Page 1 of Escape to the Country

Chapter 1

Eleanor McCartney had dreamt of being a reporter ever since the first time she had seenThe New Adventures of Supermanat the age of ten. The excitement, the glamour and Dean Cain in tights. What more could a girl want?

Of course, Lois Lane would be laughing her glamorous high heels off if she could see Eleanor at that moment in time.

The rain dripped behind her collar and onto her neck as she crouched down behind a large hedge. She shuddered and pulled her denim jacket tightly around her. But nothing would keep out the relentless downpour. She was also freezing cold despite it being the last day in May. So much for the predicted summer heatwave that was apparently on its way. She was drenched from head to toe.

It was typical May bank holiday weather. And yet another public holiday that she was forced to work whilst everyone else was relaxing and enjoying themselves.

She just hoped the story would be worth the possible onset of pneumonia. It had to be worth it. Sheneededthat promotion. She had sacrificed too much along the way to fall at this last hurdle now.

She glanced up and down the street, one of the most exclusive addresses in the heart of London, but there was no sign of life. Why would there be at almost midnight on a wet, cold Monday night?

She inhaled deeply and realised she was actually sitting next to a rose bush. She recognised the familiar early-flowering type, the same variety that was in her Mum’s garden. The perfume from the pink petals sweetened the air, despite the flowers bowing down from the pressure of the heavy rain.

She made a mental note. When she got that promotion, at the top of her to-do list was to find a flat with a garden. Somewhere to relax and enjoy being outside again. She had spent too many years in the city looking out of windows onto everyone else’s plots of greenery.

She sighed and checked the empty street once more. At least the lack of people meant that nobody else had the scoop. Especially Kourtney, her new junior colleague and rival for the best stories. Or rather, Killer Kourtney as their editor, scary Theresa Brown, had dubbed her. Ever since arriving at the magazine six months previously, Kourtney appeared to have a knack for finding the juiciest, most scandalous stories. Her star was on the rise whilst Eleanor was feeling distinctly overlooked.

But Eleanor had been given an anonymous tip-off earlier that day that she had kept to herself. She was sure that inside that flat on the other side of the wet street, Tuesday Tavistock, the famous high-class escort, was entertaining an A-list celebrity. Maybe even a politician with a squeaky-clean record. Once that person left the flat, Eleanor would see who it was and get the story. It might even make the front cover ofHot Gossip!magazine.

At last, she told herself with a firm nod. The years of stress, guilt and lies would be worth all the sacrifices she had made over the years.

Eleanor shuffled from foot to foot, trying to bring some kind of feeling back to her freezing-cold toes.

She had been working forHot Gossip!magazine for eight long years. Her first job after finishing her journalism degree at university, it was supposed to have been a brief stepping stone on her way to getting a senior writer’s position at one of the daily newspapers. That was where her future lay.

After all, that was what everyone back home expected from her. Her friends and family would never know that she spent her days sharing private details about Z-list celebrities. Neverneededto know. Because she wouldn’t be in the job for very long.

At least, that was what she had thought at the time.

So she had created the lie that she had been quickly promoted and was now a reporter for a magazine within the same media group that covered financial investments. In the fiction that she had crafted for herself, she wrote about stocks, shares and other city financial stuff that she had absolutely no idea about. Something that anyone she knew and loved wouldn’t be remotely interested in. And it had worked.

And yet, here she was, all these years later, still writing forHot Gossip!about which co-stars had been caught canoodling, the latest singer who was cancelling his world tour due to ‘exhaustion’ and some reality star who had just had a facelift.

Worst of all, she was still lying about her job to everyone she loved.

In the beginning it had been exciting working on the magazine, she had to admit. The endless, glamorous parties were a stark contrast to growing up in the tiny, quiet hamlet of Cranley. Mixing with famous people had given her a thrill. The goody bags full of expensive stuff she would never have been able to afford had been treasured and admired.

And yes, there was the joy of exposing some of the more ghastly celebrities for what they really were.

She had convinced herself at the time that it was retribution for her own pain. If she had learnt anything from the whole heart-breaking experience with her father, it was that fame was one of the new deadly sins. After all, he had abandoned his own family to seek out the same glamorous, celebrity-filled lifestyle and had left his wife and daughter far behind many years ago.

But these days the whole show business life just left her numb. The thrill of dazzling wedding ceremonies, sweet new babies and wild parties had gone many years ago and been replaced by the guilt of what harm her job really did to the people she wrote about. As she had begun to know and like various celebrities over the years, it made her feel even worse when she had to reveal personal details of their lives. Especially the ones that didn’t court publicity.

She was weary of glamorous parties every night. She wanted a bit of peace in her life. To stop and literally smell the roses, she thought with a smile, glancing over at the flower bush next to her once more.

And yet she kept going. Shehadto until she landed the job of her dreams. The weight of everyone’s expectations lay heavy on her shoulders whilst she carried on with the illusion of her perfect life.

But thankfully relief was just around the corner.

Theresa had announced the previous week that a senior position had just become vacant within the media group that Hot Gossip! belonged to. It would involve proper investigative journalism. That would mean no more gossip. She could write articles that actually interested her and could make a difference.

Eleanor knew that she alone was the senior member of staff on the team. She had worked there the longest. All it would take was one more big story and the promotion was hers. Then she could leave the celebrity world far behind in the capable hands of Killer Kourtney.

Finally she could have a job that she could be proud of. A job she didn’t have to lie about any more. She could relax and be herself for the first time in a very long time.

Eleanor shivered, her clothes were soaking. Her knees were almost at breaking point in her crouched position. She had been there for two hours and was chilled to the bone. How much longer would she have to wait? She longed for a hot shower.