“I expect this was all planned by a designer,” Mrs Weston suggested.
“All Sarah’s ideas. She’s done well, hasn’t she?”
“I hope you’re not going to find this colour carpet stains too badly. You’ll have to keep those dogs out of here. They’ll ruin it. And you’re a bit short of tables. A room this size needs several side tables. Stand them by the walls so you can have fresh flower arrangements. And ornaments. You have very few points of interest. I can look round some of the shops in Exeter for you. One or two good pieces will make all the difference.”
“No thank you, Mother. We have definite plans for everything. I don’t want to clutter the place with a mass of stuff that needs cleaning. Minimalist. Now, would you like some tea?”
“Minimalist?” she intoned. “Oh, tea? Thank you dear. Herbal if you have it.”
“I can go and make it,” Sarah offered. “Leave you to chat to your mother.”
Alex shrugged.
“All right. Thanks. Tea bags are in the cupboard over . . .”
“I know where they are, thanks.” She left the room, glad to escape for a few minutes. The arrival of Mrs Weston was a blow to their plans. They were going for a meal at one of the new local restaurants with a very good reputation.
They had booked it a couple of weeks ago as tables were much in demand and they had been wanting to try it for ages. She made the tea and looked in one of the tins to see if Mrs Harper had left any home baked goodies. There was the remains of a sponge cake, which she sliced and put on a plate. She loaded everything onto a tray and carried it through to the lounge. Alex leapt up and provided a small table for her to place the tray.
“I’ll pour,” he said. “Thanks for making it. You relax.” He indicated a chair near his mother. He handed out tea and the sliced cake. His mother gave a sniff.
“No doilies, I see. Never mind. Do you have napkins somewhere? I thought I provided a set at Christmas.”
“I’ll get them,” Alex said, leaving the room with a sympathetic glance at Sarah.
“Now then, tell me all about yourself. Who are your family? Are they in the County?”
“They live in Cornwall, if that’s what you mean. My father is a surveyor and my mother used to teach. I have one sister who is married and has three children. I am a fully qualified solicitor and I work with Alex, as he told you.”
She was prattling, she told herself. It was a nervous habit when she felt uncertain. Mrs Weston stared at her, somehow managing to look down her nose at her, making Sarah feel totally inadequate and out of place. Thankfully, Alex came back into the room.
“Sorry, Mother, but I can’t find the wretched napkins. Mrs Harper has put them away somewhere. I can find you a tissue if it makes eating a piece of cake more acceptable.” He could barely conceal the slight sarcasm he was feeling.
“I’ll make do with a cake fork,” she graciously offered. Alex left the room again in search of a fork and his mother turned on Sarah again. “I hope you don’t have any aspirations about my son. He is practically betrothed to a very suitable young lady. The elder daughter of one of my oldest, dearest friends. Her father is a very important company director.”
“Really,” Sarah said. “I’m surprised he hasn’t mentioned her. He can’t have seen her for some time, as we have been working together on the house for most weekends recently. And we ride every Saturday too.” She was scoring points, she knew it and probably not endearing herself to this woman. “Are you planning to stay for long?”
“I may. I needed a little break. Living alone can be tedious at times. Especially at this time of year. Since the wretched hunting ban, I haven’t been able to get out and enjoy my usual pursuits.”
Sarah grimaced. She did not want to engage on any debates regarding hunting. She had always hated it, despite her love of riding. She suspected that any mention of her own thoughts on the subject would cause her to be banned from the house.
At last Alex came back with some forks. Silently, he handed one to his mother and caught a glance from Sarah. She looked distressed, he realised.
“I think I should be going,” Sarah said as she rose from her seat. “You must have things to talk about with your mother.” Mrs Weston gave a triumphant smile. “Goodbye, Mrs Weston. Interesting to meet you.”
“Yes of course. Goodbye.” The odious woman concentrated on her cake and ignored Sarah’s departure.
“I’m so sorry. Was she awful to you?” Alex whispered as he took her out to her car. “What about our dinner?”
“I think you’re saddled with a different dining companion. You’ll have to take her instead.”
“I’m so angry with her. Turning up like that. What did she say to upset you? I’ll tackle her about it.”
“Don’t cause any more problems for yourself. I can see she’s adept at inventing problems where none exist. I’m obviously totally unsuitable as a companion for you. Besides, your almost-engagement to some friend of hers is a huge barrier.”
“My what?”
“Apparently, you’re almost engaged to an old friend of the family. Some company director’s daughter?”
“Oh, for heavens sake. She must mean Prudence Fairfax. An awful ex-hunting crony. She has a face a bit like her favourite horse and neighs rather than laughs. She neighs at almost anything anyone says, funny or not. One would need to be a total idiot to marry her.”
“Alex, I had no idea you could be quite so nasty,” Sarah replied, slightly shocked at his vehemence but very gratified.
“I’m sorry. My mother drives me to it. I’m sorry, my dear, Sarah. So sorry about the evening being ruined. I’ll call you later.” He leaned over and kissed her, full on the lips. She was even more shocked.
