Pippa couldn’t remember a worse week. Not for a long time, anyway, and definitely not since the hotel had opened. Thankfully, the hotel had been quiet all week; although at the weekend it was full and next week they had a number of bookings. Pippa had organised extra staff to carry the load while they dealt with the sanctuary situation. From when William had first threatened to sue, things had gone from bad to worse.
William had wasted no time in making as big a fuss as possible. Although he hadn’t even needed stitches, he was making out that he was practically mauled to death. He’d immediately engaged a solicitor to represent him, a very aggressive one, possibly on a no-win, no-fee basis. Simon Hawker, the solicitor, called up the sanctuary to say how his ‘client’ was going to sue for injuries and also for distress caused by re-homing the pet that he’d grown attached to only to have to give him back after the ‘vicious attack’. He didn’t ask for an exact sum of money, but the implication from the hungry solicitor was that they wanted a big payout.
He’d also called up the local paper, who’d been clambering around the sanctuary, asking for quotes and taking photos. It was chaos. Especially as they had to rein Connor in to stop him from threatening the press with … well, it was best not to repeat the threats. Mike from the sanctuary had tried to reason with them, but although it was a big local story, once they’d got photos and the Singers’ ‘no comment’, they’d gone off to write it up. It had also been on the local radio and the threat was that if it carried on, the story might garner wider interest.
The Singers had closed ranks, along with the community, who thankfully were giving them their full support. John, the vicar, was going to pray for them, but as Harriet said, they needed more than prayers. Their family solicitor had put them on to someone who was better placed to deal with this kind of thing and Harriet had had many meetings trying to go over their options. Freddie was dealing with the press, saying that they refused to make comments until Meadowbrook Sanctuary had launched a full investigation. Basically, they were trying to buy time.
A couple of regular donors had immediately pulled out with funding and Pippa had been calling other large sanctuary supporters to ask them or, more accurately, beg them not to judge until the mess had been sorted out. She’d given assurances that it would be – with a confidence she certainly didn’t feel but managed to muster up. Because she had to do something. She was relieved that most agreed, albeit a couple reluctantly, and the worst had been two large companies who said they’d have to put their sponsorship on hold until the outcome was decided. Pippa felt a little as if she’d done a bit to help, but each and every one of them were feeling frustrated. Poor Connor had never been so down and Harriet, who was usually a problem-solver, was unable to come up with a solution. Harry was trying to support Connor and remain upbeat, but Pippa knew she was feeling emotionally fragile, too.
Hector had used his social media and huge fan base to show his support for the sanctuary. He wasn’t going overboard; however, he said he was confident that the sanctuary would be proved innocent. Goodness, it felt as if they’d done something criminal. But Hector proved a great support with some wonderful PR and Pippa was touched by how much he was willing to do. The problem was that none of them knew exactly how to make it go away.
It was unthinkable that the sanctuary might actually be in trouble. When their father had died, he’d entrusted – no, demanded – that they not only run the sanctuary, but also raise a certain amount of money to do so. One by one, each of them had fallen in love with the sanctuary and the work it did. It was part of Meadowbrook, a huge part, so nothing could be allowed to jeopardise it.
Brooke had surprised Pippa by stepping in to help with Toby. She was good with him, of course, having been an au pair for a short time – was there no job this twenty-five-year-old hadn’t done? And although Pippa felt a little jealous, because Harriet was so grateful to Brooke, she knew she shouldn’t, because they needed all the help they could get. Pippa was seeing sides to herself lately she wasn’t keen on, but then as they were in the midst of a crisis, she didn’t have time to dissect what to do about it.
It was threatening to be a disaster, but at the moment they were containing it. It was the best they could do. However, short of paying William off, no one knew how to make it go away. The sanctuary was in big trouble and no one could underestimate how much of a knife edge they were teetering on at the moment. Connor was devastated and blaming himself, and although Lucky had settled into his ‘foster’ home with Gwen and Gerry, no one knew what this meant for him, either.
