Just Tell Me (The Justice Series) (27 page)

“It’s perfectly normal Daniel, don’t tell me you don’t shop, where does the rest of your food and stuff like washing powder come from” She couldn’t imagine him doing his own washing when she thought about it and it didn’t come as much of a surprise when he told her he employed someone and he had no idea.

“That’s ridiculous” she said “I can’t imagine not shopping for my own food, so this is a real first for you then?”  She realised how different they were, he was an aristocratic multimillionaire and she was just a normal commoner. 200 years ago, he wouldn’t have been allowed to date someone like her
she thought miserably as they arrived at the supermarket. 

They walked around the supermarket
, Daniel was pushing a trolley and Nicole was walking next to him.  They almost looked like a normal couple doing their shopping but she looked at him and he looked out of place.  He shone. He was beautiful with his short dark hair, blue eyes and tanned skin and a white t-shirt under his V-necked grey jumper. She noticed woman looking at him, distracted as they chose their fruit selections and she smiled. “So Daniel, this is what you do” she was having fun now “You choose something you want and then you buy it” 

Daniel looked at her, he knew how to shop but now he knew why he didn’t come in.  The place was crowded, and the food was boring.  He picked up a potato feeling like a surely teenager.

“This is shit, the quality is rubbish, we will go up to the vegetable garden I will show you a proper potato” he said laughing despite himself “It’s so much easier to pay someone to do this for you Nicole” he said through gritted teeth as they looked at the fish counter.

“Look we can find something really nice for dinner” she said pointing to a mackerel. The fishmonger waited for them to make a decision, Daniel scowled at the fish.  He could get fresher on the estate.

“It’s a shame there isn’t a nice local pub we could go to for a steak and a pint” she nudged him “Have you ever had a pint before”

Daniel glared at her “O
f course I have, there are pubs on the estate” he said “I just haven’t had the chance to go in” he had to admit he was a little scared of going into the pub, he knew the people who drank in there and was friends with them on the estate.  He knew his gamekeeper, had done for years. He used to spend all day deerstalking with him, but he had never been asked to go to the pub with any of them.  Not once.

“C
an we go to one?” she pleaded “Come on, it will be fun, an adventure” he looked bemused.

“Well ok but then can we get some proper food, from the garden, not here?” he took her hand and pulled her close “I’m having fun just being with you” he said and Nicole felt she was closer to the person she knew in her computer than ever before. She kissed him briefly on the lips and they ran awa
y from the fishmonger as he glared at them.  They returned to the car and Nicole browsed his iPod she found a Pulp song and played it, laughing at him as the words resonated with them. 

They drove back to his house, she had the window open and they were chatting happily.  Daniel was thinking about the wasted weekends he had spent alone. The empty void in his life had been filled, he didn’t want her to leave him tomorrow and he felt a pang as he thought about what he would say to her.  Would she want to stay with him?  What if it was all a bit of fun to her?
He wondered suddenly feeling vulnerable.  He reached over and took her hand.  A thin smile danced on his face as her eyes met his; she was also lost in her own thoughts and knew time was running out. 

“
So how do we get to this pub?” she asked as he drove the car round the now familiar roads, she looked at her phone.  The battery light was flashing she looked at it irritably she hated being out of contact of her parents and George.  They had Daniel’s landline and mobile too and were told to use it if they needed to get in contact with her.  She relaxed and thought how she wouldn’t think twice about telling him the truth if George was ill or something happened.  She tried to push the thought of her little baby out of her mind again, he was the only reason she had to go home tomorrow she thought miserably.  Her train was booked for 10am, it gave her no time to tell him but she wasn’t sure if he cared enough about her. 

“You sure you want to go?”  he asked her, trying to talk her out of it.

“Come on, just one drink” she urged him on, he sighed and signalled down a road she hadn’t been before.  They arrived in the village, just a line of old white houses which lead into a village green.

“
It’s lovely” she said as they pulled up outside the pub, a group of men were stood outside smoking and Daniel nodded at a couple of them as he opened the door.  One of them actually took his cap off his head as he walked past, Nicole felt embarrassed as they walked to the bar the locals stopped to look at them.  The bar was simple, the polished wooden slab was worn with scratches and the wall behind was covered in beer mats, the barman looked at Daniel.

“Now then sir” he said “D
idn’t expect to see you in here”

Nicole spoke before Daniel could have chance to chang
e his mind “Can we have two pints of bitter please?”  The bar man looked at her.  The English accent was noticeable and he stared at her, blinking as he registered her request. He pulled the pints and they took them to a table near the window, the green leather worn from years of use.  Daniel told her he would only be a minute and he left her, she watched him through the window as he talked to the locals outside,
what’s he planning?

“That’s sorted then” he smiled
at her and she looked at him quizzically.

Nicole glanced around the pub, taking in the ripped seats and the peeling wallpaper that she neglected to spot before
“Well this is nice” she said looking back at Daniel and trying not to laugh at his expression. 

The door opened and one of the men came back into the bar, his grey hair was bushy and he had a rugged red face. 
His checked shirt was torn round the collar and his old worn jumper had holes in the front; he scanned the room for Daniel and came over with a bag in his hand, which he dropped on the floor in front of their table.

“Now then” he said “T
he land down by Surling Ings is wet this year” and he started talking about farming to Daniel.  He completely ignored Nicole but she didn’t mind. She listened to them discuss the land and she saw Daniel’s face light up as they discussed grain and harvest. He loved the countryside and the estate, she could see how comfortable he was talking about farming. Another man joined them, she couldn’t help but look at his baggy brown trousers and was sure they were tied up by baler band. Their accents were strong and she could hear Daniel’s Scottish accent as he mirrored their thick dialect, they discussed shooting and one of the men turned to Nicole and winked.

