The Rich Man's Bride

She stared at him, aghast. ‘You think it was as calculated as that?’

‘It’s pretty common practice. What was taken?’

Anna ticked off the list on her fingers as she told him. ‘Luckily Gramp gave me Grandma’s jewellery ages ago…’ She bit her lip.

‘What is it?’

‘I’ve just remembered. Gramp had a gold watch—a half hunter with a heavy gold chain and fob. I didn’t look, but they probably got away with that as well.’ She gave a shiver. ‘They ransacked the drawers and threw some of my things on the floor, but I didn’t actually go in the bedrooms. I left that for the police.’

‘Good thinking,’ approved Ryder. ‘You look shaken, Anna. I’ll make you some tea while we wait for them.’

‘You don’t have to wait.’

‘Don’t talk rot,’ he said brusquely.

Anna groaned in dismay. ‘You can’t make tea. They’ve taken the kettle.’

‘What a townie you are these days,’ he mocked. ‘A saucepan on the stove will do the job just as well—provided they left the tea.’

‘It should be in the caddy with the portrait of the Queen.’

‘I know. Hector often made tea for me in that big brown pot,’ said Ryder soberly. ‘I miss him too, Anna—’ He broke off as the bell rang and went to the door to let in the police.

The constables who came in answer to Anna’s call had known Hector Morton well. They offered condolences, made a thorough inspection and found the window broken in the spare bedroom. The burglar had climbed up the wisteria, smashed the glass next to the window latch and hopped over the window sill, splintering wood and tearing curtains down in the process as he rushed to let his partner in through the front door. Ryder assured the policemen that he’d block up the window until a glazier could be organised and, after providing the men with a list of everything she knew to be missing, Anna felt weary by the time they left.

‘I don’t care about the television and the electrical stuff they took,’ she told Ryder as he finally gave her the promised tea, ‘but the paintings and plates and the kitchen clock were Gramp’s wedding presents.’

‘It won’t be easy to track them down, Anna. There are so many cop shows on television every likely lad wears gloves to do his breaking and entering these days,’ he pointed out.

She nodded, depressed. ‘Dad’s coming to take me to lunch tomorrow. When I tell him about this he’ll insist on taking me home with him. In the meantime I’d better ring the Red Lion—’

‘Why?’

She pulled a face. ‘I don’t fancy sleeping here tonight with a broken window for company.’

‘You’re not going to. You’re coming home with me.’

Anna stared at him in surprise. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘Why not?’

She could think of a great many reasons, none of which she wanted to share with Ryder.

‘I’m not exactly short of bedrooms,’ he reminded her. ‘And Mrs Carter is still around. God knows what I’ll do when she retires. She’s been a godsend since I took over. I employ plenty of help from the village, but she’s getting on a bit and does so much I tend to worry about her.’

‘Is staff easy to find?’

‘The women who help in the house have been working there for years, so up to now the problem hasn’t arisen. The estate manager retired recently and I haven’t found anyone to take over his job yet so I’m doing that myself as a learning exercise. My father and Eddy died within months of each other, which meant double death duties, so there’s a lot to sort out.’

‘So Dominic told me.’

Ryder smiled sardonically. ‘Did he mention that my engagement ended about that time as well?’

‘No, he didn’t. Tom told me only recently. I’m sorry,’ she added awkwardly.

He shrugged. ‘Past history now. Right then, Anna, if you can supply me with a plastic bag I’ll raid Hector’s tool box for some masking tape and seal that window while you pack some things for the night.’

Not, thought Anna as she handed him a bin liner, that she was as sorry as she should be about the missing fiancée. Edwina French had been one of the unfriendly girls at the party all those years ago.

Ryder made short work of sealing the bedroom window, made a note of the splintered ledge and crumbling plaster the burglar had left in his wake, and went along the landing to Anna’s room. He frowned when he saw the tangle of underwear on her floor. ‘You can’t wear any of that!’

‘Absolutely not,’ she said, shuddering, and stepped over it to look in her wardrobe. ‘Nothing seems to be touched in here, thank goodness. My sweaters are still in their polythene bags. I’ll just throw the other things in the bath—’

‘Stuff them in a bag instead and take them with you. Mrs Carter will run them through the washing machine and have them ready by morning.’

‘The poor woman has enough to do without that. I’ll ask her to let me do it,’ said Anna firmly.

‘You can ask, but she’ll take one look at you and rush you off to bed.’

