“This one ended well, didn’t it?” Damien commented when they met outside their rooms with their bags packed and ready to go. Emily hoped that Mr Bumble would have abandoned his new female cat friends and be waiting by the car to leave. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if he decided to stay here.
“It has been one of the more satisfying cases,” Emily agreed with a smile. Despite complications along the way, including nearly losing Duke to the negligence of the care staff, everything had turned out perfectly. Duke had a new place to live, and his family would immediately benefit from Amelia’s money, as she was arranging allowances right away. Amelia finally had people she could pass her wealth onto and a family that she could talk to and love. It was amazing just how well she and Duke were already getting on. If you watched them together, you’d have thought they’d known each other for years!
Despite Amelia’s near insistence that they stay on for another couple of weeks as her guests, so she could properly thank them for finding her family, Emily had explained that they needed to leave. She had lots of smaller jobs lined up for the next few weeks - and then there was that big job at a location close to Brighton. She was anxious to do some good work there in the hopes that they would land some more local work. Travelling up and down the country did get tiring at times! It’s all more money for buying a house, she thought and allowed herself a small smile. You had to have goals in life.
“Hang on, I just need to fix my hair,” Damien said, suddenly realising he’d forgotten his morning routine.
Emily tried not to laugh as he self-consciously covered his rather messy do with his hands and retreated back into his room. She’d never tell him, but in truth, it looked pretty similar both before and after he’d spent ages on it. One was accidentally messy, the other was a more purposeful disarray. She rolled her eyes at the opposite wall of the corridor and took out her laptop.
Once in her inbox, she skipped over a whole bunch of junk mail and even a few job offers that she could tell were probably minor by the subject lines. That, or they were trying to make them sound small, so that she wouldn’t charge them as much. People were more transparent than they realised.
She frowned at one email that had the subject line ‘Larch Hall Find’. She was immediately jerked back to the memory of sneaking out at midnight to dig up the flowerbeds and the fateful night where her assistant, Christian, had revealed that he intended to steal the treasure of Larch Hall to pay off his debts. Christian had tried to decapitate her with a spade - and he might have succeeded had she not been rescued just when things were getting really ugly.
She shook her head and focused her eyes on the email, trying not to dwell on memories of the past. All it said was to call a number ASAP. Emily bit her lip and glanced in the direction of Damien’s room. She could hear a hair dryer. I’ve probably got time for a call, she thought and pulled out her phone.
“Hi, this is Emily Mansion. I received an email telling me to call this number?” she said and then wondered if it was some kind of scam. After all - articles about her finding treasure at Larch Hall had appeared in various publications. Someone could be using this to get to her in some way.
Even worse, it could be a tabloid newspaper.
“Oh! Hello, thanks for calling so promptly,” the voice on the other end of the line replied.
“So… who are you?” Emily asked, after there had been an uncomfortable pause.
“Sorry, didn’t I say? I’m Melissa Hart, I work for –” She read out an office title so long and complicated that Emily lost track. She thought it might have ‘of the crown’ in it somewhere. That didn’t stop her from being suspicious. This woman could be anyone at all.
“Could you, er, prove your identity in some way?” Emily asked, feeling embarrassed that she was coming across rather rudely.
“It’s good that you’re being careful,” Melissa said.
Emily felt slightly relieved for a second but then realised it was exactly what a professional con-artist would say. Only amateurs panicked when you asked them who they were and where they were from.
“I’m afraid I don’t have means to prove myself to you at the moment, as I’m just a messenger. If you’ll hear me out, you’ll find that I don’t need any details from you, so this phone call is perfectly safe,” the woman assured her.
Emily started to feel silly. She felt like saying ‘sorry’ many, many times in a row. It was a hopelessly British affliction.
“I’ve been instructed to call you to inform you that your treasure find at Larch Hall has been processed and has been valued at…” There was the sound of rustling paper. “Two million pounds! Wow!”
Emily couldn’t help but feel a stab of discomfort at the large sum. That definitely would have solved Christian’s debt issues, but it wouldn’t have been the right thing to do. The treasure belonged to Larch Hall. Hopefully, they’d use it to bring in more visitors and continue to preserve their history.
