A House to Mend a Broken Heart

by Sherlock, Alison

  He watched as she reached out to squeeze Arthur’s hand as if to reassure him. What kind of housekeeper was she that she could be so intimate with him? It was in stark contrast to her predecessor, the staid Mrs Briggs.

  His eyes narrowed. She had to be some kind of gold-digger. Why else would she be pretending to be so upset? So caring? He didn’t know anything about this woman that had appeared in his grandfather’s life. But he sure as hell didn’t trust her.

  Sam resolved to get the mystery housekeeper out of all of their lives as quickly as possible.

  Chapter 2

  ‘That delivery of heating oil is due tomorrow to No. 23,’ croaked Arthur, wincing in obvious pain as he lay in the hospital bed. ‘Can you make sure it arrives? The Jones family need topping up before the winter sets in.’

  ‘It’s seventy degrees outside. It’s not a priority right now so try not to worry,’ Annie urged him as she made a note on her mobile. ‘You must keep still until they operate on you. It shouldn’t be too much longer.’

  ‘And Frank Mills said that their roof is leaking,’ carried on Arthur. ‘Contact Mr Reynolds. He’ll know someone decent. His phone numbers on my desk.’

  Annie nodded. ‘I can handle it.’

  At least, she hoped she could.

  As well as the large manor house called Willow Tree Hall, Lord Cranley’s estate included twenty-five cottages. A few centuries ago, they had been for workers on the estate. These days they were let out to local people at a below-market rate. Most had been passed down from one generation in a family to the next.

  Normally, Arthur dealt with any problems that came up with the tenancies. Annie had no idea how it all worked. But it would all be fine, she told herself. It had to be, for Arthur’s sake.

  Besides, he wouldn’t be in hospital for too long. He could come home to where she would keep a closer eye on him and then everything would revert back to how it had been since she had arrived.

  She watched him sag back against the pillows, the pain obvious on his kind, wrinkled face. It was such a shock to see him slumped in a hospital gown, his wispy grey hair dishevelled. He was normally so neat, dressed in a tweed jacket and a pair of trousers that had often seen better days. Some days he even wore a tie with one of his many checked shirts. This wasn’t a man that would ever wear jeans. He was an old-fashioned gentleman from old money. The seventh in a long line of earls that had been lucky enough to call Willow Tree Hall their home.

  ‘What a bloody stupid thing for me to have done,’ said Arthur, the irritation obvious as he spoke in his aristocratic clipped tones.

  Annie bit her lip to stop herself from crying again. ‘I’m so sorry. I forgot to put the bucket out.’

  Arthur reached out to squeeze her hand. ‘If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine. I should have been looking where I was going. And I ought to have got the roof fixed by now.’

  She sighed, knowing he was protecting yet another one of her mistakes. It was so obvious that she wasn’t up to the task of being a housekeeper but she couldn’t let him down now at the worst possible time.

  ‘Your grandsons are outside,’ she told him, glancing out to the corridor. ‘Maybe they can help to get the roof mended.’

  ‘Both of my grandsons?’ Arthur’s grey eyebrows shot up in surprise. ‘Here in the hospital?’

  She nodded. ‘They’re waiting in the corridor to speak to you.’

  ‘Wonders will never cease.’ He gave her a stern look with his blue eyes. ‘Don’t you worry about them interfering back at the Hall. We can manage fine without them.’

  ‘Says the man who’s about to go down to the operating theatre,’ Annie reminded him, rolling her eyes.

  He gave a small chuckle before wincing. ‘Every cloud has a silver lining, you know. With these new pins in my leg perhaps it’ll help my arthritis. Maybe I’ll be able to start using my bicycle again.’

  ‘Yeah, I can just see you in training for the Tour de France next summer,’ she drawled with a smile.

  His smile dropped a little. ‘But I’ll be sorry to miss the music in the village hall tonight. You can’t beat the last night of the Proms.’

  Annie watched as Arthur glanced out of the window of the room he had been placed in. They had been at the hospital for many hours already as all the checks and X-rays had taken so long to complete. The sun was beginning to sink towards the horizon as it grew late in the afternoon.