Pippa got the staff to lay out the dining room. Before the guests were due that evening Harriet had called a meeting at the hotel so they could all sit down, review where they were and decide how to proceed going forward. Pippa had organised coffee and Gwen, who always baked in a crisis, had baked a lot of cakes. Although this was largely a family meeting, Harriet had invited Mike, Ginny and Clive from the sanctuary, John, the vicar, who was one of the most influential people in the village, as well as Hector and Brooke, who was involved whether Pippa liked it or not. Pippa was trying her best to stay calm. She’d also spoken to Harvey, telling him about the situation, but he still wanted to come this weekend. He was due to arrive later that evening and she was glad she’d have someone to distract her, someone to take the edge off the growing unease that she was feeling.
During the week they’d all rallied together, but in the evenings they’d all gone their separate ways, probably to recharge, and Pippa was feeling very much that she was on her own. But she wouldn’t be this weekend – she’d have Harvey to hold her, reassure her and hopefully make her feel better. She wouldn’t be alone. However, she had yet to tell everyone, apart from Gemma, about him coming and she was about to do just that.
They all sat around the table, including Edie. Edie had turned up because Gemma normally took her shopping on Friday mornings and when she heard about the meeting, she insisted on joining them. Toby was in his pram; thankfully, they’d arranged the meeting for his nap time, but Brooke said if he woke then she’d see to him. Of course she would.
‘I’m not going to beat around the bush,’ Harriet started, but then she never did. ‘It’s not looking good. We’ve got the papers running the story still and William’s milking it, telling them that he’s suing us for mental anguish as well now, because he loved that dog. There’s a threat the story will go national.’ She sounded grim.
‘Bloody William,’ Freddie spat unhelpfully.
‘Quite.’ Harriet rolled her eyes. ‘We’ve spoken to a PR company, because although Pip’s done a great job with our major donors, local families are also being put off. They specialise in crisis management and think they can help, but it’s going to be difficult with the lawsuit going on. We’re limited as to what we can do if they officially sue us, which is what they’re threatening.’
‘And although they’re very good, they’re expensive,’ Freddie pointed out.
‘Can we, you know, can our family trust pay?’ Gus asked.
‘Yes, if we all agree,’ Harriet said. ‘But the solicitors have suggested that in order to make this go away, it would be a better use of money if we pay William off.’
‘Isn’t that an admission of guilt?’ Pippa asked.
‘Not if he signs a non-disclosure. We offer him money on the basis that he drops the case and stops talking to the press, goodness knows he’s done enough damage already. He can’t talk about us or the situation again. And we’re not admitting guilt but…’
‘It feels like it,’ Connor said angrily. ‘And again, we’re talking a lot of money. The sanctuary can’t finance that.’
‘No, it’ll have to be taken from Meadowbrook,’ Harriet said. ‘I’ll have to speak to the solicitors.’
‘I feel so responsible,’ Connor said. ‘I’m sure … I was sure that Lucky was fine to be re-homed.’ He had devastation written on his face.
‘Connor, this isn’t your fault. Everyone at the sanctuary felt Lucky would be a great dog to be re-homed and apart from his nerves around loud noises, he’s a gentle, lovely dog,’ Ginny said.
‘Gerry and I haven’t had a minute’s trouble from him,’ Gwen cut in. ‘He’s such a lovely, gentle fellow.’
‘He’s grand,’ Gerry added.
‘Do we know, for sure, that he wasn’t subjected to a loud noise?’ Brooke cut in. ‘I know that there’s a lot of shooting around here at times and although it’s not firework season, it could have been something like that.’
‘It’s not shooting season anymore, though,’ Freddie said, seeming to deflate. ‘Although, of course, there’s often shooting up at the farms.’
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope in the room.
‘And we’ve only got William’s word, so how do we prove otherwise?’ Connor asked.
‘I could go and flirt with him,’ Edie suggested. ‘See if I can get the truth out of him. You know, like one of the femme fatale types.’
The room was so silent you could almost hear everyone’s brains trying to get around that offer as the glimmer faded.
Finally, Harriet spoke.
‘Thanks so much for the offer, but we wouldn’t want to put you in a dangerous situation,’ she said carefully.