Gently, he helped her into her car and she drove away, her heart racing. He had just been overcome with the surprise of his mother’s arrival, she told herself. She was still seething somewhat at the snobbish comments she had suffered and what was more, she had been deprived of a delicious dinner and now had to think of something to cook for herself and a lonely evening ahead.
How long would his mother be staying? Now the evenings were getting lighter, she was hoping to go and see Major after work at times. If Mrs Weston was there, that would all be spoiled. Still, she tried to console herself, Alex had promised to phone. Perhaps he would persuade his mother to leave quickly.
Her plans for Sunday were also in ruins. She hung around the house, hoping that he would ring and suggest something. But the phone remained stubbornly silent. She almost contemplated visiting her parents. It was only just over an hour away but she knew there would be questions asked. Why wasn’t she out riding? What was wrong with her? Had she met someone and it wasn’t working out? Why did so many parents always do that?
She knew from her other friends, particularly the unmarried ones, that they suffered in the same way when they went back home. She really loved her parents but there remained this problem.
She went for a walk and regretted the empty paddock where Major should have been. Perhaps she should bring him back. Now she could ride again, she could easily ride him back and pick up his various things later. She leaned on the gate and stared into space. A van stopped behind her. It was her old friend, Joe.
“Missing him, are you?”
“Yes, a bit. Alex has got a visitor this weekend so I’m at a loose end.”
“I’m just going for a pint at the pub. Why don’t you tag along? Meeting some of the old crowd. We haven’t seen you around for months.” He opened the door for her.
“Why not?” she agreed. “That would be great. Can we stop at the cottage so I can collect my bag and some money?”
There were a number of her old friends gathered round the bar. They welcomed her with friendly warmth and she realised she’d missed them. Most of them owned horses and they’d often gone for cross country rides, stopping off at little out of the way pubs for lunch.
These were real people, salt of the earth types, she realised
. Not like the snooty Mrs Weston. Thank goodness Alex wasn’t like her. It would be a nightmare working with him if he was. She simply didn’t understand how people could be like that. Mind you, if he had an uncle who left him so much money, he must come from a totally different class to her.
“Penny for them?” Joe intruded on her thoughts.
“Not worth even a penny. I was just thinking how nice it is to be with all of you. I’ve got too involved in other things lately. We should organise one of our rides again. Anyone up for it? Next Sunday?”
Several of the group agreed and they arranged to meet the following week. She would have to get Major back to his own paddock before then, without upsetting her boss.
When she arrived at work on Monday morning, she noticed Alex’s car was already parked in its usual place. Once she had settled in her office, she buzzed his extension, hoping to speak to him. Julia, his secretary answered.
“I’m afraid Mr Weston is with a client. Can I give him a message.”
“It’s all right. I’ll catch up with him later.” It wasn’t worth interrupting him, especially not on a private matter. She wondered if his mother was still staying with him or whether he’d persuaded her to go back to her own home. She doubted the latter, as he hadn’t called her all day.
Hopefully, the woman to whom she had taken such an instant dislike, wouldn’t stay around for too long. If Alex was at work all day, she couldn’t imagine there would be anything to interest Mrs Weston. Poor Mrs Harper, she thought. She may still harbour some sort of ridiculous jealousy for that woman too but at least she seemed pleasant enough. Her emotions were still confused.
After Alex had kissed her on Saturday when she left Darnley Manor, she had believed their relationship may be moving forward. But the silence since had left her feeling uncertain of anything. She frowned. She was allowing herself to become much too involved with him. She was relying on him for her entertainment and companionship outside work. So much so that she had let her old friends disappear into the past. But that was all about to change, starting next Sunday when they planned a group ride together.
If Alex felt left out, then it was too bad. He could always join them, if he wanted to. Her phone rang, announcing her first appointment of the day. Mr Knowles. His problems were still going on.
“Come in. Do sit down. I’ve got some news for you. Nothing too exciting but at least we’ve had another contact with your ex-wife.”
“That’s something. Thanks. So, what does she have to say? Can I see Martha?”
“She’s willing for you to take her out on Saturday afternoon, providing someone else is with you.”
“Oh, for goodness sake. Back to that, is she? What does she think I’m going to do? Run away with her?”
“I suppose it’s precisely that. Too many stories in the press about fathers kidnapping their own children.”
“She’s made sure I can’t do that. I’ve got barely enough money to live on by the time I’ve paid what I’m told she needs. I can’t even afford to take Martha anywhere decent if I do get to see her.”
Sarah could see how upset he was and was at a loss to know what to say. It was a dreadful situation. The woman was using her own child as a blackmail tool. All too frequent these days.
It wasn’t as if there had been anything wrong in his relationship with his daughter. Just that the mother has fallen out of love and seemingly, had possibly found a new partner. The court had allowed the mother custody, as often happened and poor Mr Knowles was expected to pay for the upkeep of his child in a very generous way.
“The trouble was, the level I was expected to pay was set when I had a good job. All the upset caused me to lose it and I now earn less than half of what I did. Even this job’s not certain to last. I’ve applied for a review but the forms got lost in someone’s in-tray I suppose.”
