by Bay, Louise
“Well, it’s very nice to see you, my dear, and I look forward to Wednesday.”
“Yes,” Logan said. “Wednesday will be a complete pleasure.”
I managed to stay silent at his sarcasm, but he winked at me as if he had the upper hand. Well, he might have won this battle, but our war over Manor House Club wouldn’t be one I lost.
“I can’t wait,” I said, matching his sarcasm. I said goodbye and headed out, turning left down the high street. Logan Steele was all charm and smiles on first glance, but upon a closer look, he was trying to destroy everything I’d worked so hard to preserve.
Well, I saw right through him.
I blew out a breath and started toward the church hall.
“Darcy.” Glenis waved from the other side of the road. I slowed to a stop as she headed over to speak to me.
“Hi Glenis. That’s a pretty dress.” Glenis had a thousand pretty dresses, but this one of purples and pinks suited her more than usual. “I’ve not seen you since the jam-making. How are you?”
“Wonderful. I finally met our new neighbor. Just as charming as I expected. Have you two been introduced?”
“Unfortunately,” I replied.
She frowned. “You didn’t like Logan?”
“I think his grandmother is quite lovely, but have you heard how he wants to develop Badsley into members’ bars, restaurants and rooms? He’s going to ruin the place.”
“But where will his grandmother live?”
I shook my head. “The house will stay as it is. He wants to build new in the grounds.”
“I hadn’t heard that. Has he got planning permission?”
“Not yet. I’m so worried. He keeps talking about jobs and opportunity and all I can think about is all the trees that will have to be torn down and the way all the guests will overtake the village.”
“Gosh,” Glenis said. “We don’t want Woolton turning into Kingsley.”
“Yes, that was supposed to attract investment, but look what happened!”
“So many people moved out. Village life was ruined for them.”
“I know. I’m so worried that the same will happen to Woolton,” I said.
“Not to mention how long construction will take. Do you remember the Thompsons?” She gasped. “Three years. It was hell. I have to talk to the rest of the W.I. members.” Determination spread across Glenis’ face. “We have to oppose this. Darcy, excuse me, I need to go and speak to Mrs. Lonsdale and some others. Good to see you, my dear.”
Before I could wish her well, she’d stomped past me, her pretty dress floating behind her, and I turned back toward the church hall. By the time I arrived for our committee meeting, I wasn’t early at all. I was right on time.
“Hi, Patricia,” I said as the chair of the fundraising committee wheeled a tray of tea into the main room.
“Darcy,” she said. “I’m so excited about today’s meeting.”
I held the door open so she could push the trolley through.
“You are?” I asked. What had got her in such a good mood?
“We have a guest today—you’re going to be delighted.”
A guest? We never had guests at this meeting. Across the room, the women of the committee were staring up at a man who had his back to me.
“It will be good to have some gender balance as well.” Patricia beamed as she spoke.
Oh, so the man who was holding court was our guest. I squinted, trying to figure out who it was when realization dawned.
Oh God. It couldn’t be, could it? My gut churned in frustration.
“Logan,” Patricia called. “Do you know Darcy?”
What was with this guy? Was he following me around?
Logan made his excuses to the harem of tittering women and turned to us. “Darcy!” he said. “How wonderful to see you. I didn’t realize you were on this committee.”
“Patricia, let me help you with that,” he said, bounding forward and taking the trolley from her. He wheeled it across to the cloth-covered table under the window.
Patricia gasped and blushed as if he’d just presented her with diamonds. “That’s so kind of you,” she sighed. “So gentlemanly.”
I wondered if she’d think him so gentlemanly if she knew of his plans.
“Darcy’s really helped my grandmother and I settle into the village,” he said as he wandered over to the table where we always had our discussions. All the women gazed up at him with stars in their eyes.
“She’s a good girl like that,” Maureen said. “And single, you know.”
I glared at her. Why did my being single have to be brought up at every single village function? It had nothing to do with Logan Steele, or the library.
I tried not to glance at Logan, but his smug smile bore into me. I bet everyone thought that grin was charming. I knew better.
“Shall we start the meeting?” I asked. The sooner we got down to business, the sooner we’d be done and I could put some distance between Logan and me. I’d wanted to bring up Manor House Club at today’s meeting. Not officially, because it had nothing to do with the library funding, but I needed to tell people what he was planning. Now with Logan here, the women already eating out of the palm of his hand, it seemed I was too late.
Next week’s Parish Council would discuss Logan’s plans, and instead of me encouraging opposition, Logan seemed to be winning people over with his smooth charm, flirtatious smile and over-the-top interest in Woolton Village. This wasn’t supposed to be how it went.
Chapter Fourteen
Logan
Darcy Westbury had me acting like a nerdy teenager, chasing after the most popular girl in school. “Hey, Darcy,” I said, trying to catch up as she strode along the main street of the village. It had taken longer than I’d expected to extract myself at the end of the meeting, and it had meant Darcy had left before I’d had a chance to speak to her. Not that I had anything particular to say.