  Annie nodded. ‘I know how much you’d been looking forward to it. But let’s get you fixed up. Because autumn will be here soon and that means Christmas is just around the corner.’

  ‘That’s three months away,’ said Arthur, with a soft smile.

  ‘I know but it’s my favourite holiday as well as being my first ever at the Hall. I’ll need you fighting fit by then.’

  She ignored her inner voice reminding her that Christmas would be a lot to organise and that she would probably make a hash of it and be sacked anyway.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Arthur told her. ‘Plenty of time for me to get back on my feet before we start decking the halls.’

  ‘Would you like me to fetch your grandsons now?’

  Arthur’s face dropped into a frown. ‘If you must,’ he said, with a sigh.

  ‘That’s a fine welcome, I must say,’ said a cheery voice from the doorway. Will strode into the room and gave his grandfather an awkward kiss on the cheek. ‘Hello, Grandad. So what mischief have you been up to?’

  ‘Nothing to concern yourself with,’ Arthur replied, scowling over his youngest grandson’s shoulder at the next visitor.

  Annie stood up from the chair next to the bed as Sam walked slowly towards his Grandfather. Having never met him before, she was struck by the similarity between the two men. The same strong chin. Same tall build, although Sam was much broader and more muscular than the fragile Earl.

  ‘Hello Grandad,’ said Sam, looking distinctly uncomfortable.

  ‘Hello Samuel,’ replied Arthur.

  They even had the same refined way of speaking.

  Annie glanced from man to man as an awkward silence stretched out between them. She had picked up some knowledge about the Harris family in her time at the Hall. She understood that Arthur’s son and daughter-in-law had died but had never liked to ask under what circumstances for fear of upsetting anyone. She had seen the photographs of both Will and Sam when they were younger but Arthur hadn’t really spoken about them. She had met Will briefly a couple of times and had found him charming and amiable. But Sam appeared to be a mystery that only caused a frown on Arthur’s forehead. Even though the two men obviously had their own lives, they certainly didn’t appear close. She had never considered that Arthur’s own family could have any issues. They seemed to have it all, what with the big house and noble bloodline. However Annie was beginning to realise that perhaps they weren’t quite the happy family that she had imagined. But at least they cared enough to turn up at the hospital, she found herself thinking with a soft sigh. At least they loved each other as a normal family should.

  The awkward silence continued until they were interrupted by the arrival of the hospital porters who were going to take Arthur down to the operating theatre.

  ‘Who would you like me to call when you’re back in the recovery ward?’ asked the nurse who had also come into the room.

  ‘Can’t we stay here?’ asked Annie, reaching out to give Arthur’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

  The thought of leaving him alone in the hospital tore at her heart. Besides, it was all her fault that he was there in the first place. Surely she should stay with him?

  ‘It’s quite a long operation,’ replied the nurse. ‘I’m sure you’d be more comfortable waiting at home.’

  ‘Actually I’m next of kin,’ snapped Sam, coming to stand next to her.

  ‘Could you perhaps call them both?’ asked Arthur, in a hopeful tone. ‘See you later.’ He gave Annie a small wave as he was wheeled out of the room

  Annie managed to wave back at Arthur
before he was out of sight. She gulped back yet more tears at the thought of the long operation.

  But her sadness was replaced with irritation as she watched the nurse write down Sam’s mobile number. The man hadn’t visited or even rung his grandfather in all the time that she had been at Willow Tree Hall. That was nearly a whole year. What right did he have to take over? Where on earth had he been during that time?

  Earning money, she thought, glancing over at him. He was dressed in an impeccable navy suit which had a rich sheen signifying that it was expensive. His blue shirt appeared to be silk and most definitely had not been bought at Primark unlike her own T-shirt which had. His platinum cufflinks flashed as he tapped in the contact number of the hospital into his iPhone.

  Sam turned and scowled down at her with cold blue eyes. ‘I’m sure you must have some things to be getting on with back at the Hall,’ he told her in a dismissive tone before turning away to deal with the nurse once more.

