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

the duvet behind him. Julian stretched his arms above his head as he stared across the countryside beyond the window. His robe slipped up in the process, revealing over-toned calves to Thea’s unimpressed eyes.

‘Now all I’ve got to do is persuade her.’ Julian spoke to the view in general, spinning around at speed as Thea, her heart in her mouth, replied.

‘Persuade who exactly?’

‘Thea?’ A flash of panic crossed Julian’s face, only to be extinguished by a half smile. ‘How long have you been there?’

‘Long enough.’ She held out her phone. ‘You have ten seconds to tell me who you were talking about and what your intentions for her are before I call Shaun, and ask him to report you to the production company.’

‘I don’t think that would be a wise move for your future, Thea.’ Julian patted the bed as he sat down. ‘Why don’t we talk about it like civilised adults?’

‘How about you put your clothes back on and we talk about it in the bar, in public, like civilised adults?’

‘But I’ve gone to so much trouble for you.’

The snorting laugh that escaped Thea’s lips came out before she could stop it. ‘You told me this was a meeting room. That we were to have a conversation about my future. Unless I’m very much mistaken, such meetings normally take place while fully dressed, with tea and coffee to hand, not in dressing gowns with champagne already on ice.’ Thea pointed to the ice bucket she’d just spotted on the opposite side of the room. ‘Rather pre-emptive of you. Or backwards thinking even – this isn’t the 1970s!’

‘I prefer forward thinking.’

‘I bet you do! Either way, that’s a waste of champagne.’ Thea marvelled at how steady her voice was. ‘Are you going to tell me what this is all in aid of, or do I call Shaun?’

‘You two broke up.’ Julian sounded satisfied by the fact.

‘I thought you and I were here to have a professional discussion. Shaun is a professional and so am I, and for your information I love him very much. Now, tell me, who were you talking to?’

‘The person who could make you a household name.’

‘Like Cadbury’s or Harpic?’

‘Don’t be flippant, Thea. I’m serious!’

‘Serious! You are acting like a 1960’s film producer trying to seduce a young actress. What’s wrong with you!? The world has changed! Or have you been too busy smarming your way up the greasy pole to notice?’

Finally accepting that he’d gauged Thea all wrong, Julian got back up and gave her a curt nod. ‘I’ll see you in the bar in five minutes. It’ll be worth your while, I promise.’

*

The sun shone behind Shaun as he beamed into the camera, highlighting both him and the work of art at his feet. Only Thea and Hilda knew just how much makeup had been applied to stop him looking like he hadn’t slept for weeks.

‘This, one of the finest villa mosaics in England, possibly the world, is a stunning example of local craftsmanship.’ Shaun knelt down and extended an arm, sweeping across the Roman tesserae to underline his words. ‘The way each and every tile has been cut, to fit precisely into its given space, is a testament to the devotion of the mosaic makers of the age. The Gloucester school of mosaic makers, who must surely have been responsible for this work of art, should be justly proud.’

Thea crouched besides Shaun, her trowel to hand and she looked into the camera. ‘We can only wonder what they’d think, to know that here we are, almost two thousand years later, marvelling at their skill, and opening up this bath house floor to be admired by future generations.’

‘Cut!’ Julian lowered his hand as Thea’s closing words were delivered faultlessly into the camera. ‘We’ll do a check through for sound quality, but I suspect we are finally done here. If you could wait in the pub, I’ll confirm completion as soon as I have it.’

As Julian strode towards the camera and sound men, Shaun growled under his voice. ‘That’s it then. No, “thanks for coming back to finish off” no, “sorry to inconvenience you” just, oh, we’re done now, off you go and play!’

‘Shaun!’ Thea snapped in exasperation. This wasn’t the Shaun Cowlson she had first met, fuelled by exuberance and full of love and passion for his job and his life. He was lost. Thea battled the urge to shake him back into his usual optimistic self. She spoke softly, her hand brushing his arm. ‘What the hell has happened? Please, talk to me.’

‘Talk about what? Top tips on how to be the lead presenter on Landscape Treasures perhaps? You’ve been back from the hotel with him for three hours, and you’ve said nothing about what you got up to there. And knowing him I—’

‘Right. That is it!’ Thea threw down her trowel in exasperation. ‘That is officially it! Have you any idea what I have been through today? Have you? No, you haven’t a clue, because I came straight back from the hotel with that creep and got on with what we are here for. Not because I’m trying to show Julian how suitable I am for your job – which, for the millionth time, I DO NOT WANT, but because I’m a professional. We are professionals. Or we’re supposed to be.

‘There was no time to talk to you about my meeting. I was not putting it off. Nor was I hiding anything from you. And if you can tell me exactly when I was supposed to have filled you in on my meeting, then I’d be very interested to know when that moment was!’

Fifty-two

Monday April 13th

Taking three big gulps of air, Thea’s hands shook as she checked her phone. Whatever app it was that Ajay had installed to record her conversation with Julian, had left a notification on her screen, so she presumed it had worked. She didn’t dare play back the conversation for fear of accidentally deleting it.

Now, as