The Mill House (25 page)

They hadn't spoken again since, not even during the calls she'd been making to the children this morning, charting their progress. Even that was annoying him, though not nearly as much as the certainty that she was going to throw Sylvia in his face the minute he arrived.

'Are we there yet?' Dan asked, sitting forward to rest his elbows on the two front seats.

Having been asked that question more times

than he'd ever want to hear it again, it was with profound relief that Josh was able to say, 'Yes, we're here, son,' and sweeping round a large horse chestnut tree, he accelerated gently over a cattle grid and started down a narrow, tree-lined drive.

Daniel's eyes grew round as an extremely grand farmhouse came into view. 'Is that it?' he asked, clearly impressed. 'Is that going to be ours now?'

'No, I think ours is behind this one,' Josh responded, feeling decidedly awkward about the possessive.

'But that's Mum,' Dan cried excitedly, as Julia broke away from a group of people standing in front of the house and started to wave.

'Are we here?' Shannon asked groggily as she came awake.

'There's Mum,' Dan told her, and as Josh brought the car to a stop Dan leapt out straight into his mother's arms.

'How are you?' Julia cried, holding him tight. 'Let me look at you. Oh my, you've grown so handsome.'

'It's only been two days,' Shannon remarked grumpily, as she pushed open the car door.

Julia regarded her with humorously narrowed eyes, until, unable to stop herself, Shannon broke into a smile, and next thing she was springing into her mother's arms too. 'Dad's in a vile mood,' she warned in Julia's ear. 'I'd give him a wide berth if I were you. I nearly killed him on the way down.'

Josh was coming round the car.

'Hello darling,' Julia said warmly, though they both knew it was an effort to keep up appearances. 'Did you have a good journey?'

'If you discount hiccups, car sickness, needing the toilet two minutes after we've left the services and a total inability to be civil to each other, I suppose you could say it was a good journey,' he responded.

Julia dutifully hugged him and winked at Shannon and Dan.

'Oh look!' Dan cried ecstatically as a couple of unruly border collies came bounding up to meet him.

'Sorry! Ottie let them out,' Fen shouted, running after them.

But Dan was in heaven, trying to get his arms round the dogs as they bounced about in delight and slobbered all over him.

'This is Fen who I've told you about,' Julia said, linking Josh's arm. 'She's not just the solicitor who broke the news, she's also a great family friend.'

Josh wondered which family, but refrained from asking, and allowed his inherent good manners to prevail as he shook Fen's hand. 'It's a pleasure to meet you,' he said. 'Julia's told me how supportive you've been.'

'OK we're happy to help in any way we can,' Fen assured him. 'Her father meant a lot to us. Anyway, welcome to Cornwall and Shallard's Cross. I hope you're going to like it here as much as Julia seems to.'

'I'm sure I will,' he responded politely, while turning to find out what the shriek coming from the boot was all about.

'Dad! You forgot to put my make-up case in. I asked you if it was there ...'

'It's in the bag I brought for Mum,' he interrupted

as Shannon appeared. 'And you don't need it now.'

Smiling, Fen went forward. 'You must be Shannon,' she said, cupping the girl's face between her hands. 'How lovely you are. You have to meet Ottilie. She's your age and ... Ottie! Where are you?'

'Right here, Mum,' a lanky, freckle-faced teenager with a stunning mane of red hair and a sassy expression informed her.

Fen laughed. 'Sorry darling. This is Shannon, Julia's daughter. I'm sure you two will have a lot in common, so why don't you show her around?'

Though Shannon didn't appear exactly eager, it was clear to Josh that she was more impressed with the look of Ottie than she'd expected to be, so maybe now she'd accept that Orlando Bloom, Topshop and Notting Hill cool had managed to permeate as far as Cornwall, and have a good time.

'Right, let me introduce you to everyone else,' Fen said, as the others wandered over to join them. 'OK, father Peter, mother Laura, husband Bob, cousin Rico, and don't worry if you forget their names, they can generally be relied upon to remember them so can remind upon request.'

