by Susan Lewis
Narrowing his eyes menacingly, he said, ‘In case you’d forgotten, I already have someone in my life.’
‘Who you’re mad about, I know, it’s just that you and Lucy seem … Well, quite suited, actually.’
Going to put his hands on her shoulders, he gazed affectionately into her eyes as he said, ‘What interests me far more than your befuddled imagination is when you’re going to start thinking about your own love life, because it’s time, you know.’
Feeling her heart contract, she said, ‘Even if that’s true, and I’m not saying it is, the right man doesn’t just turn up because you want him to – and even if he does, who’s to say he’s the right one anyway? I thought that once, and look how wrong I turned out to be.’
‘OK, but if I said Jean-Marc’s been asking about you …’
‘Don’t, Simon, please. There’s no way I’m going back to Paris …’
‘He could come here. As an artist he can work anywhere, and you know he’s always been mad about you.’
‘And I adore him too, but please, don’t let’s have this conversation. I’m happy doing what I’m doing for now, and the last thing I need is something or someone coming along who might disrupt or complicate things.’
‘Joe? What time is it?’ Lucy mumbled into her mobile phone.
‘You don’t need to know,’ he answered softly. ‘I just got Hanna’s text about the chess piece and I wanted to say well done.’
Flapping a hand round for the light and finding it, Lucy squinted at the time. ‘For heaven’s sake, it’s gone two o’clock!’ she protested. ‘Couldn’t you have waited till morning?’
‘I guess I could, but I felt pretty excited when I read the message… Fifty grand!’ He gave an admiring whistle. ‘Aymazing, as one of our children would say. How much of it do you get to keep?’
Wishing she’d brought some water to bed, she said, ‘I don’t know. Where have you been all evening?’
‘There was a match on at the club so I had to turn off my phone, then a few of us went for a couple of jars after and I forgot to put it on again.’
Taking a moment to register that, she said, ‘So where are you now?’
‘At Charlie’s, but wishing I was there. It’s OK to come at the weekend, I take it? Hanna’s dead keen for me to, and I’ve got to see this chess piece. You still have it, do you?’
‘Only until the funds clear and someone comes to collect it.’
‘So who is he?’
‘A dealer. Joe, I really need to get some sleep.’
‘Sure, sure. I just wanted to congratulate you, that’s all. And Sarah, obviously.’
‘Thanks. Now, if you don’t mind …’
‘It’s OK, I’m gone. Love you, Mrs Winters, sweet dreams.’
After dropping the phone back on the nightstand and turning out the light, Lucy lay with her eyes closed wishing he hadn’t called her that, since the proprietary attitude was grating. Even more annoying was the fact that he’d woken her, particularly when she didn’t want to start connecting with her earlier misgivings at this hour of the night. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in fate, or coincidence, or whatever anyone wanted to call it, nor was she at all inclined to believe in one of the cashier’s rubbish about rooks being bad luck, but at some point during the evening a peculiar feeling had come over her that something wasn’t quite right about the sale of the chess piece. She couldn’t be sure exactly what was unsettling her, whether it was the timing, or the white-haired man, or the piece itself, she only knew that something about it wasn’t feeling right.
Having already checked who Philippa had been bidding for, she knew that it was a dealer in Southampton who, when Googled, appeared perfectly genuine. As did Mr Lionel Everett of Lincolnshire. So why were her instincts so uneasy about it all? Or perhaps uneasy wasn’t the right word, she might have meant intrigued, because she wasn’t sensing anything underhand, or criminal, exactly, more something … Well, it had to be said … Something benevolent to get her off to a flying start, and if she was right about that then there were only two people in the world who’d want to do something so crazily generous, and who’d also have the money to do it.
So was that why her parents had been keeping such a low profile all week, trying to be careful not to appear too interested in the auction, while actually managing to appear not interested enough?
