A Roll in the Hay Read online

  “Sort of, yeah,” Tess said. “I grew up about thirty miles from here, but I was off to Glasgow and London as soon as I could get there. I’m sure you know the story—running off to the big city to make a name for yourself and all that.”

  “That wasn’t quite how I did it,” Susannah replied. “And you shouldn’t believe everything you read in the papers.”

  “I wasn’t— I didn’t…” Tess knew she shouldn’t have opened her mouth. Just when things had seemed to be on an even keel, she’d thrown a cat among the pigeons all over again. Maybe it was time to consider a career where she didn’t have to interact with people. At least animals weren’t easily offended. Except cats, of course.

  “It’s fine.” Susannah waved her hand, dismissing the whole topic as if it were just a delicate mist that had settled for a moment and then moved on. “Some people don’t get on with their in-laws. Mine want to rob me of every penny and drag my name through the mud in the process. It is what it is.”

  “So, all lies, then?” Tess didn’t mean to sound hopeful; she swore she didn’t.

  “Not all of it, no. Just the worst possible take on a set of facts, as usual. That’s all the media is now, really—a bunch of people trying to be the most controversial and bending the truth until it snaps.”

  “I think I was right when I called you a cynic. And for what it’s worth, I’m sure nobody reads that stuff. Today’s news is tomorrow’s recycling and all that.”

  “You don’t have to be nice to me because of some misguided idea about customer service. I’ll pay your bill regardless.”

  “Do people only talk to you about money or something? A person could really take offence at how you think that’s all I care about. No, I get it, I’m just staff. I was only trying to make conversation, but I can get in my car and leave this to your actual vet anytime you like.”

  Tess didn’t usually get this snippy, but the conversation with Caroline and all her ex’s half-assed self-pity was still ringing in her ears. That and some residual guilt for dropping Susannah’s name inappropriately a little while ago was making for a very odd mood all round.

  “No, no. That won’t be necessary, sorry. I truly didn’t mean any offence. I…appreciate the company. It can feel like the ends of the earth out here sometimes.”

  Tess nodded. “It always seemed to go on forever when I was growing up. Then I got on a bus and found out what distance really was.”

  “You like to travel?”

  “I was obsessed for a while.” Tess figured it was just making conversation. “And living in London, the world’s on your doorstep. A different trip every weekend, if you put everything you have into it.”

  “Sounds nice. I always wanted to travel more. But responsibilities… It’s one week away in the summer each year, and that has to be enough.”

  “More than some people get, I suppose.”

  “Quite.” Susannah looked down at her hands, clasped loosely in her lap as she leaned against the wall near where Tess sat. “Do you always wear your hair like that?”

  “Like what?” Tess moved a defensive hand up to her ponytail. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it. I just wondered if you ever wear it down. When I tie my hair up all day, it gets this line through it. It made me think of that.”

  “Well, on workdays, yes. Trust me, you don’t want it falling in your face during surgery.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “So glad you approve, Your Ladyship. But on weekends, in the evenings? Depends on how I’m feeling, I guess. Or who I’m with.”

  Susannah looked over at her then, and the way she raked her gaze up and down so slowly was an unasked question in its own right. Despite the urge to blurt something out, Tess stayed silent and just let it happen. That seemed to satisfy something in Susannah.

  They sat for a companionable few minutes in silence, watching Billie Jean gingerly moving as little as possible. Before long, a flatbed truck came grunting along the road, towing a high silver horse box behind it.

  Tess supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that Dave from the other day was the one driving. He’d already shown that he was loyal to the Karlson estate.

  “Riding your horses too hard?” he joked with Susannah even as he went straight to Billie Jean to check her over. “Looking for a holiday, old girl?”

  “Hey! She’s not that old,” Susannah said. “Thank you for doing this. My own grooms both have their hands full in the paddock. I didn’t want to leave her here waiting for them.” Susannah paused and glanced over to Tess, then back to Dave. “Oh, sorry, this is, uh—it’s Tess isn’t it?”

  “We’ve met,” Tess replied, shaking Dave’s hand despite her annoyance about Susannah pretending to fumble for her name. Heaven forbid she be seen slumming it with the help, right? “I’ll leave you both to it. I’ll get my car and follow you back to the stables, if that’s okay?”

  “Okay?” Dave answered, looking to Susannah for confirmation. “She’ll be good?”

  “As long as you two can get her in the box between you. If not, I can stay here and help,” Tess said.

  Susannah wasn’t looking at her anymore. “No, we’ll manage. You’re right, you should go and get your car.”

  Tess trudged off to do exactly that, getting another burst of unplanned exercise as she jogged up the long track. At least this job meant she wouldn’t need a gym membership.

  By the time she got her car back down the lane, still a little out of breath, the horse box was loaded and ready. Like a strange little procession, they set off for the estate and its practically mythical stables.

  They seemed to cover half of the Scottish Borders getting back. If she’d known, Tess might have asked for snacks and a pee break. She parked in front of the house and jumped out, ready to see what other fine horses might be stashed away up here. It was only when she turned into the courtyard that the full scale of the Midsummer Estate hit her.