Freddie choked and Pippa could hear him mutter, ‘More dangerous for William,’ under his breath.
‘But, Edie, we’ll keep it in mind if all else fails.’
Edie was satisfied with this.
‘And of course my morris dancers are happy to help,’ John said.
‘What, dance William into submission?’ Freddie asked in a weak attempt at humour.
‘No, Freddie.’ John was keeping his cool as he always did. ‘But remember, we’ve helped with security issues at Meadowbrook before. When that boy tried to let the animals out, and of course tracking down the person who bad-mouthed the hotel. We do have investigative and security experience, if you remember.’
‘Of course, and you were so amazing in those cases,’ Pippa shot quickly. They were helpful, in fact. It seemed Meadowbrook security was a bit of a morris dancer sideline. ‘And we’ll keep that in mind,’ she added.
John seemed satisfied with this.
‘So, what’s the next step?’ Amanda asked.
She’d rearranged work so she could be there for them; she’d been extremely practical and she was keeping Gus calm, which was no easy feat. Even Fleur had threatened to go and ‘beat that bloody man up,’ and no one thought she was joking. Fortunately she had exams at school, so she was at a safe distance while staying at her mum’s.
‘I’m going to meet with the solicitor again later today,’ Harriet said. ‘Gus, can you come with me?’ she asked.
‘Of course,’ Gus replied.
Although Gus wasn’t necessarily calm, he was sensible, so he was a good choice.
‘Also,’ Connor added, his voice devoid of any of its usual cheerfulness, ‘perhaps someone could call William and tell him we’re working something out with the solicitor but can he please not talk to anyone until we get back to him. It just might mean a bit more damage limitation. He seems to be trying to turn this into something like five minutes of fame. I heard the other day he’d told someone that he was in talks with breakfast TV!’
‘Good thinking, Con.’ Harriet reached over and squeezed his arm.
‘I’ll call him,’ Amanda offered. ‘After all, I spoke to him before and although I hate what he’s doing, he was polite to me and I won’t lose my cool.’
‘Thanks, Amanda, that would be great. I’m not sure I could even bring myself to speak to him,’ Harriet said.
‘Is the hotel staffed this weekend?’ Freddie asked.
Although he’d normally know this, Pippa and he had been a bit like ships passing in the night since the situation with Lucky, where one would manage the hotel while the other concentrated on the sanctuary and they kept swapping over to where they were most needed.
‘I’ve got full staff and we’ve got a fair few guests. There’s a family of four, a parent and two teenage girls, a couple celebrating their anniversary and a group of six women, one of whom has just got divorced and so they wanted a treat. A couple of the women have their own rooms and four are sharing.’ Pippa paused. ‘I haven’t had the chance to tell you yet, but I’ve got a friend staying, too. In my apartment.’ She concentrated very hard on the table.
‘Not the mysterious French girl?’ Hector asked.
Gemma chewed her lip anxiously. Pippa wished she didn’t have to tell them now, what with Edie and John, the vicar, also being there, but she had to come clean.
‘Not exactly. He’s called Harvey and I met him … we’ve been … well, sort of talking a bit.’ She felt her cheeks reddening as all eyes were on her.
‘This really isn’t a good time,’ Harriet said, her eyes narrowed at her sister.
‘I know, I know, but I explained that to him and he said he’ll just muck in.’ Pippa could feel her cheeks burning.
‘Is this the guy from that investment bank who came here with Prince Harry?’ Brooke asked a little loudly.
‘No one told me Prince Harry had come here,’ Edie said.
‘He could have come to church,’ John, the vicar, added.
‘No, it was a guest who looked a bit like Prince Harry,’ Pippa replied, her face still red.
‘It’s a date, then?’ Hector asked.
Pippa couldn’t help but hear the hurt in his voice.
‘Um, well, um, it might be a bit,’ she replied, going back to staring at the table.
‘He seemed OK,’ Freddie said, looking around the table. ‘I mean he can hold his drink, which is always a good sign…’ He tapered off.
‘I have to go. Sorry, but I’ve just remembered I need to make some calls.’
