able to sort of…’
‘You shouldn’t have promised Mia anything—and she shouldn’t have asked!’ Fleur said, her colour rising, and angry again that Mia had taken it upon herself to interfere. Perhaps now was the time to invent that phone call, she thought, and go back home. ‘If I’d thought,’ she went on more calmly, ‘that you—or anyone—were going to feel responsible for me, I’d have refused the invitation in the first place. I told you, I’m used to being alone, and I like it! I like doing my own thing without the constraints of having to fall in with other people’s wishes.’ She paused, looking up at him, her face flushed. ‘Please—for heaven’s sake—pretend I’m not here!’
He half-smiled as he looked down at her, resisting the temptation to cup her chin in his hands and place his lips on hers. How could he—or anyone—pretend this woman wasn’t here? Even Pat, who had been known to show her disapproval of one or two of Mia’s friends, seemed to genuinely like Fleur.
‘OK,’ he said easily, ‘but first, you can guide this tree outside for me…We’ll have to use the side door to the garden. Here, put these on.’ He handed her his gloves, then went across and with surprisingly little effort heaved the tree out of its pot and leaned it towards Fleur, who immediately took it by a bough near the top and helped him guide it out of the hall, appreciating the gloves which protected her hands from the prickly pine needles.
‘Coffee’s ready,’ Pat called out and, after they’d deposited the tree outside, Fleur and Sebastian joined her in the kitchen. Benson was stretched out in front of the warm stove and Fleur automatically bent down to pet him.
‘I suppose Benson’s tired from his walk?’ she said, glancing up at Sebastian.
‘No, because he hasn’t had one yet,’ Sebastian replied. ‘I couldn’t persuade him to accompany me earlier. And I’m seeing Frank up at the top end of the estate this morning, so this lazy dog will have to wait until later on for his stroll.’
‘Oh, can I take him?’ Fleur asked eagerly. ‘I know the places we’re allowed to go. Will he come with me?…I haven’t been out myself yet, anyway.’
‘I’m sure he’d love to go with you,’ Sebastian replied, taking his mug of coffee from Pat.
The three of them sat there for a few minutes making light conversation, then Sebastian got up decisively. ‘I must go,’ he said, then turned to look at Fleur. ‘I’m going into Truro tomorrow morning—would you like to come? And you too, Pat,’ he added as an afterthought. ‘I know how you women like shopping.’
‘It’s kind of you to offer, Sebastian,’ Pat said firmly, ‘but I’ve lots of things to do and, besides, I want to be with Mum as much as possible. But Fleur will enjoy Truro—there’s lots to see, apart from the shops.’ She threw a shrewd glance at the two of them as she spoke. Sebastian had always been a bit of a dark horse where women were concerned, but she could definitely feel something in the air every time she caught him looking at Fleur. So she wasn’t going to play gooseberry, thank you very much. Her expression softened as she looked at Sebastian. He was a good man, and a fantastic employer—as his parents had been—never over-demanding and always appreciative. And, although he had a bit of a short fuse at times, it was usually justified; he had a very keen sense of right and wrong. She knew Frank worshipped him, would do anything for him, and now Frank’s son, Martin, always a bit of a tear-away, had come to work on the estate as well. And Sebastian had seen the youngster’s potential as a carpenter and was paying for him to go part-time to college to learn the trade properly. But Fleur…this young woman…she could be just the one for Sebastian, Pat thought. She was different from other hopefuls who’d turned up occasionally at Pengarroth Hall…She seemed to sort of fit in with the atmosphere of the place, and to really enjoy being here and wandering about by herself. And she wasn’t always looking at herself in the mirror, either.
‘Oh, fine,’ Sebastian said casually. ‘How about you, Fleur? I promise there’s enough to keep you interested while I’m seeing the accountant.’
She looked up at him. ‘Are you sure it won’t be rather inconvenient, thinking about me when you’ve got other more important things on your mind?’ she asked.
He was just about to reply when Fleur’s mobile rang, and she paused to answer it. It was Mia.
‘Hi, Mia! Yes…fine, absolutely fine! Having a great time…and feeling great, too.’ She smiled as she listened to her friend’s exuberant tones. ‘Oh, poor you, having to work so hard…but it’ll be the same for me in just over a week…unless I’m called back earlier,’ she added quickly, giving herself the option of cutting her stay short—and of letting Sebastian hear it. There was another pause, then, ‘Yes, he’s standing right here by my side. Do you want a word?’
She passed the phone up to Sebastian and listened as he and Mia exchanged the usual pleasantries. Then, ‘Yes, you know that I always do as you tell me, and I’m taking Fleur into Truro tomorrow so that she can have a look around while I’m with the accountant and the solicitor. What? Oh, yes, we might do that as well…OK, OK, I’ll pass you back. Be good.’
Fleur raised her eyebrows. She hadn’t said she’d go with him—he was assuming that she would. But then, why not? she thought. She knew Truro wasn’t that far away, and they’d only be gone for the morning…there’d still be plenty of day left for Sebastian after that, without having to think about her.
She watched his retreating back, then took their mugs over to the sink.
‘Now, you leave those things to me, dear,’ Pat said, thinking how pretty Fleur looked in her huge cream chunky sweater, her golden hair loose around her face. ‘And, by the way, Mum says why don’t you come up to the cottage for afternoon tea one day? Then you can bring back the novels she promised to lend you.’
‘That would be great, Pat—thanks,’ Fleur said. Pat’s mother had been at the house for almost the whole of the three festive days, helping out, and she and Fleur had chatted, among other things, about their favourite authors. And when Fleur had said she was into romantic novels at the moment and had finished the one she’d brought with her, the older woman had offered to lend some of hers.
‘Well, then, come up with me the day after tomorrow,’ Pat said now, ‘if you’re going with Sebastian to Truro tomorrow.’
‘I didn’t say I was,’ Fleur corrected. ‘He did.’ She smiled. ‘But yes, I will go because I’ve never been to the city before—it is a city, isn’t it, with a lovely cathedral? I mustn’t pass up the opportunity to visit it.’
‘You don’t know Cornwall?’ Pat asked curiously as she started slicing thick pieces of gammon from a delicious-looking joint for their lunch.
‘No, not really,’ Fleur said. ‘My father preferred Scotland and the Lakes, so we always went there when I was young. And in more recent years when I’ve been on holiday, it’s to foreign countries with friends.’ She paused. ‘I must be the only person in the whole world who doesn’t particularly look forward to going away. I’m much happier at home. But I have to, because that’s what everyone does.’ She watched Pat’s deft handling of the carving knife, the pink ham glistening with succulence, making her mouth water even though it was a couple of hours before she’d be eating any. ‘And thank your mother so much for the offer. She’s an interesting lady, and I’d love to come to tea.’
Pat smiled, pleased. ‘And I know she’ll love it too,’ she said. ‘She doesn’t see that many people any more and I think she’s