  This place was massive. Huge. Buckingham Palace wished it had grounds like these. The whole village could have fit in it fifty times over and still had room for a second pub. Tess let out a low whistle without quite meaning to.

  Dave walked up just in time to catch her in the act. “Impressive, right?”

  “It’s beautiful.” Tess was quite sincere about that. The gardens were immaculate, and each view was more beautiful than the next. That was even before she started on the imposing wooden structures that formed the stables and barns. The house itself was too much to take in on top of all that.

  “This way.” Dave jerked his head in the direction of big wooden doors that had been pinned open. “You can’t miss them.”

  He wasn’t wrong about that. Long before Tess saw Susannah brushing down Billie Jean, she heard the unmistakable stomping and snorting of stabled horses. The place was as neat as she’d ever seen, barely a stray piece of straw out of place. With a high roof, there was more light than a lot of stables would bother with, but at the stall level the horses were kept in a nice, gentle glow. There were four of them spread across six stalls, with Billie Jean the farthest from where Tess stood. A couple of quiet stablehands went about their work, one hosing down the empty stalls and the other rubbing oil into some reins and saddles.

  “She seems comfortable,” Tess said, approaching Susannah. “And you’ve given her plenty of room to rest, so that’s good.” While horses could sleep standing up, for their real rest they liked to lie down like most other animals.

  “I just want to make sure she can get up and down okay before I leave her.” Susannah reached into a bag by the door and withdrew an apple.

  “Here.” Tess gestured for her to hand it over. She pulled out the penknife she kept in her jeans pocket and made short work of slicing it up.

  Susannah watched every movement like a hawk.

  “Saves Billie
Jean having to do all the work herself.” Tess handed the sliced apple back.

  With a couple of chunks of apple laid flat on her palm, Susannah offered it to the horse, fingers tilted down, out of accidental biting range. Teeth that size were no joke if they chomped down on a pinky finger.

  It provided distraction enough for Tess to root around in her own bag, stuffed with fresh supplies from the car. After a bit of magic with antiseptic wipes later, she had a syringe ready to go. “This will give her a painkiller that lasts about forty-eight hours, and enough anti-inflammatory for the week. That should be enough for her whole recovery, but any signs of discomfort and I can come back out. Or you can let the other vet guys know, whichever.”

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “Stand with me and keep hold of her; it’s safer than having her tied. You keep her attention, and I’ll be as gentle as I can with the needle. Base of the neck should be the least fuss all round.”

  “I’ve had other vets go with the rump.” There was a challenge in there.

  “Only for longer courses of treatment with multiple injections,” Tess replied. “This should be one and done.” She smoothed her hand down the side of Billie Jean’s long neck, mentally tracing the triangle within which it was safe to inject. The muscles used as markers were well-defined, so Tess injected efficiently and as gently as possible.

  Billie Jean neighed a little but barely flinched.

  “She trusts you,” Susannah said.

  Damn, how did Her Ladyship get quite so close?

  Susannah still had a soothing hand on her horse. “She’s a patient girl, but that’s calm even for her.”

  “All part of the job,” Tess said, taking an instinctive step back just to feel like she could breathe. “I can stay with her a bit longer if you’d like. And I’ll leave some fresh support bandages with your staff too.”

  “No, thank you. You’ve done enough, really. I’m sure you had appointments before I crashed your afternoon.”

  “I do have one other farm to visit.” Tess checked her watch. “We’ll send a bill over, if that’s okay.”

  “Of course.” Susannah enclosed Billie Jean into her comfortable stall and followed Tess out, hovering over her the whole time as Tess handed over a small box of elasticated bandages to one of the grooms.

  “This really is a nice place you have here,” Tess said when they made it back to her car. “I came here a couple of times when I was still a wee one.”

  “You did?”

  “Easter Egg hunt, one time. Can’t remember why else. There was a young man greeting all the visitors. I think that must have been your husband? James, was it?”

  “Jimmy, yes. This was his family home, but he wanted to do more with it.” Susannah gestured towards the stables. “So it’s all down to me now. To usher in a new age of Midsummer. Which I’m sure you also didn’t read about in the papers.”

  Tess tried to look like she never saw a word of it. “What sort of things? I overheard some chatter about an amusement park.”

  “Good lord, no.” Susannah visibly shuddered. “There are some properties to renovate that people can rent for holidays, that sort of thing. Maybe one day I could even turn it into a retreat for artists or something. But the sanctuary, that’s my pet project. As it were.”

  “Horses?”

  “And donkeys and dogs. All the animals that need space to stretch their legs. I have the room, so why not?”

  “Huh.”

  “What?” Susannah demanded.

  “I just didn’t expect that from you, that’s all. It’s very…charitable.”

  “Well, you shouldn’t believe everything you hear, Dr Robertson.”

  It was just reflex, but Tess stuck her hand out, now that it was free of the disposable gloves she used for treatment.

  There was a frozen moment between them where Susannah looked down almost in confusion, but eventually she took the hint and extended her own hand for the briefest of shakes.

