Read Escape to the Country for Free Online Page B

hadn't spotted when somebody else had tampered with the accounts.
Adam had let her down there, by pushing her to accept promotion when
she hadn't felt ready. Perhaps because he too had been so impressed
with her abilities he'd not foreseen any potential trouble. That
proved he wasn't quite so clever himself as he liked to suggest. On
the other hand, Jayne was much more astute than she gave herself
credit for.
    "You know all sorts of things I don't though, Jayne. You're
clever too."
    "OK, we're both geniuses! Maybe we'd better put our massive
brains to the task of eliminating mud from our lives."
    "We can try," Leah agreed. The answer for her was easy. She
could simply return to London. As she looked at the pigs romping
around in their fresh dry straw she wasn't entirely convinced her
answer was perfect.
    The house smelt of wet dog and drying clothes, both strategically
positioned in front of the Aga.
    At least, coats, hats and gloves were drying. Some of Jayne's other
clothes were getting nearly as wet inside as the ones she wore
outside thanks to a leak in the thatched roof. Calmly, Jayne emptied
and moved the wardrobe, stuck another load in the washing machine and
telephoned her landlord. Leah would have demanded instant action,
whereas Jayne made rather light of the situation. Apparently Oliver
Gilmore-Bunce promised to deal with the problem at the earliest
opportunity.
    The following day, Valentine's day, the rain still poured down,
inside and out. Jayne received a card, on the front of which was a
very fat cartoon Santa.
    "Is the post a bit slow round here?" Leah asked.
    "No, why? It's Valentine's Day today, isn't it?"
    "Yes, but that's a Christmas card."
    "Kind of. My friend Jim sends me a Christmas or Easter or
birthday card every year. At least, I suppose it must be him."
    "Explain."
    "He sent me a Valentine's one when we were at school and I got
teased so much I told him not to do it again. Ever since then, I've
received a Christmas or other type of card on Valentine's Day, so I'm
pretty sure he sends them."
    "You country people are weird!"
    At lunchtime, the women came in to find a single long stemmed red
rose lying on the mat in the porch. It was beautifully wrapped in
cellophane and lace and tied with a ribbon, but there was no note.
    Leah picked it up and carried it in. "You didn't tell Jim he
couldn't send flowers, then?"
    "No, but I'm pretty sure this isn't from him. The cards are just
a joke now and in any case, this isn't his style. Jim doesn't do
subtle and mysterious, if he wanted to give me flowers he'd turn up
with a big bunch of daisies or something. How about Adam, could he
have sent this?" As she spoke, Jayne started to get lunch ready.
    Leah knew he hadn't. Worse, she knew he never would. "I really
don't think so. If he did, it's the most romantic thing he's ever
done."
    "He didn't give you flowers?"
    "Yes, of course, but there was always a reason. I got a huge
bouquet on Valentine's, my birthday, our anniversary, as an apology.
This looks a bit more..."
    "Romantic, not to mention subtle and mysterious?" Jayne
asked.
    "Yeah, well one of us has an admirer - unless it's for
Tarragon?"
    "Could be. There's a collie in town who's always very pleased to
see him. Come on then, let's eat."
    They enjoyed hot tomato soup and toasted cheese sandwiches.
    "No one has been round to check up on the roof," Leah
complained after they'd eaten.
    "What's to check? He knows what the problem is because I told
him."
    "If someone came round you'd know it was being taken seriously."
    "It is being taken seriously. G-B will arrange for someone to
fix it as soon as possible."
    "You were too soft with him, saying it wasn't a big problem. You
should insist something is done right away. People like him get rich
by riding roughshod over ordinary people."
    "Not him, besides these things take time. He's a good landlord,
he'll see it's done right."
    Leah wasn't convinced, but clearly Jayne, whilst perfectly capable of
running the small