Country Rivals

by Zara Stoneley

  Sam clapped her hands, then swung her daughter down from the saddle. ‘We can all go and see her, and watch the filming with her.’

  ‘Gran watches the filming?’

  Sam giggled. ‘She’s been watching all of it. I’ve seen her peeking from upstairs. Doesn’t miss a thing, does she? Bless. Come on, babe, we’ll tell her you’re on your way, Tab.’

  * * *

  ‘You don’t fancy going out for a drink do you?’

  ‘What, with you?’

  ‘Yes, with me.’ Jamie had been working up to asking Tab out for a drink for over a week. When she wasn’t mucking out stables, Xander’s dog seemed to be a permanent fixture under her arm, and she was always obediently following the dog’s master with a look of hero-worship on her face, but it didn’t stop him fancying her. And she hadn’t looked cross at Sam’s innuendos, which had to be a promising sign.

  He wasn’t quite sure why, he’d never been out with a girl who smelled of horses, and had every inch of her body toned from hours of riding them, and a dry sense of humour had never really appealed. But Tab had it all, and he definitely fancied the pants off her.

  She was model-tall, but unlike any model he’d ever seen. Her long black hair framed her pale face like curtains, with a bang fringe that came down to her eyebrows, and the gimlet stare had been trained on him more times than he dared to mention. Humdrum bored her, but Xander and the filming excited her, and she’d lit up from inside when they’d ask her to ride in the scene that had ended so disastrously.

  At that moment, as she’d ridden back, standing high in the stirrups and whooping as she waved her stick, Jamie had wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anybody. Every feeling he’d had up until then suddenly faded into nothing more than schoolboy lust. He felt like he was teetering on the edge of living, that Tab could take him somewhere he’d only dreamt of. He wanted to kiss her, taste her, and touch her. He wanted to shag her. And he was rather shocked by the realisation. He’d tossed and turned for several nights before he’d decided he really had to do something about it, because the threat of being turned down couldn’t be any worse than never knowing. He hoped.

  ‘As in a drink, or a date?’ She looked suspicious.

  ‘Whatever.’ He shrugged. ‘We could talk about what Lady Elizabeth wants us to do.’

  ‘We could do that here.’

  ‘You’re not going to make this easy, are you?’

  ‘Nope.’ She grinned. ‘My dad said if a guy can get a girl into bed before he’s been made to suffer then she’s a slag, a model, a groupie, or a sex addict.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘One of the few things he’s ever said that stuck in my mind. I think he was high on something at the time, and anyway he’s a bit past it, old fashioned and jaded.’

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘So where are you taking me?’

  ‘Really? Wow, well if you want to.’

  ‘I’d hurry up and say before I change my mind.’

  ‘I wasn’t actually suggesting we sleep together.’

  ‘You’re losing points here.’ She saw the look on his face and grinned. ‘I’m teasing, but you had actually thought about it, hadn’t you? I can see it in your eyes.’ She leant forward. ‘Smell it.’

  ‘You’re scaring me.’

  ‘Stop being a wuss. If you can handle Pandora you can cope with me.’

  ‘Believe me, nobody can handle Pandora.’

  ‘I think,’ she slipped her hand through his arm, ‘you can tell me all about the hold she has over you and Xander. I reckon I could learn some useful tricks from that woman.’

  ‘Don’t you dare try and learn anything from Pandora. I did actually quite like her at first. Well not really like, but I thought she was okay. She got me this job. It was her,’ he leant in conspiratorially and Tab shivered as his warm breath bathed her neck, ‘who suggested I come out and take photos of Tipping House.’

  ‘Wow, was it? I thought Seb picked it.’

  ‘He thinks I found it, and I did in a way, and I came to check it out. But, it was Pandora who made sure I came. I’d kind of convinced myself it was all my doing, but the more I think about it the more it kind of hits me that she steered me into choosing it.’

  ‘So you’re saying coming here, actually to Tippermere, was her idea all along?’

  ‘She saw the photos in the paper, after the fire and thought it had potential.’

  ‘You know what? I think we do need to go and chat to Lady E before we go for that drink.’

  Jamie groaned. ‘Me and my big mouth. Can’t it wait?’

