The Courting Campaign

‘I must remember to thank Mrs Cowper,’ she said pleasantly, glad she’d tidied herself up before he arrived. Nor was she in any position to criticise him for vanity—her own amber linen dress had been chosen to match the eyes she looked on as her best feature.

Hester looked at him enquiringly. ‘What kind of gift do you have in mind?’

‘I’ve no idea.’ He gazed about him. ‘The gilt-framed mirror over there. Surely that’s old?’

‘That’s a commission piece; I occasionally provide a selling-on service for people who don’t wish to advertise their valuables.’ Hester took the mirror down carefully. The frame was old, the gilt almost greenish and the mirror itself quite murky. ‘It came from a Venetian church. A friend at Sotheby’s confirmed it as fifteenth century and suggested the price.’

He examined the discreet tag and raised an eyebrow, considered for a moment then nodded briskly. ‘Right. A bit steep, but exactly what I want. Now I need a desk.’

Sheila reappeared at that point, leaving Hester free to take her customer upstairs to the showroom, where several desks were displayed in a corner decorated to suggest a study.

‘Shall I leave you to browse?’ she asked. ‘All the desks are priced. You’ll know best what you need.’

He eyed the array of desks with respect. ‘I was informed that a David Conway piece would be an investment.’

‘I agree, of course.’

He examined the ticket on a beautiful, simple desk crafted from yew. ‘I see what you mean. This is obviously his work.’

‘It is. And the two beyond are by other local craftsmen. The ones on this side are the usual reproduction type. Very good reproductions,’ she added, ‘but all alike. Each one of David’s is unique. It depends on what you’re prepared to spend. But please don’t feel embarrassed if nothing here suits you.’

‘I admit I hadn’t intended being quite so extravagant,’ he said thoughtfully, ‘but, having met with a David Conway original, I realise what Mrs Cowper meant. It puts the others in the shade. Can you arrange to have it delivered?’

‘Certainly. Monday morning, if you like.’

‘Perfect. At the moment I’m managing with the kitchen table, which gets inconvenient at meal times.’ He smiled again, his teeth white in his tanned face.

She attached a ‘sold’ label to the desk, and waved a hand towards the stairs. ‘If you’ll come down to the office I’ll make a note of your address.’

‘And take my money,’ he said, following her.

‘A necessary evil,’ she agreed, and turned to him as they reached the shop floor. ‘By the way, if your sister doesn’t like the mirror we’ll exchange it for something else, or refund the money.’

‘Lydia will love it,’ he said with assurance. ‘But if by any chance she doesn’t I’ll keep it myself.’

And put it in the study with desk? thought Hester, surprised, and showed him into the office. ‘I’ll just get the mirror packed for you. Would you like it giftwrapped?’

‘I would, indeed. Thank you.’

When Hester returned he accepted a chair, then sat, watching her, as she recorded details of the mirror’s provenance and the pedigree of David’s desk.

‘I didn’t recognise you at first last night,’ he said suddenly.

Hester looked up. ‘Oh? Why not?’

‘It took me some time to realise that the siren in pink with her hair loose was the lady magistrate I’d encountered in the morning.’ He eyed her judiciously. ‘And today you look different again.’

Hester very deliberately made no response. ‘How would you like to pay?’ she said crisply.

‘By cheque.’

‘Of course.’ She held out the bill for him, and he bent to write in his chequebook. ‘Where shall I send the articles?’ she asked, refusing to admit she knew where he lived. ‘We deliver anywhere within a thirtymile radius, but after that we charge so much a mile.’

‘Then I’m in luck. I’ll write my address on the back.’

‘Thank you, Mr Barclay.’

He looked blank for a moment, then smiled a little. ‘I suppose we never were formally introduced, Mrs Conway. My name’s actually Hazard—Patrick Hazard. The twins are my nephews, and Lydia—their mother—is my sister.’

CHAPTER TWO

‘OH—I beg your pardon.’ Taken aback, Hester busied herself with taking down his address. Patrick Hazard, it seemed, lived in the depths of the Gloucestershire countryside in a house called Long Wivutts near the village of Avecote, several miles from Chastlecombe.

‘I moved in a couple of days ago,’ he explained. ‘I’m more or less camping out with the bare necessities, but a desk is my first priority.’

‘If you’re really urgently in need of it we could get it to you this evening,’ offered Hester.

‘It seems a bit much on a Saturday evening...’ he began, but the idea so obviously appealed to him that Hester shook her head.

