A Roll in the Hay Read online

  Tess focused on Susannah’s elegant necklace for a moment, hoping it might look as though that had caught her attention.

  The smirk on Susannah’s face as she straightened confirmed she had seen right through that little ploy.

  “We were just discussing that,” Adam answered for her. “And since she already has a rapport with Bobby—”

  “Billie Jean,” Tess and Susannah corrected him as one.

  “Right, there you go. So, yes, you get Dr Robertson. Now that you’ve seen firsthand how brilliant she is, I’m sure you know you’re in good hands.”

  Tess felt her face heat up as she took the first taste of her new ale.

  “Yes, I think I might be,” Susannah replied. “Still, Finn here can run you through the contract before they’re quite done for the day. I, on the other hand, have places to be.”

  “Sure thing.” Finn took a seat as soon as Susannah swept out, while Dave went off to order their drinks. “Are you all ready to be bored? You’ll need your solicitor to go over all this anyway.”

  “We have time,” Margo said. “Let’s go through it.”

  In all the excitement over landing a new client, Tess forgot all about her new flat until the estate agent rang to ask when she’d be picking up the keys. Finally, a chance to unpack properly and start settling in.

  Any residual fear that coming so close to home would send her running in a blind panic seemed to have completely faded now. Hayleith felt both familiar and just strange enough to be the right place for Tess at just the right time.

  There weren’t a ton of properties to choose from in a town this small, so she was pleased that her choice was in a quiet lane that ran down the back of the pub, just far enough that any noise from the beer garden wouldn’t travel and disturb her on quiet nights in.

  Tess brought Margo to see it with her after she’d picked up the keys. It was silly not to want to go in alone for the first time, but the most reliable thing in the world was Margo’s unbridled curiosity. Some would call it nosiness, but Tess was much too good a friend for that.

  “Wow!” Margo said, looking around at the impressive space.

  “This is nicer than I thought,” Tess said. The walls were bare and white, the ceilings high, and the windows let in a ton of natural light. A person could paint in a space like this. Shame Tess had the artistic ability of a drunk pelican. “You never know quite what to expect, no matter how many pictures are on the website.”

  “I was sure it couldn’t be too bad. A nice young family had the place last time I knew the tenants. It’s such great timing that it came up now, although you’d be very welcome to stay with us as long as you want.”

  “Nah.” Tess waved off the idea as they traipsed through to the kitchen. She wasn’t a bad cook, and there was actually space to move around, which was a bonus. “I know you’re itching to start on your nursery at home, and my room is the obvious choice.”

  Margo blushed, utterly caught. “Still, we have a few months yet.”

  “It’s time I had my own space. I’ve gone from home to uni dorms to flat-shares to living with one girlfriend and then Caroline. I don’t think I’ve ever had a house to myself for more than a week.”

  “Then I hope you’ll be very happy here. Two bedrooms, right?”

  “Yeah, one for me and one for Waffles. At least around here, people rent to you if you have pets.”

  Margo was already off up the stairs, unable to contain herself. Tess followed, pleased that the stairs didn’t creak. Cursory inspections of the bathroom and the smaller bedroom confirmed all was well, and she hurried to join Margo in the master bedroom.

  It took up half of the top floor on its own, with a full wall of windows. Tess actually spun around on the spot, completely taken with it.

  “So this is where the magic will happen, eh?” Margo says. “Sorry, is it weird when I tease you about this, given the whole…you know…uni thing? I promise I really am cool with everything.”

  “Honestly, Margo, I don’t even think about…you know. It’s ancient history, and we’re both living our best lives now—just about.”

  It had been a while since Margo had brought up their ill-fated one-night stand during the last year of university. Tess had never asked if Adam knew—if that was the root of his unfunny jokes about threesomes. It wasn’t her business, and it wasn’t relevant to where they were now.

  “You’re such a good friend,” Margo said, and she was actually getting a bit weepy. She had cried exactly three times in all the years Tess had known her, so for a moment Tess had no idea what to do.

