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  ‘But the…er…annexe?’ Alexi asked, bewildered. ‘How does that jibe with your posh image?’

  ‘Something had to be done. No way was I going to let Drew lose his family home,’ Cheryl said.

  Cheryl and Drew met in a pub one night during Alexi and Cheryl’s final year at university. The two of them hit it off from the word go and were married the day after Cheryl graduated with a degree in hotel management. Drew took out a bank loan to buy out his siblings’ shares of the family home, with plans to turn it into an upmarket hotel.

  ‘You’ve been holding out on me,’ she said, frowning at her friend.

  ‘Pride goeth before a fall,’ Cheryl replied, her chin supported in her hands, an edge to her voice. ‘I wasn’t about to admit to my hotshot journalist friend that we’d fucked up.’

  ‘Oh, Cheryl.’ Alexi leaned forward to give her a hug. ‘I might have been able to help. I could have got our travel section to give you a good write up, stuff like that. I did mention the place several times but readers don’t look for travel tips in the stuff I write…wrote.’

  ‘Sorry, hon.’ Cheryl covered Alexi’s hand with one of her own. ‘Take no notice of me. I’m on edge all the time nowadays.’

  ‘You haven’t told her then?’ Drew asked.

  ‘Told me what?’ But one look at their soppy grins and Alexi realised what ought to have been immediately apparent the moment she saw Cheryl’s expanding waistline. ‘I’m gonna be a surrogate aunty?’ She slopped tea over the table as she jumped up and hugged them both. ‘About bloody time too. Congratulations!’

  ‘Thanks,’ Cheryl said.

  ‘When’s the baby due?’

  ‘Another four months yet,’ Cheryl replied, grimacing.

  ‘A late-summer baby then. Do we know what you’re having?’

  ‘No,’ Drew replied. ‘We’ve decided to do it the old fashioned way and have a surprise.’

  ‘Well, I plan to make up for being a crap friend by spoiling the baby rotten.’

  ‘You’ll have to join the queue,’ Cheryl warned, nodding at her husband who was still sporting a goofy grin. ‘Anyway, we hope you’ll agree to be a godmother.’

  ‘With pleasure, although what spiritual guidance I can offer is debatable.’

  ‘You have good morals, which is all that counts nowadays,’ Cheryl said.

  ‘Those…er, whatever they are in the garden.’ Alexi reminded them. ‘You still haven’t told me what that’s all about.’

  ‘We let them to grooms and trainee jockeys from a local yard,’ Drew admitted. ‘Oh, I know, we were full of lofty ideals when we started out.’ He shrugged. ‘But this is the real world and needs must.’

  ‘We would have gone under without them,’ Cheryl added starkly.

  ‘Most trainers either have staff accommodation on site or make arrangements for them locally.’ Drew rubbed his chin. ‘But last winter, one major trainer had a fire on his premises—’

  ‘Graham Fuller,’ Alexi said. ‘I remember there was a lot of speculation about that.’

  ‘Right. There were suspicious circumstances,’ Drew said. ‘Fuller was on bad terms with another trainer. The other guy accused him of poaching one of his top owners, and the row escalated.’

  ‘Didn’t Fuller cry arson?’ Alexi asked, her interest piqued.

  ‘I think my friend senses a story,’ Cheryl said, grinning.

  ‘Professional curiosity. Can’t turn it off just because I’m unemployed.’

  ‘Yeah well, I don’t think anyone will ever really be able to prove what happened. Graham uses our bar and restaurant a lot, told me about his problem with housing for his lads, and Cheryl and I decided to bite the bullet.’

  ‘I get why you did it, but I’m surprised you got planning permission.’

  ‘We had to jump through hoops,’ Drew admitted. ‘But Graham has a lot of sway with the local council. I don’t know what he did or said, and I don’t want to know. We put the units to the side, so guests in the main house don’t have to look at them.’

  ‘What we didn’t realise when we agreed to do Graham a favour—’

  ‘And save our own bacon—’ Drew added.

  Cheryl waved the reminder aside. ‘We didn’t know it would affect our five-star status.’

  ‘You lost a star because of them?’

  ‘We don’t have tennis courts anymore,’ Cheryl explained. ‘None of the guests ever used the bloody things, but it seems they matter when it comes to a hotel’s place on the totem pole. Anyway, the annexe is fully occupied year round, the residents fend for themselves and we send in cleaners once a week to make sure they haven’t completely trashed the place.’

