‘Happy to help.’ Mim left his office, thankful that her boss hadn’t arrived a minute earlier.
‘Time to pick up where we left off this afternoon.’ Caspar gave Mim a wolfish smile as they arrived at Pear Tree Cottage.
‘I like the sound of that.’ Mim beamed back at him. ‘I’ll let you in, then I’ll go and get Herbert.’
‘I don’t think I can wait a moment longer to get my hands on you; you’ve no idea what you do to me, delicious Mim Dewberry. Come on, let’s go straight in; you can collect the dog later.’
‘Oh, okay.’ Mixed feelings began jostling for headspace; it gave her a thrill that he was so attracted to her, but at the same time, she felt a prickle of annoyance at the way he regarded Herbert. It triggered an unwelcome reminder of the animosity the two shared for one another, but for now she didn’t want to dwell on the reasons behind it.
Caspar barely waited for the door to close before he was pushing her jacket off, his hands roaming over her body. In a flash, her doubts were banished as she lost herself in the moment.
‘Lord, I needed that.’ Caspar pushed his floppy dark fringe out of his eyes. ‘And, much as I would love to stay and have a coffee with you, I’m afraid I’m going to have to dash off.’
‘Oh.’ Disappointment landed like a wet blanket.
‘Now, don’t be like that; I thought you’d be as pleased to snatch a little romantic encounter as I am. I shouldn’t really have stopped off here; my parents are waiting for me.’ He dropped a kiss on the tip of Mim’s nose.
There wasn’t much romance involved! ‘Oh, I am, it’s just, well, it would just be nice to spend a bit more time with you, that’s all.’
‘I know, darling, I feel the same. Don’t worry, we’ll be able to soon.’
Once Caspar had left, Mim beat herself up for sounding needy; choosing to ignore the little voice telling her that things with him just didn’t add up.
21
‘Jemima, I want to run a feature on the best roast dinners in the area, and I’ve heard the pub where you live is getting a pretty good reputation for them. It’s for our “Three of the Best” section, which is proving enormously popular, so I want three lots of Sunday dinners to feature in each of the three price ranges; the one near you should be perfect for one of the cheaper options.’
The cold and damp of Tuesday evening had segued into an equally dreary Wednesday morning, the weather reflecting the mood of the building. Catherine burst into the office full of bluster and with little regard to the fact that Anna-Lisa was speaking to someone on the phone. Mim’s heart leapt with surprise, her concentration scampering away. Anna-Lisa put her finger in her free ear, turning away from Catherine in an attempt to carry on with her call.
‘Got that, Jemima? Three bargain basement, three mid-range and three up-market roast dinners.’ Catherine counted them off on her fingers. ‘I want you to speak to the landlord of whatever the place is called near you, and reserve a table for two, for one night next week. Tell them they’ll need to serve up a three course meal and all the trimmings – with the main being a roast, of course – and there needs to be a bottle of wine thrown in as well. And don’t forget to make it clear they’ll be expected to waive payment in exchange for a review in Yorkshire Portions. Hopefully they’ll have the sense to realise what an honour it is and what a huge favour we’re doing them. Aidey, you can take Honey for the meal there.’
Mim looked across at her friend as she processed Catherine’s barrage of words; she vaguely registered that his face had dropped, while she negotiated the thinly-veiled insult to the White Swan which was anything but “bargain basement”. Bloody cheek of the woman!
‘Oh, I, er, wouldn’t it make more sense if Mim goes rather than Honey? After all, it would save Honey the trek over to Skeltwick.’ There was no mistaking the pleading look in his eyes.
‘Don’t be ridiculous, you know as well as I do, Jemima won’t be able to give the place an unbiased review.’
‘But will that matter if it’s meant for the “Three of the Best” feature? Aren’t you after glowing reviews?’ Anna-Lisa had ended her call and joined the conversation.
‘Not necessarily; if one of us has a meal somewhere and it’s diabolical, or falls short of the expected standard, then we can always use it in the separate, longer dining reviews, where we have the luxury of being able to go into much more detail. Whether they be good or bad, they’re useful for lending an air of credibility to our reviews, and puts a stop to people being able to say we’re paid for them.’ Catherine looked around theatrically. ‘And where is Honey? I thought she’d be working on that Christmas feature I had to give her, since she said Jemima only gives her boring stuff to do. She knows I need it by early afternoon.’