Hector stood up so fast he sent his chair flying, but he didn’t stop to pick it up as he rushed out of the room.
‘What on earth?’ Pippa asked.
‘I’ll go after him,’ Brooke said, hurrying out after him.
‘Poor Hector,’ Harriet said. ‘Pip, you had to know that would hurt him.’
‘What am I supposed to do? Never date again?’
Pippa felt defensive. She hated upsetting anyone, especially Hector, who she was so fond of, but she’d tried to be subtle, not that she’d managed it, and perhaps this was what he needed to get over his silly crush on her. She was probably doing him a favour.
‘No, but…’ Freddie scratched his head.
‘Pippa’s tried to do this the right way and she deserves to be happy,’ Gemma defended.
‘Anyway, Hector only wants me because he can’t have me. And he and Brooke have been spending a lot of time together lately.’
‘Actually, they’d make a very good couple,’ Edie observed. ‘If he and I aren’t meant to be then perhaps I should help him find happiness with Brooke.’
Brooke and Hector, Pippa thought. Why did that suddenly bother her so much?
She was just about to go into the dining room to check the table was ready. All the guests had checked in, they were happy and they were due to dine together. Minus Hector, who wasn’t replying to her when she tried to find out if he wanted dinner, or Brooke, who was also giving her the silent treatment.
‘Oh!’ She jumped as Brooke appeared as if from nowhere. ‘You scared me, I didn’t see you,’ she said.
‘I just wanted to talk to you,’ Brooke said, in a clipped tone.
Her eyes were narrowed, and Pippa had never seen this side to her.
‘What about, Brooke?’ Pippa asked. She felt as if Brooke was about to give her a ticking off and she wasn’t happy about that.
‘Poor Hector, he’s so besotted with you and yet you let another man come here, where he’s paying to stay so he can be close to you, to rub his nose in it.’
Pippa took a step back.
‘Hang on. Hector and I have known each other for years. He first tried to chat me up when I was married, even. Of course I’m flattered, but I’ve told him a number of times that we’re just friends. He’s one of my closest friends, in fact. And anyway, if you knew Hector like I do, you’d realise that he only likes me because I’m the only woman ever to say no to him.’ It sounded a little lame even to her ears.
‘I don’t believe you, Pippa. I do know Hector, having spent time with him recently, but you just see what you want. You think he’s too young, too flirty, not good enough for you, but I see someone who knows more about love than you do, who adores you, who cares about your whole family, who’d do anything for you, and you treat him like dirt.’
Her words cut Pippa but her voice had softened. ‘If anyone doesn’t know the real Hector, it’s you.’
Leaving Pippa speechless, she turned on her heels and made to walk away.
‘By the way, I suggested to Hector that he go away this weekend so you don’t get to rub his nose in it, but he said no, he needed to be here to support you all with the Lucky situation. You don’t know how valuable, how honourable, how decent he really is.’ She was angry again.
‘Now hang on! Hector’s one of my closest friends,’ Pippa protested.
‘Then I’d hate to see how you treat your enemies.’
Pippa was still reeling from the encounter when Harvey arrived. She’d called Gemma in tears, who was helping out in the bar tonight, so she’d rushed to calm Pippa down. She was so sweet but Pippa got the impression that she didn’t totally disagree with Brooke. Gemma was just too nice to voice it. Pippa felt wretched. It was true that she didn’t take Hector’s feelings seriously, but then if she did it would probably ruin their friendship and that would affect her whole family. Hector was a part of Meadowbrook and he’d never really said anything to her to imply that he was unhappy with them being friends. Most of the time, it was just harmless flirting, after all. Why was life getting so complicated? And was Brooke right? Because if she was then Pippa had to apologise and she didn’t like apologising.
Although Pippa was known as the sweetest of the Singers, she was also known as the most stubborn. She hated being wrong and she had a real problem with saying sorry. She’d been like that since childhood. For now, though, she needed to concentrate on Harvey, who was perhaps her happiness, and she wasn’t going to ruin that because of other people. She rarely put herself first but now she was going to.
