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Lili whirled around at the sound of Abigail’s voice. ‘What was?’
Abigail picked up a paper plate. ‘Standing up there with the Somervilles in front of everybody.’ She furrowed her brow. ‘What did you think I was talking about?’
‘Oh, er … nothing.’
‘Is everything okay, Lili?’
Lili glanced over at Oliver, pondering whether she should tell Abigail what she’d overheard.
Abigail frowned. ‘You didn’t overhear someone talking about me – did you?’
‘No, no, of course I didn’t,’ she fibbed, wanting to spare Abigail’s feelings. They were just a pair of old tittle-tattles, jealous of her young, gorgeous, clever friend – and of the Somervilles. Her eyes roved to Oliver again and Lord Somerville. They were right, though. She couldn’t see the resemblance. Lili shifted her attention to Abigail. There was a reason she wasn’t about to tell her that the staff had been talking about her. Knowing Abigail, it would give her a reason to leave her job and her life there. Lili didn’t want that. Abigail fitted here. Lili knew she got on very well with Carys, and she saw the way Lord Somerville held her with high regard and affection. She’d heard about Abigail’s run-in with Lord Somerville when she’d briefly covered her sister’s cleaning job. It sounded as though she hadn’t minced her words and had brought his lordship down a peg or two – something Lili imagined was quite a novelty in his position. She expected Abigail gave as good as she got when it came to Oliver, too. They respected her, that much was obvious.
Lili watched Abigail help herself to some food. Her only worry was, what would happen if they found out she owned Daphne’s cottage?
Lili felt that Abigail had a future there, but whether it was more than a job and friendships – she looked over at Oliver mingling with the staff – remained to be seen. Then again, as long as Abigail’s mum didn’t tell anyone about the cottage, why should they find out? It would only complicate matters if they did. AndLili had a feeling that Abigail was going to sell the cottage. She understood. It had too many memories of Toby and their life together. If Abigail asked, she’d say she was doing the right thing, selling up. Then the Somervilles would definitely not find out she had inherited it.
For some reason, Toby’s list came to mind.Find a home, find something meaningful in your life. When she saw Abigail standing with Carys, Oliver and Lord Somerville, it seemed as though she was one of the family. She was at home. From Lili’s own experience, she knew how important it was to find where you belonged; she’d found her home with Nate at The Summerhouse. She wanted that for Abigail. What she didn’t want was for something to get in the way of Abigail’s future happiness, especially if that was here, at the Hall, with Oliver.
‘What are you thinking?’ Abigail asked, turning around with a plateful of food and catching Lili’s expression.
Lili was thinking that perhaps it was time for Abigail to put the cottage on the market and get shot of it before they found out the real reason they only knew her by her maiden name.