It was certainly one explanation, and was in fact the only one she could come up with, so rather than keep going over and over her suspicions she tried to push them from her mind and think of something else. It wasn’t easy when Maureen’s unexpected visit came swooping in from the wings, worrying her all over again. Had the woman been bested by the withdrawal of the painting, or had she managed to put one over on them with the engravings? Plus there were the concerns Lucy now had over how to deal with the trade and local press, who’d already been in touch about the sale of the chess piece. Since Lionel Everett had requested anonymity for his collector, adding an air of mystery to the story, it could mean some great publicity was heading their way. Which would be extremely welcome, if only this damned ring business would go away.
Probably because of the hour, and because she’d drunk too much wine, her thoughts soon became entangled in a bizarrely bad dream where Joe was trying to steal the chess piece, with Michael and Simon helping him, and Sarah shouting across a wide divide. Except it wasn’t Sarah, it was her mother with her arms out begging her to come, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t move.
By the time she woke up in the morning she felt more tired than she had before going to sleep. However, when her mobile rang and she saw it was Ben, her tensions quickly melted away as she clicked on the line to hear his voice for the first time in almost a week.
* * *
‘Mum, you’ll never guess what,’ Hanna cried, bursting into the office with a look of outrage on her face and a stack of three box files in her arms. ‘They’re only talking about cancelling the fete if this rain keeps up. They can’t do that, can they? We’ve been practising our catwalk stuff for ages, and it would be really mean if they end up saying we can’t do it.’
‘I think it’s only the outdoor events that are under threat,’ Lucy told her, barely glancing up from her computer screen. Now wasn’t the time to tell Hanna that flood warnings were being issued on radio and TV. In truth, she was barely taking it in herself. ‘You can do your show in the village hall,’ she thought to add.
Hanna was still looking mutinous. ‘Yeah well, we’d better, is all I can say. Anyway, where do you want these?’
‘What are they?’
‘No idea. One of the cleaners piled them on to me to bring over. She found them at the back of a shelf, she said, and they don’t have a lot number so she didn’t know what to do with them.’
Glancing around for an available space, Lucy was startled to see how cramped they’d become in only the last half an hour, with lots constantly being carted over from the barn ready to be packed up and shipped to their new addresses. The temporary team was back again this morning, printing out labels, stacking parcels and entering details into the computers, while Jessica and her assistant were at the cashier stations, preparing to hand over to the accountant when he came in later.
‘OK, put them on the floor next to Sarah’s desk,’ she said. ‘I’ll take a look when I have a minute.’ She was on the point of returning to her emails when a sudden surge of euphoria made her eyes start to shine. ‘The figures are looking really good,’ she confided in a whisper as Hanna plonked the boxes down. ‘The turnover’s massive, mainly thanks to the chess piece, but we didn’t do badly with everything else.’
‘That’s brilliant,’ Hanna whispered back. ‘So is it looking like we really will be able to go and have a holiday with Ben, like Dad said?’
Lucy frowned. ‘When did Dad say that?’ she asked, instantly irked by the way Joe seemed to be viewing Cromstone’s profits as hers – or even his. Not that she didn’t want to see Ben, she’d have l
iked that more than anything, but apart from still not being able to afford it, there was simply no way she could take any time off in the foreseeable future.
‘This morning when he rang,’ Hanna answered, taking out her mobile to see who was texting her. ‘He’s so chuffed about how well you’ve done. You should have heard him. He reckons we could probably all fly first class …’
‘Hang on, hang on,’ Lucy interrupted. ‘To begin with …’
‘Lucy!’ Jessica called from her cashier point. ‘That was the bank on the line, the funds have cleared.’
Lucy’s heart tripped with excitement. ‘You mean for the chess piece?’
‘Absolutely. It’s all there in the company account.’
As everyone cheered and clapped, Hanna cried, ‘Yay! We’re rich, we’re rich! I have to text Ben to let him know we’re coming.’
‘No!’ Lucy said sharply. ‘Most of that money’s Sarah’s, and whatever we’ve made isn’t for us to spend …’
‘Oh Mu-um! Lighten up, will you? We never go on holiday, and it would be so cool to see Ben, wouldn’t it?’
