Secrets of the Heart (15 page)

`Well,
there's one sure thing, I've no intention of trying out a consultancy role unless I'm doing so in a professional capacity on your payroll!' she told him.

He
smiled at her, and she felt her heartbeat quicken.

`I've
enjoyed tonight, Annis,' he said. `I realise our relationship got off to a rocky start, but you've proved your worth and I look forward to you joining the team next month.'

She
sipped her coffee and reached for another chocolate mint. It would have been nice to believe that he had asked her out because he wanted to get to know her better as a person, and not just to run a few ideas past her, but she supposed she would have to accept that Stella was always there in the background.

To
him, she was sure, she was just Andrew's ex-fiancé, and he probably still viewed her presence in Heronsbridge with a certain amount of suspicion. He had a very strong protective instinct towards both his uncle and Stella, and he obviously wanted the business to flourish. He wouldn't have any scruples about changing things if he thought they weren't bringing in sufficient revenue, Annis knew — and if that meant closing down any aspect of the Mill enterprise that was a lame duck, then that was what would happen. She did feel, however, that he would do things with Bryn's best interests at heart.

She
peeled the silver foil from her mint and rolled it into a tight ball

Ross
regarded her with some amusement.

`Why
don't you just say what's on your mind, instead of taking it out on that metal foil?' he asked.

She
met his gaze steadily.

`I
suppose I was just wondering whether with all these changes you're thinking about `Something Borrowed, Something Blue' continues to have a place? I mean, it takes up a lot of time and energy, and whilst weddings are on the agenda, not much else can be, can it? I mean, take the play, for instance, the Mill would be a wonderful venue for open air productions, but Saturdays are the most popular time for weddings and . . . '

He
held up his hand, a slight smile curving his lips. 'Hold on, tell me what makes you think we would jeopardise the wedding enterprise in order to promote new ideas?'

`I
just thought, perhaps you had other plans? Men aren't all that interested in weddings.'

`You're
priceless, Annis Fuller, did you know that? Without the male population there would be no weddings.' He laughed. 'I don't know what I have to say or do to convince you, but `Something Borrowed, Something Blue' is always going to be one of the most important features of Heathercote Mill Enterprises.'

She
nodded, and realised that here was a golden opportunity to ask Ross if he knew what had happened at the boutique concerning Kelly.

Briefly,
she told him what had happened on Friday and the comment made by Madame Cecile.

`Hm
I think the least said about that little episode the better.'

`Ross,
I'm not just asking out of curiosity.' She told him what was on her mind and he whistled.

`You
think Kelly might have been behind all the problems that Sally's been having with the wedding business lately? I'd never thought of that. I suppose it's feasible, although I don't quite see how she could have done it. Well, I suppose there's no harm in telling you what happened — it's over and done with now.’

`Kelly
is rather immature and she'd fallen out with her parents because they refused to give her the money to go to Spain with her friends during the summer. She came to work at the Mill against her will, although we didn't realise that until afterwards. On the day that she left, she had an enormous show-down with her parents her father's quite strict.'

`So, what happened?'

`When
the boutique was closed she got in and spoiled one of the wedding dresses that Madame Cecile was working on — and she also ruined an entire box of headdresses.'

`How
did they know it was her?' Annis asked.

`She
left a note otherwise we would have called the police. Vicki thinks that's the reason she won't come back.'

`Because
she's ashamed of what she did, you mean?'

`No,
she's unrepentant, but she is a little concerned about the consequences of her actions. Look, if your theory is right . . . '

Annis
shook her head. 'I don't know, it's only a hunch, and if Vicki can't get in touch with her sister and the girl's not prepared to own up, then how will we ever know for sure?'

He
looked thoughtful. 'Well, that might not be as difficult as you think. Leave it with me. I'll have a word with Vicki.' He glanced at his watch. 'Now, I'm sorry, but I have to get back I've an early start in the morning and I have at least an hour's paperwork to do before I turn in.'

`You're
a bit of a workaholic, aren't you, Ross?'

She
got to her feet and reached for her jacket. He helped her on with it and she was aware that his closeness disturbed her profoundly.

When
they arrived back at the Mill he caught her hands between his.

`I've
enjoyed this evening, Annis, and I hope it'll be the first of many more. I look forward to getting to know you and to spending more time with you.'

`Thanks
for a lovely meal, Ross,' she said, and she couldn't trust herself to look at him.

* * *

The week in London dragged. Annis had to fill in for a colleague who was off sick, and the job she had to cover was extremely boring and uninvolved. She couldn't wait to get away on Friday, and she knew it wasn't just because she'd had a difficult week.

When
Friday came, Annis flew out of the office on the stroke of five o'clock and ran all the way to the railway station.

It
was raining when she got off the train but, fortunately, she just managed to catch the hourly bus into Heronsbridge.

To
her surprise, Sally was sitting in the office with her feet up drinking a cup of tea and reading a newspaper. She looked up and greeted Annis with a smile, but Annis thought she seemed weary.

`What's
this? I thought there was a wedding this afternoon? Don't tell me it's been cancelled.'

