The Master of Highbridge Manor

‘I do know what you mean,’ he said, ‘about the manic passing of time—and I have a lot of sympathy with your outlook. In fact, I see my place in Somerset as the sanctuary I rely on to detach me from all the change and progress and stress you’re talking about. Life, there, does actually seem to stand still sometimes.’

She looked up at him gratefully. Just so long as he didn’t think she was crazy!

It was their turn to choose the food they wanted, and Ria was impressed by the variety on offer. There was deliciouslooking chicken, coated in a fine honey glaze, tender pork fillet with onion stuffing, thick slices of baked ham with peach dressing, an interesting-looking vegetarian alternative, plus several different vegetables or salad to go with it all. She looked up at Jasper.

‘How can I choose from all this?’ she asked helplessly.

‘The menu on our first day back is always rather selfindulgent, ’ he admitted, ‘but we must make the most of it—it’ll probably be mince and mash tomorrow!’

Helen was standing almost right behind them and she called out, ‘See what I mean, Ria? It never takes much persuasion to get me to stay for dinner occasionally.’

There was apparently no pecking order at the tables, everyone sitting where they liked and, seated between Helen and Jasper, Ria suddenly felt so overwhelmingly optimistic she could have burst into tears. It must be that glass of wine making her feel so sensitive, she thought, or the tender pork she’d just finished, right to the last morsel. Whatever it was, she wasn’t complaining and, when the glorious creamy desserts appeared at the counter, she felt as if she’d been invited to a wonderful celebration of some sort instead of her first night at her new job! She bit her lip—she hoped she wasn’t going to turn into Cinderella and find that this was all a charade, a terrible mistake that she was here at all. Then she silently kicked herself. Why spoil the evening with these horrible, dark thoughts? Why couldn’t she leave all that behind, once and for all? Was she never going to be able to believe that life could be good, happy and fulfilling once again?

The meal ended and they all stood up to leave just as Tim Robbinson sauntered across to speak to them. He was obviously younger than Jasper, Ria noted, his mass of brown curly hair framing a happy, uncomplicated face, reminding her of an oversized baby.

‘Hi, everyone,’ Tim said good-naturedly. ‘That was a great meal, Jasper.’

Jasper nodded. ‘Yes, it was.’ He paused. ‘Look, I’ve got a phone call to make,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you’d like to stay and have a few words with Ria, Tim. I’m sure there’s plenty of stuff she wants to find out.’

‘My pleasure,’ Tim said at once, smiling at Ria, and for the next twenty minutes or so the two sat chatting together easily.

Presently, the room emptied and, after saying goodnight to Tim, Ria wandered out of the building, breathing in the balmy air gratefully. She didn’t feel like going to bed yet because she wasn’t at all tired, she realized—her head too full of everything that had gone on, so turning impulsively, she decided to go for a short walk.

She had spotted a small wooded area behind the tennis courts and, curious to know where it led, she set off, her feet treading lightly over the short grass. Almost immediately, she could see that the path led to the cricket green—the surroundings of this school were almost unbelievably beautiful, she thought, certainly outdoing anything she’d ever known.

It was nearly dark now, as Ria came to a small gate leading to some open ground where a small flock of sheep were grazing and, leaning over it, she wished that she could hold this perfect tranquil moment for ever. What a fantastic—and rather unusual—slice of luck had come her way, she thought, that the temporary post she’d been looking for had landed her here! Could this be the first small ray of hope that the ball might bounce in her direction?

As usual, Ria’s introspectiveness threw the events of her life into sharp focus, once again, as she stood there…how different things might have been, she thought…if only. She certainly wouldn’t be here at Highbridge Manor. She would be cradling her longed-for baby in her arms and basking in the warmth and love of a real family. A faint snort of derision left her lips. In her dreams, she thought bleakly.

Suddenly, and without any warning, her eyes filled and two large tears gently coursed down her cheeks. And she didn’t try to stop them. It was good to cry, so she’d been told. So then, she’d cry. Well, she’d done enough of it in the last year. But it was strange that her feelings of happiness at being here could make her feel so sad.

‘Oh, dear—we haven’t upset you already, have we, Ria?’

