Secrets of the Heart (13 page)

`Oh,
busy as usual, Uncle Bryn!' said Millie, smiling back at him.

`Camille,
now that you're here, you can make yourself useful and sew on some sequins,' her mother said sharply. `Cara needs a break.'

Millie
picked up some sequins that had fallen to the floor.

`Oh, all right, but I can only spare an hour . . . I've got a rehearsal this evening and I need to practice my dance.'

As
they made their way back to the Mill, Bryn said, 'That girl is going to rebel if Cecile pushes her too hard.'

`Mm,'
Annis agreed. 'But I don't see what we can do about it.'

`We'll
just have to think of something, won't we?' The old gentleman winked at her. 'It's obvious to everyone apart from her mother that her heart isn't in the dressmaking business. Now, let's stop here for a few minutes so that I can get my breath back.'

He
sank down thankfully on to the bench he had indicated and patted the space beside him. Annis still had around ten minutes before her next interview, so she was content to sit down too.

`I
told you Cecile and I are sort of related, didn't I?' said Bryn.

Annis
nodded. 'You said Madame Cecile was married to your wife's. . . cousin's son, was it?'

`That's
it exactly. Well, Madame Cecile's husband died in a boating accident in France a couple of years ago, so she decided to make a fresh start in England. She wrote to me to see if there was any work she could do, and at my invitation she came to see me, bringing Millie with her. Cecile is fiercely independent and I . . . '

`You
created the job for her?'

`Actually,
yes, I did.' He smiled. 'It wasn't the first time Arnold or I had done such a thing, and I'm sure it won't be the last. She'd fallen on hard times. Without betraying any confidences, I'll just say that — well, to put it mildly, it seems her husband wasn't very good with money. She only just managed to scrape together enough for her fare over here.'

He
paused and offered Annis a mint.

`Oh,
I know I took a chance, but I think you'll agree that she's an excellent dressmaker, conscientious and hard-working, and she's bringing a lot of extra trade to the Mill — and Millie's a delightful girl.'

`She
certainly is. Where do they live?' Annis unwrapped her mint.

`Oh,
I own a couple of cottages in the village and they rent one of those. Changing the subject, it's a pity that her assistant, Lara, looks so miserable. You wouldn't believe young Vicki on reception is her daughter, would you? Of course, now I come to think of it, it was Vicki's younger sister who worked for Sally for a short while. Did Sally tell you about that?'

`Yes,
she did,' Annis said cautiously, not sure how much he knew about the girl's behaviour.

`Oh,
it's all right, lass, I'm aware that she made life difficult for Sally — not much escapes my notice!'

`I'm
sure it doesn't, Bryn.'

`I've
been keeping too much of a low profile recently and now I need to make my presence felt — you've made me see that.' He sucked on his mint. `Anyway, I'm aware that there have been a number of problems recently. It makes me sad to know that things aren't right. I think of my employees as my extended family, as you know, and when there's discord, it grieves me.

`I
know that Ross is a good fellow, but at the end of the day, I'm the one at the helm and the only one who can really sort matters out. I sit up there in my room and I think of the old times with Arnie, Andrew and you, Annis the three A's — and of how things used to be.'

`Is
that why you've taken to staying up in your flat? Because things have been a bit difficult down here?' she asked him gently.

He
nodded, and she squeezed his hand.

`Anyway,
you've come back now, Annis, and you don't know how much that means to me. But enough of all this. There's work to be done!'

Annis
helped him to his feet and they went across to the Mill.

He'd given her a lot of food for thought.

* * *

After a busy day, Sally and Annis were tidying up the office when Tristan wandered in, apparently looking for a chat.

`How
did you enjoy the course, Sally?'

`Very
much! Thanks for letting me go, Tristan I owe you one.'

`No
problem — I'm glad that you found it worthwhile. Anyway, what I really came to ask was whether you'd like a trip out this evening, Annis? Just a pub meal — maybe a club if you're up for it? I gather you're going away at the end of the week, so this will probably be the last opportunity I've got to wine and dine you.'

`I'll
be back again next weekend . . . ' she pointed out.

`No
can do, I'm afraid. I've swapped with Ross so that I can take Stella to see our mother, lots of things to discuss.'

Annis
would have preferred to have stayed in that evening, but Tristan was persuasive and she found herself accepting his invitation.

`You seem to be getting on well with Tristan,' Sally remarked when he'd gone.

`Don't
read too much into it, Sally. Remember what I said when I first came here? I want to keep in with both Ross and Tristan so that I can find out about any future plans for the Mill. But I do find Tristan good company, as it happens.'

`Oh,
he can charm a bird off a tree, but don't get too involved, will you? He likes to play the field, and I wouldn't like to see you getting hurt.'

`I
can take care of myself, Sally,' Annis told her rather sharply.

`Oh,
well, it's your life,' Sally said.

That
evening, Annis barely had time to shower and change into a cotton skirt and top before meeting up with Tristan.

‘You look nice. I’ve booked a table at a place  I know in the country.’

As he drove, he kept up a light, bantering chatter for a time, but then he became more serious.

‘Ross says you’re considering joining us permanently. It would be good to have your smiling face about the place. I don’t know if you’ve picked up on the vibes, but the Mill’s not always the happiest of places these days. I’m afraid quite a bit of backbiting goes on.’