Smiling, Josh shook everyone's hands, and was just falling into step with Peter Bower, heading towards the house, when his mobile started to ring. Looking to see who it was, he quickly apologised and turned away to take it, feeling the cut of Julia's glare boring into his back. Well, what the hell was he supposed to do, forget he had any clients or loyalty to them just because she thought he was speaking to Sylvia?

By the time he'd finished the call everyone had gone inside except Dan who clearly couldn't tear himself away from the dogs, and the two girls, who'd apparently lost no time at all in bonding.

'Dad, can we get a dog?' Dan asked, looking up from where he was sitting with the delighted- looking beasts either side of him.

'Not today,' Josh answered. Then stooping down, he ruffled the dogs too, as he said, 'Would you rather stay here with Mum? We can always go sailing another time.'

Dan's face fell. 'But I want to go now, Dad. You said...'

'That's fine,' Josh assured him. 'I just thought you might prefer to be with the dogs.'

'Oh, Josh, there you are,' Fen said, coming out of the front door. 'Thought you might have trouble finding the way. A light lunch is being served in the conservatory, I do hope you're staying long enough to join us.'

'Of course,' he responded, standing up, and deciding he might as well resign himself to going with this for now, rather than create any more tension with Julia, he followed her inside.

As it turned out he found the Bowers to be rather good company, particularly Fen's husband, Bob, with whom he discovered he shared several interests, not least of which was sailing. This was a hobby he'd only got into during the past few years, while Bob was clearly an old hand. Yes, he could probably grow to like it here, he was reflecting as he accepted a second helping of the housekeeper's beef in cider stew. Certainly he could think of worse places to be leaving his wife

and daughter for a week. Under any other circumstances he might even envy Julia and Shannon the break, for such idyllic surroundings certainly had their appeal - though his mind would be too full of what was going on at the office, and the mountain of work he had to get through, to allow himself to relax beyond the weekend.

''Lydia, our youngest, is over at a friend's house this afternoon,' Fen was explaining. 'She's off to Italy with Mummy tomorrow ... Oh, by the way, Ottie's not going now, did I tell you?' she added to Julia.

Josh's eyes moved to his wife as she failed to answer. Her attention, it seemed, was focused on the paddock where Shannon and her new friend were watching the cousin Rico exercising a horse. 'Julia,' he said darkly.

Startled, she looked at him, and coloured slightly, as she said, 'Sorry, darling. Did you say something?'

'Fen did,' he told her.

'I'm so sorry,' she apologised, turning to Fen.

Fen smiled. 'It's OK. I was just saying that Ottie's decided to stay here this half-term instead of going to Italy, so Shannon will have some company after all.'

'Why, that's marvellous,' Julia exclaimed. 'Isn't it?' she said to Josh.

'If you say so,' he responded, not intending to sound rude, only to get under her skin the way she was getting under his.

Evidently sensing it, she said, 'Are you feeling all right, darling? Tired after the long drive?'

'I'm fine,' he retorted, wanting to ask, nastily,

how her hangover was today, but they were in company, so instead he asked if she'd like to show him her father 's house before he left.

Twenty minutes later, having completed the guided tour, during which he agreed the place was as charming as she'd claimed, he followed her back out onto the porch where he refrained from expressing his true feelings about the mysterious presence of his children's photographs, as they stood watching Dan playing with the dogs. There was still no sign of Shannon, who was supposed to be walking over from the house with Ottilie.

'I've brought Kincaid's manuscript,' he told her, ducking as a ball whizzed past his ear, followed by Dan shouting sorry. 'It arrived yesterday, by hand.'

'Thanks,' she said. Then after a beat, 'I expect the car's full of them, isn't it?'

He looked puzzled, then realising she meant that he was incapable of making a trip without taking his work with him, he said, 'The world doesn't come to a stop just because you've decided to take some time out, you know.'

