The Wetherby’s auctioneer told everyone the sale had concluded. The room filled with the sounds of chairs scraping on floorboards and people murmuring. This was it. We’d done well, but we’d come up short. We could pay the tax bill, but the future of Buckford Hall was far from secure if we couldn’t fund the projects that would bring in long-term income. I watched my beautiful man on the monitor, my heart breaking for him. Suddenly, he sat upright, shoulders back. He turned to face the camera, his eyes boring directly into mine through the lens with an intensity that must have come direct from the French kings. He gave an almost imperceptible nod, then stood.
“Just a moment!” he called out to the room. My heart was thumping.
I hit the button on my headset. “Thandiwe, stay on William. Haruto, get crowd reactions.”
The room hushed.
“I have a late addition to the catalogue.” William pointed to the painting on the wall high above the auctioneer’s head. “What will you give me for Thomas Gainsborough’s ‘Crossing the Buck’?”
The auctioneer’s face split into a beaming smile. The room broke into a hubbub of frenetic activity. Camera flashes went off everywhere. At the bank of phones, attendants were scrambling to call back their international bidders. Amid all this chaos, William calmly sat back down in his chair, looked straight down the lens of the camera at me again—and winked.
The painting had been behind the auctioneer all morning—everyone had had hours to admire it. The bidding was fierce. I listened intently as the numbers climbed. One million. Two million. My body was so awash with adrenaline I couldn’t feel my teeth. Three million. Four. Five. Six. I watched William’s face on the monitor, eyes wet but steely with determination. He was selling this painting forus. Not only to save the estate but so we could build a future together here, so we could both follow our dreams and march through the world side by side, hand in hand. I was already crying when the hammer finally fell. The big Gainsborough had sold for £8.6 million.
William roared like he’d won a rugby final, fists punching the air. I thought for a second he was going to rip the shirt clean off his chest—which would have been great TV. Instead, he picked Bunny up and swung her around in circles. He kissed Karma on both cheeks and gently kissed my gran on the back of the hand, like a proper gentleman. Then… then he came running towards me—and I threw off my headset and leapt into his arms.
“You did it,” I said, hot tears burning my cheeks. “You saved the estate.”
“Wesaved the estate,” he said. “We did it together.”
My heart burst with love and pride and joy. I held William’s jaw in my hands, already wet from his tears, and I kissed him.
Chapter 58
William
That evening, we took our celebrations to the top of Buckford Hill and lit a bonfire to mark Mabon, the autumn equinox.
“Please, Mother, will you put some clothes on?” I cried from my perch—sitting with my back against one of the standing stones, snuggled up with Petey. Mum, Karma, and Peggy were dancing around drunkenly in various states of undress.
“Another cider, my lord?” Bramley asked. He’d sloughed off his jacket and was in his shirtsleeves. I very nearly lectured him about standards, but everyone deserves a night off.
“No, thank you, Brammers.”
“It wasn’t a question, my lord.” He thrust the bottle into my hand and joined the women in the dancing.
I turned to Petey Boy. “Are you sure you want to join this madhouse?”
He smiled. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”
Petey took the cider from my hand and took a swig. The bonfire flickered, making his face glow orange and gold. He was so incredibly beautiful.
“What’s the equinox all about, anyway?” he asked.
“Well, it’s when the night and the day are the same length.”
“I know that. But what are we celebrating?”
“Apart from a successful auction? Saving the estate? Your gran moving in with us?The Love Manorbeing a box office smash hit for Channel Three, a second season almost in the bag?—”
Petey’s grin widened. It couldn’t have been cheekier if it was buried in my backside. “Actually, I’ve got some news on that front.”
I raised an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Indira called. Channel Three are picking upSaving the Love Manor.” I leapt up, heart filled with joy. “They saw the rushes from the auction today and offered for it on the spot. She’s inking the deal now.”
“We should tell everyone!”
“No,” Petey said, reaching out an arm and pulling me back down to him. “Not yet. We’ll tell them tomorrow. Once the deal is done.”
