A Year at Meadowbrook Manor Page 22

  ‘No, no, of course not. Right, well it’s four nights until our big day, so how about I draw up a rota of my men to be in place overnight until then.’

  ‘Oh, John, would you? I mean, I’m not sure we’re dealing with master criminals but—’

  ‘We will have our sticks with us, and our bells and anything else we could use.’

  ‘Your handkerchiefs,’ Connor suggested. Harriet scowled at him.

  ‘Yes, in case we need to apprehend the villains, we can use them to tie them up, good thinking, Connor.’

  Harriet rolled her eyes. She hoped she wasn’t going to regret this.

  ‘If you need anything, call me or Connor, but, John, we are going to try to keep this from the others, I don’t want them to worry.’

  ‘’Course not, Harriet, we will be very discreet. It’s in the morris dancers’ code, you know.’ Of course she didn’t. She didn’t even know they had a code.

  Two nights later, the phone woke Harriet, she reached out, grabbed it and put it to her ear.

  ‘Hello.’ She blinked her eyes open and yawned.

  ‘It’s Connor. You were right, John just called me, can you come to the sanctuary office?’

  ‘I’m on my way.’

  Harriet managed to drag herself out of bed, she pulled a cardigan over her pyjamas and, pushing her hair out of her eyes, she quietly made her way downstairs. She put her wellies on, grabbed Gus’s coat, picked up a torch and, glancing at the time – 2 a.m. – she made her way to the office. It was freezing and she almost skidded on the icy ground as she rushed, taking the short cut down to the office.

  She walked in, and in front of her was Connor, also in his pjs, John, Steve and Burt from the morris dancing squad and Damian, Connor’s apprentice, whose wrists were bound with a yellow handkerchief.

  ‘Oh dear,’ Harriet said. So this was who Mark had paid, a clueless kid. ‘What’s going on?’

  ‘This young man was apprehended trying to let the donkey, the ponies and the goats out of their shed. When asked what he was doing, he said he was checking on them, but obviously our job was to apprehend him, and notify you,’ John explained, sounding incredibly formal.

  ‘Our bells alerted him, but as he tried to run off, Steve here tripped him up,’ Burt explained.

  ‘You guys are amazing,’ Harriet said, impulsively hugging them. They were a bit taken aback but they let her.

  ‘What the hell were you really doing, Damian?’ Connor asked. He sounded calm but he looked furious and his eyes flashed angrily.

  ‘Nothing, I was just—’

  ‘Don’t bother lying, we know. What we want to know is how much Mark paid you,’ Harriet took charge. She almost felt sorry for Damian, barely seventeen he was out of his depth, but she guessed he was cheap.

  ‘How do you …?’ Damian’s eyes swung between Harriet and Connor. He looked petrified.

  ‘It doesn’t matter, but I know that Mark put you up to this. Were you also supposed to kidnap the baby Jesus?’ Harriet almost wanted to laugh at her words.

  ‘Yes, but I’ve been watching, they never leave it in the manger overnight. They guard it like it’s a real baby rather than a doll.’ Damian shook his head.

  ‘Well he is the Messiah,’ John said. ‘And a lot of work went into all of this. I bet you didn’t think of that, did you?’

  ‘No.’ The poor kid looked shamefaced. Harriet just felt relieved that nothing had happened to the animals.

  ‘Damian, I gave you a chance because your parents said how much you wanted to work with animals. I don’t understand why you would mess it up, risk it, for what? A few quid.’

  ‘A hundred,’ Damian replied. ‘I’m sorry, but he said there would be more money if I did this job and I’m saving up for a car.’

  ‘A hundred quid, that’s ridiculous. You do know we could have you arrested, for breaking and entering. You could have a criminal record, all for a hundred pounds.’ Harriet saw him cower at her words. ‘And those lovely animals could have been badly hurt when you opened the gates to the field as you were trying to do.’

  ‘Please, please don’t have me arrested.’

  ‘We won’t,’ Connor said. ‘But I hope it was worth losing your job over.’

  ‘What will I tell my parents?’ He looked terrified.

  ‘The truth, because otherwise I’m going to tell them,’ Connor offered. ‘First rule of being an adult is that you have to take responsibility for your own actions.’

  ‘Sorry,’ Damian mumbled again.

