Page 69 of The Cottage at Brambleton Hall

‘Listen to me . . .’ Jean paused. ‘Don’t disappear, all right? You know what I mean.’

Spotting Magnus further along the beach, Nate set off across the damp sand.

The tide had turned, the line of wet sand creeping back on itself, darker now, firmer underfoot.

Magnus held his hands loosely behind his back, attention fixed out to sea as if it required supervising.

‘Magnus.’

‘Nate.’

They stood side by side – the water drawing back, then returning, steady as breath. Further down the beach, Miss Jenkins was still on the phone, her back half-turned, hair lifting in the breeze. Miss Jenkins. He’d got used to the name. Said it easily enough. Still, it didn’t quite suit her. Sammy would be . . . he left that where it was.

‘You’ve been showing her around,’ Magnus said.

‘Yes.’ Nate brushed sand from his palm. ‘If she’s staying, she needs to know people.’

Magnus’s gaze shifted briefly down the beach, then away again.

‘How’s she getting on?’ Nate asked.

‘She conducts herself appropriately.’

High praise from Magnus, thought Nate. ‘She learns quickly.’

Magnus changed his stance. ‘That has been observed.’

The wind picked up, carrying the sharper edge of salt. A gull dropped low before veering off again. Magnus arched his eyebrows at Nate. ‘You are keeping everything professional . . . with Miss Jenkins, aren’t you?’

It wasn’t a question. Nate followed the movement of the tide again, then looked back at her without meaning to. She was laughing at something that person was saying to her on the phone. The sound caught in the back of Nate’s throat.

‘Course,’ Nate said. ‘Only helping her settle in.’

‘Very good. I thought I saw her down at the polytunnel when I fed the chickens this morning?’

Nate knew those sessions had been a mistake. ‘We were collecting vegetables.’

Magnus arched an eyebrow, ‘Mrs Williams was perfectly content to leave that task to you.’

‘I get the drift . . .’ Down the beach, she ended the call, lowering the phone, standing there as if deciding where to put herself next. Nate watched her start walking toward them, the sand sinking under her feet as she crossed it. ‘She’ll pass,’ he said, almost to the tide.

Magnus’s mouth moved, the closest thing to agreement. ‘We shall see.’

Eighteen

Valerie’s voice met Sammy before she could shut the back door.

‘Is something going on between you and Nate?’

‘Good morning, Valerie, how are you this morning?’

‘Don’t avoid my question.’

Sammy dropped her back door key in her bag, moving swiftly past Valerie. ‘Not that it’s any business of yours, but no.’

‘I saw you last night . . . in the village together.’

‘He was showing me around, introducing me to some of the friendlier faces in Brambleton.’ Sammy pushed through the green baize door, allowing it to swing shut behind her. Valerie caught it. ‘I’ve a good mind to tell Magnus what I saw.’