Tina hadn’t opened her dedicated dating email inbox since the ill-fated evening with Leon. Guilt nudged her every time she remembered how she’d walked out of the restaurant without a word. If their roles had been reversed and he had walked out on her, she’d have been furious, hurt and confused. After a few days of quiet stewing, she’d probably have emailed him to ask what she’d done wrong.
She was also aware that there might be potential date requests waiting on Superior Singles for her response. Mr Right could be there, right now, in her inbox, being ignored because she was ashamed of her behaviour. Behaviour she didn’t understand. Leon had ticked every box she’d wanted ticking…and yet he’d made her feel inadequate.
Or did I do that to myself? Was it my insecurities that took me out of there, not him?
Turning her mobile phone over and over in her palm, Tina trailed a lacklustre spoon around her uneaten cereal and then threw the spoon down in frustration. ‘Get a grip, woman!’
Acting quickly in case she changed her mind, Tina switched on her personal email, and scanned down a list of nineteen messages awaiting her attention. Eighteen of them were alerts from Superior Singles telling her that her profile had been viewed and associated messages, likes, winks and communication requests awaited her attention. The final one was from an incredibly optimistic Nigerian company, kindly enquiring if she’d like to benefit from the joys of penile extensions.
Fat chance.
There was nothing from Leon. Nothing at all.
‘Serves you right!’ Tina placed her phone face down on the table and abandoned the remaining cornflakes. ‘He clearly has more pride than you do. What did you think was going to happen? Did you think a man like Leon would be begging for an explanation or another chance? He’s probably already found a sophisticated blonde to massage his ego.’
Annoyed by the fact she was hurt by his lack of communication, when she knew he was not the man for her, Tina swept her bag onto her shoulder, grabbed her car keys and marched towards work.
*
Thea doused her eyes in cold water and stared into the age-spotted mirror. ‘Look at yourself woman! The chickens will take one peep out of their travel crate and demand to go back to the farm you’ve ordered them from!’
The previous night, when Shaun had said they were going to bed, she’d briefly thought he’d meant together. And she’d been willing to go. Wanted to go. In that moment nothing had felt as welcome as the idea of being curled up next to Shaun’s bulky frame. Thea hadn’t considered anything happening between them beyond sleep. Not consciously anyway. Too many shocks, too much fatigue, had crept in to want anything other than the comfortable arms of a man she realised she liked far more than she’d intended to.
In the cold half-light of the dimly illuminated bathroom, Thea could admit to herself that, if they had headed to the same bed, something else would have taken over, and the meagre hour of sleep she’d had before her alarm had woken her wouldn’t have existed.
Although I suspect I’d feel better than I do now.
The application of a layer of foundation seemed even more of a token gesture than usual. Only grouter’s putty would be able to disguise the dark shadows around her eyes and dull the yellow tinge to her complexion.
A vision of the smashed vase, scratched table and broken window pulley attempted to dislodge images of herself and Shaun in interesting states of undress from her mind. Leaning forward over the tiny servants’ sink, Thea closed her eyes. ‘This is not the time to be falling in love. Especially not with a man who could have his pick of the celebrity world… and then there’s John.’
The memory of agreeing to go out for a meal with Shaun warmed her for a while, until Thea saw how impractical it was. He wasn’t supposed to be there. How could they be seen out together? The whole thing was impossible.
Sweeping her hair into a ponytail, Thea returned her gaze to the mirror. ‘Today you are going to call Malcolm and tell him about the damage done by the nightjar. You are going to work out how to claim on the insurance. You are going to take delivery of six chickens. You are busy. There is no time to think about anything except what you are supposed to be doing. Restoring a manor and rescuing its mill. Nothing else. Nothing.’
*
Tina looked as horrified as Thea felt when they inspected the damage caused by the snapping of a single window pulley and a lost bird. In the early morning light, the scratch on the table was glaringly obvious and the space where the vase had once stood on its wooden plinth loomed large.
‘A bird did all this?’ Tina stared at the makeshift cover afforded by the black bags.
‘Can you imagine what would have happened if two or three had got in?’
‘Doesn’t bear thinking about.’ Tina sat on the nearest dining chair to the scratch. ‘At least it’s a clean mark. No side cracks. There’s a good chance a polisher could hide it and… Hang on, all this must mean Shaun knows you’re staying here.’
‘Yep.’ Thea wiped a hand over her forehead. ‘Thank God he was here. I’d never have coped on my own. From upstairs it sounded like a major burglary was in progress.’
