“Mmm!”
“Why? What does Mmm mean?”
“Well, Lydia is used to having the house to herself. I don’t think she’ll be very happy at the thought that I might like to take over,” she pushed her trainers off and took a sip of wine.
“Oh surely not?” Roman thought about that, then went on, “is that why she didn’t want your help cooking?”
“I don’t know, as I don’t know her very well, but I can understand how she feels. Women are very territorial about their kitchens.”
“I see,” he frowned, “but what can I do about that? After all the house is mine, ours when we marry.”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to take over here. The arrangement suits you and Edward well and I think it’s brilliant, but I can understand Lydia wondering where that leaves her when I’m here. We need to make it plain that I don’t want things to change. I’ll have my hands full with our home, business’ and children.”
Roman grinned “Children?”
“Not yet, so down boy. I expect there will come a time when I get broody but not until I’m a well known name in design circles,” Bella laughed at herself.
After a pause while they drank some wine Roman asked “Where do you envisage our home?”
“Devon, of course,” then she realised what he meant and hesitated “I think of the cottage as my home but you mean The Manor.”
Taking her hand he raised it to his lips and kissed her palm. “My home will be where you are. I saw last night how much your business means to you so I’d never ask you to give it up. I’ve spent today jotting down ideas,” then he went on to outline his plans for the Manor, cottage and barn.
“You’d leave your home for ME?”
“Yes, in a heartbeat, but I won’t be leaving it just changing its function. It is getting more and more costly each year to maintain, is far too big for us unless we have six or more children and could turn into a good investment.”
Bella put her arms around his neck and said “I love you Roman Cowle, but I don’t want six children. One of each is enough.”
“We might have two girls or two boys. Then what would we do?”
“Love them!”
* * *
When they went downstairs, after Bella had showered and changed, they found the table set for four with candles and flowers prettily arranged as a centrepiece. Bella had put her engagement ring on; she hadn’t worn it at the craft fair as she was frightened that it might get damaged.
The aroma of spices tickled their taste buds and Bella said “Gosh, that smells so good.”
“Hope it tastes as good,” Lydia said as she turned to greet them.
“I’m sure it will,” Roman said, “everything you’ve cooked for me has been delicious.”
“Sit down please, we’ve got onion bhajis to start. Edward would you open the wine, or we’ve got beer if you prefer.”
Roman went to the fridge and took out a bottle of champagne saying “I think this is appropriate for today, Bella agreed to marry me last night.”
“What?” Edward turned to look at them.
“We’re engaged.”
“Congratulations!” Edward shook Roman’s hand then turned to Bella and hugged her.
Lydia came forward and hugged Roman then she turned to Bella and said “That’s lovely, I hope you’ll both be very happy. Come on let me see the ring.”
Bella self- consciously held out her hand, which Lydia took and lifted to the light. “Oh my god, that is gorgeous,” she said, “when did you choose it?”
“I didn’t. Roman chose it all by himself.”
“Oh” Lydia grimaced at him, “that was dangerous. What if Bella hadn’t liked it or it didn’t fit.”
“I love it and it fits perfectly. He got it just right,” Bella said defensively, putting her arms around him.
Surprised at Lydia’s remark, was it sour grapes, Roman changed the subject.
“I’m starving let’s eat, don’t want your delicious smelling bhajis to go cold.”
As he poured the champagne into four flutes he thought about what Bella had said about Lydia being worried that she’d get pushed out now he and Bella were getting married. Sitting down at the table he racked his brains for a solution.
The bhajis were light and crisp and the mint and yoghurt dressing fresh and tart.
“This is delicious Lydia,” Bella said, “I’d love your recipe for them. Mine turn out soggy and cloying.”
“The secret is not to mix too much gram flour in with the onions and make the onion slices quite large. Not the traditional way; I just modified it for mine and Edwards taste.”
“How did your show go?” Roman asked.
Lydia smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Surprisingly well. We sold a lot and I’ve been asked to do various things for some large companies.”
As the first course was cleared away Bella looked at Roman and mouthed `What are you going to say to them?`
He shrugged and pulled a face, quickly changing it to a smile as Lydia placed a bowl of rice and another of curry on the table, while Edward handed round small bowls. As he sat down he cleared his throat, took a deep breath and said “We need to talk to you about what we’ve decided to do.”
Holding his bowl out for Lydia to put rice and curry in Roman said “I’m glad you’ve brought it up as Bella and I have been discussing our plans for the future.”
“Then let me speak first,” Edward bit his lip, “Lydia and I have decided to move in together. We’ve got to the point where we want to settle down and are now in a position to do so. We are going to buy a place together so I’m afraid you’ll have to find a new house sitter. Sorry Roman, I’ve loved it here but I’m not getting any younger and need to get on the property ladder.”
Roman sighed with relief “That’s great news, you two belong together and I’m glad you’ve finally realised it.”
“Where do you plan to live?” Bella asked.
“Well, we’d love to stay around here, but whether we’ll be able to afford it, even if a house came up for sale, which they don’t very often, is the question.” Edward replied.