  “Fucking hormones, sorry,” Margo said.

  Tess gave her a quick hug. “It’s just your mum superpowers starting to activate, don’t worry.”

  “I know, I know. Who actually owns this place, by the way? Is it one of the people who lived here, then moved away?”

  Tess skimmed through her emails to see if it was mentioned. She stood by the window that overlooked the quiet courtyard shared with three other town houses like this, the little brook that ran between it, and the beer garden of the pub. Tess didn’t think she’d ever get to like its name: The Spiky Thistle. Where am I? Right. Emails about the house.

  “It’s actually all signed with the estate agent.” Tess got to the email with the copy of her lease. “Wait, this will have the owner’s name on it somewhere.”

  And sure enough, right above Tess’s name and the company acting as agents, there was the one person she really should have expected at this rate. Tess groaned.

  “What?” Margo asked. “Oh wait. It’s not…?”

  “Got it in one,” Tess said. “Our biggest client is also technically my landlord. Why exactly did I move back up here again? This kind of thing wouldn’t happen in London.”

  “It’ll be fine. You have a contract, you have rights. And Lady Muck seems to be almost tolerant of you these days. That has to count for something, right?”

  “I hope so,” Tess said. “Come on, we should get back to work.”

  Chapter 10

  Joan arrived early, which was quite unlike her, and brought the most beautiful spread that Susannah had ever seen outside of a five-star restaurant. Before she could say a word, dishes were being loaded into the giant fridge, with a list of instructions taped to the door for later.

  “Hey Boss?”

  Susannah froze as she heard Babs call out from the kitchen door.

  “Oh,” Joan said sharply as Babs reversed into the room, carrying a wooden crate full of gently clinking bottles. “It’s you.”

  Susannah supposed she should be glad her drinks order wasn’t dropped on the floor out of spite. No one needed that much broken glass this early in the day. Babs was supposed to have been bringing the wine more than an hour from now. This was going to look like meddling. “All okay here?” Susannah asked. “Bit of a scheduling overlap, but we’re all professionals aren’t we?”

  “Morning!” Jonathan said, entering through the side door as though he’d never stopped working here. Great, just the absolute last interloper she needed. Was he here to spy? Deliver more irritating news? Susannah had to bite her tongue not to bark at him. Dressed in muted tartan trousers with a matching waistcoat over a black shirt, he looked both fashionable and stuffy. “Just wanted a quick word about today?”

  “Well, I’ve left you everything you need,” Joan addressed Susannah and shoved the last few platters into the fridge. “Just needs someone who can operate an oven and handle the warm plates. It’s all in the instructions.”

  “I can settle up with you now?” Susannah offered. She fired off a quick text to Finn, summoning them for crowd control, if nothing else.

  “I’ll send the bill,” Joan said. “No particular rush, thank you.”

  “Turned the café into a Michelin-starred bistro, then, have you?” Babs asked as she unloaded the bottles mu
ch slower than necessary.

  “And what business is that of yours?” Joan began moving towards the door, but that put her on a collision course with Jonathan.

  “Let’s keep things civilised, please, ladies,” Jonathan said with a heavy sigh. “Nobody wants a repeat of the Halloween party, do they?”

  “Picked up psychic abilities along with that haircut, have you?” Joan asked.

  That was enough to set Babs off, and she was marching across the kitchen in her leopard print blouse and black skirt to put herself between Jonathan and Joan. “That is no way to talk to him.”

  “I’ll speak to that boy any way I damn well please,” Joan said. “He’s the one who quit on me and Susannah to go and work for Robin Karlson.”

  “As he’s entitled to do,” Babs corrected. “For someone who’s always telling people how to change their businesses, you certainly don’t like any disruption in your own little world.”

  “Honestly, it’s fine,” Susannah tried to intervene, but she was used to being summarily ignored when these two crossed paths.