Ryder was right. He rang Mrs Carter to tell her he was bringing Anna to stay the night, and why, and by the time they arrived she had prepared a room and had the kitchen door open the moment Ryder drove into the back courtyard. Neat as always in a navy dress and flowered apron, every grey hair in place, she beamed in welcome as Ryder helped Anna down from the Land Rover.

Unlike the black and white half-timbered houses common to most local architecture, the Manor was a classic Georgian cube with a pillared portico and floor to ceiling windows. Anna glanced up at them with a shiver, remembering the light blazing from them as she made her escape from Ryder’s party all those years ago.

‘Here she is, Martha,’ said Ryder.

‘You poor dear,’ said the housekeeper as Ryder took Anna inside. ‘What a thing to happen.’

‘I’m sorry to give you so much trouble, Mrs Carter,’ said Anna. ‘Ryder said you wouldn’t mind if I put some things in your washing machine. The intruder pawed through them and left them in a heap on the floor.’

‘Dirty beast,’ said Mrs Carter fiercely. ‘Just you hand them over, dear. I’ll see to them. I’ve put you in the little blue guest room because it heats up the quickest, but I’ve put hot-water bottles in the bed just in case. I’ll bring you a tray of supper after you’ve had a rest.’

Maternal coddling had been missing from Anna’s life since she was eight and, after the shock of the robbery, it was the last straw for her self-control. ‘So sorry,’ she said thickly, mopping at tears.

‘Don’t you apologise. You’ve got every right to cry after such a nasty shock. Now, I’ll see to these things while Mr Ryder takes you up to your room.’

Anna blew her nose and followed Ryder up a panelled staircase lined with portraits of former Wyndhams. He took her along the landing to a small, reassuringly cosy guest room, eyeing her searchingly as he put her bag down. ‘Do you really want to go straight to bed?’

She shook her head. ‘Are you going out?’ she asked awkwardly.

‘No.’

‘Then could I just sit downstairs with you?’

‘Of course,’ he said courteously. ‘If that’s what you prefer, I’d be delighted to have your company, Anna. I’ll tell Martha. Your bathroom’s through that blue door. In the meantime, take it easy for a while. I’ll be back for you in an hour.’

Anna felt grubby from mere contact with the clothes the intruder had handled. She would have liked a bath, but with no clean underwear at her disposal she contented herself with a vigorous wash before changing into the red sweater she’d packed. When Ryder came back for her she was sitting in a small blue armchair by the window, leafing through out-of-date magazines.

‘You look much better,’ he said in approval, then smiled as he noticed her reading matter. ‘We used to provide those for guests, but I haven’t done much entertaining since my father and Eddy died.’

‘Because you’re still grieving for them, Ryder?’ asked Anna, surprised to feel a pang of sympathy.

‘That’s certainly part of it. Losing them both in such a short space of time was pretty devastating. I needed time to myself to mourn them. I was also landed with a job I wasn’t trained for. Since the estate manager retired I’ve worked so damned hard I don’t have much inclination for socialising.’ He smiled wryly.

‘A lot different from life for you at one time,’ she commented.

‘Too true. In the old days in the City, juggling with other people’s millions, I burnt the candle at both ends, never imagining that one day I’d have to take over here. Eddy was the heir; I was just the spare.’ He smiled. ‘Dominic refers to himself as The Accident.’

‘During the very brief time we spent together,’ said Anna very deliberately, ‘Dominic told me he’s doing well at his auction house.’

Ryder acknowledged her barb with a wry smile. ‘He’ll do even better after he marries the founder’s granddaughter.’

‘Plus the inheritance you thought I lusted after,’ she reminded him tartly. ‘Did you really believe I was after Dominic—of all people—for his money?’

Ryder shrugged. ‘No point in lying. Until you put me right on the subject, I admit that I did, briefly. I couldn’t see what the attraction was otherwise in someone you’d known as a baby.’

‘At least you’re honest! Didn’t your aunt leave you anything?’

‘Aunt Augusta said I made too much money of my own to need hers. And she didn’t leave Eddy anything because he was the heir to the estate, so Dominic got the lot.’

Anna eyed him searchingly. ‘Do you hanker after your old life, Ryder?’

He shook his head. ‘Oddly enough, no. I enjoyed the cut and thrust of it at the time, not to mention the money that bought the smart flat and the sexy cars. But secretly I always envied Eddy. I would have exchanged it all in a flash to be in his shoes, running this place.’ Ryder smiled bitterly. ‘Then suddenly I was doing just that, in the last way I would have chosen. So, Anna Morton, the moral is to be careful what you wish for in case it’s granted.’

