Country Affairs

‘Watcha mate.’ Todd, oblivious to the danger, grinned in Rory’s direction and was obviously impressed with the mark he’d left on his audience. He winked at Pip. ‘Long time no see. Didn’t recognise you with your clothes on.’

‘Don’t you “watcha mate” me,’ Rory was probably the only one who missed the murmur that was spreading through the crowd. ‘You’re the waste of space that dumped Lottie on that Spanish beach, aren’t you? Well?’

Lottie squirmed as the heat rushed into her face.

‘Well, to be fair, I wouldn’t exactly say “dumped”, mate.’ Some of the bravado left his voice as he registered the look on Rory’s face. ‘It was just one of those things.’

‘I’ll show you what’s fair, come here, you Aussie git.’

As Rory lunged, Todd decided not to come or hang about. He made a dash for it, straight towards the by-now bored Merlin, who had a half-eaten red gladioli hanging from his mouth. Making a split-second decision that he was sure he’d regret later, Todd vaulted on to the startled horses back before he, or Tab, had time to object.

Rory glanced around, his face set, spotted the quad bike at the side of the marquee and made a dash for it.

‘Jeez, fella, what is your problem?’ Not waiting for an answer, Todd dug his heels in and grabbed a handful of mane as Merlin plunged forwards. The horse rocketed back across the lawn, happily obliging his rider, with Rory in hot pursuit, waving a fist and yelling what everybody took to be obscenities.

‘Think they’ll be back?’ Pip grinned, this was turning out to be far more entertaining than she could have possibly imagined. And bringing a photographer along with her had definitely been a worthwhile investment. She could picture the newspaper headlines now.

Lottie Brinkley shut her eyes and a new image of Todd swam into her vision. Todd the last time she’d seen him – his bronzed body naked apart from a pair of swimming trunks, his impressive six-pack nicely oiled and the promise of a good night in shining from his eyes.

Until the dream had been demolished by a bevy of Spanish policeman all dressed in black, who’d surrounded them and waved a warrant.

Chapter 2

Apart from the humiliation of having to watch her lover being marched across the sand away from her, what had really bothered Lottie on the beach that day was that she hadn’t even been wearing a decent bikini.

It was one thing Gran bringing her up with the belief that one should always wear decent knickers, just in case one was run over, but whoever warned you that your beachwear should be up to the scrutiny of a half a dozen very sexy members of the Spanish Mossos?

If it hadn’t been for her new best buddy, Pip, who had helped her cram everything into her rucksack, booked emergency plane tickets and escorted her all the way back to Tippermere, Lottie wasn’t sure what would have happened next in her life.

Meeting journalist Pip Keelan in Barcelona had been a godsend. She was all the things Lottie wasn’t – organised and logical in everything, including her love life. The fact that she’d then actually decided to hang around and adopt Lottie’s home village as her own, and then proceeded to bring her own brand of fun and mayhem to Tippermere life was a source of constant amazement.

It seemed that for Pip country life was the perfect antidote to the city living that had started to turn stale, and the fit men were a bonus. And the fact that she was semi shacked-up with the fittest farrier for miles appeared to suit her fine.

‘He is so, so fit. How come you know so many hot men, Lot’s?’ Tabatha’s wistful tone brought Lottie back to the present and she glanced at the teenager, who was gazing longingly after her rapidly disappearing horse and the careering quad bike. Then her gaze fixed on Rory, who was alternating between waving his fist and frantically grabbing at the handlebars as he rocketed off course.

‘I’m not sure this lawn will ever be the same again.’ Amanda Stanthorpe, owner of all she surveyed, joined them, but seemed more preoccupied with what had been an immaculate expanse of green, than the cause of the destruction.

Agreeing to host the wedding at Folly Lake Manor had seemed the neighbourly thing to do, even if she did like everything neat and tidy. But Amanda did truly love the people she’d met in Tippermere and Kitterly Heath, and this had seemed the perfect way to thank them for everything they’d done for her.

After the death of her billionaire husband, Marcus, they had made her feel part of the community and, in fact, had made her feel worth something again. From the loveable Lottie and daredevil Rory to the scheming Elizabeth. From the unprincipled Pip and the brooding Mick, to the gruff Billy and charming Tiggy, and from the perfectly handsome Tom to his outwardly difficult, but inwardly, sweet daughter, Tab, they were all like the family she wished she’d had.