  ‘I’ll walk you home, if you make me a hot chocolate,’ Connor said. John, Burt and Steve had frogmarched Damian out and were taking him back to his house.

  ‘Isn’t Bella waiting for you at the cottage?’ Harriet asked, caustically.

  ‘No.’

  Silently they made their way to the house.

  ‘So, what do we do about Mark and Loretta?’ Connor asked as they nursed their hot chocolate, which she’d added a generous slug of whisky to.

  ‘We need a plan. At the moment, if we go to Pippa and Freddie, I think Mark and Loretta will manage to wheedle their way out of it, well Mark will at least, and I’m worried that they’ll turn against me. I’ve only just rebuilt my relationships with my siblings, I don’t want to lose that.’

  ‘No, but it’s unlikely Mark will give up.’

  ‘I need to find out what is going on with Mark.’

  ‘But you can’t hire a detective.’

  ‘No.’ Harriet had a sudden brainwave. ‘But I have an IT guy in New York who used to work with my team and I can email him. I’ll offer him a luxury weekend in Long Island in exchange for getting me some info.’

  ‘Bloody hell, Harry, remind me to never cross you. But how are you going to afford that?’

  ‘Oh I bought it in a charity auction ages ago, didn’t know what I was going to do with it, so now …’

  ‘Perfect.’

  ‘Well let’s see what he comes back with, but I just know there’s something going on.’

  ‘And if you do find out more, will you tell Pippa and Freddie then?’ His voice was so gentle that Harriet had to resist throwing herself into his arms.

  ‘I don’t know, Connor, I feel so out of my depth.’ And with you, she silently added.

  ‘H, your methods might be slightly unorthodox but, look, you got this sorted. And to be honest, I think the morris dancers were quite enthusiastic as security guards, I’m thinking of making it a permanent thing!’

  ‘Nice of you to say.’

  ‘H, you’re so capable, no wonder you’re this successful investment banker, God I always knew you were destined for big things, you left the rest of us behind, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. You really are amazing, you know.’

  ‘I’m also jobless right now.’

  ‘Hey, come on, stop feeling sorry for yourself. You stopped Mark and Loretta, and I know you’ll make sure they don’t let anything happen to Meadowbrook, I have every faith in you.’

  ‘I wish I had your confidence, because I just don’t know how to tell the others.’

  ‘All right, how about we get Christmas out of the way, and then you and I will put our heads together.’

  ‘Thanks, Con.’ They clinked hot chocolate mugs and Harriet tried not to feel as if her heart was about to stop. At least she had someone on her side now in this, unfortunately though, it was the someone she wanted by her side for good and she was struggling to stop her feelings from betraying her when he was so close that she just wanted to be in his arms. She took another sip of her drink and had a little chat with herself. As she watched him, from beneath her eyelashes, she realised she needed to put those feelings aside, for now, for the future, and concentrate on getting rid of Mark and Loretta. After all, he was never going to be hers and the sooner she accepted that, the better.

  Chapter 23

  ‘Seriously, Hector, you’ll be telling me you’re moving into Meadowbrook next,’ Harriet teased as Hector, today wearing some seriously strange coun
try garb of tweed jacket, trousers, hat and green Hunter wellies, officially opened the winter wonderland.

  ‘Well, I may be mistaken, but I believe I was so drunk at the Christmas party that I may have agreed to marry Edie.’ They both laughed. He was becoming a bit of a Meadowbrook fixture, but as he was drawing quite a crowd and also generating a lot of publicity, she was happy to have him. And he was amusing, especially with his outfits.

  The winter wonderland was packed. And as everyone had to pay a five-pound entrance fee, Harriet felt confident that that, along with Santa’s grotto and some other stalls, would make quite a bit of money. She seriously hoped so. John was offering for people to take selfies with the baby Jesus for a pound a go, which she wasn’t sure was strictly ethical, but who was she to argue?

  Gus had hand-painted some lovely Meadowbrook Christmas scenes, which he and Fleur were selling, Gwen was busy being Mrs Claus, but Margaret and Edie – who said she was fit as a fiddle again – had the cake stall. The refreshment tent was run by the rest of the morris dancers, who were tucking into the mulled wine already, but were also paying for it, so she couldn’t object. All in all it was looking to be another successful event, with the whole community involved. The ponies were standing around by the sleigh that Gerry had made, cordoned off in a pen, that he had also made, in front of Santa’s grotto, which of course Gerry had made. He had spent weeks getting it all perfect and it really was, although they knew now that it was all to impress Gwen.