  Annie was flabbergasted but tried to hold herself together as Will stepped forward to give her a brief hug ‘Try not to worry,’ he told her. ‘He’s in good hands here.’

  She nodded, trying not to cry again as she turned away to head for the door.

  She glanced at Sam, wondering whether he would say goodbye but he still had his back to her. In the end, she just shook her head and walked out of the room. The man was completely unreasonable. No wonder his grandfather didn’t have anything to do with him.

  Families, she told herself. Sometimes you really were better off without them.

  *

  ‘Go easy on Annie,’ he heard Will say once the nurse had left them alone.

  Sam spun around to look at his brother. ‘I don’t even know her,’ he replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

  ‘Well, you’d better get to know her quickly because Grandad adores her.’ Will frowned. ‘Besides, she’s still covered in our grandfather’s blood, or didn’t you notice the spots of red on her top? She’s had a pretty rough day and you’ve just made it ten times worse.’

  ‘I’ve had a pretty rough day too,’ said Sam, in a scornful tone. Then he caught his brother’s face and realised that his jetlag wasn’t a priority for Will. He sighed. ‘Fine, I’ll go and apologise.’

  ‘Excellent decision,’ said Will, a smile hovering at the corner of his lips. ‘And you can drop her back at the house before you head back to London.’

  ‘What?’ Sam ran a hand through his hair. He really wanted a shower more than anything at that moment. ‘Look, I’m exhausted. I’ve been awake for twenty-four hours. Can’t you do it?’

  Will shook his head as he checked his watch. ‘I’ve got a meeting with the bank that I’m already late for. I just can’t get out of it. Sorry, it has to be you.’

  Sam rolled his eyes. ‘Do I have to? I’m really not in the mood for a gossip with Aunt Rose over a cup of tea so strong you could stand your spoon up in it.’

  He knew he was being grumpy but he was tired and upset. He also knew that he really ought to see his aunt as it had been too long between visits.

  He couldn’t think straight. The antiseptic smell of the hospital was muddling his senses and bringing back too many unwelcome memories. He just wanted to get out of there.

  ‘If you want to stay on the right side of grandad whilst he’s recovering, then you really should try and make it up with Annie,’ Will told him.

  Sam didn’t know what side of his grandfather he wanted to be on. It saddened him that they had become so estranged. They had always been so close in the past. But now their relationship had deteriorated to the point that they no longer even spoke on the telephone. They had only just managed to say hello to each other in the hospital a few moments previously.

  He wondered how things could ever change for the better between them.

  Chapter 3

  Annie stood outside the main entrance to the hospital, surprised at how cold she suddenly felt. She had left the Hall in such a rush that morning that she hadn’t brought any kind of cardigan or coat with her. Now that the sun had sunk below the horizon, there was a distinct chill in the air, as if autumn were keen to push summer away for good.

  She held the mobile in the crook of her neck as she rang her best friend.

  ‘Well?’ said Megan, answering the phone almost immediately. ‘How is he?’

  ‘Broken leg,’ Annie told her as she dug around inside her handbag for her purse. ‘They’re talking about putting pins in. He’s having the operation now.’

  Megan blew out a sigh of relief. ‘OK. Well, at least broken bones can be mended even at his age. That’s sort of good news.’

  ‘You should see him though. He’s going to be black and blue from all the bruising.’ Annie’s hand faltered on its search. ‘Possible small stroke as well,’ she added, blinking back yet more tears.

  ‘Oh no. Poor Arthur,’ said Megan after a pause. ‘When will they know? Hang on a minute.’ Her voice became muffled but her words were still clear. ‘I’m on the phone! I will get you a drink in a minute! Stop drawing on your little sister!’

  During the ensuing family mayhem on the other end of the line, Annie finally located her purse and realised that she had barely enough money for a bus fare home, let alone a taxi. As she had arrived in the ambulance with Arthur, the car was stuck back at Willow Tree Hall. There was a cash machine nearby but her credit card was maxed out and she had no money in her main bank account either. It had all been used up in recent months.

  ‘Sorry about that,’ said Megan, coming back onto the line. ‘Normal state of affairs here, whatever normal counts as these days.’ Megan was mother to three children under the age of six with the busy life to match. But she always found time for Annie. ‘So what happens now? How quickly can he come home?’