“It certainly takes time. I’ll see what I can do. It’s a ridiculous situation.” The man had been badly advised by another firm of solicitors when getting divorced and his ex-wife had managed to come away with a generous settlement and he was left paying for it.
“Thanks, but don’t spend too much time on it. You explained about your fees and I simply can’t pay.”
“I’m certain you are now entitled to legal funding. Your change of income certainly puts you into that bracket. I’ll put the process into motion. Meanwhile, at least you’re going to see Martha on Saturday. Let’s hope it’s a nice day and then you can spend the afternoon on the beach or something.” She handed him the notes she had been sent regarding the arrangements for the visit. He glanced at them and rose from his seat.
“Thanks very much, anyway. I can’t wait to see my little girl again. It’s been weeks. I’m so frightened she’ll forget me. It would break my heart. Especially as my ex has told me it’s because Martha didn’t want to see me.”
“Don’t take any notice of that. It’s something that is often said just because it’s easier than having to face the truth.”
Sarah showed him out to reception and went back to her office. She ticked off ten minutes on her wretched form, even though it had been almost twenty. With a sigh, she settled down to work on the various files piled on her desk.
She worked through her lunch hour, eating a sandwich Poppy had brought for her while she read various papers. She glanced at the time sheet she so hated and tried to spread out her morning’s work to cover the range of clients whose files she had been reading. None of it made much sense and she felt as if she were still at school, filling in exam revision charts. This situation couldn’t continue.
It was as if nobody could trust each other to do a proper day’s work. She needed to talk it through with the other members of staff. See what they thought of the idea and then put it to Alex at the monthly meeting at the end of the week. All aspects of life had become much more complicated since his arrival in Cornwall.
EMOTIONS ARE IN TURMOIL
There had been no contact with Alex outside work. In the office, she had spoken only briefly, when he had called to ask about a client she had been dealing with. He was in no mood to chat and she felt somewhat rebuffed. It seemed a long week and she really began to think that his mother had persuaded him that she was an unsuitable companion for him.
It wasn’t as if she had ever indicated that she thought of him in any way other than a companion for riding and dining together. She did admit to herself that she might possibly allow herself to fall in love with him but she was keeping a tight rein on her emotions at all times.
After all, any relationship could be as doomed as the one between Mr Knowles and his ex, whatever was thought at the time they married. She saw far too many such relationships in her work. Reality had hit Alex and his mother must have convinced him that her lack of the right social standing was causing him to waste his time on her.
Meanwhile, the difficult practice meeting was looming the next day and she had still done nothing about moving Major back to his own paddock.
The atmosphere in the boardroom was distinctly tense the next day. The senior partners were grouped at one end near to Alex, who was chairing the meeting. Sarah and the junior partners were at the other end, ready to put their points to the meeting. It seemed they all shared her views on keeping the time sheets and at least two of them said their targets were out of reach. Before anyone else had a say, Alex spoke.
“I have heard a number of complaints about the time sheets. Before you say anything, I have to tell you that we shall be keeping them for at least one more month.” There was a buzz of protest round the table. Even the seniors joined in. “I know this may seem like a waste of time . . .” More sounds of disharmony, “. . . but it is a valuable exercise and it is making clear exactly how much time is spent on various tasks. This enables us to revise our pricing structure for fees.”
“Does it take account of how much time we actually spend filling in the forms?” Charles whispered to Sarah. She grimaced.
“Now, on to the targets.” Mor
e groans. “Some of you have failed to reach even halfway to your targets for the first month. I know the targets are related to quarterly figures but one month in, it is below what it should be in many cases.”
The meeting dragged on. Several complaints were voiced but quashed. It seemed that everyone was expected to continue for another month. There was distinct unrest among most of the staff, including the seniors. Alex had a battle on his hands and if he wasn’t very careful, there would be major unrest which could lead to resignations.
Ken had allowed people to work on their own for many months, if not years, and nobody liked the idea of the new broom sweeping in with all his changes. At last they were allowed to leave and return to their own offices.
“I assume we fill in time sheets for this morning as a meeting, no fees applicable,” Charles said with a sardonic laugh.
“Sarah,” called Alex from his place at the table. “Could you spare a moment?”
“Don’t forget to note it on your sheet,” Charles whispered to her. “Otherwise, you’ll be accused of wasting time.” She glared at him and turned back to Alex.
“Do sit here,” he said indicating the chair next to him. “This isn’t easy for me. I’m sorry to say but your targets are the worst of anyone’s. You are way below what you should be. We need to look and see how you can improve things.”
“I told you, Alex. My clients don’t have the sort of money you seem to expect. I don’t stand a chance of reaching your precious target.”
“Then you have to try to spend less time with them. If they can’t pay, they can’t have an hour of your time. You have to get them in and out quickly and then deal with the problem quickly and efficiently.”
“And how do you suggest I deal with the situation where I have to phone someone anything up to nine times before I can speak to the right person?”
“Get your secretary to hang on to the end of the phone and let her put through the call when they have reached the right person.”
A Love Shared Page 7
