“Fresh orange juice in there, too, so you don’t need to worry about drinking from this,” he assures me, shaking the carton. “I always have to hunt out the cheap sugary stuff.”
“Thank goodness.”
“What are you up to today?” he asks suddenly.
“I’m not sure. Whatever Cordelia wants to do.”
“She and Jonathan have gone riding together. They’ll be a while—they only just set off for the stables.” He pauses. “If you like, we could go into the local village. I can show you the sights.”
“The sights?”
“Oh, yes,” he says, his eyes sparkling with humor. “There’s the pub with a landlord who’s about a hundred and fifty years old and yells at everyone all the time. Then there’s the tea shop with such low beams that you’ll definitely bang your head at least once. And if you’re really lucky, I’ll show you the green where I once played the role of ‘piece of straw’ in an outdoor theater performance.”
“Wow.” I nod slowly.
“It was a taxing part actually,” he continues. “I wore all yellow and had to lie still on the ground for an entire scene. I received rave reviews.”
“Hollywood yet to come calling?”
“Any day now.” He chortles. “So, what do you think?”
“Um.” I hesitate. “I don’t know if Cordelia might need me for wedding ideas…”
“She may think she does, but Cordelia doesn’t control your every move,” he says, a flash of irritation crossing his expression. “She’s going to be out all morning. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
“OK,” I say casually. “Thanks.”
“Great. I’ll be down in a bit.”
I stand in a daze when he’s gone upstairs, my stomach a knot of nerves and excitement. I know it’s nothing more than him being nice to one of his sister’s friends and he’s probably bored, with nothing to do today, butstill.I shouldn’t get excited and let myself be carried away. This is a job and I’m here to help Cordelia withher wedding, not flirt outrageously with her hot brother. Her hotplayboybrother. Getting involved with someone like Lord Dashwell would not be a sensible move.
I find Lady Meade in the dining room, having breakfast and reading the newspaper.
“He wants to give you a tour ofPaxton?” she says in surprise, once I’ve explained Tom’s day-out proposal.
“Only if I’m not needed here.”
“No, not at all. I think that’s a lovely idea. You should make the most of being here before going back to London this evening, and without Cordelia around, there’s not much point in talking through the wedding.” She folds the paper neatly, placing it on the table next to her plate. “I’ve been meaning to thank you for last night. I very much appreciated you looking after Cordelia when she left the party.”
“I really did nothing,” I insist, buttering a piece of toast. “I was just checking she was OK.”
“Trust me,” she says, with a weary smile, “that’s not nothing.”
From: [email protected]
Subject: Re: Doughnut Wall
Hi Sophie,
Thank you for your recent query about our FABULOUS HANDCARVED doughnut walls.
Our sizes are small (6 doughnut hooks), medium (24 doughnut hooks) or large (42 doughnut hooks).
Price quotes are as follows:
Small: £20
