Tell That to My Heart

by Eliza J Scott

  ‘That’s what happens when you don’t chuck them away when they’re dead. And it looks like all those bits of paper you have over there have been breeding,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  ‘Yeah, I think it’s reached the point where my desk needs a tidy up. By the way, did you mention tomorrow night to Aidey?’

  ‘I did, yep, he’s keen. He’s just having a word with Catherine. The mighty one summoned him to her office in her usual pleasant manner.’

  Mim rolled her eyes just as Honey walked in. ‘What’s the matter with your face, Jemima?’

  Mim groaned inwardly; that girl aroused feelings in her nobody else ever did. She bit down on her annoyance. ‘Nothing whatsoever.’

  ‘I see Aidey’s late. Looks like you lot have got no better with your time-keeping.’

  Anna-Lisa glanced up at the clock. ‘For your information, Honey, Aidey’s been here a good forty-five minutes and is in with Catherine at the moment. It’s you who’s late.’

  Honey pouted, at ten past nine, she couldn’t argue with that. ‘Okay, keep your knickers on, Anal Lisa.’ She took her coat off and hung it on the back of her chair. ‘Don’t suppose Clarissa’s found her notebook?’

  Mim stole a look at Anna-Lisa; from her expression they were clearly thinking the same thing: Honey knew something about it and the girl was trying to antagonise them.

  Mim remained quiet, reluctant to get involved in a conversation with Honey.

  ‘Not that I’ve heard, but I’m sure it’ll turn up,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  ‘I’m sure it will. Probably in the most unexpected place.’

  The tone of her words sent a prickle of fear up Mim’s spine.

  The shrill ring of the phone on Mim’s desk snapped her out of her concentration. She kept one eye on her work as she picked it up. ‘Hello.’

  ‘Oh, that sexy, husky voice of yours does unmentionable things to me.’ It was Caspar; she tried to hide the smile a surge of happiness had triggered.

  ‘Oh, hi.’ She felt Anna-Lisa’s eyes on her.

  ‘Could you just pop down to my office for a moment?’

  ‘Sure. I’ll be there in two ticks.’ She put the phone down and scooped up a notebook and pen.

  ‘Who was that? I bet it was Caspar, judging by that daft grin on your face,’ said Honey. ‘Does he need me to go with you?’

  ‘He didn’t mention you, and I can pass on any information if it’s necessary. It’s pointless two of us being away from our desks.’

  ‘Yeah, well, if I’d answered the phone it would’ve been me who he’d ask to go to his office.’

  ‘But you didn’t, Honey.’ Mim was getting tired of dealing with Honey’s spoilt teenager act.

  ‘I’m sure I saw Clarissa leaving his room earlier; she was looking very happy with herself. Can’t think what they’d been up to,’ Honey said with a satisfied smirk.

  Mim ignored her and hurried out of the room before she could say any more.

  As soon as Mim stepped into Caspar’s office, he pulled her into a passionate kiss that turned her knees to jelly.

  ‘You’ve no idea what you do to me, Mim. I’ve never felt this way about anyone.’ He pressed his lips against her neck, running his hands over her breasts.

  His words sent her pulse racing, while Honey’s words hovered in the periphery of her thoughts. Did he really mean that?

  There was a sharp rap at the door and they pulled apart just in time as Clarissa entered the room. She glanced between the two of them. ‘Hi, I just wanted to check that I hadn’t left my notebook in here after our meeting yesterday.’

  ‘Yes, I’d heard it was missing, but I haven’t seen it in here. I’ll have a proper look around after I’ve run my idea by Mim, just in case it’s lurking somewhere.’ He flashed her a charming smile.

  ‘Thanks, Caspar, I honestly can’t think where it’s gone so I’m checking everywhere.’

  ‘I’ll let you know if it turns up in here.’

  Clarissa smiled and left the room.

  Had Honey been lying or was that just a convincing act to cover the real reason Clarissa had come to his office, Mim wondered. She pushed her doubts away. ‘Phew! That was close.’

  ‘Just a bit.’

  ‘You don’t think she suspected anything, do you?’

  ‘I doubt it, she seems too hung up about that bloody book.’

  His dismissive tone surprised Mim.

