Annie held up the stack of Christmas cards that she had brought with her to the nursing home.
‘I’m not leaving until you’ve signed every single one of them,’ she said, placing a pen onto the table.
Arthur sighed and sat back in his chair. ‘Are you trying to set my recovery back a few weeks? You know, I’m supposed to be in a stress-free environment.’
‘Just get signing,’ she told him, smiling. ‘I’ll do the envelopes, if you want.’
Arthur perked up at this and opened up the first card.
He always sent a Christmas card to every tenant’s home and this year would be not any different even if he was still in the nursing home. But he had already recovered well enough to replace the crutch with a walking stick.
‘You know the leg actually hurts less than it did before I broke it,’ he said, with a smile.
‘So you’re telling me that it was a good thing that you broke your leg?’ asked Annie. She would have thought that the whole experience would have been one of the worst times in his life.
‘I think it’s made me see things differently,’ said Arthur, twiddling the pen in thought. ‘I’d been so blind to the state of our home. I just couldn’t see how it was ever going to improve so I tried to block it out of my mind.’
‘And it’s brought you and Sam closer,’ Annie told him.
Arthur smiled. ‘He rang me yesterday. He’s got tickets for a football match at the Emirates stadium the day after Boxing Day. I haven’t seen Arsenal play for years!’
‘That’s great,’ said Annie, feeling a little upset that Sam hadn’t rung her himself since he had left the country. She was surprised by how much she missed him when he wasn’t around. Not that she had any spare time to be sitting around thinking about Sam Harris, she reminded herself.
There was so much work going on inside the Hall that it was hard not to trip over a tradesman every few steps now that Alex’s team of decorators were hard at work as well. Apparently they were all on double or even triple pay to get the basics done and ready for Christmas. It must have been costing Sam nearly all of his hard-earned fortune, but he didn’t seem to care about the money aspect. Which was good because as well as the professionals installing everything, the furniture and fittings were all good quality as well.
‘Your walk-in shower arrived this morning before I left,’ she said.
‘What luxury! I did struggle with that old bath,’ said Arthur. ‘I thought I’d have to give up on all that when I left here.’
Annie thought he looked a little downcast. ‘I would have thought you’d be pleased to finally get home,’ she told him in a pointed tone.
‘Of course,’ said Arthur a little too quickly. ‘It’s just been nice to have the company, that’s all.’ He glanced around the main lounge area that they were sitting in. Most of the men were either playing a game or chatting in their chairs.
‘I’m sure the companionship has been nice,’ Annie told him. ‘Maybe you could meet up with some of them after you leave? Or even invite them over to the Hall for a game of snooker.’
Arthur brightened up. ‘That’s an idea,’ he said. ‘Especially as Sam wants to take on more estate stuff.’
‘He does?’ Annie was surprised. She had been bracing herself for when Arthur was home and Sam wouldn’t be about so often. She had been dreading that everything would fall onto her and that it would all go wrong as per usual.
‘Oh yes,’ carried on Arthur. ‘I’ll have far more free time on my hands when he’s around.’
Their eyes met for a second before she looked away. ‘Come on,’ she said, in a brisk and hopefully housekeeper-ish manner. ‘I’ve got to get those cards off today.’
Arthur smiled to himself as he picked up the next card to sign.
*
By the end of the week, Willow Tree Hall was beginning to work properly for the first time in a long time. Thanks to the first of three new boilers being installed, there was heating and hot water in both Arthur’s and Rose’s bathrooms. The rewiring of the electrics in the east wing was almost complete. The decorators had nearly finished in the two bedrooms and the bathrooms were being installed as well.
All the essentials of modern life could be found – if only on the upper floor for now.
Annie had already taken a peek inside the brand new master bedroom. It was so elegant, in pale creams and taupe. Although the new orthopaedic bed had yet to arrive, Arthur’s old furniture had been newly polished and restored and everything was back in place.
True to his word, Alex had used some of the original ornaments and pictures in the newly decorated bedroom. But somehow the antiques shone more, revealing their colours more readily. Including the scent bottles, she had noted with pleasure.
She made a note to text Alex with what an amazing job he had done.
Rose’s bedroom was almost finished, just waiting for the arrival of the many fitted wardrobes needed to house all of her clothes. But the pale pink walls were lovely, as was the thick cream carpet. The repainted fireplace and touches of decoration had just enough bling to suit Rose’s extravagant taste. Alex had done her proud. Rose would be delighted.
As Annie went down the corridor, she glanced to the end of the west wing where Sam’s bedroom was. The electricians were working on the wiring in there. In a way, she was quite pleased they were there to stop her from going fully in and thinking about Sam in his bedroom.
And his bed.
She had a flashback to when he had been sick with the flu. Ever since that night, she had tried unsuccessfully to ban any thoughts of Sam’s toned torso lying there amongst the sheets. And the kiss. That sweet kiss.
She just wished she could stop thinking about him.
It didn’t help that Megan had obviously been gossiping to Eleanor about everything that was happening at the Hall. Annie had sent a text message to Eleanor that morning, trying to pin her down about her plans for Christmas.
‘I’m not sure yet,’ Eleanor had replied. ‘It’s the busiest party season of the year.’
Eleanor worked on a glossy magazine which listed all the latest celebrity gossip.
‘Lucky you,’ Annie text back. ‘Sounds very glamorous.’
‘You’re the one living in a stately home,’ came the reply. ‘And snuggling up to an Earl all night.’
‘We didn’t snuggle,’ Annie quickly typed. ‘And he’s not an Earl yet.’
‘I want all the details when I get back for Christmas.’
Annie sighed. She wasn’t sure she was up to an inquisition from both of her best friends. She didn’t even want to admit to herself yet how she felt about Sam.