Becoming more irritable by the second, Lucy said, ‘I can’t talk about this now. I’m up to my eyes sorting out where everything has to go, and if you’d care to help you could always …’
‘Sorry, got a rehearsal,’ Hanna interrupted, already backing away. ‘And you still haven’t paid me yet for all the work I did during the auction.’
‘If you need anything now take ten pounds from my purse, if you can find it.’
Moments after Hanna had dashed off into the teeming rain Sarah came bundling in through the door, with rivers running from her umbrella and down over her mac. ‘Thank God we’re at the top of the hill,’ she declared, poking her brolly into a stand and kicking off her wellies, ‘you should see the way it’s gushing down the high street. Someone said they might start evacuating the estate at the bottom if it keeps up any … Oh blimey, what’s this?’ she grunted, tripping over the boxes Hanna had dumped next to her desk.
‘Sorry, sorry,’ Lucy apologised. ‘My fault. We’re running out of space … I’ve no idea what’s in them. If you could take a look we can decide what to do with them.’
Stooping to pick up the papers that had spilled from the top box, Sarah’s eyebrows rose. ‘Well, I do believe we’ve located the boxes your mother was looking for,’ she said, holding up Daphne and Brian’s birth certificates.
‘Mm?’ Lucy said distractedly. Then, registering, she looked up at Sarah. So her parents had come back for family papers. With a laugh of profound relief, she said, ‘Put them by the door, I’ll take them into the house when I go.’
‘Why don’t I pop them over now to make some room?’ Sarah offered. ‘Fancy a coffee while I’m there?’
‘Yes please,’ a chorus sang out from around the office.
Grinning, Lucy said, ‘That’ll make ten if you include the guys in the barn.’
‘I always knew I’d missed my vocation,’ Sarah quipped, and stuffing her feet back into the wellies and covering the boxes with a bin bag, she drew her brolly like a sword and surged back into the driving stair rods.
By the time she came back Michael had arrived with a selection of buns and cakes he’d picked up on the way through, making himself doubly welcome.
‘The funds for the chess piece have cleared,’ Lucy declared, throwing him a towel.
‘Great news,’ he replied, rubbing his hair while the others started to delve into his bakery boxes. ‘Where’s the piece now?’
‘Still in the safe. I had an email from Mr Everett just now, letting me know that he’s arranging for it to be couriered to him in Lincoln.’ After checking that the others had returned to their desks, she kept her voice low as she said, ‘I know we don’t have any reason to be suspicious, but I still can’t help thinking there’s something we’re not seeing …’
‘Honestly, you’re as bad as Simon,’ Sarah broke in. ‘He was even online researching antiquated chess pieces when I left this morning. Have you seen him yet today?’ she asked Michael.
‘I just called in.’ He grinned. ‘And I’m very sorry to tell you, ladies, but it looks as though the morris dancing’s off tomorrow – not only because of the weather, but Teddy Best and his brother, who’s also in the troupe, have had to zoom up to Cheshire where their ageing father’s had a fall.’
Sarah’s eyes narrowed. ‘You didn’t go up there and give him a push, did you?’ she asked.
Laughing, he said, ‘It’s true we were prepared to go to many lengths, but I can’t own up to that one. Anyway, we’re not off the hook yet, because they’re insisting we join them for the mop next month.’
Sarah gave a cheer. ‘Perfect. Full-on public humiliation, because they come from all over for the mops. Mops are fairs,’ she told Lucy, ‘but of course you already know that. The great thing about the ones at Chipping Sodbury is that they’re seriously huge.’
As Lucy and Michael exchanged glances, Sarah delved into one of the goody boxes and pounced on a flapjack. ‘Diet starts next week,’ she declared, biting into it.
‘Like you need to,’ Lucy commented, selecting a custard tart for herself.
‘Oh, Michael,’ Sarah said, swallowing quickly, ‘Simon mentioned you had a call last night … Is everything OK with the boys?’
