Darcy

My favorite thing to do in the whole world was to tuck up under a blanket in my grandfather’s study with a glass of red and watch an old film. So, with The Philadelphia Story on the TV, and Aurora and I at either end of my grandfather’s oxblood chesterfield, a bottle of wine and a worn, gold chenille blanket, I should have felt pretty close to perfect. Especially as Mrs. Steele had telephoned earlier to cancel the dinner we’d arranged. Hopefully we could rearrange another time when Logan couldn’t make it.

Except Aurora was being deliberately infuriating.

“How can you say that it’s nice?” I asked. “It’s clearly to manipulate people into thinking he has some kind of interest in the village.” If Logan had fooled Aurora by coming to the library fundraising committee meeting, then would members of the Parish Council fall for it, too?

“Maybe he’s had a change of heart. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy having a smart bar and restaurant nearby. Plus, I heard he’s going to have a pool and a gym on the site and allow people to fish in his lake.”

“You can’t be on his side!” I said.

“It’s not that I’m on his side. Just that if the plans were to go through, it might not be the end of the world.”

A pool in the village would be a great idea. But for locals. Not the wealthy elite. That was what was so infuriating—some of the ideas were good. And I liked that he wanted to commit to the village—he was just going about it in the wrong way. “We’d end up divided between the haves and the have-nots. The ones who get to use the pool and eat in the restaurant and those who have to clean the pool and serve up the meals. It would be the end of Woolton as we know it.”

“Darcy! Can’t you see what a hypocrite you’re being? You know you are a duke’s sister, and aren’t you Lady Westbury or something?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You’re complaining like you’re a ‘have-not’ in this scenario, when you’re one of the haves.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never acted like I was better than anyone.”

“Maybe not, but you’re more than used to flying private. You have a butler and a housekeeper and a cook, as well as all your other staff. Sounds to me like you don’t mind the wealthy elite in the village, as long as it’s you and your family.”

I winced. Aurora’s words stung like summer nettles on bare legs. “That’s not why I’m fighting Logan’s plans. I love this place. It’s the only real home I know. It’s the only place I feel safe. I’m just trying to hold on to that.”

We sat in silence, Katharine Hepburn’s portrayal of a rich socialite getting everything wrong at every turn not as appealing as it had been when we’d sat down.

“You’re right,” I said. “I’m privileged in many ways, but the most precious thing I ever got was to grow up in this place. Among the solid oak and ash trees, playing hide and seek in the beech hedges, paddling in the stream with Ryder. Knowing these good and honest people. This place saved Ryder and me. It’s special. Magic. You know that.”

She reached out and squeezed my leg. “I do. And nothing will change those memories. But people do need jobs. And encouraging money out of the city to places like this isn’t always a bad thing.”

“Maybe that’s right, in principle. But why did he have to choose Badsley and Woolton?”

“Were you at least civil?” she asked.

“Of course, I was civil, even though he chased after me as I walked home.”

Aurora grinned. “He did? What did he say?”

I blew out a breath and picked up my glass of wine. “Nothing interesting. Just that he wanted to be friends and that his planning application was all business.”

“That was nice of him.”

She wasn’t getting it. “He was just trying to manipulate me. He’s doing the same thing to the entire village—he’s in the farm shop with his grandmother, at the library fundraising committee, chasing me down at every opportunity. It’s all an act so he can make money.”

“Maybe, but maybe not. He might actually want to be part of the village. I mean, he comes home every weekend, he’s spent a lot of money on Badsley House. You usually give people the benefit of the doubt.”

True, but Logan’s plans for Manor House Club undermined all that. “Yeah, well, by all accounts, serial killers are normally charming—it’s the sociopath thing.”

Aurora choked on her wine. “You can’t compare Logan Steele to a serial killer.”

I giggled. “Maybe not. I’m just saying that he has a hidden agenda for every nice thing he does.” I circled the rim of my glass with a fingertip. “For example, he said that if he lost at the council meeting, he wanted to take me to dinner. He’s trying to manipulate me. Wants me to be friends with him if he wins. I see through him.” If I didn’t know better, I might have been taken in by his charm and easy manner.

“Do you think that maybe you like him and you’re scared?” she asked.

I frowned. “Don’t be so ridiculous.” I had liked him for a second or two, but that was embarrassing to admit, even to myself.

“Is that a yes?”

“No! It’s a definite no.”

“I’m not buying it. This is perfect,” Aurora squealed. “He’s totally going to lose the vote and then you two can pretend to be friends for five minutes before you fall in love.”

“Oh my God, Aurora, you’re delirious. I hope he loses the vote, but there will be no falling in love. I told you, I don’t even like the man.”

She shrugged and placed her wine down on the table beside her. “I’m not sure that’s true.”

“Of course it is. He’s the exact opposite of the man I see myself with.”

“He’s tall, good-looking and rich.”

“Yeah but he’s also elitist, self-satisfied and wants to ruin our village.”

“He lives in Woolton a huge part of the week. And the fact he’s successful on his own merits? That has to be sexy. It is to me.”

She had a point. Men who were self-made were far more attractive to me than men who just sat around living off what their ancestors had left them.

“You need to be with someone with money—his own money. That’s why it didn’t work with Sam.” Aurora finished her glass of wine and grabbed the bottle to top us both up.

A talented carpenter, Sam’s handmade furniture had appeared in Elle Interiors, but he’d found the gap between our situations far too difficult to handle—he thought that it had emasculated him. And truth be told, whoever I married either had to have their own money or not be intimidated by my family’s.

“And you don’t want one of these guys who just wants to live off you.”

I groaned. I could sniff out those particular men a mile off. The freeloaders, the ones completely happy for me to pay for everything. No, there was nothing attractive about that kind of man. Aurora was right. In a lot of ways, Logan looked like a good match.

“Don’t you ever think that you might just be looking for reasons to hate Logan? I mean you won’t even admit he’s good-looking, which is just crazy because he’s the hottest man I’ve ever seen. I think this might be a case of the lady protesting too much.”

I groaned and tipped back my wine. “Okay, he’s handsome. I’m sure I’ve admitted that before.” He was also a great kisser, but Aurora didn’t need to hear that.

“And you admit he’s socially suitable?”

I topped up Aurora’s glass, then my own. “Yes, yes. I agree he wouldn’t want me to fund his lifestyle or be intimidated by mine.”

“So, if the only issue is this planning application, then you have to promise me you’ll go to dinner with him if he loses.”

“Don’t you start,” I replied.

“Well, if not, I’ll just have to assume you want to be single forever. If you won’t even go to dinner with him, spend one evening with him, then you deserve to be alone.”

I’d wanted to watch a film and get a little drunk, not be taken to task and have my life choices questioned by my best friend. “How can you say that?”

“Because you’re missing out on an opportunity to get to know someone who might be perfect for you.”

Logan Steele was infuriating, not perfect. Woolton was a steady, happy place that was all about routine and tradition. Since Logan had arrived, every day had been turned on its head and nothing was predictable. I never knew what was going to happen next, what was around the bend. Who knows what would happen if he won the planning vote? Things would only get worse.