Page 32 of Escape to the Country

Chapter 11

It had been a slow day for Eleanor, helping out with the animals whilst her mum went back to work at the farm shop. Thankfully the Great Dane and cocker spaniel had returned to their own homes, which at least cut down some of the work. So Eleanor had had some free time to mull over meeting Tommy King the previous evening. Or rather, Tom, to his friends.

Which she most definitely wasn’t. She wasn’t sure he would allow anyone that close, to be honest. Tom had been an impregnable wall. He had been fairly sullen and unresponsive. She’d had on her sexiest jumpsuit and winning smile and yet he had left the room so quickly he had almost left skid marks on the floorboards. But there was also the nagging feeling that they had made a connection, but that was probably just because he was good-looking.

In fact, having met so many celebrities, she hadn’t been prepared for her own reaction to meeting him in the flesh. She had met loads of famous people before. Really attractive ones. But this guy beat them all, even though he had been wearing tracksuit bottoms and a white T-shirt, which, she remembered, had clung to him in all the right places.

Then again, he had been very bleary-eyed. Typical star, thought Eleanor. Sleeping all day and expecting everyone else to rush around taking care of him. Although she had to admit that the crutches did actually look real.

The papers had been full of questions about Tom’s problems but nobody seemed to know for sure. She wondered what had really happened. Were there alcohol problems? This was the kind of exclusive that her editor could only dream about.

And yet, he was close to Sam. Who was Annie’s fiancé.

Eleanor bit her lip in worry. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her friend who had already been through so much.

Feeling thoroughly confused, she really wasn’t in the mood to attend the local WI meeting with Annie and Megan, but she had promised.

Anyway, the way things were going, it looked like she would be in Cranley for a long time. At least she would be around to help plan her friend’s wedding. And having met Sam again for the first time in years, she thought he was really nice. Not at all the stuffy earl in waiting she had perhaps been braced for.

She scratched the eczema patch on her neck, worrying once more about her friends.

At some point she would have to tell them that she had lost her job. But she was sure that just as soon as she’d confessed, then everything would be all right. Wouldn’t it?

*

When Eleanor and Megan arrived at Willow Tree Hall, they found Annie shuffling a big pile of boxes around the cluttered dining room.

‘This is all out of the kitchen ready for the cupboards to be torn down on Monday,’ she said, peering inside a box before shaking her head.

‘What are you looking for?’ asked Eleanor.

‘Some glasses,’ said Annie, with a sigh. ‘I thought I’d better dig out some of the best crystal for the WI meeting.’

‘Are you all right?’ asked Eleanor.

‘It’s just this meeting,’ said Annie. ‘I’m feeling really nervous.’

She looked slightly panicked and Eleanor understood for the first time the pressure that Annie faced by agreeing to be a future countess of Cranley.

‘I think you’re putting way too much on yourself with this whole countess stuff,’ said Eleanor.

‘I know I am, but it’s really important,’ said Annie. ‘There’s been an earl and countess of Cranley for hundreds of years. We have tenants and people relying on us. Of course I want to be the best I can for them. And for Sam too. And I can’t let Arthur down. I just can’t!’

‘And you won’t,’ said Megan, squeezing her arm.

‘Exactly,’ said Eleanor. ‘You’re fabulous and you’re going to be a fabulous countess as well. We’re with you every step of the way, okay?’

‘Yeah,’ Megan told her. ‘You jump, we jump. Remember?’

Annie gave her a smile and even Eleanor was touched.

It was the quote from their favourite movie when they had been growing up,Titanic. Leonardo DiCaprio had urged the heroine Rose that they could jump off the sinking ship together. The threesome had said the same phrase to each other over and over.You jump, we jump. If they needed to, the three of them would join hands and jump into any kind of troubled waters together.

Eleanor hadn’t heard the phrase for quite a few years though.

‘You’ll be a fantastic countess,’ Megan carried on, still trying to cheer up Annie. ‘Look, distract yourself with this.’ She held up theHello!magazine that had been on top of the one of the boxes. ‘Lovely engagement photos. Love. Romance. Happy ever after and all that rubbish. You can even get some ideas about your wedding.’

But Annie was digging around in the crates for more glasses, so Megan carried on flicking through the pages on her own. ‘Awww,’ she cooed, showing Eleanor a double-page spread on a couple of soap stars. ‘Aren’t they sweet?’