Spring Blossoms at Mill Grange by Jenny Kane (a court of thorns and roses ebook free txt) 📗

With love and regret,

Helen xx

Tina removed the cheque from the envelope and held it up to Sam.

Tom stared at them in horror. ‘What does she mean, it’s best for everyone she loves?’ He glared at the piece of paper as it was an exploded bomb. ‘She’d decided to stay, to make a life here. She told me.’

Sam and Tina exchanged glances, neither knowing what to say. But before they could speak, Tom was sprinting from the garden.

He took the main stairs two treads at a time. When he reached her bedroom door he hesitated. She had to be inside. She just had to be. Surely there would have been a letter for him too if she’d really gone.

Her coat and boots were gone. Her rucksack was missing. There were no clothes in her wardrobe, and the chair that had doubled as her desk since Dylan’s arrival, held nothing except for a half-used box of tissues.

There was an envelope on the bed.

Tom’s hands shook as he picked it up, his forehead creasing into dark lines. How had he messed this up? His mind leapt through every past crime he’d committed in the name of relationships, but he couldn’t think of anything he’d done to upset Helen.

His throat dry, his clumsy fingers, Tom undid the envelope.

Dear Tom,

I’ve gone back to Bath.

As much as I love you, I love Dylan too – so I had to go.

I know you’ll understand why.

H xx

He turned the paper over in the hope of there being more, but there was nothing else. She’d written more to Tina and Sam than to him.

The paper curled under his grasp as he read it again.

‘No, I bloody well don’t understand why!’

Clutching the letter, Tom rushed back to Helen’s desk in the store room. There was something he needed to check.

He’d been sure nothing had been removed from her office, but perhaps one thing had gone. And if she’d taken that, then maybe she did love them. Maybe she had gone for them – and not because he’d done something wrong. But why leave? Why not just talk to me?

Passing a pale-faced Tina in the hallway, Tom dashed on by, not wanting to talk yet. He didn’t stop until he was back in the store room.

He sat on Helen’s chair and stared at the desk. You said you’d stay. You said you’d take the job and stay here with me and Dylan.

The book research and her notebook weren’t there, although that hadn’t surprised him before. He’d assumed they were in her room. Now he thought they had to be with Helen on her way to Bath. No, in Bath – it only took two hours to get there. His hand automatically went to the car keys in his pocket. He checked the time, he could be there in… No I can’t. Dylan.

 Thinking of his son took him back to the reason he’d rushed back to Helen’s desk in the first place.

The stone was gone. The stone Dylan had given Helen. She’d taken it with her.

Massaging his temples, Tom stared at the keys in his hand. ‘I don’t even know where she lives and I can hardly barge into the Roman Baths and demand to see her. Can I?’

*

Despite scrubbing her face repeatedly, Thea’s complexion remained tight from the tears she’d allowed herself to shed after leaving Shaun on the bench. Heading towards the kitchen, ready to apologise to Tina for being late on clean-up parade, Thea almost collided with her friend in the doorway.

‘Oh God, I’m sorry.’ Thea was about to explain her absence when she spotted Tina’s drawn expression. ‘What is it?’

‘Helen’s gone.’

‘What do you mean, gone?’ Thea scrubbed at her sore eyes.

‘Back to Bath. She left a note for me and Sam and went. God knows when.’

‘I heard a door close around midnight.’ Thea’s hand came to her mouth. ‘At first I thought it was Shaun. Then I thought maybe I’d imagined it.’

Tina tilted her head as she regarded her friend. ‘You slept on the sofa, not Shaun?’

Blushing, Thea nodded. ‘I was hoping no one had found the blankets.’

‘Are you alright?’ Tina looked at her friend. ‘That was a stupid question. I can see you’re not. Do you want to talk about it?’

‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’ Thea pushed her shoulders back. ‘But my problems can wait. Tell me about Helen? Does Tom know?’

‘Yes. He found the note for me and Sam, and then dashed off again. Presumably to see if she’d left one for him.’ Tina passed the letter to Thea. ‘Looks like you’ll be facing bridesmaid duty solo after all.’

Thea’s mouth opened as she read. ‘What does she mean, she’s gone as it’s best for the people she loves?’

‘That’s what Tom wanted to know. I can only assume she means him and Dylan.’ Tina checked to make sure they weren’t being overheard. ‘While you were away, Helen confided that she was worried about getting together with Tom because it was all happening so quickly.’

‘And with a built-in step-son.’ Thea groaned. ‘Not that Dylan isn’t lovely, but—’

‘Exactly. From no relationship to a complete family in a few weeks.’ Tina headed into the kitchen and poured Thea a glass of water. ‘When we were trying on dresses, she was very subdued.’

‘Yes, but I just assumed she was out of her comfort zone. Helen is not one for dressing up beyond the requirements of a business suit.’

‘And now she’ll have to go back to business suits every day.’ Tina shook her head. ‘I can’t imagine Helen behind a desk.’

‘If she really has gone to Bath, the team at the Roman Baths will be glad to have her back.’ Thea took a sip of water. ‘I should have spent more time talking to her. We’re good friends, we worked together for years, but since Shaun and I got back from the Cotswolds, there doesn’t seem to have been a