  ‘No, we’ll forget, and anyway.’ She turned her head so that her black gaze met his head on. They were practically nose to nose and he suddenly felt like it didn’t matter what he had to do to get there, they were going out. ‘A big mouth can be very useful sometimes.’

  Chapter 17

  Sam stood in the archway that led through to the stable yard and couldn’t help but smile. Moving to the country had been amazing. When Dave, her husband, had first mentioned a move to Cheshire she’d been horrified. Her family were in the South, the best clubs were, the best designers, everything. The north contributed rain and some pretty scenery in the Lake District. And two high-profile football clubs.

  She couldn’t say no, could she? No way would Davey pass up on the transfer of a lifetime, to play in goal for one of his dream clubs. If she’d said no then she’d be stuck where she was, and he’d be living away from home for the most part. She’d seen what that had done to some of the other girls. They might have looked happy enough, spending their husband’s money and partying, but she knew all about the gnawing doubts that hit during those long nights home-alone. The desperate need to make it perfect for when he got home, so he’d always think it was worth coming back. The hours at the gym to ensure that the perfect body would be the memory he left with, before the groupies sidled up in nightclubs and bars.

  That kind of life wasn’t for her; she simply wanted to be with her Davey. It wasn’t exactly the lifestyle she’d bought into – their first date had been a pint followed by a kebab, and then a bus ride home – but the day he’d rushed in, swept her off her feet, and told her their time had come she’d known that although everything on the outside was about to change, the stuff on the inside, the stuff that really mattered, had to stay the same. They were Sam and Davey, wherever they were, however much money they had to spend.

  She loved her husband and she’d fallen for him long before the big clubs had talent-spotted him. They’d married in secret in the days when his agent had told him to concentrate on his career and not get tied down, which Sam translated as ‘stay single, I don’t want anybody else influencing your decisions’. Then they’d renewed their vows in public, in a ceremony that had included all the bling Sam loved.

  Moving to Kitterly Heath had been the cherry on the cake for Sam. She had a glamorous house, the most perfect designer shops to wander round, the king of Botox on her doorstep, and a hairstylist who understood that the day a newspaper reporter managed to catch her having a bad-hair day would be the day she’d fall out of favour.

  And she’d now got her gorgeous daughter and the best friends she could imagine. Sam was as down to earth as they came, and in Lottie she’d met somebody just as warm-hearted and generous, if a little more scatty and less appearance-aware. She had her own beautiful home and Tippermere was just a few minutes away.

  The fact that Lady Elizabeth was a real lady was amazing, and the lovely Tipping House was awesome. And now it was the setting for a film. Which was beyond exciting. It was like living in a fairy tale, a dream world – but better than anything she had ever imagined.

  If her friend Tracey had been here now she’d be blown away, but she’d never believed in dreams or bettering yourself. They’d been the best of friends until Trace had told her to dump Davey, told her he was a boring fart who loved his football more than her, and that you had to live in the moment. Go out with somebody who had a proper job, had
managed to buy a second-hand car and would treat you to cocktails and a curry on a Saturday night, Trace had said.

  Years on she’d tried to make it up with her friend, but Tracey, stuck with four kids and a boyfriend who spent his evenings out on the razz with his mates, had shut the door in her face. ‘Come to gloat, have you? Stuck up cow. Bet you think you’re too good for people like us now.’

  She’d not really thought about Trace for years, until the other day when she’d been watching Pandora and something had struck a chord, lifted a memory until it hovered just out of reach but wouldn’t go away. Pandora reminded her of Trace. She wanted to grab what was there and she didn’t care about loyalty or love, and Sam couldn’t shake the bad feeling off.

  ‘I’m going to show Worwy my new hair bobbles.’ Roxy tugged on her hand and brought Sam back to the present.

  ‘I bet he’ll be impressed with those, babe. We’ll have to get some for Rupert, won’t we?’

  ‘Woopert is a boy horse, Mummy. He doesn’t wear pink.’

  ‘How about we get him blue ones?’

  But the little girl had spotted Rory and was running across as fast as her chubby legs would take her. He swung her up in his arms and waved to Sam. He was a natural with kids, thought Sam as she headed over to the tack room, where she knew she’d find her friend. If Lottie would join the baby club life would be pretty much perfect.

