Chapter 23
I had mixed feelings as I headed back to the hall. On the one hand I was pleased to have been able to leave the pub so soon so I could get ready to meet the rest of the Connelly family, but on the other, I was riddled with nerves. To my mind, the family arrival heralded the real start of Christmas and that was a big deal for me in lots of ways.
At least, I thought, as I turned off the road and onto the drive, thanks to the extra hour or two my abandoned ‘date’ had afforded me, I would now have the chance to gather my thoughts in a nice relaxing bubble bath and pick out the outfit that would make me feel most confident when trying to explain my unusual role in the Connelly brothers’ family home.
Or not.
A large four-by-four I hadn’t seen before was parked in the stable yard and, judging by the kiddies’ travelling paraphernalia in the back, Christopher and his wife and boys had already beaten me to it. I locked my Fiat and tried to fight off the unwelcome feeling of déjà vu. This was exactly how my first encounter with Jamie had come about and look how that had worked out. I hoped I wasn’t about to hear something else about myself I’d rather not.
‘Anna?’
I let out a small scream and a string of expletives as Jamie appeared out of the darkness, carrying a loaded log basket.
‘Oh my God,’ I gasped. ‘Don’t you think I’ve had enough heart-rate-raising experiences in the last twenty-four hours?’
‘Sorry,’ he said, biting his lip.
I could tell he was smirking. I must have looked a right idiot, but he shouldn’t have crept up on me like that.
‘What are you doing out here?’ I demanded, clasping my chest as I tried to cover my embarrassment.
‘Log duty,’ he said, putting down a basket that was full to the brim. ‘What are you doing back from town so soon? Was Charlie-boy too hot to handle?’
‘Oh shut up,’ I snapped, turning back towards the hall.
Jamie stepped forward, caught me by the elbow and turned me back to face him.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said, shaking his head.
He did at least sound as though he meant it. In fact, he sounded totally miserable.
‘It’s all right,’ I shrugged.
‘No, it isn’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve been acting like a total prat.’
‘That’s true,’ I said, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.
‘But you know why, don’t you?’ he said urgently. ‘I really did mean everything I said the other day, Anna.’
I took a moment to let that sink in. We were supposed to be putting our potential feelings for one another to one side, along with my decision about whether I should stay on at the hall or go, but it was proving hard. Trying to keep the lid on Pandora’s Box, especially as it had sprung open once already, was proving tricky.
‘And the thought of you with another guy,’ he continued with a little shudder.
‘Yes?’ I asked, knowing my desire to hear him say it was putting me in very real danger of lighting the touch paper all over again.
‘I hate it.’
‘You were jealous,’ I whispered.
‘Of course I was jealous.’ He frowned. ‘How would you have felt if I’d asked out the cute paramedic?’
I didn’t want to answer that. I already knew how I would have felt, courtesy of how my stomach had clenched when I had watched him kissing Hayley in the woods.
‘But I didn’t have a chance to say no before he had to go,’ I said instead.
Jamie hadn’t been there when Charlie had asked me out and I wanted him to know how it all really happened, not how he was probably imagining it had happened.
‘And there was no time to cancel, and besides it was only supposed to be a drink in the pub.’
‘That’s what Dorothy said.’
‘When?’
‘On the way back from town,’ he sighed. ‘She said you didn’t really seem keen on the idea and were only going to The Mermaid so you could tell the guy you had to come back to work.’
‘Well, there you are then,’ I said.
‘So am I forgiven?’ he asked.
‘There’s nothing to forgive.’
‘But did you want to go out with him?’
‘No,’ I said truthfully, ‘I really didn’t, and I know you were hurt when I stopped our kiss and when I stopped you saying those things to me, but I didn’t stop you because I didn’t want us to kiss or hear you say . . .’
‘That I’d fallen for you.’
‘Exactly,’ I swallowed.
I had relished and relived every second of him saying those words and pressing his body down onto mine. I had saved them up and savoured them in the long, dark nights that had followed.
‘But,’ I said quickly, to remind myself as much as him, ‘I stopped you with the best of intentions. You said yourself that I’m being offered everything I could ever dream of here, didn’t you?’
‘Yes.’