‘No trouble, Mr Hazard. If someone brings it round about seven—will you be in, then?’

‘Yes. My brother-in-law came home this morning, so I’m free to get back to my own place. In confidence, Ms Conway, he flatly refused to let Lydia go to court with the twins in her present condition, so I volunteered for the job and took the boys back to school afterwards.’ His face hardened. ‘Which is probably a good thing—gives their father time to simmer down before he fetches them home for the summer.’

Hester made no comment. She got up and handed him the detailed provenances. ‘Thank you, Mr Hazard. I hope you’re happy with the desk.’

‘I can hardly fail to be. It’s exactly what I had in mind,’ he assured her, rising quickly. He held out his hand. ‘Thank you for your help, Mrs Conway.’

‘Not at all. Thank you for your custom.’ She shook the hand briefly, then preceded him out into the shop. ‘Are you taking the mirror now, or shall we deliver it with the desk?’

‘Now, please.’ He complimented Sheila on her artistic skill, then took the large, beribboned box and with a smile of farewell at Hester went out into the sunlit square, where the bright afternoon light glinted on strands of silver in his thatch of blond hair.

‘Very nice,’ said Sheila softly, and Hester grinned.

‘He spent a nice lot of money, too. Where’s Mark?’

‘It’s his afternoon off, remember? Playing cricket.’

‘Oh, bother, so he is.’

‘Can I do something?’ asked Sheila.

‘No, thanks. I’ll wait until David gets back. If you’ll take over for a bit with Iris I’ll shut myself up in the office with a sandwich and a cup of coffee.’

Hester often brought a packed lunch on summer Saturdays. Sometimes she went for a walk down to the river and ate it there. At other times, like today, half an hour with a novel was more to her taste. But the encounter with the intriguing Mr Hazard had left her feeling curious, and instead of reading she couldn’t help wondering why he needed a desk so urgently—and if there was a Mrs Hazard helping him with the move. Perhaps the need for the desk was due to the lady’s sovereignty over her kitchen table.

Hester turned back to her book. Her interest in Patrick Hazard was due solely to the possibility that he might be lacking other furniture that Conway’s could provide. Otherwise, whether he had a wife or not was really none of her business.

When David got back Hester asked him if he could possibly deliver a desk out to Avecote that evening. He looked at her in utter dismay.

‘Tonight? I’ve planned an intimate dinner for two, remember? Which I am cooking with my own fair hands. And I rather wanted my evening uninterrupted by thoughts of business, or anything else—other than of bed at the end of it!’

Hester flushed, and gave him an unladylike shove. ‘All right, all right, you get on with your cooking and I’ll deliver the desk.’

‘It is one of my efforts, I hope?’

‘It certainly is. And I sold that Venetian mirror old Mrs Lawson passed on to us. She’ll be thrilled.’

‘You have been busy. Who bought my desk?’

‘A man by the name of Hazard—he bought the mirror, too.’

‘Can’t Mark deliver them?’

Hester shook her head. ‘Cricket match. But don’t worry; if you can heave the desk in the car this end, I imagine Mr Hazard can help heave it out at Avecote. He’s in a hurry for it, apparently.’

‘You’re an angel. Thanks, love.’ David stooped to kiss her cheek, then went off, whistling, to his workshop, leaving Hester and her attendants with the slowing-off business of Saturday afternoon.

Later, after David and Peter had loaded the muslinswathed desk into her estate car, Hester drove home and spent some time in the shower. Afterwards, comfortable in old jeans and a white cotton shirt, her newly washed hair gleaming loose on her shoulders, she set off for Avecote, not at all averse to driving through the sunlit summer evening along winding minor roads to avoid the holiday traffic.

Avecote was a typical Cotswold village, nestling in a hollow, with steep-pitched roofs pointing through trees fluttering with the tender green leaves of early summer. She drove slowly along the road which skirted the village, then stopped in a layby a mile or so beyond and consulted a large-scale local map to track down the narrow road Patrick Hazard had mentioned.

Eventually, after careful progress between high hedges along a road with only occasional passing places, she spotted a rutted, unadopted lane which finally led her to the home of Patrick Hazard. Halfhidden at the end of a long drive edged with limes, the familiar Cotswold limestone of the walls glowed like honey in the evening light. The house was typical of the region, with prominent gables, moulded dripcourses round the tops of the window and a beautiful roof of Cotswold stone tiles with the familiar, purpose-built dip to prevent the tiles from shifting.

