It was all very well Bex saying she was taking a month’s sabbatical from work, but when she got back to the White Hart, she couldn’t help but check her emails. Nigel had cleared her calendar for her coming up, meaning there was nothing that she was directly responsible for, but still, it was good to keep her inbox clean. The last thing she wanted was to get back to London and be overwhelmed with all the work she had to do. Then again, maybe that would be exactly what she needed to distract her from leaving here.
There was no doubt seeing Carrie and Keith had made the thought of leaving even harder. Yes, she had family down south, but she had made family here too, and the visit reminded her of that. Wherever she was, she would miss people. That was just the hard truth she had to accept.
‘I thought about messaging y’all actually,’ Carrie had said as they drove back into the village. ‘I’m flying down tomorrow evening with my girls. We’ve booked this ancient bath spa place for Lulu’s sixtieth. All underground pools and stone arches and candlelight. I can’t remember what it’s called. Have you been there?’
‘Sorry?’ It took Bex a second to catch up with everything that had been said. ‘The baths? No, no, I don’t think I have.’
‘Oh, you’d know if you’d been to this place. Worth the flight, apparently. ’Course, I suggested we all get the train, but nope. We’re flying. I’ll let you know what it’s like. Maybe you could go with your girlfriends down south sometime if it’s good.’
‘Mum, give Bex some space to breathe. Please,’ Lorna said.
‘I’m just catching up,’ Carrie protested.
‘It’s fine. It’s good to catch up with you guys too,’ Bex said, though she flashed Lorna a smile to show she appreciated the comment. Not that there was very much time for any more conversation, as less than a minute later, they were pulling up outside the pub.
‘I start work at five,’ Lorna said as Bex and Ruby climbed out of the car. ‘Come down for a drink.’
‘Sure,’ Bex had said, before waving a final farewell to Carrie and Keith and heading inside.
Given that she had no plans for the afternoon and Ruby seemed less than keen on any more walks, Bex pulled out her Kindle and tried to get into the new book she’d got, but it wasn’t easy. And not just because her mind kept wandering. Ruby was finding it impossible to settle too and kept pulling her dog bed from one side of the room. By the time she’d finally found a place, she was happy with – under the table with the tea and coffee facilities – it was time to head down to the bar.
‘Of course, now you’re fast asleep,’ Bex groaned as she bent down and gave the dog a quick peck on her furry forehead before heading downstairs. ‘Be good while I’m gone.’
The pub was far busier than it had been the evening before, and as Lorna was working behind the bar, Eilidh and Niall had popped in for a drink too. Which normally would’ve been a great thing, but it didn’t take Bex long to realise that as much as they usually loved her company, they had also come for the gossip.
‘Is that why you had to come up, because of the will? Because it’s…’ Eilidh lowered her voice. ‘…Duncan.’
Bex steeled her voice to stay as steady as possible. ‘I’m just dealing with the finances. There’s a few things that weren’t sorted before. Property that I wasn’t made aware of. That’s why I’m here.’ She hated lying to her friends. Particularly when she knew the truth was bound to come out at some point. But that was what she had promised Lorna and the others, and she intended to stick with that.
Gordon had messaged her earlier that afternoon, saying he was handling the DNA tests and that she shouldn’t worry about them. But now she wished she’d talked to Duncan about it a bit more. Did that mean he’d agreed to do one? Had he already given Gordon a sample? Did he know whether Kieron had been made to do one too, just to make sure? There were so many common-sense questions she needed to ask, but her head wasn’t in the mood for logic right now. Her mind felt scattered. Her thoughts everywhere at once. And it wasn’t helped by the fact that Duncan had texted her less than an hour after she’d left his.
It was good to see you.
That’s all his message had said. Six short words, and yet they caused a torrent of emotions to spread through her.
She wanted to reply that it was good to see him too. In fact, whenever she saw him, she could almost guarantee it was the highlight of her day. She wanted to tell him that she had wanted nothing more than to stay there, in the warmth of the lodge with him, shut out the outside and pretend that nothing else mattered. But she couldn’t do that. It would build his hopes up too much. And hers, for that matter. So instead, she simply added a thumbs-up emoji to the text and left it like that. She felt like a bitch. A complete and utter cow. But she had to try to preserve what little of her heart was still unbroken.
‘Fi rang me,’ Niall said. ‘Told me that you’d popped in and seen Uncle Eddie. Said she thinks it’s going to make a real difference.’
‘Well, I’m just glad I could help out,’ Bex replied, grateful for the change of topic, not to mention the fact she’d been useful. ‘I hope he gets things sorted. Although long term, he has to make people actually pay him for all the work he does.’
‘I know,’ Niall responded. ‘Fi’s making a list of people she needs to hunt down. Figured the whole threaten-with-lawyers approach might be needed.’
‘Really?’ Eilidh’s voice rose in surprise. ‘That’s not the type of thing your uncle would do normally.’
‘No, which is why he’s in such a state,’ Niall said before turning his attention back to Bex. ‘Still, I’m really grateful for what you’ve done.’
‘Honestly, it’s no problem at all.’
‘Who knows,’ Eilidh joined in. ‘Maybe when Duncan’s the heir, he’ll be able to knock the rent down a little.’
Tension returned to Bex’s shoulders. ‘Where did you even hear this rumour from?’ she said, hoping that finding the source might help shut it down. ‘Anyway, that is all it is, you know. A rumour.’
‘Well, I got it from Callie, whose brother is Greg, who said his mate Chester overheard Moira talking to Gordon about it.’
It was only the last part of that sentence that caused an increase in Bex’s stomach butterflies, but she tried not to show it. ‘Does that mean it’s fourth or fifth hand?’ Bex said. ‘Not exactly the most reliable source.’
Eilidh shrugged. ‘Maybe not, but it would be cool if it was true. Imagine one of us as landed gentry. I wonder if it would change him. If Duncan would turn into a massive socialite.’
