Three
Charlotte stood by the window in Samantha’s room on the second floor of the hotel, overlooking the garden terrace where the wedding ceremony and reception had taken place a few hours ago. It was back to normal now, extra tables put away, tablecloths and decorations gone, wedding vases exchanged for pots of herbs. Samantha had changed out of her wedding dress into comfy travel clothes. Charlotte had switched her maid-of-honor dress for jeans and a sweater.
“The front-door key is hanging on a hook by the socket for the hose,” Samantha said as she tossed clothes into a suitcase open on the bed. “You can’t miss it. Neither could a thief, but thieves aren’t interested in Red Clover Inn. It’s not a dump, I promise. It’s just that it doesn’t look as if it holds anything of value.”
“No pirate treasure tucked in the attic?”
“I wish. The quarreling heirs to the last owner would have discovered and claimed anything of value before they sold the place. Not that I blame them. Justin and I are moving our stuff into the innkeeper’s suite on the main floor. We’ll live there during renovations. We can’t wait to get started, but we got a bit ahead of ourselves with our work schedules and the wedding.”
“Totally understandable,” Charlotte said.
“We’ll have more time when we’re back home. Are you sure you want to house-sit?”
“I am. I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.”
Samantha walked over to the closet. “Weddings can do funny things to people’s heads.”
“Especially my head,” Charlotte said.
Her cousin looked horrified. “I didn’t mean that! Charlotte...”
She smiled. “It’s okay. Imagine if you’d bolted today. We Bennett women would have had a tough reputation to live down when it comes to weddings. But you had the right guy waiting for you. I’m really happy for you, Samantha. Don’t spend half a second worrying about me. It’ll be fun to stay at your inn for a few days. Then I can head to Washington and sort out Max’s house. The last renters moved out in May. I need to decide what to do.”
“Time to fix it up or sell it?”
“Or both.”
“I miss Max and Harry,” Samantha said simply. She pulled a top out of the closet, rolled it up and placed it in the suitcase. “You can let us know about any quirks or issues you discover at the inn. We’ve cleaned up the place and put fresh sheets and towels out in a few of the rooms in case family or friends want to stay, but nothing formal. Mostly we were just getting a feel for the place. We can manage without someone there—there’s no dog to walk or anything and we have family in town—so no problem if you change your mind.”
Charlotte moved away from the window. “It sounds like a great place to unwind.”
“I can’t wait for us to be in Knights Bridge together.”
“It’ll happen, probably sooner rather than later. Don’t worry about a thing, okay? Your wedding was the best, Sam. I’m glad I was a part of it. Thank you.”
“It was everything I wanted it to be.”
“That’s fantastic. I imagine you’re ready for your honeymoon now.”
Samantha laughed. “Definitely. I’m so happy, Charlotte. I didn’t think it was possible to be this happy. Justin and I are perfect together. Harry always said I’d end up with someone who surprised me.”
“He and Max would have enjoyed today,” Charlotte said, no question in her mind.
“Harry wouldn’t have believed the good weather. He always said it rained all day, every day whenever he was in London.”
“He had a gift for hyperbole.”
“No kidding.” Samantha shut her suitcase. “I didn’t realize Tommy would stop by today. Mom and Dad didn’t, either. They saw him a few weeks ago. He’d heard I was getting married. They’re so polite—they’d never tell him to stay away. I hope it wasn’t too awkward for you.”
“No problem. We both moved on within four seconds of our wedding that wasn’t.”
“Just as well.” Samantha reached into a small bag on the dresser and withdrew a set of keys. “Here are the keys to Harry’s house in Boston in case you want to stay there or just have a look around. Feel free to use his car. We like to run it periodically. My folks and Uncle Caleb are still figuring out what to do with it and the house but might as well enjoy them for now.”
“I shall seize the moment,” Charlotte said lightly. “Leave Red Clover Inn to me. Relax and enjoy your honeymoon.”
“Ten days in Scotland. Justin’s never been. He’ll love it. We leave tonight to get a head start on the drive north.”
And no doubt to get away from lingering guests—including a slew of Sloans. As much as she and Justin loved their family and friends, it was time for each other. “We’ll have that get-together soon,” Charlotte said, hugging her cousin. “Have a great time on your honeymoon.”
She left Samantha to her packing. She ran into Justin in the lobby. He’d changed out of his tux and was as eager to be on his way to Scotland as Samantha was. “I won’t keep you,” Charlotte said cheerfully.
Isaac gave her a ride back to the pub. He was bussing tables at a London restaurant for the summer, before heading to New England for college. He hadn’t decided on a major—except that it wouldn’t be in maritime anything. “Sorry,” he said. “Whatever I end up doing, it won’t have anything to do with sunken wrecks. I’m not a big fan of the water.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s good to keep your options open at your age.”
“Did you always want to be a marine archaeologist?”
“A diver,” she said. “I always wanted to be a diver and explore what’s under the ocean.”
He shuddered as he pulled to a stop in front of the pub. “I’d stay up in my warm ship and let a mini submarine or a robot do the exploring.”
