Secrets at Meadowbrook Manor. Faith Bleasdale

yes, but then that was different. Chris, well, she wasn’t sure how she had let him dominate her for so long. And even then, he was the one who ended the relationship. She never saw it, did she? Now she was beginning to. She was learning that men weren’t all like Chris, who cared only about himself and treated Gemma like she was his own shabby doormat. Oh God, it was dawning on her more and more what a fool she had been.

      ‘Oh, there’s a downside, Gus’s ex-wife is a total bitch. She ran off with his friend, yet she continues to try to make his life hell. And poor Fleur, now she’s older, is caught in the middle. I can’t really say too much as it upsets him, but I don’t think his ex liked it when he inherited from his father, and she doesn’t like him being with me. But most of all, she hates that Fleur seems to prefer to spend her time over here at the moment. So, you know, nothing’s perfect.’

      ‘Meadowbrook seems as near to it as you can get, though,’ Gemma breathed.

      ‘Yes, yes, it really is. Come on, let’s go and get tea and you’ll hear all the village gossip.’

      Amanda gave her arm a squeeze and led the way, and Gemma was more than happy to follow.

       Chapter 7

      Gemma sat cross-legged on her bed with her books and notes spread out in front of her. She had been at Meadowbrook just under a week, but she was already fretting that her focus wasn’t what it should be. Not least because she was going home tomorrow. She had toyed with the idea of splashing money she barely had on a second-hand car, but when she broached the subject with Pippa, she insisted that she borrow her car. Pippa said to think of it like a company car, yet another perk of the job.

      She had to go to the bungalow, where she was reluctantly going to stay until Sunday evening to start sorting through some of her nan’s belongings. The process from her nan going into the home to her putting the bungalow on the market and now it being under offer seemed to have taken ages, but with the sale going through, she needed to be on top of it all.

      Gemma wasn’t looking forward to going back. It was as if she had slightly lost herself in her new life, during the past few days at Meadowbrook, and now she was going to be reminded of her reality.

      She was also cross about the way she was conducting herself. The way she was with Gus, showing him her vulnerable side. And Amanda had been so open and lovely that Gemma had told her more than she intended to. Nothing bad, just about her nan, but that was personal, and she was trying to be purely professional. She was terrified of being too open, of crossing the line, and in order to keep the lines clear she had to hold herself back. If she started letting them see her, too much of her, who knew where it would end? She couldn’t take that risk, although already she feared she was.

      She was here to do a job, not make friends, but with Pippa’s insistence on them becoming “great pals”, Freddie’s attempts to loosen her up, and her fondness for Amanda and Gus, it was already proving difficult. Even Harriet seemed to be blurring the lines, by asking her questions about herself that Gemma didn’t really want to answer. Nothing awful, just about her upbringing and her schooling, friends, that sort of thing. But although to most people that would seem normal, Gemma wanted to keep all that to herself. She needed to keep her professional head on; she needed to keep her barriers up. She couldn’t afford to forget why she was here.

      She was reading about hotel management, hoping her text books, whilst factual, would help her to put some of the nuts and bolts in place, when there was a knock at the door. She scooped the books up and shoved them under the bed.

      ‘Come in,’ she trilled.

      The door opened and Pippa appeared. As usual, she looked effortlessly gorgeous, even in jogging bottoms and a sweatshirt, and she always seemed to be smiling. Although she had been warned that Pippa had a temper, and could be stubborn, Gemma had never seen any evidence of this. She hoped she never would.

      ‘We missed you at dinner tonight,’ Pippa said, striding into the room and sitting cross-legged on Gemma’s bed.

      Earlier, Gemma told Freddie – or rather mumbled to him – that she wouldn’t make dinner as she had work to catch up on and she’d grab a sandwich later. The reality was that she couldn’t face it. She was feeling emotional, so it felt safer to be alone. And she was used to being on her own every evening, since her nan had gone into the home, so being with people, anyone, was taking some getting used to. She knew she was too hard on herself. She expected to know what to do, how to handle the family, but she didn’t and that frightened her.

      ‘Sorry, but I really wanted to get stuck into work as I’m off for the weekend.’

      ‘We’re going to make such a winning team, I just know it.’ Pippa looked at Gemma expectantly.

      ‘Oh yes,’ Gemma said, trying to muster up some enthusiasm. ‘I totally agree.’

      ‘And we’re going to be the best of friends,’ Pippa continued, grabbing one of the pillows and hugging it to her chest. ‘I mean, I haven’t had a proper girlfriend for years. Mark, my ex-husband, didn’t like me having friends, so I lost touch with all of them, and then I did get back in touch with one, Bella, but she went out with Connor. And he broke up with her because he was in love with Harriet, and she was so upset she couldn’t see me anymore, so I lost her. And of course I have Harry, I suppose, but she’s my bossy older sister, so you can be my first post-divorce, real non-family friend.’

      Gemma was a little taken aback, although she had come to expect these outbursts from Pippa, which could sometimes be hard to follow.

      ‘Well, of course, but you are also my boss,’ she pointed out. Arm’s-length, she warned herself.

      ‘I hate to think of myself like that, as a boss. I’d rather think we’re partners, and in the spirit of partners we can of course be friends. I really enjoy our chats, don’t you?’

      ‘Um, yes.’ They were a bit one-sided though, Gemma thought wryly.

      ‘And I am so glad that I divorced Mark. It’s taken a while, but I am so much happier now. I didn’t realise how unhappy I was until it was over, and I’ve got Harriet to thank for it really, although we almost fell out over it. We did fall out for a while, actually. The thing is, Mark wanted to get his hands on Daddy’s money, and he was plotting with Freddie’s ex-girlfriend.’ A sad look passed over Pippa’s face, and her eyes filled with tears.

      ‘My God, that’s terrible.’ Gemma instinctively reached out to give Pippa’s arm a squeeze. And poor Freddie – he didn’t come across as the sort who would let anyone mess him around, but then it just went to show …

      ‘He was controlling and pompous, and he put me down a lot actually.’ Pippa had tears in her eyes.

      ‘Pippa, my ex-boyfriend was a bit similar,’ Gemma said without thinking. ‘I mean, he put me down all the time. Chris liked to tell me what to do. In the end he finished with me, because he thought that we’d move into my nan’s house when she went into the home. When I told him I had to sell it to pay the fees, he dumped me.’

      OK, so much for arm’s-length, but she found she couldn’t help herself. She was not only angry, but also feeling something akin to relief. She’d never told anyone about Chris, apart from her nan, but her nan hadn’t seemed to understand.

      ‘Oh my God, I knew we had so much in common. Although, of course, you didn’t have Harry to save you. You see, Harriet found out about the plotting, but Fred and I refused to believe her, which caused a rift between us. Poor Gus was stuck in the middle. It all worked out in the end, though. Gwen videoed them together and proved it to us, but it was a pretty horrible time, I can tell you.’

      ‘It must have been. Imagine losing your father then having your husband turn on you too,’ Gemma said, feeling bad for Pippa, Freddie and herself. ‘I do understand. I lost my nan and then Chris – well, not exactly the same but similar.’

      Gemma