Chapter Twenty-Seven
Dagmar
D agmar fanned her face as she watched her riding students lead their mounts back to the stables. The late afternoon sun cast long shadows across the riding arena, and the heat was making her sticky.
James had messaged her, saying he was having no luck with his parents. Dagmar’s insides curdled at the thought. She was helpless. Nothing she said or did now could save the café, and it seemed like James couldn’t either. Her mum would have to give up her life’s work and do something else. Dagmar let out a sigh. Why had she ever thought that social media campaign was a good idea? It had seemed so hopeful all those weeks ago and James had been the knight in shining armour, but he’d been knocked off his horse and there was no coming back from it.
‘Thanks, Miss Dagmar!’ One of the younger girls waved as she walked away with her parents.
‘You did great today. See you next week,’ Dagmar replied with a smile despite the niggling worries preying on her mind.
As she turned to gather the equipment, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Please let it be James. She pulled it out and saw her mum’s name on the screen. Her heart sank, not because she didn’t want to talk to her mum, but because she was so ridiculously desperate to hear anything from James.
‘Hi, Mum.’
‘Hi, love. I just wondered if there was any news. The landlord called in with someone looking to buy the building. I didn’t like to ask, but I wondered if it was someone working on James’s behalf.’
Dagmar bit her lip, glancing around. ‘I don’t know. Maybe. He messaged, saying he wasn’t getting on too well, but maybe that’s changed. Maybe they sent someone around to look.’
‘I think he would have messaged to say so.’
‘Yes, I would have thought so too.’
‘Oh dear.’ Dotty sighed. ‘You know my faith in men is very low, and this isn’t helping. I’m so afraid of what’s going to happen.’
‘Me too. It’s not James’s fault though. This ultimatum has made everything so much worse. James has done what he could.’
‘Yes, I’m sure he has. I’m sorry to have said anything. Sometimes I can’t help myself. It’s just my café… it’s everything I have really, apart from you.’
‘I know. And I’ll call you as soon as I hear anything, I promise.’
‘Ok. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.’
‘Me too.’
As she ended the call, she checked her messages again. Still no more from James. She sent him a quick message explaining what her mum had just told her, then slipped her phone back into her pocket and took a deep breath.
She tidied up after the riding lessons, stacking helmets and folding rugs and saddle pads. The stable was quiet with only a few of the students still hanging around with their horses. As she returned to the paddock, she noticed a couple, arm in arm, coming in from the car park. They were older than her and the woman was adjusting large sunglasses.
Dagmar squinted, trying to place their faces, which were vaguely familiar. Her heart froze when she realised it was Sherri and Laurence Charlton. What were they doing here? Had James had an accident? If he had, why would they be here? This didn’t make any sense, but her insides churned. Them being here couldn’t be a good thing, could it?
They approached Dagmar, their expressions stern, and Dagmar’s body temperature dropped below freezing despite the heat.
‘You’re Dagmar, aren’t you?’ Laurence frowned at her.
‘Yes.’
‘It’s good that we found you so quickly.’ Sherri glanced around. ‘I’m Sherri Charlton, James’s mother. And this is Laurence, my husband. We’re the owners of Duchan Fayre. I wonder if you have a moment. We need to talk. Somewhere quiet if you don’t mind.’
‘Um… ok.’ Dagmar nodded. ‘But why?’
‘Not out here. Where can we go?’ Laurence raised an eyebrow.
‘Into the office.’ She led them to the small room next to the tack room. This so obviously wasn’t good, but what the hell could she do about it? She closed the door behind them and turned to face them, fiddling with her fingers. ‘What’s this about?’
‘Let’s cut straight to the point, shall we?’ Laurence’s eyes were cold. ‘Duchan Fayre won’t be financing the Cosy Bean Café.’
Dagmar’s blood ran cold. ‘But we had an agreement. He promised to help save the café in return for the riding lessons.’
‘Indeed. We are aware.’ Sherri shook her head. ‘And you’ve been paid for the lessons. That’s quite enough. We understand an ultimatum has been put on the café and, unfortunately, that makes the timing impossible for us.’
Dagmar’s mouth went dry. ‘And there’s nothing you can do?’
Laurence’s lips thinned. ‘We’re not going to anyway,’ he said quietly. ‘Your relationship with James has put us all in a ridiculously awkward position.’
Dagmar gaped at him. ‘I don’t get—’
‘It looks like you’ve been providing goodness knows what services to get his backing.’ Laurence straightened his tie.