Even the glamorous, but warm-hearted and generous Sam and her charming footballer husband had supported her.

And, of course, there was dear, reserved and very proper Dominic. Her husband. She loved them all, but she loved him most of all.

And there was the crux of the matter, the main reason for hosting the wedding. It was a generous gesture of goodwill from Dominic, her husband, towards Billy Brinkley, the groom. Mending fences, building bridges.

Dominic and Billy had been childhood friends, but affection had turned to hatred after Alexandra, Lottie’s mother, had died in a tragic accident. Both men had outwardly blamed each other, but inwardly carried a burden of guilt for something that neither was actually responsible for. And it had taken Lottie and her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth, to unravel the puzzle and make them see sense. Make them see that neither was to blame for the death of Alexa – Dominic’s sister, Billy’s wife, Lottie’s mother. Force them to acknowledge that hate and disapproval wouldn’t bring her back.

Amanda sighed as all of a sudden the city girl in her, who she’d hoped had been quashed down, rose up in anguish. She loved Lottie, truly adored her, but the girl seemed doomed to a life of chaos and untidy disorder. And cavorting on horses was just not what she’d expected at this wedding, well at any wedding. Much as she’d tried to involve herself in equestrian life and appreciate the beauty of the massive animals, surely horses belonged in fields?

‘Are we getting on with this bloody ceremony? I need a beer.’ Billy’s blunt tones rang out into the shocked silence.

‘Sorry, Dad.’ Lottie gnawed on her bottom lip anxiously. It was very heroic of Rory to go after Todd like this. In fact, it was one of the most romantic things he’d ever done, but what if he caught him? ‘Er – doesn’t Rory have the wedding rings, though?’

Billy ruffled his hand through his hair and winked at his bemused bride, Tiggy, who was waiting as patiently as the spaniel that was sitting beside her, a red ribbon tied to its collar in honour of the occasion. ‘You can always rely on our Lottie to make sure the occasion is a bit different, can’t you? Come on, love, let’s just get on with it, shall we? The lad will be back soon enough.’

‘But he’s your best man.’ Lottie could easily see the day she’d so carefully planned (well the day she’d done her best to sort out, and which Pip, Sam and Amanda had tactfully prompted her about when she’d forgotten things), ending up in a state of chaos. Everybody was looking at her expectantly, as the man she loved disappeared into the distance in hot pursuit of her bigamist ex. She didn’t know whether to be pleased that Rory seemed intent on upholding her honour and wreaking revenge on her behalf, or upset that at her first event as Lady of the Manor to be (or should that be Lady in Waiting?) he’d abandoned his duties as best man and disappeared in pursuit of a horse. Going after them wasn’t an option, was it?

‘I think I’ll go after my horse and, er, check everybody is okay.’ Tab observed, but nobody was listening.

‘He’ll be back in time for the beer, love. Never known Rory to miss a party. Right oh.’ Billy rubbed his hands together and nodded at the vicar, who after a little hesitation decided to carry on where he’d left off. Lottie glanced back in the direction of the Equestrian Centre, which was where Merlin (irrespective of any rider intentions) was heading, then turned her attention back to her father. She was, after all, supposed to be responsible for arranging his marriage to the scatty Tiggy Stafford. And up until this point in the ceremony it had been going reasonably well, considering.

Organisation wasn’t her strong point, unless it involved horses and getting ready for a competition. That she could handle brilliantly, but managing events was different altogether, and it was so easy to get distracted. But she’d done this because she knew she had to. Discovering that she was the rightful heir to Tipping House Estate, not Uncle Dominic as she’d always assumed, had been a bit of a shock. Well, it had been a major shock.

It had all seemed a bit unreal, until Dom and Amanda had married, and he’d had less time for his caretaking duties. She had to get ready to take over the reins, he’d said (repeatedly, in his stern looking-down-his-aristocratic-nose way). To be fair, he’d spent an awful lot of time encouraging and helping her and she wanted to take over. She really did. She was far too independent to be on a lead rein and even before Lady Stanthorpe had dropped the bombshell, she’d known she belonged here. This place was part of her, she loved every shabby inch of it, and she really thought that Uncle Dominic was being a bit too much of a fussy mother hen. So she’d been determined to prove to him, and to herself, that she was more than capable of being Lady of the Manor. Of organising stuff. And organising her father’s wedding had seemed a perfect opportunity. And once Uncle Dom saw how brilliant she was, maybe he’d stop looking over her shoulder and trust her.

