Page 74 of A Christmas Celebration
‘I got a flat tyre and Paige kindly picked me up.’
Was that a note of sarcasm I detected?
‘I was going to drive him back to Brambles,’ I said, ignoring him and opening the door to drag the bike out, ‘but as you’re here, Jack, you can take him.’
‘No, I can’t,’ he said, as I thrust the bike at Brodie. ‘I haven’t got time. I was on my way to meet Tilly.’
‘I’m sure she won’t mind if you’re a bit late,’ I said, thinking that given the longing looks I’d noticed her lavish on him, she would probably forgive him if he didn’t turn up at all. I then turned my attention to Brodie. ‘And regarding what you’ve seen in that hut this afternoon,’ I said in a low voice which I hoped held enough force to carry weight, ‘you need to forget about it.’
‘I’m not sure I can—’ he started.
‘Well, you better,’ I interrupted, ‘for Albert’s sake. If I find out you’ve told anyone what we’ve seen today, I can promise you, you’ll regret it.’
It felt absurd that I was threatening him but, in that moment, I was prepared to do or say anything to protect Albert. I walked away before Brodie argued back and quickly climbed into the driving seat. Thankfully, the engine turned straight over.
‘Bye then,’ said Jack, looking confused as he also got ready to drive off.
I didn’t pull away until he was out of sight and on the journey back to Wynthorpe my bad mood expanded tenfold. Given that I had been in Brodie’s company for no more than an hour, there was an awful lot to unpack and none of it was good.
For a start he’d said he liked me and that he wanted us to go on a date. A week ago, I would have been ecstatic about that, but knowing now a little of his history and how it impacted on mine as well as those I had worked for and respected, it wasn’t an option. I would, however, have gone along with it for the sake of finding out what he and Angus were cooking up, but then came his reaction to what he saw in the studio in Albert’s garden and yet again what I thought I knew about him was blown out of the water.
When faced with a plethora of painted canvases you didn’t look the way Brodie had looked and you didn’t say the things he’d said, unless you were speaking from a place of education and understanding. So, who really was this man? Some rogue banker by day and an artist by night? And where did that potential twist in his story leave my feelings for him?
As I parked up at the hall, I had no idea where I ranked on the liking or not liking Brodie-meter but I did know that had he been more sensitive and more aware of Albert’s reaction to us discovering his sister’s studio and left when he had first been asked, I might have been feeling more inclined to go to the trouble of finding out.
‘You must be joking,’ I heard Archie say as I hung my coat by the back door and pulled off my still sodden boots. ‘There’s no way I’m letting you do that, Dad. You haven’t got the skills for a start.’
Angus mumbled something inaudible and Archie groaned in response. What the hell had I walked in on now?
‘No, she wouldn’t,’ Archie then said. ‘She’d be furious.’
‘What’s going on?’ I frowned, my thoughts about Brodie, Albert and Stella momentarily set aside.
‘Paige,’ said Archie, running a hand through his hair. ‘Good. You’ve got a head for common sense.’
Angus shook his, but whether he was disputing Archie’s words or inferring that the situation didn’t require common sense, I couldn’t be sure. Given it was my godfather I was dealing with, he was most likely disputing the latter.
‘You don’t need to bother Paige with this,’ he said dismissively.
‘We’ve just been up in the cherry picker,’ Archie carried on as though his father hadn’t spoken.
This was the second time the cherry picker had been mentioned since my arrival, and I felt no more inclined to be thrilled by it being dropped into the conversation now than I had the first time I’d heard it.
‘We were just checking the fittings for the lights which will be going up this week,’ Angus elaborated.
It was the second time the lights had been mentioned too. I had thought Archie had been joking about the hall being covered in them, but clearly not.
‘And we found that some of the ornate stonework around a couple of the uppermost windows at the back is looking a little worse for wear,’ Archie continued.
‘So, get an expert in to quote to repair it then,’ I said, frighteningly aware of what was afoot in Angus’s head and wanting to express an immediate counter opinion.
‘There!’ Archie exclaimed, pointing at me. ‘Did you hear that, Dad? Get an expert in.’
‘What else would you do?’ I frowned, although I already knew the answer.
‘According to Dad there are no experts around here, so he’s going to have a go at repairing it himself,’ Archie said, confirming my fears.
‘Oh, Angus,’ I groaned.