She didn’t stop. She didn’t even slow down. “Hey,” I said as I reached her. “Great meeting. I didn’t know you were a member.”
“What do you want, Logan?” she asked.
What did I want? To get her attention? To tease her? I didn’t know my own mind. “To catch up. Chat. We’re friends, aren’t we? I certainly hope we are.” That was bound to rile her up and get me attention—two birds with one stone.
“Friends? Last time I saw you, you kidnapped me.”
I chuckled. She was so dramatic. “You were yelling, and I had to get to a meeting. I was happy to let you vent, but I needed to travel while you did.”
“It’s just your world, and we live in it, isn’t it?”
“I could have left without you, but I didn’t. Because I like you—though I prefer you when you’re not shouting at me.”
She stumbled as we made our way across the bridge over the river and I grabbed her arm to steady her, catching a strain of her fresh, floral scent, but she just shrugged me off.
“Well, I don’t like you.”
I wasn’t sure if that were true now, but I knew that at one point it had been different. “Didn’t seem that way when you were kissing me.”
She stopped still on the pathway and shook her head before carrying on. “Money can’t buy you manners. No gentleman would ever bring that up.” She sounded disappointed in me or herself—I wasn’t sure. I preferred her mad.
“Why on earth not? There’s no one here but us, and we both know it happened.”
“I’d rather forget about it, if you don’t mind.”
I brought my palm to my chest. “You’re breaking my heart.”
I wasn’t entirely sure, but I thought a small smile crossed her lips. To cover it up, she sighed. “What do you want, Logan?”
“To talk to you. To see you home. I’ve not had any one-on-one time with you for almost a week.” Of course, I was teasing her. But it was sort of true. I found her fascinating. Passionate. Ready to stand behind what she believed. People were rarely so open with me. In busine
ss, I had to remove knives from my back on a regular basis, but Darcy had clutched the dagger and tried to stick it into my chest.
It made for a refreshing change.
And she was an excellent kisser. I couldn’t remember the last time when a kiss had stuck in my mind so long. Maybe it was the way her body yielded under my touch, the way my skin seemed to ignite when I touched her or the way she smelled of freshly mowed grass and lime blossom. She was all fire on the outside and cool breeze on the inside, and I wanted to dive in and experience it all.
“I’m perfectly capable of seeing myself home, and I’ve had enough one-on-one time with you to last a lifetime.”
“Now that’s not a very friendly thing to say,” I teased, amused by the way she was trying to get away from me by walking so quickly.
“Well, that’s because we’re not friends.”
“And I can’t quite work out why not. There aren’t many people our age in Woolton Village. We should at least try to be friends.”
“I’ll be friends with you when you drop these ridiculous plans for your private members’ club.”
“That’s just business. Nothing to do with friendship.”
She shook her head as she continued her march back to Woolton Hall. “That’s the point. You think the two can be separated. You don’t get that your business impacts our whole way of life, and worse, you just don’t care.”
How could I convince her that Manor House Club could enhance life in Woolton? “It’s not going to be a dump, you know. The bar and restaurant are going to be top quality and the landscaping is going to be beautiful. It’ll attract wealthy people with money to spend locally. And those same people will hopefully be inspired and invest in the area. Why don’t you keep an open mind?”
“Insults, calling me closed-minded—you’ve got a funny way of being my friend. Those aren’t the kind of accusations friends make of each other.”
She didn’t let me get away with anything. “Okay, so the deal is we can’t be friends unless my plans fail at the Parish Council meeting next week? But if that happens, we can?”
“Why would you want to be friends with me if I beat you?”
I didn’t think she’d beat me. But even if she did, I didn’t want there to be bad blood between us. And if I offered an olive branch, when I beat her she might let bygones be bygones. I never gave a second thought to the enemies I made in business. But I didn’t want to be enemies with someone like Darcy. Yes, she was a neighbor and my grandmother liked her but it was more than that. Wanting to be…friends with Darcy wasn’t just practical. I liked what I saw, and I wanted to know more. “I just figure there must be layers.”
“Everyone has layers,” she said, waving at a woman who was pushing a buggy on the other side of the road.
Always an answer for everything. “You’re right. But I’m not interested in most people’s layers.”
“If I tell you we can be friends if I beat you, will you leave me in peace?”
I chuckled. I really must be irritating her, but instead of that wanting to make me back off, it only made me want to know more about her.
“You’d get a temporary reprieve. How’s that for a compromise?”
“I’ll take it.” She rolled her eyes. “Then yes, we can be friends when I beat you. Now, skedaddle and leave me in peace.”
I wanted to reach out, stroke her hair or claim a kiss, but I resisted. “Finally, a consolation prize worth having.”
She chuckled and shook her head. “Unbelievable. You need a refund from that charm school you went to. I’m a consolation prize?”
“That’s not what I meant.” I touched her shoulder, but she shrugged me off. “And if I win? Then what?” She challenged me at every turn—not just on my plans but what I said, how I said it. She was hard work. And I liked it.
“Then I hate you for the rest of my life.”
“That seems overly harsh. Murderers normally only get fifteen years.”
