Feeling angry and anxious from her first visit to the Arrow Hall site, Claire called her friend Jennie. Meeting for lunch was quickly arranged. Jennie preferred the classy Michelin-starred restaurants around London’s West End where she always had ease in making a reservation. And Claire enjoyed an embrace from Jennie as they were shown to their table.
With a glass of wine, Claire slowly relaxed.
‘Your visit to Arrow Hall has shaken you, especially being on your own. And Harry Stone, somebody searching for him at the site doesn’t sound good. Have you heard anything from him?’ Jennie asked.
As she sipped from her glass, Claire was almost breathless. The words “Harry Stone” hit her again.
‘No, not a word. But just visiting the derelict site earlier, the memories flood back.’
‘I can see from the tense lines on your face, he’s right in your thoughts again.’
‘Yes, it was that awful day two years ago, when I saw Harry standing at the door to the old building. The image is indelible, his face red with rage, the flames flicking to the sky. I can still see the inferno that took hold of the historic Elizabethan manor house. In less than a few minutes it had gone.’
‘Are you sure you’re ready to rebuild Arrow Hall? You’re carrying too much of the past with you,’ Jennie asked.
‘I’m trying not to let that awful day stop me. But the frightening thing is the arson was all about money. Protection money he wouldn’t pay to a drug cartel after a broken property deal in the Caribbean.’
Jennie looked at Claire, who was not eating much of a large Dover sole on her plate.
‘But, Claire, you walked out of the mess that man left in his trail after the fire. It’s not your problem.’
‘I worked for him for many years; I knew the inside of all his business; and I can’t just blot that away.’
‘But you’ve moved on; living with Rick surely must make it all different for you,’ Jennie said.
‘Yes, and I’m still hanging on to the shiver of excitement when Rick told me that he had bought the cinders of Arrow Hall from Harry. And when it was rebuilt, it was to become our country home.’
‘Rick must have seen something in it – buying a burnt-out wreck of a building is hardly something to be eager about.’
‘Back then I was so excited, the adrenalin flowing like a river. But now…’ There was a pause as Claire watched the waiter refill her wine glass. ‘I’m not sure anymore.’
‘Just let the good times roll, Claire. You’ve had plenty of them.’
Claire put her knife and fork on her plate and pushed it away. She was not hungry. The waiter cleared the table; Claire sipped her wine and leant back in her chair.
‘Rick’s left for New Zealand; he’ll be away for some weeks. Looking to buy a winery business.’
‘Why aren’t you going with him?’
‘Rick’s never asked me to go. He wants me to stay here, to sort out Arrow Hall, and that’ll mean being in the mud and dirt of a building site for some time.’
Claire put her wine glass down on the white tablecloth and sighed. It was a gesture that Jennie noticed, and she touched Claire’s hand.
‘I sense all is not well between you and Rick. I’m here to listen.’
‘Rick is just too busy. I live in his large penthouse with him, but I don’t see much of him. He just seems to be becoming very distant, there’s even a coldness between us. We now rarely eat together because he leaves early and sometimes can be away for several days. Eating at the kitchen table was always a good time to talk to him, if only just to hear what he was thinking. It’s all changing, and that’s not how it was even just a few months ago,’ Claire said.
‘Try to get motivated again about rebuilding Arrow Hall, see it taking on new life.’
‘Of course, I want to see the old place rebuilt, the gardens landscaped around the dried-out moat. I loved the old house when I had a flat there, with the freedom of the countryside all around. But today I’m feeling very nervous about the whole thing.’
‘That’s a dark picture you’re painting,’ Jennie said.
‘It’s Rick’s property, not mine, and I get the feeling he’s changed his mind on Arrow Hall becoming our country house. Only once has he found time to visit the place – I’m going to tie him down and ask what his intentions are for the place. I’m beginning to think he’ll sell it on after it’s all finished.’
‘Why are you putting your future at risk like this? You need to have a down-to-earth talk with him.’
‘I’ll pick my moment. But for now, I’ll have to keep it all tight and close until he returns.’
‘Are you telling me all?’ Jennie asked, looking at the frown on Claire’s face.
‘Since I’ve lived with Rick in his penthouse apartment and enjoyed the high life, other than his pay from odd jobs, I’ve earned nothing. I need to find work, and that’ll clash with the rebuild of Arrow Hall. So, something will have to give, Jennie.’
Claire sat back in her chair – it had been a relaxing time out with Jennie; the wine had tasted fresh and good, and they made another date to meet again. But as Claire saw Jennie into a taxi, she could not let go of the strain of the morning on the derelict site of Arrow Hall.
Rick’s apartment was only a short distance and Claire decided to walk there. She took the lift to the seventeenth floor – the place was empty, cold and quiet. And that is how it would be for the next few weeks. The large rooms, balconies with wide views across London, Claire found intimidating and unsettling.
In the spacious kitchen, Claire poured herself another glass of wine. But sitting alone, Claire felt insecure. Rick was distant; these airy and elegant surroundings were no longer the place she thought she could call home. But it was also the sense she had that Harry Stone would someday soon dominate her life again.