Megan had come back from her holiday glowing both with a suntan and happiness. As they sat on the patio at Willow Tree Hall in the shade, Eleanor thought that her friend hadn’t looked so relaxed for years.
‘We’re going to save up every year for a holiday,’ said Megan. ‘It’s done us both the power of good.’
She was also hugely enthusiastic about helping Eleanor out with the business.
‘You need to think about pricing,’ said Megan, running down the list of notes she had made. ‘You also need to conjure up some other stuff to make. Creams with something other than carrot or lavender. You’ve got to speculate to accumulate and all that.’
‘Okay,’ said Eleanor.
‘Is it okay with you if I create a website?’ carried on Megan.
‘Sure,’ said Eleanor, laughing. ‘I haven’t got a clue about that kind of stuff. But only if you’ve got the time.’ She looked over at Annie but she was busy stressing about the fete. The worry now included the potential weather forecast.
‘Do you think it will be too hot on the day?’ she asked, looking across the garden. ‘Will we need to put up some shade?’
‘Of course, it might actually rain instead,’ drawled Megan.
Annie spun round looking horrified. ‘Oh God! What if it does? What will we do?’
Rose, who had just arrived home, smiled down. ‘Darling, we will soldier on and survive,’ she said, putting her arm around Annie’s shoulders. ‘Just like Willow Tree Hall has all these years.’
Knowing how stressed Annie was, Eleanor decided that the best thing she could give her friend was some lavender water, which was left over from when she made her infusions. She made a note to bring some up with her from the workshop after lunch. Later that afternoon, Eleanor helped Annie put up the last pairs of curtains in the vacant guest bedrooms.
Alex also came with them. ‘The curtains are fabulous,’ he announced. ‘Where are they from?’
‘My mum,’ said Eleanor, feeling proud.
June had done a lovely job in keeping Annie’s ideas of separate colours for each of the guest bedrooms.
‘Style really does run in that family,’ said Alex, nodding his approval. But then he stopped short when they reached the blue bedroom. ‘What the hell’s that smell?’ he snapped.
Annie grimaced. ‘Do you mean the dog?’
‘No!’ scoffed Alex. ‘It’s gorgeous and it ain’t no doggy aroma.’
‘Then it must be Eleanor’s lavender spray that she’s just given me,’ said Annie with a proud smile as she looked at her friend. ‘It’s so relaxing. It’s really helped me sleep.’
Alex sniffed once more. ‘I’ll need six bottles to take home with me. This stuff’s going all round my apartment. Unless you’ve got something more earthy? I’ve got a hot date on Friday night.’
Eleanor thought quickly. ‘I’m not sure.’
But Alex had already moved into the guest bathroom. ‘Now, what have you put in here? No, no, no! I don’t need all that supermarket rubbish cluttering up the place. Hey, London girl. Do you do anything other than room sprays?’
Eleanor thought quickly. ‘I’ve got some hand-made creams and soaps.’
‘Perfect. You’re hired.’
So Eleanor found herself leading Alex down to the stables so that he could decide which ingredients he wanted.
‘Well, you have been busy,’ he said, staring around at the bottles of creams and soaps hardening on the benches.
She had hung bunches of lavender upside down to dry them off and used a sprig on top of the soap. She had then experimented by tying a sprig of lavender around each plastic pot to make them prettier as well.
‘It’s a brilliant space to work in,’ she told him.
‘Of course, the view’s pretty great as well,’ Alex drawled, looking out of the window to where Tom was sawing some wood.
‘I haven’t noticed,’ said Eleanor, trying to turn away.
But Alex jumped in front of her. ‘What, are you blind? I mean…’
As his voice trailed off, Eleanor glanced behind and saw Tom removing his T-shirt. She stared at the hard muscles of his chest. The smattering of dark hair that went down below his belt.
‘Christ, I need a cold shower,’ said Alex, gulping.
Eleanor tried to pull herself together. ‘Annie’s right,’ she croaked. ‘You’re very naughty.’
‘Given half a chance,’ he quickly replied. ‘Right. I’m going to talk to our future countess about bunting. And perhaps stand next to the open fridge for a while.’
After he had gone, Eleanor allowed herself the odd glance at the shirtless Tom before she too had to go and cool down.