  “I guess I’ll be seeing you around,” Tess said.

  “It’s a small village, so I suppose you will.”

  With that, Susannah turned on the firm heel of her riding boots, the tan leather moulded to her shapely calves, and started back towards the house.

  Tess should have jumped straight in the car, but instead she watched every step of Susannah walking away until the path bent and took her out of sight.

  Well, damn.

  Chapter 8

  It took the rest of the afternoon for Susannah to settle. She flitted from room to room, unable to focus on any particular task for more than a few minutes at a time. She made calls and left a lot of half-written emails in drafts, but whenever she got a chance, she checked in with the grooms to make sure Billie Jean wasn’t in any more discomfort.

  She paused for a moment to thank her lucky stars, or whatever it was a person thanked when they didn’t really have religion, that a vet had been so close by. And so competent.

  That, Susannah hadn’t expected. She was aware her temper could lead her to rash decisions, but Tess, in all her workday calmness, had been the perfect woman for the job in the field.

  Which didn’t make Susannah’s previous decision wrong, per se. She wasn’t entirely convinced by the Elliotts’ vet practice, pleasant though Margo and her husband were. It probably did show ambition that they’d brought someone in from London, but Tess was certainly not what that description immediately conjured to mind.

  “I’m considering having you chipped,” Finn said when they finally stumbled across Susannah back in her office. “No matter where I look for you today, you’re not there.”

  “Well, I’m here now. Did you see Dave? He came out to help me with Billie Jean and the horse box.”

  “He said. Sent him back to get dinner on, didn’t I? I’ve spent some time talking to your solicitor about Robin’s article, and she has a legal strategy to discuss with you. Rather you than me—I just about dozed off making an appointment for it in your diary.”

  Finn sat in the visitor’s chair in front of Susannah’s glass-topped desk. “You’ve also got a spot to speak to the council planning committee next week, to start getting approval for all the changes around here.”

  “Why are you saying that like I’ve been invited to a funeral?” Susannah asked.

  “Because I heard that Jonathan is already out there trying to whip up opposition. Robin might not have the standing to stop you herself, but it seems she’s not above calling in a few favours over there. Or paying out a few backhanders.” Finn fiddled with their glasses. “She thinks all she has to do is stop you for now, then keep trying to challenge your ownership of this place.”

  “Surely not everyone is susceptible to her bullying and bribery?” Susannah asked. “I know politics can be grubby, but there must be some decent people we can appeal to? I really don’t want to go down the path of bribing or back-stabbing for my cause.”

  “She’s hoping she can harass you, or maybe even, uh, shame you into handing it over. I tried getting something concrete out of Jonathan, since he’s in the loop on everything, and he sort of implied that Robin would pay you off to get her hands on all this. To ‘keep it in the family’ as he put it.”

  “I guess that’s what a few generations of total privilege will do for you,” Susannah replied, sinking her head into her hands. It was a little surprising that Jonathan still spoke of the family so fondly, but he’d been working with Robin long enough that he probably was as good as family now. That was some consolation for him then, since he never got the commitment from Jimmy that he wanted. “She wants it, so she just assumes she’ll get it. Remind me how I never developed that sense of sheer entitlement?”

  Finn opened their mouth to say something in response, before quickly closing it. Maybe some things were better left unsaid between employer and employee.

 
Perhaps Susannah was losing perspective a little. Robin going full Marie Antoinette with the privilege certainly didn’t erase the charmed existence that Susannah had been born and then married into.

  “The horse is okay?” Finn tried instead.

  “Yeah, but it’s been a bit of a day, all told.” Susannah sat up straight. “You know what would cheer me up?”

  “Uh, cheering you up isn’t technically in my job description?”

  “Never mind that. I think you know what I want. You just have to say it out loud.”

  Finn hesitated. “Not the dungeon. Come on, Susannah. We have work to do.”

  “I’ve told you not to call it that. Come along. Let’s take ourselves downstairs.”

  “But the solicitor! The council!”

  Susannah was on her feet, her riding boots traded hours ago for soft leather slippers better for prowling the big old house. She yanked a hair band from around her wrist and pulled back her long blonde curls into a tidy ponytail.

  “Just an hour. You’ll work up an appetite for dinner, which means you’ll appreciate Dave’s cooking even more.”

  “You’ve been out riding half the day. Won’t you just end up working all night when I go home?” Finn’s resolve had weakened, and they were falling in step as Susannah led the way down the hall to the back stairs.

  “That’s my problem. We deserve this, trust me. There are weeks and months of trouble and hard work to come. We should relax while we can.”

  “There aren’t many bosses like you,” Finn said as they reached the door at the foot of the stairs.

  The house had various basements and cellars—mostly around the kitchen for wine and other kinds of storage. This, though, was one of Susannah’s favourite features in the whole mansion. The office was comfortable, and her bedroom was an oasis for sure. There was even the home gym up in a converted part of the attic space, in what would once have been servants’ quarters. Susannah had reclaimed it when the last of the live-in staff had moved out.

  “Okay, pick your poison.” Susannah held up two DVD cases from the cabinet in the corner.