Roman raised his eyebrows at Bella and when she nodded said “I know of one which has just come on the market.”
Edward frowned “Where?”
“Here.” Roman grinned at his friends look of surprise. “I’ve made a big decision about what I’m going to do with The Manor when Bella and I get married; I’m finally going to do what I’ve been talking about for years.”
Open mouthed Edward said “You’re actually going to do it? I never thought you would, although I told you years ago that it was the thing to do.”
“What are you talking about?” Lydia asked.
“I’m going to turn The Manor into a wedding and event venue, and I’m going to need the money off the sale of this house to do it.”
Bella was perplexed. When they’d discussed the plans for The Manor Roman had spoken as if he could afford the cost easily, now he was talking as if money would be a problem. As she pondered on this she caught Roman’s eye and he winked at her, clearly asking her to go along with what he was saying. She nodded and continued eating. It wasn’t her place to say anything, so she’d just follow his lead.
“You mean to tell me that you’d already decided to sell the house?” Edward demanded.
“No, I hadn’t but when you said that you were going to buy somewhere, preferably around here, it seemed silly of me to hang onto this place when we’ll probably spend most of our time in Devon.”
Edward looked at Lydia and smiled at the excitement in her eyes, then taking a deep breath said “I suppose it all depends how much you want for it and whether we can get a mortgage.”
“I’m sure we can come to some mutually benefi
cent solution.” Roman raised his glass and went on, “to the future.”
They all clinked glasses, Edward shook Roman’s hand and the girls hugged each other; the rest of the evening was spent harmoniously as they talked and laughed about their plans for their lives together.
Chapter 15
The following weeks passed so fast, with Bella working almost non stop and Roman being busy with normal estate business, the plans for The Manor and the sale of the London house that they saw very little of each other.
Occasionally Roman would arrive in the evening, with meals that Mrs B had prepared, to make sure Bella remembered to eat. He had tried, tactfully, to persuade Bella that she didn’t need to work so hard but she became angry or upset, so he had wisely stopped trying to change her; after all it had been her work ethic and determination he had fallen in love with.
By the date of the final craft fair, before Christmas in London, she had made a staggering amount of things to sell, her only worry now being whether it would all fit in the van. Roman and Edward had come to an agreement on the sale of the house but nothing would be finalised until the New Year, so Bella and Roman would stay there for the craft fair and again over Christmas and the New Year, which, from what Lydia had told her would be one round of parties. When they returned to Devon in January some of the family heirlooms, passed on from Roman’s uncle would go with them along with some furniture, that had been in the family for years. Some of the pieces would look lovely in the barn conversion planned for what was now Bella’s workshop and studio.
Three days before their trip to London Roman arrived at the cottage to find Bella carrying a basket of logs inside. She looked exhausted and grey and as he took the basket off her he saw that she was shivering. The inside of the cottage was warm and cosy but she sat in her chair hands stretched out to the wood burner, shivering.
“You look frozen, what have you been doing outside?” he asked.
“Just letting Misty out and collecting some logs. It was colder than I thought. I’ll warm up in a bit.”
“I’ve got one of Mrs. B’s casseroles in the land rover, that’ll warm you up. It’s freezing hard already, Hamish wouldn’t leave the fire to come with me, the woos.”
He brought the food in and put it in the Aga, before boiling the kettle and making two mugs of tea. When he carried them through to the living room Bella was looking a bit better and as she took the mug off him smiled and said “I’m ok now, shouldn’t have gone out without my coat, but I thought I’d only be a minute, then Misty started barking and ran off. By the time I’d persuaded her to come back I was really cold.”
“What was she barking at?”
Bella shrugged “Don’t know. I didn’t hear anything, but it could have been a fox, I suppose.”
“Could have been.” Roman looked round the room at the piles of throws, cushions and bags that covered every surface. “Are you sure you’ve got enough stock for the weekend?”
She laughed “Hope I have as I’ve used all my material etc up. I’m just worried about getting it all into the van.”
“What else have you got?”
“Lots of painted things and some furniture.”
“Mmm, even if it all does go in the van it’ll probably be overweight. It’s quite a way to London and the van is ancient. You could borrow the estates transit, I’m insured to drive it.” Then as she frowned he went on, “I could kill two birds with one stone, do your craft fair and bring some stuff back from the house, save having to do so much in January.”
Her frown turned to a grin “You are a devious man Roman Cowle.”
Putting on an innocent expression he said “It makes sense, as I have to move things out of the house.”
“Ok I surrender, you’re too smart for me.”
Roman stood up and pulled her up out of her chair and into his arms, “I do like a woman who knows when to surrender,” he murmured as his lips claimed hers. For the first time in weeks they took their time, slowly kissing and caressing each other as they took turns removing their clothing. Finally unable to contain themselves any longer they sank down onto the fireside rug, their bodies demanding release. Roman groaned as he sank into her soft depths, Bella gasping as he hit the cluster of nerves deep inside her. Then he released his pent up desire and her legs circled his waist as he took them both over the edge, into a place where only they existed.