‘So then you have to understand how afraid I am that I’ll mess it all up.’
‘But you won’t. We won’t.’
‘But I might,’ I said softly. ‘We might.’
Jamie nodded and scuffed at the frosty ground with the toe of his boot. I hoped he understood what I was trying to convey.
‘I just don’t want to see you with anyone else,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to be with anyone else,’ I told him. ‘I just want to see if I can get through this family-filled Christmas your father has lined up and then think about the rest of my life – and the possibility of whether there can be an “us” – after that.’
‘Of course,’ he said with a sigh. ‘And I know I shouldn’t be pressurising you like this. It’s just that I really need an ally right now, someone I can rely on. It’s going to be tough telling the others that I’m taking over and about the charity idea. It would be good to know that you really are with me on this, Anna.’
‘Of course I’m with you,’ I said, thinking back to the night we made our deal under the stars. ‘I told you I’d find a way to help you fall in love with this place again,’ I reminded him. ‘And I’m sticking by that promise.’
‘And I told you I’d find a way to help you enjoy Christmas again, didn’t I?’
‘Yes,’ I said, ‘you did, and since then you’ve given me so much more besides.’
His fingers reached out for mine and I was tempted to give in as he closed the gap between us.
‘Jamie!’
‘Yeah?’ he answered, rolling his eyes.
‘Have you got those logs?’
‘Yes. I’m coming.’
‘Well, hurry up, will you?’
‘Christopher,’ Jamie explained to me, with a nod back towards the hall. ‘We better go in.’
‘OK.’
‘But we’re friends again, yes?’
‘Absolutely,’ I said, taking a deep breath. ‘We always were.’
‘With benefits, perhaps?’ he smiled cheekily, his eyes glistening as he picked up the log basket.
‘Don’t push it,’ I laughed, following on behind. ‘Let’s just take this one step at a time, shall we?’
If the hall kitchen had seemed packed before, it was positively bursting at the seams now, and that was without Hayley and Angus and their larger-than-life personalities bouncing off the walls.
‘Here he is,’ smiled Catherine, when she spotted Jamie with the basket. ‘And Anna,’ she added, ‘we weren’t expecting you back so soon. Come and say hello to everyone. Everyone!’ she called, raising her voice above the chattering din. ‘This is Anna.’
The room fell silent and four extra sets of eyes turned curiously to me. I felt myself blushing in spite of my efforts to look cool and not at all fazed. My ankle was still uncomfortable and I couldn’t wait to take the weight off it, but by the looks of it I wouldn’t be escaping up to my room anytime soon.
‘Well, now,’ said Christopher, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. ‘Hello, Anna. It’s nice to see Dad’s taken on some young blood to liven things up around here.’
‘Cheeky boy,’ tutted Dorothy.
‘You have met Hayley, haven’t you?’ I asked, knowing he was teasing and that I needed to give him an adequate response. ‘No livening up necessary around here when she’s in full flight.’
Christopher nodded in appreciation and formally held out his hand, which I leant across the table to shake.
‘I’m Christopher,’ he said, ‘the eldest one.’
He was taller than Jamie and more solidly built. His eyes were green too, but nowhere near as striking.
‘Pleased to meet you, Christopher, the eldest one,’ I smiled.
‘And this is Cassandra,’ he said, pulling his wife to his side.
‘But everyone calls me Cass,’ she said, dazzling me with her beautiful smile.
‘Hello, Cass,’ I nodded.
She was quite possibly one of the most striking women I had ever seen. Tall and slender with a curtain of sleek blonde hair and the sort of figure that could wear absolutely anything with sophistication and finesse. She was just the sort of woman I aspired to be when I grew up. Assuming I ever did, of course.
‘And this pair are our pride and joy,’ said Christopher teasingly, pointing at the two boys, who had already got bored of looking at me and gone back to making a fuss of Floss.
‘I’m Hugo,’ said the taller of the two, assuming a grownup demeanour and standing up to shake hands just as he had seen his father do. ‘I’m like Dad. I’m also the oldest.’
He said it as if it made him king of the world, and when he looked witheringly back at his younger sibling, who was clinging fast to the teddy under his arm, I guessed he thought he was.
