‘I know I look like cat sick at the moment, but my car’s broken down, and I wonder if I might use your telephone.’
‘I’m sure you might, miss,’ the housekeeper sniffed, ‘if we had a telephone, that is. But we don’t. I’m sorry.’ And so saying, she closed the door firmly in Natalie’s face.
Natalie stared at the closed door with a mixture of surprise and indignation. Why, the rude, cheeky cow! She narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to knock again, when the door suddenly swung open.
‘I’m sorry,’ a slim, dark-haired woman in jeans and Wellies said crisply, ‘but if you’re looking for Dominic Heath, young woman, you won’t find him here.’ She moved to shut the door, and paused. ‘Natalie?’ she said, surprised. ‘Oh, my word – Natalie Dashwood, is that you?’
‘Lady Mary!’ Natalie exclaimed, equally surprised. ‘Yes, it’s me.’ She smiled as Dominic’s mum engulfed her in a hug. ‘I apologize for my appearance, but I’ve just had the most awful run of bad luck. My car’s died, my mobile’s dead as well, and I’ve been w-walking for what seems like hours…’
‘Oh, you poor girl! Come in, please, and we’ll soon get everything sorted.’
Natalie felt her lower lip begin to quiver and her eyes filled with tears as Lady Mary ushered her inside. ‘I thought I’d have to spend the night outside, huddled under a hedgerow,’ she said with a sniffle. ‘S-sorry.’
‘Do stop apologizing!’ Lady Mary scolded. ‘You’ve been through a ghastly ordeal. One can scarcely blame you for being upset. Well, if it had to break down, I’m very glad your car chose to do it here! Come along into the sitting room, darling, and I’ll get you a nice tumbler of whisky.’
Natalie followed her across the tiled entrance hall. Everything looked exactly as she remembered – the black-and-white tiles, the pedestal table in the centre of the hall – all of it a bit the worse for wear. Crumbling plasterwork, patches of mildew on the library wall, pots and bowls set out here and there to catch leaks… Crikey, the Locksleys must be in more dire circumstances than she’d thought.
‘You do realize, of course,’ Lady Mary said briskly as she led them into a sitting room furnished with two faded chintz sofas, a cheerfully burning fire, and random piles of books and newspapers scattered throughout, ‘that the garage in the village is closed. I’m afraid you’ll have to stay the night and get your car seen to in the morning.’
‘Oh, I couldn’t possibly trouble you any further,’ Natalie protested. ‘If I could just borrow your phone, I’ll call my fiancé to come and get me—’
‘Nonsense. I’m sure he won’t relish driving out from London to Warwickshire at this hour. Besides, we got rid of our landline.’ She cleared space on one of the sofas, moving a stack of magazines to the floor, and patted the cushions. ‘Sit, darling, and I’ll get you that drink.’
Natalie gratefully sank down onto the chintz-upholstered cushions. ‘So you haven’t a telephone?’ she asked as Lady Mary poured them each a generous measure of whisky.
‘No.’ She handed Natalie a glass and sat down beside her. ‘Charles and I have mobiles now. You’re more than welcome to use mine–’ she leaned forward and picked up a mobile phone from the coffee table ‘–if you’d like to call your young man and let him know you’re all right.’
‘Thank you.’ Natalie rang Rhys and got his voicemail. She left a quick message and rang off. ‘I don’t want him to worry.’
‘Of course you don’t. By the way, I’m sorry if I was rude when I answered the door. We get so many girls, traipsing up to the hall looking for Dominic. They use every pretext in the book – they need to use the loo, their car broke down, and so forth, and it gets very tiresome. Charles gets quite put out.’
‘I can imagine. How is his lordship?’ Natalie asked politely. She’d always been petrified of Dominic’s father, truth be told.
Perhaps, she thought uneasily, he’d mellowed with age.
‘He’s fighting the good fight – trying valiantly to keep Mansfield in the family, you know. It’s a heavy burden to bear…like tilting at windmills.’
Natalie set her drink aside and leaned forward. ‘Have you thought about renting Mansfield Hall out for wedding receptions and films and such? It can pay quite well.’
Lady Mary arched her brow. ‘I looked into it recently and the county council charge a £2,000 fee just to apply for a licence. Why do you ask, dear?’
‘Well, Rhys and I are getting married in a few months. I’ve left it too late to blag a decent venue for the reception, and now everything in London is booked. Even Mum’s house is under renovation. And I refuse to make do with a marquee in the back garden.’ She met Lady Mary’s eyes. ‘I’d really love to hold the ceremony and reception here, at Mansfield Hall.’
‘Oh! Well, it’s a lovely idea in theory, darling – but we’d need a licence to host a wedding reception here…which would require fire exits, parking, and public loos…’ She paused and added, ‘Then there’s my son to consider.’
‘Do you mean Dominic?’
‘Well, whatever Rupert’s calling himself these days,’ she said, and shrugged. ‘He won’t welcome the idea of your getting married here, you know.’
‘Why wouldn’t he? We broke up ages ago! Besides, he’s with Gemma now.’
‘That may be, but he won’t relish seeing you tie the knot with another man here at Mansfield. Rather like rubbing salt in a wound, I should think.’
‘Oh. Oh, I hadn’t thought of it like that.’ Natalie looked at her in dismay.
Lady Mary leaned forward and patted her knee. ‘Not to worry, my dear. As it happens, I’m having lunch with Rupert tomorrow, to meet his new girlfriend. I’ll ask him about it then.’
‘Dominic and Gemma are here?’ Nat squeaked, wide-eyed.
‘Yes, they’re staying at a hotel in the village. I thought it best to get Charles used to the idea of having Rupert back in the family fold before I spring any more surprises on him.’
‘Oh…yes. Yes, of course,’ Natalie agreed.
‘Well,’ her ladyship pronounced as she set aside her drink and stood up, ‘I’m sure you’re tired, so let’s take you upstairs and get you settled. I had one of the guest bedrooms readied earlier for Gemma…that should do nicely.’
‘I can’t thank you enough,’ Natalie said as she followed Lady Mary back down the hallway and across the foyer to the stairs. ‘You’ve been more than kind.’
Her ladyship paused on the landing and turned to face her. ‘Why, you’re like family, Natalie! I’m terribly fond of you.’ She frowned and murmured, ‘After all, it ought to be you, not someone else. I’ve always thought so.’
‘I’m sorry - me?’ Natalie echoed, puzzled.
‘You