  ‘Anyway, lovely Mim Dewberry, back to us.’ He planted a lingering kiss on her lips that sent her stomach swirling. ‘I just wanted to make sure I definitely can’t tempt you to spend the evening with me and put your get-together with your friends on hold until the next time – I mean, it’s not like you don’t ever see them, is it?’

  Not this again. After Caspar’s kisses, Mim was thrown into turmoil. But it was too late in the day; Anna had brought her overnight bag and was expecting to stay at Mim’s, the two of them spending the evening at Carly’s. And, besides, Mim had been looking forward to it. ‘Sorry, Caspar, I’m afraid it’s only fair that I stick to my original plans; I don’t want to let my friends down.’

  A shadow crossed his face and his eyes took on a cold expression. Mim felt unnerved; he clearly didn’t like to be turned down.

  Before she knew it, his smile had returned and he delivered another delicious kiss to her mouth. ‘That’s what I like, a woman who knows her own mind, and is always keen to do the right thing.’

  ‘My friends mean a lot to me, that’s all.’

  ‘I can see that, and it’s actually probably a good time to ask you that question I mentioned yesterday. I don’t think it’s fair to keep you hanging on. No doubt you’ve been wondering about it.’ Caspar gave one of his familiar disarming smiles; if only he knew just how much she’d been wondering about it.

  ‘Oh?’ Mim’s heart rate cranked up several notches.

  ‘Mmm. It’s quite an important one.’

  Oh, my days! She looked across at him. A muscle twitched in his cheek; he looked like he was trying to choose the right words. It was sending a mixture of emotions racing around her insides. ‘Is everything alright?’

  ‘Yes, everything’s fine. It’s just that I need a little favour from you.’

  A favour? From me? Disappointment crushed any hope of it being anything she’d like. ‘A favour? What kind of favour?’

  ‘Well, it’s complicated, but it’s really to help my parents out. You see, they’ve been having a spot of bother with their bank – they’re actually in the process of changing who they bank with but it’s taking a little longer than expected – you know what banks can be like. Anyway, they have a client who’s very keen to pay them for a car they’ve bought, well, it’s two clients actually, and they’re both very keen. But my parents being in limbo with their bank means they have no account for their clients to transfer the money into.’

  ‘Oh, so how can I help with that?’ This was nothing remotely like the question she was expecting.

  ‘Well, I was wondering if it would be possible for their clients to pay the money into your bank account and then, when my parents are sorted out with theirs, you can transfer the money across. It’s a very simple solution that wouldn’t inconvenience you at all. They’d even let you take a cut for the inconvenience.’

  ‘Oh. Right. But why can’t they pay the money into your account?’ Mim was hopeless with money and knew very little about banks other than that was the place her wages got paid into and she had a card to take money out of a hole in the wall. Was she being really stupid here and missing something obvious?

  ‘Ah, good question. They can’t transfer payment into my account because I’m having the same problem as my parents.’

  ‘Oh, I see.’ This felt a little odd. ‘How much money would it be exactly?’

  ‘It’d be roughly a hundred and twenty thousand – you can see why my parents are keen to get a solution straight away. We’d need your account details as soon as possible, otherwise the clients won’t be able to have their cars.
You can imagine how that would affect my parents’ reputation. They’ve spent years building it up through sheer hard work, they’re very well-respected.’

  ‘They must be pretty fancy cars to be worth that much.’

  ‘They are, my parents deal in high-spec motor vehicles, selling them to the rich and famous abroad.’

  ‘Right, well, no one’s ever asked me to do anything like this before. If you don’t mind, I’d like to think about it over the weekend and let you know on Monday.’ Alarm bells were ringing and Anna’s words of warning earlier in the week crept into her mind. Something in her gut didn’t feel right.

  ‘Well, if you must. I was really hoping to have this sorted out for my parents before then. And it goes without saying, I’d prefer it if you kept this to yourself, my parents are very private about their business.’

  ‘Oh, okay.’ This felt wrong on so many levels. Was this what he wanted her to give up an evening with her friends for, ditch Anna-Lisa while he worked on her to do a favour for his parents? She felt suddenly hurt, and not a little stupid.

