A House to Mend a Broken Heart

by Sherlock, Alison

  Annie was trying to work out what Alex had been talking about. Did Sam really think she was pretty?

  She was still reeling from this when they got to the garage, but thankfully hid her jitters by opening up some of the crates that were housing the treasures she had packed away. She held the box lids up to her chest as some sort of protective shield.

  ‘These are fabulous,’ Alex murmured, bringing out a pair of silver candlesticks that were chunky but also ornate. ‘Are they Georgian?’

  ‘I think so,’ she replied slowly. She reached into the box and brought out some small bottles in various shades of delicate pink.

  ‘Gorgeous,’ said Alex, taking one of them from her. ‘Do you know what they are?’

  ‘Scent bottles,’ replied Annie. ‘The late Countess collected them.’

  ‘Very good,’ he told her, nodding in agreement. ‘They’ll go beautifully in the master bedroom on a little display case, out of harm’s way.’

  Annie was shocked. ‘Really?’ she stammered, before checking herself.

  ‘What did you think I was going to do?’ he said, laughing. ‘Smash them and make them into mosaic tiles? And these?’ He jiggled one of the candlesticks at her. ‘Did you think I was going to have them melted down and made into door handles?’

  Annie burst into a bright red flush as she realised that was exactly what she had been thinking.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Alex told her, in a softer tone. ‘I’m not a complete philistine. Yes, there will be some modern furniture and fittings. After all, we are living in the twenty-first century. But a house like this also needs its history. Don’t you agree?’

  Annie nodded, still blushing.

  ‘I’ve already sent some of the chaise lounges and armchairs in the drawing room to be reupholstered,’ he carried on. ‘You see? We keep that beautiful wood and the shape but change the material from those drab colours. A mix of old and new.’

  Annie realised that she really had misjudged him. Perhaps the new decoration would work after all.

  ‘I’m going to need you to be my antique information service over the next few weeks,’ Alex told her. ‘The last thing I want to do is put some beautiful bowl in the middle of the drawing room and it turns out to be one of Arthur’s ancestor’s pisspots.’

  Annie managed to turn her unexpected snort of laughter into a cough. But she hadn’t fooled Alex, whose eyes gleamed at her.

  ‘By the way,’ he told her. ‘You’re next on the transformation list, housekeeper.’

  Annie gave him a shy smile and scuttled away, hoping he was talking about the staff quarters and not her.

  But she had a horrible feeling he might have been referring to them both.

  *

  ‘So what do you think?’ asked Alex down the phone line.

  ‘It sounds great,’ said Sam, staring out of the hotel window. He had trouble remembering where he was until he saw the Pacific Ocean in the far distance. Los Angeles. That was where he was.

  ‘Did you even listen to what I was telling you?’ nagged Alex.

  ‘No.’ Sam sighed. ‘Look, I’m jet-lagged and fed up but I trust your judgement about wallpaper and the other stuff, OK?’

  ‘You know what your problem is?’ said Alex.

  ‘No, but you’re going to go ahead and tell me anyway.’ Sam leant against the window. The heat outside had warmed up the glass even at thirty stories high. It didn’t even feel like Christmas was just around the corner.

  ‘I think you’re homesick.’

  ‘I can hardly remember the last time I slept there.’ Sam thought about the last time he had been in his flat in London. He had been there for about an hour to pick up the post and different clothes. It was more a storage base than anything else these days.

  ‘I’m talking about Willow Tree Hall, dumbass.’

  ‘Oh.’ As he stared outside, he realised his friend was right. He was homesick for Willow Tree Hall and had felt it more keenly on this trip than ever before.

  ‘Come on,’ said Alex. ‘Admit it. You’re starting to enjoy yourself in the countryside.’

  ‘So what if I am?’

  ‘Aha! I knew it!’ Alex sounded triumphant. ‘By the way, does our sweet housekeeper have anything to do with it?’

  ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Sam, quickly turning away from the view to face his hotel bedroom. Yet another bland room in a different city.