‘Amen to that,’ she said soberly as they went downstairs.

‘Mr Ryder won’t use the dining room these days,’ Mrs Carter apologised as Ryder seated Anna at a small table in the morning room.

‘This is much cosier,’ Anna assured her.

‘And much nearer the kitchen,’ added Ryder.

They ate perfectly grilled trout with lemon, served with small buttered potatoes and a green salad. Mrs Carter eyed Anna’s empty plate with approval when she arrived with their pudding. ‘Mr Ryder tells me you’ve had pneumonia, of all things, a young girl like you, Anna, so you need plenty of good food inside you to make sure you get over it properly. I’ve put cheese on the side table so I’ll just take these plates and leave you in peace.’

‘Thank you for a delicious meal,’ said Anna warmly. ‘This tart looks wonderful.’

‘I froze the raspberries myself in the summer, dear, so you enjoy a nice big slice with some cream.’ Mrs Carter smiled, pleased, as she bore her tray out of the room.

‘You heard what Martha said,’ commented Ryder as he served Anna. ‘You need to eat.’

‘Not hard to do when food like this is put in front of me.’ She helped herself to cream.

‘I hope you appreciate the eco-friendly menu. The potatoes and raspberries are home-grown and I caught the trout myself last season. That’s a very odd look you’re giving me,’ he added.

‘I was just wondering—but it’s none of my business,’ she added hastily. ‘Let’s talk about something else.’

He looked down his nose at her. ‘Are you wondering, by any chance, if the double death duties left me so stony broke I can’t afford to serve a decent meal?’

‘No, of course not.’ She bit her lip, flushing, wishing now she’d stayed at the cottage, broken window or not.

‘The simplicity of the menu,’ he said very deliberately, ‘is not due to lack of funds, Anna. It’s the kind of food we often eat. If I’d known it would worry you, I would have asked Martha to serve lobster and tournedos Rossini.’

Anna put down her fork without tasting the tart. ‘Perhaps I should have had supper in my room after all. You know perfectly well I wasn’t criticising the menu. And your funds, lack of them or otherwise, don’t interest me in the slightest—Squire.’

Ryder looked at her in silence for a moment. ‘I apologise for the cheap crack, Anna. Please eat the tart or Martha will be upset.’

‘I wouldn’t upset Mrs Carter for the world,’ said Anna pointedly and picked up her fork again.

‘Point taken,’ said Ryder. ‘But, just to put the record straight, I’m in a better position than some men who inherit this kind of place, due to the money I’d earned—and invested—in my banking days.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s good to have it as a cushion, I admit, but even without it I’m not destitute. I’m running the estate with the money left after the debts were settled, though I’m doing it rather differently from Eddy.’

‘In what way?’

‘By seeking new sources of revenue. When your grandfather retired, Eddy was all for selling off the shoots Hector used to organise, but there’s good money to be made in that area, so once I’ve hired a new gamekeeper I shall reinstate them. The facilities for catering are still in the barns and that kind of thing is pretty popular with jaded businessmen at weekends. I’ve also been approached by a television company to use the house as the setting for a period drama. Eddy would have hated that, but I jumped at the chance of more revenue for the estate.’

Anna nodded. ‘Sounds like a good move. By the way, did you show my grandfather how to play the market?’

‘Guilty as charged,’ he admitted. ‘Not that he needed much teaching. He was a natural.’

‘Do you still do that kind of thing yourself, Ryder?’

‘Sometimes, when it’s a cast-iron certainty.’ He smiled reminiscently. ‘I used to worry about Hector, but he’d just smile that slow smile of his and promise to be careful.’

‘Did he ever lose much money?’

‘To my knowledge he never lost a penny. A canny man, your grandfather.’

‘That he was. You know he left me the cottage?’

Ryder nodded. ‘He told me when he started the renovations.’

‘He left the equivalent in money to Dad and Tom and they’re worried that I got the poor deal.’ Anna shrugged. ‘But I earn enough to cover the running costs of the cottage. I’m a provident sort of female. And, contrary to some people’s belief,’ she added significantly, ‘money has never been my sole interest.’

‘Rubbing salt in my wound, Anna?’

‘Hard as I can!’ She smiled a little. ‘Though I shouldn’t when you’re being so kind, Ryder.’

‘The least I could do in the circumstances,’ he said, shrugging, and got up. ‘Martha will have coffee ready by now, so I’ll save her a journey.’

