Free Escape to the Country by Patsy Collins Page A

lamps and tables and a cabinet stocked with crystal
glasses and all types of tempting looking drinks. What bliss it would
be to pour a warming drink after a hard day's work and to curl up in
one of those chairs with a good book. She craned her neck to see if
there was a fireplace. She couldn't see one, but felt sure there
would be and that it would be laid ready so a match was all that was
needed to supply warmth and the comforting scent of wood smoke. She
giggled as she realised that in her daydream she was pouring two
drinks as Duncan bent to apply the flame to dry kindling.
    Oh well, back to reality. She couldn't confront Mr Gilmore-Bunce but
that wasn't his fault so she'd try not to let her anger build against
him. She had every right to be angry, but it wouldn't help her try to
reason with him and persuade him to fix the roof on Primrose Cottage.
    As she turned to walk back down the path, she saw she wasn't even
being ignored - Duncan the tractor driver was watching her. It
shouldn't really have surprised her to see him in the yard of the
farm where he worked, but she hadn't expected to see anyone other
than Gilmore-Bunce.
    "Hi, Leah. Can I help with anything?" he asked pleasantly.
    To hide her embarrassment at having been caught snooping and
daydreaming of him, Jayne demanded, "Where's your rotten good
for nothing boss?"
    "Who?"
    "Oliver Gilmore-Bunce. This is his house isn't it?"
    "Yes, it is but he's not actually in there at the moment. What's
he done to upset you?"
    "It's more what he hasn't done. Fix the leak in Jayne's roof."
    "I'll have a word with him." Duncan seemed to be finding
this funny.
    "He'll listen to a tractor driver?"
    Duncan frowned at her for a moment as though he didn't quite
understand, then grinned.
    "Well maybe if I tug my forlock enough, he'll speak to someone
as lowly as me."
    "I didn't mean that. It's just he's so pompous. There's nothing
wrong with being a tractor driver..." And hadn't Jayne said he
was a foreman? Her anger with Gilmore-Bunce had made her be rude -
which just made her hate him all the more.
    "It's OK, I was teasing. You really don't like Oliver
Gilmore-Bunce do you?"
    "No. Neither would you if you knew him like I do."
    "Oh?"
    She could see he was trying not to laugh. Oh dear, he didn't think
she knew him intimately did he?
    "I work for a company that handles a lot of his investments.
Something went wrong with his account and he accused me of fraud and
got me the sack."
    "You were sacked? That's dreadful. No one has the right to sack
you without proof and I just can't believe you were to blame."
    Duncan really was sweet. He didn't immediately assume the fault must
have been hers and looked sorry that she'd suffered. If it had been
him she'd turned to immediately after her boss had told her of his
suspicions and suspended her, Duncan would have given her the hug she
so badly needed.
    "Well, I'm not actually sacked, just suspended while they
investigate, but my boss did think I was to blame. I'm not so sure
what he thinks now."
    "Good, well hopefully the investigation will clear your name.
Maybe there's been a misunderstanding or there's a reasonable
explanation?"
    "You're very loyal to him."
    "Mr Gilmore-Bunce?"
    "Yes. He's the one that accused me and demanded that action be
taken."
    "If his money was taken then you couldn't expect him to just
overlook it."
    "Well, no." That was true. She hadn't really thought about
it from his point of view. She gathered there were several hundred
thousand pounds missing and it was probably natural for him to assume
the person handling his account was to blame. He'd put his trust in
the company and therefore her, no wonder he was angry and demanding
action.
    "Leah, is Jayne your father's sister?"
    "Yes. Why?"
    "I just wondered. Er... Leah, I do have a good reason for seeing
things from Mr Gilmore-Bunce's point of view."
    "Or you'll lose your job, yes I see. I know what that's like.
Sorry I don't want to put you in a difficult position so I'll