Letting Harvey in, she ushered him straight through to her apartment. She had a cheeseboard waiting for him and a good wine. She didn’t want to have to see anyone else tonight, not after the day she’d had, and although her family might want to meet him tomorrow, with the Lucky situation, they were too preoccupied to ask too many questions. In any other circumstances, she’d be grateful for that.
‘You’re a sight for sore, tired eyes,’ Harvey said. ‘Come here, beautiful.’
‘I definitely have tired eyes too,’ Pippa replied, kissing him. ‘Wine?’
She poured two glasses and they settled on the sofa.
‘So, is the dog thing resolved?’ he asked, sipping his wine.
‘No, and goodness knows what we’ll do. We’ll probably have to pay this guy off, get him to sign something to say he withdraws the allegations, without us admitting culpability.’
‘It’s the best solution. Give him money, he goes away and you can get back to normal.’
He made it sound so simple.
‘But if we do that, without being exonerated, there’s a chance we could still lose donors and the investigation could do so much damage that we’ll never be able to re-home any pets.’
‘Pay this bloody bloke off and get him to say that he was mistaken, that’s what I’d do. Clearly, he just wants money.’
‘It just seems so wrong,’ Pippa protested.
Harvey made it sound like any other business deal.
‘Life is wrong sometimes, Pippa. Now, can we talk about something else, please?’
His voice was sharp and Pippa was startled.
‘Sorry if I’m boring you,’ she snapped.
‘Don’t be like that, it’s just I’ve come all this way to see you and I don’t want to talk about a bloody dog. I want to talk about us and you and how gorgeous you are.’
His voice softened and so did she.
‘Actually, it’s all I’ve been talking about, so I don’t want to talk about it anymore, either,’ she conceded, feeling tired, suddenly, of everything. Including arguing with people. ‘Let’s take the wine to bed.’
The hotel was in good hands and now, as Harvey enveloped her in his arms, so was she.
She checked the hotel was all right as Harvey slept. She’d had a lovely night in the end and managed, with Harvey’s help, to put all thoughts of anything but him to the back of her mind. The hotel was all set up for breakfast, it would seem. Gemma was on late duty and she shooed Pippa back to bed.
‘This is your weekend off.’
‘I took last weekend off, this seems greedy,’ Pippa laughed.
‘You deserve it; you’ve worked so hard. Go and have fun while you can.’ Gemma hugged her.
‘You don’t think that Brooke’s right and I’m a horrible person?’ she asked yet again as the insecurity crept back.
‘No. No, I don’t. I think that it’s a complicated situation, but we’ll talk about it another time, when you don’t have a handsome man waiting for you in your bed.’
‘Which is most of the time, Gem.’
Pippa made coffee while trying to keep out of Vicky’s way in the kitchen and she took them back to her apartment. She placed the cups on the bedside table and then kissed Harvey gently on the shoulder.
‘Morning,’ he said sleepily, slowly opening his eyes and stretching.
‘Hey,’ she replied. She felt happy this morning. It might be fleeting but she was going to revel in it. ‘I made coffee and then I thought we could go into Bath for brunch. I know it’s lovely here, but I need a day away from the hotel. Away from everything.’
‘Sounds good to me. Maybe I can buy you something. Not only do you deserve it but it might just cheer you up.’
‘Harvey, I don’t need you to do that,’ she said.
She couldn’t remember the last time a man had bought her a gift. Actually, she could, it was Hector…
‘I want to. You’re going through a tough time and you’re lovely. You make me happy. That’s reason enough for me.’ He kissed her insistently.
‘In that case … Oh, and just a heads-up, we’re going to the pub tonight with some of my family.’
Harriet hadn’t been distracted quite enough by the Lucky situation, after all. She’d demanded they meet Harvey at some point and the pub seemed like the safest bet. It would only be Harriet and Connor – Gwen would be babysitting – Gus and Amanda. Freddie and Gemma were on hotel duty. Fleur was with Alfie and didn’t want to join the ‘boring olds’, and Hayley was with her dad. With it being the six of them, Pippa hoped it wouldn’t be too uncomfortable; although she fully expected Harriet to ask far too many questions. But, of course, it could have been worse.