  “I happen to believe in loyalty,” Joan said, drawing herself up to her full height in her flowing blue maxi dress. “Now he’s probably here to cause some trouble, aren’t you, boy?”

  “No,” Jonathan replied. “But I did just want to mention that you’ll need a vegan option for Councillor Javit today. Oh, and he’s bringing Robin as his guest. You did give everyone a plus one for the presentation and drinks.”

  Finn arrived then, and Susannah saw her opportunity to escape. Cursing as she scurried upstairs to change, she felt a smidgen of guilt at leaving Finn to wrangle with the civil war in her kitchen. If Robin wanted to throw Susannah off her game today, she’d have to do a lot better than crashing the canapés and small talk.

  Small talk might have been the most excruciating part of it all, worse even than how Susannah’s new high heels pinched terribly at the toes. She made sure that every glass was filled and that the village teens were passing around trays of canapés without insulting anyone. She couldn’t remember quite which two these were, but Finn kept track of all that.

  “This is a lovely glass of red,” Councillor Johnson was saying, snapping Susannah back to attention. “You’re really spoiling us today.”

  “Oh, this? Well, I like to get my best cooks and sommeliers on the case when I have important guests.” Listening to herself, Susannah was glad she didn’t have much of a gag reflex.

  “It really is a pleasure, Lady Karlson. I’ve heard great things about your entertaining here at Midsummer. I, for one, was glad to make the list.”

  Susannah gave her best encouraging smile. “It’s overdue, I know. I haven’t felt very festive for most of the year since Jimmy passed, but he would be the first to tell me to pick myself up and get on with things here.” The small lie that her own vision had in fact been Jimmy’s still felt unpleasant on her tongue. “And I thought, who better to show its potential to? These plans are all about community.”

  “Community?” Councillor Javit interrupted without a second thought. “Which part of the community will be spending hundreds of pounds renting out a holiday cabin for a stag weekend that ends up trashing half the village?”

  “Oh dear. It seems you’ve been given some inaccurate information there, Councillor,” Susannah replied without gritting her teeth, though it was a close call. “Have you had a chance to look at the brochure?” There was a small stack of them on every surface. No excuse for not doing the homework, but leave it to politicians to not even do the bare minimum.

  “No, but I have my sources,” Councillor Javit said. “Forgive me if I trust the word of a dear friend over the new face in town.”

  “New face…I’ve lived here for almost ten years!” Susannah felt the indignation creeping in and tried to wrestle back control of it. “Still, that feeling of something new can be so good for the local economy.”

  “And where was it you studied economics?” Robin glided into the little cluster of visitors as though she had wheels under her plain brown brogues. Jonathan hovered by her elbow as always. “Only I happened to study it at St. Andrew’s, as you know. As we always say, if it’s good enough for royalty, it must be a decent wee school.”

  There was polite laughter to greet her, a flurry of handshakes, and air kisses, all of which seriously interfered with Susannah’s opportunity to yank the bitter cow out of there by the prissy bun in her hair. The thing probably detached anyway, as lifeless as everything else about her.

  “Robin! I understand you came as Councillor Javit’s guest,” Susannah said, eyes narrowing. “I thought you’d be much too busy for a little event like this, or I would have called you direct.”

  “I am, as you all know, very invested in the future of Midsummer. As with so many things around here, I’m also a part of its past and its present, when I’m allowed to be. My brother was a good man, and his focus was always on continuing the wonderful traditions our family has built here. Even before he was made a member of the House of Lords, James put so much work into this place.”

  “Lord Karlson is greatly missed, Robin,” Councillor Johnson replied. “Though he always said his dear lady wife here did so much in running the estate. Couldn’t do it without her.”

  Susannah bestowed her most grateful smile on him.

  “No doubt, no doubt,” Robin replied, pretending to really consider it. “But as I’m sure you all know, gentlemen, a good wife needs a very particular skillset. But not every woman is capable of leading in the same way as men are. Now, I was raised to lead because our late father saw great things ahead for James and me both.”

