‘I’ll rent it,’ I said, without hesitation. The farmer grinned. He reached out to shake my hand. ‘Well, that’s made my Christmas.’ He caught sight of one of his farm hands trudging towards us. ‘Josh, I’ve found someone to rent The Duck House.’
My mouth dropped open as my sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh, walked towards us. He saw me and smiled. ‘Rachel, is that you?’
‘Josh – how are you doing? I didn’t realise you lived near here?’
He grinned. ‘I have always wanted to own a farm, so I am working with Bob to learn the ropes and one day buy my own farm.’
‘That’s great,’ I said, ‘I will tell my sister…’
His smile disappeared and I sensed something was wrong. Wanting to change the conversation quickly, I turned to Bob. ‘Can I come over after Christmas, next week sometime, to sort everything out?’
He nodded. ‘Layla has my number. Send me a text and you can come over for a pot of tea and some of my wife’s Christmas fruit cake.’
‘Thank you and merry Christmas.’
Ben accompanied me on a dog walk around the snowy grounds of the manor house when I returned. Once we were away from the rest of the house I told him my news about the cottage. ‘I’m going to be renting The Duck House here in Harp Brook.’
‘The Duck House? On Harp Brook Farm?’ He queried as if he had misheard me.
‘Yes – why? Do you know something about it?’
He fiddled with his woollen hat. ‘How did you know it was up for rent?’
‘Layla had to drop the keys off. Why? Ben – you’re acting strange.’
He laughed. ‘Sorry, I don’t mean to act strange. That is great news,’ he pulled me close. ‘Have you finished Olivia’s book?’
‘No – why?’
After kissing me he said, ‘I think you should hurry up and finish it. Tell me when you have, because then I will tell you why I acted a bit odd just then.’
I looked at him. ‘I don’t like secrets.’
‘When you move into The Duck House, can I date you properly?’
‘Yes, and I promise I won’t ghost you this time.’
We laughed and I remembered my encounter with Josh. ‘I bumped into a guy who Maddie used to date years ago on the farm.’
‘Really?’
‘He’s called Josh. It was weird seeing him at the farm as the last time I saw him he was working in Oxford where Maddie went to university.’
Ben took hold of my hand. ‘Will you invite me for dinner at The Duck House?’
‘I might do,’ I said, with a cheeky smile. ‘You can’t stay over though as there’s only one bedroom.’
He grinned. ‘I bet I can make you change your mind about that.’
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
It was late. Grandpa, Layla, and Zac had all gone to bed. Aunty Bev and I were in the east wing living room enjoying a bottle of wine and discussing the way forward with the Maddie situation. She wasn’t shocked when I told her what Layla had revealed earlier.
‘I knew someone like Frank Baxter couldn’t stay faithful,’ exclaimed Aunty Bev. ‘Have you seen the stuff on Reddit about him in his acting days?’
I nodded and tried to steer away from the subject of Frank’s wild past. ‘So, what should we do?’
Aunty Bev took her phone out and, with her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, tapped something into her phone. ‘Frank Baxter was known as a Hollywood sex symbol. His early acting career was filled with intense love affairs. Rumours were rife upon the release of his action blockbuster –Running Out of Time –that Baxter and his married co-star, Roxy Fisher, were enjoying a secret romance.’ She looked up from her phone. ‘I never liked Roxy Fisher in that film. She was so wooden when it came to acting.’