She sighed. Well, that had been the plan. And it had been going splendidly. Until Todd had arrived. A few months ago she might actually have been pleased to see him, but things were different now. She was different – her life had moved on.

‘Certainly. Right, I er…’ The Very Reverend Waterson straightened his dog collar and cleared his throat, waiting for the guests to settle. ‘Ah, yes, we were, hmm…’

Lottie stared at the vicar. He actually seemed to be enjoying himself, which was a first. Maybe becoming a Very Reverend, as opposed to a Reverend, had cheered him up. Promotion was good for everybody, she supposed, even if you were never actually going to get the top job in his line of work.

‘If any of you can show just cause why they may not be lawfully wed, speak now or else forever hold your peace.’ He smiled. Paused. ‘I charge you both, here in the pre—’

‘I do.’ Tiggy spoke for the first time, her soft voice singing out into the near silence with an unusual clarity. ‘Oops, I mean, I can.’ She giggled. ‘Show just thingy. Cause. I can show just cause why we can’t be, er, lawfully wed.’

For the second time that day there was a gasp of horror. Lottie looked in alarm at her father and tried to ignore the wicked delight on her grandmother, Elizabeth’s, face.

‘What? But. You can’t. I. Why?’ Lottie ran out of words. How could the bride have an objection? She wasn’t that up on weddings, but she had a damned good idea that any objections were supposed to come from the guests not the bride or groom. And she’d always thought Tiggy was so nice and harmless. ‘Dad?’ She made a grab for his arm, not quite sure what she was going to do next.

Billy guffawed, which wasn’t right. ‘She can’t, because she’s already married.’

All eyes swivelled from Billy to Tiggy and back again, as Lottie’s hands flew to her mouth. It was her worst nightmare.

‘Oh my God. Not her as well.’

Chapter 3

Lottie was on her second glass of bubbly and feeling slightly disorientated by the time Billy had finished the speeches, filling in for his AWOL best man, Rory, last seen riding his mechanical charger into the distance.

So far the day hadn’t gone to plan at all, she thought, as she gazed across the lawn towards Folly Lake Equestrian Centre, home to her father and his new bride.

She had been totally confused when Tiggy had dropped her bombshell, mainly because they both looked happy, and surely you were supposed to be devastated (or at least seriously upset) if it turns out your future forever person was on the verge of becoming a bigamist? She certainly had been when she’d found out that Todd had two weddings but no divorces to his name. I mean, she hadn’t exactly been planning on marrying him herself, but it was still the type of news that came as a bit of a shock.

So, it had been a toss-up. Did she burst into tears because she’d gone to all this bloody trouble organising this wonderful day for nothing? Did she have a ‘life is so unfair’ tantrum? Or did she follow Rory and Todd’s example and do a runner?

She’d opened her mouth, but nothing had come out. Which was when Billy had put a gentle hand on her shoulder. ‘To me. She’s already married to me, Lottie. Sorry love,’ he didn’t look that sorry, in fact he looked very pleased with himself, ‘but we got married last month when we were away. Didn’t want to hang around any longer and, er,’ he gave her an apologetic look, ‘we didn’t know if you’d pull this off. So, it’s like a blessing, isn’t it Rev?’ He’d glanced at the vicar who nodded and smiled with, Lottie thought, a certain un-reverential smugness.

The fact that even the bloody vicar was in on it seemed so unfair, thought Lottie, why was she always the last to know everything?

But her Dad had looked so pleased with himself it was hard to be ratty with him, and he’d even given her a brief bear hug, which was almost unheard of. ‘And it’s a bloody good excuse for a party as well, of course. Right then, let’s get this wound up and get on the razz.’ He’d hugged Tiggy in close and there was a collective gasp of relief and outbreak of laughter from the crowd, who’d agreed that this topped even the best of the Brinkley’s previous disorganised events.

And talking of bigamists, which for a brief moment it had looked like her new step-mother had been in danger of becoming, Todd had almost slipped Lottie’s mind. ‘Do you think he’s okay, Pip?’

Pip, who was in the process of grabbing a bottle of bubbly from a passing waiter, topped up their glasses, resisted the man’s attempts to reclaim the bottle, and followed the line of Lottie’s gaze. It wasn’t hard to see where Todd and Merlin had been, and Rory had followed. ‘Who, the beach bum?’