  Connor was happy that the event was going off without a hitch. All that remained was for them to keep an eye on Mark and Loretta, she didn’t think there would be any trouble, but she wanted to check. Mark looked pretty unhappy though, as he had done increasingly lately, whilst Loretta was the same as always; dressed inappropriately for a family event that was for sure, as she caused quite a stir among the men of the village and elicited scowls from their wives.

  Harriet, with Connor as her partner in crime, had told the family at dinner the other evening that Damian had been fired for breaking into the animal sanctuary – Mark’s face had been a picture. Loretta’s smile froze as Gus spoke.

  ‘What the hell was he doing?’ he’d asked.

  Harriet had replied, as innocently as she could, ‘I think he wanted to see if there was any money in the office. He said he was checking the animals, but he obviously wasn’t. But never mind, he’s been fired and we have stepped up security at the sanctuary and also at the winter wonderland. No one will get past us now.’ Harriet made sure she looked directly at Mark, smiling sweetly at the bastard. He seemed to think she was a threat and, by God, now she actually was.

  Harriet saw a local news crew arrive now, setting up to film the nativity scene. Well, as Bella billed it as the only real live nativity scene in the area, how could they resist? And despite the fact that Joseph and Mary were well past child-bearing ages and one of the shepherds – Samuel – kept falling asleep on the hay, it was quite a sight.

  ‘It’s great isn’t it, Harry?’ Freddie said, putting his arm around his sister. Mark and Loretta stood awkwardly next to them.

  ‘You and Pip have done a fantastic job yet again. You know, you two make such a good team, you should go into business together.’

  ‘Do you think so? Really?’

  ‘Meaowbrook Events. Has quite the ring to it, doesn’t it?’

  ‘Oh my, Harry, it really does.’

  Harriet stifled a giggle as Mark’s jaw dropped to the ground and Loretta even had the grace to blush.

  ‘Oh God, guys can you come here,’ Pippa suddenly shouted. They all rushed to the nativity scene where everyone seemed to have gathered.

  ‘Whats wrong?’ Freddie asked, breathlessly.

  ‘Gerald bit the sound guy,’ the local news presenter, Sally Miles, explained.

  ‘I could sue,’ the guy said.

  ‘You really couldn’t, we don’t have any money,’ Freddie said, good-naturedly.

  ‘What did you do to make him bite you?’ Connor demanded.

  ‘I tried to put the mic near him so he would do a donkey sound, but instead he headbutted the mic away and bit me.’

  ‘Bella, sort these guys out, will you?’ Connor said crossly. ‘Gerald doesn’t know you and he doesn’t need to make a “donkey noise” for you.’

  ‘I’ll sort it, Con,’ Bella said calmly. But then Gerald took the hat off the sound guy’s head with his mouth and started eating it.

  ‘Oh boy, he really doesn’t like you,’ Freddie said.

  ‘Not many of us do,’ Sally said, laughing.

  Harriet was exhausted. The field was emptying and everyone was congratulating them on the event on the way out. The kids all clutching their Santa gifts – the grotto had been a huge success, Gwen and Gerry made a great team. Gus had sold out of his paintings, the calendars had also sold out, ditto the cakes and, well, the mulled wine didn’t last the day. John was delighted he had made a hundred pounds for them with his ‘baby Jesus’ photo opportunity.

  ‘Right, I vote we go back, open some of Dad’s good wine and all collapse in the drawing room,’ Harriet suggested.

  ‘God, yes, I am exhausted,’ Pippa said.

  ‘I thought we could spend the night in Cheltenham for once,’ Mark said

  ‘Really?’ Pippa looked at him. ‘You didn’t say before, anyway I’m too tired.’

  ‘Pippa, since being here you’ve only spent about two nights at our actual home.’

  ‘Yes, and you know why. Dad’s will. Anyway, Mark, another night, but not tonight, as I said, I just want to collapse with my family.’ Her voice was strong and Harriet felt proud of her.

