The Heiress's Harem Box Set

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

“Right then!” Betty said with a clap of her hands. “That’s all cleared away and ship-shape. Is there anything else you’d like me to do, Mia?”

Just then, James re-entered the kitchen via the back door, having sorted out the rubbish and taken it to the outside bin.

“No,” Mia replied, “you’ve already done more than enough—you all have. Thank you so much. Now go on home and put your feet up. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She glanced over her shoulder towards the door leading from the kitchen to the hallway. “Where has Tom got to, anyway? Has he gone home already?” Surely he wouldn’t just leave without saying anything?

James shrugged. “Not sure. He was here a few minutes ago.”

“Yes, he was. Hmm… that’s odd. Oh well, he must have gone home. No problem. Right, so I’ll see you two tomorrow—usual time?” She ushered them towards the back door, knowing if she didn’t, they’d find some kind of excuse to hang around. The fact they cared so much was lovely, but she was well overdue for some alone time.

“You’re sure you don’t want me to come and fix you some breakfast tomorrow, Mia? You must eat properly. Your dear father will haunt me from beyond the grave if he thinks I’m not feeding you properly,” Betty put in.

Mia chuckled. “Betty,” she said firmly, “I promise you I can, and will, fix my own breakfast. There is absolutely no need for you to come in early. You know perfectly well I only have toast or cereal and a cup of tea in the morning, anyway. There will be plenty for you to be getting on with when you arrive for your regular shift, I assure you.”

The woman tutted. “Well, all right then. See you tomorrow. And if you get hungry today, the leftover sandwiches and things are in the fridge. Or—”

James shoved her gently. “Come on, woman,” he said gruffly. “Can’t you see the girl wants to be alone? Let’s respect her wishes, all right?”

Mia flashed James a grateful smile. “Goodbye, both of you. And if you see Tom out there anywhere, can you let him know to head on home—if he hasn’t already? And pass on my thanks for today.”

“Of course,” James replied. “Goodbye.”

Mia closed and locked the door behind them, then turned and slumped against it with a sigh of relief. Alone at last!

“Hey—have you locked me in?” Thomas’s voice came from the doorway, and Mia jumped and let out a little squeal.

“Tom! s**t, you made me jump. That’s twice in one day. I thought you’d gone.”

He frowned and shook his head. “Of course not. I wouldn’t have just left without saying anything. I was checking all the cut flowers had plenty of water. I thought you had enough on your plate without worrying about such trivial things. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Again.”

“It’s all right. None of us knew where you were, which was why I thought perhaps you’d left. But I did think it was weird you hadn’t said anything. Now I know why—you’re still here.” She smiled. “Thank you for checking on the flowers. You’re right, I probably wouldn’t have given them a second thought, and people spent such a lot of money on them, too. A waste, if you ask me. Flowers belong in the garden, living and growing.”

Thomas returned her smile. “Preaching to the converted here. But you know what people are like—they don’t really know what to do or what to say when someone dies, so they send cards and flowers. Probably does more to make them feel better than you.”

“Spoken like someone who’s been there, done that.”

“’Fraid so,” he replied with a wry twist of his lips. “Anyway, unless there’s anything else you need me to do or help you with, I’ll leave you in peace.” He tugged at his tie and pulled a silly face. “Time to get out of this bloody monkey suit.”

She turned and unlocked the door again, then opened it to let him out. “You might not feel comfortable, but you look incredibly smart. Dad would be very impressed.”

Thomas chuckled. “I hope so. Not many people I’d wear a suit for, but your dad was one of them.” He walked to the door and stepped over the threshold, before turning back. “By the way, I hope it’s all right, but once I’ve got changed, I’m going to take a walk through the gardens. Not often I get to enjoy them without working on them, if you see what I mean.”

“Of course it’s all right! That’s what they’re there for, and God knows you work hard enough to keep them looking amazing—you should be able to enjoy the fruits of your labour.” A thought occurred to her. “Actually, Tom, please feel free to say no if you’d rather I didn’t, but would you mind if I came with you?”

He stepped back into the kitchen, his eyebrows raised. “Of course I don’t mind. But I thought you wanted to be alone—that’s the only reason I didn’t ask you to join me in the first place.”

