Page 54 of Moonlight Kisses at Willow Tree Hall

‘The years have been kind to you,’ said Alex, running an appreciative eye over Jack. ‘Botox?’

Jack shook his head, laughing. ‘No way!’

Alex shrugged his shoulders. ‘Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. I suppose you’ve heard that I’m ever so famous these days?’

Nearby, Will snorted a laugh. ‘For what?’

Alex rolled his eyes. ‘As an interior designer, of course! Look what I’ve done to this place! It’s fabulous!’ His face suddenly dropped.

Jack was horrified to see Alex’s eyes suddenly fill with tears. ‘Are you OK?’ he said, reaching out to hold Alex’s arm.

‘Not this again,’ said Sam, noting Alex’s sad expression with a grimace. ‘We’ll be alright.’

‘Of course we will,’ said Alex, with a nod and a shake of his head. ‘I’m not crying. It’s hay fever. Right, Jack, let’s go and get a proper drink. Somebody here’s made homemade gin. God, I love the countryside.’

‘I was going to drive home,’ said Jack.

‘We’ve offered you a room for the night,’ called out Sam.

‘Perfect!’ said Alex, taking his arm. ‘You must stay. It’s been too many years since we had a proper catch-up. What is it, ten years since we left school?’

‘I think you’ve left a couple of years out from your calculations,’ said Will, raising an eyebrow.

‘Age is but a number,’ Alex snapped back before looking at Jack. ‘Come on, what do you say? Stay the night and have a few drinks with the rest of us.’

Jack was surprised to find himself tempted by the offer.

Unfortunately, before he could even make up his mind, everyone had accepted his silence as confirmation.

‘Excellent!’ said Sam, looking pleased. ‘I’ll let Annie know you’re staying over.’

‘Better let your strict housekeeper know as well,’ called out Alex over his shoulder, as they began to walk away from the barbeque.

That brought Jack up short. He had temporarily forgotten that Lily was working there. But perhaps as it was the weekend she would be at home. Or even at the fete…

He began to scour the crowds for a flash of dark red hair, but he couldn’t see her anywhere.

Whilst they walked, Alex kept up his chatty monologue. ‘So, what have you been up to all these years? I must say, those designer jeans look better on you than they did on me when I tried them on last month. If only I had your height. Ah well. What I lack in height, I more than make up for in talent.’

Jack smiled to himself. Alex had barely changed from the motor-mouth personality that he had been at school.

Once they were out of earshot of Sam and Will, Alex’s expression darkened again. ‘So, tell me,’ he whispered, grabbing Jack’s arm to stop them walking. ‘Is it true? Will my beloved Willow Tree Hall be gone by this time next year?’

‘I really hope not,’ Jack told him.

Alex made a face. ‘That doesn’t sound very convincing.’

‘I know,’ said Jack. ‘I just don’t trust Eric Thatcher to do the right thing.’

Alex sighed heavily. ‘That’s fair enough. Nobody blames you, you know. But, God, this whole thing is making me feel wretched. At least you gave us all a bit of warning. Right. I need that gin more than ever.’

As they walked towards a nearby stall, Jack was beginning to realise that it wasn’t just the Harris family that was going to be affected. It was the wider circle of friends and family.

Alex had said that nobody blamed him. Was that true? Had he helped by giving them fair warning on Eric’s plans?

At that moment, he felt nothing but guilt and no amount of ice-cold beer would help with that.

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