Free The Bronze Lady (Woodford Antiques Mystery Book 2) by Kathy Morgan Page A

surprisingly, was no, and she was concerned to hear that even though her holiday was in the diary, and had been for several months, there was some uncertainty about whether or not she would be able to take it due to a clash of dates with another vet.
    That evening Jennifer had sat at her desk in her home office, and made a list. She drew three columns : Reasons to Stay, in which security of job and job satisfaction were obvious contenders; Reasons to Leave, in which she was saddened to write ‘employer loyalty’ because this was the first time she had asked them for anything, and not only did they not have the time to sit down with her when she requested it, but she realised that all those extra unpaid hours she gave them and the times she had willingly come in at short notice on official days off, were expected rather than appreciated; and Reasons to Move, which was empty for most of the evening.
    Later she had prepared her evening meal, eaten it, washed up, phoned her sister for a chat, then phoned her mother, then phoned her father.
    And then wrote ‘BECAUSE I CAN’ in the empty column.
     
    She smiled to herself when the smell of her father’s cooking rose through the floorboards and reached her nose. Enthusiastically she jumped out of bed, ready to take on her first day at work as the New Girl again. Maybe she would have a bacon sandwich after all. Come on Life, let’s get started!

 
    Chapter 14
     
    Friday 18 th December 2015, 4.25pm
     
     
    ‘You may kiss your bride.’
    The ancient castle room erupted with loud cheers as Peter Isaac theatrically took his new wife Gemma in his arms and swung her around, before they gave each other a hearty snog. Laughing they broke away from each other, only to quickly come back together for a big hug, standing with their arms around each other looking around at their family and friends who had braved the blustery sleeting winter weather to come and help the happy couple celebrate their marriage in Brackendon Castle.
    The last five weeks had been a whirlwind of plans, lists, phone calls, shopping trips, emails, and excitement. After Peter proposed to Gemma Bartlett at the top of the hill in Brackendon Woods they had talked non-stop about wedding plans all the way back home. By the time they were having a celebratory meal that evening in The Ship Inn they had already told their children, agreed on the guest list, the venue, and the earliest date possible.
    The couple only met for the first time in April earlier that year, both had been married before and had children with their respective partners, but both of those relationships had ended in divorce. Despite their experiences neither Peter nor Gemma had any doubts about marrying again now they had met each other. They were having a real whirlwind romance, and thoroughly enjoying every minute of it.
    Gemma’s sons Nathan and Daniel, who were both in their early twenties, knew that Peter was going to propose to their mother because he had taken the precaution of checking they approved a few weeks before he asked her to marry him, so when they each received a phone call from the happy couple informing them of their forthcoming nuptials, both boys were genuinely delighted and pleased for their mum and soon-to-be step-father.
    Peter usually spoke to his daughters, who were both in their mid-twenties, at least once a fortnight by telephone, relying on texts and emails in the interim to keep in contact. The week before The Proposal he had tentatively raised the subject with them separately on the phone. Both Jennifer and Alison thought it was far too soon after the couple had met to be making such a permanent commitment, but they liked Gemma and were relieved to see their father happy after a very difficult few years, so had jointly given their support, although both expressed their reservations at the speed of the engagement. When their father phoned them individually with his news they both made an effort to sound totally