Meeting his gaze, she replied, “This will probably sound cheesy, but it, er, feels different with you. You’ve been where I am, and you seem to know the right thing to say, or not to say. I know you’re not going to waffle a load of nonsense at me in the hopes of making me feel better.”

He regarded her seriously. “I’m glad you feel that way, Mia. Because this will probably sound cheesy too, but I’m here for you. If you want to talk about what happened, or you want to talk about anything but that, that’s fine with me. Just say the word—I’ll do or be whatever you need, okay?”

Spontaneously, she jumped forward and gave him a hug. “Thank you,” she said into his ear, “so much.” Then, realising how awkward she’d suddenly made the situation, she jerked back and said brightly, “Right, well, I’d better get changed, too. These heels aren’t exactly made for walking in gardens, no matter how pretty.”

“The shoes, or the gardens?”

“Both,” she grinned. “Meet you at the entrance to the rose gardens in ten?”

“Better make it fifteen. I’ve got further to walk there and back than you.”

“True. See you in fifteen.”

Then he left. She watched him for a moment, cutting a mighty fine figure in his smart suit as he wandered down her garden path. She shook her head, wondering again at how he’d managed to avoid her notice in that way for so long. She smiled. Now she had noticed, she intended to make the most of it—it’d be nice to have him around to feast her eyes on when he wasn’t looking, especially when the summer came and he worked without a shirt on. Oh yes, Thomas Walker would be a very pleasant distraction indeed as she completed the dull and unpleasant tasks of her more immediate future, then turned her attentions to her next whopper of a project—finding herself a husband.

She suspected Thomas was going to be a great person to have around as she adjusted to life without her father. They’d been friendly for a while—not friends exactly, but they had nice chats whenever they bumped into each other in the grounds, and she felt comfortable around him. Trusted him. So if she did feel the need to talk to someone about her father, why not him? He understood precisely what she was going through, after all.

With that slightly cheering thought in mind, she closed the kitchen door—didn’t lock it, since she’d be using it again in a few minutes—then, remembering James wasn’t there to do it, checked all of the other doors and windows on the ground floor. Her relatively isolated home, with its CCTV, and high walls and gates, was unlikely to burgled any time soon, but one couldn’t be too careful. Especially as she was rattling around in here by herself much of the time—no sense making herself as physically vulnerable as she currently was emotionally.

Then she headed up to the first floor and went into her bedroom. There, she quickly located a pair of jeans, T-shirt, hoodie, and flat boots, and changed into them. In front of the mirror, she pulled all the pins from her chignon and let her hair tumble free, then dragged a brush through it, marvelling at the same time that her makeup had actually gotten through the day relatively unscathed. A quick wipe beneath her eyes with a tissue to remove a little bit of smudged mascara and she was done. It wasn’t windy outside, so she left her hair down, then made her way back downstairs and outside to meet Thomas.

Despite him asking for fifteen minutes instead of ten, he’d beaten her to it.

“Hey,” she said as she approached. “Sorry, you haven’t been waiting long, have you? I was making sure everywhere was locked up. James does it most of the time, so I’ve got to get into the habit of remembering when he’s not around.”

“It’s fine, I’ve only been here a minute.” He nodded down at her clothes. “Feeling better?”

She bobbed her head. “Yes, you? Now you’re rid of your monkey suit.”

“God, yeah,” he replied, grinning widely. “This is much more me, don’t you think?”

Mia took in his attire. It wasn’t his usual gardening gear. He, like her, wore jeans, a T-shirt, and a hoodie, as well as a pair of trainers. She nodded approvingly. “Not quite as smart as the suit, but certainly a step up from the grass-stained trousers and tops I usually see you in. Looking good, Tom!”

He indicated the path, and they began walking side by side. “Thanks. So, you like a man in a suit, do you?”

She shrugged. “Not especially. And I’ve had to deal with way too many of them over the past couple of weeks—I’m fed up of looking at them. It was just a big change to see you in one, that’s all. I like a man to wear whatever he’s comfortable in. As long as he’s clean and he smells nice, that’s good enough for me.”

“You’re easily pleased, aren’t you?” he shot back with a grin, peering over at her.

She gave him a playful nudge in the ribs. “Piss off, you! I’m just saying that a man doesn’t have to be dressed up in designer gear or anything to impress me.”