  He thought back to two days previously when he had surprised Annie with coffee machine.

  ‘I can’t cope with instant anymore,’ he had told her.

  ‘You’re such a city boy,’ she had replied with a soft smile.

  But he wasn’t so sure these days. He missed the frost on the ground. Air that was so fresh and cold that it instantly woke you up. He missed chatting in front of cosy fires. He allowed himself a sigh, trying not to admit to himself what the problem was. And yet he knew it was Annie.

  He found he couldn’t stop thinking about when he had caught her heading out of the yet-to-be gutted guest bathroom back along to her own bedroom. This wasn’t a new occurrence. But finding her wrapped only in a towel was. Even now, thousands of miles away, the thought unsettled him.

  ‘I forgot my dressing gown,’ she told him with an embarrassed smile, before quickly shutting the bedroom door.

  He stared across the hotel room, thinking about the creamy bare white shoulders. The pale skin at the back of her neck where her long hair had been swept up out of the way.

  He dismissed the thought and looked at the pile of papers scattered across the bed. Something was going to have to give. He couldn’t carry on like this.

  Chapter 25

  Annie held up the stack of Christmas cards that she had brought with her to the nursing home.

  ‘I’m not leaving until you’ve signed every single one of them,’ she said, placing a pen onto the table.

  Arthur sighed and sat back in his chair. ‘Are you trying to set my recovery back a few weeks? You know, I’m supposed to be in a stress-free environment.’

  ‘Just get signing,’ she told him, smiling. ‘I’ll do the envelopes, if you want.’

  Arthur perked up at this and opened up the first card.

  He always sent a Christmas card to every tenant’s home and this year would be not any different even if he was still in the nursing home. But he had already recovered well enough to replace the crutch with a walking stick.

  ‘You know the leg actually hurts less than it did before I broke it,’ he said, with a smile.

  ‘So you’re telling me that it was a good thing that you broke your leg?’ asked Annie. She would have thought that the whole experience would have been one of the worst times in his life.

  ‘I think it’s made me see things differently,’ said Arthur, twiddling the pen in thought. ‘I’d been so blind to the state of our home. I just couldn’t see how it was ever going to improve so I tried to block it out of my mind.’

  ‘And it’s brought you and Sam closer,’ Annie told him.

  Arthur smiled. ‘He rang me yesterday. He’s got tickets for a football match at the Emirates stadium the day after Boxing Day. I haven’t seen Arsenal play for years!’

  ‘That’s great,’ said Annie, feeling a little upset that Sam hadn’t rung her himself since he had left the country. She was surprised by how much she missed him when he wasn’t around. Not that she had any spare time to be sitting around thinking about Sam Harris, she reminded herself.

  There was so much work going on inside the Hall that it was hard not to trip over a tradesman every few steps now that Alex’s team of decorators were hard at work as well. Apparently they were all on double or even triple pay to get the basics done and ready for Christmas. It must have been costing Sam nearly all of his hard-earned fortune, but he didn’t seem to care about the money aspect. Which was good because as well as the professionals installing everything, the furniture and fittings were all good quality as well.

  ‘Your walk-in shower
arrived this morning before I left,’ she said.

  ‘What luxury! I did struggle with that old bath,’ said Arthur. ‘I thought I’d have to give up on all that when I left here.’

  Annie thought he looked a little downcast. ‘I would have thought you’d be pleased to finally get home,’ she told him in a pointed tone.

  ‘Of course,’ said Arthur a little too quickly. ‘It’s just been nice to have the company, that’s all.’ He glanced around the main lounge area that they were sitting in. Most of the men were either playing a game or chatting in their chairs.

  ‘I’m sure the companionship has been nice,’ Annie told him. ‘Maybe you could meet up with some of them after you leave? Or even invite them over to the Hall for a game of snooker.’

  Arthur brightened up. ‘That’s an idea,’ he said. ‘Especially as Sam wants to take on more estate stuff.’