Anna felt a sense of intrusion as she took a good look round the pretty, comfortable room she’d never been in before. The kitchen had been the only territory familiar to her in the old days. Ryder had often taken the young Mortons in there for cake and drinks at the kitchen table, with Dominic delighted to be part of the group while his nanny enjoyed a cup of tea with Mrs Carter. She sighed. It all seemed so long ago, like something in another life.

‘What are you thinking about?’ asked Ryder, when he came back with a tray.

‘I was wallowing in nostalgia. It’s funny that Dominic, the youngest, will be the first of us to get married, after all.’

‘True. And I’m afraid this is tea, not coffee,’ added Ryder. ‘Martha thought it would be better for you after your shock.’

‘She’s absolutely right,’ said Anna gratefully. ‘I’d love some tea, if you’ll pour it.’

‘You feel shaky?’

‘Not in the least. I’m just afraid to touch that teapot. I saw one just like it valued at a frighteningly high price on one of the antiques programmes the other day.’

‘Really?’ Ryder eyed the pot with new respect. ‘We don’t use it normally. Martha obviously thought you merited the best china.’

‘I’m honoured!’

‘Hannah was the last one to merit the honour. Martha took to her in a big way.’

‘I suppose Dominic’s getting married in New York?’

‘Yes. Though when he brought Hannah on a visit to show her the ancestral home she was so taken with the Manor she was all for having the wedding in the village church with a reception right here at the house. But her parents, naturally enough, wanted her to be married from her own home.’ Ryder eyed her speculatively. ‘Talking of weddings, why aren’t you married yet, Anna?’

She shrugged. ‘Mr Right hasn’t shown up yet.’

‘But you lived with someone for quite a time. Hector used to keep me up to speed when I saw him.’

‘Did he also tell you he disapproved? To him it was living in sin.’ Anna pulled a face. ‘In actual fact it was nothing so exciting. Sean and I both worked such long hours we gradually saw less and less of each other. Eventually I discovered that we had totally different ideas about our relationship, so I moved out.’

‘Did he come here often?’

‘No. I preferred to visit Gramp on my own. You met Sean during the only weekend he ever came to the cottage. It never stopped raining and he never stopped complaining—not least because I insisted he slept in the spare bedroom. Gramp didn’t take to him, and not long after that I moved out of Sean’s flat.’

Ryder raised an eyebrow. ‘Because Hector didn’t approve?’

‘It was a contributory factor,’ she admitted. ‘They never said so, but I know Dad and Tom weren’t hugely keen either. But now I share a flat with Clare Saunders, someone my entire family approves of. Gramp took to Clare in a big way when she came to Keeper’s not so long ago.’

‘I met them when they were out for a walk.’ He looked at her. ‘You’d stayed behind. To avoid me, no doubt.’

‘Yes,’ she said frankly. ‘Gramp was keen to show Clare round the estate. I hope you didn’t mind.’

‘You really need to ask that?’

Her eyes kindled. ‘I wouldn’t have done once. But after the accusations you made I felt I didn’t know you any more.’

‘When I discovered my mistake I made sincere apologies,’ he reminded her coldly. ‘Since you flatly refused to accept them, I see no point in apologising again.’

‘Message received, Ryder.’ She got to her feet. ‘Thank you for supper, and for coming to my rescue. I’m a bit tired, so I’ll say goodnight.’

‘I’ll see you to your room,’ said Ryder, and walked upstairs with her in a silence he kept up until they reached the door of the blue room. ‘I hope you sleep well, Anna.’

‘Me, too,’ she said fervently.

He opened the door. ‘If you have nightmares about intruders, just yell. My room’s across the landing.’

‘Thank you. Goodnight.’ Anna closed the door, glad that someone would be close at hand in this big, empty house with its elegant high-ceilinged rooms. She’d been upstairs at the Manor occasionally when she was young, but only on rainy afternoons when Ryder sneaked her up the back stairs with Tom to his old room on the floor above. Now Ryder probably slept in state in the master bedroom that had been off limits to him in the old days.

The bed was comfortable, but Anna had no great hopes of a restful night after an evening that had been a strain from start to finish. And, added to that, she felt guilty about ringing Ryder instead of her father or Tom. It was only because Ryder was the nearest, she argued to herself, but that was only partly true. In spite of their differences, she’d had no hesitation in turning to him for help.

