Newborn Under The Christmas Tree. Sophie Pembroke

at him. ‘But to be honest, I prefer the Old Kitchen.’

      ‘Old Kitchen?’ Liam asked. ‘I know this place is huge, but how many kitchens does it really need? This one looks like it could cater for pretty much any function you wanted to hold here.’

      Alice laughed, the sound high and bright—but nervous, somehow. ‘The Old Kitchen is really old. Like a period piece. We use it when we do family days, to show the kids how they used to make different food and drinks here in the past. We’ve done medieval days, Victorian days, all sorts. It’s much more atmospheric than using the new kitchen, but this is better for when we have lots of people to feed.’

      ‘Which seems like most of the time,’ he observed.

      ‘The Old Kitchen wouldn’t be any good for all those fiddly canapés and such you like for your fundraisers, anyway,’ Maud grumbled as she placed two plates of food on the counter before them. ‘I’m going to be wrapping Parma ham around asparagus for days, I know it, to be ready for next Thursday.’

      Beside him, Liam saw Alice wince. ‘Next Thursday?’

      ‘I was...going to mention that. We had planned a fundraiser for next week. It’s been in everyone’s diaries for months, long before we knew Rose wouldn’t be here to host it. We have some great pledges of support already. It would be such a shame to cancel it now...’

      The question she wasn’t asking hung in the heavily scented air between them. Would the fundraiser still be able to go ahead, now he was in charge?

      Liam considered. On the one hand, what was the point? Things were going to change around here, and he might as well start now. On the other, for his first act as the new owner of Thornwood to be cancelling a fundraiser for local women and children in need... That didn’t send a great message.

      ‘Fine. You can have your fundraiser,’ he said, and Alice clapped her hands and grinned.

      ‘Fantastic! I just know you’ll be a great host. You did bring your dinner jacket, right?’

      Wait. What? Liam had a sinking feeling that he’d just signed up for far more than he’d intended to—and that getting Alice Walters out of his castle might not be as easy as he’d hoped.

       CHAPTER FOUR

      ‘OKAY, I THINK we need to move that table back across to the other side,’ Alice said. The women she’d roped in to help her set up for the fundraiser glared at her. ‘Last time, I promise.’

      As the table got moved across the ballroom, Alice rubbed her forehead to try to fend off a headache, and ticked off another item on her clipboard. The checklist was almost done, at last. It had been a long few days of preparation—not entirely helped by Liam sticking his nose in every few hours to see exactly what she was doing.

      Thornwood Castle’s new owner had been in residence for almost a week now, and he was certainly making his presence felt. Alice had hoped, when he’d agreed to let them go ahead with the fundraiser, that it was a sign he was happy for Thornwood to carry on as it always had.

      Apparently not.

      Over the past week, Liam had shown up to observe various classes, taken lunch with the women and kids in the dining hall, climbed up into the attics to inspect the roof, been observed checking and annotating the castle blueprints, and spent a day exploring the woods on the edge of the estate. The rest of the time he’d spent working in the room he’d claimed as his office, between the library and the kitchens, making phone calls, typing on his laptop or just talking to himself as he paced. Reporting back to Alice on what the new owner was up to had become a full-time game for the kids who hung around the castle after school. It was almost as if she had her own team of spies—even if she didn’t have a clue what to do with the information they brought her.

      Worst of all, whenever Alice had asked Liam if she could assist him at all, he’d just shrugged and smiled and said, ‘Nah. It’s all good. Just getting a feel for the place.’

      It was making Alice very nervous.

      ‘He’s so infuriatingly laid-back,’ she’d said to Heather, after another one of his ‘don’t mind me’ visits to a first aid class she was giving.

      Heather had laughed. ‘Have you ever considered that maybe you’re just too tense?’

      Alice had glared at her, and gone back to doing her job. Mostly because she had no idea what else to do.

      At least preparing for the fundraiser had given her something else to focus on, besides whatever plans Liam was hatching for Thornwood. If this was to be her last big event at the castle, she wanted to make it a good one.

      The guest list was solid, she knew—she had the mayor, a couple of local councillors, a local celebrity chef and a duke and duchess from the next county, along with the usual bunch of lawyers, teachers, doctors and local businessmen and women. Maud had laid out a great spread, and Alice had ordered in plenty of champagne so that the bids in the silent auction should go high enough to make the evening worthwhile. Spending so much on one event always made her nervous, but she’d never failed yet to make back at least four times what she spent in donations and auction bids. She just had to keep reminding herself that all the glitz, glamour and fuss were worthwhile.

      Even if she did have to wear a stupid, shiny dress with a desperately uncomfortable strapless bra.

      ‘How’s it going?’ Alice spun at the sound of Liam’s voice and found him casually leaning against the giant double doors of the ballroom, his arms folded across that broad chest.

      ‘Fine! All fine,’ she said, forcing a wide smile. She glanced around the ballroom. The tables were set up with the best cloths, and her helpers were laying out the silver and glass flatware. There were candles in the candelabras that would illuminate the room, ready to be lit nearer the start time. The floor had been polished, and the string quartet was tuning up in the corner. All she had left to do was set up the stuff for the silent auction, and get herself ready to schmooze and smile for the night.

      ‘Looks good.’ Liam nodded, lazily pushing away from the door and crossing the ballroom towards her. ‘Want to tell me what I’m expected to do tonight?’

      Alice nodded. ‘Of course. Um, mostly it’s just about chatting to people. You’re new, so everyone is going to want to talk to you. They’re going to want to know your plans for Thornwood, for a start.’

      ‘Are they, indeed? Well, they might be disappointed on that one.’

      ‘Because you don’t have any firm plans yet?’ Alice said hopefully. If he wasn’t set on one course of action, she still had time to sway him towards her point of view.

      Liam gave her a wolfish smile. ‘Because I never share my plans until they’re finalised.’

      Damn. ‘Well, I’m sure you’ll manage. Other than that...it would be great if you could do a welcome toast. Just a “Thanks for coming, it’s a great cause, raising money for the work being done here at Thornwood”—that sort of thing.’

      ‘Sure,’ Liam said, shrugging. ‘What’s the name?’