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“She thought it would do us good to get out of the house together, and I agreed.” He looked at her, as if watching for her reaction.
That wary look returned for a moment.
“Is my memory deceiving me,” he asked, deliberately changing the subject, “or did we do this before?”
Carmen broke into a smile. The sight of it warmed him right through. He liked it when she was all fire and brimstone, but it was good to see genuine warmth in her expression and—if he wasn’t mistaken—fondness in her eyes as she looked across the table at him.
“It wasn’t Sunday lunch, but yes. We snuck down here a couple of times when we needed an escape from the manor.”
“You’ve got a much better memory than me.”
“Apparently so. For both the good times and the bad.”
She was obviously thinking about Amanda again. That hurt look he’d seen on Friday evening flickered briefly in her eyes. Rex wished he could push that event right out of her memory. He’d known it was a mistake as soon as he’d fallen into bed with Amanda, but he had no idea of the extent of the fallout until it had been recently revealed.
It struck him that it was no wonder Carmen hadn’t trusted him at the beginning of this reunion. They’d grown so close back then, and then she’d seen him with Amanda. Following that, he’d walked out of the house never to return. He hadn’t said goodbye. That was because he didn’t want to. But she never knew the reason why. It was beginning to make sense, but he was cautious about discussing it again. He’d said his piece. As far as he was concerned that issue was shelved.
“Were the Beldover folk as intrigued with us back then?”
Carmen laughed softly and glanced about.
Rex followed her gaze. The village pub was a traditional local. The long wooden bar was the hub around which the villagers gathered, the old-timers sitting on the same high chair each night or propped on elbow chatting to their neighbors at the end of the day. Around the walls snugs and tables filled the rest of the space—the table nearest the fireplace the most prized seat in the house and rarely vacant. The furniture was oak and pine, the fireplace surround formed from old wood beams studded with brasses. A shelf that ran around the top of the walls was lined with a collection of Toby jugs of all sizes and varieties. The appetizing scent of roasting beef and apple pie with cloves wafted by from time to time, like an aromatic invitation to stay awhile.
Everyone who’d come in since they arrived in the Woolpack had looked their way. Some had smiled and waved in greeting. Whispered conversations followed, but they seemed jovial enough. There was no animosity. It was just that he and Carmen were the center of attention.
“There was less intrigue about us back then,” Carmen replied. “We were just the kids who’d come down from the big house on a sunny summer’s evening. Now they’re wondering what the outcome of our visits to the manor will be. I’m sure Andy Redmond will be passing on all the details of my comings and goings.”
Rex noticed that she seemed to enjoy speculating about the other customers.
“Are they placing bets?”
She looked at him pensively. “Should they be?”
She still doubted him.
“Hey, I’m not going to ruin the fun for them by announcing you’re the new lady of the manor.”
Her expression relaxed. She glanced away and smiled again when the locals who were gathered around the bar started arguing amiably about some local council matter. “Even if they’re not really associated with Burlington Manor by employment or trade, it’s the big house around here and they feel a connection if they know things about the people who live there. They know us, so they’ll want one of us to stay on.”
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Rex nodded. They knew Carmen much better than him. Despite his lineage, Carmen had been around more recently and she’d engaged with the villagers more readily than he had. Even when his mother had been the mistress of the house he’d gone away to school. Carmen hadn’t.
“If it sold to a totally new owner,” Carmen continued, “they’d lose their right to gossip. They’ve gained that from long-held knowledge and they’d have to start over again, finding out stuff about the new people, sharing it.”
“In that case I’m glad we came down here for our Sunday lunch to give them something to gossip about.”
Carmen nodded and lifted her wineglass, sipping from it as she looked at him. Her eyes twinkled.
Rex wished he could capture that. He’d like to see it more.
“Why do you want the manor so badly?” He was beginning to think they’d both be better off without it.
“Because I was happy there.”
“You think you’ll be happy there again?”
“I hope so. I’d like to try. I love that place.”