  ‘He does?’ Annie was surprised. She had been bracing herself for when Arthur was home and Sam wouldn’t be about so often. She had been dreading that everything would fall onto her and that it would all go wrong as per usual.

  ‘Oh yes,’ carried on Arthur. ‘I’ll have far more free time on my hands when he’s around.’

  Their eyes met for a second before she looked away. ‘Come on,’ she said, in a brisk and hopefully housekeeper-ish manner. ‘I’ve got to get those cards off today.’

  Arthur smiled to himself as he picked up the next card to sign.

  *

  By the end of the week, Willow Tree Hall was beginning to work properly for the first time in a long time. Thanks to the first of three new boilers being installed, there was heating and hot water in both Arthur’s and Rose’s bathrooms. The rewiring of the electrics in the east wing was almost complete. The decorators had nearly finished in the two bedrooms and the bathrooms were being installed as well.

  All the essentials of modern life could be found – if only on the upper floor for now.

  Annie had already taken a peek inside the brand new master bedroom. It was so elegant, in pale creams and taupe. Although the new orthopaedic bed had yet to arrive, Arthur’s old furniture had been newly polished and restored and everything was back in place.

  True to his word, Alex had used some of the original ornaments and pictures in the newly decorated bedroom. But somehow the antiques shone more, revealing their colours more readily. Including the scent bottles, she had noted with pleasure.

  She made a note to text Alex with what an amazing job he had done.

  Rose’s bedroom was almost finished, just waiting for the arrival of the many fitted wardrobes needed to house all of her clothes. But the pale pink walls were lovely, as was the thick cream carpet. The repainted fireplace and touches of decoration had just enough bling to suit Rose’s extravagant taste. Alex had done her proud. Rose would be delighted.

  As Annie went down the corridor, she glanced to the end of the west wing where Sam’s bedroom was. The electricians were working on the wiring in there. In a way, she was quite pleased they were there to stop her from going fully in and thinking about Sam in his bedroom.

  And his bed.

  She had a flashback to when he had been sick with the flu. Ever since that night, she had tried unsuccessfully to ban any thoughts of Sam’s toned torso lying there amongst the sheets. And the kiss. That sweet kiss.

  She just wished she could stop thinking about him.

  It didn’t help that Megan had obviously been gossiping to Eleanor about everything that was happening at the Hall. Annie had sent a text message to Eleanor that morning, trying to pin her down about her plans for Christmas.

  ‘I’m not sure yet,’ Eleanor had replied. ‘It’s the busiest party season of the year.’

  Eleanor worked on a glossy magazine which listed all the latest celebrity gossip.

  ‘Lucky you,’ Annie text back. ‘Sounds very glamorous.’

  ‘You’re the one living in a stately home,’ came the reply. ‘And snuggling up to an Earl all night.’

  ‘We didn’t snuggle,’ Annie quickly typed. ‘And he’s not an Earl yet.’

  ‘I want all the details when I get back for Christmas.’

  Annie sighed. She wasn’t sure she was up to an inquisition from both of her best friends. She didn’t even want to admit to herself yet how she felt about Sam.

  *

  Sam stepped into the large entrance hall at Willow Tree Hall and relished the peace. His plane had been delayed at JFK airport and he was so late that even the builders had left for the day.

  He breathed in the smell of fresh paint wafting down from the upstairs gallery before touring the ground floor, noting what had been achieved since he had last been there.

  The hall had now been plastered on two walls. The fireplace had been swept and looked ready to be used. There were brand new wall sockets which meant some of the rewiring must have occurred as well. He took a peek inside the drawing room which had been plastered, although all the furniture was still shrouded in sheets. He noted that the windows had now been replaced as well.

  The place felt warmer. Safer. Quieter.

  It was still a mess everywhere else, but it was definitely progress. And with only a fortnight to Christmas, any development was good.

  ‘Hello,’ said Annie, calling out from the top of the stairs. ‘I didn’t know you were coming back today.’

  He watched her come down the new staircase, feeling ridiculously pleased to see her.