Charlotte laughed. “You always were a smart kid. It’s still hard for me to believe you’re old enough to drive, and now you’re off to college. Stay in touch, okay?”
“You, too.”
As she headed into the pub, she noticed the sky had turned grayer, rain likely on the way. She’d checked out of her room before she’d left for the wedding but hadn’t taken her bag. Now that she was alone, she wanted to have a pint and lick her wounds. Tommy. What had she ever seen in him? A whirlwind romance, a brief engagement, a slapped-together wedding...and cold feet.
Not cold feet. She’d come to her senses.
She sat at the bar and ordered a beer. She had a few minutes before she had to get herself to the train station. She’d be back in Edinburgh tonight and would figure out when she would leave for Boston. Right now, the sooner the better worked for her, but she’d wait until she got home to decide. Samantha hadn’t had a single photo of Red Clover Inn, but she’d given Charlotte directions.
She hadn’t expected to see Tommy today. She knew Malcolm and Francesca had hired him for a few dives earlier in the year. Everyone had worked hard to wrap up the U-boat project, and Charlotte was a professional. She hated the idea that friends and family might feel they needed to keep her and her former fiancé apart. She didn’t want them tiptoeing around her. She and Tommy were grown-ups. They could manage.
But when he walked into the pub and sat on the stool next to her at the bar, her heart sank. She didn’t want today to end this way, with the man who’d once proposed to her trying to get under her skin. Because that was what Tommy did. He thrived on it.
“Well, Charlotte,” he said, cocky as ever, “I see your life hasn’t changed.”
“Work, family, fun.”
“Uptight, alone, superior.” He winked at her. “Kidding.”
“Right. Kidding. I have a cab coming. I don’t have time to chat.”
His gray eyes settled on her. Speaking of superior, she thought. “How are you?” he asked.
“Gr
eat. It was a beautiful wedding.”
“Not going to ask about me?”
“As I said—”
“No time. Thought you might like to know I’m heading home to the States to take a permanent diving job in South Florida.”
She pushed her beer glass aside. “Good luck.”
“I heard you had a close call in April. I’m sorry.”
Of course he’d heard. Theirs was a small world and Tommy had known the amateur diver she’d rescued, resulting in a dangerous bout of decompression illness that continued to haunt her. “One of those things.” Her throat was tight but she didn’t think her voice sounded strangled. “I really have to go.”
“Things will be different for you now if you can’t dive again—”
“Not your concern, Tommy.”
“There’s that barbed tongue.” He paused, staying calm. “I’m trying to be nice. I’m a concerned colleague, a fellow diver who’s had a few close calls of his own. But you can’t let bygones be bygones, can you? You’d think I wronged you, when the opposite is true. You wronged me.”
“You know why I did what I did. I understand that today probably stirred up hard feelings, but we’ve both moved on, Tommy. Don’t drag me into the past with you.”
“I’m not dragging you anywhere, Charlotte. Trust me.”
She dug cash out of her bag and left it for the beer she’d ordered. She didn’t look at Tommy as she jumped off the stool and reached for her suitcase at her feet.
“Here,” he said, getting to his feet. “Let me get that for you. You don’t want to do anything to impede your recovery. I know how much diving means to you.”
“I’m fine, thanks.”
He put his hand over hers on the suitcase handle. “Don’t let stubbornness and pride get in the way of common sense.”
She stiffened. “Let go, Tommy.”
“Independent Charlotte. You don’t need anyone’s help, do you?”
Before she could react, Greg Rawlings materialized at her side. “Time to order a pint and relax, Tommy,” Greg said in a steady, low voice.
Tommy shrugged. “Not interested in a pint.” He let go of the suitcase and Charlotte’s hand and smiled at her, unapologetic. “See you around, Charlotte.”
Greg leaned against the bar and watched her ex-fiancé head out through the main pub door. Then he shook his head and sighed. “Nothing takes that swagger down a notch, does it?”
Charlotte rubbed her hand. “Not much.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.” She shook out her hand. “It’s tension more than anything else. Thanks.”
“First time you’ve seen him since you left him at the altar?”
“I suppose I’m not surprised you know about that. Yes. First time. Getting stood up on his wedding day didn’t take his swagger down a notch, either.”
“An interesting life you lead, Charlotte Bennett.”
“It’s a Bennett rule. Can’t be boring. Are you heading back to London?”
“I’ll hang out here another night. I don’t know about London. Heather and Brody are expecting an assortment of Sloans in to see the sights.” He sat on her vacated stool. “I assume that’s your suitcase and you’re leaving.”
“I’m taking a late train to Edinburgh.”
“Guess I’ll have to put myself to bed tonight.”
Charlotte smiled. “I have a feeling you’ll manage just fine. When do you have to be back at work?”
“I’m starting a new position. No firm start date.”
“Can you say where it is?”
“Washington. DSS Command Center.”
She waited for him to elaborate but he didn’t. “My grandparents’ house is in the DC area. Well, it’s my house now that they’re gone. I rent it out. Max loved living in the city but I think my grandmother missed New Hampshire. They both grew up there.” Charlotte waved a hand. “I’m talking too much. Today was my first wedding since Tommy and I...” She took a deep breath. “Have you ever been posted in London?”
