AllFreeNovel
Share Us
TEXTLSTART_Your laughter brings to me the wide sky, it is the whole of life_TEXTLEND
I know the quote isn’t quite right, but I don’t have time to look it up and check my English translation.
The three dots roll. And stop. Roll and stop.
TEXTLSTART_Just meet me. And talk. I told no lie. Hand on my heart, which belongs to you alone, there was no lie._TEXTLEND
Her lip curls and she stalks across the car park for Miss Dottie Hainbright’s little car, an unevenness to her gait that tells me she is hurt from her fall. She throws open the car door, tosses her helmet in the back seat along with theTS&Kbum bag, and—damn everyone in this village for always leaving their keys in their cars—peels away from the abbey alone.
My words will not be enough. There is something broken between us. I scroll through my contacts. Juliette and I parted on good terms, but can I ask her to attest to the fact that we never lay together? No gentleman would be so gauche. “Greetings, person who got me the job that will save my career, would you mind telling the woman I love that we didn’t bump uglies?”
There’s no use asking any of theGolden Horseshoes. Lolly would think that’s a setup. Who else is there to ask? Who might she trust? I scroll up.Esther Fitzwilliam.She knows nothing—other than the gossip that doubtlessly followed me—but she has Lolly’s horse, Velveteen. The plan begins to come together in my mind. It won’t solve thelieproblem, but it might serve to show her how much I adore her and want only her happiness.
I type my message. I hit send.
IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Mariano Arias. The Great House. The Cotswolds, England.
“Have you seen my sister?” Miss Hainbright’s voice booms through the door to the Great House, the dog who bit me pattering at her feet. She wears a massive shawl about her shoulders, and blushes and shakes her head when she sees me.
The dog growls, hackles raised, and backs up. “You ungrateful grandnephew.” She shakes a finger at the small creature—one of those terriers so ubiquitous among the British, which must be why he looks so familiar. “You will stop that this instant, or I will take you to the Home for Unwanted Wastrel Dogs Who Have Been Abandoned and leave you there.”
“How can I help?” I genuinely wish to be of service. Dottie Hainbright is the model of all things I love about the British. She’s eccentric, forthright, the mistress of her own little fiefdom and, it seems, a good friend to Lolly. She would not let me pass when my sweet, fierce, angry lover took refuge in her house, which seems the thing only a very loyal friend would do. “You’re looking for someone?”
“I mean, I need to see my… Whoever’s in charge here.” She’s flustered and blustering, but I am anxious to return to my room so I can continue my conversation with Esther.
I wave at the steward, who’s giving instructions to the footmen about the cutlery or the candles or something connected with this evening’s feast—one more entertainment at which my attendance is required. “Perhaps Mr. Kenneth can help?” The staff at the Great House have been nothing but accommodating and I’m sure—
“Bloody hell! Where’s Alistair!” Miss Hainbright cuts me off, swooping toward the ballroom. “Has everyone been replaced? What on earth for? Our people are every bit as capable as—” I don’t hear the rest of what she has to say because she’s been swallowed by the bustle of servants and incoming musicians and set designers. It’s another night of revelry in a string of nights that have been nothing if not painful. Lolly and I are shoved together by our contracts, but she pushes me away with a steely English will and a polite façade that would freeze hell, given the chance.
I take the stairs three at a time, eager to set my grand plan in action. It’s late in Florida, as in middle-of-the-night late, but Esther has assured me that she’s “Totally here for this.”
Lolly’s at the top of the stairs, which pulls me up short, my hand on the banister and my heart in my throat. She’s still in her muddy riding gear, leaning into some heated debate with a woman who’s the very image of Dottie Hainbright, albeit a decade or more younger. She has the same regal bearing, the same aquiline nose, the same sapphire eyes.
“Oh, god,” Lolly groans and turns away. “Not you! Not now!”
“Oh,youmust be the star of the show!” The woman at Lolly’s side spins and reaches out, grasping my hand with both of hers. “Gwen Spicer. Howdoyou do?”
She’s the boss! The woman who has offered me this astounding opportunity and agreed to pay the exorbitant salary Juliette insisted upon. “Miss Spicer. The pleasure is all mine.” I give a gentleman’s bow.
Lolly’s down the stairs and headed for the door, thumbs whizzing over her phone keyboard, her limp not slowing her down one bit, leaving me to meet Gwen alone.
“She’s always been temperamental, bless her.” Gwen turns me around, hand on my shoulder, and walks me down the stairs. And while my heart is with Lolly and my brain is with Esther, I allow our boss to dictate my movements. I’ll make my escape as soon as I’m able. “Don’t worry about her. It’s ancient history rearing its head. As it does.” She laughs. And though the sound is hollow, her eyebrows disappear into the asymmetric bangs that cover her forehead. She has the same red hair as Lolly, though I believe her shade is perhaps assisted by a bottle.
“Now. Let’s talk business.Thrills, Spills, & Kills—tell me what’s working, what we need to change, how we can ramp this up to the next level. The pictures I’m seeing from Johannes are dynamite, but I’m thinking we might want to get a film crew here for the match itself? Are they ready? The students? To at least not embarrass themselves? That’s all I ask. That they be able to show off a little and have a memento of their time in the sun.”
I am unable to get a word in, such is the force and speed of Gwen Spicer.
“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I’ve managed to get your teammates to come over.” She squeezes my arm then leaves hers looped through mine. “Can you imagine? TheGolden Horseshoes? Here? At my little spread? It’ll be the high point of the season.”
“I have heard. It’s astounding. They are the very best of men.” And expensive! The money that she’s pouring into this venture is bordering on obscene.
“I know what you’re thinking. It’s OTT! But this venture needs a hearty dose of the Spicer magic. If you ask the universe for what you want, it delivers.” She waves at someone across the ballroom. “But you must be careful how you ask, because she’s a harsh taskmaster. Very literal.” She runs her hands along the mantel. Is she checking for dust? Are those details important? “Dottie! My dear! How wonderful to see you!”
The two women embrace, but it’s a lot like Pippa and Henrietta when they meet someone new,unbesoto each cheek while their eyes are…not dead, exactly…but they’re not engaged, either.
“I hear you’ve allowed our girl to stay with you at the Dower House?”
