by Jenny Frame
God. Even more Lady Chatterley, Penny thought.
Bridge continued, “She’s the sweetest person you could meet, as well as good looking.”
“No one could be that perfect,” Penny replied.
“I think anyone would struggle to find a flaw in dear old Quade,” Bridget said.
Brilliant.
“How’s the ankle?” Bridge asked.
Penny’s head shot around. “How did you know?”
“Quade told us. We all have dinner here at Axedale once a week. Harry and Annie, Finn and I, and Quade.”
It suddenly came clear to Penny why Quade had come back the next morning, and why she had changed her approach to her. All that Would you allow me? business.
Penny sighed. “And of course, you all filled her in about me.”
Bridget glanced around at her quickly. “Filled her in? I don’t—”
“My condition. Hence why she turned up the next day determined to be my knight in shining armour?”
“It wasn’t like that, Penny,” Bridge said.
“Did you tell her about my epilepsy?” Penny asked.
Bridge said, “Yes, but we didn’t elaborate.”
Penny didn’t reply. Only a day or so here, and people were already feeling sorry for her, but her anxious thoughts were cut short when Axedale house came into view.
“Wow! What a house. Look, Princess.”
Princess jumped out of her bag and stuck her nose out the inch or two of open window. She panted excitedly and barked.
Bridget laughed. “Someone’s excited. It must be the country air.”
Penny had noticed that. Princess had been livelier and more excitable since they arrived in Axedale. Every time she let her out to the garden to do her business, she ran, chased birds, barked, and didn’t want to come in most of the time.
“Here we are.” Bridge pointed to the steps of Axedale.
She saw Harry, a beautiful blond woman, a little girl, and the largest dog she’d ever seen.
Penny pulled Princess back onto her lap and held her tightly.
* * *
Quade watched the church van amble its way up to the front door of Axedale. She hoped Penny had seen the wood and other things she’d left for her.
The other workers had stopped for a drink of water. Quade took a quick drink of her own and noticed the men had gathered around to look at something. She heard Will the under gardener say, “Was that really her?”
“Look for yourself,” Andy, one of the manual labourers, said.
“God, she’s bloody gorgeous,” Will said.
“I think we should put these pictures up in the office,” another said.
Quade had to see what they were talking about, so she walked over and pushed into the circle of men. Andy had an open copy of a popular lads’ magazine. “What’s all the fuss about?”
“It’s the woman that just went past with the vicar. Penny Huntingdon-Stewart,” Andy said.
Quade grabbed the magazine off him and took a look. There was a double page spread of paparazzi pictures of Penny in a tiny bikini, on a boat somewhere exotic. The spread was titled “Babe of the Week.” Quade was hit with conflicting emotions, at once so attracted to Penny, wearing very little, and angry that she was being exploited by photographers and this trashy magazine.
“I don’t want this shit anywhere, and if anyone tries to put a picture of Penny up, I’ll knock them on their arse. Have you got no respect?”
Will, the youngest of the men, put his head down immediately, and the others stayed quiet, but Andy said, “It’s only a bit of fun, Quade.”
Quade pointed at the pictures. “These were taken by some sleazy cameraman while Ms. Huntingdon-Stewart thought she was on a private holiday, without her consent. She’s being exploited.”
But Andy wouldn’t let it go. “I think you’re taking this a bit too seriously.”
“Am I?” Quade had to take a breath to calm her fury. “How would you like it, Andy, if some dick was hiding behind a tree taking pictures of your sister, then selling them? Or you, Will?”
Andy grumbled, “Fine, okay, you’re right. I’d knock his teeth down his throat.”
Quade let out a breath. “Just have some respect, guys. This is Lady Harry’s guest, remember.”
Quade looked up towards the house. All she wanted to do was go and check that Penny was okay. Was her ankle healing? Did she need anything done around the house? But she would probably be rebuffed.
The feeling she had gotten when Penny drove past them meant she was going to keep trying no matter how much Penny pushed her away.
* * *
Harry saw the tension on Penny’s face as she watched her little dog playing on the floor with their giant of a dog, Caesar. Riley was sitting beside the two dogs, rolling a ball around the drawing room floor for them, while Annie, Bridget, Penny, and she enjoyed tea.
“Don’t worry, Pen. He might look big, but he’s a gentle giant,” Harry said.
Penny gave her a tense smile. “She seems happy enough. Princess hasn’t been around other dogs very much.”
Annie poured out the tea and handed Penny a cup. “How’s the ankle? Quade told us you had a bit of a fall.”
“Oh, it’s fine. No problem at all,” Penny said.
Harry sensed it wasn’t fine, and she didn’t want to push her, but she had promised Hugo that she would watch out for her.
The dogs were barking excitedly. Riley jumped up and said to Harry, “Can I take Princess and Caesar outside, Mum?”
Harry saw Penny tense up. “Maybe just the entrance hall until they get to know each other better. Would that be okay, Pen?”
Penny nodded her head. “Okay.”
Once they went out the room, Harry said to Penny, “If you need anything, just let me know. I can have one of my workers bring you down some logs for the fire—”
Penny stopped her. “Honestly. I’m okay. Quade has brought me over lots of wood.”
