Secrets of the Heart (14 page)

She
ran into Ross at lunch. `Ah, the very person I wanted to see,' he greeted her. 'I was wondering if you could do me a favour? It's your day off tomorrow, isn't it?'

`Yes.
Do you want me to change it?'

`What
are you planning to do?'

`Catch
up on a few chores, laundry, letters, shopping.'

`What
an exciting life you lead!' He laughed.

'How
would it be if you took me to Leeds Castle instead? I've never been there and it's not much fun going alone.'

She
stared at him in amazement, wondering if he was serious.

‘I take it you have been there before?’ he asked.

‘Bryn took Sally and I when we were about fourteen. I don’t think we appreciated it back then.’

‘OK, so how about I pick you up around ten-thirty?’

Annis felt her heart pounding. A whole day out with Ross Hadley!

***

Next morning Annis ran into Stella on her way out of the dining room. ‘Ross tells me you’re off out this afternoon’, Stella said. ‘We were going to have lunch together, but I’ve had to change my time off because I’m away this weekend. Enjoy yourself!’

She gave a wistful little smile, watching for Annie’s reaction. Annis felt furious, not so much for Stella but at Ross. Then she reminded herself that he had been friends with Stella for many years and she was even crosser with herself for minding so much.

She
managed a quick trip into Heronsbridge for some shopping and to go to the bank, and was just about ready by half past ten.

Ross
was already waiting in the Mercedes, and he opened the door for her.

As
she fastened her seatbelt she said, casually, 'I saw Stella earlier. I gather she's had to change her off-duty time.'

`Oh,
yes, Tris and Stella are away for the weekend. She's got plenty to keep her occupied whilst I'm out. How are you two getting along?'

`Oh,
fine. We don't see much of each other, and when we do, we're perfectly civil — after all, life has to go on.' She hoped she sounded convincing.

They
were driving along a narrow country lane bordered by woodland. The trees formed a canopy overhead and the sunlight trickled through, dappling the leaves. She sighed with pleasure and he shot her a swift glance.

`That
was heartfelt.'

`I
was just thinking how much I've missed all this. Kent is such a beautiful county.'

`So
I'm discovering.'

They
rounded a corner and came upon a cluster of cottages and, in the background, an house set against a backdrop of rolling countryside. It was a beautiful drive and Annis found herself enjoying every minute of it. Presently, they arrived at the entrance to the castle.

`I
know that Leeds Castle has the reputation of being the most beautiful castle in the world, but not much else about it,' Ross said.

`Well,
I've been reading up about it,' Annis informed him. 'It's listed in the Domesday Book, and dates back to Saxon times, but the buildings you'll see go back to the Normans. Its last private owner was Lady Baillie, and she's to be thanked for its restoration.'

The
castle, standing on two islands in a lake, was stunningly beautiful. Annis glanced at Ross to see his reaction. He stood in silence for a while.

`It's magnificent,' he said at last. 'I've always had a thing about castles, ever since I was a child. There's so much to see here that I don't know where to begin.'

They
had a wonderful day. Ross was a charming companion and Annis couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed herself so much.

They
did a mixture of things, from watching the famous black swans on the lake, to wandering through the delightful parkland. They lunched in the terrace restaurant and talked on a variety of subjects until, over coffee, he steered the conversation round to her plans for the future.

`I
have no immediate plans other than filling in for Zoe on a temporary basis,' she told him 'I'll just take each day as it comes and see how things work out.'

`Annis,
since you've been here, Bryn has taken on a new lease of life. We've all been so busy with our own areas of work that we've been neglecting him recently, but now he's taking so much more interest in the Mill that he's keeping us on our toes. He's already pinpointed a few things that need sorting out.'

`You
can learn a lot from Bryn Freeman,' she told him. 'He's a very wise gentleman. He just needed to feel useful again, rather than being a mere figurehead who signs all the cheques and important letters.'

