Page 42 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

Finally, after they had eaten, everyone left the patio table and went into the drawing room.

‘Sam, light a fire, would you?’ said Rose, with a shiver. ‘For some reason I’m feeling cold tonight.’

It was an elegant room, thought Jack, but still homely, warm and welcoming. But he would rather have been anywhere else than there that evening.

Once everyone was seated on the comfy sofas and the fire was lit in the hearth, Jack told them in more detail what he had discussed with Eric.

‘Have you got a copy of the map?’ asked Sam.

Jack shook his head. ‘Sorry. No.’

‘Can you remember the exact route?’ asked Will.

‘More or less,’ said Jack, closing his eyes to see the mental image in front of him. ‘It followed the original route, but seemed to then turn abruptly just outside the village. It was quite a sharp bend. Then it followed the river along the banks, through the village and out the other side.’

‘Right past Willow Tree Hall,’ said Sam in a dull tone.

Jack nodded. ‘Yes. Sorry.’

‘It’s not your fault,’ said Sam, shaking his head. ‘But why on earth hasn’t this come up in the proposals? Why keep it a secret?’

‘Because somebody’s getting a backhander somewhere,’ said Will, looking cross.

‘I agree,’ said Rose, with a grimace. ‘That council is as dirty as they come. Lots of grubby fingers in even grubbier pies.’

‘So, what do we do?’ asked Annie, looking around at everyone.

‘We fight,’ said Arthur, finally speaking, a determined tone filling his words. ‘And we win.’

17

Lily was sitting with everyone in the drawing room, staring at the flames in the fireplace. But they brought her no comfort. Instead, she felt sick with worry. Her home village, her family and her job were all under threat from Jack’s boss. She couldn’t believe it. What on earth was she going to do?

‘What I don’t understand is why us?’ said Annie, still upset over the news. ‘I mean, aren’t there lots of other stately homes that he could buy up instead?’

‘I agree,’ said Sam, nodding. ‘It’s all very fishy. What’s your boss’s name?’

‘Eric Thatcher,’ Jack told him.

Lily watched as Rose and Arthur exchanged a look.

Sam caught it as well. ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘What don’t we know?’

Arthur sighed heavily.

‘I’ll tell them,’ said Rose, looking serious for once. ‘You see, we have a connection with Eric Thatcher. Not a very agreeable one, I should add.’

‘You know Eric?’ Jack leaned forward in his seat. He had suspected as much.

‘He knew your mother from a long time ago,’ said Rose, looking at her nephews.

Sam and Will looked at each other but stayed quiet.

‘Unfortunately, Eric likes to get his own way,’ carried on Rose, with a look of distaste on her face. ‘He never got over the fact that Edward and Isabel were so happily married. So he tried it on with your lovely mother at one of our parties.’

‘He was the one?’ said Will, looking ashen.

Skye reached out and squeezed his hand.