“And showed her how to make a fire eh?” Bridget nudged her. “Sexy Farmer? I saw your post.”
“Who is Sexy Farmer?” Annie asked.
Penny felt heat spread up her neck and to her cheeks. She took a sip of her tea and just tried to brush it off. “Quade. I thought my followers on Instagram would find it amusing.”
Annie chuckled. “I bet she got lots of likes.”
“They are flooding in,” Bridget said. “Our rugged farmer will make lesbian hearts flutter across the world.”
Penny had to change the subject. So she said to Annie, “You have a beautiful home here.”
“Thank you.” Annie turned to Harry and smiled adoringly. “Harry’s worked so hard on refurbishing it.”
Harry returned an even more adoring smile to her wife. “This house would be nothing without you, darling.”
Penny could hardly believe this lovesick Harry was the same playgirl she had known when she was younger. It was amazing to watch the power of love right before your eyes. She could see why Harry had fallen for this warm woman. Annie had been welcoming and was obviously gentle and kind, and Riley was adorable.
Harry and Annie continued to gaze at each other lovingly and Bridge said, “They do this all the time.”
Harry’s head snapped around. “I heard that, Vicar.”
“Would you like me to show you around, Penny?” Annie asked.
“I’d love it. Would you mind if I took some video? I promise I won’t post it unless you give me permission.”
“Of course,” Annie said with a smile. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Annie and Penny left Bridge and Harry upstairs to talk while they went downstairs to see the kitchen. Annie saw the grimace of pain on Penny’s face. She was obviously hiding how painful her ankle was. Quade had called her stubborn the other night, but after meeting Penny, liking her kind, friendly character, and Harry explaining some of her background, she could see Penny was trying to protect herself in some way.
Penny’s gri
mace disappeared when she walked around the kitchen, which made Annie happy. The kitchen was the heart of their home, and to see it appreciated was nice.
Penny walked around the kitchen holding her camera and smiling. “This is fabulous, Annie. It’s a real country kitchen, but a perfect mix of new and old world.”
“It wasn’t like this when I arrived, I assure you. It was a pile of mess, old teacups, and cobwebs.”
“Well, you’ve done a good job. It’s so big too. You can’t swing a cat in the kitchen at Northwood Cottage,” Penny said as she ran her fingers over the large professional cooker that was Annie’s pride and joy.
Annie leaned against the kitchen table and said, “Feel free to film up here anytime you need a bit more room.”
“Really?” Penny said.
“Of course. I love your YouTube channel. I watch it all the time,” Annie said.
Penny looked surprised. “Do you? I’m sure you’re a much better cook than me. I just bumble my way through.”
“Hardly. Penny, it takes great skill to come up with clean food that’s delicious. I try to encourage Harry and Riley to eat more fruits and vegetables. It’s not always easy, but lots of your tips and tricks have helped me to make healthy food more palatable for them.”
Penny lowered her camera and was genuinely touched. Annie had been a professional housekeeper, whereas Penny had learned what she knew by trial and error, through her own mistakes. It was wonderful to hear someone like Annie appreciated her show.
“Well, thank you, and I’ll take you up on your offer to film here. It’ll make an amazing setting for a video.”
They were interrupted by a knock at the kitchen door. Quade popped her head around the door.
“Hi, I have something of yours.” Quade walked in cradling Princess.
Penny gasped and said, “What happened?”
“She got out the front door and ran to find me. I thought I’d better bring her back,” Quade said.
Penny looked at Quade holding Princess gently, just after rescuing her, and felt her heart pitter-patter. She didn’t even know that could happen in real life, but it did.
“Thank you.” Penny took Princess from Quade’s impossibly strong arms. How am I ever going to find that flaw?
Chapter Five
That evening Quade saw to her animals and walked back to the house with Dougal. Her thoughts had been filled with Penny since this afternoon. When she returned Princess, and saw Penny in that dress and cute boots, her breath had been stolen by her beauty.
She opened the front door and walked into the empty house. She cursed her bad luck as the universe sent the perfect woman, who just happened to be Penelope Huntingdon-Stewart. Someone completely out of her league and unattainable. Despite their cross words and the stubborn shell Penelope kept for protection, Quade had seen the real Penny once or twice. She saw it today when she handed Princess over to her.
The open love and feeling for Princess dismantled her walls, and she saw a glimpse of the woman underneath. Quade thought of the magazine photos that the men had been looking at, and she seemed like a completely different woman than the one Quade had seen in her unicorn onesie.
Quade wondered if anyone really knew the real Penny. She stopped at the kitchen table and drummed her fingers on the back of chair. She should be getting something to eat, but she felt restless.
She looked down at Dougal and said, “Should we offer to take Princess for a walk?”
Dougal jumped and spun around excitedly.
“I take it that’s a yes.” Quade let out a breath. She could get to the door and have Penny say she didn’t want Princess to walk, again.
Quade looked around her empty house and heard only the ticking of the grandfather clock.
“Well, it’s better than sitting here on my own. I need to get washed up first, pal, and then we’ll go.”
Quade got a quick shower and change of clothes. She sprayed on some cologne and put some wax in her hair and messed it up on top as usual. She wondered if she should do anything different with it.