‘No, Rory, silly.’

‘I wouldn’t like to say who’s the fittest. Who do you reckon has the most stamina?’ Pip raised an eyebrow and Lottie hoped she hadn’t gone the shade of beetroot she normally did when asked questions like that.

‘Rory, of course.’

‘Of course.’

‘You never were very keen on Todd, were you?’

‘I didn’t need to be, he had it covered.’

‘That’s a bit mean. He was quite nice, really, until…’

‘Lottie that man spent more time looking in the mirror than both of us put together when we were in Barcelona. Hey, look. Is that them coming back?’

‘Crumbs, I’m drunker than I thought. I knew I should have eaten something, but I was frightened I’d bust out of my dress.’ Lottie squinted, and when that didn’t help she tried covering one eye, but she was definitely seeing double, or triple. There were only two men (two was good, they hadn’t killed each other) and one girl (that had to be Tab), but several…

‘Why’ve they brought all those horses?’ Pip said the words Lottie hadn’t dared, in case she actually was imagining it.

‘Thank heavens for that.’

‘What do you mean, “thank heavens for that”? You don’t bring horses to wedding receptions. Amanda was upset enough with just the one. She’ll have a pink fit if she sees this lot.’

‘I thought I was seeing things.’ Lottie giggled with relief. ‘I didn’t mean thank heavens for all the horses.’

‘Charlotte, what on earth is Rupert doing now?’

The giggles froze in her throat when she realised her gran was breathing down her neck. Lady Elizabeth Stanthorpe had sneaked up in her usual manner and was now peering across the lawn at the rapidly approaching group. ‘And who is that fellow with him and young Tabatha? He doesn’t look like a groom. The man hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing. Terrible hands and just look at that seat! Looks like he’s about to come off the horse.’

Lottie sighed. For some reason of her own Elizabeth insisted on calling Rory by anything but his actual name, usually to his face. She was pretty sure her gran was actually fond of Rory (just as she was fond of Billy, who had married her late daughter and given her her only grandchild, Lottie), but for some reason she seemed determined not to acknowledge the fact. And Rory, just like Billy before him, refused to rise to the bait. Maybe it was some weird kind of test.

‘That’s the Australian.’ Pip supplied helpfully, and Elizabeth grunted and looked again.

‘I thought William told him to shove off?’

‘I do love the way you say that.’ Pip grinned. ‘Shove orff.’

‘I wish he had.’ Lottie muttered, wondering why on earth they’d all come back.

Rory and his entourage came to a halt several feet away, and this time Todd wobbled but he didn’t fall off.

‘How’s it going, Lots?’ All grins. The man she never thought she’d see again. She peered more closely. She’d expected to see at least some signs of a fight or a minor scuffle, or at the very least like Rory had told him off.

‘Who exactly is that man, Charlotte?’

Lottie brushed the feathers, once jaunty but now drooping sadly from Elizabeth’s hat, out of her face.

‘That man,’ Pip was enjoying herself, ‘is Todd, and he’s the reason Lottie came home.’

‘Well, at least he has some uses.’ Elizabeth sniffed dismissively and turned her attentions to Rory. ‘And what are you up to Richard?’

‘We decided to have a competition. Like a duel but without the death.’

‘A duel?’ Elizabeth had really perked up now, thought Lottie, unlike the feathers.

Rory shrugged and grinned. ‘Well not exactly a duel. We just thought this party needed livening up, and old Todd here is game.’

Lottie looked at ‘old Todd’ and back to Rory. She didn’t like the sound of this at all. Well, it was good that they didn’t actually seem at loggerheads. In fact Rory seemed to have ditched the idea of protecting her honour, which she had to admit miffed her slightly. ‘Not a duel? You don’t want to kill him then?’

‘Kill him?’

‘I thought that’s why you were chasing him.’

‘Oh that. Well, I ran out of petrol and he fell off and we couldn’t be arsed to kill each other.’ He slid off his horse, landing at her feet and gave her a smacker of a kiss, which mollified her a little bit. ‘He explained everything, darling.’

‘He did?’

‘He’s sorry, it was just a bit of a cock-up. I think I might have overreacted a bit when I chased him.’ He grinned sheepishly. ‘Thought he wanted to whisk you away, but he only came to apologise.’

‘A cock-up?’ Lottie stared. She wasn’t sure if it was good that Rory and Todd had decided they were buddies, or bad that she was the last one to get the explanation, as per normal. And the apology. She looked at Todd.

