Hanging around the hall with Annie and Alex for the rest of the day, Eleanor found that she was still expecting Tom to appear at any moment. But if she was unsettled at that particular thought, it was nothing to the abandonment that Dylan felt. He kept sitting by the front door, refusing to budge until Tom came back. Nobody could distract him or make him move.
‘I’m sure he’ll be okay later on,’ Eleanor told Annie as she got onto her bicycle to head home. ‘He’ll definitely perk up when it’s time for his dinner.’
But that evening, she received a call from Annie. ‘You’ve got to come here and do something with Dylan. He’s howling and howling. He won’t settle with any of us.’
So Eleanor cycled back to Willow Tree Hall in the late evening sun, thinking that at least she was going to get fitter with all the exercise she was getting.
She could hear Dylan barking inside the house as soon as she drew up on her bike.
Annie opened up the front door before she could even reach it. Dylan rushed out and hurtled round her.
‘You silly thing,’ said Eleanor, reaching down to rub his head when he finally collapsed at her feet. ‘He’s not with me.’ She looked up at Annie. ‘Have you tried calling Tom? Maybe the sound of his voice will make Dylan settle a bit.’
Annie shook her head. ‘We tried that. It made him even worse,’ she said, turning to head back into the house. ‘What are we going to do?’
‘Well, at least he’s not howling any more,’ said Eleanor, realising that the dog was now walking alongside her as they went into the entrance hall. In fact, Dylan was so close that he was almost tripping her up.
‘Thank god,’ drawled Alex, heading across from the drawing room. ‘He obviously likes you. You’ll have to stay here. I need my beauty sleep.’
Eleanor was startled at the suggestion. ‘But I haven’t brought anything with me,’ she said.
‘You can borrow my stuff,’ said Annie. ‘Even if it isn’t very designer.’
Eleanor looked at Annie and caught her soft smile. ‘That doesn’t matter to me,’ she told her friend.
‘He does seem calmer now that you’re here,’ said Annie, nodding at the dog. ‘Come on. It’ll be like one of our old pyjama parties.’
‘But with a large amount of gin, hopefully,’ added Alex, grinning. ‘Anyone for strip poker?’
Eleanor rang her mum who was more concerned about Dylan’s unhappiness than sleeping on her own back at home. So Eleanor relaxed and found herself enjoying an evening at Willow Tree Hall, as they sat on the patio, drinking their gin and tonics.
‘It’s such a lovely setting,’ said Eleanor, looking out across the long grass to where the sun was slowly sinking behind the woods. With Dylan sitting on her feet, and a cold drink in her hand, she felt more relaxed than she had done in ages. She had had few moments of relaxation recently, she realised. Far too busy worrying about her job. She also knew from her mum’s experience with animals that if she felt calm, then Dylan would be as well. So she forced herself to not worry. Consequently, Dylan curled up and took an evening nap right next to her chair.
‘It would be even better if we were sitting on something more comfortable,’ said Alex, grimacing as he shuffled his bottom on the hard wooden seat.
‘We do need to get some cushions,’ agreed Rose, who had joined them, along with Arthur, after dinner. ‘And a large umbrella for any hot summer days. There’s no shade up here.’
‘What about a swimming pool?’ said Alex, his eyes gleaming.
‘I believe my grandson said something about a limited budget,’ said Arthur with a smile.
‘Spoilsport,’ said Alex, giving him a wink. ‘I was hoping to see Tom in his swimming shorts.’
Eleanor gulped as she wondered what that would be like as well.
They stayed outside in the warm air until the sun had set and the stars had begun to come out.
‘Time for bed,’ declared Rose, with a shiver as the cooler air began to drift over the grounds.
‘I hear you,’ said Alex, with a yawn. ‘I always sleep like a log here.’
‘It’s the peace and quiet,’ said Arthur, nodding in agreement. ‘And all this fresh air.’
‘And the lack of scary doll eyes staring at me all night,’ added Alex.
As Eleanor headed up the huge sweeping staircase, she realised she had never been up to the first floor.
‘I love these stairs,’ she told Annie, as they went past all the paintings of the previous earls and their families.
‘It’s very Scarlett O’Hara, isn’t it?’ said Annie, smiling. ‘I can’t wait to come down here in my wedding dress.’
‘You’re going to look so glamorous,’ agreed Eleanor. ‘It’ll make a great photo.’
‘Just as soon as I find a dress to wear,’ Annie told her, biting her lip in concern. ‘We must go shopping soon.’
‘Absolutely.’
At the top of the stairs, there was a beamed gallery which overlooked the entrance hall below. ‘That’s the east wing bedrooms,’ said Annie, pointing down the corridor. ‘Rose and Arthur’s bedroom suites are down there. As well as a couple more, soon to be finished, guest bedrooms.’ They turned in the opposite direction. ‘I thought you two would be happier in the west wing,’ said Annie, glancing down at Dylan who still wouldn’t leave Eleanor’s side.
As they went along the corridor, Eleanor glanced into room after room but they were all empty.
‘We’ve managed to clear out most of the rubbish and at least they’ve all been plastered now,’ Annie told her. ‘And the whole place is watertight. But the only spare guest room that’s actually got a bed you can use is…’ Annie finished the sentence as she opened up a door. ‘My old bedroom.’
It was a beautiful room, light and airy. Three of the walls were painted a pale cream. The fourth wall, behind the bed, had been covered with the most beautiful cream wallpaper, decorated with tiny turquoise butterflies. The furniture was also pale, but the whole room felt modern and warm, thanks to the turquoise and gold accents dotted about.
‘Didn’t Alex do a lovely job?’ said Annie, smiling. ‘I love this room.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ agreed Eleanor, nodding her approval. ‘So pretty.’
Then she noticed that amongst the new lamps and candlesticks were some sheets of music. The odd book. Some aftershave.
She turned around to face Annie and raised her eyebrows.
‘Yeah, sorry,’ said Annie, looking abashed. ‘Tom’s been using this room. But it’s the only one with a bed in it. He seems quite clean and tidy, you know, for a bloke. And Dylan sleeps up here with him, so I figured he might be more settled here with you.’
They both watched as Dylan went over to what looked like a brand new, soft leather dog bed and curled up inside it.
Eleanor could see that Annie was waiting for her reply. ‘It’s fine,’ she told her friend. ‘Better than fine. I haven’t slept in anywhere this gorgeous for ages.’
‘Since your own flat, I suppose,’ said Annie.
‘That wasn’t mine, it was Lucas’s,’ Eleanor told her, making a face. ‘And it wasn’t pretty like this. It was all a bit cold and sterile. Not warm and welcoming.’
‘Poor you,’ said Annie, touching her arm.
Eleanor smiled and shrugged. ‘I just needed somewhere to stay. My own flat got condemned so I had to move in with him for a while. Turns out that was the beginning of the end for our relationship, I think. I haven’t had a single text from him since I came here. So much for our so-called break.’ She turned to her friend. ‘Whereas you moving in here was the absolute right thing, especially when Sam moved back in too.’
Annie blushed. ‘It was,’ she said, nodding happily at the memory.
They hugged each other goodnight before Eleanor settled into the bed. A soft breeze was wafting the curtains at the front, but other than that it was very peaceful and still in the house. As she snuggled deeper into the very comfortable bedding, Eleanor realised that she could smell the traces of Tom’s woody aftershave on the pillow. With one last check that Dylan was happily curled up in his bed, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.