The following day, an excited-looking Rose rushed into the kitchen. ‘Have you all seen the local newspaper?’
Eleanor looked up. She had been helping Annie pack up some of the bigger items from the kitchen before the builders moved in to start the renovation after the weekend.
‘Is it the charity walk?’ asked Megan, straightening up from a box she had been packing.
‘Well, yes, but it’s mostly all about me, darlings!’ said Rose, flourishing the paper.
They all rushed forward to look at the photo which was, indeed, Rose wearing her bodice as she strode through the high street.
‘They’ve caught me in a very flattering light, I must say,’ cooed Rose. ‘This is going to do my husband-hunting the power of good!’
‘What does it say?’ asked Annie, looking hopeful as she peered over Rose’s shoulder.
‘It says some lovely things about the local WI. And how it was all Eleanor’s idea, of course,’ carried on Rose.
Eleanor noticed that Annie’s smile had dropped a little as she turned away.
‘Well, it was Annie that brought everyone together,’ she said quickly. ‘She’s the countess around here!’
‘And I’ve been thinking,’ carried on Rose, powering her megawatt smile towards Eleanor. ‘We must compare wardrobes. You must come and see my little fashion show upstairs. Nobody else appreciates my designer clothes around here.’
‘Well, that’s nice, I must say! What about me?’ asked Annie, half-joking as she started to pack up another box.
‘Darling girl,’ said Rose, giving her a squeeze. ‘You’re many things, but you’re no lover of fashion. Whereas Eleanor here, well, look at you today!’
Eleanor checked what she was wearing. Victoria Beckham trousers. Wedge heels. Funky logo top. She had been particularly pleased with her outfit. Not that she had anything else to concentrate her mind on at the moment.
They were interrupted by the arrival of Arthur and Tom coming into the kitchen through the back door.
Rose waved the newspaper at him. ‘We’re back in the news. Isn’t it marvellous?’
‘I read it this morning. Jolly good show. And I understand it was all your idea, my dear,’ said Arthur, beaming at Eleanor.
Eleanor blushed and shrugged her shoulders. ‘It was nothing.’
‘I disagree,’ Arthur told her. ‘I understand that it is the largest amount ever raised by the WI for one of their charities. And that, in conjunction with Tom’s kind donation, will make a vast difference to those struggling with cancer.’
Eleanor looked across at Tom. ‘You gave the hospital some money?’
Now it was his turn to look uncomfortable. ‘Just a small amount,’ he muttered. ‘To make up for me not opening the walk as I promised.’
Eleanor couldn’t believe it. Was he actually blushing? ‘Thank you,’ she said.
He gave a shrug in reply.
‘I think that I can safely say that it was a most generous amount of money,’ said Arthur, before he frowned. ‘And I’ve just remembered that you also wanted it to be anonymous. My apologies, dear boy.’
‘That’s fine,’ said Tom, heading across the kitchen.
‘Oh and I’ve dug out my old bicycle for you,’ carried on Arthur, looking at Eleanor. ‘Tom has just checked the brakes and chain.’
‘Thank you so much,’ said Eleanor, still looking at Tom, who seemed anxious to leave.
There was a short silence before Tom said, ‘Well, I’d better get back to the recording studio, otherwise I’ll be in trouble with Sam.’
Eleanor was still mulling over the huge donation that he had made to the hospital.
‘Of course,’ said Arthur, following him. ‘And I really must see to my paperwork.’
Eleanor squeezed in front of Arthur and dashed into the entrance hall after Tom, who was already at the French doors leading onto the patio.
‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she asked him, rushing up to stop him going any further. ‘About the donation, I mean.’
He looked down at her. ‘It was a personal decision and nobody else needed to know.’
He turned away, leaving her feeling mortified that she had ranted at him a week ago.
She sighed. He was a nice guy. Too nice, she told herself. It was no use pretending to herself any longer. She was never going to write an expose on him. It just wasn’t fair.
Because she really was beginning to like Tom and enjoy his company. She inwardly groaned.
Besides, he was too close to Annie and the family. She couldn’t let any scandal touch them. She wouldn’t betray any of them.
So what did that mean for her future now?
She headed back to the kitchen deep in thought, nearly bumping into Rose as she went down the stairs.
‘Just remember,’ said Rose, as they went in opposite directions. ‘My wardrobe is always open, darling! But I’ll only show you mine if you show me yours.’ She gave a gurgle of laughter.
‘Thanks,’ said Eleanor, smiling. ‘I will.’
But she was still so deep in thought about Tom that she didn’t register how quiet it was in the kitchen until she reached the table. Then she looked up and realised that Annie was looking upset.
‘What’s the matter?’ she asked.
‘I’m being silly,’ said Annie, with a shrug.
‘What do you mean?’ said Eleanor.
Annie blew out a long sigh. ‘This whole pressure to be a good countess is so hard. You’re the one that thought up the charity walk. But I’m not sure the fete will be any good when you’re not around to help.’
