Chapter 37
Thirty-Seven
EILIDH
The Cavendishes lived in the same development as Fyfe.
For a while they used to split their time between here, Gairloch, and London, but when Theo’s wife, Sarah, had gotten unexpectedly pregnant (I knew from Callie that the Cavendishes hadn’t wanted children, which was difficult to believe considering how much they doted on their daughter Rose), they’d gradually started spending more time in Ardnoch.
They wanted Rose to have stability, so they lived in Ardnoch permanently now that she attended primary school.
However, they still traveled during the summer and Theo traveled more often because he was not just a screenwriter but a producer. Now that Rose was a wee bit older, he was starting to work on projects that did require some travel.
His wife, Sarah McCulloch Cavendish, wasn’t someone I’d known particularly well as a child, even though she’d lived in Ardnoch her entire life.
Her cousin, Jared, had returned to Ardnoch to help their grandfather Collum with the farm, and the three of them kept to themselves.
Plus, there was some antagonism between my family and the McCullochs owing to a generations-old land dispute so, growing up, I’d never known if Sarah disliked us.
It turned out she couldn’t care less about old arguments and was now a good friend to my family.
Sarah had worked as a housekeeper at Ardnoch Estate for years, all the while secretly penning a best-selling crime fiction series.
When Collum passed away, she decided to give up the housekeeping job and be open about her success.
Her first port of call was asking Theo Cavendish, one of the UK’s best screenwriters and producers (and the son of an actual viscount), to consider adapting her series for television.
What occurred between them after that only they knew, but the unlikely pair—shy housekeeper and imperious English aristocrat—fell madly in love.
They made the television series together and it was a massive hit, won a ton of awards, and had become a cult classic among television shows.
I’d even guest-starred on it before its final season.
With the kids now on their summer holidays, it was unusual for the Cavendishes to still be here, but according to Mum, Sarah was on deadline and they weren’t planning to travel for another two weeks.
After chatting with my uncle Brodan, he’d suggested Theo was the best person to discuss my script with since he was still in the business.
Uncle Brodan, of course, offered to read it, but I knew he was correct.
Not just because Theo knew what was relevant and happening in the industry, but because he wasn’t someone who had inspired my script like my family had, like Brodan had.
I walked along the farmer’s lane that connected the small, sprawled development Jared and Allegra had created, having said goodbye to Fyfe and Millie as he set off to drop her at daycare and then head in for a meeting with a client at Ardnoch.
The past few weeks with Fyfe had been nothing short of bliss.
After what I’d gone through recently, I hadn’t thought I was capable of being this happy.
But I finally understood what cloud nine meant.
I was on it. And regularly getting the best orgasms of my life on that thing.
Fyfe, Millie, and I had fallen into a routine so easily, it was like we were built to be a family.
I spent most of my nights there, so much so Mum and Dad were angling for a family dinner so they could officially commemorate my relationship with Fyfe.
I knew they were pleased for us, but I was a wee bit apprehensive to do any “commemorating.” Because as much as I was loving every minute of this life Fyfe and I were creating … there was just one thing missing.
He hadn’t told me he loved me.
I hadn’t said it again since that first time I confessed it because … well … maybe, a little stubbornly, I wanted him to say it first.
Yet, if he didn’t say it soon, I was going to blurt those three words out there and try not to lose my shit if he didn’t say them back.
Stubborn male.
I took a deep breath, shoving thoughts of my new relationship with Fyfe from my mind. Now was about me. About my possible future career. For a moment, I stood outside the large home that was almost identical to Fyfe’s, staring at it. Urging my feet forward.
Theo was expecting me.
I’d called him last night to ask if he had time to talk.
He told me he’d be home at 8:30 a.m. after dropping Rose off at the summer school my mum organized on top of her regular daycare.
My mother was superwoman. It would be cool to be like Mum.
To be able to explore my own passions, all the while helping Fyfe raise Millie.