Greg didn’t answer at once, looking at her as if he wanted to say something besides what he knew he would end up saying. “I worked in London for two years when my kids were small. It was good. I haven’t always been able to have my family with me.”
“Your family—”
“Andrew is fifteen and Megan is thirteen. Laura—my ex—and I had an amicable divorce. We got married young, had a couple of kids and drifted apart given my job and life in general. We’re okay with each other and we share two great kids. That’s it.”
“Your life in a tidy paragraph?”
“Yep.”
It was how Greg Rawlings thought, Charlotte realized. He didn’t dwell on details and things he couldn’t control. “Tommy and I wouldn’t have had an amicable divorce,” she said lightly.
“You figured him out in the nick of time.”
“Yes, I did. Tommy Ferguson was never going to be the love of my life.”
“Is that what you want, someone who’ll be the love of your life?”
“Don’t we all?” She took in a sharp breath. “I must have had too much champagne at the wedding. I’m saying too much. I need to get going or I’ll miss my train.”
“No problem,” Greg said. “If I can’t manage to get myself up to my room without you, I’ll just sleep in a booth.”
“You aren’t embarrassed about last night, are you?”
“Should I be?”
Charlotte laughed, shaking her head. “Sometimes I wish I could be as oblivious as you are at least pretending to be right now. Thanks for intervening with Tommy. He wouldn’t have gone too far, and I’d have handled him if he’d tried, but I appreciate the help.”
“You could have flipped him on his ass?”
“More likely I’d have called the barman.”
“Smarter, I guess. Not as much fun.”
“You’re an interesting man, Agent Rawlings. Best of luck with whatever’s next for you.”
She lifted her bag and started out the door, glancing back at Greg Rawlings, trying to ignore a pang of regret that she wouldn’t see him again. She couldn’t explain it but it was there. Maybe he’d find a way? Maybe he was feeling the same thing?
What was she thinking?
Fortunately, her cab was waiting. Next stop was the Oxford train station. She’d be in Edinburgh tonight and on her way to Boston and Knights Bridge in a day or two.
Samantha and Justin were a special, wonderful couple, but Charlotte’s opinion of weddings hadn’t changed in the past twenty-four hours.
Best to avoid them.
* * *
An hour after Charlotte left for Edinburgh, Greg stood on a footbridge on a marked trail that had taken him through the village, down a twisting lane and into woods. The wooden bridge spanned a shallow stream, the coppery water coursing over rocks and mud. He’d changed out of his wedding clothes into khakis and a polo shirt and jacket but he hadn’t bothered with rain gear. Might prove to be a mistake given the darkening clouds.
He dug out his phone and called his son in Minnesota. Fifteen and he had his own phone. Not unusual these days.
“Hey, Dad,” Andrew said. “What’s up? How was the wedding? Are you still in England?”
“Still in England. Wedding was good. Nice setting, great food, great people.”
“Did you dance?”
Greg heard the teasing note in his son’s voice. “As a matter of fact, I did.”
“Wish I’d been there to see that. Did you dance by yourself or with someone?”
“I don’t dance by myself. What are you up to?”
“Nothing.”
“Whenever I said I wasn’t up to anything as a kid, my mother handed me a broom.”
; His son chuckled. “Good thing you’re in England, then.”
“What’s your sister up to?”
“Nothing much.”
“I bet your mom has two brooms.”
“She’s not here. She’s at a movie with...” Andrew stopped abruptly. “Never mind.”
“With Richard,” Greg said. “I know. I texted her earlier. I hope they’re having a good time. Listen, I’m on my way to Washington via New England. What if you and Megan join me for a few days? It’s okay with your mom. I have some time off before I start my new job. New England would be different. I’ll be staying at a small-town inn that’s being renovated.”
“I’ve never been to New England,” Andrew said.
“We’d have the place to ourselves. You and Megan can each have your own room.”
“Sounds cool. What’s there to do there?”
“Beats me.”
His son laughed. “Good thing you’re not a salesman, Dad.”
“I was there for a few days in the winter. It’s a pretty town. We can hike, go fishing—swim if you’re brave since it’s only June and the ice just melted.”
“Ha. This the town where Ambassador Scarlatti lives?”
“Yes, it is.”
Greg was impressed his son remembered the retired ambassador, a smart, interesting if also occasionally overdramatic man who owned a house on the same Knights Bridge lake where Brody Hancock had grown up. Vic had encouraged Brody to join the Diplomatic Security Service. They were the reason for Greg’s wintry visit to the small New England town.
“Ambassador Scarlatti lives on a lake, doesn’t he?” Andrew asked.
“Echo Lake,” Greg said.
“He’d let us go swimming and kayaking?”
“Probably. Brody owns the land where he grew up. We can go out there, too.”
“This is sounding better and better,” his son said.
“I can teach you how to fly-fish.”
“Do you know how to fly-fish?”
“Yeah. You bet.” He had no idea how to fly-fish, but how hard could it be? “We could ride bikes, too. This inn must have bikes, or we can borrow some. I know people in town.”
Red Clover Inn--A Romance Novel Page 5