`Nope,
just postponed. The groom and his best man and mates went on a stag night to remember in Amsterdam, and missed their flight back. They couldn't get back in time for the ceremony. I've spent the entire day re-organizing everything. Fortunately it was to be a church wedding and the vicar, bless him, has agreed to marry them straight after the morning service on Sunday. Hopefully everything's sorted now, apart from a few bemused guests that we've had to accommodate because they live too far away to do a double journey.'

They
caught up with the rest of the week's happenings over more cups of tea and then Sally gave a gasp.

`Oh,
I nearly forgot — I've got a message here from Ross, asking you to have a word with Vicki. I don't know what it's about.'

Vicki
was on reception as usual. She looked a bit apprehensive when she saw Annis, and asked one of the other girls to cover for her on the desk. She and Annis went into the conference dining room, which was empty, and sat down together at a table.

`Miss
Fuller, I don't know what to say. Ross told me that you suspect my sister might be behind the problems with the wedding business.' Vicki hesitated, biting her lip.

`Well
. . . one of her friends, Jason, has just come back from Spain. I know him quite well and I asked him about her. Apparently, Kelly's been quite open about what she did. She thinks it's a huge joke.

`Anyway,
after some persuasion, Jason gave me her new phone number. Would you believe that she deliberately left her mobile behind when she went away? And she's been refusing point blank to speak to my parents when they've tried to contact her on her friends' phones!'

`So
what did she say?' Annis asked impatiently.

`Well,
she's working in a bar and wasn't at all pleased that Jason had given me her number. At first she didn't want to talk, but eventually I managed to get it out of her.

`She
said she got bored working on the weddings so she switched things around a bit changed something here and there, but didn't alter it on the computer. Apparently she made a few phone calls, too. And on one occasion, she changed the champagne order and then made sure that it was her who was around to sign for it —that sort of thing. The mistakes didn't come to light until after she'd left, because she only targeted weddings scheduled to take place once she'd gone. She says she only did it for a joke.'

`Some
joke!' Annis commented. Vicki stared at her miserably.

`She
only owned up because I told her that if she didn't, I'd tell our father and he'd come out to Spain to fetch her back. Miss Fuller, I am so sorry — I honestly had no idea what she was up to.'

`You
mustn't blame yourself, Vicki. Well, hopefully we've caught up with all the blips now. Poor Sally, she really thought it was all her fault. Will you come with me now to tell her what really happened?'

`Of course I will. It's the very least I can do. I'm so sorry about all of this, and my mother will be so upset. It's bad enough what happened in the boutique, without all this.'

`Vicki,
I don't see why we need to tell your mother about the bother with the wedding arrangements. It's all been resolved now, and I feel sure Sally will feel the same. The most important thing is to persuade your sister to come home.'

Vicki
went with Annis to Sally's office, and Sally listened in silence while she repeated the story.

`There
are two things I don't understand about all of this,' Sally said. `How did she do it, and why?'

`She
waited until you were out of your office and then made subtle changes here and there to weddings which you'd already checked out, and which she knew she wouldn't be around for a telephone call here, a fax there. It wasn't anything personal,' Vicki said desperately. 'She's a very silly girl, I'll grant you that, but what we didn't realise was that her boyfriend had dumped her shortly after she came to work here. Working on wedding arrangements was the last straw when she was going through such an emotional crisis.'

When
Vicki had gone back to reception, Sally burst into tears.

`Come
on, Sal,' Annis comforted her. `It's all over now, and it must be a relief to know that you're in the clear. Everyone will be so pleased.'

‘B
ut that's just it, isn't it?' Sally sniffed. 'They really believed the mistakes were my fault. They didn't have enough faith in me.'

Annis
didn't know how to reply to this, because she knew Sally was right.

`I
had faith in you, Sally,' she said quietly. 'And you know, perhaps all that's happened hasn't been in vain. Maybe Kelly has done us a favour.'

Sally
looked at her in astonishment. `How do you work that out?'

`She's
shown us that we all need to work as a team, but above all that, that we need to trust one another. Now, I'm going over to see Ross.'

`You
can't.' Sally reached for a tissue. `He's taken a few days' leave and gone up north to see his family. He's taken Stella with him, which is just as well because she's been so preoccupied just lately that she's not much use here. Anyway, Ross will cheer her up they're good friends. The change will do them both good.'

* * *

Annis went through the rest of the day in a daze. She had been so looking forward to seeing Ross again and now he was away for the entire weekend. She shouldn't have been surprised that he had taken Stella with him, and realised now that she had allowed herself to become too attracted to him. She was in danger of getting hurt all over again.

`What's
up, Annis?' asked Bryn when she went to see him. 'You don't look your usual sunny self. Are we wearing you out already?'

She
assured him that she was fine and, after telling him her week's news, decided to tell him about Kelly.

`Well,
I suppose it shouldn't surprise me. That girl always has been a bit of a problem, never sticks at anything for five minutes, unlike her sister who's reliable and conscientious. Maybe Kelly felt she couldn't measure up to Vicki and so she rebelled. Anyway, thank goodness it's all out in the open.'

He
looked thoughtful.

`If,
as you say, Sally is feeling undervalued, then we must put our heads together and do something about it, mustn't we? She's a very esteemed member of my staff. Now, the next problem we've got is Madame Cecile. Millie still doesn't think she's coming to see the play, so what can we do about that? Any bright ideas?'