  Alexi could see Cheryl and Drew were putting a brave face on things. ‘I’m glad they saved the day, and I promise never to say another word about the way the huts look.’

  ‘If things pick up, or when Graham rebuilds his own staff accommodation, we can have them taken down again,’ Cheryl said.

  ‘We’re just about making ends meet right now, which is the main thing.’ Drew sighed and stood up. ‘Come on, love, I’ll get your stuff from your car and show you up. You’ve got the big room, centre front.’

  ‘But that’s your best room,’ Alexi protested. ‘Cosmo and I don’t expect star treatment.’

  ‘We don’t have anyone else in the main house right now, although we’re booked up for the weekend,’ Cheryl replied. ‘You deserve to be pampered, at least until then.’

  ‘Well, all right, but I insist upon paying the going rate.’

  ‘Are you trying to insult me?’ Drew demanded to know.

  Alexi refused to back down. Money was one of the few things she didn’t have to worry about. ‘You’re in business,’ she reminded them.

  ‘We’ll work something out,’ Drew said gruffly. ‘Come on now, let’s get you settled, then we’ll have drinks before dinner and you can catch us up with your news.’

  ‘I can’t have drinks,’ Cheryl said, patting her belly and pouting. ‘But I can inhale yours vicariously and feel all virtuous in the morning when you two have headaches from hell and I don’t.’

  Alexi laughed. ‘The sacrifice will be worth it.’

  ‘You hear that,’ Cheryl said to her stomach. ‘You are going to be so worth it.’

  ‘Don’t forget,’ Drew said as he lugged Alexi’s bag up the stairs. ‘You can stay with us for as long as you like. Take some time to think about what you want to do. Cheryl will be glad of the company.’

  Alexi the hardnosed, self-sufficient journalist who didn’t need anyone and never accepted favours, glanced out window and noticed spring shower-clouds building on the crests of the downs. For no apparent reason, the sight caused her eyes to swamp with tears.

  Chapter Two

  Cosmo stalked up the stairs with them; Toby following two paces behind.

  ‘A right pair,’ Drew said, laughing at Toby’s expression of total adoration.

  ‘If Cosmo takes a liking to someone, he tends to inspire devotion. Mostly he doesn’t like people and is highly suspicious of them—’

  ‘He’s a feral cat, right?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Well then, it stands to reason that he’ll have learned to be tough and selective. It’s a survival skill. But I have to say, he’s the largest moggy I’ve ever seen, especially since he doesn’t have an ounce of fat on him. And I’ve never seen a cat with such flat ears.’

  ‘I’m not sure why he’s so svelte. He eats me out of house and home. Not that I have a home right, but you know what I mean. He eats his head off and isn’t that active; more regal.’

  Drew opened the door to her room, entered it in Alexi’s wake and placed her case on the stand. He chuckled as he watched Cosmo, erect tail twitching, prowl imperiously around his temporary accommodation. ‘What made you take on a wild cat?’

  ‘It’s more a case of him adopting me. I was doing a feature a few years back about the homeless living under Waterloo Bridge. He was there, keeping the rat populati
on, human and rodent, in line. No one could get near him. He was a feral tom in every sense of the word, but for some reason I’ve never understood, he took a liking to me. The third time I went down there, he followed me back to my car, jumped into the passenger seat and hissed at anyone except me who went anywhere near me.’ Alexi shrugged. ‘What could I do?’

  Cosmo had leapt gracefully onto the four-poster bed. He took a position right in the middle of it and set about washing his face, sending Alexi and Drew occasional glances.

  ‘He’s telling us he knows he’s being talked about.’

  Drew laughed. ‘He must have been a domestic cat at one time if he likes cars.’

  ‘That’s what I figured. And, I think he’s forgiven me for taking him to the vet—’

  ‘Tough luck, Cosmo.’

  ‘Hey, safe sex shouldn’t be restricted to humankind. It’s not just people who are overpopulating the world. I hate to admit it, but Cosmo is probably responsible for a good number of stray moggies already. He doesn’t need to add more notches to his bedpost.’

  ‘Well, he won’t have more mouths to feed now you’ve deprived him of the necessary equipment.’