Running a fingertip over the wounded table, Tina said, ‘I wonder if Derek or Bill knows of anyone who could see to this. They must have come across French polishers, considering their former thatching and carpentry occupations. They may even be able to do it themselves.’
‘It’s worth asking them and Mabel. She has a vast list of contacts for every occasion.’
‘The advantages of living in one place for so long I suppose.’ Tina opened her mobile. ‘I’d better take a photo of the damage to show Malcolm. Do you have the pieces of the vase?’
‘Shaun swept them up. I’m not sure where he left them and as I wasn’t officially here last night, I haven’t seen them yet. But, unofficially, if you’re hoping we can jigsaw the vase back together, then I can end that wishful thinking right now. It all but disintegrated.’
Tina tugged at her right pigtail. ‘And there I was thinking the biggest problems today were what we were going to do with the mill, settling in the chickens and deciding if I should unsubscribe from Superior Singles.’
‘Seriously? You’re going to stop chasing older men?’ A yawn overtook Thea.
‘I think so.’ Tina kept her eyes on the table. ‘Can we leave that conversation for now?’
Recognising the anxious expression on her friend’s face, Thea, vowing to broach the subject of Tina’s private life later, returned to business. ‘As soon as we’ve reported what’s happened to the trustees and worked out if we can fix the window ourselves, or if we’re going to have to spend more of our budget getting it sorted, then we’ll make a decision about the mill.’
‘Are you sure you don’t want to leave calling Malcolm to me?’ Tina studied her friend more closely. ‘No offence hun, but you look and sound dreadful. Your voice has gone all low and husky. Did you get any sleep at all?’
‘An hour about five til six this morning. Otherwise, none at all.’
Tina gestured to the window. ‘Not even before our uninvited visitor flew in?’
‘I felt so bad about not telling Shaun I was staying, that I couldn’t settle. Ironically, I kept worrying he’d hear me moving about and think I was an intruder.’
‘And it was nothing to do with the fact you two have the mutual hots for each other, and you were wishing he knew you were here so Shaun would come visiting?’
Bright red on the instant, Thea blustered, ‘We do not.’
‘Yeah right, whatever you say.’ Tina took her friend by the arm and led her towards the office. ‘Let’s get these phone calls sorted, and then we can face the day. You can convince me I’m better off being poor but happy, and I can convince you that you’re destined to have at least a short fling with a celebrity.’
Thea tried to smile, but the spectre of the phone call ahead stopped her lips curling in the right direction. ‘What if Malcolm says that’s it? That the extra expense of this new disaster is the final straw and he stops the restoration here and now.’
‘He won’t.’
‘You sound very sure.’
‘He’ll get more in a sale if the house is fully restored.’
Thea sighed. ‘I wish that didn’t make sense, but it does.’
‘At least it means you’ll be employed for as long as possible.’
‘I suppose so.’ Thea fiddled with her ponytail. ‘After that, who knows?’
‘Hopefully you’ll be managing this place as per the original plan.’ Tina’s hands came to her hips in a manner that reminded Thea of Mabel at her most decisive.
‘Until last night I was hanging onto that. Now, I can feel the whole thing slipping away.’
Unable to argue with Thea’s gloomy outlook, Tina waved her mobile. ‘I’m going to call Derek. He’s always up early to walk his dog. Let’s see if he can fix the window and the table, or knows someone who can. Then at least we can show Malcolm we’re already on the case when we tell him what’s happened.’
‘Thanks hun.’ Thea paused. ‘Hold on, what about Sam? I’d forgotten he was outside. His tent is pegged in the wood on the left side of the garden. He might know about windows.’
Tina agreed. ‘He might well do, but no way would you get him inside to take a look.’
‘But he wouldn’t have to come in. He could get a ladder from the outside.’
‘Do you think he’s up yet?’
‘Hun, it’s eight in the morning, I’d be very surprised if Sam hadn’t done an hour’s clearance in the garden already. The man is unstoppable.’
*
‘How about felting?’
‘Pardon?’ Tina dragged her gaze away from watching Derek pass tools to Sam, as he balanced on a ladder and contentedly got on with digging Mill Grange out of its latest pothole.
‘Felting. As one of the craft demonstrations in the mill if we open it up as an attraction alongside the manor?’
‘Oh yes. Good idea.’ Tina paused, ‘Did they have felting here?’
‘I have no idea, but it’s popular and it would fill a gap.’
