AllFreeNovel
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His heart sank. ‘I’m on my way.’
He cut through the main house to the formal gardens behind. This was where the acoustic tent was situated and the open-air Shakespeare production. Glancing around, he tried to see what had happened. Then the smell hit him. Had the vicar’s pigs got out?
Following his nose, he found a bank of portaloos. Four were lying face down, the backs ripped off, and their contents now coating everything within a forty-yard radius.
In the middle of a crowd of people with buckets and hoses, was Estelle, shouting orders. Noticing him, she stomped over.
‘Ah, the prodigal son. How kind of you to grace us with your presence.’
Despite the frustration firing through him, he forced himself to remain calm. ‘How can I help?’
‘Maybe find some toilets that don’t explode when placed in full sunshine? Like the ones I specified in the first place?’
He lowered his voice. ‘Come on, you know why I had to do that.’
She hesitated, then nodded.
‘Can we have a quick chat?’ he continued. ‘I need to talk to you about something.’
‘Seriously? Now? We open in three days!’
‘I know. Please?’
Estelle stalked away from the toilets, stopping behind a yew hedge where there was more privacy. Turning to face him, she crossed her arms. Behind her obvious fury, she looked shattered.
‘How was Pentangle with “the girls”?’
‘I told you, I didn’t go.’
She shrugged as if she didn’t believe him. ‘And the meet and greet with the great Garrett Ross?’
‘It went well. I also got a call from my lawyer. The insider-trading charges are being dropped due to insufficient evidence. It means I can return to working in financial services.’
She frowned as if she didn’t get where he was going with this.
‘It means I don’t have to take the job with Global Tech and spend so much time abroad. I can go back to working in the City.’
‘As in London?’
‘Yes.’
‘And why are you telling me this?’
The ground suddenly felt unsteady beneath his feet. Focus!
‘It’ll make it easier for us to be together. I can commute every day, or stay at my flat and come back on weekends.’
‘And where are you going to live? Shoscombe Manor?’
‘No. In a few months I could afford to rent locally, or…’
‘Move in with me?’
‘Um—’
‘And Elyse? Won’t that be cosy? Maybe you can also bring “the girls” back with you on weekends.’
Fuck. This was a total disaster. ‘We can make it work.’