  He reached forward to scratch Cosmo’s head. Alexi tensed but to her relief, he didn’t seem to object to Drew and actually pushed his head against his hand. Toby jumped up to join the party, curling himself up against Cosmo’s body.

  ‘You want me to take Toby back downstairs?’

  ‘No, he’s fine, if you don’t mind them on the bed.’

  ‘I’m really glad you’re here, Alexi. Cheryl’s been worried about you.’

  ‘And the nicer you guys are to me, the worse I feel about not having seen more of you over the years.’

  ‘Life has a nasty habit of getting in the way of friendships.’

  ‘That’s no excuse.’

  ‘Don’t give it another thought. You’re here now and that’s all that matters. Have you got everything you need?’

  ‘This is luxury,’ Alexi replied, glancing around the high-ceiled room with its full length windows looking out over the downs. Those windows were covered with floral curtains that matched the bedspread. Fresh flowers spilled from a vase and there was a selection of novels and latest editions of magazines arranged on a table. There was a comfortable sofa beneath the window and a desk and chair where she could set up her computer. Eventually. She peered into the spacious en-suite with its rack of fluffy towels and basket of luxury toiletries. ‘How could I possibly want for anything?’

  ‘Okay, I’ll leave you to get settled. Come down as soon as you’re ready and we’ll have that bevvy.’

  Alexi kissed his cheek. ‘You’ve got yourself a date.’

  Left alone, Alexi swiftly unpacked her case and hung her clothes in the closet. They didn’t fill half the space. After that she stripped off and took a long shower. Half an hour later, feeling refreshed and invigorated, she dressed in cotton trousers and a light top, brushed her hair, dabbed on a slash of lip gloss and waved the mascara wand at her lashes. That was the extent of the pampering she ever allowed herself. Dog and cat accompanied her downstairs again and she followed an enticing aroma into the kitchen.

  ‘Hey.’ Cheryl looked up from the stove, where she was stirring something in a pot. Kitchens terrified Alexi. She’d lived on take-away in London and would have trouble scrambling an egg. Cheryl, on the other hand, had always loved cooking.

  ‘Can I do something? I can chop, peel or dice without wrecking anything.’ Alexi winced. ‘Probably.’

  ‘No, you’re good. Grab a pew. I’ll be right there.’ Cheryl grinned. ‘Although, on second thoughts, I’m betting you can still wield a corkscrew as well as you used to back in the day. We don’t need Drew for that.’

  ‘Show me where, sister!’

  With a glass of wine in front of her, and orange juice for Cheryl, the friends sat at the kitchen table and clinked glasses. Cosmo, failing in his transparent efforts to extract food from Cheryl, sent her the feline equivalent of an injured look and curled up in Toby’s basket. Toby hopped right in with him, wagging his tail as he occupied the small amount of space Cosmo allowed him.

  ‘Congratulations again,’ Alexi said, shaking her head at her cat’s antics. ‘I’m really happy for you. I know you’re going through a rough patch with the business, but it doesn’t seem to have affected your relationship with Drew, which is all that really counts. The two of you are still joined at the hip.’

  Cheryl grinned. ‘Yeah, I guess we’re lucky that way. And on the subject of relationships, can we clear the air about Patrick?’

  ‘Who?’

  ‘Lexi!’

  ‘What do you want me to say?’ Alexi spread her hands. ‘You were right about him. He’s a skunk. He claimed he was sworn to secrecy and couldn’t tell me about the impending changes at the paper. If he had, if I’d known I was for the chop, it would have given me more time to prepare a countermove.’ Alexi sighed. ‘If you love someone, you put their feelings first, don’t you?’

  ‘Yes,’ Cheryl replied succinctly. ‘Always. I’m sorry you’ve been hurt but I gotta say, you’re worth way more than Patrick. And, what’s more, you will find that elusive someone, probably when you least expect to.’

  ‘Aw, thanks, but right now I’m off men and definitely not looking.’ Alexi leaned over and gave Cheryl a brief hug. ‘I knew change was coming. The organisation was top heavy and haemorrhaging money.’ Alexi sighed. ‘It was obvious something had to give. I just didn’t figure I would be one of the casualties. I was in a relationship with the political editor, for heaven’s sake. He wouldn’t feed me to the wolves, I told myself; at least not without giving me a heads-up.’ She managed a wry smile. ‘Quite a blow to the ego, that one.’