‘I’m Oscar and I don’t always have my teddy,’ said Oscar defensively, when he spotted his brother looking at him with disdain. ‘I just fell asleep holding him in the car and forgot to put him down when I came in.’
Hugo shook his head and went back to stroking Floss.
‘Of course you did, darling,’ said Cass, gathering her younger son into her arms.
‘And besides,’ I said to make him feel better, ‘it wouldn’t have been nice for poor old Ted to be stuck out there in the dark and cold when we’re all in here saying hello to one another, would it?’
‘Exactly,’ said Oscar, who I could tell was just desperate to suck his thumb but didn’t want anyone to see.
Cass looked at me over the top of her son’s head and smiled and I felt my shoulders relax a little, relieved to have said the right thing.
‘So what’s all this about Dad then?’ Christopher asked his mother as Jamie went to offload the log basket and I helped Dorothy lay the table for supper.
‘How did you get on?’ she asked in a low voice while everyone else was occupied with conversations and jobs of their own.
‘He was called to an emergency,’ I said. ‘So that kind of let me off the hook.’
Dorothy nodded and passed me the cutlery basket.
‘Not that I’m pleased someone was in trouble, of course,’ I quickly added, ‘but it did mean I didn’t have to come up with an excuse to leave.’
‘Mm,’ she said with a wink. ‘It might have sounded a bit odd if you just turned up and admitted to being in love with the boss’s son.’
The oven timer began blaring out before I had time to get over the shock or attempt to correct her, and as I watched her rearranging pots and pans I realised that she might be much older than Hayley, but she was every bit as much of a minx.
Getting on for an hour later, we could all see that little Oscar was going to be asleep on his feet if we didn’t eat soon and Dorothy’s carefully cooked supper was going to spoil.
‘I thought it was too good to be true, Mum,’ said Christopher, pointing at his younger son and rolling his eyes. ‘When you said Archie had managed to blag some extra time off and we’d all be arriving together, I said to Cass that he’d mess it up. Didn’t I say that, Cass?’
‘You did,’ Cass confirmed.
‘He has to make an entrance,’ Christopher went on, sounding annoyed.
‘Perhaps we shouldn’t wait any longer,’ said Cass. She was clearly keen to smooth the way.
Catherine had just given us the nod to take our seats around the kitchen table when the house phone on the sideboard rang and Mick rushed to pass it to her so she didn’t have to get up again. I hoped her knee wasn’t giving her any trouble and made a mental note to have a quiet word with her about it as soon as I got the opportunity.
‘Well now, my goodness,’ we listened to her say, ‘that’s terrible. I hope there hasn’t been too much damage.’
‘Well done handling Christopher, by the way,’ Jamie, who had set himself next to me, leant across to whisper in my ear.
‘What do you mean?’ I asked, keeping one ear on what Catherine was saying.
‘I watched you,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘You had him sized up as soon as he opened his mouth, didn’t you?’
My eyes flicked momentarily to Christopher, who was looking at his mother.
‘You knew he was testing you to see what sort of response you’d come up with,’ Jamie went on. ‘A lesser girl would have crumbled. I’m proud of you, Anna.’
He squeezed my knee, making me jump and in the process bang my legs on the underside of the table, which drew everyone’s attention.
Cass smiled down at her plate and Dorothy raised an eyebrow.
‘Well,’ I whispered back, ‘I’m delighted I passed his little test. And gained your approval,’ I added with an eye roll. ‘But don’t push it.’
Jamie smiled and withdrew his hand.
‘So that’s two down,’ I said. ‘Just one more brother to go for the treble.’
‘Just don’t go making Archie fall in love with you,’ he said seductively.
‘I’ll try not to,’ I said, feeling somewhat nettled that he was making my determination to keep things professional between us so difficult.
‘What’s up?’ he asked, turning his attention back to Catherine as she hung up the phone.
He was certainly a smooth one. It was as if our conversation and his clandestine caress hadn’t just happened.
‘It’s not Dad, is it?’
‘No, no,’ said Catherine thoughtfully. ‘Not your father. It’s the town hall. Apparently there’s been a fire.’
‘A fire?’ gasped Dorothy.
