The Duchess and the Dreamer

by Jenny Frame

  “I thought you already pronounced your plans at the church?” Clementine said.

  “Yes, they were my plans, but I’ve had a rethink, and I want the villagers to have more control over the new work.”

  Clementine shook her head. “I told you I’m not—”

  Evan dropped to her knees and clasped her hands together. “Please? If not for me, then for your village?”

  Clementine was getting hotter, and not just from the sun that was baking her, especially with so much of Evan’s toned body on show, and that normally perfectly styled hair flopping over her face. She was finding it really difficult to say no to those deep blue eyes of Evan’s.

  She opened her mouth to force a no, when Kay interrupted her. “I’ll talk her into it, Evan.”

  Before Clementine could say any more, Evan said, “Thank you, beautiful lady.” Then she rushed down to the shore and into the waves.

  “What just happened?” Clementine asked.

  “Oh, she’s bloody dishy, isn’t she?”

  As Clementine watched Evan dive into the waves, with her hair now wet and ever so sexy, then lift Dexter onto her shoulders and making the kids giggle with laughter, Clementine had to admit that, yes, Evan Fox was dishy, but dangerous.

  Chapter Eight

  The next day, Evan was in the grand entrance hall to her house, zipping around the highly polished floor on her Segway. It was a great big area to use it on. While she sped about, she spoke aloud into the memo app on her phone, taking some voice notes for the next board meeting.

  She nearly fell off her board when Archie walked in the front door and said, “Busy, I see?”

  Evan sped over to Archie and stopped just before smashing into her. “I’m working through lunch break. I’m taking notes for the board meeting, and I think better when I play with some sort of toy. Anyway, how can I help you, this fine lunchtime?”

  Archie handed her the iPad she was holding and said, “We’ve found a good plot of land for the recycling centre, and I’ve contacted the environmental cattle feed company that you asked me to. They’ll get back to me with a name of someone who can talk to your farmers.”

  She looked down at the iPad and smiled. “Good, good.”

  “Do you think they’ll even listen to you?” Archie asked.

  Despite being a vegan herself, for environmental reasons, Evan didn’t want to bulldoze her way through this traditional farming community and expect them to change their ways overnight. She had always found that it was more productive to work with people to reduce their impact on the environment. She supported many areas of research into more environmental ways of farming, like changing the cattle feed to one that caused less methane production in the animals.

  “I think they’ll listen when they find out that I’ll subsidize their purchases. Everyone’s a winner.”

  “Hmm,” Archie said, “I’m not as confident as you. Some of these old-school farmers can be very set in their ways.”

  “Then we try to convince them in another way. We will get there, Archie. Have some faith. What about the pub? How’s work going with it?” Evan said.

  Archie folded her arms. “We have some plans for you to sign off on, and then we can get to work. We’ll need to headhunt a manager from somewhere, along with restarting the beer factory.”

  Evan spun in a circle while reading Archie’s notes. “Those two things are crucial. The beer factory will bring employment to our new residents, and the pub is the heart of the community, but I need people I can trust and the community can trust. I had thought of Griffin, but I can’t get hold of her.”

  Griffin was an old friend who had very successfully dabbled in microbrewing.

  “I’ll keep working on it,” Archie said. “Oh, I passed our resident grumpy duchess on my way here.”

  “She’s not grumpy, just had a difficult time in life,” Evan said.

  The more she saw Clementine, the more she was convinced she had found the woman who was meant to be her wife. She had been waiting a long time for life to send the woman to knock her socks off, just as her mum had done to her dad, but she was here, Evan was sure. Unfortunately, Clementine didn’t seem to get the same memo.

  Yesterday at the beach she could hardly take her eyes off Clementine. Every time Evan said something that ruffled Clementine’s feathers, her heart thundered in her chest and made her a little giddy.

