Chapter 18
18
Jade had expected Declan to take her to the Red Lion, because it was the closest eatery, and they’d headed in that direction, but he drove straight past it.
‘We can do better than that,’ he said when she called him on it. ‘There’s a nice little country pub I know. It’s not much further and it does way better food.’
Jade didn’t feel entirely comfortable with this. She was beginning to wish she hadn’t agreed to come, but she could hardly demand that Declan turn round and take her home again. That would have felt like an overreaction, so she kept quiet, looking out of the window as the darkening countryside flashed past.
Besides, she did trust Declan to behave professionally, because he’d behaved impeccably so far, and there was no reason she could think of that would make him change.
It still felt slightly wrong though when they drew up in the car park of a pub called The Stag’s Head a few miles further towards Salisbury. She decided she would just have a very quick snack – possibly a starter if they did them – and then insist she needed to go home. She had to get up at the crack of dawn and couldn’t have a late night. She was sure Declan would understand that.
A few moments later they were inside the pub, which had a selection of stags’ heads dotted around its lounge bar and was what Jade and Finn would have described as a green wellie kind of place. This was code for upmarket and overpriced, and mainly frequented by city dwellers who got paid megabucks and/or had trust funds, and weekended in their country houses.
‘We haven’t booked but we’d prefer the restaurant, please,’ Declan told the waitress who came to greet them.
‘I’ll see if we’ve got a table, sir.’
‘I’d be quite happy in the bar area,’ Jade added.
‘It’s fine – we have a table in the restaurant.’ The waitress smiled at her. ‘That’ll probably be quieter too – I think the bar’s very busy.’
‘Thanks.’ Declan glanced at Jade. ‘Is that OK with you? We’ll need to be able to hear ourselves speak.’
She nodded, feeling uncomfortable once more, but unable to argue with his logic.
Jade picked up the leather-bound menu the waitress had brought back to their table. Not a snack in sight, although she supposed she could have a starter. The only vegetarian option was watercress soup, which didn’t sound very filling. But that would have to do.
‘I can recommend the mushroom risotto,’ Declan said, leaning across the table. ‘Are you vegetarian? If not, the fish is good here too. And Chef’s always happy to add and subtract ingredients. They cook everything from scratch.’
‘I am vegetarian.’ Again, he’d surprised her. ‘Is it that obvious?’
‘Educated guess. I wouldn’t have thought a woman dedicated to saving animals would also be happy to eat them. Although I guess some with less integrity might be.’ He snapped his menu shut. ‘I’m going for the mushroom risotto myself.’
‘Are you vegetarian?’
‘I am if it’s tasty.’
‘I’ll join you,’ Jade said, making a split-second decision. She was pretty hungry, and if she was going to wait for him to finish a main course, then she might as well have one too. Mushroom risotto was one of her favourite things but she rarely had it because it was a faff to make, and Finn didn’t like mushrooms. Finn was a confirmed meat eater and rarely ate much vegetarian food.
As soon as the waitress had taken their order and Declan had talked Jade into a glass of white wine – ‘You might as well as I’m driving’ – he got out a folder and laid it on the table between them.
‘I know you’re not here because of my charm and good looks,’ he said with a smile in his voice, ‘so let’s get down to business, huh?’
He glanced up, and fleetingly she caught his gaze. There was something about him that was attractive. It wasn’t a looks thing though. Maybe it was his slight air of self-deprecation. It was the same thing that had attracted her to Finn.
He was nothing like Finn. She reminded herself that he was her adversary. She imagined what Sarah would have said. Sarah didn’t trust anyone until she’d known them for at least a year and had interrogated them thoroughly. Unless she was drunk, in which case all bets were off. She remembered the conversation they’d had this afternoon when she’d told Sarah about Declan.
‘You are a lovely, generous animal-loving good person. He is a ruthless, grasping, property-developing baddie. With a black car.’
Jade smiled despite herself, and then realised to her embarrassment that Declan was watching her.
‘Something I said?’
‘No. I was miles away. Sorry. You were going to show me something.’
He pulled out some official-looking drawings with lines, numbers and measurements on, and laid them in front of her on the table. ‘These are just drafts, but they’re indicative of what we can do. I wanted to run them by you before I take them to Grandpa Nick. Make sure you’re happy with what I’m proposing before I show him. Likely as not I’ll just get the one chance to persuade him to change the plans. He’s a tricky old sod.’
Jade looked at the plan, which showed Duck Pond Cottage and its land as well as Farmer John’s land and the boundaries between them.
‘This is the access point we’re planning.’ Declan put his finger on the drawing, which had a clearly marked access point in the field directly beside her property. ‘As you can see, the original road goes straight from there, which means we need the land that directly abuts yours – i.e. the field you want to buy – but as I mentioned before, if we keep this access point but curve the road immediately away from your property, you could have most of the land you want. The proposed new road is the one with the dotted line.’
Jade studied the drawing for a few seconds. ‘That does look good.’
‘And see here’ – Declan moved his hand across a little so it was very close to hers – ‘this is the new boundary for the development. It would be good for you in another way too because the closest house to your land would have to go over a few metres. Does that make sense?’
‘It does make sense.’
‘Great. That’s settled then.’ He gathered up the drawings to slide them back in the envelope, accidentally touching her hand in the process but seemingly unaware that he had. ‘Ah. Actually.’ He paused. ‘I’ll leave you a copy of this – you might want to look at it again. I’ll leave you a copy of the originals too. For comparison’s sake.’