Later as they ate Mrs. B’s casserole and discussed the plan of action for the weekend, she suddenly said “I’m sorry Roman, I know I’ve been a pain over the last few weeks and haven’t been fair on you.”
He shook his head “You don’t have to say sorry. I know how much your business means to you. It was your determination to succeed which attracted me in the first place. Perhaps once you believe how good your things are you’ll relax.”
“So it wasn’t my beauty,” she struck a pose, “that attracted you, just my money making ability.”
“Of course! However the fact that you are hot was a bonus.”
Bella’s face clouded over as she remembered Gervaise’ comment about her being a great lay, then she shook her head, he didn’t deserve to be thought of.
Watching her Roman knew instantly she was thinking of Gervaise and he cursed him for how he’d made her think about herself. Even after her success in business and his love for her she could still be plunged into self doubt if anything reminded her of him. To get her thoughts away from Gervaise he launched into a story about the landowner, near Bodmin moor who was farming rare breeds and the Alpacas he’d bought. By the time he’d finished the story Bella was crying with laughter at the thought of a farm manager being knocked over, into a pile of manure, not once but twice.*
“They sound dangerous,” she giggled.
“Mmm, think I’ll stick to sheep.”
“Are you still going to farm once The Manor’s converted?”
“Yes I think so, the sheep keep the moor cropped.”
“What about the ponies?”
“The society is trying to preserve the blood line and I’m keen on that so, yes we’ll keep some.”
The conversation carried on, covering The Manor, the estate and the plans for the barn conversion, until Bella yawned. Roman saw that she was extremely tired and still didn’t look too well so after they’d washed the dishes he said “I won’t stay tonight, love. I’ve got a meeting with the architect at nine tomorrow and you need a good night’s sleep and a lie in.”
After they’d kissed goodnight, Bella, who now had a headache and still felt shivery, made herself a mug of hot milk and took two paracetamol before she fell into bed, falling asleep very quickly.
*See Broken but Restored
* * *
The next morning Bella was woken by a very cold wet tongue licking her face. Opening her eyes she saw a wet muddy dog, front paws on her lovely old bedspread. “Get down Misty,” she ordered, causing her to slide off the bed leaving long streaks of wet mud where her paws had been. Sitting up she shivered, “it’s freezing in here what’s going on?”
Jumping out of bed she grabbed her housecoat, thrust her feet into her slippers and hurried into the living room. To her surprise the door to the woodburner was open and it appeared to have gone out. An icy blast blew through from the kitchen where she discovered the back door wide open, slamming the door shut she then saw that the Aga wasn’t working. Teeth chattering she hurried through to the bedroom to find some warm clothes to change into.
Dressed in thick jogging pants and jumper she returned to the living room and examined the woodburner. It looked as if the coals had been poked and raked instead of being banked up for the night and she frowned as she realised she had no memory of doing either. Laying fire lighters and sticks into the firebox she tried to remember what she’d done after Roman had left the night before. She’d made a mug of warm milk, put a small
tot of whiskey and a spoonful of sugar into it, then shaken two paracetamol out of a bottle into her hand and swallowed them with a glass of water. Looking around she couldn’t find the bottle, and wondered why there’d been a bottle of paracetamol in the kitchen when she usually bought them in boxes. Perhaps Roman had left them there?
Misty was curled up on her rug, shivering, she was wet and covered in mud. Had she left her out last night and forgotten to close the door? She mustn’t have been locked out or she would have barked until Bella heard her. Perhaps the door had blown open and Misty had gone outside to relieve herself? But both the kitchen door and lean to door would have had to blow open and ever since the gun incident she’d religiously locked all the doors, so she went into the kitchen and checked the lock which appeared to be working perfectly.
As she piled small logs onto the burning sticks she felt as if she was going to cry. There had to be a logical explanation to what had happened, she wouldn’t accept that she’d forgotten to do such important things, and what about the Aga, why wasn’t that working? Going back into the kitchen she discovered it had been turned off at the oil tap, turned it back on and fired it up. It appeared to be working as normal. Shaking her head she switched the kettle on and put some bread in the toaster; as soon as she’d had something to eat and a hot drink she’d give Misty a bath and towel her dry.
After her breakfast with a clean warm Misty tucking into her food in the kitchen, she put on her hat and barbour and went outside to see if there was anything strange out there. The studio and workshop were both alright and there was nothing unusual around the cottage. Her head was thumping and she had a horrible taste in her mouth so she went back indoors, made another cup of tea and curled up in her chair trying to get warm. “I must be coming down with the flu” she said to herself as she took two more paracetamol, this time out of the usual box. Telling herself she’d be ok for the weekend if she took them regularly, kept warm and drank plenty she drifted off to sleep, straight into a nightmare she hadn’t had for years. Her mother was shouting at her, telling her that she was wicked for playing such pranks on her. It was Bella who’d put the teapot in the fridge and the milk in the sugar container, and why was the cat in the rubbish bin?
The Wishing Well Page 17
