Had he been so kind and considerate when they first dated? She couldn't remember. She did know he hadn't behaved like that during the last year. If she stayed, would it continue?
Duncan returned her text. 'Call me if you need anything. Hope to see you soon. Love Duncan. x'
Adam looked at her as though expecting to be told who the message was from. She said nothing.
That evening Adam took her for cocktails, then to the theatre. They got back late and Adam did no more than kiss her cheek before she went, alone, into the bedroom.
He brought her coffee before leaving for work. "Where will you go today? Kew Gardens or one of the parks might be pretty now, with all the spring bulbs out."
"Maybe."
He was right, but those places were no prettier than the drifts of primroses, crocus and violets around Jayne's cottage.
"Or the zoo?"
"Don't worry, Adam. I'm sure I can amuse myself until you get home."
"Of course you can. There's so much to do in London."
Lingering over breakfast had little appeal when whole-grain muesli and skimmed milk was the most exciting thing on offer and there was no one to talk to. They hadn't done much talking the previous day. Not about anything important. Nothing to help solve her problem at Prophet Margin or help her decide what to do with her life. The whole day had been false - she'd come to try to sort things out and Adam had acted as though there was nothing to discuss. If he really thought there was nothing wrong, then the two of them had drifted even further apart than she'd realised.
Leah looked around the shops. There were plenty of goods on offer, but nothing she needed or even wanted. Hundreds of people surrounded her in every direction yet she didn't recognise a single face. Entertainment and education opportunities were plentiful, but there was nothing that seemed like a good use of her time. Nothing that couldn't be left until tomorrow. Life was harder on the farm, but there had been a good reason for everything she'd done there. Animals and people had depended on her. In London no one would even notice if she weren't there.
Determined not to waste her time entirely, Leah rang Rachel. Maybe there was news Adam had been reluctant to pass on for fear of spoiling their lovely day yesterday.
Rachel suggested they meet for a coffee. "I could do with getting out the office for a while anyway."
They arranged to meet at an open-air cafe in the park nearest Prophet Margin's offices.
"It's so frustrating, Leah. I'm sure you're innocent and I'm not the only one, but finding evidence is proving to be much harder than I anticipated. One thing I am sure of is that whatever happened wasn't an accident. Things were set up to make it seem you were guilty."
"Great, so someone's got it in for me? No wonder Mr Gilmore-Bunce is so sure I'm guilty."
"I'm not sure he ever did think that, but he certainly doesn't now. You really impressed him."
"How can I have done? I've never even met him, except one time in the office before this all happened and then we didn't speak."
"Are you sure?"
"Adam pointed him out. He certainly looked like your typical snooty rich country gent."
"Adam Ferrand? I wouldn't trust a word that man said. It's probably him who got you into this mess, but that's not what I meant. Are you sure you've not met the client? He contacted us to offer every assistance in clearing your name, those were his words."
Duncan must have put in a good word for her with his relative. How sweet of him and how modest not to have mentioned it to her. With a touch of guilt she realised she'd not said, or thought, anything in Adam's defence.
"What did you say about Adam? You can't really think it was him who stole the money?"
"He's been moving client's money around for no apparent reason. It does look as though he's trying to clear his tracks from something, although it might not be anything to do with your case. Sorry, I really shouldn't have said anything. I admit I don't like the man and I'm biased, but he's certainly up to something."
Leah didn't think it at all likely Adam would steal money from a client. Neither did she think he'd read her diary, but if had looked in it, he'd have seen her computer passwords. No, it wasn't possible; she trusted him. Could she trust Rachel though? She'd not been her friend before, maybe she wasn't now?
"I don't really know what to say."
Rachel shrugged. "No. Like I said, I shouldn't have said anything. I don't know why I did really, I don't agree with people being accused with no proof and I don't have any evidence against him."
"We'll forget about it, then?" Leah suggested, although she knew for her it wouldn't be possible.
"OK. Tell me, what's been happening with you? Did you really go off to some horrible old farm?"
"Yes, well I don't think it's horrible, but I have been staying with my aunt on her farm. I enjoy working with the animals."
Rachel grinned. "Prophet Margin's clients are good training for that. Right pigs and cows some of them."
"Real pigs and cows aren't so much trouble," Leah assured her.
"What's the social life like? All Morris Dancing and sacrificing virgins?"
"Only at the weekends. Actually it's pretty good. They do have pubs and restaurants outside of London and people are very friendly. We visit the neighbours and things like that."
"Sounds amazing." Rachel didn't try to hide her sarcasm.
"One of my aunt's neighbours is Chantelle Miller. She threw this fantastic party."
"Chantelle Miller the designer? You're kidding me."
Leah tried to mention some of the famous guests, but Rachel interrupted. "I know, I saw a write up in the paper."
It was Leah's turn to interrupt and she spoke over Rachel. "You can't have done. There weren't any paparazzi, it wasn't the kind of party."
"It wasn't a gossip piece, just a mention in the fashion section along with pictures of your friend's latest designs. You didn't get a mention, but some of the other guests did. By the sound of it, there were some gorgeous men there, did you..."