  Mim was thankful when Catherine rang, asking Caspar to pop to her office. ‘Right, I’d better head down there. Let me know if you change your mind about tonight.’

  ‘I really can’t.’

  ‘Shame I can’t meet up with you on Saturday, I’d much rather spend it with you than what I’m actually doing.’ He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. ‘And it’s a shame we didn’t get to take things further just now. Looks like the Pallister-Biggs are conspiring against us.’

  Despite her misgivings, the smile he gave her still had the power to send butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

  When Mim returned to her office there was no sign of Honey, and Aidey was sitting at his desk. ‘Morning, Mimbo.’

  ‘Hi, Aidey. Has Anna mentioned tomorrow to you?’

  ‘She has, sounds good.’

  ‘If you fancy coming over early afternoon, we could go to the pub for a roast dinner.’

  ‘Sounds even better.’

  ‘We can’t guarantee we won’t be a little hungover,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  Aidey laughed. ‘That I can imagine once you lot get together. Is Pat Motson still up in arms?’

  ‘Thankfully, I haven’t seen much of the old witch, apart from her hovering behind the curtains, but according to Carly she witters on at her every time she sees her, telling her we’re lowering the tone of the village.’

  ‘Why would having a few drinks around at your friend’s house lower the tone?’ He looked puzzled.

  ‘It might have something to do with the fact that they’ve been spreading a rumour that it’s a kinky underwear party complete with a male stripper called Hosé Horny,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  Aidey clamped his hand to his brow. ‘You lot are terrible, winding up a little old lady like that.’

  ‘For one, she’s not that old, and secondly, she’s such a miserable old prude, it makes it hard to resist.’ Mim flashed him a mischievous smile, thoughts of her recent conversation with Caspar slipping away. ‘And, just for the record, we’re not having a kinky underwear party—’

  ‘Not that it would matter if we were,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  Aidey opened his eyes wide and shook his head. ‘Course not.’

  Mim continued, ‘And there’s no stripper coming. It’s just our usual get-together, but the new vicar’s wife’s joining us for the first time.’

  ‘Brave woman.’ Aidey laughed, ducking as Mim threw a rubber at him.

  ‘Hey, you, we’re a friendly bunch,’ she said.

  ‘Yeah, we just know how to have a bit of fun,’ added Anna-Lisa.

  ‘My point exactly,’ said Aidey. ‘Oh, and while I remember, I’d keep a low profile with Catherine, she’s in a foul mood.’

  ‘Just for a change,’ said Anna-Lisa.

  ‘It’s looking very industrious in here.’ Caspar popped his head round the door of Mim’s office. He looked heart-meltingly handsome. She noted Aidey didn’t look up.

  ‘Yep, that’s us, industrious,’ said Anna-Lisa. ‘We’re trying to get everything done so we’re free to enjoy the weekend.’

  ‘Mmm. So I gather. Anyway, the reason I’m troubling you is to see if anyone’s seen the paperweight I usually have on my desk? The round glass one? It’s an Italian antique and, as well as being worth quite a bit, it has great sentimental value since it was a present from my parents. It was there on my desk first thing this morning, but it seems to be missing now.’

  Mim’s stomach clenched with anxiety. She looked over at Anna-Lisa whose expression mirrored her concerns. Her eyes travelled over to Honey who had fixed Mim with a determined stare. ‘As far as I’m aware, Mim’s been the only one in your office today. You haven’t scooped it up, have you, Mim? Added it to the clutter on your desk?’

  ‘I certainly have not!’ Mim could feel her anger rising. Was this Honey and her mind games again? From the goading look on the girl’s face, she was sure of it. She resisted the temptation to ask her if she had anything to do with it; she didn’t want to alert Honey that they were on to her.

  ‘Maybe it was the ghost again? He seems to be up to quite a bit recently, don’t you think, Anna-Lisa?’ Honey shared her antagonising look with Anna. Mim was relieved that her friend didn’t bite.

  ‘Maybe. We’ll have a look around for it for you, Caspar, let you know if we find it.’ Anna-Lisa gave him a tight smile and got back to her work.

  ‘Er, okay, thanks.’ Caspar seemed wrong-footed that Anna-Lisa still hadn’t succumbed to his charms.