“That’s really great to hear,” Emily said.
“That’s not all!” Melissa chirped. “Because you’re the one responsible for finding the treasure, the estate of Larch Hall would like to grant you, as a token of their appreciation, twenty-five-thousand pounds.”
Emily’s breath caught. That was a lot of money! It would be enough to mean she could finally put a deposit down on a house of her very own! She bit her lip. This could still be a scam.
“Are you sure you don’t need something from me?” she asked, almost certain that this transaction would require her handing over her bank details over the phone - which was never a good idea.
“Oh, gosh, no! As I already said, I’m just the messenger. Apparently, because your details were already on file from when you were paid for the work you did at Larch Hall, they’ve already transferred the sum to your bank account. I hope that’s okay?”
Emily wasn’t sure she was able to take another breath. This was crazy!
“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line sounded puzzled.
Emily tried to remind herself that it could still be a twisted joke. “Hi, sorry! That sounds great, thank you for telling me,” she said before wishing her goodbye and hanging up.
Twenty-five-thousand…
She blinked. She had to check it was real.
She listened at the door for a moment and could hear Damien humming along to something rather tuneless. He’d been in there ten minutes already, which probably meant she had at least another five to wait. She opened up a new tab on her laptop and logged into her online banking.
“It’s real!” she whispered, staring wide-eyed at the number in her bank account. It was all there - every last penny she’d been promised.
Damien opened the door and walked out; his hair now mussed to perfection. “Are you okay?” he asked, seeing her expression.
Emily blinked and shook her head. “I think so. I really think so.” She told him what had just happened, wanting to share a moment like this with someone other than Mr Bumble.
Damien’s eyebrows shot up and he gave a low whistle. “Well, I definitely need to stick with you if that’s the kind of Christmas bonus you get,” he joked.
Emily smiled and shook her head. This had never happened before and may never happen again. She looked up at Damien’s dark hair and eyes and thought about how kind and loyal he was. He was also one heck of a great looking guy; he was just quiet about it. It had taken Amelia’s over-enthusiasm for her apprentice for her to see it herself. She sighed silently. How had she ever missed it?
“Damien…” she started to say and then realised she didn’t have the words. The wild elation from the money that was now in her bank account rushed through her and made her feel dizzy when she looked at the man in front of her and realised that, sometimes, actions speak louder than words.
Without another second’s hesitation, she leaned in and kissed him on the lips.
She was surprised - but happy - when he wasted no time with a hesitation of his own and instead returned her kiss. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, sharing a kiss that seemed to mean more than all of her other kisses put together, but it felt like heaven. When he pulled away, she was still seeing stars flashing before her eyes. Damien surely had the same feelings for her that she had for him! She hadn’t imagined his slips of the tongue or shy looks. It had all been real.
She smiled at Damien’s mouth, which was opening and closing without any words coming out. She took it to be a good sign and knew that her cheeks were glowing with happiness. Sure, it probably wasn’t the most sensible business decision ever to become romantically attached to your apprentice, but a time came when you just couldn’t fight the feelings anymore. It was only now that she realised she’d been suppressing them from the very start.
Damien finally managed to find his tongue. “I think I love you,” he said.
Emily’s whole world seemed to slip sideways.
“Thank you,” she said and then felt terrible. Was that any way to respond to that sort of open and honest confession?
Damien looked down at his shoes. A whole barrage of questions rushed through Emily’s mind. Did he really mean it? How could he mean it? He’d only known her for a couple of months!
Most importantly of all… what did she feel in return for Damien?
“We should go downstairs and, uh, say bye to Amelia and her family,” Damien said, still not meeting her eyes. He walked off before she could stop him. Emily was left to pack her laptop away with a thousand thoughts still running around her head.
She knew that she was thinking about Jake White, the last man she’d fallen hard for. Admittedly, the idea of living in a castle was nice, but Emily also knew she’d be bored to tears kept in one place forever. She didn’t want to live a lazy life in the lap of luxury. She wanted to have adventures. She loved her job! Sure, it had ups and downs, but she knew she was one of the lucky few who got to do what they were passionate about for their living.
