‘Hello, I’m Daniel James. I’m booked in for a few days. I know I’m a little early.’
Yes, he did look like a Daniel, thought Christie, probably because closer up he resembled Daniel Craig with his charming smile and strong jawline.
‘Ah, yes.’ Christie glanced down towards the paperwork on the desk. ‘That’s fine, you’re in room three, Mr James – it’s ready.’ She smiled and reached down under the desk for the room key. She passed it to him. ‘I’ll show you to your room.’
‘I’ll do that,’ butted in Emma with enthusiasm.
‘Thanks, Emma.’ Couldn’t blame her, Christie thought grinning to herself, as she watched Emma’s eyes shine at the latest visitor.
7
Once alone, Daniel dropped his rucksack and fell on the bed. He was exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally. Travelling round the Cotswolds trying to find a bolthole was draining him. He desperately needed to get away, not too far from home, but far enough from his everyday surroundings, concerned friends and family – and most of all Jenna. Just the thought of her made him tense.
But with Jenna, came Emily, and his body began to relax. His little Emily was the one thing worth living for. His heart melted, picturing her face the last time he saw her the previous week. She was the image of him with her pale blue eyes and blonde hair. Thank God, he thought, knowing full well what Jenna was capable of – any possibility of his fatherhood being questioned and she’d use it. The fact that Emily so clearly resembled him put paid to any schemes Jenna may have concocted.
Daniel took a deep breath and tried to calm down. He closed his eyes and just lay still for a moment. He followed the advice of his counsellor and tried to concentrate on his breathing, steady in and slowly out. He listened to the peace and quiet, with only the soft lullaby of the birds at the window. He veered his thoughts from the impending court hearing and all that encompassed. He had one month before his world could potentially be shattered. One month to try and find the perfect home for him and Emily and prove to the powers that be that he most definitely could and would provide and care for his daughter, as a single, competent, loving father. Emily was due to start school that summer; the idea of a close-knit community appealed to Daniel, which is why his search for a wholesome, country life took him to the Cotswolds.
Despite his efforts, the dark thoughts in his head wouldn’t escape. What if it all went spectacularly wrong? His chest tightened. Surely, they wouldn’t let Jenna take his little girl away from the daddy she adored? Daniel wanted closure on his relationship with Jenna, real closure, not the half-hearted attempts at separation that ultimately led to them drifting together again for convenience – for him access to Emily, for her money. Well, someone needed to fund the lifestyle Jenna had carved out for herself, and as she point-blank refused to work, on the convenient excuse of not wanting to leave Emily, it was apparently down to Daniel to bring home the bacon.
Jenna didn’t mind continually dropping off their daughter at the nursery, with childminders, or his parents while she set off on shopping sprees. Then came the weekend breaks with the girls, which often resulted in a tearful Emily waving her mummy off, as Jenna giggled excitedly with her friends. It broke Daniel’s heart the way Jenna could be so dismissive of their daughter. He’d relish having the time she could have with Emily. Didn’t she realise what she was missing out on?
Then it all came to a climax one Sunday morning when Jenna announced she’d met someone. Immediately Daniel had panicked. Where was this going to leave them all? He’d prayed Jenna would just choose to clear off with her new boyfriend and leave him and Emily in peace; but no, it was never going to be that simple with Jenna. Daniel knew full well that she’d use Emily as a lever, and boy did she. As long as Daniel was prepared to carry on supplementing her lifestyle through the extortionate maintenance he provided, things could pretty much stay the same regarding Emily. Jenna agreed not to move in with her boyfriend, thereby safeguarding Emily from being taken out of her family home, as long as Daniel moved out. He did so, and moved in temporarily with his parents nearby – anything to keep his daughter safely close to him.
But after a few months Jenna decided this wasn’t enough. She now wanted to live with the new love of her life – a Scouser called John Jones, which he shortened to “JonJo”. What a wanker, thought Daniel. JonJo rated himself as a singer-songwriter and toured the local circuits, which is precisely where he had met Jenna. She’d been so easily flattered by his boyish good looks and cheeky charm. He had practically serenaded his last song to her and she in turn had fallen under his spell. Now JonJo fancied returning to his beloved Liverpool and taking Jenna with him. Which meant bringing Emily also.
Daniel went ballistic when she’d told him of her plans. No-way, never, ever would she take Emily away from him. He’d fight with every bone in his body to keep her, which is exactly how he’d been left feeling now; like every bone in his body was breaking under the heartache and stress of it all.
8
Tobias gazed out of his drawing room window and considered how much things had changed in such a short space of time. It was just over twelve months now since he had first met Megan and whilst it had been one of the happiest periods of his life, it had also been tainted with worry. Treweham Hall had been left with crippling debts, due to his late father’s financial inadequacy. It beggared belief that Richard Cavendish-Blake had produced an heir with such business acumen. Tobias had managed to turn the place around, from running headlong into the red, to the thriving operation it now was.
The estate contained acres of orchards and vegetable plots that supplied local businesses; it also housed the training yard, allowing his close friend Dylan the space he needed to train his racehorses, which in itself brought in a huge income. Then Tobias had persuaded his family to open Treweham Hall to the public. By securing private quarters and carefully restricting access, he had cleverly made certain rooms free for visitors to share, always accompanied by a tour guide. Unbeknown to his wife Megan, he had also installed extra security on the open days. Tobias was ever mindful of how the media, plus any other undesirable opportunist, could operate and had learnt to be protective over his family, especially Megan who hadn’t been used to such invasion in her life. Now that they had Edward, his vigilance had reached fever pitch and security was of paramount importance.
His gaze moved to the woodland where the folly was nestled. There lay the latest venture. He smiled to himself. The Folly Players was his brother Sebastian’s newly set up theatre company. Sebastian was an actor who had made a huge success playing Richard III at The Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The part had catapulted him into stardom, making him a household name. He had met his partner, Jamie, who’d been a runner in the documentary TV crew whilst filming in Treweham. Together they had created The Folly Players, using the beautiful, tall, stone building, with small slits of windows and a castellated top, tucked away in the Treweham Hall woods as their headquarters. Their debut play was A Midsummer Night’s Dream and seemed the ideal choice as an open-air production with its leafy surroundings.
Tobias was pleased for his brother, who had had his fair share of heartache. Now it appeared Sebastian had finally found happiness with Jamie.