Ryder Wyndham had always been the ultimate hero to her—from the day she first met him, right up to the moment when he came crashing down from his pedestal. But tonight he’d come straight to her rescue and taken over with efficiency she couldn’t fault. If she was going to spend time at the cottage in future, it would be inconvenient to go on harbouring a grudge—much better to remember the casual, taken-for-granted friendship they’d shared as children. But in those days she had been blissfully ignorant of the social differences between them. Now, supposedly classless society or not, the gulf between the gamekeeper’s granddaughter and the Squire still yawned as wide as ever, as Ryder had proved beyond all doubt when he thought she had ambitions to marry into his family.

Anna woke to sunshine and a knock on the door.

‘Are you decent?’ called Ryder.

She scrambled upright, flipping her braid over her shoulder as she yanked the quilt up to her chin. ‘Yes.’

The door opened slowly as Ryder backed in with a tray. ‘Good morning. I saved Martha a trip.’

‘I would have come down,’ Anna protested as he laid the tray across her lap. And would have made sure she looked rather more appetising before she had.

‘Martha says you need looking after,’ said Ryder, shrugging.

Anna looked through a sudden mist of tears at the perfectly poached egg and crisp triangles of wholemeal toast.

‘Anna!’ Ryder stared at her in surprise. ‘You don’t have to eat the egg if you don’t want to.’

‘I do, I do,’ she said, sniffing inelegantly. ‘Sorry. It’s just that Mrs Carter’s so kind and—’

‘And you’ve had a shock and you’re grieving for Hector.’ The unexpected sympathy in his voice almost started her off again.

‘He always poached an egg for me when I was under the weather.’

Ryder went into the bathroom and came back with a handful of tissues. ‘Mop yourself up and try to eat something, if only to please Martha.’

‘Of course I will,’ said Anna, blowing her nose. ‘Sorry to be such a drama queen.’

‘Good girl. Martha will be up with some tea when you’ve finished.’

Good girl, thought Anna derisively as she began on her breakfast. Ryder behaved as though he were thirty years older than her, instead of just three. But from now on she must try hard to be less hostile, she reminded herself, for Gramp’s sake if nothing else. Hector Morton had been very fond of the Wyndham boys, Ryder most of all.

Mrs Carter arrived with a cup of tea and a bag of clean laundry just as Anna was finishing the last piece of toast. ‘That’s the way,’ she said, beaming in approval. ‘I didn’t want Mr Ryder to disturb you so early, but he said you’d be keen to get back to the cottage to put things straight before your father arrives.’

‘He’s absolutely right,’ said Anna with feeling. ‘But thank you so much for the laundry, and my delicious breakfast. I’ll just drink some tea, then I’ll get dressed. Would you tell Ryder I’d be grateful for a lift back in about half an hour?’

‘Very well, dear. Your bits of underwear are all fresh and clean and aired overnight on the Aga,’ said Mrs Carter, putting the bag on the bed. ‘You need to take care of yourself, Anna. You still look peaky to me.’

‘I’m fine, honestly, Mrs C.’ She pulled a face. ‘I have to be. I’m due back in work soon.’

Ryder was waiting in the kitchen when Anna got downstairs. He took her bag, waited while she said her goodbyes and then helped her up into the Land Rover.

‘Martha’s very worried about you,’ he stated as he drove off. ‘In her opinion you need to look a lot better before you can even think of going back to such a demanding job.’

‘Someone else might snaffle my demanding job if I don’t get back to it soon.’

‘Would that be such a tragedy?’

‘Not a tragedy exactly, but I’m good at what I do and it pays well. Now I’m a home-owner I need the money to keep my property up to scratch.’

‘Don’t worry about Keeper’s Cottage,’ said Ryder quickly. ‘I’ll make sure word gets out that I’m keeping an eye on it until the repairs are done.’

Anna shot him a startled look. ‘Heavens, I never thought about repairs. I’d better get something sorted before Dad arrives.’

‘How long is he staying?’

‘Just for lunch. He’s going back this afternoon.’

‘Then we’d better get a move on to inspect the damage.’

She shook her head decisively. ‘You needn’t stay to help me, Ryder! You’ve done more than enough already.’

‘That’s your phone,’ he said, ignoring her.

She fished it from her bag to read the text message. ‘It’s from Dad. He can’t make it today. He’ll ring later. Oh, well,’ she said philosophically, ‘that gives me more time to organise repairs. In which case I needn’t take up any more of your time, Ryder. I’m sure you have loads of things you should be doing.’