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‘What about Mrs Meachim?’ Charlotte suggested. ‘I know she’s not young, but as an ex-schoolteacher…’
‘If she’d do it, there’s no one I’d rather trust the kids with. She’s marvellous with them.’
‘I thought we could work out the hours to fit in around the twins.’
A faint shadow touched Sophy’s face. ‘You’re not doing this just out of pity, are you?’ she blurted out.
Charlotte shook her head firmly. ‘No way. We do need the extra help, especially now with our busiest time coming up, and with new competition opening up we’ve got to be on our toes. We can’t afford to keep people waiting.
‘You’ll want time to think it over,’ she added considerately, but Sophy shook her head.
‘No, I won’t. It’s a wonderful opportunity. I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I’ll have to check with Mrs Meachim that she’ll have the twins, but subject to that…when do you want me to start?’
‘Monday,’ Charlotte suggested.
‘Wonderful. Look, I’ll give you a ring on Friday, if I may, just to let you know that I’ve got everything organised.’
As Charlotte got up to say her goodbyes to the twins, they both clung to her legs. Laughing, she picked the little girl up and carried her down the path with her. Sophy came with her carrying her son, but neither twin would let Charlotte open the gate and leave until they had had several hu
gs and kisses.
‘I’m really grateful to you for giving me this job,’ Sophy told her as she retrieved her children and Charlotte slipped through the gate.
‘Don’t be,’ Charlotte told her firmly. ‘I’m the one who’s going to be grateful to you over the next few months.’
She was just about to move over to her car when a familiar dark blue Jaguar pulled up in front of her. Her heart started thumping as Oliver Tennant got out. How had he managed to track her down here? He must have either rung or been in to the office. What did he want?
He was coming towards her; she could feel the tension curling her stomach. He gave her a smile, and then to her shock turned aside to say easily to Sophy, ‘Mrs Williams, I’m sorry to bother you, but I understand that you might be selling your house.’
Charlotte was stunned. She had heard of the keen business tactics of the more entrepreneurial of London’s agents, but this! Her mouth dropped open, even her chagrin in realising that Oliver Tennant had not, as she had first supposed so stupidly, been looking for her forgotten as she fumed over his effrontery.
She could feel Sophy’s surprise, and hear the awkwardness in her friend’s voice as she said hesitantly, ‘Well, no…I’m afraid I’m not.’ She turned to Charlotte, looking for guidance.
Taking a deep breath, Charlotte said as calmly as she could, ‘You go in, if you want to, Sophy. I’ll deal with this.’
She could see Oliver Tennant frowning as Sophy scooped up her children and hurried indoors.
‘I’ve heard of being quick off the mark,’ she said bitterly, ‘but this almost amounts to sharp practice. This isn’t London, Mr Tennant. Out here we wait to be invited to act in a sale. We don’t go out and chivvy our clients like salesmen.’
She was bitterly, furiously angry, and shockingly mingled with that anger was something almost close to pain…as though something inside her hurt at finding this incontrovertible evidence that Oliver Tennant was every bit as bad and unscrupulous in business as she had feared he would be. Pain…what a ridiculous idea. She ought to be feeling triumph, not pain.
‘I could argue the point that sales people are exactly what we are,’ Oliver told her, so obviously unperturbed that she was silenced. ‘However, in this instance I’m afraid you have rather jumped to conclusions. I haven’t come out here to persuade Mrs Williams to give me her business. I simply want to discuss with her the possibility of my buying her house. I need somewhere to live…something short-term and convenient while I look around for a more suitable property. If all goes well down here I may sell out the London end of the business and work exclusively from here.’
If all goes well… If he managed to steal virtually all her business, he meant, Charlotte acknowledged, hating him for putting her in the wrong, and hating herself even more for making such a fool of herself…
‘I presume that that little bit of play-acting about the house not being for sale was directed at me as a fellow agent rather than as a prospective purchaser and, that being the case, I have no objection to going through you. If I could make an appointment to view…’
He was laughing at her, Charlotte was sure of it. Well, she knew how to stop him doing so.
‘Those might be your business methods, Mr Tennant,’ she told him crisply. ‘They aren’t mine. The reason Sophy told you the house wasn’t for sale was quite simply because it isn’t.’
‘But I’d heard…’ He was frowning now, looking more irritated than remorseful.
‘She was considering selling it…but…circumstances have changed, and she’s decided not to.’
‘So it looks as if we’ve both lost out,’ Oliver told her. ‘Pity…I can’t stay at the Bull forever, and I’m not having any luck at all in finding rented accommodation.’
Charlotte bared her teeth at him and said saccharinely, ‘Why don’t you ask Vanessa to help you? She has at least three guest bedrooms empty…I’m sure she’d be delighted to offer you one.’
