Page 145 of Escape to the Country

‘You jump, we jump, okay?’ said Annie.

And Eleanor nodded through her tears, pleased that their friendship was whole again despite her broken heart.

*

The fete was hailed as a huge success in the local newspaper later that week.

Annie took full credit as the future countess, which helped her self-esteem rocket. ‘If I can do this, I can do anything,’ she said, beaming. ‘What about holding a Christmas fete?’

‘Er, what about your wedding?’ said Megan.

Annie shrugged her shoulders. ‘I can do both!’

‘Remember that I’ll be busy with Eleanor’s website,’ said Megan, in a warning tone.

Ironically, although her personal life was in free fall, Eleanor’s new career was on the rise. Thanks to Rackelle’s television recommendation, she was inundated with orders for her products.

And she wasn’t the only one who was doing well.

‘Have you seen this?’ said Sam, his eyes wide, as he crossed the main hall one day.

‘What is it?’ asked Eleanor, bracing herself for a photo of Tom.

‘Somebody’s put a clip on YouTube from the fete. You know, of the lads singing with Tom.’

Eleanor stared down at the screen, the pain hitting her hard as she stared down at Tom’s face as he sang. She willed her eyes to tear themselves away from him, trying to focus on the numbers. ‘How many hits does that say?’

‘Twenty million and rising,’ Sam told her, breaking into a grin. ‘My phone’s gone mental. The whole thing’s gone viral. The buzz on Hazy Memory’s new Rat Pack album is huge.’

‘Wow,’ said Eleanor, smiling for the first time in days as she looked down at the screen once more. ‘Well, good for them.’

Another unexpected outcome of the fete was a phone call from scary Theresa, her ex-editor. ‘If you want your job back, we could always offer you a column. You know, life of a pop star’s girlfriend type of thing.’

It was the lifeline that Eleanor had dreamt about all those months ago. But now she wanted nothing to do with it.

‘No, thank you,’ she told Theresa and hung up.

Another unwelcome phone call had been from her dad. She knew he had only got in touch because she and Tom were splashed all over the gossip magazines again. But she let the call go to voicemail and then deleted the message. Once the media moved onto the next story then her dad would forget all about her once more.

In contrast, the text messages from her mum had brought her much joy. Various photos taken of her mum and Ben looking suntanned and happy on their holiday were the only good points in the worst week of her life.

Eleanor wandered along to her workshop, thinking how pleased she was that her mum had found happiness. But also how cruel love could be when it was taken away from you.

Outside, the long grass had fallen over under its own weight and was beginning to yellow and die. The air felt cooler. The horse chestnut tree leaves were turning yellow. The other trees would soon follow. Autumn was just around the corner.

Her friends were busy. The wedding for Annie and Sam would come round quickly. And Megan was cheerful, helping with the business as well as trying to keep up with her young family. They were trying to buoy Eleanor up each day and they needed her help too. Annie with becoming a countess. Megan trying to juggle having both a family and a life for herself as well. And Eleanor was determined to be there for both of them from now onwards. After all, what else were best friends for?

It was ironic, really, she thought. She finally had a job she loved and was proud of. Her skin was smooth and free of any flaky patches. She was full of ideas for the business. Someone had requested nail and cuticle oils and creams. She was also considering sourcing some goats’ milk from a local farm. Then there was the possibility of using local beeswax. She also wanted to try out coloured soap. Her mind was racing with possibilities. It was a job she could shout to the rooftops about. But her heart was completely broken.

She hid away in her workshop, working day and night to fill the endless hours without Tom. It was so different, knowing he wasn’t about to walk into small room. She felt empty all the time, especially in the evenings now that he wasn’t around to share those precious moments at dusk with him.

Arthur popped in one day as passed by on his afternoon walk with Dylan. ‘We should get you a wood-burning stove in here for when winter comes,’ he told her. ‘It’ll be liable to get a bit chilly otherwise.’

‘That might be an idea,’ she told him, reaching down to stroke the dog’s head. Dylan looked almost as miserable as she felt, both of them sensing that Tom had left forever. Once more, the guilt overcame her. Not only had she broken her own heart, she’d broken Dylan’s too.

‘You know, I think this could be the start of something new,’ said Arthur, looking around at the other stables. ‘A small business start-up place. Like a group of workshops. I shall put the word out and see if we get any other interest from my tenants. There must be some other creative people like yourself out there.’ He ran his hand along the shutter. ‘I must say, he was an awfully good carpenter.’

Eleanor just about managed to hold it together until Arthur left. And then she cried at the thought of winter without Tom. It would be a bleak one without him. Her heart didn’t hammer from stress any more. It just hurt so much from being broken in two.