`We
thought we were doing the right thing in keeping any problems away from him.' Ross sighed. ‘But now I can see that we might have been overprotective.'

`The
Mill is Bryn's lifeblood now that Arnold and Andrew have gone,' Annis told him. 'I see now that I ought to have returned long ago and I realise I've been very selfish,' Annis admitted quietly.

`We
all have, Annis. We've all been pulling in different directions, wanting what was best for ourselves and not thinking about others. Anyway, all that's going to change from now on.' He got to his feet. 'We'll continue this discussion another time. Right now, I want to see the inside of this castle.'

They
wandered around the interior of the castle admiring the antiques, tapestries and paintings and then, coming out once more into the brilliant sunshine, they walked down to the castle vineyard. Finally, they went into the maze and, finding that they were alone, Ross drew her to him and kissed her gently.

`Thank
you, Annis it's been a lovely day.'

Annis's
heart was doing strange things. 'I've enjoyed it too, Ross, so thank
you
,
'
she said, rather unsteadily.

He
caught her hand as they wandered back through the grounds.

`We
must come here again sometime, Annis. Hopefully you and I are going to be good friends from now on.'

She
smiled up at him and murmured, `I do hope so, Ross.'

Chapter Nine

The
rest of the week flew past. Sally and Annis were incredibly busy with all the weddings but fortunately the agency chef had turned out to be a treasure. Sunday morning came round all too quickly and John took Annis to the station.

`I
can't thank you enough, Annis,' he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. 'Sally is so much more her old self and her confidence is returning. Going on that course was just what she needed.'

`I'm
glad to have been of help, John. I think Sally needed to know that people had faith in her. Hopefully everything will run smoothly from now on.'

As
she sat on the train heading towards London, Annis thought over the events of the past few days. The weddings had been all that anyone could have wished for. There had been no major disasters, only one or two minor hitches that couldn't have been prevented.

She
smiled as she remembered them. On Thursday, a bridesmaid had caught her foot in the hem of the bride's dress and torn it. Fortunately, Madame Cecile had been on hand to do an expert repair job.

On
Friday, one of the small pageboys had been distraught at the loss of his teddy bear. Dean had found it mysteriously wedged under one of the tables, and Millie had gone into gales of laughter at the sight of him, down on all fours, retrieving the much-loved toy.

On
Saturday, the best man at one wedding had had an unfortunate encounter with a glass of red wine and ruined his waistcoat, and the bride's mother at one of the other weddings had lost her hat in the lake. Annis giggled at the memory and pulled herself together when she realised that the rather stern-looking woman sitting opposite was frowning at her over her newspaper.

Millie had been upset when she'd learned that Annis was going away, but had brightened when she'd realised that she'd be back over the bank holiday weekend to see the play.

When
Annis had gone up to say goodbye to Bryn, he had embraced her warmly.

`This
is going to seem a long week without you, Annis roll on Friday!' he'd said.

Ross
had been deep in conversation with Vicki when Annis had been ready to leave, but he'd looked up briefly.

`I
look forward to our next meeting, Annis have a safe journey and a good week.'

She
felt a warm glow inside her as she thought about Ross's kiss. She knew that she would miss him, and wondered how she would get through the week ahead.

Much
to her surprise, her time in London went by quickly. Now that she'd given in her notice, her boss seemed charm itself and Fiona, who was replacing her, actually asked her advice on a few matters. The job that Annis was doing was rather mundane, but because she was looking forward to returning to Heathercote Mill at the end of the week, she didn't mind.

Her
friends at the flat, while sorry that she was leaving, weren't unduly worried about finding someone else to share. They had all thought she was mad to spend her entire holiday working, and couldn't believe it when she told them her plans for the next month.

She
had brought back a virtually empty case so that she could fill it with more of her possessions, and spent most of her free time packing up, but she still managed to go out with friends to the cinema one evening.