“Seriously, I don’t understand why you want to be my friend,” she replied. “And I don’t understand why you think I’d want to be yours when you’re trying to do something that goes against everything I stand for. Everything I’ve spent my life working against.”
When she said it like that, my actions made no sense. Perhaps I was just far too used to getting what I wanted, and right now, I wanted the development of Badsley, I wanted her. She was the antithesis of my life in London. Of the women there. The perfect English rose—pale skin, no makeup. Jeans with a smear of mud. I bet she’d never seen the inside of the gym. So, what had me so bewitched?
“It looks like that Parish Council meeting will be a win-win for me,” I said. “I get Manor House Club, or I get you.”
She stopped, an incredulous look in her eyes. “You don’t get me.” She started walking again. “I’m not some kind of object you can win.”
“That came out wrong—it was supposed to be a compliment.”
“And even if you win, don’t think you’re going to flutter those long eyelashes and have me dropping my knickers.”
Interesting. “So you’ve been examining my long eyelashes.”
“No. I mean. Eyelashes are normally…yours are a normal length.”
I chuckled as she struggled to explain. It seemed Miss Westbury’s feathers were capable of being ruffled.
“I’m just saying that your flirting won’t work on me.”
I hoped that wasn’t true. I might have to work harder, but somehow I’d find a way to break down her walls. “Hey, you were the one to mention your knickers dropping. I only talked about friendship. Dinner maybe.”
We got to a fence with a stile and we stopped. “Good luck with your plans, Mr. Steele. I’ll continue the rest of my journey alone, as this is Westbury land.” She stepped up onto the stile and across the fence.
“Well, you’re welcome to trespass on my land anytime you like. You and your horse, that is,” I called as she headed across the field, her tangle of hair lifted by the breeze, her round, firm arse wiggling as she went. “I’ll take that as a yes to dinner if I lose at the council meeting.”
If the Parish Council meeting didn’t go my way next week, dinner with Darcy would likely more than make up for it. With the women I normally slept with, our relationships were as businesslike as any meeting or negotiation, but with Darcy, there was no separation between personal and professional. Her business was completely personal to her. And I liked that. I got it. As much as she thought developing Manor House Club was all margins and money to me, it was the most personal thing I’d ever tried to do. It was why I was determined that the council would approve my plans.
Chapter Fifteen
Darcy
My favorite thing to do in the whole world was to tuck up under a blanket in my grandfather’s study with a glass of red and watch an old film. So, with The Philadelphia Story on the TV, and Aurora and I at either end of my grandfather’s oxblood chesterfield, a bottle of wine and a worn, gold chenille blanket, I should have felt pretty close to perfect. Especially as Mrs. Steele had telephoned earlier to cancel the dinner we’d arranged. Hopefully we could rearrange another time when Logan couldn’t make it.
Except Aurora was being deliberately infuriating.
“How can you say that it’s nice?” I asked. “It’s clearly to manipulate people into thinking he has some kind of interest in the village.” If Logan had fooled Aurora by coming to the library fundraising committee meeting, then would members of the Parish Council fall for it, too?
“Maybe he’s had a change of heart. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t enjoy having a smart bar and restaurant nearby. Plus, I heard he’s going to have a pool and a gym on the site and allow people to fish in his lake.”
“You can’t be on his side!” I said.
“It’s not that I’m on his side. Just that if the plans were to go through, it might not be the end of the world.”
A pool in the village would be a great idea. But for locals. Not the wealthy e
lite. That was what was so infuriating—some of the ideas were good. And I liked that he wanted to commit to the village—he was just going about it in the wrong way. “We’d end up divided between the haves and the have-nots. The ones who get to use the pool and eat in the restaurant and those who have to clean the pool and serve up the meals. It would be the end of Woolton as we know it.”
“Darcy! Can’t you see what a hypocrite you’re being? You know you are a duke’s sister, and aren’t you Lady Westbury or something?”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“You’re complaining like you’re a ‘have-not’ in this scenario, when you’re one of the haves.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never acted like I was better than anyone.”
“Maybe not, but you’re more than used to flying private. You have a butler and a housekeeper and a cook, as well as all your other staff. Sounds to me like you don’t mind the wealthy elite in the village, as long as it’s you and your family.”
I winced. Aurora’s words stung like summer nettles on bare legs. “That’s not why I’m fighting Logan’s plans. I love this place. It’s the only real home I know. It’s the only place I feel safe. I’m just trying to hold on to that.”
We sat in silence, Katharine Hepburn’s portrayal of a rich socialite getting everything wrong at every turn not as appealing as it had been when we’d sat down.
“You’re right,” I said. “I’m privileged in many ways, but the most precious thing I ever got was to grow up in this place. Among the solid oak and ash trees, playing hide and seek in the beech hedges, paddling in the stream with Ryder. Knowing these good and honest people. This place saved Ryder and me. It’s special. Magic. You know that.”
She reached out and squeezed my leg. “I do. And nothing will change those memories. But people do need jobs. And encouraging money out of the city to places like this isn’t always a bad thing.”