‘I can’t wait to meet your family. Your brother, Freddie, was a right laugh,’ Harvey said.
‘He’s working here tonight but we’ll have a drink with him before we go.’
‘That’s a shame. His girlfriend – Gemma, isn’t it? She seemed very sweet, too, and the American, is she going to be there?’
‘No, she’s not,’ Pippa said, thinking about how Brooke would probably be doing her best to keep Hector occupied that weekend.
And then she felt guilty. Brooke was just being nice – her harsh words to Pippa were out of concern – and she was taking care of Hector. Pippa would probably have to apologise to her, after all.
‘She was fun. A couple of my boys took a shine to her; talked about her quite a bit when they got back to London, in fact.’
‘Well, she did have a little fling with, what’s his name? The red-haired guy, I think.’
‘Rob. Good lad. Anyway, when I first met her I thought you and she were alike. I guess you’re both blonde,’ he laughed.
‘No, she’s nothing like me.’ Pippa decided to end the conversation by kissing him.
So this was how it felt to be a normal couple, Pippa thought as she and Harvey strolled around Bath arm in arm. They’d been for an early lunch – it turned out that brunch was a little optimistic by the time they’d finally got out of bed – and now they were shopping. Harvey insisted on buying her a pair of beautiful gold earrings from her favourite Bath jeweller, and she was both touched and delighted.
As they looked in the shops, which was a good way to find out about his taste in things – conservative when it came to clothes and jewellery, it seemed – they chatted easily about their lives, their pasts, their likes and dislikes. There was nothing awkward about the time they spent together and conversation flowed easily. Although Harvey kept glancing at his phone, he hadn’t done any work since they’d been together, which was a definite improvement on last weekend.
‘I love this city,’ Harvey said. ‘You know, when I slow down, which I need to do one day, I could see myself living here.’
‘You could? Really?’ Pippa perked up.
She knew it was far too early to think long term, although as Pippa didn’t do casual, she couldn’t help herself. But the fact he lived in London and she in Somerset was something that bothered her slightly.
‘Yes, I have no idea when I’m going to scale back on the old job, but I’m not going to be running at this pace forever. Unless I want to run into an early grave. Although I’m not quite over the hill yet.’
‘And in the meantime, we could easily date like this, couldn’t we? You know, weekends?’ she said without thinking.
Pippa needed lessons in playing it cool, but it was a bit late for that.
‘Don’t see why not.’ Harvey shrugged then, pulling her close to him, they carried on walking.
Pippa knew she shouldn’t get carried away; it hadn’t done her any favours in the past. With Edward she even saw them both running the two hotels together, after only a couple of dates, so she needed to take things slowly. But she couldn’t help but picture them together, having many more days like this in Bath, spending their evenings at Meadowbrook with the family. It felt right. It definitely felt right, right now.
Pippa tried not to feel nervous as she got changed for the pub. She decided on a pair of jeans, a fitted black jumper and knee-length boots. It was beginning to get warmer. Spring was fully on them and she could almost feel summer approaching; although so far April had been quite chilly. Harvey was on his laptop in the living room, which she didn’t mind as he’d been so attentive so far, and anyway, she needed space to do her hair and make-up. She’d handed Harvey a nice glass of wine while he worked and he’d suggested going to the bar for a pre-dinner drink, but Gemma had texted Pippa to warn her that both Hector and Brooke were there, so she’d dissuaded him. She wanted to avoid both of them. There was no way she was letting Brooke be rude to her in front of Harvey. She’d hatched a plan to sneak him out of the back door then walk down to Harriet’s and Connor’s cottage so they could all go to the pub together. She hoped her sister was on her best behaviour. Gus and Amanda would be lovely, but Harriet, well, she could be a pit bull. Although, of course, she and Harvey would have loads in common, so Pippa was hoping that they’d bond over the city.
The Parker’s Arms was busy, but then it was every Saturday. Pippa had booked a table for the six of them, tucked away. She was thankful that William wasn’t there, but then he normally went to the pub at lunchtime and in the early evening, so they were unlikely to have a confrontation. Pippa, Harvey, Harriet and Connor sat down and waited for Gus and Amanda, greeting various people they knew from the village while trying not to get engaged or drawn into conversation. For one night, no one wanted to talk about the Lucky situation.
