I nodded fervently, ‘I might try and get some writing in before she sees we’re back.’
‘Martha, would you take these to Grandma, please, darling?’ Miles said, handing her the bag containing the bread and pâté.
She was about to open her mouth to object.
‘Thanks!’ he said, before darting off towards the study.
Martha turned to Callum. ‘I have to call my girlfriend,’ she said. She rammed the bag into his chest and fled upstairs before he could say anything.
He stood gaping up after her, then slowly turned towards me.
‘Mum?’ he said, opening his eyes wider and gingerly holding the bag out to me. ‘Pleasedon’t make me go in there.’
I pursed my lips. ‘Oh, give it here,’ I said, snatching it from his hand. He knew damn well I couldn’t refuse that doe-eyed look.
‘Thank you! I owe you. Love you, Mum!’ He darted off, leaving me standing alone.
I stared at the boxes and then back towards the entrance where George was still hammering away. After steeling myself, I took a deep breath, and made my way towards the kitchen.
I found Jeannie and Aunt Clem seated at the kitchen island, two teacups and a large teapot before them.
‘If you breathe one word of this to anyone,’ Jeannie was threatening under her breath, ‘if you so much assniffin Toots’s direction with this, you’ll both find yourselves in line at the job centre, do I make myself clear?’
‘I’m only telling you what I heard!’ Clem admonished. ‘I just thought you should know, what with the changes… What if they divorce?—?’
Their conversation halted abruptly when Jeannie saw me standing there. Her eyes darted between Clem and me, before she swiftly fixed a brittle smile onto her face.
‘You’re back,’ she said, her voice overly bright. ‘Did you have a nice time in the village?’
‘It was lovely,’ I replied, my tone equally sunny, as if I hadn’t heard a thing. ‘Here you are, pâté and crusty bread as requested.’ I dumped the bag on the island. ‘I’m off to do some writing in the pool room if you need me. I’m on a strict deadline.’
I saw Jeannie straighten, about to object. It was unheard of that each of us didn’t do something to help out around the house, making lunch, putting up the Christmas decorations, a spot of cleaning. One year I did my back in pulling up all the brambles in some forgotten corner of the vast estate because Jeannie had got it into her head to create a sunken seating area with a pizza oven.
Well, if we were getting cut out of the inheritance, there was no way I was going to slave away on a ‘working holiday’ as Jeannie liked to call it. She could do it all her damned self.
‘Olivia, wait a moment,’ Jeannie said, lips pursed as she drew the teacup to her lips and blew the surface.
I turned, hand on hip.I will not let you boss me around. ‘Yes?’
She fixed her piercing blue eyes onto mine. ‘If you’re going to the pool room, put this back in the fridge, will you?’ From under the counter, she pulled out a bottle of champagne. ‘I hope you enjoyed my 2015 Dom Pérignon last night,’ she said icily.
I froze. How did she know?
‘We have cameras,’ she said, answering the question for me.
Oh. God… His mother hadseenus… that meant she saw what we did in the pool. She had seen us…going at it. That’s why she’d given me that look at breakfast. She was staring intently, waiting for my apology, and by the look on her face she was taking sinister pleasure in my embarrassment.
I looked at Clem, who was finding a speck on the marble countertop extremely interesting.
I smiled and walked forward to take the bottle, ‘Of course,’ I said, heading once more for the exit. I waited until I was almost out the door when I turned and said, ‘Jeannie?’
‘Yes?’ she said icily.
‘I hope you enjoyed the show.’ I winked. The satisfaction I felt at turning on my heel as her jaw hit the floor felt like all my Christmases had come at once.
Making my way to the pool room, I selected one of the loungers that sat behind a faux palm-tree divider to get a little privacy. The heat from the swimming pool steamed up my glasses and was making me sweat in my knitwear and leggings. I’m sure it was nothing to do with the embarrassment I’d just endured. Huffing, I ripped my jumper off over my head and discarded it on the lounger next to me.
The elongated windows looked out towards the iron gates. To my relief, I saw Tristan and Mimi’s Audi snaking down the side entrance of the grounds, disappearing as it turned the corner of the lower gates. I checked the time: noon. Hopefully they wouldn’t come back for a while, and I’d be left in peace to get a solid hour of writing in before lunch was served. I went back to my laptop, willing my brain to forget about what had just transpired. Ihadto finish this goddamn book before my editor clocked off for Christmas.