‘Yes,’ said Catherine. ‘It’s out now, but from what I can gather, the damage has been quite extensive.’
‘I’d bet my Christmas bonus on it being that wretched heating system,’ Dorothy declared.
‘The heating?’ Catherine repeated.
‘Since when do you get a Christmas bonus?’ chipped in Christopher.
‘Yes,’ Dorothy carried on, ignoring him. ‘It was completely out of control earlier today and they had to call an engineer out to try and fix the thermostat.’
‘It was like a sauna in the hall,’ I said, adding my own contribution to the drama and realising that this was doubtless the emergency that Charlie had had to rush off to.
I hadn’t noticed any flames or fumes when I left The Mermaid so it must have really taken hold after I had driven away.
‘It was far too hot,’ nodded Dorothy. ‘We had to have the doors open at one point. I wonder if that’s where Charlie was headed, Anna?’ she said to me.
‘Probably,’ I mumbled, not wanting to talk about my terminated date. ‘So what will happen to the Fair tomorrow?’ I asked, only just remembering what Dorothy had said about it earlier in the day. ‘It won’t be able to go ahead now, will it?’
‘Oh bugger,’ groaned Cass, eliciting a giggle from the boys. ‘I was counting on the Fair for some last-minute present-shopping.’
I had to admit I had been thinking about popping along myself. In fact, for the first time in years the idea of Christmas shopping was making me feel more bouncy than bilious.
‘So was I,’ said Catherine and Dorothy together.
‘Everyone will be so disappointed,’ Catherine continued. ‘During the last couple of years the town has really pulled out all the stops to bring everyone together at Christmas and the Fair is always a highlight.’
‘And it won’t be just the customers who are missing out,’ said Christopher sagely. ‘The traders are going to be out of pocket as well, aren’t they?’
‘Oh yes,’ said Catherine. ‘I hadn’t thought of that. This would have been the last time quite a lot of them set up before Christmas.’
‘What a shame,’ said Dorothy.
‘Well, why don’t we have it here then?’ Jamie suddenly piped up. ‘Why don’t you ring the organiser, Mum, and offer the hall as an alternative venue for this year?’
His eyes flicked to me, looking for some support.
‘But it’s too short notice,’ said Catherine. ‘We can’t possibly be ready in time. How would we let everyone know?’
‘You could always have it in the week instead?’ I suggested. ‘That way there’d be time to spread the word, print off some posters and make an announcement in the pub. From what I’ve experienced, it doesn’t take long for word to get around in this neck of the woods.’
‘You’ve certainly got that right, Anna,’ said Cass. ‘And if you ran it for a little longer, perhaps people could come in the evening.’
‘I could make some mulled wine,’ said Dorothy thoughtfully.
‘But what about insurance?’ frowned Christopher.
‘Don’t worry about that,’ said Jamie, winking at me.
‘But we have the Solstice celebration on Thursday, don’t forget,’ said Mick, pointing at the calendar.
‘Oh I’d forgotten about that,’ I said, surprised that my birthday had crept up on me without the usual nausea and dread.
‘So, we’ll have it on the Tuesday then,’ said Catherine determinedly.
‘That would give us a couple of days to decorate the hall and set up,’ I joined in.
‘And we’d still have a day or so after to prepare for the Solstice,’ Jamie added.
We all looked at one another and smiled.
‘As soon as we’ve eaten,’ said Catherine, ‘I’ll go and make a few calls.’
‘My goodness,’ laughed Christopher, nudging Cass. ‘And there was me worrying that the place was going to be in turmoil with Dad running amok, when actually—’
‘When actually,’ Cass cut in, ‘it’s all running like a well-oiled machine.’
‘A new and improved well-oiled machine,’ Christopher embellished.
‘Apart from Granddad’s head,’ said Hugo solemnly.
Everyone laughed.
‘But I take it you have got some PLI now, Mum? You must have if you’re having the Solstice celebration again,’ Christopher went on, suddenly sounding far more serious. ‘Please tell me you have.’
‘Of course,’ said Catherine. ‘Anna sorted it all out, didn’t you, dear? In fact it was one of the very first things she helped to organise when she arrived.’