‘Shall I get drinks?’ Connor asked.
He’d been perfectly friendly to Harvey so far, but it was clear that an animal-loving vet and a city boy didn’t have much in common. Especially as Harvey had already – and embarrassingly – confessed he didn’t like any animals. Connor didn’t trust anyone who didn’t like animals.
‘I’ll help you,’ Harvey offered.
Connor paled.
‘We’ll have a bottle of Sauvignon,’ Harriet said as she pushed Connor towards the bar, Harvey at his heels.
‘Poor Con. Never did know how to deal with city boys,’ Harriet observed.
‘Not like you, then,’ Pippa said. ‘What do you think?’
‘He’s nice-looking, good bod, not your usual public schoolboy type. A bit old for you, Pip, as usual, but he seems OK so far.’
‘Wow, OK, that’s high praise coming from you,’ Pippa teased.
‘But, I know his type, married to the job, and I also know my sister. I’m not sure that you’d actually cope with it in the long term.’
‘Harry, it’s early days, so let’s not worry about that yet.’ Pippa tried to sound light, but it was as if Harriet were voicing her thoughts.
‘Are we late?’ Gus asked, bounding up.
‘No, but if you go to the bar right now, you’ll catch Connor with Harvey,’ Harriet said.
Amanda sat down as he did so.
‘You guys all right?’ Pippa asked.
‘Yes. Fleur’s at Alfie’s tonight, so one of us, probably Gus, has to stay sober so we can collect her later. God, wait until Toby’s a teenager, Harriet, you end up as a glorified taxi service.’
‘Thank goodness that’s ages away. I want him to stay a baby forever – you know, so I can protect him.’
‘I know. The hardest thing about being a parent is seeing how they get more independent. You’re proud of them, of course, but you hate the idea at the same time,’ Amanda laughed as the men returned with the drinks.
‘What are you ladies talking about?’ Gus asked.
‘Children,’ Pippa said.
‘Do you have children, Harvey?’ Gus asked.
‘Yes, teenagers. One’s at uni and the other’s finishing sixth form. They only see me when they have to or want something. Bloody kids.’ He glanced at the horrified faces around him. ‘But I love them to bits, of course, and we’re getting closer now they’re growing up. At least I’ve done my bit with breeding; I don’t need to worry about that anymore.’
Pippa nearly spat out her wine. Harriet glanced at her with concern. Thankfully, Harvey was oblivious, as he was talking about the ‘real ale’ he was drinking.
‘Nice, and smooth. I like this one. I’ll come here again,’ he said. ‘I do like a good local.’
‘It’s a pretty decent choice,’ Connor conceded.
‘We’ve got teenagers, so we know what you mean.’ Amanda turned the subject back.
‘They cost a bloody fortune. My ex, she wanted more kids, but I told her that I’d never get to retire if we did, so two was enough. There’s school fees, then all the stuff they want to do for five minutes, like the violin and the flute, then it’s all cars and houses. Neverending, the amount they want these days. Thank goodness they might actually be getting jobs in the next few years; otherwise I’d never get to retire,’ he laughed.
Pippa could hardly breathe. Of course they hadn’t had a conversation about kids, they weren’t anywhere near that point, but Pippa wanted to be a mum. She was desperate to be a mother. Not necessarily in the next few weeks, but definitely in the next few years. Never wasn’t an option. But then perhaps Harvey sounded set on this because he was single and if they fell in love, then he’d change his mind…
‘Won’t you miss work if you retired?’ Harriet thankfully changed the subject.
‘I’m not going for a few years yet. I’ll probably trade my own account even then. It’s in the blood, isn’t it? Don’t you miss it?’ he asked.
‘Sometimes I miss the buzz a little,’ Harriet said carefully but at the same time grasped Connor’s hand to reassure him. ‘But with my life now, Connor, Toby, my family, the hotel, the sanctuary, there’s always so much going on and I love it. It’s a different buzz, but actually I think a bigger one.’