  ‘After his operation, you mean? I’m not sure,’ said Annie, frowning. ‘His eldest grandson’s just arrived and has taken over.’

  ‘Blimey! The famous Samuel! I never got to meet him. What’s he like?’

  Hot, was Annie’s first unwelcome thought.

  ‘Bossy,’ she said aloud, before biting her lip. ‘You don’t think he’ll find out, do you? About me, I mean.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Megan told her. ‘Why would he? From what I’ve heard, he never sticks around for long and then, once Arthur’s home, we can carry on as before.’

  Megan was a part-time maid at Willow Tree Hall twice a week and Annie had got the job as housekeeper on her recommendation. They had been best friends throughout their childhood, along with another local girl Eleanor. The three of them had remained close over the years, despite only Megan remaining in the village after they had finished school. Eleanor had moved to London after college but she and Annie had returned to Cranley to meet up a couple of times a year and they were always texting each other.

  ‘Wait a minute.’ Megan’s voice trailed off.

  ‘What’s up?’

  ‘It’s gone quiet. That’s never a good sign.’ Megan sighed. ‘They were so lovely as babies. Absolute angels.’

  ‘What happened?’ asked Annie, fully aware of her friend’s daily battles with being a good parent.

  ‘They became toddlers, unfortunately. I’d better go. Keep me posted.’

  ‘I’ll text you later. Bye.’ Annie hung up before allowing herself a shiver. She was feeling really cold now and needed to get moving.

  ‘Excuse me, do you know where the nearest bus stop is?’ she asked an elderly couple who had just come through the exit doors.

  ‘No need,’ said Sam, suddenly appearing next to her. ‘I’ll drop you home.’

  That was the last thing she wanted. ‘It’s fine,’ she tried to tell him but he strode off towards the car park, obviously expecting her to follow him.

  Annie groaned under her breath as she trailed behind. She hadn’t anticipated much from Arthur’s absent grandson and he was definitely exceeding her low expectations. In the hour since they had met, she had caught him looking at her with disdain on quite a
few occasions.

  She frowned at his broad back. He was, she had to admit again, somewhat begrudgingly, good looking. If only grumpy and patronising men who didn’t look out for their grandfather were her type, she thought. But she knew her own type. Wild. Reckless. Nothing like rich, spoilt Sam who was scowling at her as he held open the passenger door of a very flash-looking sports car.

  ‘Thank you, er, Mr, er, Harris,’ she said, her voice trailing off in confusion.

  ‘You may call me Sam,’ he told her before walking around to the driver’s side.

  He was so pompous, she thought, settling inside. But at least it would be warm in the car and a free ride home. The overnight rain and clouds had all disappeared, leaving behind a clear evening. The weather forecasters were already predicting a bitterly cold winter in the forthcoming months. Although perhaps not as icy as the atmosphere inside the beautifully expensive car she found herself in. With any conversation non-existent, the only sound was of her shifting awkwardly in the leather seat.

  She half-expected Sam to say something when they eventually drove through the outskirts of Cranley but he remained silent.

  They turned a corner and began to drive down the main street. Cranley was so small a place that it would be easy to miss on a map. It wasn’t even a village, merely a tiny hamlet in the middle of the green English countryside. The high street had a couple of shops on one side and the small infants’ school on the other. A modest supermarket was the place to pick up a pint of milk and the latest gossip.

  Cranley also had just enough room for the village green, a triangle of grass on which the last cricket match of the season had just been played the previous weekend. On one side of the green, next to the dilapidated cricket hut, was the village’s only pub. On the opposite side was the stone-clad church which would just about hold the village’s sixty residents, if you all squeezed in very tightly.

  Once past the village green, Annie looked out of the window as they drove past the long row of terraced cottages that lined Yew Tree Lane. All the houses in Cranley were built in the same warm, sandy-coloured brick as Willow Tree Hall. They also had sash windows and were identical in their quaint prettiness. Only the brightly coloured front doors distinguished one cottage from the next.