Tina studied the rough plan of the mill building Thea had drawn. She’d divided it into three spaces, which could potentially be rented out by local crafts folk after the Open Day, but which would also have to provide some form of attraction on the day itself.
‘So, we’re saying spinning, weaving and felting?’
‘If we can find the spinners, weavers and felters to go with them. I wondered about asking Sybil in the tea rooms if she knew anyone that Mabel didn’t.’ Thea doodled a flower on the edge of her plan. ‘Or maybe we should admit defeat on this one. So much needs doing to make the mill usable. Right now, health and safety would close it before it was opened. I reckon it needs about three grand spending on it to make it even vaguely rentable.’
‘That’s not that much really and we’d make it back in rent money.’ Tina jotted some numbers onto her ever present notepad. ‘We need to air the place, whitewash the walls and get in some tables, chairs and work surfaces, cupboards and so on. Then we can invite some local craftspeople to take a look. Potentially we could charge a lot of rent for each section. It’s in a tourist village on Exmoor for goodness sake.’
‘Perhaps we could pop into Sybil’s for a cuppa and see if she’d mind putting some cards up advertising the space for rent?’
‘Now you’re talking. I would kill for one of Sybil’s cheese scones.’
‘Cheese scones and not lemon cake? Are you quite yourself?’
‘I’m not entirely sure I am.’ Thea got to her feet. ‘There’s some whitewash in the stables. I could do with doing something practical. Working out what has to be done all the time, but not actually doing it, is driving me mad.’
‘Likewise. Let’s go. I could do without thinking about anything but avoiding spiders for a while.’
As Tina spoke, Thea saw her friend glance outside. Sam was talking to Derek. They were fashioning a new rope pulley between them, both laughing, both obviously happy with the day that stretched ahead of them.
‘Are you alright, Tina?’
‘I wish I knew why he won’t come into the house beyond a commando-style raid on the bathroom.’
‘Shaun reckons Sam will tell us when he’s ready.’ Wondering if her friend had started to accept she was interested in Sam, Thea returned the discussion to work. ‘Come on, if we’re busy at the mill then John won’t find me and deliver his daily list of complaints.’
Still watching the men working through the window, Tina nodded as Sam caught her eye, before looking hurriedly away. ‘I’ll call Malcolm again on the way. I still think I should do it.’ She grimaced. ‘It’s my job after all.’
Not having missed Tina’s glances to the window, Thea said, ‘Sam looks at you a lot when you aren’t looking at him.’
‘Does he?’
‘You like him, don’t you?’
‘He’s a nice man. Very clever.’
‘That isn’t what I meant.’
Tina gave a heavy sigh. ‘You know he isn’t what I’m looking for.’
‘He wasn’t what you were looking for. Now, you’re not so sure, are you?’
An image of Leon in his designer suit, gold cufflinks and crisp white shirt flitted across her mind. ‘Sam’s a bit scruffy and sort of weird.’
Offended on Sam’s behalf, Thea couldn’t stop herself saying, ‘And he’s up a ladder, sorting out a problem that would have cost us money we don’t have. He’s worked his arse off since he’s been here, and never complained or caused trouble. Would Mr Silver Fox have done that? No, he’d have waved a credit card and the problem would have gone away with no thought and no effort.’
‘But the problem would have gone away!’
‘Don’t be such a bloody gold-digger!’ No sooner had the words left her lips than Thea felt awful. ‘Oh hun! I didn’t mean that. I’m so tired. It all came out wrong and—’
Tina’s round face creased with distress. ‘I…’
‘Oh hell. Tina, I’m so sorry. I meant—’
‘I know perfectly well what you meant, thank you very much!’ Tina grabbed her bag from the back of the chair. ‘Well, if that’s what you think of me, I’ll be on my way.’
‘Tina! I didn’t mean it, I—’
‘If you want me, I’ll be working from the Trust office.’
‘But they’ve agreed you should work here.’
‘And if I need to I will, but when I do, I’d appreciate if you’d keep your opinions about my private life to yourself.’
*
Thea had taken over an hour to stop shaking. Calling Tina’s mobile had produced no response, and so far she hadn’t received a reply to the long, apologetic email she’d hammered out.
Wishing it was possible to take back words or erase time, Thea decided the only thing she could do, especially if she was going to have to get Mill Grange sorted without her right hand woman, was tackle something practical and physically tiring.
