Chapter Four
Mia watched, impressed, as Thomas effortlessly lit the fire in the grate. His cottage had originally been a gamekeeper’s cottage, but there hadn’t been a gamekeeper on the estate for decades, so it was now part of the salary package for the resident gardener. The sturdy, grey-stone building was like something out of a fairytale, especially when viewing it from the woods, where one couldn’t see the track leading off to the nearest minor road, or Thomas’s car parked beside it.
“You’ve done that a few times,” she remarked as he carefully loaded sticks and logs onto the growing flames.
Getting to his feet and turning to her with a smile, he said, “At this time of year, it’s either that or freeze my arse off. No central heating in here.”
She gave an involuntary shiver. “I see y