  Clementine was beautiful, and she could sense that she was lonely, and Evan didn’t want to think of her with no one else in the world. She would use everything in her power to make Clementine feel happy again, even if she didn’t want to feel it at first. Besides, with Evan’s long obsession with Isadora Fitzroy, it seemed like her fate was to fall for her granddaughter.

  “Ever the optimist,” Archie replied.

  “What was she doing?”

  “There was something wrong with her car. She had her head under the bonnet. I tried to offer my help, but she wasn’t having any of it.”

  Evan stepped off her board and handed the iPad back to Archie. “I need to run. Can you hold the fort at the office?”

  She grabbed her suit jacket hanging by the front door and quickly combed her hair, glancing in the mirror next to the coat stand.

  “Where are you rushing off to?” Archie said.

  Evan turned around and grinned. “To help my damsel in distress.”

  * * *

  Evan parked her car just outside the gates of Rosebrook and caught her breath when she turned and saw the duchess bent over, under her car bonnet, in a short skirt and heels, and her mouth watered.

  “Good God, you are gorgeous, Mrs. Fox.” She thought of her favourite historical romance novels and added, “Faint heart never won fair lady.”

  Then she looked down at her collection of small toy figures stuck to her dashboard, including her favourite SpongeBob figure. “What do you think, SpongeBob? Have I got any chance with a duchess?” Evan nodded in response to their imaginary conversation. “You’re right. Positivity rules. I’ll spread the love.”

  She checked in the mirror that her tie was straight and got out of the car. As she walked over, Evan could not take her eyes off Clementine’s shapely behind. She didn’t want to give Clementine a fright, so she cleared her throat, hoping that would attract her attention. She did look up, and Evan saw Clementine’s beautifully manicured hands were covered in oil.

  “Can I help you?” Clementine said. The frustration in her voice was clear.

  “I wondered if I might be of any assistance?” Evan said.

  “Unless you are a mechanic, no,” Clementine said flatly.

  Evan leaned on the car and didn’t let her smile falter. “No, I must admit I’m not good with cars, unless I’m building model ones, but I can offer you a lift to anywhere you want to go.”

  “Why would you want to do that?” Clementine sounded suspicious. “You want to butter me up, to go along with some plan of yours?”

  Evan refused to let the negativity affect her. “No other motivation than helping you out.”

  Clementine looked down at her watch, then at her hands covered in oil. “I need to be in Bournemouth within the hour. Do you know the way?”

  Yes, she was coming! “No, but satnav does. Why don’t you take five minutes to go and wash your hands, and I’ll meet you at the little green Bug over there.”

  Clementine looked at her strangely. “Why are you doing this?”

  “What? Being helpful? It’s the way I was brought up. Manners and helpfulness are my middle name. Now, go—you’re running out of time.”

  At last Clementine turned and hurried back into the house.

  “Yes, I did it.” Evan punched the air.

  * * *

  Evan checked her appearance in the car door mirror, then heard the clattering of heels coming her way. The very sound made a ripple of pleasure run through her body. She loved femme women, and heels were part of that.

  She hurried around to the passenger side and held open the doo
r. “My wheels are your wheels.”

  Clementine said a quiet, “Thank you,” and slipped in the car.

  Evan shut the door, hurried around to the driver’s side, and slid in quickly. She was so excited. She had Clementine all to herself for at least an hour or so, the woman who made her feel like she’d been smashed in the head with a banjo. Now was the time to build bridges between them.

  “Okey-dokey.” Evan rubbed her hands together. “Do you have a postcode for our destination?”

  Clementine took a letter out of her bag and handed it to Evan. “It’s on the top.”

  “Got it.”

  Clementine had not anticipated being in this situation today. If it wasn’t for the blasted car, she wouldn’t be. This meeting was important. The client was rebuilding a large home overlooking the Bournemouth seafront, and the job carried a large fee. Large enough that she was ready to ditch her principles and take Evan’s offer of help.