Leah just grinned, hoping to let Rachel decide for herself what that meant.
"Who? Come on, spill."
"Well, actually it isn't anyone famous, but he is gorgeous."
"So will you be moving to the country to raise chickens and babies?"
"I don't know, Rachel."
"You mean you're actually considering it?"
"Yes, I suppose I am."
After Rachel went back to work, Leah thought about the conversation. She didn't know who to believe. Rachel had seemed genuine, but if she was, why was the investigation taking so long and why was Rachel trying to cast blame onto Adam? One thing she did know was that she was seriously considering spending the rest of her life with Duncan. She hadn't known him long, but she was sure they could be happy together and almost sure he felt the same way about her. First though, to be fair to everyone, she had to be sure her relationship with Adam had no future. He'd said he wanted to explain, for them to talk and to sort things out, but that hadn't happened.
She called him at work and said she'd cook dinner that evening. "What do you fancy? I'll pick up what we need."
"I thought you'd like to go out. There's a great Vietnamese place I've heard about. It's very authentic and everything's ethically sourced."
"I'd rather stay in. Don't worry, I'll only buy organic food if that will make you happier."
"No. We'll try the Vietnamese restaurant. I'm sure you'll like it and afterwards we'll go to the opera. I queued up all lunch break and managed to get us tickets."
It hadn't taken him long to revert to his normal pattern of making plans to suit himself and half bullying her into accepting them. Leah didn't intend to return to hiding her disappointment and pretending to be grateful.
"I don't want to do that, Adam. You wanted me to come back with you so we could talk and sort things out. I think that's exactly what we should do."
"All right then. You cook. You might as well chose whatever you like as you've obviousl
y already made your mind up."
Leah decided not to let his lack of enthusiasm put her off and mentally planned her menu to include all his favourite foods. Duncan phoned while she was shopping.
"How are you, Leah?"
"I'm fine. I'm sorry I haven't been in touch."
"It's OK. Jayne explained."
Leah didn't dare ask what the explanation had been. "How are you, Duncan? I've missed you."
She said the last bit without meaning to, but it was the truth.
"Actually, I've had some very good news. My dad has gone into remission. They don't know for how long, but when I visited him last time it seemed we were about to lose him, so this is great news."
"That's wonderful."
"It is. I was wondering... would you like to meet my parents? I'm coming to London tomorrow and well, I sort of mentioned you were in London too and they said they'd love me to bring you to see them."
Leah was torn. She so wanted to see Duncan and meet his parents and hated the idea of disappointing a sick man and his worried wife, but it wasn't fair to Adam to make plans with Duncan just before talking to him and deciding if their relationship could survive.
"I would like to meet them, but it's a bit difficult..."
"Leah, don't sound so worried. I'm sorry if it seemed I was trying to push you into it. It doesn't have to be tomorrow. They're not expecting you, it's just... I couldn't come to London without trying to see you."
"It'd be good to see you again too."
"Hark at us, sounds like we haven't seen each other for weeks."
"It feels like it," she admitted.
"Then meet my parents tomorrow and come back home to Winkleigh Marsh afterwards."
His tone was light and teasing, but she was sure he meant the words.
"Can I call you tomorrow and, um if I..." She didn't know what she meant.
"Of course you can. Maybe I'll get to see you after all?"
"Yes, maybe."
Adam pushed his artichoke around his plate and brushed aside her questions about work.
She tried a different approach. "Shall we give your parents a call? Say you've proposed and I'd like to meet them?"
"I'll ring them tomorrow. It's a bit late now."
"It's seven o'clock."
"I don't usually ring in the evening."
Leah took away their half eaten starters. She put the skewers of king prawns she'd marinated in lime and coconut under the grill and took in the mustard salad and fragrant rice. That gave her time to force a cheerful expression onto her face.
"OK, call tomorrow then. Shall we say we'll go this weekend?"
"They'd need a bit more notice than that."
"I didn't mean we'd stay with them, just call in for a cup of tea or perhaps go out for lunch?"
"We'll see," he said and served himself with rice and prawns.
That was so obviously a no, she decided to change tack again.
"Have you thought where we might live if we married?"
"What's wrong with here?"
"Nothing for a single couple, but there's nowhere for family to stay and I'd like my parents to be able to visit us and of course, if we had children..."
"Children? Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? You're not even wearing my ring."
He planned his finances years ahead, yet wouldn't discuss the possibility of children with the woman he said he wanted to marry?
"When were you thinking we'd get married?"
He drained his wine glass. "You want to set a date now?"
"Well roughly. We'll need to give our parents plenty of notice, won't we?"
"I suppose so."
"This year?"
"No, I don't think so." He refilled their wine glasses.
"Next year?"
"Maybe."
"Sometime, never?"
"What do you mean?" He pushed his plate away.
"That I don't think anything's changed. You've bought me a ring..."
"Which you're not wearing."
"Which I'm not wearing, so nothing has changed." She too abandoned her food.