  ‘Everything okay, babe?’

  Lottie was throwing horse nuts into buckets so hard they were bouncing. She stopped and dropped the scoop into a bucket.

  ‘Not really.’ She sighed. ‘You know that stuff in the newspapers when that reporter guy you knew was here?’

  ‘You mean them brides, hun?’ Lottie nodded. ‘They wanted their money back, didn’t they?’

  ‘They did. They still do.’ She looked up at Sam and her normally cheerful face was glum. ‘They’re threatening to take us to court now. They’ve even written to the solicitor and I can’t even prove we’ll be ready to re-open in time for their weddings.’

  ‘Maybe you should just pay them back, then? Save all the hassle.’

  ‘We’re broke. We just haven’t got the ready cash, Sam, and they want all these other costs for emotional distress and crap like that as well,’ she paused, ‘and interest on top. The solicitor has suggested we offer to pay it back in instalments, but then we’ll have no spare money at all, and no bookings at all for when we re-open. If we ever do.’

  ‘Aww don’t be so down, babe, course you will.’ She wrapped her arms round Lottie. ‘What does Rory think? He’ll help you sort it all out.’

  ‘I really don’t know, Sam. He’s getting fed up of all the hassle, and of me too, I think.’ She pulled away, picked up a handful of carrots and started chopping them with what Sam thought was unnecessary force.

  ‘Of course he’s not fed up of—’

  ‘He just wants to be normal. He said maybe we should sell part of the estate. He didn’t even want to talk about it.’

  ‘You wouldn’t would you, babe? Sell?’

  ‘You’ve no idea how broke we are. We owe the feed merchants a fortune now Rory hasn’t got a sponsor, and the money from the film just isn’t enough. Have you any idea how much it costs just to shoe these horses?’

  Sam shook her head, deciding it was better to stay quiet and just listen.

  ‘David, Rory’s sponsor covered all those costs, and I think he feels guilty about that. But, to be honest, all the developers want the lot, including the house. Nobody just wants the fields, so I don’t know how we can just sell part of it. And we need all the grazing land anyway.’

  ‘Something will come up. You’ll think of something, you always do.’ Sam decided that the last thing she should do was mention her concerns about Pandora. Those were best kept to herself right now. Cheering Lottie up had to be the main priority. She looked totally out of sorts.

  ‘Guess what Roxy called your Rory? She said he was her other daddy yesterday.’ She giggled. ‘Isn’t she a gem? But he is gorge. If she says that out in public they’ll think she’s from a two-daddy family, won’t they? And I’m just the nanny.’

  ‘Nobody would think you were a nanny.’ Rory appeared in the doorway, Roxy on his shoulders squealing. ‘Well, nobody normal. Come to ogle the stars again, Sam?’

  ‘More like ogle you, babe.’ She kissed him affectionately on the cheek and gave him a squeeze. ‘I was just saying to Lottie that you’d make a fab dad.’

  ‘Were you?’ Lottie looked up from her carrot-slicing duties.

  ‘Another little playmate for Roxy, you’d love that wouldn’t you, babe? It’d be like a little brother or sister.’

  ‘We’re going to fill the place one day, aren’t we, darling?’ Rory bounced on the spot and Roxy giggled. ‘Put those child-bearing hips to good use.’

  ‘Cheeky bugger, maybe one day.’ She reached for another carrot. ‘Roxy could babysit for us.’

  ‘Oh you don’t want to wait that long, babe. Think about your eggs going stale. My gyno said there’s no time like the present, so me and Davey are going for it. Never stops practising when he’s here.’ She had a dreamy look on her face. ‘He can go on for hours.’

  ‘Sam!’ Lottie looked from Sam to Roxy.

  ‘Mummy is always playing with Daddy.’ The little girl had an earnest look on her face. ‘They play kiss chase. Come on Worwy, I want to go wide Woopert.’

  ‘Down you go, then.’ He lifted her effortlessly down and grabbed the small riding hat from a shelf just inside the tack-room, then jammed it on her head. ‘Let’s go widing and Mummy can find out why Auntie Lottie doesn’t want babies, or’ he gave a wry smile, ‘if it’s just me she doesn’t want them with.’