  She looked over at Evan typing in the postcode to the satnav and puzzled at this strange newcomer to her life. Evan was eccentric, from her fox accessories to the children’s figures sitting across the dashboard to her car, to the car itself, a green Bug, as Evan had called it.

  Clementine had tried to paint the image of Evan in her mind as a conceited ladies’ woman. It was easier to think of the woman who had taken over her family home in that way, not as this helpful, strangely goofy character.

  “Okay, directions all plugged in. Wagons roll, eh?” Evan said.

  Evan put her iPhone in the holder on the dashboard and pressed the ignition button. As soon as she did, a sultry voice started to play through the Bluetooth speaker.

  “Her fingers trailed down from her lover’s neck to her chest. She squeezed Julia’s breast—”

  “Bugger,” Evan said as she reached for her phone in panic and started manically pressing all the buttons on the screen. Unfortunately, she seemed to hit the volume button and instead of the sound pausing, it got louder and louder.

  “You’re soaking wet, do you want me to fuck you?”

  “Oh my God, stop, stop!” Evan said desperately.

  Clementine couldn’t help but laugh at Evan’s predicament.

  Evan finally managed to find the pause button, and the car went from sex to silence, with only the sound of Evan’s laboured breaths filling the air.

  “I’m so sorry, Clem. I know what it must have sounded like, but I’m not driving about listening to porn. It’s a romance novel—look.” Evan showed her the audiobook screen, and Clementine saw that it was indeed a lesbian romance novel from one of the big publishers.

  “You read romance novels?” Clementine couldn’t quite believe it. The thought of Evan reading romances killed the idea that she was a player.

  “Uh, yes. I’m a romantic. Just like my dad. Let’s get you on your way.”

  Evan’s cheeks were bright red. It was sweet how embarrassed she was.

  Who are you, Evan Fox? Clementine thought. She decided to let her off the hook and not ask any more questions—for the moment.

  Finally Clementine said, “Thank you for doing this. I’ll pay for the petrol, of course.”

  “No, you won’t,” Evan said quickly.

  Clementine hackles were raised once again. “Excuse me but—”

  “It’s electric. No fuel needed,” Evan said, smiling.

  Clementine’s wanted to find something to snap back at Evan for, but she couldn’t. She turned her gaze back to the windscreen and said nothing.

  “Let’s get on the road then,” Evan said.

  Finally they were on their way. An awkward tension lay between them, and Clementine wondered if Evan felt it too. They bumped along the potholed village road until they got out onto open country roads. Evan drove steadily, carefully manoeuvring around tight bends.

  “What a beautiful day. I think there’s nothing like a sunny day in the countryside, don’t you?”

  Clementine was silent for a moment then said, “When I was younger, but now everything I want in my life is in the city.”

  Evan looked around quickly before returning her eyes to the road. “You’d leave your ancestral home? Rosebrook?”

  “It’s not mine any more—it’s yours,” Clementine said sharply.

  There were a few moments of silence before Evan replied, “I can’t take away your place in this community, Clem. You’ll always be Duchess of Rosebrook.”

  Clementine sighed. “That doesn’t mean anything any more. Once my mother passes, well, I’ll leave and start a new life.”

  Evan tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “That would be a sad loss for Rosebrook. So, you’re an architect? Just like your grandmother Isadora?”

  “How did you know that?” Clementine asked.

  “Your friend Kay. Lovely woman, by the way, and such great kids and husband.”

  “He’s a nice man. Gentle, caring—wait, have you been checking up on me behind my back?”

  “No, you just came up in conversation. Shall we have some music?” Evan asked.

  Clementine shrugged. “If you want.”

  Just as Evan was about to turn on the music, a call came through. “Excuse me a moment.”

  She answered the call with such enthusiasm. “Peyton! Hi, how’s sunny Cal?”

  “Beautiful, you need to move to LA, or that pasty skin of yours will never have any colour.”

