Chapter Six – Oliver
OLIVER
Redheaded Lunatic
“ R ose Matthews is insane. She’s been arrested three times: once for public intoxication, once for public fornication, and once in a case of mistaken identity.
She also allegedly has a cell with her name on it for what the locals appear to call a ‘time out’ when her behaviour gets a bit too erratic. ”
I pulled off my glasses and peered across the room at Luke. “There’s so much to unpack in what you just said that I’m not sure where to start.”
“Imagine how I felt finding this all out.” He tossed the envelope on the desk in front of me.
“That’s not even the half of it. The Matthews family is practically the backbone of this village; her father, John, is former navy, former police, and together with his wife, Celine, owns a couple of properties on the high street, but it’s not much to write home about financially speaking.
Rose joined her maternal grandfather’s gardening business when she graduated from university and worked with her mother until Celine fully handed it over to her daughter two years ago.
She followed in that same grandfather’s footsteps as the head of the allotment committee after his passing.
She’s generally loved by the people who live in and around the village, even if they do all think she’s a bit whacky.
Rose’s relationship with your grandfather was tenuous at best, but they appear to have shared some mutual respect that stemmed from wanting the best for the allotment site.
Both of them seem to have—or had—a close emotional tie to the place. ”
“No wonder she looked at me as though she wanted to kill me when I told her I was closing it.” I sliced open the envelope and pulled out the information inside. “I rather feel as though I’m doing something illegal with a dossier of information on her.”
“Dossier is it a bit of a stretch, Your Grace,” Luke said, glancing at the envelope.
“I’ve told you not to call me that when we’re alone.” I sighed, putting my glasses back on so I could read what he’d given me. “You really weren’t kidding about why she was arrested.”
“Why would I lie about that?” Luke shrugged and dropped into the chair on the other side of the desk, cricking his neck after sitting down. “I’m telling you, Oli, this woman is two colours short of a rainbow. She’s going to be a nightmare to work with.”
I snorted, scanning the sheets as I flicked through them. “I expected as much. Honestly, I didn’t think anyone would take my decision lying down, but I didn’t expect they’d be so passionate.”
“It’s just a community garden. This place is hardly short on green space. Why are they kicking up such a fuss?”
“Mm. Who knows? How is the search going for a replacement plot for the allotments?”
“About as well as your closure notice went down,” he replied. “I’m not sure there is land available with the right permissions, even within the estate.”
“Well, we just have to show we made a decent effort to relocate. I couldn’t care less if we actually do. I doubt this tiny committee has the funds or insurance to take me to court over a reasonable effort.”
“You say that, but Rose was quite insistent that she’d send you a legal letter about your breaching the contract.”
“Well, of course. The contract requires them to have insurance with legal cover, but even that will only cover so much—even the formal association won’t help much.
Sending a letter of warning is far cheaper than seeking to sue and prove I did make a reasonable effort.
” I shrugged. “There’s no definition of ‘reasonable’ written anywhere, so they’d be facing a lengthy, expensive battle, and the allotments will close down anyway.
I doubt any of the plot holders are secret millionaires, so I’m not too worried about it. ”
“I suppose you’re right. And, financially speaking, it’d be better if we don’t find a new place. It’s not as though their merry band of gardeners are going to stump up more money for the plot fees, is it? We’d have to raise them considerably to make any relocation worth it.”
“It’s unlikely that they would.” I put the information on Rose down in front of me and rubbed the back of my neck.
“I looked over the agreements. Grandpa didn’t raise the fees above inflation rates for over twelve years, and I doubt he’d have raised them at all if it weren’t for the fact their water rates are included in the plot fees.
He only raised them in line with the water company’s charges. ”
“It really is a money pit,” Luke agreed, opening his laptop on his knees. “If I didn’t know the value of the land, I’d be surprised that Tierney Construction is willing to pay so much.”
“Mm, it’s Ascot Homes now.”
“Right, they were sold. The owner of Tierney Construction was murdered, wasn’t he?”
“Yes. His wife—well, widow, I suppose—is in the middle of the contract right now. It’s why our deal is being delayed. It’s all a part of that merger.” I rolled my shoulder and tilted my head to stretch my neck. “I wish they’d get on with it so I wouldn’t have to deal with this.”
“You’ll certainly feel that way after you meet Rose Matthews properly.”
There wasn’t a chance I could tell him that I already knew Rose Matthews far more intimately that he could ever imagine.
“When am I supposed to be meeting her?”
“That’s up to you. According to her, you’re in breach of the contract. If you don’t meet her within forty-eight hours, she’s going to start legal action.”
I stilled. “What the fuck did you say to her, Luke?”
“Nothing!” He held up his hands. “Just that you could meet her next week. You are quite busy, after all.”
“So, let me get this right.” I leant forwards on my desk, pressing my fingertips together.
“You read Rose Matthews’ rap sheet, found out she has a cell with her name on it for ‘time out’ sessions because of her wild behaviour, and we know she was able to keep my grandfather in check.
What part of all of that made you think pissing her off was a good idea? ”
Luke coughed into his hand. “All due respect, Oli, you pissed her off first by closing the allotments.”
“Don’t piss her off further, then,” I replied. “It’s going to make my life a nightmare if she’s continuously getting angrier about it. I have no intention of changing my mind, but that doesn’t mean I want to make things more difficult for myself.”
“I think you made things extremely difficult for yourself when you took over this title.”
I ran my hand through my hair. “You say it as though I bought the dukedom rather than inheriting it by nature of my birth.”
“Same thing.”