Jasper had seen her walking away in the distance as he’d returned from parking the car and had decided to catch her up, to keep her company, admitting that something about her brought out all his protective instincts. Well, it was her first day, after all.

Nearly jumping out of her skin at the sound of his voice, Ria turned and looked up into those achingly desirable eyes, which were glistening more blackly than ever in the dim light, and she unzipped her bag, frantically searching for a tissue.

‘Oh…no…I think it’s a bit of hay fever, that’s all,’ she lied. ‘I do suffer from it occasionally.’

Help, she thought. How did he know where I was—and why did he follow me, anyway? She was going to have to pull herself together and act normally.

She found a tissue, dabbing at her eyes. ‘I was just admiring this wonderful place,’ she sniffed. ‘I hope the boys realize how lucky they are to be at school here.’

‘Oh, I doubt it,’ Jasper said flatly. ‘Did any of us appreciate our lives when we were young? It’s the norm to take everything for granted, isn’t it?’

Well, the good life had certainly been the norm for him and Carl, he acknowledged, feeling a sense of shame when he compared their lot with some of the boys who turned up here. The Trent brothers had had loving and diligent parents, whose one thought had been the well-being and happiness of their sons—and of all the children who passed through their school.

Neither spoke for a moment, then Ria said, pointing, ‘Does the school own all this land as well?’

‘Yes—that’s all part of us,’ he said. ‘Local farmers borrow it from time to time to feed their stock.’ He paused. ‘Observing those animals, hearing them grazing, pulling lazily at the grass, especially after the sun’s gone down, can be very therapeutic, ’ he added, and Ria glanced up at him quickly. He had expressed her own inner thoughts exactly.

He was standing very close to her now, so that they were almost touching, and for a ridiculous moment Ria wanted to lean into him, to feel the warmth of his body mingle with hers, to be comforted, to be loved. It must be wonderful to be the woman in his life, she thought—because there had to be one. There had to be a beautiful woman somewhere, waiting for this gorgeous, strong, dependable man to come home, she thought and, to her horror, Ria thought she was going to start crying again. But feeling sorry for herself was the last thing she could do with right now.

Moving away from him slightly, she blew her nose.

‘So, then, won’t you be sorry to leave all this when your brother comes back?’ she asked.

‘Oh…sort of…I suppose,’ he said non-committally. ‘But Carl is the one for this job, not me—not really. No, he is the headmaster par excellence.’

Something in the faintly sardonic tone of Jasper’s voice as he said that made Ria frown briefly. She was in no doubt that Jasper Trent had fulfilled his obligations to perfection during the short time he’d been in office. In fact, Tim had said as much, earlier. ‘Jasper has been terrific,’ he’d said, ‘and great to work with, so long as you watch your Ps and Qs…though he doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Which is why he’s so successful with the manufacturing business he owns in Somerset, I suppose,’ he’d added. ‘Everyone certainly knows exactly where they stand with him.’

Now, not really wanting to leave this spot, yet realizing that it was getting late, Ria turned to leave. ‘I suppose I should go back—and have a good night’s sleep,’ she said, glancing up and forcing herself to smile quickly at Jasper as he fell into step beside her.

He looked down at her thoughtfully. As soon as he’d reached her a few minutes ago, he’d known only too well that she was upset about something. And it had been nothing at all to do with hay fever, either. That season had not arrived yet. No, he sensed Ria Davidson to be far more vulnerable than the impression she liked to give—perhaps partly explained by the fact that she had spent so much of her childhood away from her family, he thought. She had also mentioned her stepmother briefly, hadn’t she. Perhaps they had never got on, and she still nurtured bad memories. But all that was unlikely to be the cause of her distress tonight, he reasoned. He hoped she wasn’t regretting accepting the post, regretting being here. Yet he knew that wasn’t the case. She had been so obviously grateful to have her own flat, and to earn the money which would help her get started on her travels, and during dinner she’d been lively and quite obviously feeling happy.

He shrugged inwardly. Keeping the staff contented with their lot, sorting out emotional and practical problems with everyone from time to time, had been one of the most difficult aspects of the job and Carl was welcome to have it back, he thought.