  Clementine watched with fascination as Evan conversed with Peyton, whoever she was. Evan was loud, over the top, and unnaturally bright. She’d never met someone as positive as Evan before, but was it all bluster?

  After a bit of banter, the caller said, “The publisher’s willing to deal, and would like a meet, but it’ll cost you a hundred thousand on top of your original offer.”

  “Well, what’s another hundred thousand? Call Violet and set up the meet…”

  Clementine’s mouth hung open. What’s another hundred thousand pounds? How could she be so glib about money? Evan’s business operated in a world where money was no object to dreams. Presumably that was why she felt so confident about regenerating Rosebrook. But there had been a time when money had been no object the to Fitzroys, and look what happened.

  When Evan hung up on her call she said, “That was my lawyer in the US. She’s negotiating a toy deal with the children’s author Gabriel Harrington. It’s going to be huge with a capital large.”

  Clementine had heard of the famous children’s author, of course, but what she was wondering was why Evan had the time to be driving her to an appointment, when she was involved in such big business decisions every day.

  Evan couldn’t seem to contain her excitement. “You know Fox Toys is the first toy manufacturer to ban plastic packaging?”

  “Really? That’s quite an achievement,” Clementine said.

  “My advisors thought I was crazy. It would cost a fortune and give us such big logistical challenges, but I stuck to my guns, and it’s paying off. We were one of many toy manufacturers hoping to get this deal, and Gabriel Harrington chose us because he is a passionate environmentalist. You put good out there, you get good back.”

  Clementine didn’t agree but wasn’t going to ruin Evan’s excitement. “Can I ask you something, Evan?”

  “Of course, I’m an open book to you, Your Graceship.”

  “Why do you have time to drive me to an appointment? Or stay in Rosebrook?”

  “Sorry? What do you mean?” Evan asked.

  “You’re obviously an extremely busy businesswoman, and yet you’re spending your time trying to rebuild Rosebrook and driving me to an insignificant appointment.”

  Evan furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s not an insignificant appointment.”

  “It is to you. Answer the question.”

  “I’ve got everything I need at Rosebrook. I’ve set up an office there, in the banqueting hall, I have a full staff, and I still go to London two days a week.”

  Clementine felt panic when Evan mentioned the banqueting hall. “What have
you done to the banqueting hall? It’s the oldest building in Rosebrook, you know, the oldest in the county.”

  “Calm down. I haven’t done anything to it. My team have just run in the electrical equipment for the computers, but everything’s been done tastefully. Why don’t you come up and see it, see the house too? I’d like you to see it and feel safe that you can trust it in my hands.”

  “No, thank you.” It might have seemed a harsh response, but she didn’t think she could bear to see her ancestral home changed and mucked about with. It would be too painful.

  “Clem, have you thought about the meeting at Fergus’s house? Will you come?”

  “No, I told you that I didn’t want to be involved in pipe dreams.”

  A silence fell over the car.

  * * *

  Evan parked outside the building where Clementine’s appointment was being held, despite Clementine telling her she’d get public transport home. Evan wouldn’t hear of it, of course, and sat listening to her audiobook while she waited, but her mind wasn’t on the story—she couldn’t stop thinking about Clementine. She didn’t take her refusals to see the house or come to the meeting personally. Evan could clearly see Clementine carried the scars of all she had lost and a troubled life.

  Kay had told her that Clementine’s mother was not in a good way at all, and that Clementine had been her carer for many years before the decision was taken to move the dowager duchess into a nursing home. It must be a heavy duty to carry all that on your shoulders without any partner to help or confide in.

  Evan felt a need to help Clementine and be her shoulder to cry on. Not just because she found her so attractive, or because she was her hero’s granddaughter, but because she saw such a deep sadness and weariness in Clementine’s eyes. That first hit across the head with a banjo when Clementine first opened the door to her had awakened an unquenchable need to help and be near her.

  But first things first, she had to show Clementine that she had a place, a future in Rosebrook village, and she had every confidence in herself that she could do it.