  Mark started to speak but seemed to change his mind. Harriet had figured it out a bit more, the stronger and more independent Pippa became, the harder Mark found it to deal with. Every weekend now he was trying to get her alone, he had even suggested Christmas at their house, just the two of them, but Pippa said that as it was her first without Dad she needed to be at Meadowbrook. And Harriet got the impression that Mark wasn’t used to not getting his own way, which explained why he was so worried about the money, well to some extent. She was still waiting to hear from her guy in New York, to see if he had discovered anything about her brother-in-law. She was sure there was more to it. Her instincts when it came to work were always spot on and she had a strong feeling they were in Mark’s case too.

  Chapter 24

  Harriet took Gwen’s arm as they walked across the fields to the church for midnight Mass. There was something so magical about Christmas Eve; she’d always loved it at Meadowbrook. It was cold, and frost filled the air as they strolled along; Harriet could see her own breath, hanging like a cloud in front of her. She snuggled into Gwen taking comfort from her.

  Midnight Mass was a Singer tradition, for as long as she could remember. As kids, they had moaned a bit, but their father said that staying up late meant they wouldn’t have so long to wait for Santa. They bought into that logic, of course.

  They weren’t a big churchgoing family. Their father went fairy regularly with Gwen after they all left home, but Harriet thought, with a pang, that it was more for something to do. Harriet knew stepping into the church tonight would be hard for them all, it was the first time they had done so since their father’s funeral. She had a pocket full of tissues at the ready.

  ‘Harriet, love,’ Gwen said quietly.

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘I wondered if tomorrow, after church, I mean when I go to church not you, would it be all right to invite Gerry up to the house for lunch?’

  Harriet was taken aback by the request, not because she minded but because Gwen never invited anyone to the house.

  ‘You don’t need to ask me,’ Harriet said, breathing in the icy air.

  ‘Well, I thought, I’d check. I know we’re not having a big Christmas lunch tomorrow, but still it’s a family day and Gerry is on his own. His daughter is having him on Boxing Day, but I didn’t think that anyone should be on their own on Christmas.’
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  ‘Of course they shouldn’t. And you’re family, so any guest of yours is welcome.’

  They were having their Christmas Day on Boxing Day because Fleur wasn’t joining them until then. She always spent Christmas Day with her mother and although she said she wanted to be at Meadowbrook, Gus had gently suggested just delaying their Christmas by a day. He was willing to stand up to Rachel now but he also didn’t want to cause trouble. And Harriet had reasoned, it didn’t matter that they were having Christmas a day late; they were grown-ups after all.

  Harriet had helped Gwen plan the big Boxing Day Christmas feast. Traditional, of course, smoked salmon and Buck’s Fizz for breakfast, turkey with all the trimmings for lunch, then leftovers for supper. Amanda and Hayley would be joining them – they were also coming to midnight Mass tonight, along with Loretta and Mark. Thankfully Bella was visiting her family in Kent; Harriet wasn’t sure she could cope with watching her and Connor fawn over each other over the Christmas table without stuffing the turkey up one of their arses.

  On actual Christmas Day they had decided to just have a quiet day and Gwen was banned from cooking, or even making a cup of tea. They were going to see to the animals in the morning – when Gwen went to church – have sandwiches for lunch, and the plan was to watch Christmas TV in the afternoon – there were some things they needed to do, including the Queen’s Speech, because that was another of their father’s traditions and funnily enough without him, his traditions felt more important.

  Harriet wasn’t that excited about Christmas, although she had enjoyed the preparations. Last-minute shopping in Bath with Pippa, who again had led her to the charity shops to find gifts for everyone. And actually, Harriet had taken quite a lot of joy in finding bargains. She got an old cookbook for Gwen, retro food which she knew she would like, a hip flask for Freddie – she didn’t like to think too much about it being second-hand – she found a book on the Impressionist painters for Gus, and a hideous Christmas tie for Connor, as a joke. Pippa had seen a pair of very hippy-ish earrings that she liked, dangling feathers, and so Harriet had got them for her. They couldn’t find anything to suit Fleur, so they pooled their resources and got her a voucher for River Island. It was Christmas for under a hundred pounds in fact, and despite her looking longingly at the goods in all the expensive shops that she coveted and would have normally bought without so much as a glance at the price tag, she felt a little bit pleased with herself.