‘I thought you were supposed to be looking after Grandma’s leg,’ said Oscar.
‘She’s been looking after all of us,’ said Jamie wistfully. ‘And a grand job she’s been making of it.’
I could feel myself beginning to blush under everyone’s scrutiny and hoped no one was searching for a hidden meaning in Jamie’s words, because it wouldn’t take a genius to find one.
‘Is there something you might want to tell us, little brother?’ asked Christopher.
For a moment I panicked, thinking he was talking about how I had, in one mad moment in the hayloft, crossed the line between professional and passionate, but fortunately he was barking up a completely different tree.
‘Why do I get the feeling,’ he continued, ‘that our being here is only partly to do with Christmas?’
‘Well,’ said Jamie, taking a big breath and looking at Catherine for approval, ‘I hadn’t planned to say anything until we were all together.’
‘But what with your father still in hospital,’ Catherine tutted.
‘And Archie being so late,’ Jamie added.
‘I think you should say something now,’ Catherine confirmed.
‘OK,’ he said, smiling at his mum before turning to Christopher.
‘Well, come on,’ his brother goaded, sounding how I imagined Hugo did when he got tired of playing with Oscar. ‘Out with it.’
‘Yes,’ said Cass, stifling a yawn, ‘do put us out of our misery, for goodness’ sake. I’ve just endured being cooped up in a car for hours with three Connelly men, so I could do with cheering up.’
There was an edge to her tone that suggested more than she was actually saying, and I couldn’t help wondering how she had been feeling all the while the future of the hall had been in such a state of flux. Looking at her harried expression, I got the impression that she had been half expecting her husband to cave and agree to taking on the running of the place, just to have it settled once and for all.
‘Yes, do tell us, Uncle James,’ frowned Oscar from his seat next to Catherine.
His words told us all that the future of the hall had indeed been the hot topic on the journey and that the four little ears in the back had taken in every word.
‘All right,’ Jamie began, the tips of his own ears turning quite pink as he awkwardly pushed back his chair. ‘As you all know, Mum has been trying to make arrangements as to who will take over the hall in the future.’
‘Yes, yes,’ said Christopher in a sing-song voice as he rolled his eyes. ‘And we all know what a disappointment I turned out to be because I didn’t want it.’
‘Oh shut up, Chris,’ Cass scolded, nudging him sharply in the ribs. ‘Go on, Jamie.’
‘And we all know about the catastrophic project Archie has been planning to put in place,’ Christopher added, sounding suitably chastened.
‘Indeed we do,’ said Catherine sadly.
Jamie stood up and fiddled with his napkin to avoid having to look his brother in the eye. It was the first time I had ever seen him looking truly nervous, and the fact that he cared so much endeared him to me all the more. This was clearly a huge moment for him. A declaration in front of Christopher that would seal his future and possibly mine if I did decide to stay and help with the charity.
‘And,’ he finally went on, ‘with all of that in mind, it hasn’t actually been quite as straightforward as it might have been.’
‘You can say that again,’ said Catherine, smiling again.
‘However,’ said Jamie, with a slowly spreading smile which soon filled his whole face, leaving no one in any doubt that he had made the right decision, ‘everything has now been resolved and, as soon as the ink is dry on the paperwork next week, I shall be the one taking over and looking after Wynthorpe Hall.’
‘Well I never,’ said Christopher, slumping in his chair as a cheer went up. ‘You’ve gone and saved the day.’
Having now met Christopher and started to get the measure of him, I had an idea as to just how difficult it must have been for him to stick to his decision once Jamie had told him what Archie really had planned for the place. He looked as relieved as Cassandra.
‘Yes,’ said Jamie, ‘I suppose I have.’
‘Champagne, I think,’ beamed Catherine. ‘Would you collect a few bottles from the cellar please, Mick?’
‘With pleasure,’ he nodded.
‘I’ll give you a hand,’ I said, hopping up as Dorothy began sorting dishes.
I thought it only fitting that the family should have a few minutes to themselves. Not that any of them would have minded if I hadn’t moved, of course.
‘And can we expect a little announcement from you, anytime soon?’ asked Mick as he took my hand to guide me down the deep spiral steps to the cellar. ‘Have you decided whether you’re staying or going?’