“Hardly. I could choose not to take over the company after Dad died; inheriting the four-hundred-year-old dukedom was not and is not a choice. No matter how much I dislike this stupid village.” I rested my chin on my hand and looked out of the window.
“Honestly, I want to wrap up the necessary things here and go back to London as soon as I can.”
“Being away from the company is something you’re going to have to learn to deal with.
” Luke stacked his papers and tapped the bottom of the stack on my desk to line them up.
“If you’re not going to sell off all the dukedom’s assets the way you once told your grandfather you would, then you must be here to manage them. ”
“Or I could just make you manage them all.”
“Perish the thought, Your Grace.”
“Speaking fancy doesn’t suit you. And again, don’t call me that,” I grumbled. “I get it from everyone else. I don’t need it from my best friend, too.”
Luke chuckled and stood up. “When should I tell the local lunatic to come and see you?”
I sighed and looked at the calendar on my computer screen. “I’m supposed to be picking my mother up from the airport tomorrow, aren’t I? Could you get her instead?”
“Oh, no. She called me. She’s extending her trip by another two weeks. She’s decided to go to Bali for some soul soothing time.”
“Some soul soothing time,” I echoed. “Have the four months in Australia and eastern Asia not been enough soul soothing for her? Didn’t she spend three weeks at a retreat in some Buddhist temple in rural Japan?”
“Well, your mother is quite eccentric.”
Mm.
What part of her soul was she even trying to soothe?
“On second thought, ask her if she’d like me to book her anywhere else,” I said, rubbing my chin. “Perhaps letting her come to Hanbury and meet Rose wouldn’t be the best idea, lest they both end up in a time out in a jail cell.”
Luke paused. “Good idea. There’s every chance she’d side with Rose over you.”
“Well, she does like getting under my skin.”
“That’s because she thinks you’re a lot like your grandfather.”
“Don’t make me issue you a written warning for misconduct, Lucas.”
He laughed, backing up towards the door. “Please accept this humble servant’s ardent apology, Your Grace—”
“Get out of my office,” I said, clenching my jaw. “Before I punch you.”
“Yes, sir.” He touched his fingers to his temple in a salute. “Should I have Rose come here to meet you tomorrow, then?”
“If you can. Sometime between twelve and two, preferably, because I think we’ll need a while to talk.”
He nodded his head. “All right. I’ll call her back now and let her know. Do you need anything else?”
“No. And thanks, Luke.”
He closed the door behind him, and I sighed, turning back to the window.
I hadn’t been back to this place in twenty years, but somehow, it was still just as I’d remembered it.
My grandfather had never liked change, and that had been a major point of contention between us.
My father, too, had wanted to change things before he’d died, and I couldn’t begin to count how many times Grandpa had threatened to disinherit us over it.
But things had to change. This estate couldn’t keep running the way it was. His sentimentality was affecting every part of it even with him gone, and with renovations needed on the manor house, there was only so long this could go on for.
The easiest way to raise funds was to sell off some of the land with the highest value. Unfortunately, the current site of the allotments was one of those plots. Its proximity to the village centre meant it was highly coveted for new housing, and developers were willing to pay over the odds.
Given my reluctance to put my own money into this old estate, it was a good deal all around.
One thing was for sure: I couldn’t leave this to my future son in its current state. I couldn’t leave such a mess for my descendants.
I wasn’t my grandfather.
Another thing that was for sure was the lunacy of crossing paths with Rose Matthews, the woman who’d escaped my hotel room without a word while I showered. Never in my life had anyone run away immediately after sleeping with me.
Then again, I wasn’t someone who usually engaged in one-night stands, so I don’t suppose any of my previous partners had a need to do such a thing.
Not that I’d expected her to hang around all night, but to sneak out when I was in the shower shortly after was a low blow. After all, we hadn’t even exchanged names. We knew nothing about one another except that we’d both had a tough day and needed to blow off steam.
She was a layer of complication I hadn’t anticipated when I’d arrived in Hanbury. What were the chances that she would be the woman I’d looked for? I’d tried asking about her at the bar the next day, but the girl behind the bar at the time hadn’t known her, so I assumed she wasn’t a local.
Well, she wasn’t.
Not to that pub.
I just hadn’t expected to find her local to me.
And… I liked her. I’d been attracted to her the moment I’d seen her, and even though I hadn’t set out to seduce her, we’d gotten along so well, and she’d been so forward and free that everything had happened naturally.
Not that any of that mattered right now.
Regardless of the time we spent together, it was evident that Rose Matthews hated me.
I didn’t care.
I wasn’t here to be liked, and I certainly didn’t care to be liked by a woman who’d humped and dumped me as efficiently as she had.
If that was how she lived her life, then that was perfectly all right—and I’d never admit that I was concerned about her getting back to her own hotel safely.
After all, we’d both had several drinks, and I’d have at least made sure that she got into a taxi if she hadn’t made a break for it.
If only she didn’t pique my interest like this.
I pulled the file of information about her towards me. I didn’t know how Luke had gotten hold of all this, but it didn’t seem to be anything that would require illegal means.
Well… mostly.
Obtaining her criminal record might have been a bit dodgy.
I’d have to get rid of that sooner rather than later.
But still… she seemed to be so free, as if she lived her life according to her own whims and nobody else’s.
Was it freedom? Or was it carelessness? I wasn’t sure, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to find out, although I feared I had little choice in the matter.
After all, she’d been ballsy enough to threaten me with legal action to meet me sooner than Luke had told her I was available.
I wasn’t mad about it, though. Until the land sold, this woman was going to be a thorn in my side, and we clearly needed to settle things between us before this dispute went any further.
Because getting tangled up with Rose Matthews was absolutely not something I needed in my life.
Ever.