Daniel frowned, assuming he’d lost track. He glanced down again at the map; no, he definitely was still on the footpath and wasn’t trespassing. Curiosity getting the better of him, he walked towards the building. Judging by the state of its crumbling walls and dilapidated slate roof, it had been derelict for some time. The wooden door was slightly ajar, tempting Daniel to explore further. He did so, with caution, not wanting any debris falling on him. He coughed from the dry, stale air inside and waved away the dust. His eyes took in the huge inglenook fireplace and the stone mullion window frames. The room was large with two doorways either end, leading onto a hallway.
Daniel slowly and carefully went from room to room. The layout was exactly what he had been looking for; two reception rooms and a large kitchen, although obviously a hell of a lot of restoration would be involved, but even so, what a place it could potentially be and in such a fantastic location. Sensing he had stumbled across something special, Daniel took photos of all the rooms on the ground floor. He didn’t want to risk climbing the rickety, wooden staircase. As an architect, his imagination was running riot and his hopes began to soar. But who did it belong to, and why had it been left to ruin?
13
Edward gurgled and kicked in his cot, as Tobias wound up the musical mobile again. He watched his son’s eyes sparkle with delight at the small, suspended teddy bears slowly spinning round above his head and his heart melted. He turned on hearing Megan enter the nursery.
‘That was Finula on the phone,’ she said joining them. Her gaze fixed on the bundle of joy that was their baby. ‘She and Marcus are coming to Treweham at the weekend.’
‘Do you hear that, Edward?’ Tobias picked him up out of his cot, ‘Uncle Marcus and Aunty Finula are coming to see us.’ Edward burped and grabbed Tobias’ nose.
‘Charming, young man.’ Megan laughed, then wrinkled her nose. ‘He needs his nappy changing.’ She reached out to take him.
‘I’ll do it,’ said Tobias, relishing spending time with his son. It wasn’t often enough that he could get away from running the Treweham Hall estate and all that encompassed. Moments like this, with just the three of them together, were precious to him.
‘I’m looking forward to seeing Finula.’ Megan missed her best friend dreadfully. ‘She wants us to look at wedding dresses.’
‘I see,’ replied Tobias, gingerly taking off Edward’s dirty nappy. ‘I could do to talk to Marcus.’
Megan turned sharply. ‘What about?’ She waited while he wiped Edward clean and put a fresh nappy on him, which was proving difficult to manoeuvre as he kicked and wriggled. Finally Tobias managed to change him. He looked at Megan.
‘I’m worried about Sebastian.’
‘Why?’
‘I can’t put my finger on it, but somehow he’s not his usual self.’
Megan had noticed that her brother-in-law did seem a little tired, but had put it down to all the organising he’d had to do setting up The Folly Players.
‘Do you think it’s stress?’ she asked.
‘Possibly, but before he set up his business I think he looked drained.’ Megan paused and pondered for a moment. Thinking of it, she too had been a touch concerned about Sebastian. She remembered asking him if there was anything wrong, towards the end of her pregnancy. For a split second he’d looked as if he was about to open up, but then the shutters had come down and he’d closed up on her.
‘Mm, do you think Marcus could help?’
‘Yes, they gel well – he might confide in him. Also, with Jamie knowing Marcus too, it could encourage him to talk.’ Jamie, as the runner in the TV documentary crew, which Marcus had headed, had always looked up to him. In turn, Marcus had seen Jamie’s potential and had arranged for him to interview the three brothers as part of the documentary. It made sense that Sebastian would feel comfortable enough to share something with Marcus.
‘Have you tried speaking to him?’ asked Megan.
‘Yes, but I sense resistance. I suspect it’s because he thinks I may involve Mother. At least with Marcus, there wouldn’t be that risk.’
‘True,’ she agreed. With Marcus being the eldest brother with a different mother to his younger half-siblings, Sebastian may subconsciously talk more freely, without the worry of any impact on his family.
‘So, when you and Finula are out busy shopping for a wedding dress—’ Tobias handed over a sweet-smelling Edward ‘—I’ll be having a word with Marcus.’ Megan took hold of him. ‘Right.’ He kissed her on the lips and rubbed his son’s head. ‘The estate manager wanted to see me at some point today; hopefully I won’t be too long.’
‘OK.’ She smiled, waving Edward’s podgy, little hand. ‘Say bye-bye to Daddy.’
14
Later that evening, Daniel decided to have dinner early. He had returned from his afternoon walk full of optimism, had a long, hot bath and was famished, especially having not eaten his breakfast and skipping lunch. He was due to check out the following morning, but was reluctant to do so just yet, especially on finding the derelict cottage. He badly wanted to know who it belonged to. The more he thought about it, the more determined he was to make it his home. It wasn’t just pie-in-the-sky dreaming, he’d convinced himself. If he could buy and restore it back to life, surely that would sound appealing to whoever had left it to languish in the woods; after all, what use was it at the moment? He’d be doing the owner a favour, taking it off them for a reasonable price, wouldn’t he?
He was ordering a pint at the bar and thought he’d ask Dermot if he knew anything about the cottage.
Dermot nodded his head. ‘Oh, that’d be Keeper’s Cottage on the Treweham Hall estate,’ he’d replied, passing him his drink. Daniel immediately warmed to the name. ‘It belonged to the old gamekeeper, years ago. When he died, the then Lord Cavendish-Blake didn’t replace him, so it’s been left abandoned ever since.’
‘I see,’ said Daniel, taking a gulp of his pint. ‘So it’s owned by the Cavendish-Blake family then?’
‘Yes, Tobias is the current Lord Cavendish-Blake.’ Daniel had heard of the name. ‘He got married last year to Megan. It was all over the press. She used to work here,’ Dermot informed him.
‘Did she?’ Daniel was surprised, assuming that Tobias Cavendish-Blake as an aristocrat wouldn’t have mixed with barmaids. Dermot chuckled, following his line of thought. ‘He’s a grand chap, the whole family is. In fact—’ he leant forward over the bar ‘—my Finula is marrying his older brother, Marcus.’
‘Really?’ Daniel’s eyebrows rose.
‘Well, half-brother to be exact. They only share the same father.’
‘I see.’ Daniel’s mind started ticking into overdrive. ‘Dermot, do you think Tobias would talk to me? I’m really keen to buy and renovate that cottage.’
Dermot shrugged. ‘Don’t see why not. You could try ringing the estate manager and ask to see him,’ he suggested.
‘Hmm, I might just do that.’ His stomach grumbled loudly, telling him to go and eat. ‘Thanks, Dermot, you’ve certainly given me food for thought.’ He moved to a small table at the side of the bar. Once his order had been taken, he took out his phone from his pocket and flicked through the photographs he’d taken of the cottage.