Mor asked me the other day if that meant I was going to be Millie’s new mum. I hadn’t known how to answer. So I’d said maybe. My wee sister had then asked if that scared me.
I answered honestly. “I think it would be arrogant to say no when I’ll be responsible for a little human being’s happiness. But I’m more excited than scared.”
It was true. Millie had weirdly felt like mine from the very beginning. Kind of like how Fyfe had felt like mine since I was eleven years old.
The front door of the Cavendishes’ home opened as I stood there lost in my musings.
Theo stepped outside into the bright sunshine. “Are you having our meeting outside on your lonesome or was it your eventual intention to knock on the door?” he drawled in his upper-crust English accent.
I rolled my eyes as I approached the cerebral, sardonic screenwriter.
The man had been twice blessed with beauty and intelligence.
His golden good-looks and wit were an intimidating combination, but I knew beneath that sarcastic exterior, he was a giant marshmallow who would do anything for those he loved.
He was also more obsessed with his wife than any man I knew and that was saying something considering who my family members were.
Sarah had softened Theo’s edges considerably over the years.
“I was just bracing myself to face your unique brand of wit,” I replied as I reached him.
Theo’s lips curved upward. He liked when you bit back.
“Unique, you say? Always delightful to hear.” He gestured me inside the modern house that had almost the exact floor plan as Fyfe’s.
Fyfe had taken the wall down between the entrance and the rest of the space.
Seeing the wall still in place in the Cavendishes’ house, I couldn’t help but agree with Fyfe’s choice to open it all up.
I followed Theo out of the entrance and into the main space.
The layout here was almost identical. However, much more lived in.
Art on the walls, throws over the furniture, colorful scatter cushions, and rugs breaking up the large expanse of hardwood.
A gallery of family photographs ran up the stairwell wall.
It made me realize how much softening we needed to do to Fyfe’s home to make it feel … well … like a home.
Sarah Cavendish hopped off a stool at the island, a wide smile on her pretty face. For years, Sarah had been so shy and introverted that I’d never paid much attention to her when I saw her out and about.
It was shocking then once Aria and Allegra welcomed her into our circle to discover that Sarah was stunning in a very English rose sort of way.
Long, wheat-blond hair, refined features, and the most striking pair of green eyes.
Still, I knew for a fact it wasn’t just her quiet beauty that lured Theo in.
Once you got talking to Sarah, you realized she was one of the most intelligent, nonjudgmental people you were likely to meet.
A strangely perfect match for the prickly aristocrat who doted on her. Theo reminded me of a faithful guard dog, who snuggled and loved all over his owner and growled at anyone else who got too close.
I’m not sure he’d find the description flattering.
“Eilidh, it’s so good to see you.” Sarah drew me into a hug. When she released me, her gaze was searching. “How are you?”
The memory of Peter Pryor hadn’t disappeared just because I was loved up. His court case had been set for November. It would be a long few months knowing what the trial would entail: the media frenzy, the reliving of him violating my privacy, his attack …
“I’m much better. It’s good knowing Peter is behind bars and will probably remain there for a very long time.
” The Met Police had been in touch regarding the recordings of me they’d discovered on the computer.
They needed permission to submit them as evidence.
As much of a violation as that was, I agreed.
The recordings would never make it into public consumption. At least they assured me they wouldn’t.
“Oh.” Sarah shot a quizzical look at her husband as he came to rest his hand on her lower back. “I meant … I meant about the Jasper Richmond thing.”
My stomach knotted. “What Jasper thing?”
At their sudden discomfort, I huffed, “I’ve been avoiding the internet. I deleted my social media. All so I didn’t have to see people gossip about me. But if there’s something I need to know, tell me.”
Theo nodded grimly and pulled his phone out of his pocket.
He tapped on the screen a few times and then handed it over.
I hit the video and felt the blood drain from my cheeks as I watched Jasper have a very public meltdown on his social media.
