Page 36 of Wild About You

‘What I meant to say is, Anna is busy,’ said Jamie.

‘I’m pretty up to date, actually,’ I said (a blatant lie).‘Maybe I will have a go at this riding malarkey. How hard can it be?’

‘This, I have to see,’ said Callum, smiling. ‘I’ll go and make sure Lucinda saddles up a safe one.’

‘That’s my girl, Anna,’ said Roshni. ‘I’m going to take these terrors for a quick runaround first. Come on, Hugo.’ She clipped the beagle’s lead on. ‘See you at the stables, Anna. George!’ Her husband glanced up from his phone, nodded, and followed her. But Jamie didn’t go. He stood, glowering, his hands pushed into the pockets of his waxed jacket.

‘What was that all about?’ he demanded.

‘I could ask you the same question,’ I said. I heard the churn of the photocopier down the hall as Fi prepared the steward rotas Tally had bailed on.

‘I got you out of it,’ he said. ‘You looked like you didn’t want to do it.’

‘Well…’ I bumbled. ‘Technically, you’re correct. But you’ve reneged on being mybossboss, so speaking for me? It’s a bit much.’

‘Yourbossboss?’ he said, a flicker of amusement brightening his eyes. Against my will, I felt the ends of my mouth curving up into a smile at the idea I’d amused him. How annoying. Being made to smile when I was meant to be acting very angrily.

‘I suppose I’d better go and look at the horse,’ I said sulkily. I could hear Tally’s heels clattering down the corridor as she spoke nineteen to the dozen. When she appeared she was followed by a rather puzzled-looking man, who wasnodding at her narrative of the Poussin painting: layers of varnish, layers of smoke, blah blah. Tally formally introduced him as ‘Darren the conservator, here to look at the Poussin’.

Jamie shook his hand and I became aware Tally was eyeballing me. ‘Anna,’ she said. ‘I’m dreadfully busy – could you look after Darren?’

Darren gave me a weak, but faintly unsettling smile.

‘Um,’ I said. I automatically felt the pull to say yes:smooth the path with Tally, my brain said,she might even start liking you. I fought the feeling. ‘No?’ I managed. It definitely came out as a question. Tally tilted her head, ready to go in for the kill.

‘We have something else to deal with,’ said Jamie shortly, before I realised thewehe was referring to was him and me. ‘I’m sure you can deal with this, can’t you, Tally?’

Tally’s eyes widened with shock. ‘Of course, my lord,’ she said, practically curtseying.

‘Great, thanks. Anna! You’re with me.’

Just this once, I decided not to give him any lip, grabbed my coat, and followed him.

Jamie and I walked to the stables, which were behind the house at a diagonal from the formal garden and hidden by high privet hedges. I had to hurry to keep up with his long stride. ‘I hope you don’t mind me saving you from babysitting Darren,’ he muttered.

‘It was fine, I didn’t need saving,’ I said.

‘Don’t tell me he’s your type. I’d better warn Callum he has a challenger for your affections.’

‘What the hell!’ I swung round and nearly slipped in a swampy puddle. Jamie caught hold of my arms to stop me from falling.

‘I’m sorry…’ The words slipped out as though he had no control of them. ‘It’s just—’

‘Uncle Jay Jay! Uncle Jay Jay!’ Kes came barrelling around the corner. Jamie released me. No sign of curiosity showed on Kes’s six-year-old face. ‘Ponies! You’re missing everything!’

‘Okay, mate.’ Jamie’s face broke into a smile. There was something very strange about that smile. Since that evening in the flat, I’d noticed it was ridiculously breathtaking – like the sun coming out from behind a cloud. Perhaps he’d been taught how to do it at boarding school, along with the staring, to use his smile as a deadly weapon, able to floor people at fifty paces.

I kept my gaze fixed on the ground and marched on behind them. When we arrived, Callum greeted me with a quick hug. ‘Lucinda’s chosen a lovely old codger for you to ride,’ he said. ‘She’s gone to get him now.’

‘Lucky me,’ I said, glancing up to see that Roshni was watching me. She was sipping tea from a tiny cup. As Jamie lifted Kes onto a Shetland pony, who was rather worryingly known as Tyke, Roshni beckoned to me.

‘You’re glowing,’ she said.

‘Er, gosh! Thanks,’ I said, and she gave me a smile that seemed to have layers to it.

‘Fi arranged for tea and biscuits,’ she gestured torefreshments set up on a tarpaulin-covered table. ‘Honestly, sometimes this place is heaven. I never feel more looked after than when I come here.’

I poured myself a miniature cup of coffee. ‘It’s certainly nicer than the corporate world,’ I said. ‘Even if we have a draughty loo and no HR department.’

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