Before Mim had chance to respond to the slight, Anna-Lisa caught her eye as she spoke. ‘She said she was going to see Simon; she’s been gone a while actually. And, from what I’ve seen, Honey picks and choses what she wants to do; when she’s actually at her desk to do anything, that is.’
Oh, bugger! Mim held her breath as her heart rate gathered speed; much as she admired the fact that Anna had the balls to walk where angels feared to tread, she wished she didn’t have them today. She gritted her teeth, hoping her friend’s comments wouldn’t backfire.
‘What do you mean by that?’ Catherine pressed her mouth into a hard line and glared at Anna-Lisa.
Mim looked on, conscious of her anxiety levels escalating.
‘All I mean is that Mim works really hard, and Honey’s away from her desk a fair bit, that’s all. Just makes me wonder how she’s able to get much work done. I’m sure I’d get next to nothing done if I was out of the room as much as she is.’
Oh, jeez! Please stop, Anna! This can only lead to trouble.
Aidey flicked a concerned glance Mim’s way; he was clearly thinking along the same lines.
Catherine continued to glare at Anna-Lisa, the cogs of her mind almost audible as she processed Anna’s words. Before she had chance to speak Honey bowled into the room, with what was left of her lipstick smeared across her face. Her smug expression disappeared as soon as she spotted her godmother.
‘Auntie Catherine, I was just—'
‘Honey, where have you been? And what the devil’s the matter with your face? You know I need the Christmas article by this afternoon. And why are you troubling Simon? You know how busy he is since he took over the accounts.’
The girl shot an accusatory look around the room before she rubbed at her mouth. Mim looked on in morbid fascination as Honey began simpering. ‘I was just asking Simon’s advice on the article; he’s so knowledgeable and no one in here was being particularly helpful. I’m just keen to do my best for you.’
Ughh! There was that infuriating little-girl voice. Hard as it was, Mim resisted the urge to call her out for her blatant lies.
Anna-Lisa clearly had no such scruples, with her top lip curling into a snarl she said, ‘I didn’t hear you ask anyone for help, Honey. But if you show us what you’ve done, maybe we can give you some advice. Come on, let’s see what you’ve come up with so far.’
Tension sapped the air from the room as all eyes rested on Honey. Mim held her breath as she awaited the girl’s response to Anna so blatantly calling her bluff. Mim felt a little guilty at not speaking out and, much as she was grateful Anna had jumped in, saving her from the need to defend herself, she really didn’t have a clue what to say without making Honey look worse. After the pen incident, Mim was keen to avoid any more of the girl’s wrath. She was concerned that Anna’s comments would antagonise her, and no one knew how that would manifest itself.
Honey glowered at Anna-Lisa, which lent an odd edge to the little-girl voice she used in her reply. ‘For your information “Anal Lisa”, the ideas for the article are in my head, but because I’m new here, I just wanted to make sure I was on the right track, that’s all. I didn’t want to risk wasting time on something that might not be right or not what Auntie Catherine wanted.
And I didn’t bother to ask any of you because you give the impression you don’t really like to help me for some reason.’
Catherine stood in silence, her eyes darting back and forth between Anna-Lisa and Honey as she weighed up the situation. It was obvious to everyone that Honey was shirking her work, and it was equally obvious that their boss’s loyalty to her goddaughter would quash the dressing-down she’d give anyone else in similar circumstances.
‘Hmph. Yes, well, we need to crack on. And, Honey, I was just explaining that you need to accompany Aidey for a meal at the pub in Skeltwick; it’s for our “Three of the Best” feature. And, since it’s Jemima’s local, she’s going to deal with the booking of the table and tell the landlords what we expect.’