  ‘You wrote brilliant, insightful pieces,’ Cheryl said defensively. ‘Well researched, in depth, intellectual stuff.’

  ‘Which was my downfall, apparently. If it doesn’t have tits or celebrity status, people don’t want to know anymore.’

  ‘You were too good at what you did?’

  Alexi sighed. ‘Possibly. Who knows?’

  ‘I do. The Sentinel has made a mistake if it’s trying to sensationalise. There’re already loads of papers with the tabloid thing down pat. They seem to forget there are still people who actually have functioning brain cells and want reasoned opinion along with the cornflakes.’

  ‘Not so many people buy papers at all now; that’s part of the problem, to be fair.’ Alexi leaned an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her cupped hand. ‘It’s all instant, online stuff that saves the lazy sods from having to walk to the corner shop for their paper and a pint of milk. And they wonder why the NHS is creaking under the strain of the obesity epidemic.’ Alexi expelled a resigned sigh. ‘Anyway, don’t get me started down that path. Patrick is now covering the dumbed down version of what I did, and seemed to think I’d be happy to run the equivalent of a political gossip column.’

  Cheryl’s bosom swelled with indignation. ‘The fink!’

  ‘Yeah well, that’s not quite what I called him, but close enough.’

  ‘All this only happened last week, and yet you’ve arranged to let your flat and hot-footed it down here in that space of time.’ Cheryl grinned. ‘I like your style, girlfriend.’

  ‘I haven’t seen or spoken to Patrick, either, although he keeps calling.’

  ‘Any idea what you intend to do now?’

  ‘Nope, not a clue.’ Alexi took a healthy sip of her wine and stretched her arms above her head. ‘It’s liberating in a scary sort of way.’

  ‘You have no job, no home and your mum recently died. I wouldn’t call that liberating. More like consecutive kicks in the teeth.’

  ‘It’s forced me out of my comfort zone, which is good in some ways. I was in a bit of a rut. And, on the bright side, I have no financial worries. Sorry,’ Alexi added when Cheryl flinched. ‘I sold Mum’s property quickly and for a good sum. I inherited her investment portfolio, plus I got a golden hand
shake from the Sentinel. Not that they wanted to cough up. They reckoned they’d offered me an alternative role and that by refusing it, I’d sacked myself.’

  Cheryl blew air through her lips. ‘Cheapskates.’

  ‘Right, but fortunately, because I like to be prepared for the worst, I’d studied my contract and found a clause that said they couldn’t demote me without just cause. I hadn’t given them cause and threatened them with legal action if they tried it. Oh, and I also intimated I’d write about the way I’d been treated, offer it to their rivals—’

  ‘Atagirl!’

  ‘Yeah well, it worked. They paid up, and so I can take my time deciding what direction I want to move in and pay you for my keep.’ She raised a hand to stop Cheryl from protesting. ‘I’ve had a few offers from other London papers, but nothing that tempts me. I think it might be time for a complete change of direction.’

  ‘What, move from London altogether?’ Cheryl widened her eyes. ‘I thought you were a city girl through and through. Do you even own a pair of wellies?’

  Alexi laughed, feeling herself begin to relax as the wine worked its magic. ‘Do they come with four-inch heels?’

  The back door opened to admit Drew. Cosmo, seemingly resigned to the fact that he wasn’t going to be fed any time soon, stalked through it, his faithful disciple tagging along behind him.

  ‘Any luck?’ Cheryl asked.

  ‘Sorry, love, no sign.’

  ‘No sign of what?’ Alexi asked, sensing their joint anxiety.

  ‘It’s Cheryl’s friend, Natalie,’ Drew replied, as he poured himself a generous glass of wine and then topped Alexi’s up. ‘She’s on the missing list. We’re worried about her. I just stopped by her place but no one’s been there since I checked yesterday.’

  ‘Who is she?’ Alexi asked. ‘I’ve not heard you mention her.’

  ‘She moved to Lambourn a couple of years ago. She’s into floral art. Does bouquets, table decorations for weddings, stuff like that. We’ve used her here, which is how we became friends.’

  ‘How long has she been gone?’

  ‘Three days.’