‘Gee, thanks a bunch,’ muttered Megan.
Annie looked at her friend. ‘You know what I mean. You’re so busy with the kids. I’ve got the wedding to organise and the family to take care of. And Eleanor will go back to London. And then it’s all on me to make this fete be the best it can be.’
Suddenly Eleanor was sharply reminded how low Annie’s self-esteem was. Her teenage years had been particularly bad and had wrecked what little confidence she had ever had.
‘But I can help,’ she said, stepping forward to give Annie a hug of reassurance when she realised that Megan was shaking her head at her.
‘Sometimes you don’t answer our texts until the next day,’ Annie said gently.
‘Well, that’s going to change from now on,’ Eleanor replied, in a firm tone.
And she realised that she meant it.
Now that she had decided that she couldn’t possibly write the story on Tom, she had some changes to make in her life. She was so sick of lying. So tired of her make-believe world. It was time to be honest. It was time for the truth. She owed that to her friends, regardless of how it would affect her burgeoning friendship with Tom.
She took a deep breath. This was it. The moment she had been dreading. ‘Actually, I’m not sure I will be going back to London after all,’ she began.
Annie frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’
Eleanor took a beat. ‘I lost my job.’
‘Oh no!’ They both rushed forward to give her a hug. She let herself be smothered by their support before forcing herself to step backwards. She looked at her friends.
‘It’s okay. They’re downsizing and all that. It’s rubbish, but I’ll live. But there’s something else I need to tell you. The job that I just lost. I lied about what I really did for a living. And to Mum too. Nobody knew the truth.’
Megan and Annie looked at each other before staring back at her.
‘What are you talking about?’ said Megan. ‘You weren’t a call girl or something like that, were you?’
‘What? No!’ said Eleanor. ‘I still worked in the media but instead of working at the Money Chronicle, I was a journalist on a celebrity magazine.’ She picked up a piece of bubble wrap that they had been using and played with it, avoiding eye contact with them both.
The silence stretched out between them all. Eleanor automatically scratched her neck as she waited for them to respond.
‘But you were always going on about all that financial stuff,’ said Megan, looking confused.
‘It started off as some silly lie and then I just didn’t know how to stop it,’ said Eleanor. ‘I should have told you before now.’
‘How many years have you been lying to us?’ asked Megan.
‘Eight,’ muttered Eleanor.
‘Eight!’ Annie was boggle-eyed. ‘The whole time you were in London? Why didn’t you say something?’
Finally, Eleanor looked up at them. ‘Because I didn’t want to let you down. You thought I had this amazing career, but I didn’t. You two are the ones that have made it. Not me. I’m a failure.’ She bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears.
‘You’re not a failure if you managed to keep a job in London for that long,’ said Annie, shaking her head.
‘So which magazine was it?’ asked Megan.
‘Hot Gossip!’ Eleanor told her with a heavy sigh.
Megan’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Blimey. I thought you were going to say Elle or something fancy like that, especially with your designer outfits. And you used to do what for them?’
Eleanor took a deep breath. ‘I used to get the latest scoop on whichever celebrity was behaving badly. Not very nice work, I admit, snooping around. You see…’
‘Wait a minute,’ said Annie, suddenly springing back into life. ‘Is this why you’ve been coming up to the hall all the time? To get a, what was it, a scoop on Tom?’
Megan turned to look at Eleanor, equally aghast. ‘Oh my god! Is it?’
Eleanor shook her head. ‘No! I didn’t even know he was staying here, did I?’
Annie’s eyes filled with tears. ‘I thought you came back here to see us!’
‘I did!’
But Annie was too upset and carried on. ‘I thought it was so nice that you wanted to make up for all that time you’ve missed with us. But we were just a story, weren’t we?’
‘No! It’s not like that!’ said Eleanor. ‘Look, I messed up. I know that.’
‘Are you going to write a story about Tom?’ asked Annie, glaring at her. ‘Because let me tell you something, he’s a good guy. He doesn’t need any more of those paparazzi lies.’
Eleanor was shaking her head so hard she thought it might fall off her shoulders. ‘No. There’s no story. I wouldn’t do that now.’
‘What do you mean now?’ said Megan, frowning. ‘Does that mean you had thought about writing a story about him?’
‘No, of course not,’ said Eleanor, gulping.
‘I don’t know if I can believe you any more,’ said Annie.
They both looked so horrified at her that, with a sob, Eleanor grabbed her handbag and ran out of the back door. She saw the bicycle but ignored it. She couldn’t take it now. Not after the way her friends had looked at her. So she walked down the long driveway, the tears streaming down her face.
She had been struggling by herself for so long that she had forgotten to look after her friends as well. Her lies had become more and more tangled and now the truth was just one big mess. There had been the possibility that she could still write a story about Tom. But she knew now that she could never do that. Regardless of the fact that it would get her back to London, she knew it was wrong. And her friends would hate her even more.
In that moment she knew that losing her job was nothing compared to the pain she felt that she had lost her dearest friends forever.