Sally
phoned her a couple of times, telling her that everything was still going well. Annis just hoped that this would continue to be the case; she still couldn't believe that Sally had been responsible for the mistakes that had occurred, but she was unable to come up with any logical explanation.

* * *

When she stepped off the train on Friday afternoon, Annis met up with three wedding guests who were bound for the Mill, and they invited her to share a cab with them. As soon as she had been to her room to leave her luggage and tidy herself up, she made her way to the office, to be greeted by a beaming Sally.

`I've
had the best week ever, Annis even the rain on Wednesday couldn't dampen my spirits. But now the next ceremony kicks off in around half an hour and one of the bridesmaids has managed to lose her headdress. Don't ask! Her mother thinks it was deliberate because the child took a dislike to it. Anyway, it came from here and Madame Cecile says she's got one in stock the right size, so could you be an angel and go and collect it? Lara was going to bring it over but she's cutting it a bit fine.'

Annis
sped down to the boutique and was surprised to find Madame Cecile looking a little flustered.

`How
nice to see you, Miss Fuller . . . I'm afraid I had completely forgotten about the headdress.' She lowered her voice. 'There has been a bit of a problem here.'

Annis
could see Lara sitting in the corner dabbing her eyes.

`What's
wrong?' she whispered. 'Is it anything I can help with?'

Madame
Cecile shook her head and ushered Annis into the storeroom.

`Today
is her daughter, Kelly's, birthday and Lara does not know how to get in touch with her. She's in Spain, but has given no address. She is a wilful girl, Miss Fuller. When she was here she caused trouble for us . . . '

`What
kind of trouble?' Annis asked, but Madame Cecile obviously felt that she had said enough.

`It
is over now, but Lara misses her daughter so much, it makes her unhappy.'

Fortunately,
Madame Cecile found the headdress just then, and Annis hurried back with it, just in time for it to be placed on the protesting bridesmaid's head.

`Thank
goodness for that!' Sally exclaimed. 'Annis, you must be gasping for a cuppa. Come and get one now, before something else crops up.'

The
wedding ceremony and reception went off without any further hitches and, much later, as they sat over supper cooked by John, Annis relayed what had happened at the boutique earlier.

`That
woman looks sour enough to curdle the milk,' John commented.

`Oh,
poor Lara — you know, now I come to think of it, there was an incident at the boutique concerning Kelly, but it was all hushed up.'

Annis
was thoughtful. She wondered whether Madame Cecile might be persuaded to tell her exactly what had happened.

She went over to the boutique straight after breakfast. Madame Cecile was already at work, completing a bridesmaid's dress, and although pleasant enough, she was disinclined to chatter. In answer to Annis's enquiry after Lara, she merely said, 'Oh, she is quite all right now. Vicki had an e-mail from her sister last night. It seems she plans to stay in Spain for a while longer. She has found herself a job in a bar.'

`Madame,
you mentioned some trouble what happened?' Annis asked carefully.

Madame
Cecile laid aside her sewing. `It would be disloyal of me to say, Miss Fuller. It is water under the bridge now, as you say. At the time it was upsetting, but now it is forgotten.' She looked directly at Annis. 'Mr Hadley dealt with the situation.'

After
a few remarks about the weather, Annis took her leave. Her mind was buzzing with lots of disconnected thoughts, but she was kept far too busy for the rest of the day to dwell on them much.

The weddings were a triumph, and Sally was in a state of euphoria at the end of them. The second reception wound up at about eleven o'clock and Annis went thankfully to bed.

* * *

She was up with the lark the next morning, and went for an early swim where, coming out of the changing rooms, she encountered Ross.

`I
was beginning to think you were avoiding me,' he said.

`Why
would I do that? Things were a bit hectic yesterday, that's all.'

They
enjoyed their swim, but it wasn't long before he had to go.

`Work
beckons,' he said. 'We're like ships that pass in the night, aren't we? I'm off at eight, though, how about coming out for a meal with me?'

Annis's
heartbeat quickened as he smiled at her.