‘Thanks.’ She shifted the envelope he gave her from the table to her bag and sat back in her chair. For the first time since she’d met him, she was aware that Declan might have an ulterior motive for helping her. Her spider senses were kicking off. There was also a touch of her ex about him. Antonio, who’d been her last serious partner before Finn, had been a predatory womaniser and although Declan had done nothing to suggest he was the same, Jade was beginning to get an inkling he might be.
She decided straight talking was best. She gave him a direct look. ‘Do you have a partner, Declan? Girlfriend, wife, significant other?’ She could see his ring finger was unadorned but that didn’t mean anything these days.
‘I’m currently single. To be honest, I’ve only recently separated from a long-term partner.’ He looked pained for a second. ‘I won’t lie. It wasn’t an easy parting. Acrimonious would be an understatement. I’ve no plans to jump back into the fray. Once bitten, twice shy and all that.’
‘I see. I’m sorry to hear that.’
What was it about him that made her have to constantly reevaluate her opinion of him?
Declan waved a hand. ‘It’s in the past. Best forgotten. Anyway… looks like our food is here.’
He was right. The waitress had arrived with two steaming fragrant plates of risotto decorated with chives and what looked like curls of crispy parsnip. Jade felt her mouth water as its delicious scent hit her nostrils – she was very glad she hadn’t settled for soup.
‘Can I get anybody any more drinks?’
Jade put a hand over her glass as Declan glanced at her. ‘Not for me.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m fine too, thank you.’
The food was, as he’d said, delicious, and for a while they ate in silence. Maybe it was the food and wine. Or maybe it was the gentle ambience of the pub, which was busy but not noisy – the tables being far enough apart not to be able to hear anyone else’s conversation too clearly – but Jade felt herself begin to relax.
Declan was good company. He kept her entertained with building anecdotes, some amusing and some more serious.
‘There was one site where we dug up some human bones,’ he told her. ‘The police had to come out and I thought there was going to be a full-scale murder investigation for a while – which would have spelled disaster for the development. Thankfully the bones turned out to be very old. In the end they dated them to be from around ad 200. Turns out we’d stumbled across an old Roman burial site. They said that at least one of the bodies was someone well-to-do because he was in a stone coffin. The rest were in wooden coffins and only the rusted-out nails were left.’
‘What happened?’ She stared at him in fascination.
‘They had to be moved, of course. Some guys from the local archaeology trust turned up, and the bones were rehomed, so to speak.’
‘Wow. Never a dull moment.’
‘Exactly. But I’m guessing it’s the same in the animal-rehoming world.’ He batted the conversation back to her. ‘Tell me some things about your work, Jade.’
She told him the story of the geese and the teenagers digging out the duck pond and the chain of people who’d filled it with water using buckets. ‘I love the way that people pull together to rescue animals. It’s heartwarming.’
‘It really is.’ He leaned across, touched her arm. ‘You’re amazing. You put me to shame. I don’t do anything outside of work.’
‘Well, if you ever want to come and volunteer for us, you’d be more than welcome,’ she said.
‘I’ll give it some serious thought. Would you like a dessert?’
Jade realised the waitress was back at their table to collect their plates.
‘I can highly recommend tonight’s cheesecake,’ she said on cue. ‘It’s lemon and ginger.’
‘Oh my God, my favourite. Yes, please…’ Declan broke off. ‘I mean, sorry. Jade, how do you feel? I feel like I’ve taken up enough of your time. Your call?’
‘I’d love to try the cheesecake too.’
It was close to eleven when they finally left The Stag’s Head. So much for having a quick snack, Jade thought as Declan opened the passenger door for her before going back round to the driver’s seat and climbing in. When she’d tried to give him her half of the bill, he’d told her not to worry, it had been put on his business account. In view of the extra amount the land was now going to cost her, Jade had let that one go.
But it had been a worthwhile evening. They had covered a lot of ground and it was good to know he was on her side. She was beginning to have very rosy thoughts about Rural Developments.
She was so relaxed she must have dropped off on the way back because the next thing she knew the vehicle had come to a stop and Declan had turned off the engine.
‘We’re back, lovely Jade,’ he said, and she blinked sleepily as she looked at the dim outline of his face.
‘Blimey, I must be more tired than I thought.’
‘I consider it a compliment that you trusted my driving enough to fall asleep. I’ll see you to your door.’
‘No need. I’m only a few steps away from it.’
‘I insist. No gentleman abandons a lady without making sure she’s home safe.’ He glanced up and down the dark unmade lane and at the weeping willow that shrouded the duck pond on the opposite side of it. ‘You never know who is around.’
Then he walked beside her to the front door of Duck Pond Cottage and waited patiently while she got out her keys.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured as she unlocked and pushed open the door.
‘The pleasure is all mine.’ Before she knew what was happening, he swooped in and kissed her. A peck, but it was definitely aimed at her lips, not her cheek. And he was right on target. She was aware of his breath on her skin, his eyes close to hers.
Startled, she shrank back from him. ‘Er, no… Declan. I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick. I’m…’
‘Night, Jade.’ He was already turning away, as if nothing untoward had occurred. ‘I’ll be in touch about the plans. Sweet dreams.’
Shivering slightly from the unexpectedness of what had just happened, Jade went in and closed the door firmly, then waited with her back to it, until she heard the Range Rover pull away. Mickey came to greet her, wagging his tail, and she bent to stroke his head.
‘Bloody hell, Mickey, why did I not see that one coming?’
Mickey gave a soft humph of agreement and wagged his tail some more.
Sweet dreams, Jade thought as she put the deadlock on the door and went deeper into her cottage, were probably not on the agenda. She felt unnerved and somehow ashamed. Had she led him on somehow? What had she done or said to make him think she’d be up for a goodnight kiss?