‘I haven’t known whether I’m coming or going since that first afternoon when I parked up in the yard,’ I answered, trying to make light of the question.
‘There’s nothing unusual in that!’ quipped Mick. ‘That’s just how life is here. Never a dull moment and thanks to your charity idea it’s only set to get brighter.’
‘Yes,’ I agreed as he handed me a couple of dusty bottles from a well-stocked shelf and pointed out a few more boxes of lights Angus had been sneakily hiding. ‘I suppose you’re right. I wonder how the others are going to feel about it all.’
‘I bet they’ll be delighted,’ said Mick, looking back at the parcels. ‘More thrilled than I am to find this little lot anyway.’
Now the rest of the family were gathering I couldn’t help worrying that I might have overstepped the mark. Jamie might have spent the last couple of weeks cooking up ways to make me enjoy Christmas again, and to me that was a really big deal of course, but compared to what I had been a part of and done it was just a drop in the ocean.
My suggestion that Jamie should set up a brand-new charity at the hall and open it up to the wider world beyond the reaches of Wynbridge potentially meant that the place was entering an entirely new phase in its history. Without really realising it, I had become instrumental in changing the course of the Connelly family home for ever.
‘I’m certain that Christopher and Cass will be over the moon, at least,’ said Mick. ‘The other one might take some talking around, but it isn’t really anything to do with him now, is it?’
I didn’t much like the sound of how he put that. The last thing I wanted was to be the one responsible for further rancour between Archie and the rest of the family. But then, I reminded myself, had he not been such a money-grabbing arse, the situation would never have arisen. Had he not set his sights on selling up and out I would have just been looking at the six weeks of winter in the sticks I had originally signed up for. Suddenly that particular prospect didn’t look or sound quite so appealing.
‘I suppose not,’ I mumbled as Mick fiddled about turning off the light and closing the heavy wooden cellar door.
‘Come on,’ he said. ‘Let’s not keep the boss waiting.’
Back in the kitchen the level of chatter had risen to quite a din and it soon became obvious that Jamie had let his excitement get the better of him and had already told Christopher and Cass all about our plans to set up a charity.
‘I gather you were the one responsible for this idea,’ said Christopher to me after he had popped one cork and Jamie another.
‘In part,’ I said, keen to play down my role in the possible venture until I knew how he felt about it. ‘I just thought that if Jamie had a project here that reflected his passion for the work he had been doing abroad, then it would make his decision to take over even more alluring.’
‘You clever thing,’ said Cass, clinking her flute against mine before taking a long sip of champagne. ‘That’s some deep and ingenious psychology.’
‘Well,’ I shrugged as the fizzy bubbles tickled my nose, ‘I don’t know about that. I just thought it made sense.’
‘It makes perfect sense,’ said Christopher, who was already visibly more relaxed.
He draped an affectionate arm around my shoulder, courtesy of the two flutes of champagne he had downed in quick succession, coupled no doubt with the immense relief that no one was going to try and talk him into changing his mind. Clearly he was now looking forward to a straightforward festive celebration with his family.
‘And what about you, Anna,’ asked Cass as she eyed me over the rim of her glass. ‘Are you going to stay on and help set everything up?’
‘I’m only under contract until the beginning of January,’ I swallowed.
‘Contract!’ laughed Christopher with an earth-shattering hiccup.
‘So?’ said Cass.
‘I think,’ said Catherine with perfect timing and loud enough for everyone to hear, ‘we need to have a toast before we’ve drunk all of this.’
‘Hear, hear!’ everyone agreed as Mick and Dorothy rushed around refilling and topping up glasses.
‘To Jamie,’ said Catherine, beaming at her youngest boy as Floss leapt out of her basket and began yapping madly at the back door. ‘And Anna,’ she added, smiling warmly at me, ‘and the exciting future of Wynthorpe Hall.’
Jamie came to stand by my side and took my hand in his. It was a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by anyone and I was too surprised to pull away.
‘To Jamie, Anna and the hall,’ the gathered group chorused as Floss continued to make a fuss.
‘So,’ said an unfamiliar voice. ‘What exactly are we all celebrating then?’