Long Wivutts was certainly beautiful, but it was also in the middle of nowhere. Hester couldn’t help wondering what had attracted Patrick Hazard to such isolation. The garden was wildly overgrown and the house looked strangely somnolent, as though it had been sleeping, undisturbed by tenants, for centuries.

She brought the car to a halt on the gravel in front of the aged oak front door set in an arched stone frame, and almost at once Patrick Hazard emerged, hair wet from a recent shower, his eyebrows raised in astonishment as he saw Hester.

‘Mrs Conway! If I’d realised I was putting you to such trouble the desk could have waited until Monday—or later.’

Hester shook her head, smiling as she got out. ‘It’s only a few miles, and a beautiful evening. It was no trouble at all, other than a bit in finding you. Oddly enough I’ve never been anywhere near your home patch before, Mr Hazard.’

‘My lack of neighbours was the big selling point, other than something which drew me to Long Wivutts the moment I laid eyes on it.’

‘I can understand that. It’s a beautiful house.’ Hester smiled at him apologetically. ‘But the main drawback to making the delivery alone is that you’re obliged to give me a hand to get the desk inside.’

Patrick Hazard, who was dressed in much the same way as herself, eyed Hester doubtfully. ‘Are you sure you can manage that, Mrs Conway? Forgive me for mentioning it, but you’re not very big.’

‘But well used to heaving furniture around,’ she assured him briskly. ‘The desk is wrapped in muslin to avoid any knocks, and if we remove the drawers out here it won’t be much of a problem—unless your study’s in the attic, of course.’

‘No, just inside the front door.’ He ushered her inside. ‘If you take a look, perhaps we can plan a campaign to do the least damage to you or the desk. Or perhaps we could just leave it in the hall and I’ll get Wilf Robbins to give me a hand on Monday.’ He looked at her face, then said smoothly, ‘But that, of course, would cancel your good deed in getting the desk to me tonight.’

The shadowy panelled hall was square, with several wide oak doors opening off it. The first opened into the study, which contained two comfortable chairs flanking a stone fireplace, a couple of small tables, a television, a fax machine and a pile of cardboard boxes.

‘Do you want your desk under the window?’ asked Hester, sizing up the room.

He sighed. ‘Alas, no. If I do I’ll keep looking out on the garden and never get down to any work. I thought of putting it on the blank wall over there behind the door.’

‘It shouldn’t be a problem,’ she said briskly. ‘These old doors are wide, which is a help. The desk should come in easily enough.’

And, despite Patrick Hazard’s doubts about her physical capabilities, fifteen minutes later the beautiful desk was installed, unharmed, against the panelling on the inner wall, with enough space alongside it for one of the tables.

‘Which I shall need for my computer,’ he said, breathing hard. ‘It’s a crime to pile a stack of soulless technology on a work of art like your husband’s desk.’

Hester, also breathing hard, looked at him sharply. ‘This isn’t one of my husband’s pieces, Mr Hazard. I hope you didn’t buy it under that impression. The provenance states very clearly that it’s a David Conway original.’

Narrowed green eyes met hers. ‘I’m sorry—wires crossed somewhere,’ he said, after a pause. ‘You’re not David Conway’s wife?’

‘No. I was married to his elder brother.’

‘Divorced?’

‘No. I’m a widow.’

There was embarrassment, coupled with something less identifiable, in the rueful look he gave her. ‘I’m sorry. You were pointed out as the Conways last night—as a couple. I took it for granted you were married. To each other.’

Hester shook her head. ‘David’s wife has been away visiting her parents this week. Tally’s due back about now, which is why David didn’t deliver the desk himself. And Mark, who works for us and would have been happy to help normally, is playing cricket. So I volunteered.’

‘It’s extraordinarily noble of you on a Saturday night.’

‘Not at all. I wasn’t doing anything.’

‘Which is hard to believe,’ he said swiftly, then bit his lip. ‘I’m sorry. That was probably tactless. How recently were you widowed?’

‘Several years ago, Mr Hazard.’ She smiled a little.

‘And I do have a reasonably busy social life. I just don’t happen to have anything planned for tonight.’

‘Nothing at all? Then what are you going to do now?’

‘Go home and do a bit of gardening, probably. The desk looks happy here. It was a good choice. Goodnight, Mr Hazard.’

He looked at her in silence for a moment, something indefinably different in his manner. ‘Now we’ve established that I’m not the twins’ father and you’re not David Conway’s wife,’ he said at last, smiling crookedly, ‘would you consider staying for a while to share my supper with me?’