*
Sam stepped into the large entrance hall at Willow Tree Hall and relished the peace. His plane had been delayed at JFK airport and he was so late that even the builders had left for the day.
He breathed in the smell of fresh paint wafting down from the upstairs gallery before touring the ground floor, noting what had been achieved since he had last been there.
The hall had now been plastered on two walls. The fireplace had been swept and looked ready to be used. There were brand new wall sockets which meant some of the rewiring must have occurred as well. He took a peek inside the drawing room which had been plastered, although all the furniture was still shrouded in sheets. He noted that the windows had now been replaced as well.
The place felt warmer. Safer. Quieter.
It was still a mess everywhere else, but it was definitely progress. And with only a fortnight to Christmas, any development was good.
‘Hello,’ said Annie, calling out from the top of the stairs. ‘I didn’t know you were coming back today.’
He watched her come down the new staircase, feeling ridiculously pleased to see her.
‘I hoped to be back earlier,’ he told her. ‘But I got delayed. The place is really starting to come together.’
She smiled as she headed across the newly polished floor to stand in front of him. For some reason the light was better in there than before and he slowly raised his head to see a huge chandelier hanging high above them.
‘Wow!’ he murmured. ‘That’s pretty impressive.’
‘Alex said we had to have a chandelier. Apparently it was very important,’ she said, with a wink.
He felt dazzled standing in front of her, although she was only wearing black leggings and a long baggy red sweater. Each time he went away he forgot how beautiful she was. And now she seemed ever more so, lit by the chandelier above them.
‘I just hope we can afford it,’ he said, finding his voice was slightly croaky.
He was still earning good money, mainly from Tommy King’s massive album sales, but the bills kept coming in thick and fast and he was still worried that they would never manage to do up the whole house.
‘But that’s not the most impressive thing,’ she added. ‘Where’s your mobile?’
Puzzled, he drew it out of his pocket.
She pointed to something on the screen, her fingers gently touching his. ‘Look,’ she said softly.
He tried to understand what she was talking about but he could only see her elegant long fingers and wondered how it would be to hold them in his.
‘There,’ she told him. ‘The broadband engineer came today. We’ve only got 4 bloody G!’
He blinked and stared at the screen. ‘Hurrah!’ he shouted, picking her up without thinking. ‘It’s a technology miracle!’ He twirled her round in glee before realising what he was doing. He stopped and slowly lowered her back onto the ground, staring down at her, still holding her in his arms. Then, before he could even register another coherent thought, he was pulling her towards him and kissing her hard. On lips that were so soft. With a body that had moulded into his so perfectly.
For a moment he lost himself completely until, with a sudden start, Annie pulled away. Her green eyes were wide and she was breathless as she stared silently up at him.
Then, before he could even speak, she quickly walked away out of sight.
Sam closed his eyes and swore. He was an idiot. What on earth had he done? She probably thought he was taking advantage of her.
Now she would never trust him. And worse, she obviously didn’t feel the same way about him.
*
In the kitchen, Annie sank onto a chair.
Her shaking hands went up to touch her lips as she thought about Sam’s kiss. It had been so very long since anyone had ever actually kissed her with such urgency as he had just done. The way he had pulled her to him. The feel of his lips against hers. It had been so unexpected. So passionate. But how could they ever work together now? Because she really didn’t want to leave him or Willow Tree Hall.
And now she wasn’t sure which of them she would have been sadder to say goodbye to.
All evening her stomach remained tight with the tension knotted inside, but thanks to the size of the place, she managed to avoid Sam until, finally, he almost bumped into her on the landing as she headed for bed.
‘Goodnight,’ she muttered, keeping her head ducked down as if to move away to the guest bedroom.
But he moved swiftly to block her path by stretching out his hand to palm the wall. ‘Anyone would think you were avoiding me,’ he said, gently.
She refused to look into his face and kept her head down. ‘There’s so much to do,’ she muttered.
She went to duck under his outstretched arm but he lowered it so she was still trapped.
The silence stretched out until he reached out to lightly tip her chin so she had to look into his eyes.
‘I’m sorry,’ he told her, with a sigh. ‘I was way out of line this afternoon. Look, I respect you and your role here. It will never happen again. Please forgive me.’
It was hard to think straight when he was staring at her so intently. When his face was so close to hers. When he was still holding her chin with his fingers. But she could tell that he was speaking the truth. That he really was apologising.
Unable to find her voice, she gave a little nod in reply, as if to say that it was OK.
He sighed and relinquished his hold on her. ‘I’m obviously an idiot where women are concerned, in case you hadn’t realised.’
His tone was different than she had ever heard him speak before. He sounded miserable and unsure of himself. That witch Cassandra had probably put the boot in.
‘I think you’re actually a lot better than you give yourself credit for,’ she told him.
He brightened up at her words and when he saw the small smile on her mouth. ‘Goodnight, Annie.’
‘Goodnight.’
But as she went inside her bedroom, Annie began to wonder if she would ever be able to forget about the kiss that afternoon.
It was probably for the best that it would never happen again, she told herself. They had to work together. It was best to keep it professional.
So why did she feel completely miserable?
*
Sam stood where she had left him and looked down at the chandelier hanging high above the entrance hall below.
The trouble was, Annie had got under his skin. Annie with the shy smile and lonely past. Annie with the incredible green eyes and soft lips. Those same lips that had filled his dreams until he had been unable to stop himself kissing her.
But he had to stop thinking of her like that. She was his grandad’s housekeeper.
They were friends now, weren’t they? They were getting along and working together. He shook his head and tried not to think about how hard it would ever be to think of her as just a friend.