*
Hunting through the stables, Thea was beginning to think she’d imagined seeing whitewash there, when she caught sight of two faded tubs in the corner, semi-hidden behind a mound of trestle tables. As she bent down to tug them into view, a male voice cut across her concentration.
‘Now there’s a view to gladden the heart.’ Shaun strode through the open double doors, a broom in one hand and a dustpan and brush in the other.
Despite the new heaviness in her heart, Thea couldn’t prevent the grin that crossed her face. ‘That’s the second potentially sexist remark you’ve made to me in the last twenty-four hours.’
‘Is it sexist to admire a beautiful woman?’
Thea wrinkled her nose. ‘Let’s just say that, in recent years, the rules have become a little blurred.’
‘Don’t I know it! Us chaps can’t smile at a woman anymore without worrying about a court appearance.’ Shaun gave a theatrical bow. ‘Do I have permission to tell you I think you look good, whenever I like, providing it’s in private?’
‘Granted.’
‘And that having very little sleep has a very sexy effect on your voice?’
‘Maybe.’ Thea’s grin widened as Shaun battled to keep a straight face.
‘Good. So, when do the chickens arrive?’
Remembering Tina’s excitement about the arrival of the chickens, Thea felt her moment of optimism dip. ‘Not until this afternoon thankfully, so I’ve a bit of time to crack on.’
‘Are you alright? Your smile disappeared very quickly at the mention of chickens. I thought you were looking forward to fresh eggs for breakfast.’
‘I am. Just seems like something else to worry about, that’s all.’
‘Aren’t Tina and Sam going to look after them?’
‘Tina’s had to go to the office for a while.’ Looking away so Shaun wouldn’t see the sadness on her face, she added, ‘I’m sure Sam will cope though.’
‘More than likely. He’s a capable chap.’ Propping up the broom and dropping the dustpan and brush, Shaun took the whitewash from Thea’s hand. ‘For the mill?’
‘Yes. I want to make a start on freshening it up. Even if we have to admit defeat and sell it rather than split it into rentals, it’ll need some TLC first.’
‘I don’t know about TLC But I do know you’ll need a ladder and a tall person for those hard to reach places.’
‘Are you volunteering?’
‘I certainly am.’ Shaun hooked a paint tin onto his arm and picked up the broom. ‘I want to hear what the trustees had to say about last night.’
‘Tina was going to call Malcolm, but I suppose she’ll speak to him in person now.’ Mentally crossing her fingers that Tina would still honour her promise to liaise with the Trust about the nightjar incident, Thea forced out a smile. ‘Thankfully Sam and Derek think they can handle the window, so it’s the vase and table that need addressing.’
‘Just the vase.’
‘What?’ Hope clutched at Thea’s heart for the first time in days.
‘Obviously, Malcolm will have to be told about the table, but you can also let him know that a French polisher has been engaged, and is already on his way. A mate of mine, Richard, will be with us by eight o’clock tomorrow morning.’
‘But…’
‘I’m sure you are going to say something very dull about money. However, Richard is one of the experts lined up for the next series of Landscape Treasures. He is an expert on furniture and its restoration. I gave him a call and sent him some photos of the table. He got all excited about a Gillows dining table being so far from where it was made in Lancashire, and agreed to take a look in return for potentially featuring it in the show. What do you think?’
‘Have Mill Grange on your TV show?’
‘Yes. It’d be fabulous publicity. It would be a side feature, mainly featuring the interior of the house, but it might help get some interest in the Open Day. Help ticket sales a bit maybe.’
Dropping her paintbrushes, Thea ran to Shaun’s side and hugged him. ‘That’s amazing. Do you really think he’d do the polishing for us?’
‘I do. He’s good. Used to work for Christies.’
‘Bloody hell. I can’t wait to tell Tina… Oh.’
‘What is it?’
‘I upset Tina. I didn’t mean to.’ Thea sighed. ‘She said she was going to work from the office from now on.’
‘I’m sorry to hear that. Do you want to talk about it?’ Shaun ran a gentle palm over her cheek.
‘No thanks. It’s my fault. I’ll sort it out.’ Thea reached out and found her unspoken request for a hug instantly granted.
‘If you’re sure.’ Pulling Thea closer, Shaun’s voice was suddenly husky. ‘I think we have a few things to discuss when we go out tonight, and not just Mill Grange’s potential television show.’
‘Such as?’
‘Such as why, young lady, you are hugging me, without so much as asking me first? Rules work both ways you know.’ Shaun held Thea tighter. ‘May I kiss the management?’
‘You may.’