  ‘Wonder where it could be?’ Honey said when he’d left the room.

  ‘No idea,’ said Anna-Lisa. ‘But if you don’t mind, we’ve all got work that we’d like to get finished before we leave tonight.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Honey used the petulant tone that meant she wasn’t sorry at all.

  27

  Mim’s heart felt light as she travelled along the roads to Skeltwick in Anna-Lisa’s little car. The pair were singing along to the radio at the top of their voices. ‘Ughh! This one’s boring.’ Anna-Lisa pressed a button on the dashboard, changing the station. ‘That’s better.’ She drove along, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel.

  ‘Not that I want to spoil tonight with talking about work the whole time, but what do you think about Caspar’s paperweight going missing?’ asked Mim.

  ‘Honey’s responsible, without a doubt. Did you see the look on her face when he asked about it?’

  ‘I did.’

  ‘I don’t suppose you noticed if it was on his desk when you were in his office this morning?’

  ‘You know what I’m like, it wouldn’t register if I did.’ The temptation to bring up Caspar’s question was on the tip of her tongue, but something held her back.

  ‘And why would you feel you had to take notice of everything that was on his desk? You’d hardly expect anything to go missing from his room.’

  ‘Well, we didn’t expect Clarissa’s notebook to go missing, but it has. What do you think’s happened to them? And your money, for that matter. I’m just relieved she hasn’t seen fit to put them in my bag again.’ That thought sent a ripple of disquiet through her.

  ‘Hmm. True.’ She turned to Mim and grinned. ‘Anyway, enough about miserable, bloody Yorkshire Portions and the weird goings on there, tonight we’re going to have fun.’ Anna-Lisa turned up the radio and launched into her singing with gusto.

  Mim opened the door of Pear Tree Cottage and headed down the hallway followed by Anna-Lisa. ‘It doesn’t seem the same without Herbert’s enthusiastic greeting,’ said Anna.

  ‘I know, but Carly says he might as well stay at hers since we’re going along later. He and Maisie are joining the fun, too.’

  ‘That’s what I like to hear. Am I alright to pop my stuff upstairs, before I go back to the car and get the tub of food I made to take along tonight?’

  ‘Course you can, I can’t wait to see what it is. It’ll be far more adventurous than my co
rn chips with grated cheese and soured cream.’ Mim loved Anna’s cooking which was way ahead of hers in the ability and quality stakes.

  ‘Hey, don’t knock corn chips, everyone loves them.’

  ‘I’ve even got some salsa.’ Mim grinned, shaking the jar at her.

  ‘Perfect.’

  ‘Right, while you’re doing that I’ll stick the kettle on; I think it’s a little early to start on alcohol just yet.’ Mim made her way over to the sink and filled the kettle.

  ‘Very wise, I think I need to line my stomach a bit before we touch any, to be honest. Have you got any biscuits or cake?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘True, daft question, I’ve never known you not to have a plentiful supply.’

  ‘Right, I think we’re ready to paint the town red, or at the very least Carly’s.’ Mim made the final adjustments to her hair. ‘And I can’t wait to get my teeth into those millionaire’s chocolate brownies you’ve made, they look heavenly.’

  ‘Thanks, I hope they’re alright.’

  ‘They’ll be delicious.’

  ‘Hardly great for the waistline, but what the hell, it’s Friday.’

  ‘I’ve heard calories don’t count from a Friday right through to a Sunday night. Not that you need to worry about calories, you’re tiny. It’s folk like me with a rather large heffalump physique who need to take note.’

  ‘Right, before we go any further, that’s the last time I want to hear you put yourself down tonight. Okay?’

  ‘Hey, I was only joking.’

  ‘I wish I could believe that, but you always do it, and you shouldn’t. So no more tonight, right?’

  ‘Right you are, captain.’ Mim grinned and saluted her friend, recalling how Caspar had said something similar the other day. Caspar? Huh! She pushed thoughts of him right out of her mind; he was way too confusing to think about on a Friday night when she was going to have fun with her friends.

  Mim rang the doorbell, triggering a commotion behind the door. As soon as Carly opened it, Herbert shot out, in raptures at seeing Mim and Anna-Lisa.