Connor leant across and kissed her.
‘Yeah, not sure I’ll be like that, but as I say, I can do private trading to keep my hand in.’
‘Do you have any hobbies?’ Gus asked.
God, Pippa thought, this sounded like a job interview.
‘Nah, I don’t have time. I played golf once but it was a waste of time. I have to go to the gym so I don’t get too fat, but I don’t have much spare time apart from that.’
Pippa smiled reassuringly at Harvey, but she didn’t know why. He didn’t seem phased by all the questions.
‘Didn’t you enjoy Gus’s painting class when you came?’ Amanda asked.
‘It was OK, but I only did that, and the bloody baking, for the others. I can’t be doing with all that arty stuff normally, but it was good for the staff. I wanted the team to bond and actually, it worked a treat. Really, you should thank me. I’ve told other department heads at the bank and they’re all talking about booking. If you get a flood of them, I’ll expect commission.’
‘Tell you what, you can date our sister as your commission,’ Harriet offered.
‘Are you pimping me out?’ Pippa asked. She laughed, hoping that it sounded light-hearted.
The problem was that here, in this situation, Harvey sounded a bit arrogant or something and Pippa wasn’t loving it. He didn’t even compliment Gus; in fact, he almost dismissed him.
‘Anyway, Gus’s painting workshops are wonderful, as are Gwen’s baking classes. The guests love it.’
‘Yeah, well, it worked a treat, as I said, for the bonding. I didn’t need to get too involved as I’m the top dog anyway.’
‘Oh, you really are,’ Harriet said and Pippa tried to ignore the sarcasm that she could hear in her voice.
Steve, the owner of the pub, came over to take their order, which they normally went to the bar to do.
‘I wanted to come over and offer our support again. I know you wouldn’t have re-homed that dog if there was anything wrong with it. And if you ask me, that William has a lot to answer for. I let him drink here still and, by the way, he’s a big drinker, but I wouldn’t trust him. I just wish there was something I could do.’
‘Thanks, Steve.’ Connor stood up to shake his hand. ‘That means a lot.’
They all placed their orders and Steve left. It had left a bit of a sombre attitude over the table.
‘Just pay the bloke off,’ Harvey said. ‘Get him to sign something saying he’ll keep quiet and then it’ll be over.’
‘It’s not that simple,’ Connor snapped.
‘No, it’s not,’ Gus said. ‘Although he’ll sign papers, some might see it as an admission of guilt on our part and it could do irreparable damage to the animal sanctuary.’
‘Look, this guy’s probably a bit of a chancer, but by the time you’ve finished paying the bloody solicitors you’d have been best paying him off in the first place. So, maybe a few people don’t want to adopt from you for a while, but you know, people have short memories, they’ll move on. Job done and maybe we can talk about something else.’
Pippa saw both Gus and Connor glance at each other. A look that said they weren’t too keen on Harvey. Not again. Pippa’s family never liked the men she dated. Of course, before they had good reason, but she really thought, hoped, that Harvey was different. Although tonight she was seeing him through her family’s eyes and she wasn’t too keen, either. Normally, when you introduced a new person they made an effort to be interested in other people, but not Harvey. It was like he was a different man when they were alone and Pippa was feeling confused.
‘You’re quite opinionated, aren’t you?’ Harriet said and Pippa wanted to put her head in her hands.
‘I just tell it like it is, that’s all. But I can see how important this animal thing is to you. I thought if you could get it to go away then you could put it behind you.’
He sounded mildly contrite and Harriet seemed to back down a little.
‘So, you live in Central London?’ Amanda asked, changing the subject.
‘Yes, Notting Hill. A bit poncy but I like it.’ He grinned. ‘It’s convenient and there’s plenty of good places to eat. I’m a bit of a fan of city life, to be honest; couldn’t live in the middle of nowhere like you.’
‘I can’t wait to visit your place,’ Pippa said, trying to ignore the open-mouthed gapes of their dinner companions.
Thankfully, the food came and then they all concentrated on their plates as if they were the most interesting things in the world.