They walked back together in comparative—but surprisingly easy—silence, and by now it was almost pitch-black. But the security lights everywhere were more than sufficient to light up their path as they returned to the school building.

‘I’m just going back to my car for a moment,’ Ria said. ‘Something I’ve forgotten.’

‘I’ve forgotten something, too,’ he said, looking down and smiling briefly.

They made their way to the far side of the building towards the car park, Ria hugging her bare arms because, despite the warmth of the day, the night air had a distinctly chilly feel about it. Opening her car door, she reached over to the glovebox where she’d left the novel she was presently reading. It was by one of her favourite authors and Ria was glad that she’d remembered she’d left it behind. A few chapters later would relax her and give her what she hoped would be a restful night.

As she walked back slowly, Jasper was slamming his door and he looked up as she came up to him.

‘I’d forgotten my book,’ Ria said, trying to hide it under her arm. She didn’t imagine that her current choice of bedtime reading would meet with the headmaster’s approval!

‘And I’d forgotten my jacket,’ he remarked, slinging it casually over one shoulder.

‘Well, I wish I’d remembered to bring mine because it’s not quite summer yet, is it?’ she began and, before she could think—or say—another word, she found her shoulders being covered by Jasper’s jacket as he wrapped it around her.

‘There—that had to be the reason why I forgot to take this with me earlier,’ he said, and at his touch Ria’s whole body trembled—with what? she asked herself desperately. Not with desire, surely! Her tongue went dry at the thought. Hadn’t desire, as far as she was concerned, been extinguished for ever? And, if it hadn’t, would she ever let it put her at risk again? She quickened her step, going slightly ahead of him for a second, wanting to put space between them.

‘Well, that was lucky for me, then,’ she said, needing to get back to the sanctity and privacy of her room. ‘Thank you…Jasper.’ Did her voice sound as tremulous to him as it did to her?

They returned to the building and Jasper paused for a moment, looking down at her. ‘Well, then…classes start in earnest on Thursday,’ he said. ‘Tim will be looking after you.’

‘Yes, thanks—he’s already spoken to me about the last bit of the course we’ve got to cover,’ Ria said, turning away. ‘Goodnight, then…’

‘Goodnight, Ria,’ he said slowly. ‘By the way,’ he began, and there was a pause as she glanced back at him questioningly. ‘Um…my jacket?’ he suggested mildly, and Ria gasped, slipping it from her shoulders.

‘Of course! I’m so sorry…I’d forgotten about it—it felt so…cosy,’ she said, blushing. How could she have forgotten she had on something that was about ten sizes too big for her?

As he took it from her, her book fell to the floor and he immediately stooped to retrieve it. He glanced at the cover before handing it back to her without comment, and Ria’s heart sank. Why couldn’t it have been her copy of War and Peace instead of the colourful romantic novel she was enjoying?

They parted company and, after making his normal, latenight check-up and speaking to the caretaker, Jasper went back to his own flat, which was four away from the one Ria was occupying. As he passed her door, he imagined her slipping out of her clothes, perhaps already soaping her delectable figure under the shower, letting the water caress her creamy skin…

As he shut his door—with an unnecessarily firm bang—he cursed himself volubly. He was a hopeless case, he told himself grimly, because he knew he was in danger of being emotionally trapped yet again—big time. He had enjoyed the company of too many beautiful women in his life, admitting that he’d taken his time in choosing the one he would eventually select as his wife…and what a bloody nose she’d given him! Why wasn’t he more like Carl, who never seemed to need a woman? Carl seemed happy and content to focus entirely on his career, on this school and its continuing status and success.

Jasper stared moodily in the mirror, his eyes gleaming with dark intensity as his thoughts ran on. Then he turned resolutely. This latest female to stir his masculine propensities would be gone out of his sight for ever in a matter of months—and, until then, he’d make sure he had as little to do with her as was humanly possible. It was imperative—vital—for him to keep his mind, his thoughts, fixed on his responsibilities here, for this final term. Surely he could manage that.

As he went to hang up his jacket, the faintest drift of Ria’s perfume, still lingering in the fabric, reached his nostrils and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. That didn’t help! Next time—perhaps every time—that he wore it, she would be right there close to him, taunting him, teasing him, without even realizing it.

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