‘Have you lost your mind?’ He stared at her, his eyes darkening. ‘Do you know what’s happened to me this afternoon? I’ve been bombarded by press. Hordes of them were waiting up at Starcross Manor wanting to know my take on this story. I didn’t have a clue what story they were talking about and so when they mentioned your name, I Googled and discovered just what’s been going on behind my back. I found your social media appeals and apparently, you’ve even been on TV to garner public sympathy!’
‘I didn’t mention anyone’s name when I was on TV.’
‘It doesn’t take long for journalists to dig out the details.’
‘It’s not my fault you’ve come here with an agenda to make money, without a thought of what the hell you’re doing to other people and their memories.’
Tom looked puzzled. He stared at her.
Florrie launched her attack. ‘Do you not think it’s been hard enough to deal with my aunt Ada’s passing, without the likes of you and your company serving me an eviction notice only days after she died? What about the fact that you didn’t even give me an opportunity to argue my case? I guess you were too busy rushing to submit your application for planning permission to demolish the land and the cottage, just to make more money by building houses that don’t even fit in with the character of Heartcross.’ She took a breath. Tom was looking at the name of the cottage on the oak sign beside the door. ‘It was a shock to find out that the cottage was rented, but then, as if that wasn’t a big enough kick in the teeth, you take away a business that has been trading for over sixty years! What the hell is W. Houston Property Developers going to do with a vintage flower van? I promised Aunt Ada that her legacy would carry on and you’ – Florrie pointed at him and Tom took a step back, but his eyes didn’t leave hers – ‘and you…’ Her voice faltered. She briefly closed her eyes and lowered her voice. ‘The gardens of this cottage are a gorgeous place of beauty that has taken decades to mature and cultivate. Those gardens have won awards and you’re going to level them without a second thought. Shame on you.’
She took a deep breath, Tom looked a little stunned and had turned pale.
‘It’s not my intention to take anyone’s home from them … or their business.’
‘Well, you would say that, wouldn’t you. The likes of you are always the same.’
‘Florrie, I don’t know anything about this.’
‘You own the company that’s causing all the upset. How do you not know?’
‘You’ve had ample opportunity to come and have a conversation with me about all this, but instead you’ve decided to embroil me in a public fight. That might be your style but it certainly isn’t mine,’ Tom said, not answering her question. He exhaled. ‘But for the record, and I’ll say it again, I’m not trying to take away a business or leave you destitute and I’ve got no clue what you’re talking about regarding plans to flatten the grounds.’
Leaving him on the doorstep, Florrie returned to the kitchen and picked up the letters from W. Houston Property Developers before returning to the front door and thrusting them against his chest. ‘That’s your logo on the letters, isn’t it? And this one even has your signature on it.’ She didn’t hold back. She couldn’t. Not now that the floodgates had been opened. ‘I’m not sure how you can stand on my doorstep and even try to defend yourself.’
Tom took the letter she’d pointed to and quickly scanned it. He looked up at Florrie. ‘You should have come to talk to me.’
‘It’s easy for you to say that now. You just don’t want to have to deal with the aftermath of what you’ve done.’
‘What about the aftermath ofyouractions?’ he countered. ‘Do you know what’s happened to me today?’
Florrie didn’t answer.
Tom’s eyes were wide. ‘Hamish wouldn’t serve me in the shop, Rona and Felicity wouldn’t serve me in the teashop. Some people have ignored me when I’ve walked past. Others began whispering and shooting me dirty looks. I thought I was going bonkers and only now am I finding out it’s all because of this. But the worst part? I’m here in Heartcross to champion my grandfather’s charity on the anniversary of his death, and now, thanks to the media circus going on up at Starcross Manor, businesses that I’ve networked with and arranged meetings with to enhance the profile of his charity have cancelled on me. This was my grandfather’s pet project and it has nothing to do with the property business. The foundation does really good work and makes a difference in people’s lives – and now, because of you, no one wants to deal with me. The foundation desperately needed the exposure, not to mention the investment we were set to secure to build a unit that could help spinal cord injury survivors to walk again.’
Tom was visibly upset and Florrie immediately felt guilty. She hadn’t thought about the possibility that her fight against the property business could affect the foundation. But she should have – the community of Heartcross were an unbreakable force that stuck together. Nevertheless, she didn’t want any charity to miss out on vitally needed money. That really hadn’t been her intention.
‘Things are complicated at the moment – very complicated – and creating a false narrative in a newspaper isn’t going to help. Please, promise me there will be no more talking to the media,’ he pressed. His eyes glistened with urgency in the late afternoon sun.
‘It’s not a false narrative. It’s actually happening to me.’
‘Please just trust me.’
‘Trust you?’ Florrie shook her head.
Thrusting the bunch of tulips towards Florrie, he said, ‘How did I get you so wrong?’
‘Ditto,’ she replied without hesitation, her hands firmly at her side.
Realising she wasn’t going to take the bouquet, Tom lowered it, turned and walked down the path. He shut the gate behind him and didn’t look back.
ChapterTwenty-One
Florrie shut the front door. Her heart was beating fast. Frustrated and emotional, she didn’t know what to think. None of it made any sense to her. She had every right to talk to the media if she wanted to.
Exhaling, she looked around her. The kitchen was in a mess, boxes scattered everywhere, and with Tom very much on her mind she began to tape them up, labelling the ones she was going to store in the barn and the others that she would drop at the charity shop sometime soon.
An hour later, Florrie was curled up in bed and still unable to get the altercation with Tom out of her head. She played the conversation over and over again in her mind and didn’t know what to do. Maybe she should have spoken to him first before talking to the press, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She’d checked her social media on her phone, and the reel she’d posted today was still seeing a lot of engagement and bringing new followers to her account.
