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She froze. How evil was James for his staff to be this terrified of him?
Drawing her shoulders back, she nodded. ‘I won’t say a word. Your secret is safe with me.’
The woman’s face relaxed a fraction. ‘Thanks, babe.’
Estelle moved to the side and opened the door. The woman glanced around the bathroom with a frown, as if she couldn’t bear to leave without finishing her job.
‘It’s so clean I could eat my dinner off it,’ Estelle said to her.
‘You sure, babe?’
‘Yes!’
‘Do you want me to wash your wellies for you?’
‘What?’
‘They’re a bit muddy.’
Estelle swallowed her smile. ‘You really don’t need to do that. I live at a stables, so they’re always filthy.’
The woman’s forehead creased again, as if she was working out how she could keep the whole of the countryside dirt free. Then she nodded and went into the corridor.
Estelle followed her to the door that separated the office wing from the main house. The woman opened it and peeked through. There was a big key in the lock on the other side.
‘Do you like French Fancies?’ she whispered to Estelle.
‘The cakes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Love them. Why?’
The woman shook her head. ‘I’ve got to go. Thanks for not saying anything. You’re a doll.’
Slipping through the door, she closed it behind her. Estelle heard a key being turned, then the faint sound of footsteps as the woman ran away.
Going back into the bathroom, she stared at her reflection in the wall of mirrors, sadness sitting heavy in her stomach. Each time a tiny part of her hoped she’d been wrong about James, some other nasty fact came crawling out of the woodwork to remind her just how rotten he really was. Yesterday it was the girlfriend he didn’t want to acknowledge, and today it was discovering just how petrified his cleaner was of him.
Estelle hardened her expression and her heart. Her, Henry, and Connor, the eldest Foxbrooke children had grown up fiercely protective of each other and their younger siblings. Estelle was used to fighting tooth and nail for the underdog, and right now she wanted to tear a strip off James for being such a bully.
Reaching for E’s perfume in the basket, she sprayed it on. She didn’t give a shit it was someone else’s. The scent felt like it belonged on her skin, making every facet of who she was shine even brighter. And this morning she was a badass who was going to make James Hunter-Savage beg her to work somewhere other than Shoscombe Manor.
Ten minutes later, Estelle’s heart quickened as she heard heavy feet running down the corridor. They slowed as they reached the office door and she quickly flicked on both her slippers.
James strode in. Water dripped off the ends of his jet-black hair onto his collar, and his pressed white shirt clung to his skin, as if he’d pulled it on without having had time to dry himself properly.
Estelle leaned back in her chair and stretched. ‘Morning, colleague!’
James’s eyes darted around the room, as if checking no-one else was inside, then his gaze fell to her desk.
‘Can you be a love and make me a cappuccino?’ she continued. ‘That coffee machine is complicated as fuck and I couldn’t find a manual.’
‘What time did you get here?’
She shrugged. ‘Dunno… Seven-thirty? Why?’
He cleared his throat. ‘Did you… Was there anyone else around?’