Mim felt her heart sink at the reminder; she hated having to explain to restaurant and teashop owners that she wanted to book a table but wouldn’t actually be paying for the meal. She’d had to do it several times, and it never got any easier. The explanation that it would be in exchange for a review was invariably met with a wary response, concern hovering in the tone of the owners’ voices. And she couldn’t blame them; there had been times when Simon or Kenneth had used such free meals to slate an unsuspecting restaurant or teashop in a separate food feature of the magazine. Having to deal with it at her local and explain Catherine’s demands to landlady Julie was filling Mim with utter dread. Just as she was wrestling with her thoughts, Catherine’s booming voice spliced through them.
‘And there’s that place over at Lytell Stangdale, The Sunne Inne, I believe it’s called. From what I can gather, the local landed gentry over there – the Hammondelys – seem to favour it; that should do for the mid-range category.’ She waved a dismissive hand at Mim. ‘You can call them and reserve a table for Kenneth and I for one night next week – not Thursday or Saturday, though, we’re busy then. You never know, Lord and Lady Hammondely might be there; I’d quite like to meet them, see if they’d be interested in us doing an exclusive feature on the family seat at Danskelfe Castle; they haven’t opened the doors to anyone yet, and I quite fancy a nosey around that old place. I think we’d be the perfect publication to do them justice.’
‘Oh, erm, right okay.’ Mim’s heart was sinking even further as she added the job to the top of her to-do list.
‘And I want Kirkbythwaite Hall Hotel as our expensive option. Caspar and Clarissa can go to that; it’s more their type of place.’
Mim felt the words hit her like a slap in the face. Caspar and Clarissa. Dining together at one of North Yorkshire’s most sumptuous hotels. Anxiety jostled with a generous dash of jealousy as she recalled the look on Caspar’s face as he was leaving Clarissa’s office the previous day.
Ignorant of Mim’s turmoil, Catherine steamed on. ‘The remaining reviews for the feature can just be cobbled together from whatever info you can glean from their respective websites and social media pages, as well as public reviews as usual – goes without saying, only use the good ones. And be sure to make them sound authentic, add your own words; I don’t want to see the tiniest of hints that the reviews are anything but genuine.’
Mim looked at her boss, the words rushing over her and very little sinking in.
‘Have you got that, Jemima?’ Catherine clicked her fingers. ‘Jemima! Will you stop daydreaming, girl, this is important.’
‘Oh, yes, sorry. My mind was racing ahead.’ She smiled, hoping Catherine wouldn’t suspect it was a fib.
‘Hmm. Good. Right, I’ll leave you all to it. And don’t forget I need that feature after lunch, Honey.’
Mim watched Catherine flounce out of the room, too distracted to notice the dark looks Honey was sending her way. Instead, her mind was frantically going over various heart-wrenching scenarios of Caspar and Clarissa and their evening together. From the photos in glossy magazines Mim had seen of Kirkbythwaite Hall Hotel’s restaurant it was intimate and romantic. Ughh! She tortured herself, picturing Caspar, achingly handsome in a well-cut designer suit, his dark floppy hair and film-star good looks lending him an air of effortless sophistication. Clarissa would be sleek and elegant, the neat curves of her figure shown to their best advantage in an expensive body-con dress, with her long, glossy hair tumbling over her tiny shoulders. Her naturally beautiful face would be emphasised by skilfully applied make-up, complete with sultry, smoky eyes. Being everything I’m not. Mim felt her mood sink even further. How could she ever hope to compete with someone like Clarissa? The situation was somehow made worse because Mim genuinely liked her.
A more worrying thought crept in: how would they end the evening? Surely they wouldn’t stay the night? No, of course they wouldn’t, that place was so popular it would more than likely already be fully-booked; in fact, they’d probably struggle to get just a table booking for next week. Fingers crossed! That thought offered Mim a tiny glimmer of hope. But what if they did get a table, would Caspar take Clarissa back to his place – wherever that was? Mim wondered if she’d ever get to see it herself; it was beginning to feel odd that he’d never mentioned spending time together outside of work other than the brief moments they snatched at her cottage. She doubted if he’d spent half an hour there in total this week, which was something considering how they’d spent that tiny amount of time. The whole situation was beginning to make her feel more than a little unsettled. It would seem her idea of Caspar just being a bit of “no-strings fun” hadn’t quite gone to plan.
Her mind was busy wrangling with this latest cluster of worries when Anna-Lisa’s voice brought her back to the conversation in the room.