  It set Susannah’s teeth on edge, all this James nonsense. No one, not even his own mother, had ever called him anything but Jimmy. It felt like they were talking about some stranger, and Susannah hated it. She stepped up, grabbing her sister-in-law by the elbow so no one could see, and made sure the grip pinched. “I do believe if you watch the presentation with everyone else, Robin, you’ll see that leadership is very much in my skillset. But since you’ve been such a help with that, I just wanted to run a few last-minute questions past you. In private.”

  Susannah was relieved when Robin let herself be steered rather than making a scene. They ducked into one of the empty rooms along the hall, the one with the billiards table that no one ever played on. Even when Jimmy was alive, he’d only come in there to read, not to knock some balls around with a stick.

  “How dare you crash this event!” Susannah asked as soon as the door was closed. “What is this, Robin? What have I ever done to you? First the papers, now you’re sabotaging me in person? You could at least fight fair. That’s what I’ve been doing.”

  “I’m fighting to win. You’re going to turn this beautiful place into a theme park, some gaudy American mess with a Ferris wheel and delinquents selling drugs in the bathrooms. I won’t stand for it.”

  “It’s going to have a few distant holiday cabins that will help fund a horse sanctuary. Where are you getting these crazy ideas?”

  “Oh, I know what you’re really up to,” Robin hissed. “You’ve always wanted to push this place into something James didn’t want. The sun, moon, and stars had to be arranged to suit Susannah. Every business decision, every purchase, every sale… He stopped listening to me. We used to be such a team!”

  “We were married, Robin. Sometimes things shift that way. I know he still respected your opinion. He said all the time ‘Robin would do this’ or ‘Robin says that’. We were never excluding you. Jimmy said you’d be glad to be rid of all the responsibility for once.”

  “His name is James,” Robin said. “But by all means, you go out there and make a fool of yourself. Show them your vague pictures and your idiotic plans. They know you’re not qualified for this; you’re just a meaningless title from a bankrupt estate. I’ve already lined up enough votes to get your planning permission refus
ed, so good luck ever turning them back.”

  “I will,” Susannah replied. “But I shouldn’t have to. Can’t we just get along, Robin?”

  “No.” Robin fixed her jacket and pushed past Susannah to open the door. “He regretted marrying you, did you know that? Said so in the hospital. That with a bit more daring he could have lived quite openly, but you talked him into all the cloak and dagger routine to get your hands on his money.”

  “What?” Susannah reeled back as though Robin had struck her. The idea for their marriage had never come from Susannah, and more than once when Jimmy’s head had been turned by a new lover, she’d checked in with him, told him she’d be amenable to an amicable divorce if he ever needed it.

  Not once, not for a second, had she ever considered Jimmy might resent her. They had both agreed, over and over, that pursuing same-sex relationships would be ruinous for both of them, outside of discreet and sanctioned affairs. She’d been so desperate for security and stability after wriggling out of her own family’s clutches that maybe she hadn’t questioned their plan enough. The very thought that Jimmy had felt trapped by that in the end, that she’d somehow boxed him into a life of regrets, was the straw that broke the camel of lingering politeness’s back.

  “Get. Out.”

  “This is my family. Get out before I drag you out. And I wrangle horses daily, so make no mistake, pulling you across the hall by your hair will barely be a workout for me. Get the fuck out of my house, and don’t you darken my doorstep again, plus one or otherwise.”

  Robin looked like she might argue the toss, but whatever Susannah’s furious expression had settled into apparently gave her second thoughts. The door slammed, and Susannah stood there staring at it.

  Surely Robin had made that up to hurt her? But she sounded so sure, so utterly convinced that it happened. If it had, was that justification for why she was trying so hard to wrest back control? Or was she just bitter and deluded, trying to tear strips off Susannah in any way she could?