Hester, taken aback for a moment, looked at him thoughtfully. She found that she liked the idea. And there was no reason why she shouldn’t accept She went out with various male friends in Chastlecombe, in the purely platonic way that was all she had to offer. On the other hand, if she said yes to Patrick Hazard—who was, without doubt, the most interesting and attractive man she’d met since Richard—it was possible he might misunderstand the situation now he knew she was a widow. Others had before him, taking her attitude as a challenge.

‘You’re taking such a long time to decide,’ he said at last, a wry twist to his mouth, ‘I take it the answer’s no.’

Hester’s curiosity got the better of her. She wanted to know more about this man, why he’d chosen to live here far away from the city lights she felt sure were his usual habitat, what he did for a living. She smiled and shook her head. ‘Thank you, I’d like to very much.’

‘Wonderful!’ The green eyes lit with a dazzling smile. ‘Then come this way, Mrs Conway. Let me show you my kitchen—which is the only place to eat, I’m afraid. Or would you like a tour of the house first?’

I would, very much. This is not a house I’ve ever heard of. I thought I knew most of the interesting places in the Chastlecombe area, but Long Wivutts came as a surprise.’

‘The name attracted me before I’d even seen the place.’ Patrick led the way across the hall into a sitting room with beautiful panelling, and triple-light latticed windows looking out over the tangled wilderness of the garden. ‘I’m told it comes from the size of stone tiles they use on the roofs round here. There are twenty-six sizes, would you believe? All of them with marvellous names like Middle Becks and Short Bachelors. They’re pretty difficult to replace now, apparently, though Wilf—the man who’s going to help me with the garden—has somehow acquired replacements from some derelict cottage.’ He grinned. ‘I had the feeling it wouldn’t be tactful to enquire about their provenance.’

Hester chuckled. ‘Very wise! This is a lovely room—just look at the size of that fireplace. With some chintz-covered sofas and a Persian carpet, maybe, plus a picture or two and some plain, heavy curtains... Sorry. You’ve probably got it all planned already.’

‘Not really. Any suggestions would be welcome.’ He led her out into the hall and into a room obviously meant for dining, and then beyond it to a little parlour at the back of the house, both of them as empty as the sitting room. Only the kitchen, which was so large it had obviously been two rooms at one time, was furnished. Late sunlight poured through the windows, washing over a plain round table and four balloonback Victorian chairs. A bowl of fruit, a basket of eggs and a large bread-crock sat on a counter which ran the length of gleaming oak-fronted cupboards—as new as the cooker and refrigerator, but so severely plain they blended harmoniously with the venerable stone flags underfoot.

‘This is perfect,’ said Hester with enthusiasm. ‘You’ve caught exactly the right note with the cupboards. Only, in winter I advise a rug or two on this floor—I speak from experience. Mine’s the same, and it can be very cold.’

‘I must confess the previous owners had got as far as doing up the kitchen and one of the bathrooms,’ he admitted. ‘I’d like any advice you have to spare. My sister, as must be obvious, isn’t at her best at the moment. And when the baby arrives she’ll have too much to do to have much time for me. She gave me the table and chairs—too small for Ashdown House. But she’s worried about not giving more of a helping hand here. I told her I’m big enough and old enough to look after myself. She’s older than me—still thinks of me as the little brother.’

Hester smiled. It was hard to imagine Patrick Hazard as a kid brother. ‘If you do need advice and I can supply it, I’ll be happy to. But, for the time being, if you’ll show me what you had in mind for a meal I’ll put it together—if you like.’

‘I just meant you to share the meal, not prepare it for me!’ he said swiftly.

‘Just tell me what you had in mind and I can make a start.’ She smiled mischievously. ‘I’m hungry. So if I lend a hand we’ll eat all the sooner.’

He bowed in defeat, then opened the refrigerator and took out the ingredients for a very respectable cold meal—salad greens, tomatoes, cheese, half a ham. He looked at her levelly. ‘You know, this is very good of you. I had expected to spend a solitary evening.’

So had Hester, who was more charmed by the prospect of dinner with Patrick Hazard than she cared to admit. And the informality of helping with the meal only added to the charm. While she set eggs to boil and washed salad greens her host laid the table, then took a bottle of champagne from the refrigerator.

‘I thought we might celebrate my first dinner guest with this,’ he announced.