‘Mim! Mimbo!’
She looked up to see Anna and Aidey smiling at her. ‘Aidey’s nipping out to the Nutmeg Tree and wondered if you fancied anything bringing back for your lunch? I’m going to head out later, but he’s bringing me back a hot chocolate and a tuna sandwich since I’m starving.’
Honey snorted. ‘Wonder if you’ll get “Anal Lisa” on your cup this time?’
Anna rolled her eyes and reached for her bag to get her purse.
‘I like the sound of a hot chocolate but I’m not sure I could manage it with a tuna sandwich.’ The thought of that combination made Mim feel slightly nauseous. ‘I think I’ll just have a toasted teacake; I’m not feeling too hungry. Actually, I think I might go with you, Aidey, I could do with a breath of fresh air.’ In truth it wasn’t just Anna’s food order that made her feel queasy; the thought of Caspar and Clarissa hadn’t helped either.
‘That’s weird, I could’ve sworn I had a twenty pound note in here.’ Anna’s brow was furrowed as she checked through her purse.
‘Are you sure you haven’t spent it and forgotten?’ asked Aidey. ‘I’ve done that loads of times.’
‘Uhh! You know what I’m like, I’m always doing it,’ said Mim.
‘I don’t think so. I was sure I saw one in the wallet part when I checked just before I left the house this morning; I wanted to see if I needed to pop to a hole in the wall before work, save me having to waste time standing in a queue in my lunch break.’ She rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.
It was very much like Mim to forget what she’d got in her purse, but it wasn’t at all like Anna-Lisa, who prided herself on being extremely organised. Mim regularly teased her friend for being OCD about everything, but today she could see Anna was rattled. ‘Don’t worry about it, chick, I can sub you; you’ve done the same for me loads of times.’
‘Yep, it’s not a problem, Anna. Your twenty pound note will probably turn up at home; I wouldn’t give it another thought,’ said Aidey, pulling on his jacket. ‘Right, Mimbo, shall we head out now before the weather gets too bad? Looks like there’s a gap in the rain.’
‘Sure, it’s a good place to stop on this, I can pick it up easily when we get back.’
‘Ahh, how sweet,’ said Honey. But the others ignored her, and her comment was left to fall on stony ground.
As Mim and Aidey were making their way to the Nutmeg Tree, wrapped up well against the wind and rain t
hat had started up again as soon as they stepped outside, a voice calling her name interrupted their conversation. Mim turned around to see a familiar figure hurrying down the street towards them, dodging the scurrying shoppers and their dangerously wielded umbrellas. It was Rick; a not particularly welcome blast from the past.
‘Oh, shit.’ Though Mim’s mind was telling her to keep walking, her feet didn’t appear to be listening and she remained rooted to the ground while her heart thudded in her chest. She could really do without this today.
‘What’s wrong?’ asked Aidey. ‘Oh,’ he said when he saw who was heading towards them.
‘Mim, I thought it was you.’ The owner of the voice gave a warm smile that crinkled the corners of his chocolate brown eyes.
‘Hello, Rick. Yep, it’s me.’ She gave an awkward laugh.
‘How are you doing? You look great.’ He seemed genuinely pleased to see her.
‘I’m fine, thanks. You?’ The last thing she needed was to be making small-talk with the man who’d cheated on her, not least the one who’d cheated on her with Honey.
‘I’m okay, thanks.’ He looked at her for a moment, as if working out whether or not to say something. ‘Look, I don’t suppose you’ve got a minute?’
Mim groaned inwardly; much as she would love to tell him to get as far away from her as possible and to leave her alone, her soft-hearted side took over – as it usually did. ‘Erm, okay.’ She turned to Aidey. ‘You might as well go ahead and get out of this rain, I’ll catch you up; I’ll only be a couple of minutes.’
‘Are you sure you’ll be okay?’
‘I’ll be fine, I promise I won’t be long.’ She hoped Rick would get the message that she wasn’t going to devote much time to him. Having a conversation in this weather meant it wouldn’t take long or they’d get absolutely drenched.
‘I’ve been meaning to get in touch with you, but after what happened, I thought I’d be the last person you’d want to hear from.’
Tell That to My Heart Page 18