Damien was perfect for her. He loved this life as much as she did, and every day was just a little bit brighter when he was there sharing it with her.
She just didn’t know if she was on the same level he apparently was with his feelings for her.
Maybe with time…
She bit her lip, resolving to worry about it later. Right now, it was time to leave this adventure for the next one.
“Goodbye Amelia. Thank you for your hospitality,” Emily said after she’d wished everyone else farewell. The old lady hadn’t stopped smiling since her family had been found.
“I’ll never be able to thank you enough for what you’ve done for me. I’ve already paid you. It’s too bad you don’t accept tips,” Amelia said, raising an eyebrow at Emily and offering her one last chance to change her mind.
Emily didn’t take it. She had principles she liked to stick to - and that included delivering what she’d agreed she would deliver and not charging a penny more.
“As for you…” Amelia turned to look at Damien who, to his credit, didn’t quail nearly as obviously as he had when they’d first met. Amelia’s smile was wide, and Emily could tell she would always have a soft spot for Damien. After what had just happened upstairs, Emily couldn’t blame her. He truly was someone special. “You don’t get to say no to this,” Amelia finished and walked over to Damien, tucking an envelope into the back pocket of his jeans. Emily tried not to laugh when Damien’s face paled as she got close to him and her hand went behind him.
Emily knew that she’d just been messing with him all along, as she walked straight back after patting his arm.
“Have a good life, Damien,” the elderly owner of Friston Manor said and then smiled at Emily, giving her a look that made her think the older woman saw far more of what was going on than perhaps even Emily had seen. Could her whole play for Damien have been contrived to push Emily into action? It was the strangest thought, but… it had made her think, hadn’t it?
Amelia Friston was a wise woman.
“No way!” Those were the first words out of Damien’s mouth to Emily since he’d told her that he loved her.
The silence had stretched out for so long in the car after leaving Friston Manor that Emily had debated started up a conversation with Mr Bumble (who had fortunately elected to leave his female friends behind). At least she was guaranteed not to wind up in awkward territory during a chat with him. It was definitely a cat’s view that you should keep your fuzzy feelings to yourself.
“What is it?” Emily asked, glancing in the rear-view mirror at Damien. He was staring at something in his hand.
“It’s Amelia, you know she changed her will in addition to everything else she’s doing? She’s added me into it! When she passes away, she’s left me a hundred grand.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what to say.”
Emily smiled. She’d been right about Amelia seeing what needed to be seen. Now that she’d got her finder’s fee, she was doing well, but for Damien… that amount of money would mean he had freedom to do what he wanted to do for a while. He could put a deposit down on a house of his own, if he chose. He could finally start living the kind of life you imagined just sort of happened when you were a teenager.
The reality was never as simple. It was tough to keep everything on track and have the breathing space needed to figure out what really mattered to you personally.
“You still want to do this job, don’t you?” she asked anxiously when she pulled up outside his apartment in Brighton and they both got out of the car.
“Of course I do!” he replied, looking confused.
Emily bit her lip, wishing she hadn’t said anything.
He took a deep breath. “If this is about…”
She shook her head desperately. “No, it isn’t at all! I just wanted to check and then double check,” she added, realising she’d asked him the same question after their first job together. “Believe me when I say I really don’t want you to leave.”
“Thanks,” he said, finally managing to smile at her again.
Emily smiled back. She blinked her eyes in the misty January morning air and tried to think of something to say. No words came, so instead, she let good old actions speak louder than words.
The second kiss was even better than the first.
“I really, really like you,” she told him when they had become separate once more.
“That’s enough for me. Please don’t worry about…” Damien cleared his throat.
Emily found a strange giggle rising in her throat. “No, I’m the one who’s being silly here. It’s just… I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me and meant it.”
“Well… I do,” Damien confirmed, his steady gaze taking her in.
Emily smiled back at him, feeling like she’d won the lottery. “You’re wonderful,” she told him sincerely, hoping that would be enough… say enough for now.
Damien loved her, and from now on, everything was going to be perfect.