Hester hesitated, then smiled ruefully. ‘Mr Hazard, I dislike wine of any kind. Vintage champagne would be utterly wasted on me.’

“Then we’ll drink something else,’ he said promptly. ‘But only if you call me Patrick.’

She nodded, smiling. ‘I’m Hester.’

‘I know.’

They looked at each other for a moment, then Hester took the pan of eggs from the hob and ran cold water over them at the sink. ‘I shall be perfectly happy with a glass of this, straight from the tap,’ she said over her shoulder.

‘Does your dislike of wine extend to alcohol in general?’

‘I enjoy a Pimm’s as a rare summer treat, and I keep brandy in the house for emergencies. But wine I really dislike.’ She looked up from peeling the eggs. ‘When I was a student I was afraid to admit it—bad for the image—so I drank it and suffered the consequences. I’m a bit wiser now.’

‘Which must be a generally held opinion locally since you were asked to be a magistrate.’ He took a loaf of bread from the crock and began slicing it. ‘Though you can’t have been on the bench for long.’

‘Just over a year now, but I still feel like a beginner. I did all the usual courses, naturally, and I shall go on doing others in the future. For legal instruction I rely on people like John Brigham—he’s the barrister who usually acts as clerk of the court.’ Hester halved the eggs and took out the yolks. ‘Are those handsome cupboards empty, or have you anything I can use to make a dressing and so on?’

Patrick Hazard’s store cupboards were surprisingly well-stocked. With hot pepper sauce to devil the eggs, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil to dress the salad, the meal they sat down to a little while later was simple, but very much to Hester’s taste. It was completed with a large, ice-filled goblet of bottled Cotswold spring water, which her host produced in preference to the alternative straight from the tap.

‘I got some of that in for Lydia,’ he said, pouring himself a beer. He raised his glass to her in toast. ‘To my unexpected but very welcome guest. I’m only sorry the dinner isn’t more in keeping with the occasion.’

Hester shook her head as she helped herself to ham. ‘This is exactly my kind of meal. I wouldn’t have done nearly as well at home. I tend to get tired by Saturday night. If I’m not going out I usually don’t bother too much about dinner.’

Patrick offered the basket of bread. ‘Hester, since circumstance has thrown us so unexpectedly together, I own to curiosity. Will you allow me to ask questions?’

She took a slice and buttered it thoughtfully. ‘About myself?’

‘Yes.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll respond in kind, if you like. Fair?’

‘Fair,’ she agreed, equally curious to learn about Patrick. ‘What would you like to know?’

‘Anything you care to tell me. For a start, are you a native of Chastlecombe?’

‘No. If it hadn’t been for a certain baby I might never have come to the place, other than as a tourist. I got a job at Queens High School as a replacement for the history teacher while she was away on maternity leave.’ Hester drank some of her water. ‘Richard Conway was on the board of governors. He was in his early forties, and a confirmed bachelor. I was late twenties and, I thought, a career educationist. Wrong on both counts.’

She smiled crookedly. ‘We were married the day after the school closed for the summer holidays. And instead of applying for another teaching post I went into the business with Richard. David was still in college then. So I involved myself in the shop and the buying, leaving Richard free to do what he did best—create beautiful furniture.’

Patrick regarded her steadily, then leaned over to refill her glass. ‘What happened to him, Hester?’

‘He died of a sudden, massive heart attack while we were on holiday in France, celebrating our first anniversary.’

Patrick let out a deep breath. ‘Poor young bride,’ he said very quietly.

Hester looked away. ‘Afterwards Richard’s family were very good to me. They persuaded me to stay in the business, so I did.’

Patrick got up and took their plates, then returned with the fruit bowl and pushed the platter of cheese towards her.

Hester accepted a crisp green apple. ‘Your turn, then, Patrick. You’re a lawyer, of course?’

He nodded. ‘Guilty. How did you know?’

‘Your bow to the bench was a bit of a giveaway.’

‘Reflex action. Though I’ve retired from actually practising law.’

‘Retired?’ She eyed him curiously. ‘Aren’t you a bit young for that?’

‘I’ve taken up another career,’ he said blandly. ‘But I used to be a city lawyer, working in the London office of a New York-based firm, earning a quite outrageous salary. UK law governs project and corporate deals in Europe and Asia, and global-minded American law firms tend to hire UK lawyers to stay on top of the competition. And as the icing on the cake I shared a flat with the gorgeous Alicia, who earned a six-figure salary in advertising.’