“Aye we will be getting some of the wild goose again” she smiled, trying to pretend she understood what the secret about wild goose was. 

He left them and Daniel showed her the contents of the bag, one had baby carrots in and potatoes, both covered in dusty earth and the other had a dead rabbit in it.  She nearly spat her drink out when she saw the carcass but her dad had brought plenty in the house when she was younger.

“That looks fantastic” she said her eyes lit up and Daniel started laughing
.

“It’s the first time a woman has been i
mpressed by a bag of vegetables, I should have added that to my dream date question”

Nicole scowled at him “T
hey won’t like that on Single and Loaded”. 

Daniel lo
oked at her his eyes sparkled “You have to be single to be on it” and he took her hand “And I’m not, am I?” he looked over at her, it was not the time or the place to be discussing this, but he couldn’t help himself.  Nicole had butterflies in her stomach as he looked at her across the worn table.

“I don’t know
what you are” she whispered the words as he looked at her with his intense blue eyes, she knew what he was thinking.

“Lets go home Nicole
we need to talk, you’re driving me crazy” they drank their drinks and got ready to leave but the bar man brought another two pints to the table.  They looked over and Daniel’s gatekeeper was stood at the bar, he raised his glass and they smiled in thanks. Nicole sat back and watched as the men said their goodbyes to Daniel, she realised this was an estate village.  The MacIntyre’s owned everything for miles around and she felt Daniel was uncomfortable, and understood.  He had left the community, he had thrown himself into his corporate career and he never had to the chance to build relationships and friendships with local people.  She knew more about Daniel than she realised as he explained.

“S
orry about this” he said, his eyes were sparkling and he took a sip of his pint “We have tenant farmers on the estate and I rarely get time to talk to them anymore, I’ve been so busy with work I haven’t paid any attention to the estate recently, my father is getting older and he never had much interest in farming to start with, it was my grandfather who invested in the management of the estate” he told Nicole about his grandparents, their passion for farming and how they had offered the land to local families at a small rent on long term leases.  They were handed down from generation to generation to ensure the local knowledge of the land wasn’t lost.  He told her his parents didn’t care about the legacy, how they were only interested in spending the money and bumbling about the estate.  They were not interested in the land management and employed others to run it.

Daniel had pushed himself into business, because he wanted to be able
to stand on his own. The cost of running Hambelby, it ran into millions and he wasn’t sure how much longer it could sustain itself before the money started to run low and it needed major repairs. Nicole didn’t know any of this, she always assumed that rich people who lived in stately homes had millions to throw about but now she saw it as a responsibility. If Daniel didn’t take control of it one day, who would?

He looked up “S
orry Nicole I just feel so passionately about it, one day I might have children and I want them to inherit the estate and feel proud of it, not like they have suddenly been handed a white elephant when they reach 18”.  His eyes smiled and Nicole looked at him, not being able to keep the melancholy from her face as Daniel talked about children, she thought of poor George, his father didn’t even know he existed.

“Hey, cheer up” he smiled, trying to lighten the conversation; he not
iced she looked uncomfortable “Was it the talk about children?”  Nicole tried to control the emotion but she had heard enough she had to get outside.  She stood up, the chair sounding rough on the old stone floor as she ran outside taking deep breaths and she could feel him stood behind her.

“Are you alright Nicole?  What’s wrong?”

She felt her tears well up “Nothing Daniel it’s just” she looked at him,
tell him
she urged herself but instead she said “It’s just beer makes me sad!” she said smiling through the tears “And that story about your grandparents”

He wiped the tears away and held her and she felt so guilty, they stood in the middle of the village and she buried her face into his soft mohair j
umper. She breathed in his smell and held him tightly as the tears flowed. She was in too deep now to being able to just tell him, she couldn’t find the right time. Daniel drove back to the house deep in thought,
I’m such an idiot
, and he thought to her reaction in the pub, it was strange. He was sure she was hiding something from him again though, that there was more than just sensitivity at stake. He was sure she had someone else, someone in Manchester but why was she with him doing this if she did? 
The money?
  It didn’t make sense and he felt doubt creeping into his own mind.
Maybe I am being too naïve
he thought as he pulled up outside the house, the sky had gone grey and bit spots of rain started to fall as they ran inside. 
Maybe she loves someone else but wants to try and make it work with me for the money?

He poured some wine and put his
iPod on shuffle, the sad voice of Dido started to play and he pressed next and pulled a face at the device. He sipped the cool liquid and let the wine run through his veins taking away the edge as they prepared the dinner.

“
Right then, we need to get this dinner prepped” she ordered him round the kitchen like her dad did at home.  Daniel wasn’t used to being told what to do and he chased her with the tea towel, his hands smelt of garlic when he cupped her face and tenderly.  She laughed as she ran her hands up his top, still cold from peeling potatoes in freezing water. 

“
It’s going to take two hours to cook” she looked at the rabbit and vegetables sat in the oven in the clay croc pot she had found at the back of a cupboard, the top was covered in tin foil.  She sat back at the table and he joined her, bringing the bottle and lighting some candles, she watched him through the light and felt a rush of love for this beautiful man as she sipped her wine.

“I’m sorry about earlier” the wine had relaxed her and she knew she had to tell him before tomorrow.  She just wanted to sp
end a few more hours with him like this before it changed forever. “Honestly I think my emotions are all over the place”.