Page 101 of Never Gonna Happen

‘No idea. Is Dad home?’

‘No. He’s having lunch in Holt with some friends, Leon took him.’

‘Shit. I’m going to head over and see what he’s up to. If we ride to the delivery yard, can you take Luna back to the stables?’

They took a shortcut through one of the paddocks to the yard just as they heard the roar of Adam’s car pulling up to the front door. Jamie slid off Luna’s back gingerly and pulled his crutch out of the saddle bag.

‘I’ll see you in a bit.’ He handed Luna’s reins to Emily and she led her off as fast as she could, keen to get back to the house before Adam decided to break Jamie’s other leg. One of the grooms was mucking out Luna’s stable, so she handed her both horses with an apology and ran back as fast as she could.

There was nobody around as she crept up the back stairs, other than a distant vacuum cleaner humming in one of the bedrooms. She hugged the wall of the corridor to Mr Hunter’s office, stopping behind the open door at the sound of raised voices.

‘You need to wake up, little brother,’ said Adam.

‘What are you talking about?’

‘I’m talking about Emily. Your little whore.’

Emily pressed her hand over her mouth and reversed into an alcove in the corridor that had probably once held a suit of armour. ‘Don’t you dare,’ Jamie snapped.

‘Can’t you see what she’s doing?’ said Adam, his voice even whinier than usual. ‘She’s manipulating you and Dad. You’re too blind to see it.’

There was silence for a moment as Jamie’s crutch clunked across the wooden floor. Emily couldn’t tell if he was going towards Adam or away from him. ‘What’s your problem, Adam?’ he asked quietly.

‘She’s a scrubber,’ spat Adam. ‘Common as muck.’

‘You’re such an unbearable snob. I think your problem is that she makes me happy, and you’re so fucking miserable you can’t bear it.’

‘God, you’re stupid,’ Adam sneered. ‘What do you see in her?’

‘She’s smart,’ said Jamie. ‘Funny, beautiful . . .’

Adam snorted derisively.

‘. . . kind, emotionally intelligent. All the things you’ll never be.’

‘At least my wife has breeding.’

‘Victoria is a woman, Adam. Not a horse. Have you EVER asked her if she’s happy?’

‘I give her everything she wants,’ shouted Adam.

‘Do you, though?’ said Jamie. ‘Do you make her laugh? Do you tell her you love her? Or do you assume that money and a nice house is all she needs to get through the day? You should find out before she takes half your cash and both your sons.’

‘She wouldn’t dare,’ seethed Adam.

‘Don’t be so sure, Adam. Lesser women than Victoria have made their escape from pieces of shit like you. Oh, and one more thing. If you ever talk about Emily that way again, I will beat the living crap out of you.’

There was silence for a moment, then Adam stormed out of the office and down the corridor without noticing Emily. She stayed where she was until Jamie had clunked away too, her heart pounding out of her chest.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Emily checked her watch for the third time in half an hour. Jamie and Mr Hunter would be on their way to the National Trust’s Head Office in Swindon by now – she’d waved them off at the helipad earlier. They’d have the meeting, sign the documents, then have lunch with some important people before flying back. It was incredibly complicated, the culmination of years of discussions and negotiations and legal wrangling. The text of the agreement had been checked and re-checked, and now it was just the formalities. All being well, they’d be back by 4 p.m.

She made herself her third coffee of the morning and wandered through to Mr Hunter’s office. Adam had returned to London on Saturday after his run-in with Jamie, so the house was blissfully quiet, other than the rumble of the gardener giving the lawn its first proper mow of the year and a distant door closing on one of the other floors. She stood by the floor-to-ceiling sash window behind the big walnut desk and watched the ride-on mower carving perfect green stripes in the grass. It was calming to watch and gave her something to do other than look at her watch and flap about things that were out of her control.

‘Where have my father and brother gone?’ said a loud voice, making Emily jump and slop coffee down her jumper. Adam stood in the office doorway, giving her a glare that would melt tarmac from fifty yards.

‘They’re at a meeting,’ she said, trying not to panic. What was he doing here? He must have driven up this morning. What the hell did he want?