll have funeral arrangements to make too, no doubt,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘Surely we should show just a little generosity of spirit, don’t you think? Just this once,’ she added as Olly raised his eyebrows in defiance.

  ‘I bet you wouldn’t be so forgiving if you didn’t fancy him,’ he said, after a little contemplation. ‘After all, Paige, my job is safe, you’re the one who should be finding him a threat, not me.’

  ‘True,’ she said, not bothering to deny her feelings and wondering when Sebastian would return to the island.

  ‘Maybe he might not come back to Jersey at all.’

  Paige chewed her lower lip. Watching as Sebastian waited for the crowds to become silent before speaking and knew that however much he had hurt her, she still couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing him again.

  ‘Shush, he’s going to speak,’ she said leaning towards the television.

  ‘As you’re already aware, my uncle, Sir Edmund Blake, died sometime during last night. He was a well-respected man and loved by those close to him. Although this death comes as a shock to his family, it is also something that he had prepared for and, as such, I will be carrying on in his place with immediate effect. I would hope that you can allow us, as a family and workforce, the dignity of mourning this enterprising, spirited man in peace. Thank you.’

  Paige watched, choked, as he held up his hand to signify that he wouldn’t be adding anything further to his statement, and then walking towards his waiting car and being driven off.

  ‘That was Sebastian Fielding, godson and assumed heir to Sir Edmund Blake’s impressive empire, Gloucestershire estate, and business dealings in Jersey. We understand that Mr Fielding is single and has a home in London as well as his apartment in Jersey where he’s patron of a children’s charity that he set up some years ago.’

  Paige listened in silence unable to come to terms with the fact that this person on the news was Sebastian. ‘He lives in another world to us, doesn’t he?’ she said, half to herself.

  ‘Blimey, you’re not kidding,’ said Olly. ‘Who knew he had all this? What the hell did you two find to talk about? Or are you some secret finance wizard?’

  ‘Stop teasing me. I had no idea when I met him that he was so well-known,’ she said, emotionally exhausted. ‘I can’t watch this any more, I’m going to bed.’ Paige turned off the television. ‘Why don’t you do the same, and go home?’

  Olly ignored her and stared at the set in the corner.

  ‘Now, Ol,’ she said, straightening cushions, picking up their mugs, but unable to banish the picture of Sebastian’s calm expression from her mind.

  Olly raked his hands through his unruly blond hair. ‘This is so bloody exciting. I can’t wait to go to work tomorrow and find out more info on him.’

  Paige sighed. ‘I’m sure it’ll be the main topic of conversation for some time.’

  Chapter Twenty-one

  It had been several weeks since Sir Edmund’s death and despite promising that she wouldn’t, Paige couldn’t help picking up and reading through the newspapers scattered around the staff room at De Greys. She couldn’t believe that the papers were still printing gossip about Sebastian’s private life in July.

  ‘If I read any more intimate exposés from impossibly glamorous ex-girlfriends, I think I’ll scream,’ Paige said fanning herself with one of them and resolving to stop torturing herself. ‘There are so many sensational stories about him wherever you look at the moment,’ she said. ‘Even I’m getting bored of seeing him in the gossip mags.’

  ‘You’re not the only one,’ Olly groaned when yet another story came on the television. ‘When are they going to stop all this speculation? It’s been weeks now.’

  ‘I know,’ Paige agreed. ‘I change the channel whenever the news comes on, and rarely bother to go to the staff room any more.’

  ‘How’s the packing going?’ Olly asked. ‘I’ve hired a van for you for Sunday, to help move all the stock, but by the sounds of it your sale is going so well you shouldn’t have too much to move.’

  Paige smiled, relieved that in the heat she would have fewer boxes to lift. Sebastian being kept away in England, while she signed the necessary paperwork for the new premises, had been a blessing in disguise. ‘The sale has been brilliant,’ she said looking around at the half-empty space.

  Olly put his arm around her shoulders. ‘Any regrets about leaving here?’

  ‘No, I’m used to the idea now. In fact, it’ll be a new beginning for me. It’s going to be exciting to walk down the street and see “Heaven in Heels” above a shop for the first time.’ She realized he was waiting for her to add something. ‘I’ll miss having you working upstairs like you do here, but I’m sure I’ll see you most lunch times. My new shop is only a few minutes’ walk away.’

  ‘Thankfully. I’m glad we can still meet up for lunch.’ He stared at his feet briefly. ‘Clem still won’t speak
to me, Paige, not properly anyway.’

  Paige touched the side of his face. ‘She will, Ol, I promise. Give her time.’

  Sebastian watched the intimate exchange between Paige and Olly wishing she felt as relaxed and close to him as she did with that guy. He’d missed her and although he’d kept up to date on her move, he’d been too caught up with executors, business, and family demands to be able to visit her before now. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there.

  Paige looked across at the doorway and instantly dropped her hand from Olly’s face. ‘Sebastian?’ She looked astonished to see him. ‘I didn’t realise you were back in Jersey.’

  ‘Er, I’d better be getting on then,’ Olly grimaced behind Sebastian’s back to Paige unaware that Sebastian had seen him through a large mirror opposite. ‘Um, sorry to hear your news, sir, I mean, um.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Sebastian said holding back his amusement as he interrupted Olly’s awkwardness.

  Paige stepped forward. ‘Yes, I also wanted to say …’ she began.

  Sebastian shook his head. ‘Please don’t. I’m starting to think if one more person gives me a pitying look, I might take drastic action.’

  Paige narrowed her eyes, and smiled. ‘Nice to see you?’

  She visibly relaxed when he smiled back at her. It felt good not to be fighting for once. ‘It’s good to see you, too.’ He looked around the bare space. ‘Nearly ready to go, I see?’

  She nodded. ‘Almost there.’

  ‘I was concerned you’d be more resentful with me, but you appear to be fine,’ he teased, studying her face.

  ‘What’s the point?’ Paige shrugged. ‘It’s done now. No going back.’

  He considered her words carefully. Was she referring to leaving De Greys, or to what had once been between them? Whatever it was, it made him feel as if he wasn’t the only one to miss what they’d once shared. ‘It doesn’t have to be this way between us, you know,’ he said, the atmosphere turning heavy between them.

  She turned away from him, and began dusting one of the glass shelves. ‘I think it does. We’ve both got a lot to deal with at the moment without getting involved with each other’s private lives.’