She was sure the lesbians Penny knew were a lot more interesting than her. Quade shook her head when she realized what she was thinking.
“Don’t even think about it. You’re not in her league.”
Quade quickly finished up, and she and Dougal drove over to Northwood Cottage. When they pulled up, Princess was barking. She’d obviously heard the truck arriving.
They got out and Quade found herself checking her appearance in the mirror.
She closed her eyes and let out a breath. “Stop it.”
But she couldn’t deny the excitement she felt at seeing Penny again, even though Penny was stubborn and difficult. She was sure there was an extremely sensitive, gentle girl under there.
Quade knocked on the door, and Princess barked wildly. She heard Penny walk to the door and say, “Who is it?”
“It’s Quade.”
Penny opened the door and Quade’s mouth went dry. Penny was wearing a pair of tiny lilac coloured sleep shorts with unicorns on them, and a T-shirt with a picture of a unicorn and the phrase I believe in Unicorns emblazoned across her chest. It was tight around her breasts, and Quade couldn’t take her eyes off them.
“Can I help you?” Penny said. “Quade?”
Quade heard Penny but had lost the ability to form words, and she’d forgotten why she had come here. Her brain was mush. No one had ever done that to her before, but then no one was Penelope Huntingdon-Stewart. She exuded femininity, and Quade was lost in her beauty. Princess scrambling at her feet finally brought her back.
“What did you want, Quade?” Penny asked again.
“I—I wondered if you had changed your mind about letting me take Princess for a walk.”
“Actually, I have. She’s got so much energy since we’ve come here. I’m trying to edit some video and she won’t give me a moment. You won’t take her far, will you? She’s not used to walking,” Penny said with concern.
“She’ll be safe with me.” Quade winked.
Penny looked at her a moment and said, “Okay then. I’ll get her jacket on.”
“She doesn’t need a jacket,” Quade said.
But Penny either didn’t hear or ignored her as she got Princess ready. A few minutes later she brought Princess, together with her lead and shoes on her paws.
Quade sighed but said nothing.
“Where will you take her?” Penny asked.
It was clearly a wrench for Penny to let Princess go. “There’s a forest path that starts over the other side of the road. It leads down to the river, lots of scents and smells for them.”
Penny still looked tense.
“I promise she’ll be safe with me. Trust me?”
After a few seconds Penny said, “I trust you.”
Quade took Princess’s lead and said to Dougal, “Okay, pal. Lead the way.” She took a step and turned back to Penny. “Penny, you shouldn’t really answer the door like that. It could be anyone.”
Penny smiled. “I knew it was you, so I knew I was safe.”
Quade’s chest puffed up with pride. “You’ll always be safe with me.”
* * *
Penny was sitting at her dining room table working, editing the video she had taken of the village and Axedale Hall—or trying to work on it.
Ever since Quade left, she had been completely distracted. Every time she tried to concentrate on cutting a particular section of video, her mind wandered to Quade’s gorgeous smile, or the smell of her cologne.
It wasn’t every day the perfect butch walked up to your door and smiled. Penny let go of her mouse and sat back in her chair. Why did she have to be so perfect, or rugged, as Bridge called her?
She glanced over at her phone, and the likes for Sexy Farmer’s picture were still piling up, and she didn’t blame them. She wondered why Quade hadn’t been snapped up a long time ago.
But it wasn’t just her looks—she was kind and gentle, and more. Penny let her head
fall back and said with frustration, “Why does she have to be thoughtful?”
Penny switched to the fire-making film on her laptop and watched Quade talk her through everything. Her followers would go wild for this video. Everyone seemed to be wild for Quade, even her dog.
She watched the film and thought, Just let yourself appreciate her good looks, and her friendship. You won’t be here long, and it’s not as if you could ever do any more than appreciate—or dream.
Since her early twenties, Penny had tried hard to work through her intimacy issues. She’d worked with a few different psychologists, and they gave her advice, but she didn’t have a partner, someone she trusted to experiment with.
She could never give that trust over to someone she had just met and dated a few times. In any case, it wasn’t fair to dump her problems on someone she had just met. That meant she never got to express herself sexually, and she had learned to cope with the frustration of having that part of her life unfulfilled. Finding the flaw, as she thought of it, helped put her off anyone she was attracted to, but Sexy Farmer apparently was flawless.
Penny gave an exasperated sigh. “I never expected this problem when I came to the country.”
There was a knock at the door, and Quade shouted, “Penny? It’s us.”
Penny felt excitement ripple over her body. It’s us. It was like a momentary glimpse of a normal relationship. She banished the thought quickly and answered the door. Princess jumped up at her excitedly.
“Hi, poppet, did you have fun with Dougal?” Princess panted and licked her face. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
Penny had never seen Princess so excited before.
“They had great fun together,” Quade said. “Lots of scents and smells for them down by the river.”
Penny was down on her knees stroking Dougal. “Scents and smells? What does that mean?”
“That’s part of why dogs love going out walking. They communicate through scents with other dogs and other animals. It’s good for them mentally.”
Penny stood. “I never thought of it that way.”