"I don't really see why it should have."
"I wasn't happy, Adam."
"Well, no. But that's because of the work, er, problem. We'll sort that out. Actually, I have an idea about that."
"Oh?" He hadn't wanted to discuss it five minutes ago.
"We could re-mortgage the flat and use the money to pay back into Mr Gilmore-Bunce's account. I think I've found a way to do that without it being traced, but you can see why buying a bigger home would be difficult right now."
"Adam, are you crazy? I didn't steal that money. Why on earth should I pay it back?"
"It would clear your name and get your job back. In the long run, I think we'd be better off."
"No we wouldn't. The investigation will clear my name. I'm not at all sure I want my job back, but even if I did, I don't think they'll suddenly start trusting me just because the money mysteriously reappeared."
They didn't speak as they played with their raspberry tart and crème fraiche, finished the wine and drank their coffee.
He helped her stack the dishwasher, but they were so awkwardly careful not to touch each other that the process would have been much easier if she'd done it on her own.
"I'm going for a walk," she said.
"Shall I come with you?"
"No, I want to think. I'll take my phone and stay nearby. I'll be fine."
Leah thought of ringing Jayne, but she didn't need to. She knew her advice would be to, 'Leave him and come back here.'
She was tempted to ring Duncan too and hoped he'd say much the same thing. She was almost sure he would, but she couldn't find out, still less agree until she'd finished things with Adam. It was what she had to do. She didn't want to marry him and she didn't want to stay in London. Nothing she missed about the city couldn't be met by a day's sight seeing or occasional trip to the theatre. Everything Leah wanted was in Winkleigh Marsh and that included Duncan.
Leah let herself back into the flat, collected the ring box by the side of the bed and handed it to Adam.
"I'm so sorry, I can't marry you. I want to go back to Primrose Cottage and live there."
For what seemed like a long time Adam didn't speak or react at all. Then he took a deep breath, swallowed several times and asked, "You'll take the job you were offered?"
She nodded. She wasn't sure if she would, but that was a possibility and something Adam might understand.
"I can't stop you, but I think you're making a mistake. You've had a couple of months holiday there and it's reminded you of your childhood, but that's not real life, Leah."
"To me it is."
"I think you'll change your mind. If you do, well you know where I am."
"Thank you." She hugged him in gratitude. She hadn't hoped he'd be so accepting or so nice. Maybe she should have felt hurt he'd taken the news so well, but she just felt relieved.
"How about the opera? I still have the tickets."
"Lovely."
It wasn't lovely; Adam seemed in shock and she felt guilty for hurting him, but it was a lot better than spending the evening in the flat with a man she'd just dumped.
Leah had arranged to meet Duncan outside the flat as it didn't seem right to invite him to Adam's home. She shoved her cases onto the back seat and jumped into the car beside him. He pulled her into a hug.
"You OK?" he asked.
She was. Once she was in Duncan's arms, her last few doubts and worries seemed to melt away. "Yes. I've told Adam it's over and he's taken it very well."
"Never mind him. Are you OK?"
She tilted her head up until her lips brushed against his. Duncan returned her kiss.
A car beeped its horn and he released her.
"I'm more than OK. The driver behind isn't though, you'd better get going."
"Leah, I have a confession to make," Duncan told her as he drove away.
"Oh?"
"My parents
sort of got the idea we're thinking of getting married and I didn't correct them."
"Why not?"
"Because in my case it's true and because it's what Dad wants to believe. He's worried about carrying on the family name and stuff."
He was thinking of marrying her? She wanted to jump up and down or dance, but there wasn't room in the car. She wanted to kiss him but it wasn't safe as he was driving. She wanted to ask him to explain. Have him say it again but there wasn't the time. They'd arrived at the nursing home.
If Leah hadn't known where they were going, she'd have assumed he'd taken her to a fancy hotel that just happened to have a lot of medical staff wandering about. Duncan led her to the suite his parents were sharing.
Duncan kissed his mother, hugged his dad and introduced Leah.
"We're so pleased to meet you, my dear," his mum said. "Would you like some tea? Here let me take your coat."
"Stop fussing, woman," his dad said. "Come here, Leah and let me get a proper look at you."
Obediently she went over to him.
"You really are as pretty as he said you were. I know it's not official yet, but welcome to the family."
"Thank you, Mr er..."
"Call me Dad, might as well start as we mean to go on."
"Yes." She was glad Duncan had warned her, even if that hadn't fully prepared her for the reception she was getting.
"Now, promise me you won't take too long setting a date. I'm quite well enough to attend a wedding now and I want something to look forward to."
Leah glanced about for support. Duncan looked as though he was trying not to laugh, but his mum came to her rescue.
"Leave her be, you're embarrassing the poor girl."
"What's to be embarrassed about? Getting married's perfectly natural. Didn't say she was to hurry up and give us grandchildren, did I?"
"Men!" His mum turned to Leah. "I'd like to tell you my dear son only takes after me, but I'm afraid that wouldn't be strictly true."
Escape to the Country Page 16