`I'd
enjoy that, Ross.'

`Great
— I'll see you in the bar.'

Annis enjoyed a pleasant, relaxing day. She went to church with Sally, John, and Bryn, and then Bryn insisted on her joining him for lunch in his flat. She spent the rest of the afternoon reading in the staff garden.

That
evening, she showered and selected a pink and cream cotton dress, glad that she had brought some more clothes back with her. She applied her make up carefully, leaving her newly-washed hair to fall in a shining curtain about her shoulders.

She
arrived in the bar before Ross, and exchanged a few words with Dean, Millie's boyfriend. After a few minutes, Ross came in and Annis watched him as he stopped to talk to a couple of the staff. He was wearing a pale blue, open-necked shirt and dark blue trousers. His chestnut hair fell forward over his forehead, making him look boyish. He spotted her and raised his hand in greeting.

As
they left the bar, Stella came through the swing doors. Her face lit up when she saw Ross, but she totally ignored Annis.

`Hello,
Ross are you off duty now? How about having a drink with me?'

`Another
time, Stella. I'm taking Annis out to dinner. I'll catch up with you tomorrow and you can tell me all about your weekend.'

`I
was hoping to tell you now, but never mind,' Stella said ungraciously.

Annis
saw the expression on her face and realised that she saw Annis as a potential threat. She gave Stella what she hoped was a friendly smile, but Stella turned on her heel and went back the way she had come.

`She's
got a lot on her mind at the moment,' Ross said, to ease an awkward moment, and Annis decided not to let Stella spoil the evening for her.

They
drove along winding narrow lanes edged with cow parsley and poppies. Sheep grazed peacefully in the meadows and for a little while Annis sat in silence enjoying the scenery. It wasn't until they passed through a village with a cluster of thatched-roofed cottages and a church spire in the background that she spoke.

`I
was a bit apprehensive about returning to the Mill but now, in spite of the changes, it's beginning to feel as if I've never been away.'

`You've
done wonders for Bryn,' he said. 'He's a new person. I haven't seen him so interested in things for a long time, and it's good for staff morale to see him about the place.'

`So
you don't object to my taking over Zoe's job for the time being?'

`No.
And now that I've got to know you a bit more and realise that you're genuinely interested in the future of the Mill, I think it would be good if you joined us on a more permanent basis.'

He
pulled in at a hotel, almost hidden behind a canopy of trees. It was one she hadn't visited before, but Ross seemed to know his way around. It was a very opulent establishment with deep, dusky pink carpets, large gilt-framed mirrors and huge arrangements of hydrangeas on marble-topped tables.

Annis
wondered if she were appropriately dressed but then realised that Ross was taking her into the brassiere rather than the main restaurant.

They
enjoyed a relaxed meal, talking about their families and friends, and the places they had visited on holidays, and then finally, over coffee, the conversation turned back to Heathercote Mill.

`There's
a lot of potential there, and sometimes I wonder if it's being utilised properly,' Ross commented. `The wedding business is a growing concern and we certainly do well enough out of the conferences, but I think there's scope for other activities.'

`What
sort of other activities?'

She
stirred her coffee, wondering what he was about to say.

`Summer
schools, group activities, that sort of thing perhaps. At the moment, we're all geared up for business conferences but not much else. What do you think?'

`I'm only working here in a voluntary role at present, so I'm not really in a position to air my views,' she pointed out. ‘For what it's worth though, and strictly off the record, I'll make just one observation.'

`Go
on,' he invited, eyeing her keenly, so that she wondered what was going through his mind.

`All
right. There are oceans of events and activities that could be thought up for the summer months, but what about the winter? You can't expect to be continually hiring and firing staff, not if you want any form of continuity, and . . . '

He
grinned. `OK, point taken. You know, I reckon you'd be an asset to the company. You've got the sort of business brain it takes — just as Bryn said, although I have to say, I've taken some convincing. One day you'll be pretty good in the consultancy field.'