‘They’re great,’ he assured her. ‘Back in Italy earlier than expected, because I’m afraid their mother managed to fall out with her hosts. This is good news for me, as I stand a much better chance now of getting them here for the last week of the holidays.’ He glanced at his watch. ‘Anyway, I’m afraid I can’t stay. I just dropped in to let you know that the letters to Eric Beadle’s solicitor and others have all gone out now. My secretary will email copies later today. Basically, we’re pointing out that Cromstone Auctions merely acts as a clearing house for objects people wish to dispose of, and though you do your best to facilitate valuations et cetera, your terms and conditions state very clearly that you cannot be held responsible for what happens to the object after it has left you.’
‘Good for you!’ Sarah applauded.
‘Do you think that’ll make them go away?’ Lucy asked cautiously.
‘It might, since it’ll be a costly business to pursue things much further.’
‘It has to go away,’ Sarah insisted. ‘I mean I’m sorry for those who’ve missed out on the true value of whatever they gave us, but they have to take some of the responsibility themselves – and after we’ve got off to such a great start, there would be no justice in the world if it all fell apart now.’
‘Hear, hear,’ Michael agreed, glancing at his watch. ‘Now, I’m off. If there are any deliveries for my neck of the woods that are ready to go I’ll be happy to take them.’
‘You angel,’ Sarah cried, jumping to it. ‘John is so rushed off his feet it’s a miracle he’s still standing, and the removal company we use is just as snowed under. Come on, umbrellas at the ready, let’s go and load you up.’
‘Before you disappear,’ Lucy said to Michael, ‘if you’re actually looking for a part-time job …’
Treating her to a playful wink he launched off into the rain with Sarah, leaving Lucy feeling ludicrous and embarrassed for having made such a stupid remark, simply because he’d dropped in a couple of times during the auction. Of course he wasn’t looking for a part-time job, and she couldn’t think now what had made her say that. Was it an attempt to be witty? If so, she should give it up, because it had just made her look foolish. Luckily she was too busy to dwell on it now, or she might have gone on cringing for the rest of the morning. As it was, she put him firmly out of her mind and returned to the mountain of work that needed to be conquered before the focused search, collection, registering and display of lots for the next auction came snowballing their way at the start of next week.
It was past seven o’clock that evening by the time Lucy ran through the torrential rain back to the farmhouse, her head still spinning with all they’d achieved an
d all that remained to be done. Having had enough of the office since the others had left a couple of hours ago, she was carrying a stack of work to go over in the comfort of the sitting room once she’d eaten and found out where Hanna was.
‘I’m where I said in my text,’ Hanna told her when she answered her mobile.
‘And that would be?’
‘At Juliette’s, and I’m staying the night so we can go to Pippa’s early in the morning to do some Wii Fit before we get ready for our fashion show.’
‘Oh, so it’s still happening.’
‘If you’d read my text you’d know it’s in the village hall and we’re on at twelve, so don’t be late. I also texted to say that Juliette’s mum is taking us for a Chinese, so if you want to come we’re leaving in about five minutes.’
Having already turned down Sarah and Simon’s offer of dinner with some old friends of theirs at a pub near Stroud, Lucy said, ‘There’s still a lot to do here, so you go ahead and have a good time. Have you heard from Dad?’
‘Ye-es, and I expect you have too if you check your phone. His train gets in about eleven tomorrow, he said, so he probably wants you to pick him up. That means he’ll be here in time for the fashion show, which is brill. Anyway, have to go, Juliette’s mum’s already gone to get the car.’
‘Hang on, hang on, any texts from Granny or Ben?’
‘One from Ben and none from Granny – and don’t worry, I haven’t said anything to Ben about holidays. He’s told you about his girlfriend, has he?’
With a strange feeling of nervousness, Lucy said, ‘No, which girlfriend?’
‘I forget her name, but he’ll tell you. Right, I’m gone, see you tomorrow.’
‘Love you,’ Lucy said, but she was already talking to air.
After clicking off she pressed in her own mobile number, and hearing a muffled ringing not too far away she finally tracked the phone down to behind the boxes Sarah had brought over earlier in the day. Remembering what was in them, she tapped in a quick message to her mother letting her know that they’d been found. Will bring with me on Sunday she finished. Coming there because seems only way I can get to speak to you. Love to you and Dad, must check our chess sets in case we have some hidden treasures! Xxxx
