Mia shook her head and stepped out of his arms to turn towards an uncharacteristically quiet Madeline. Tension vibrated from her as she concentrated on the bacon on the stove. Slipping her arms around Madeline’s waist, she gave her a squeeze from behind. ‘Meddling, old bag.’ She pressed a kiss to Madeline’s cheek, feeling it twitch in a smile.
Mood lifting in an instant, the older woman leaned back into her. ‘Everyone needs a meddling old bag in their life, my dear. Although we prefer the term “Fairy Godmother” if you don’t mind. Now stop hanging off me; this bacon is done and Richard won’t raise a finger until we’ve fed him.’
Mia let her go, crossing to the kettle to make a cup of tea as she let Madeline and Richard assemble a huge stack of doorstep sandwiches. They’d made the first steps towards healing the rift between them, although she still had no idea what had possessed the older woman to drop a stranger on her doorstep and run.
Letting her eyes drift to where said stranger hovered at the edges of their group, she felt a surge of sympathy at the uncertainty on his face. It wasn’t his fault either. Holding out her hand she beckoned Daniel towards the table, nodding in encouragement when he hung back. ‘Don’t stand on ceremony, Daniel. If you don’t get stuck in there won’t be anything left.’
Not waiting to see if he followed, she settled into her usual seat. The smell of bacon filled her nose and her mouth watered in anticipation. Her tummy gave a little rumble and she clutched her hand to it, laughing along with the others. When was the last time she’d looked forward to eating? Too long ago. Accepting the plate and mug Richard placed in front of her, Mia grabbed the huge sandwich and bit down, closing her eyes as the crispy smoke of the bacon and the spicy bite of HP sauce hit her taste buds.
She opened her eyes to see Madeline watching her, a cloud of worry marring her kind gaze. Mia’s heart swelled and she blamed the lump in her throat on swallowing too much of her sandwich at once. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you,’ she said quietly.
Madeline gave her a watery smile. ‘That’s not something you ever have to worry about, darling.’
Blinking away the prickle behind her eyes, Mia focused on her breakfast and sent up a silent prayer of thanks for such wonderful friends.
Daniel chewed thoughtfully on his food—everything in this house tasted amazing. He watched the easy back and forth banter between Mia and the older couple as they ate and discussed the plans for the day, deciding which bedroom they were going to tackle and get ready for Daniel to use. From the conversation, it was clear that the rooms had all been cleared of furnishings and their contents moved to the large barn that nestled next to the garage at the end of the driveway. The plumbing and electrics had been replaced, but other than that the upstairs rooms lay untouched.
He thought about the cosy sitting room that he had slept in the previous night. The sofa had been a pleasant surprise, a huge sprawling L-shape with cushions deep enough he could stretch out his full length across them. The room had been dressed in warm creams and rich browns, with the odd splash of colour from the vibrant paintings on the wall and a few feature items including a tall pewter vase full of rich red poppies. The flowers had been silk, although it had taken a closer examination to verify.
Mia had told him it was intended as a space for her and that there would be a large lounge space for guests next door to what would be the dining room—the room with the impressive sea view.
It had been Richard’s idea apparently to get Mia’s personal spaces sorted out first, to make sure she had some semblance of a home while she worked to bring the rest of the house up to habitable standard. Daniel was glad she had such good friends to support and guide her. It was clear from the open affection they shared that they had adopted Mia and viewed her as something close to a daughter.
The sweet, easy atmosphere around the table twisted his heart, reminding him again how much he missed his own parents, though the laughing couple bore little resemblance to the quiet, steady Fitzwilliamses. Chairs pushed back, saving him from the welling emotions. Everything felt raw, scraped too close to the bone for comfort. He was relieved to be on the move.
Richard led him up to the first floor and ushered him into a large bedroom with bare, stained floorboards and the ugliest wallpaper he had ever seen in his life. Huge, garish orange and yellow roses beamed down from every wall, although there were strips missing where the electrics had been chased out and the wiring and fittings replaced. He grimaced at the blinding display and Richard clapped him on the shoulder. ‘You should’ve seen the carpet that went with it, marmalade orange with a liberal scattering of mildew.’
Following Richard’s instructions and armed with a steamer, scraper and face mask, he got to work whilst the older man entered the adjoining bathroom to tackle the tiling. It would take more than a day to get the room sorted, but Daniel was in no rush. The sofa was comfy enough and a strip-wash at the big sink in the kitchen would suffice if the bathroom wasn’t usable.
Mia appeared, radio in one hand and two bottles of water in the other. She nodded in satisfaction at the progress Daniel was making and dropped a bottle of water at his feet before joining Richard in the bathroom. The strains of the radio and laughter soon drifted through the open door. There was no sign of Madeline, and Daniel wondered what she was up to as he turned his attention back to his task.
It was back-breaking work, and he soon discarded his jumper despite the lack of heating. He steamed, scraped and cursed his way down the wall and around the corner, piles of discarded wallpaper curling in his wake. His muscles ached a little from lack of use and his back would be a wall of pain later from all the bending and stretching, but Daniel didn’t care. He had a definable task, a purpose for the next few hours, and that was just what he needed. The aches and pains would be a badge of honour for the efforts he put in this day.
Madeline showed up, a spotted cloth twisted around her head, keeping her hair off her face. There was a smudge of dirt on her cheek. She grinned and patted Daniel affectionately on the bottom after handing him a cup of tea. ‘Aren’t you doing a grand job, sweet boy? Take a break and enjoy your tea and I’ll have a bit of a tidy through,’ she said. Settling his hip against the windowsill with a happy sigh, he watched her stuff the rubbish into a black bag and let her soothing chatter wash over him.
She headed downstairs with the bulging bag, reappearing shortly after with two more mugs of tea, which she took into the bathroom. Cries of welcome from Richard and Mia echoed from the small room. Daniel listened to the banter and teasing and wondered when the last time was that he had felt comfortable enough around people to let his guard down like that.
It wasn’t that everyone he’d met in London was a shark or a phony; he had a couple of good friends who weren’t part of the art crowd, although thinking back it had been a few months since he’d spent anything like quality time with Aaron. His best friend had never been a fan of Giselle and the crowd she hung around with. As he’d been drawn further into her circle of wannabes and sycophants, he’d seen less and less of Aaron.
He’d tried to warn him about the rumours circulating about his party lifestyle, but Daniel had been in no mood to listen. Giselle had dripped poison in his ear, dismissing Aaron as too provincial, whispering he was just jealous of his success. And he’d let her feed his ego, drive a wedge between the two men. Isolated from the steady voice of reason, he’d been easy prey. Daniel sighed and tugged his face mask back into position. Better add another name to the list of apologies owed.
***
It was late afternoon by the time Mia waved Richard and Madeline off and she pressed her hands into her lower back to try and ease the stiffness in her muscles a little. She eyed the claw-footed tub in the corner