  Sam watched them go and then turned to Lottie, who hadn’t cheered up at all. ‘Is everything okay, babe? You know, with you two, not just the house stuff?’

  Lottie shrugged. ‘Maybe I’m not the woman he thought I was. Come on,’ she dropped the knife, ‘I need some fresh air.’

  * * *

  It wasn’t that Rory was lazy, but he felt that horses should be fun and Roxy was far too young to be told what to do. As a child she had a naturally good posture in the saddle, perfect balance, and with her open mind was receptive to the pony’s reactions in a way that an adult seldom was. So at every opportunity he would put her up on the untacked pony and lead her about.

  He watched her run across the yard to the loosebox they kept Rupert in, laughing as she jumped up and down trying to undo the bolt. ‘Here you go.’ He grabbed Rupert’s head collar, the brightest one on the yard, from where it hung on the top stable door. Neither Rory nor Lottie knew that it was possible to get blingy, diamante-studded stable wear for ponies until Sam had scoured the internet. It was purple, it was shiny and it matched his stable rug, which unfortunately was now covered in stains and shavings.

  Two minutes later and Roxy was on the pony’s wide back as Rory led them out to the field.

  ‘Bless, chokes me up to see her, you know,’ Sam said. ‘I never thought I’d have kids with ponies. Come on, babe, let’s watch that Pandora for a bit. It’ll give you a change of scenery. You can see her from here, they’re filming in front of your house. I hope Lady Elizabeth doesn’t get cross, she told Tab she was going to throw a bucket of water over that Pandora if she went snooping around inside again.’

  ‘Better than shooting at her.’

  ‘She wouldn’t?’

  ‘She shot at Jamie when he first came.’

  ‘She’s a card isn’t she? She didn’t hurt him, though, did she? And he seems to like her. He’s always chatting to Tab, then off they go to talk to her Ladyship. Do you think he’s after her? Tab, I mean, not your gran.’ Sam giggled and linked her arm through Lottie’s. ‘Come on, we can get right up close where we can hear everything.’

  * * *

  ‘This feels naughty.’ Lottie settled down on the grass next to Sam and felt like she was truanting from school. It was a gorgeous sunny morning, the sun was
reaching out for Tipping House, wrapping it in a warm golden glow of a hug, and it was amazingly peaceful. She felt the air of gloom that had been hanging around her lift slightly. If only every film day could be like this.

  At the bottom of the sweep of stone steps, Pandora was having her make-up touched up and there was the soft buzz of people at work. She really hoped it wasn’t the calm before the storm.

  ‘Mind if I join you?’ She glanced up, straight into the by-now familiar dark stare. Xander.

  ‘Course we don’t, babe.’ Sam grinned and patted the patch of grass next to her. ‘Park your bum here, hun. You can explain the plot.’

  ‘I haven’t got a clue. I’m just the sidekick. All I know is I’ve got a day off.’

  ‘Aww you could never be just a sidekick.’

  The three of them sat in silence as Seb shouted for the cameras to roll. The first swallows of spring swooped low over the ground, circling gracefully and as some soared high until they were faint spots of black against the azure blue of the sky, others headed into the courtyard like an acrobatic display team, darting and diving as they celebrated their return.

  Lottie loved it when the swallows returned to Tippermere. It was confirmation of spring. As a little girl she’d competed with Billy to see who could spot the first one and she would scour the skies for days determined to win. As an adult she saw their return as an affirmation that anything was possible. If a small bird could be so resilient there was hope for her. There had to be a solution to their current problems and maybe Rory was right. Maybe amongst all the offers they had there was a solution, somebody who would just buy some of the grounds, or hunting rights, fishing rights – there had to be some way around the problem apart from giving up completely.

  ‘Penny for them?’

  She shook her head, aware that Xander was watching her, and he didn’t press it. Just stretched out his long legs. ‘It’s beautiful here, you’re lucky.’

  ‘I know.’

  ‘Oh my God, just look at her.’ Sam’s stage whisper carried clearly across the air and Jamie, who was standing only yards from the shoot, waved his arms in alarm. ‘Sorry.’ She shuffled closer to Lottie so that she could hiss in her ear. ‘Isn’t she fab? She’s like a proper star.’