a little to stretch his long legs out. The warmth in his stomach spread through him, chasing away some of the hollowness and the remains of the shock following his earlier breakdown.
The previous jitters lurked still, threatening to rise if he let his thoughts stray to anything beyond the room around him. Especially if he thought too hard about the mess he’d left behind in London. He shoved them all into a corner and squashed them down, fixing his mind on the harmless task of counting things. There were twelve slate tiles to each row across the kitchen floor, fifteen rows in total. Eight cupboards, fourteen flowers on each curtain. Gradually the fluttery edges of panic smoothed away.
He’d have to deal with everything, but not just yet. A week, she’d said. Everything could be put on hold for a week. Forget Fitz, get back to being plain old Daniel Fitzwilliams. He’d wipe the slate and start fresh for this one week and try and figure out exactly who that was, or more importantly who he wanted Daniel Fitzwilliams to be.
***
Mia woke with a start and stared at her old friend, Mr Damp on the bedroom ceiling, trying to work out what had disturbed her. The second slam of a car door sent her straight out of bed and over to the grubby windowpane as she peered down to the driveway below.
She watched in disbelief as Daniel ambled out of the back door towards Madeline and Richard. They were all dressed practically in jeans, T-shirts and old jumpers. Mia glanced over at the clock on her bedside cabinet and squinted in disbelief at the position of the hands. Five past nine? What the hell? She never slept that late.
‘Damn, damn damn!’ Mia rummaged through her drawers, throwing old jeans and a long-sleeve T-shirt onto the bed before dashing into the bathroom, underwear in hand. She blinked and scowled at her reflection; the bloody Mohawk mice had been to visit in the night again and she had a big crease down one side of her face from the pillow. A quick wash, teeth scrubbed, hair vaguely wetted down and she rushed down the stairs, socks in hand and still buttoning her jeans.
She pulled up short at the closed, locked door at the bottom of the stairs before she remembered that Daniel had insisted that she shut herself in the night before.
‘Not that I’m a raving maniac or anything, regardless of my behaviour today,’ he’d said with a self-deprecating grin. ‘But I am a stranger in your home and you are not used to someone else being here, you said. If you lock the door, you might rest easier.’
It had been a gracious thing to do, putting her at ease, and it had clearly worked given how well she had slept. For the first time in weeks there had been no nightmares. No waking up to the echo of her footsteps tapping on the cold tiles on that endless walk through the hospital corridor towards the room where Jamie waited for her, cold and lifeless. Pushing away the macabre images before they could take hold, she unlocked the door and let the sound of the living draw her away from the dead.
Mia entered the kitchen, pausing on the threshold to absorb the scene before her. Madeline stood at the Aga frying bacon, brandishing a spatula at Richard who was buttering bread and laughing at some rude comment he had made to her. Daniel leant against the back door, a cup of coffee in his hand, watching the couple with a wistful smile on his face. He looked less grey and haunted than the day before; perhaps they’d both managed a decent night’s sleep. He stirred and the smile warmed as he sensed Mia’s presence.
‘Umm, Richard and Madeline are here,’ he said and gave her a helpless shrug.
‘So, I see,’ Mia said dryly as she stepped further into the kitchen and moved towards Richard’s open arms. She rested her head on his chest and let him enfold her in his fatherly embrace. Both he and his wife had waged a gentle, but insistent war against Mia’s self-imposed isolation. She’d resented their endless cheer at first, but now she wondered how she would have survived the past few months without them.
‘Hello, darling girl.’ Richard pressed a kiss to her forehead. ‘I’ve been dreaming about bacon sandwiches all night and we get here to find you still slugabed.’ He chucked her under the chin and winked. ‘You look better for it, still too pale for my liking though. I’m going to start force-feeding you Guinness if you don’t get some colour back in those cheeks soon.’
Mia shook her head and stepped out of his arms to turn towards an uncharacteristically quiet Madeline. Tension vibrated from her as she concentrated on the bacon on the stove. Slipping her arms around Madeline’s waist, she gave her a squeeze from behind. ‘Meddling, old bag.’ She pressed a kiss to Madeline’s cheek, feeling it twitch in a smile.
Mood lifting in an instant, the older woman leaned back into her. ‘Everyone needs a meddling old bag in their life, my dear. Although we prefer the term “Fairy Godmother” if you don’t mind. Now stop hanging off me; this bacon is done and Richard won’t raise a finger until we’ve fed him.’
Mia let her go, crossing to the kettle to make a cup of tea as she let Madeline and Richard assemble a huge stack of doorstep sandwiches. They’d made the first steps towards healing the rift between them, although she still had no idea what had possessed the older woman to drop a stranger on her doorstep and run.
Letting her eyes drift to where said stranger hovered at the edges of their group, she felt a surge of sympathy at the uncertainty on his face. It wasn’t his fault either. Holding out her hand she beckoned Daniel towards the table, nodding in encouragement when he hung back. ‘Don’t stand on ceremony, Daniel. If you don’t get stuck in there won’t be anything left.’
Not waiting to see if he followed, she settled into her usual seat. The smell of bacon filled her nose and her mouth watered in anticipation. Her tummy gave a little rumble and she clutched her hand to it, laughing along with the others. When was the last time she’d looked forward to eating? Too long ago. Accepting the plate and mug Richard placed in front of her, Mia grabbed the huge sandwich and bit down, closing her eyes as the crispy smoke of the bacon and the spicy bite of HP sauce hit her taste buds.
She opened her eyes to see Madeline watching her, a cloud of worry marring her kind gaze. Mia’s heart swelled and she blamed the lump in her throat on swallowing too much of her sandwich at once. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ she said quietly.
Madeline gave her a watery smile. ‘That’s not something you ever have to worry about, darling.’
Blinking away the prickle behind her eyes, Mia focused on her breakfast and sent up a silent prayer of thanks for such wonderful friends.
Daniel chewed thoughtfully on his food—everything in this house tasted amazing. He watched the easy back and forth banter between Mia and the older couple as they ate and discussed the plans for the day, deciding which bedroom they were going to tackle and get ready for Daniel to use. From the conversation, it was clear that the rooms had all been cleared of furnishings and their contents moved to the large barn that nestled next to the garage at the end of the driveway. The plumbing and electrics had been replaced, but other than that the upstairs rooms lay untouched.
He thought about the cosy sitting room that he had slept in the previous night. The sofa had been a pleasant surprise, a huge sprawling L-shape with cushions deep enough he could stretch out his full length across them. The room had been dressed in warm creams and rich browns, with the odd splash of colour from the vibrant paintings on the wall and a few feature items including a tall pewter vase full of rich red poppies. The flowers had been silk, although it had taken a closer examination to verify.
Mia had told him it was intended as