“So what does he have to do? Or wear?”

They were halfway along the edge of the rose garden by now—which was far from at its best at this time of year, but just being outside in the fresh air was having a soothing effect on Mia—and she stopped suddenly as she gave the question some consideration. “I don’t know, really. Just be a good person, genuine, hard working… anyway, why the hell are we talking about this? Are you trying to play matchmaker or something? Did my dad put you up to this?” she said, fixing him in a narrow-eyed gaze.

Thomas held his hands up in surrender, his eyes as wide as hers were narrow. “No! Bloody hell. I was just making conversation, that’s all. Trying to distract you.” He shrugged. “But we can talk about whatever you want. Roses,” he wafted a hand around them, “the weather—we are British, after all—stocks and shares, Tom Cruise, your dad… whatever you like.”

Mia spluttered out a laugh, then continued walking. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bite your head off there. I was just a little suspicious of your motives, that’s all. Dad had been on at me to ‘find myself a nice man’ and all that rubbish, so I thought perhaps he’d got you on the case, too.”

“Nope. Definitely not. It was just whatever popped into my head—probably because of what I overheard Betty saying earlier, before I interrupted.”

“Fair enough. So… stocks and shares? Tom Cruise? Where the hell did that come from?”

Thomas snickered. “No idea about the first. The second is no mystery—I watched one of his movies last night.”

“Any good?”

“Yeah, if you like that kind of thing. A kind-of good guy, bad guys, punch ups, car chases… you get the jist. Do you like movies?”

“I do. I don’t get the time to watch as many as I’d like, especially not at the cinema. But yes, I like them.” She paused, looking up at the sky. “Seems wrong to hold a funeral on such a beautiful day, doesn’t it?”

To his credit, Thomas appeared only slightly taken aback by the sudden change of subject. “Er, yeah. Yes, it does. Bit of an affront to all concerned, actually. But on the plus side, at least we didn’t get soaked in the churchyard.”

“Very true. You know, even at this time of year, the gardens look amazing. It may not be a riot of colour or anything, but it’s beautiful. You do an amazing job here, Tom.”

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, a slight blush staining his cheeks. “Thank you. I’m glad you like it. But you must, er, let me know if you want to discuss anything about the gardens. You know, if there’s anything you’d like to change or whatever. As for the riot of colour part, as long as nature cooperates with me, you’ll have that for sure during the spring and summer. I’ve planned ahead.”

She smiled. “I look forward to it. I’m glad I’ll be here to see it.” And hopefully not for the last time, either.

With a frown, Thomas asked, “And why wouldn’t you be?”

“Huh?” Then, realising what she’d said, she sighed. “Oh, it’s nothing. Nothing for you to worry about.” Not yet, anyway.

The look on Thomas’s face told her he clearly wasn’t buying it. He stopped and turned to her, then gently took her hand. That now-familiar warmth seeped into her skin, leaving tingles in its wake. “Mia, what is it? You can talk to me, I’ve told you that. About anything. I can keep secrets.”

They’d passed out of the rose gardens and onto the woodland path, which, if they kept on it, would lead them to Thomas’s cottage in the estate grounds. As she looked up again, a beam of winter sunlight fell on her face; weak, but still with enough strength for her to feel its warmth. Why shouldn’t I tell him? There’s nothing in Dad’s will to say I have to keep his ludicrous caveat a secret. And if it all goes pear shaped, Tom will have to know anyway. So will all the staff. And if I succeed… well, no harm done anyway, is there?

Bringing her head back down so she could look Thomas in the eye, she said, “Oh, Tom, are you sure you really want to know? Want to be burdened with my woes?”

“Woes?” He frowned again. “What woes? Other than the obvious.” He looked so confused, yet earnest, that Mia didn’t feel she could cut him out now. And besides, two heads were better than one, as the saying went. Perhaps if she confided in Thomas, he’d come up with some bright idea—or even just a regular idea—to help her out of her predicament.

Still holding his hand, she continued walking. “You got any booze back at your place?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Nothing exciting—just a few cans of cider, oh, and some whiskey I hardly touch—but you’re welcome to it.”

“Great. Come on, then. Let’s have a drink, and I’ll tell you all about it.”