Page 58 of The Beekeeper's Cottage
He flashed a grin at Riley. ‘Right then, I think it’s time we said goodnight and let Grace get to bed.’ His face fell slightly. ‘Not that you need your beauty sleep at all, but I hope we haven’t said anything that will keep you awake. It was just important to us that you knew how things stood.’
Grace looked at the card on the table, the stark irony of what had just been offered almost making her laugh again, but she smiled instead. ‘No, not at all. In fact, I don’t think your decision is a surprise, not really, but I am grateful to you for your honesty and consideration, and of course, the heaping of praise, that was lovely too.’
Zac got to his feet. ‘Then sweet dreams, Grace. I know I for one shall be dreaming about tomorrow’s breakfast.’
Riley laughed. ‘Goodnight, Grace. And thank you,’ he said, rising.
Grace’s thoughts were already racing far ahead, and in one direction only, but she dragged herself back to the present just in time before the two men disappeared through the door.
‘When will you tell Paul?’ she asked. ‘Will it be before you leave?’
They both looked at one another. ‘That would have been our original intention, yes,’ replied Zac. ‘But under the circumstances, I think it might be… easier, if we get in touch at some point afterward. It won’t look unusual.’
She nodded. ‘Thank you.’ That weight at least now lifted from her mind.
And then she was alone. She waited a couple of minutes until she was certain that Zac and Riley would have made it as far as their bedrooms and then, as quietly as she could, she slid the patio door back open and slipped into the garden.
There was no way of knowing whether Amos would be there or not, but she had to find out. It was very late and it wasn’t rational at all, but Grace didn’t care. There was only one person who she wanted to see, had wanted to be with all day, and it had taken a virtual stranger to point out a fact she had been trying so hard to ignore, and worse she really didn’t know why…
She slipped past the apple tree and began to drop down the slope where the beehives lay. If Amos was here, she was pretty certain she knew where to find him, but as she drew closer, her heart began to sink. The grass stretched out on either side of her, dappled in the moonlight and dotted with daisies, but otherwise completely empty of anything resembling the man she had fallen in love with.
20
Despite herself, Grace was surprised to find she was full of energy the next morning. She hadn’t slept particularly well, but that had nothing to do with the news that Zac and Riley had imparted the night before. In fact, if anything she was glad to have found out about the contract in advance; the knowledge brought with it a certain freedom and resolution of thought. Grace might not particularly like it, but at least she knew where she stood. It brought to an end weeks of uncertainty and, much to her surprise, the pain she’d thought she would feel on knowing that she had lost the house wasn’t all-consuming at all.
She had half expected Zac to appear with his book again this morning, but there had been no sign of him and she had taken her tea alone. He was probably giving her a little space, she realised, but she didn’t mind; making brunch would take up enough of her time, and soon everyone would be gone and she could do as she pleased once more. And now, she knew exactly what that was going to be. The sound of the shower running started over her head and she glanced at the clock. Paul would make sure he was up well before everyone else this morning, but today she wouldn’t even mind his company. It had ceased to matter.
He appeared about half an hour later, reeking of aftershave and trying to look casual in a nonetheless very carefully chosen pair of chinos and a white shirt. He might have pulled off the more relaxed look if his face hadn’t been set with a smug grin that showed no sign of leaving. Knowing full well what his movements would be, Grace had already made a pot of coffee and Paul crossed to it now, pouring himself a generous mug.
‘Not long now, Gracie,’ he said.
She winced at the use of his old pet name for her, one he hadn’t used in a long time. However, as she watched him, she realised he hadn’t meant anything by it; his mind was very firmly on himself.
‘One final push, as they say,’ he added. ‘But that’s obviously just going through the motions. They’ve already made up their minds.’
Grace nodded, turning her face away slightly so that he wouldn’t see her expression. ‘Yes, I guess so.’
‘So, you were down here with them last night, did you catch anything?’
She flicked a glance back in his direction. ‘No, they went outside for a cigarette. There was the odd laugh, but I couldn’t hear anything else. Besides, I was clattering around the kitchen just tidying up, I wasn’t really listening.’
He sipped his coffee, watching her over the rim of his mug. ‘It all sounded pretty relaxed though?’
‘I would say so, yes. They came in after a bit and said goodnight, all smiles, charming, same as all weekend really.’ It wasn’t exactly a lie but Grace was still keen to deflect the conversation onto safer topics. ‘Do you know what time everyone is leaving?’
‘Around midday, I believe. You’ve got everything planned for breakfast, I assume.’ It was a statement, not a question, and she wondered what he would do if she said no.
‘Then I’ll aim to serve a bit before eleven, no need to rush.’
He nodded, looking her up and down. ‘You will get changed though, won’t you?’
She looked down at her jeans and tee shirt, which were clean and perfectly presentable.
‘Yes, okay.’
She was fed up of being told what to do, but she didn’t want to antagonise Paul either, there was still the tricky issue of his comment about Amos to be broached. Paul didn’t say anything without reason, but even though she had spent a huge amount of time last night thinking about what he said, she didn’t want to make a big deal over it. It was quite likely that there was very little to it, just Paul trying to be manipulative as usual.
‘Good, I don’t want anything to go wrong at the last minute.’