‘He’s spot on, Lots. I mean, I didn’t exactly have time to say goodbye or anything before they bundled me on the plane, did I? But it was all a misunderstanding, mate.’

‘The horses Robert?’ Elizabeth tapped her foot impatiently and looked disapprovingly at Todd, who wisely shut up.

‘Tippermere against the rest of the world. Once I’ve had a drink, that is.’ He nodded in Todd’s direction. ‘And you better have one too. Looks like we’ve some catching up to do.’

‘Whatever you say, mate. How do I get off this thing?’

It was at this point that Lottie realised the wedding was at a turning point, and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it. Or about getting an explanation from Todd.

Her father, Billy, Uncle Dom and several of the other guests had already been drawn by the sight of the horses and the competitive spirit was kicking in faster than the alcoholic kind.

‘It’s you,’ Rory nodded towards Billy, ‘me and Dom against him,’ Todd got a look, ‘Mick and’ he looked round, searching the expectant faces for a suitable outsider.

‘And me.’ Tabatha, who had spent most of the afternoon chasing after the elusive Todd and Merlin finally spotted her chance. ‘Don’t you dare say I can’t.’

Rory chuckled. ‘If Todd’s happy with you, then it’s fine by me.’ Todd looked more than happy. In fact, the look on his face was one Lottie remembered well.

‘But you can’t.’

Tab scowled and Lottie hastily qualified the statement. ‘None of you can. I mean, I mean…’

‘Now, now Charlotte. No harm in a bit of fun.’ Elizabeth had a twinkle in her eye and stiffness in her backbone that Lottie hadn’t seen in a while.

‘But, they’re going to…’ She wasn’t exactly sure what they were going to do, but if it involved horses and teams it wasn’t the type of thing you normally saw at a wedding reception. Lottie looked around wildly for inspiration. ‘Amanda won’t like it.’

She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her Uncle Dominic. It was what Dom thought about it all that she was more bothered about. She had been determined to impress him today, and not with her horsemanship skills.

They’d agreed that she would take the day-to-day management of the Tipping House Estate off his hands, so that he could spend more time with Amanda, and so that when the day came for the grandmother to step down (although it was a bit like waiting for the Queen to abdicate), she’d be ready to become the next Lady Stanthorpe.

The list of ‘things that needed taking care of’ was a bit like an Ikea catalogue: very large, very varied and very difficult to prioritise, but with the help of Dom she’d drawn up a plan of attack. And raising money to repair the roof was item number one. Mainly because, as Dom pointed out, if the roof gave way then the list would get considerably longer. And she really didn’t want that.

Her father’s wedding would showcase her organisational skills. Well, that had been the plan. And Rory was about to wreck it.

‘Nonsense, Amanda’s up for it.’ He gave her a hug.

‘And we have to get up early.’ She really had wanted to get up with a clear head so that she could go through the accounts her uncle had given her, and prove that not only was she an organisational whizz, but that she was the image of efficiency. And then he’d stop fussing and leave her to it.

And Rory had promised to do whatever was needed to help her out. In fact she had been hoping that he’d help her with one of the horses before breakfast, which he’d enjoy. Then he’d hardly notice when they moved onto looking at accounts, which he hated. Rory was the type of man who shoved bills in drawers and then conveniently forgot about them. Unless they were related to horse feed, of course.

With the wedding plans and all the little jobs she seemed to have taken on at Tipping House she had found it harder and harder to find time to ride with Rory. And she missed it.

‘Right,’ he smacked her bum, ‘that’s settled, let’s get the party started.’

‘But Rory, we do need to get up in the morn—’ It wasn’t that she didn’t want a bit of fun, it was just that when Rory had one of his ideas it never ended in an early night and sobriety.

‘This is going to be a wedding to remember, darling.’ He kissed the tip of her nose. ‘You’ve done a brilliant job.’ His lips moved down to her mouth. ‘Have I told you how gorgeous you look in that tight dress? I can’t wait to rip it off. Right, back in a bit.’

Seeing Todd again had been a nasty shock to Lottie’s system. One of the trickier aspects was that she couldn’t remember for the life of her exactly what she’d told Rory about the brief hiatus in their relationship, when she’d set off on her world tour to discover herself. And instead discovered Todd. Which had been quite a nice distraction until the police had turned up, of course.