'I didn't mean that,' she retorted, 'and I'd hardly call sorting my father's affairs and editing a high- profile manuscript taking time out.'

A short, difficult silence followed as they watched Shannon and Ottilie emerge from the woods, escorted by Rico, who was leading a sleek, black mare saddled ready to ride. Josh was too preoccupied with his temper to notice the way Shannon was flirting and preening herself in front of the Italian, but Julia hadn't missed it at all. In fact she was reflecting on how lucky it was for

Shannon that her father wasn't reading the signs, or it was highly unlikely he'd leave her here. He might not want to leave Julia here either, were he able to read some of the thoughts she'd been having about that particular young man lately, but fortunately he couldn't. Actually, considering his own behaviour, she decided he should be thankful that she had herself well under control. It was just a pity he couldn't say the same.

'So are you still seeing Sylvia?' she asked tartly.

'No,' he lied.

'But you'd like to.'

His jaw tightened. 'Stop trying to put words in my mouth.'

Noting that he hadn't denied it she turned incredulous, angry eyes to him, but before she could speak, he said, 'I knew you'd be unable to resist throwing it in my face when I got here, so please tell me exactly how you think it's helping.'

'Oh, I know you'd like it to just go away, to forget it ever happened,' she said tightly, 'but I'm afraid it doesn't work quite like that.'

Though his entire body stiffened, he said nothing, merely continued to stare out at Dan and the dogs.

'Whose idea was it?' she demanded. 'Which one of you came up with such a mind-numbingly stupid way of saving our marriage?'

'Does it really matter?'

'Oh yes, it matters, because I'd like to know just how deeply the treachery runs here, and on whose side. So was it you? Have you been lusting after her for years and saw this as your big opportunity?'

'She was the one who approached me,' he said truthfully.

Though she was relieved to hear that, it in no way exonerated him, nor was she going to allow him to think that it did. 'And you went for it?' she said, her lip curling with disgust.

'You know very well I wouldn't have if things had been different between us,' he muttered furiously. 'I've never wanted anyone else, not even for a minute.'

'And what about now? Do you still want her?'

'Even if I did I'm not going to admit it, am I, so it's a pointless question.'

'That must mean you do.'

'For God's sake,' he seethed. Then realising he was only making things worse, he reined in his temper with effort. 'Since it's obvious you're not going to believe anything I say, maybe we should change the subject,' he suggested.

Going along with this only because the children were nearby, she said, 'OK. Let's talk about my manuscript, shall we? The one that I wrote. I'm sure you've spent plenty of time discussing Sylvia's books with her, but you never mention mine now. So is there any more news on it?'

He looked at her in amazement. 'I thought you didn't want me to try anyone else,' he said.

She sighed impatiently and turned her head away.

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?' he demanded.

'You could have done it without me knowing,' she responded, in a tone that implied he should have realised that.

His face darkened. 'Just tell me what the hell it takes to please you,' he said angrily.

Her eyes flashed. 'You know very well you could have tried other publishers, or even pushed harder with McKenzies, but you didn't bother, did you? No, of course not, you were much too busy screwing Sylvia.'

'OK, you want the truth?' he retorted. 'I did try again, in fact I didn't only try again, I totally fucking humiliated myself with Harry Greenstock trying to get you a deal off the back of Moira Glaister ...'

She turned round, eyes blazing. 'You did what?' she hissed.

His eyes closed as he realised his mistake.

'Please don't tell me you tried to blackmail him by threatening to take Moira elsewhere,' she said through her teeth.

'It didn't get that far, but it's how these things are done, you know that.'

'Not with me, they aren't. Jesus Christ, I wanted your support, yes, but now you've turned me into a laughing stock. Everyone must know ...' She put her hands to her head, hardly able to believe what he'd done. 'How could you?' she demanded. 'I'll never be able to show my face again