.

head and looked down at his shiny black shoes.

      Julian led us back down the stairs and out of the front door and along a shady gravel path towards the stable block. He kept up a stream of cheerful chatter the whole way, while Elena walked beside him, laughing and looking around her excitedly. It was a relief to be outside. I felt like I could breathe again.

      ‘I’m sorry if I seemed rude when I saw you earlier,’ Anthony said in a low voice as he fell into step beside me. ‘It was just such a shock to see you.’

      ‘Oh, no, you weren’t rude at all!’ I glanced up at him in surprise. ‘It was certainly a shock. I didn’t expect to see you either.’ I swallowed nervously and touched the back of my hair to check it wasn’t falling down. Should I apologise for turning up unannounced on his territory? At least I’d known there was a slight possibility he might be here. To him it must have seemed like I’d fallen from the sky. Still, he appeared to be over his shock now and looked quite relaxed, whereas I still felt raw and emotional.

      ‘No, well, I suppose you wouldn’t have expected me of all people to be at a wedding fair, even if it was on my property!’ He gave a rueful laugh. ‘I must admit it wasn’t my first choice of business. I was thinking more along the lines of conference facilities and countryside pursuits. You know, clay pigeon shooting or paintballing. Maybe even a golf course.’ He sighed longingly and I laughed.

      ‘Why didn’t you go for those then?’

      ‘Julian and Liz can be pretty persuasive when they get going. They managed to convince me weddings would be lucrative and probably the least labour-intensive of all the options. I’m not sure I believe that. I think it’s just a line they fed me to get me to agree to it all, and now I’m up to my armpits in wedding paraphernalia!’

      ‘Oh, dear! Is it that bad?’

      He laughed. ‘It hasn’t been so far. It’s been quite satisfying getting the old place looking good again, and Mother’s happy to have us back.’

      I nodded, unable to think of a suitable reply. We’d reached the end of the path now anyway, which had delivered us into the square courtyard of the stable block. Arranged in a U-shape, it was built in the same soft red brick as the house and had been converted into four nice-looking cottages.

      ‘Ooh, these look nice!’ Elena said enthusiastically.

      ‘Yes, and they’ll definitely be ready for August,’ Julian said. ‘Unfortunately, I don’t have the key or I’d show you inside, but you can see through the window that they’re pretty roomy. The roof was high enough for us to put in a mezzanine floor so there are three bedrooms. One to the side and two in the roof. See, plenty of room for your guests. Well, some of them, at least.’

      ‘Oh, yes! They’re great!’ Elena pressed her nose to the newly glazed window of the first cottage while I stood looking around. The stables looked very grand and I wondered how often they were used when Anthony and Julian were children. Anthony had never mentioned a love of horses or anything like that. But even with the stable doors removed and replaced with windows and proper wooden doors, you could see this had once been an impressive stable block. I imagined all the staff that would have been employed here; the grooms preparing the horses to be ridden by the lady of the manor. The amount of history in this place blew my mind.

      ‘Did you have horses when you were growing up?’ I asked.

      ‘No. Just a couple of fat Shetlands when we were small, but they weren’t kept in here. It’s been used for storage for years.’ Anthony stood with his hands on his hips, his blue shirt pulling tight at his shoulders. ‘This is the bit I’ve enjoyed. Renovating buildings that have been doing nothing for years.’

      ‘Overseeing it, you mean.’ Julian laughed. ‘It’s not like you did any of the work yourself.’

      ‘Well, no. But I was involved in the planning.’ He turned, his foot scraping on the gravel, and I retrieved my sunglasses from my bag and put them on. Despite the tall surrounding trees, the courtyard was a real suntrap and I had to squint in the bright sunshine. Elena put her head back, tipping her face up to the sun.

      ‘It’s so lovely here. I think I could stay for ever.’

      Julian laughed. ‘It’s the obvious choice for your wedding then, isn’t it? Come on, you know you want to.’

      Elena smiled. ‘I know I want to, but it’s not just about what I want. I’ll check with Daniel and let you know.’

      ‘Okay.’ Julian shrugged. ‘Well, I’ve done my best. You can vouch for me, can’t you, Anthony? That means I won’t get in trouble with my wife.’

      Elena laughed. ‘When will you need to know by?’

      Julian shrugged. ‘As soon as possible really. How about you, Rachel? Do you think you’d be able to convince Jayjay to get married here this year?’

      ‘Err, no, I don’t think so.’

      ‘Oh, really?’ Julian’s face dropped. ‘Don’t you like it?’

      ‘Of course I like it! It’s beautiful. But…’ I glanced at Elena and she shook her head slightly. ‘It’s complicated.’

      ‘Okay. Well, take a business card each and just give us a call if you change your minds. Perhaps you could bring Daniel for a visit, Elena? Just give me a call and let me know when you’d like to come.’

      He took a small pile of business cards from his breast pocket and handed one to me and one to Elena. Willow Hall was embossed in gold script across the top and, underneath, both Anthony and Julian’s mobile telephone numbers were included. I stared at Anthony’s number for a second before putting it in my handbag.

      ‘Great! Thanks! Well, I guess we’d better get going then.’ Elena checked her watch. ‘Thank you for showing us round. It’s been wonderful.’

      ‘It’s our pleasure. Lovely to meet you, Elena. And to see you again, Rachel.’ Julian smiled. ‘Right, I suppose I’d better get back to the pavilion and see if anyone wants to book a wedding!’

      Anthony nodded. ‘I’ll be along in a minute. I’ll walk Rachel and Elena back to their car.’

      ‘Great! Bye, ladies.’ Julian kissed us both before walking off with a wave. We watched him go before turning back towards the shady path. Anthony walked between us, looking thoughtfully at the floor.

      ‘Julian’s very enthusiastic, isn’t he?’ Elena said. ‘He’s a natural born salesman.’

      ‘I don’t know about that. He’s a solicitor, really.’ Anthony laughed. ‘He’s determined to make this work, though. We both are. He’s just better at it than I am.’

      ‘Oh, I don’t know. You did all right.’ Elena smiled at him. ‘How are you, anyway? Are you fully recovered from the car crash?’

      ‘Yes. I’m fine now, thank you.’

      ‘Back at work? Busy being a detective.’

      He nodded. ‘Yes. I went back after Christmas.’

      ‘Only after Christmas? Wow! That’s a long time off.’

      ‘Yes. I’m okay now, though.’ He shrugged. ‘I had lots of physio to get me walking again. I still limp if I get tired but I’m lucky really.’

      ‘Are you back driving?’

      ‘Oh, yes. I work in Manchester so I have to.’

      ‘Still? Can’t you get transferred somewhere closer?’

      ‘It’s okay. You get used to it. Ah, here’s the car park,’ he said as the path grew lighter. ‘Well, it’s lovely to see you both again.’ He stopped walking and looked at us both. ‘I hope we’ll see you again soon, but if not, good luck with your weddings.’

      ‘Thank you.’

      He