In it, he dragged me through the mud. Again!
Tears I knew were fake because I’d worked long enough with him to know the difference streamed down his face as he explained how I’d betrayed him in many ways (alluding to the rumors that we’d been in a relationship, which we had not!), and that now his career was stalled because of me.
He lied and said I’d gotten him into hard partying and then abandoned him when he needed me.
The tears might be fake, but this level of destruction had to be real.
No one did this unless their mental health was not at its peak.
“What the fuck is this?”
I was sorry if he was having a hard time, but he didn’t seem to care what this would do to my mental health. How dare he!
How dare he use me for publicity.
Hands trembling, I handed the phone back and pulled out mine as the Cavendishes watched on in concern. I hit the number for my entertainment lawyer. There was no way I would directly respond to Jasper, but this was slander. He had no proof of the bullshit he spewed because it was all lies.
By the time I hung up with my lawyer, they were already writing up a cease and desist.
“Are you okay?” Sarah asked, handing me a cup of chamomile.
“No. I’m pissed off that I’ve just used up twenty minutes of your time talking to a lawyer.
I’m pissed off that I might have to sue a person I used to think of as a good friend.
” I sipped at the tea, my hands trembling around the mug.
I was so tired of feeling like everywhere I turned I had a battle to face.
I must have said that out loud, because Sarah pressed a comforting hand to my arm and replied, “Sometimes that’s just how life feels. It can last a long time or a few months … but you’re not alone, Eilidh. You know that, right?”
Grateful, I nodded. “I know, thank you.”
Theo curled an arm over Sarah’s shoulders. “Why don’t we let Sarah get back to her writing, while you show me this script of yours? Take your mind off things.”
I nodded. Because Jasper wasn’t going to ruin this for me. And I wouldn’t let myself think about how he was slandering my name or what people were saying about me because of it.
None of it mattered.
Not really.
Not in the end.
Thirty minutes later, Theo sat back in his chair at their dining table. I’d brought the script on a flash drive and he’d immediately popped it into his laptop. We’d talked a little as he read through the first few episodes, but eventually, he stopped talking and kept reading.
My pulse was so loud in my ears.
He was annoyingly blank-faced.
This man had written some of the best British drama our screens had seen in the last fifteen years.
His opinion would buoy me or crush me. I knew it was a lot of power to give him, but I couldn’t help it.
I’d admired his work for a long time and was honored when he and Sarah had asked me to act in an episode of their show.
Theo looked at me.
“Well?” I huffed impatiently. “Look, if you hate it, just say so. Don’t feel like because of Jasper and everything else that you need to pussyfoot around my feelings.”
He nodded slowly, contemplating me. “You know I’m not a man inclined toward hyperbole.”
I gulped.
“I will say … I am rather envious that I did not write this.”
I sucked in a breath, hope rising.
His expression softened. “You are very talented, Eilidh. And if you need a producer, I would love to work with you on this project.”
Tears of happiness brightened my eyes. “Really?”
Theo chuckled. “I never offer to do something I don’t want to do. And I rarely offer twice. This is an excellent premise. It has a compelling hook, an interesting cast of characters. I’d be a fool not to jump on it.”
Laughing, I wiped away my tears. “I would love to work with you on this. Thank you.”
“Good.” He slapped his hands on his thighs. “Why don’t we have a coffee and talk about that beginning. I have a suggestion.”
“Of course. Great. Yes.”
Theo shot me a droll look as he stood up. “I suggest you curb your enthusiasm to agree with me. It has a tendency to inflate my ego. Just ask my wife.”
So ecstatic I could burst, I bit my lip against more laughter. Despite Jasper, despite everything negative that had come from the industry I’d grown up in … I was excited to return to it in this capacity. To do something that I’d conjured from my own mind and experiences.
Something I could be truly proud of.
To tell stories… but to do it without leaving behind the people who made my story worthwhile.