could hardly believe she was in his company for the third time in less than twenty-four hours.
‘Good morning,’ she said frostily.
Chris gestured towards the teapot. ‘Like a cup, Jonah? My father’s out with the dogs; he won’t be long.’
‘No hurry. No tea, either, thanks.’
There was an awkward pause while Jonah surveyed the easy familiarity of the scene with a look which set Leonie’s teeth on edge.
Chris cleared his throat awkwardly. ‘I’ll just go out and look for Dad,’ he announced, and took himself off with such obvious relief Jonah raised a supercilious eyebrow.
‘I trust I didn’t interrupt anything.’
Leonie shrugged. ‘I was just telling Chris about the party.’
‘I see. Did you enjoy it?’
‘Yes, very much. Did you?’
Jonah sat down in Chris’s chair. ‘No, Leo, I did not. In fact, once I knew you were home after all I was tempted to invent something life-threatening and stay away.’
‘But of course you couldn’t disappoint Fenny.’
‘Exactly.’ He eyed her searchingly. ‘Leo, every time you mention the child you get that Medusa-like look on your face. Don’t you like Fenny?’
‘How dare you say that? I adore Fenny. But because of you I never see enough of her. And then I come home to find she only has eyes for you—’ She lapsed into silence, furious with herself.
Jonah smiled mockingly. ‘Jealous?’
Leonie’s heated reply was cut off by the arrival of Denzil and Chris Morgan, with a very muddy, excited retriever who greeted her with exuberance. She thanked the Morgans, clipped on Marzi’s lead, refused Jonah’s offer of a lift, and went outside to chat with Chris in the yard for a minute or two before starting off for home.
Steaming up the steep hill from the farm, with a panting Marzi at her side, Leonie had worked off some of her anger by the time a familiar car drew level.
‘Sure you don’t want a lift?’ asked Jonah through the car window.
Leonie gave him a honeyed smile. ‘Certain, thanks. I’m enjoying the walk—and my own company.’
‘Then I’ll leave you to it.’ Jonah nodded coolly, and drove off.
When Leonie reached the gates of Friars Wood she unfastened Marzi’s leash, then stopped off at the Stables, to find Adam’s friends packing themselves into various cars for the journey to the station, or the trip to Edinburgh, with Fenny and Kate in attendance.
Leonie was greeted with enthusiasm, and though some of the faces were ominously pale everyone reiterated vociferous thanks for the wonderful party. There were kisses all round, and hugs for Fenny, then the convoy of cars began to move down the drive.
‘When are you going back?’ asked Leonie, taking Fenny’s hand to walk back to the house with Adam and Kate.
‘After Mother’s Sunday lunch, of course,’ said Adam, who stood three inches over six feet and had an appetite which belied his lanky frame.
‘We ought to be eating leftovers from last night,’ said Kate, giving him a teasing smile, ‘but Mother’s roasting beef and whipping up gallons of Yorkshire pudding batter for her darling son as we speak.’
‘Yummy,’ said Fenny, her hand in Leonie’s. ‘It’s my favourite. Do you have it in Italy, Leo?’
‘Not really, no.’ Leonie smiled down into the small, shining face. ‘But I eat lots of other delicious things.’
‘Is Jonah coming to lunch?’
Leonie devoutly hoped not. ‘I don’t think so, darling. Let’s go and help Mother.’
‘And wake Jess,’ said Adam with relish. ‘And don’t worry about the party leftovers—I’ll take any surplus back with me.’
‘As usual,’ taunted Kate, then shrieked as Adam made a dive for her, slung her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran with her through the scullery into the kitchen, Fenny and Leonie laughing as they followed them in.
‘Please!’ implored Jess, holding a hand to her head. ‘Less noise, children, for pity’s sake.’
‘Too much champagne?’ enquired Adam as he set Kate down.
‘Too much music,’ groaned Jess. ‘I can still hear that thumping.’
‘Have some more tea,’ advised her mother, ‘then it’s all hands on deck, please. Adam wants to be away in reasonable time.’
To Leonie it was a pleasure all the more acute for being so rare as she sat down to family Sunday lunch. Despite the run-in with Jonah, her walk had given her an appetite, and during the meal she entertained a rapt Fenny with tales of the little girls she taught in Florence.
‘Can’t you come home and teach little girls here, Leo?’ pleaded Fenny.
‘One day, perhaps,’ said Leonie brightly.
There was a brief, awkward silence, then Jess plunged into a humorous anecdote about her flatmate in London. After the pudding plates were cleared away, and Fenny had been allowed to watch a cartoon video in the study, they were drinking coffee when Tom Dysart told his family that there was more to this family lunch than usual.
‘Now that I’ve got you all together for once,’ said her father, after exchanging a glance with his wife, ‘I think I should tell you I’ve had an offer for Friars Wood.’
There was dead silence for a moment, as several pairs of eyes stared at him in utter consternation.
Leonie was the first to recover. ‘You’re not serious, Dad!’
Her father smiled at her wryly. ‘I don’t joke about Friars Wood, my love.’
‘Who the devil wants to buy it?’ demanded Adam, incensed.
‘That isn’t important for the moment,’ said Tom Dysart. ‘The point is, how do you all feel about it? Discounting the offer—which is staggeringly generous—you must face the fact that one day your mother and I will no longer be here.’
‘Daddy, don’t!’ said Kate, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I can’t bear it when you talk like that.’
Jess squeezed her hand, and turned anxious eyes on her father. ‘Are you short of money, Dad? You’re not ill or anything, are you?’ she added in sudden alarm.
‘No, nothing like that,’ said Frances quickly. ‘But this place takes a lot of upkeep. We thought it best to ask now if you’d prefer us to sell up and buy something smaller. The alternative is to carry on as we are and trust that at least one of you will be in a position to keep the place on when the time comes.’
Leonie felt winded. In Italy it had been