‘Well things are bound to get fraught from time to time,’ Annis said choosing her words carefully and wondering whether she would be able to glean any useful information from this conversation.

‘Staff morale does seem to be a bit low, and the staff turnover seems to be quite high,’ she commented.

Noticing the rather annoyed expression that flitted across Tristan’s face she added, ‘I’m only making an observation.’

‘You seem to have made quite a few in the short time you've been here,' he said abruptly, and she found herself colouring. `So tell me, Annis, what would you do to make things right?'

She
swallowed, feeling trapped, and wished she hadn't started this.

`Well,
years ago, each department worked happily without members of management staff feeling the need to interfere every five minutes,' she ventured. 'There doesn't seem to be much trust nowadays and it undermines staff confidence.'

`Oh,
come on, Annis! When I arrived here, it needed someone at the helm. Obviously Bryn isn't up to it nowadays, so all of us managers work it between us.

`And
cause resentment in certain areas whilst you're at it?' she asked.

She
knew she had gone too far. His knuckles on the wheel were white and he shot her a glance from blazing eyes.

`So,
what would you do then? You must see that now that the Mill enterprises have grown so big, we need people with management skills to co-ordinate things. We can't have everyone doing their own thing or we'd never get anywhere.'

Annis
took a deep breath. 'Yes, I can see that, but I'd choose a representative from each department to attend staff meetings. That way, no-one could complain that they hadn't been given a fair opportunity to express their opinions.'

He
pulled up outside an attractive pub decorated with hanging baskets of trailing petunias and lobelia, and Annis was relieved that the conversation had been put on hold, at least for the time being.

It
was still warm enough to eat outside and, after ordering their food, they took their drinks and sat in the last of the evening sunshine, looking out over a magnificent view of the weald of Kent.

`So,
tell me more about what you've been doing during the past few years,' Tristan asked, after some general chat. `I know you work in London, but have you been there ever since you left here?'

`No,
I spent the first eighteen months or so in Dorset, staying with my parents and working in one of the local hotels. Then I went on a couple of training courses. I also spent about six weeks visiting friends in America.'

`So,
you've actually only been in London for around three years?'

`About
that, yes.' She sipped her drink, wondering where the conversation was leading.

`So,
why do you want to come back here? Why now?'

`It's
too hot in London during the summer,' she said, and he laughed.

`That's
hardly a strong enough reason for leaving a perfectly good job to return to the Mill in a temporary capacity, presumably on a lower rate of pay. Unless, of course, you've had another broken relationship.'

She
stared at him.

`I'm
here because I've missed the buzz of 'Something Borrowed, Something Blue' and I've missed my friends,' she said vehemently. 'I had a lot of leave accrued — through working flexi-hours so I thought it would be a good opportunity to spend some time with Sally and John, and also to lend Sally a hand.'

`Well,
it's a funny sort of holiday.'

`Not
at all. Being here
is
like a holiday — lovely countryside, good company, and a pleasant environment at the Mill. I've no food to cook and my room's cleaned for me what more could I ask for?'

Tristan
didn't look convinced.

`But
you don't honestly think you can turn up here and carry on where you left off almost five years ago? You can't be that naive.'

She
coloured. 'Of course not— I realise that we have to move on and there have to be changes.'

Fortunately,
the food arrived just then. It looked delicious, but Annis felt bemused by what Tristan had just said.

He was so full of contrasts and tonight she felt she was seeing a different side to his character.

She
tried to concentrate on her meal, although suddenly it tasted like cardboard in her mouth.

First
Ross, and now Tristan both obviously trying to trap her into admitting that she had an ulterior motive in visiting the Mill.

Much
to her relief, Tristan dropped the subject and became his former amusing self, telling her about a film that he'd seen the previous week.

`With
Vicki?' she asked casually.

`Yes,
it was, as a matter of fact.' He gave a little laugh.

Annis
suddenly thought of something. 'Tristan, I've been wondering Vicki's mother, Lara, doesn't seem at all happy. Do you know of any problem?'

Tristan
hesitated. 'Well, I don't suppose it matters if I tell you,' he said. It's hardly a state secret. Her daughter's left home.'

`Kelly?'

`Yes.
She's always been a bit of a problem kid, and after packing in her job at the Mill, she just upped and went off to Spain with some mates. She's OK Vicki's had a couple of e-mails but she's not letting on exactly where she's staying. She's having a whale of a time, apparently. But Lara's worried sick.'

So
that explained why the poor woman looked so pale and drawn.

`Oh,
poor Lara. How old is Kelly?'

`About
eighteen — grown up and yet not so grown up, if you see what I mean.'

The
rest of the evening passed pleasantly enough, but Annis declined Tristan's offer to go to a night club, saying that she had a busy day ahead of her on Tuesday. Bryn was holding a staff meeting in the morning, and he'd insisted that Sally took the rest of the day off while Annis was still there to cover.

* * *

The next day was as hectic as Annis had anticipated. There was one wedding on the Thursday of that week, two on the Friday and three on the Saturday, so there was plenty to keep her occupied. To her surprise, Bryn was adamant that she took Wednesday off and that she came to dinner with him and the others on Thursday evening.