  ‘I hoped to be back earlier,’ he told her. ‘But I got delayed. The place is really starting to come together.’

  She smiled as she headed across the newly polished floor to stand in front of him. For some reason the light was better in there than before and he slowly raised his head to see a huge chandelier hanging high above them.

  ‘Wow!’ he murmured. ‘That’s pretty impressive.’

  ‘Alex said we had to have a chandelier. Apparently it was very important,’ she said, with a wink.

  He felt dazzled standing in front of her, although she was only wearing black leggings and a long baggy red sweater. Each time he went away he forgot how beautiful she was. And now she seemed ever more so, lit by the chandelier above them.

  ‘I just hope we can afford it,’ he said, finding his voice was slightly croaky.

  He was still earning good money, mainly from Tommy King’s massive album sales, but the bills kept coming in thick and fast and he was still worried that they would never manage to do up the whole house.

  ‘But that’s not the most impressive thing,’ she added. ‘Where’s your mobile?’

  Puzzled, he drew it out of his pocket.

  She pointed to something on the screen, her fingers gently touching his. ‘Look,’ she said softly.

  He tried to understand what she was talking about but he could only see her elegant long fingers and wondered how it would be to hold them in his.

  ‘There,’ she told him. ‘The broadband engineer came today. We’ve only got 4 bloody G!’

  He blinked and stared at the screen. ‘Hurrah!’ he shouted, picking her up without thinking. ‘It’s a technology miracle!’ He twirled her round in glee before realising what he was doing. He stopped and slowly lowered her back onto the ground, staring down at her, still holding her in his arms. Then, before he could even register another coherent thought, he was pulling her towards him and kissing her hard. On lips that were so soft. With a body that had moulded into his so perfectly.

  For a moment he lost himself completely until, with a sudden start, Annie pulled away. Her green eyes were wide and she was breathless as she stared silently up at him.

  Then, before he could even speak, she quickly walked away out of sight.

  Sam closed his eyes and swore. He was an idiot. What on earth had he done? She probably thought he was taking advantage of her.

  Now she would never trust him. And worse, she obviously didn’t feel the same way about him.

  *

  In the kitchen, Annie sank onto a chair.

/>   Her shaking hands went up to touch her lips as she thought about Sam’s kiss. It had been so very long since anyone had ever actually kissed her with such urgency as he had just done. The way he had pulled her to him. The feel of his lips against hers. It had been so unexpected. So passionate. But how could they ever work together now? Because she really didn’t want to leave him or Willow Tree Hall.

  And now she wasn’t sure which of them she would have been sadder to say goodbye to.

  All evening her stomach remained tight with the tension knotted inside, but thanks to the size of the place, she managed to avoid Sam until, finally, he almost bumped into her on the landing as she headed for bed.

  ‘Goodnight,’ she muttered, keeping her head ducked down as if to move away to the guest bedroom.

  But he moved swiftly to block her path by stretching out his hand to palm the wall. ‘Anyone would think you were avoiding me,’ he said, gently.

  She refused to look into his face and kept her head down. ‘There’s so much to do,’ she muttered.

  She went to duck under his outstretched arm but he lowered it so she was still trapped.

  The silence stretched out until he reached out to lightly tip her chin so she had to look into his eyes.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he told her, with a sigh. ‘I was way out of line this afternoon. Look, I respect you and your role here. It will never happen again. Please forgive me.’

  It was hard to think straight when he was staring at her so intently. When his face was so close to hers. When he was still holding her chin with his fingers. But she could tell that he was speaking the truth. That he really was apologising.

  Unable to find her voice, she gave a little nod in reply, as if to say that it was OK.

  He sighed and relinquished his hold on her. ‘I’m obviously an idiot where women are concerned, in case you hadn’t realised.’

  His tone was different than she had ever heard him speak before. He sounded miserable and unsure of himself. That witch Cassandra had probably put the boot in.

  ‘I think you’re actually a lot better than you give yourself credit for,’ she told him.