‘I absolutely have not. It was nothing like that.’
‘James won’t be coming back here, and I urge you to stay away from him. Obviously, we can’t force you, but if you care about his future, then leave him alone.’
‘We understand this won’t be easy.’ Sherri was clearly attempting to be empathetic, but her words were like poison. ‘It won’t be for him either, but it will not look good for anyone if the two of you are caught together just now. We need to distance ourselves for the sake of both our business and your mother’s. I’m sorry if the café can’t be saved, but we can’t have Duchan Fayre being hauled over the coals for that.’
Dagmar shook her head. Her words barely made sense. All she was doing was saving their own skin and trying to keep Dagmar away from James. She didn’t want to stay away from him. Did he even know his parents were here?
‘Where is James?’
Sherri gave her a brief and very curt smile. ‘James is busy. He’s with Lady Victoria Bruce just now. They have a lot to discuss.’
‘What?’ Dagmar’s jaw set. Her heart was bleeding out. What was he doing with Victoria?
‘We wish your mother’s business no ill will.’ Laurence pushed open the door. ‘I hope she can find another investor before the end of the week.’ He and Sherri left without looking back. Dagmar sank into the chair behind the desk and put her head in her hands. She should probably cry, but tears weren’t there. Something more akin to rage was battling in her mind. What was James doing with Victoria? Why would he go to see her now?
How much of this had come from James and how much from his parents? It was impossible to know. But she trusted him. Even now when it would be so easy to believe he’d abandoned her. She couldn’t and she wouldn’t. Yes, she was na?ve when it came to relationships. Of course she was going to think the first man she’d slept with was love, but if he’d given up on her this quickly, she needed to hear it from him and not his parents.
Slowly, she got out of the chair and forced herself to move towards the door. She still had work to do, but as soon as she could, she needed to go and see James. The day passed in the slowest, strangest way, almost like her insides were lagging and unable to keep up with her mind. Her thoughts were now so far ahead they were lost and scattered, and she couldn’t get them back to properly weigh them up or make sense of them.
When she finished up, she checked her phone and saw a message from James. She almost dropped it in her hurry to open it.
JAMES: hey, sorry for the radio silence. Today has been crazy. I’ve had a lot of meetings and calls to make and I’m still working. Hopefully, I’m getting somewhere, but it means I won’t have time to come over tonight. I’ll see you as soon as I can. Keep your fingers crossed. XX
Dagmar frowned at the message. Did that mean he was still trying to save the café, even though his parents said no? And he’d had meetings all day? What meetings? His parents said the meeting was with Victoria. Surely he wasn’t going to ask her to help. Dagmar’s stomach lurched. Being in Victoria’s debt would be awful.
She tapped out a message as she walked back to the cottage.
DAGMAR: Can you explain? Are you trying to get funding for the café?
She’d just got in the door when a message pinged in. Assuming it would be James, she opened it and was surprised to see her mum’s name on the screen.
MUM: The landlord came over today and said he’d accepted the offer on the building. The buyer wasn’t James or anyone from Duchan Fayre. x
Dagmar stared at the message, not sure what to make of any of it. One thing she was sure of though, was that her mum needed her.
She jumped into her car and drove to her mum’s ramshackle but cute little cottage; the garden and ivy-covered walls looked like a postcard in the evening sun. So adorable and homely.
She parked her car, pushed open the creaky gate, and walked up the short path. As she stepped inside, the familiar scent of home enveloped her – flowers and baking. But the sight of her mum sitting at the kitchen table with tears streaming down her face cracked her heart in two.
‘Oh, Mum.’ Dagmar rushed to her side.
Dotty looked up, her eyes red and swollen. ‘Oh, Dagmar, it’s terrible. The cafe’s finished. Nothing anyone can do will help now.’
Dagmar’s heart sank. Her phone vibrated in her pocket, and she pulled it out.
JAMES: Don’t get your hopes too high, but I have some ideas x
Ideas that had come too late in the day.
Dagmar wrapped her arms around her mum, holding her tight. ‘We’ll figure something out. We always do. Haven’t we got this far?’
‘Yes, yes. That’s so true. We do know how to survive.’ Dotty patted Dagmar’s back. ‘I just don’t know where to start this time.’
Tears finally came, silent and unstoppable, rolling down Dagmar’s cheeks. ‘I’ll help. Whatever it takes, we’ll find something.’
She’d like to think whatever she found for the future would involve James, but she suddenly felt so distant from him, and after what his parents had said to her that afternoon, she wasn’t sure what to think.