Susanne James - The Master of Highbridge Manor

She looked up at him, colour instantly flooding her cheeks as their eyes met, and she shrank inside herself for a moment. What on earth had made her waffle on like that—and what must he think of her? ‘I sometimes feel it would be good for everything to just pause…for a bit,’ she added, her voice faltering for a second.

He didn’t reply at once, enjoying listening to her…He had spotted the potential in Ria Davidson on their first meeting, he reminded himself. Apart from being a modern, fashionable woman, she was much deeper than her appearance might have suggested, and there was that beguiling thoughtfulness about her that sent his male urges tingling in a familiar way.

‘I do know what you mean,’ he said, ‘about the manic passing of time—and I have a lot of sympathy with your outlook. In fact, I see my place in Somerset as the sanctuary I rely on to detach me from all the change and progress and stress you’re talking about. Life, there, does actually seem to stand still sometimes.’

She looked up at him gratefully. Just so long as he didn’t think she was crazy!

It was their turn to choose the food they wanted, and Ria was impressed by the variety on offer. There was deliciouslooking chicken, coated in a fine honey glaze, tender pork fillet with onion stuffing, thick slices of baked ham with peach dressing, an interesting-looking vegetarian alternative, plus several different vegetables or salad to go with it all. She looked up at Jasper.

‘How can I choose from all this?’ she asked helplessly.

‘The menu on our first day back is always rather selfindulgent, ’ he admitted, ‘but we must make the most of it—it’ll probably be mince and mash tomorrow!’

Helen was standing almost right behind them and she called out, ‘See what I mean, Ria? It never takes much persuasion to get me to stay for dinner occasionally.’

There was apparently no pecking order at the tables, everyone sitting where they liked and, seated between Helen and Jasper, Ria suddenly felt so overwhelmingly optimistic she could have burst into tears. It must be that glass of wine making her feel so sensitive, she thought, or the tender pork she’d just finished, right to the last morsel. Whatever it was, she wasn’t complaining and, when the glorious creamy desserts appeared at the counter, she felt as if she’d been invited to a wonderful celebration of some sort instead of her first night at her new job! She bit her lip—she hoped she wasn’t going to turn into Cinderella and find that this was all a charade, a terrible mistake that she was here at all. Then she silently kicked herself. Why spoil the evening with these horrible, dark thoughts? Why couldn’t she leave all that behind, once and for all? Was she never going to be able to believe that life could be good, happy and fulfilling once again?

The meal ended and they all stood up to leave just as Tim Robbinson sauntered across to speak to them. He was obviously younger than Jasper, Ria noted, his mass of brown curly hair framing a happy, uncomplicated face, reminding her of an oversized baby.

‘Hi, everyone,’ Tim said good-naturedly. ‘That was a great meal, Jasper.’

Jasper nodded. ‘Yes, it was.’ He paused. ‘Look, I’ve got a phone call to make,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you’d like to stay and have a few words with Ria, Tim. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff she wants to find out.’

‘My pleasure,’ Tim said at once, smiling at Ria, and for the next twenty minutes or so the two sat chatting together easily.

Presently, the room emptied and, after saying goodnight to Tim, Ria wandered out of the building, breathing in the balmy air gratefully. She didn’t feel like going to bed yet because she wasn’t at all tired, she realized—her head too full of everything that had gone on, so turning impulsively, she decided to go for a short walk.

She had spotted a small wooded area behind the tennis courts and, curious to know where it led, she set off, her feet treading lightly over the short grass. Almost immediately, she could see that the path led to the cricket green—the surroundings of this school were almost unbelievably beautiful, she thought, certainly outdoing anything she’d ever known.

It was nearly dark now, as Ria came to a small gate leading to some open ground where a small flock of sheep were grazing and, leaning over it, she wished that she could hold this perfect tranquil moment for ever. What a fantastic—and rather unusual—slice of luck had come her way, she thought, that the temporary post she’d been looking for had landed her here! Could this be the first small ray of hope that the ball might bounce in her direction?

As usual, Ria’s introspectiveness threw the events of her life into sharp focus, once again, as she stood there…how different things might have been, she thought…if only. She certainly wouldn’t be here at Highbridge Manor. She would be cradling her longed-for baby in her arms and basking in the warmth and love of a real family. A faint snort of derision left her lips. In her dreams, she thought bleakly.

Suddenly, and without any warning, her eyes filled and two large tears gently coursed down her cheeks. And she didn’t try to stop them. It was good to cry, so she’d been told. So then, she’d cry. Well, she’d done enough of it in the last year. But it was strange that her feelings of happiness at being here could make her feel so sad.

‘Oh, dear—we haven’t upset you already, have we, Ria?’

Jasper had seen her walking away in the distance as he’d returned from parking the car and had decided to catch her up, to keep her company, admitting that something about her brought out all his protective instincts. Well, it was her first day, after all.

Nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of his voice, Ria turned and looked up into those achingly desirable eyes, which were glistening more blackly than ever in the dim light, and she unzipped her bag, frantically searching for a tissue.

‘Oh…no…I think it’s a bit of hay fever, that’s all,’ she lied. ‘I do suffer from it occasionally.’

Help, she thought. How did he know where I was—and why did he follow me, anyway? She was going to have to pull herself together and act normally.

She found a tissue, dabbing at her eyes. ‘I was just admiring this wonderful place,’ she sniffed. ‘I hope the boys realize how lucky they are to be at school here.’

‘Oh, I doubt it,’ Jasper said flatly. ‘Did any of us appreciate our lives when we were young? It’s the norm to take everything for granted, isn’t it?’

Well, the good life had certainly been the norm for him and Carl, he acknowledged, feeling a sense of shame when he compared their lot with some of the boys who turned up here. The Trent brothers had had loving and diligent parents, whose one thought had been the well-being and happiness of their sons—and of all the children who passed through their school.

Neither spoke for a moment, then Ria said, pointing, ‘Does the school own all this land as well?’

‘Yes—that’s all part of us,’ he said. ‘Local farmers borrow it from time to time to feed their stock.’ He paused. ‘Observing those animals, hearing them grazing, pulling lazily at the grass, especially after the sun’s gone down, can be very therapeutic, ’ he added, and Ria glanced up at him quickly. He had expressed her own inner thoughts exactly.

He was standing very close to her now, so that they were almost touching, and for a ridiculous moment Ria wanted to lean into him, to feel the warmth of his body mingle with hers, to be comforted, to be loved. It must be wonderful to be the woman in his life, she thought—because there had to be one. There had to be a beautiful woman somewhere, waiting for this gorgeous, strong, dependable man to come home, she thought and, to her horror, Ria thought she was going to start crying again. But feeling sorry for herself was the last thing she could do with right now.