Playboy Under the Mistletoe
Joanna Neil

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Table of Contents

Cover Page

Title Page

About the Author

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Copyright

When JOANNA NEIL discovered Mills & Boon®, her lifelong addiction to reading crystallised into an exciting new career writing Medical™ Romance. Her characters are probably the outcome of her varied lifestyle, which includes working as a clerk, typist, nurse and infant teacher. She enjoys dressmaking and cooking at her Leicestershire home. Her family includes a husband, son and daughter, an exuberant yellow Labrador and two slightly crazed cockatiels. She currently works with a team of tutors at her local education centre, to provide creative writing workshops for people interested in exploring their own writing ambitions.

Chapter One

WHY on earth had she agreed to do this? Jasmine risked a glance down from the lofty platform of the metal fire tower and immediately regretted it. Just looking out from that height made her feel dizzy, and it didn’t help that the eager crowd watching from below were way too far away for their faces to be seen clearly. At this rate, with nausea and vertigo both coming into play, she’d very soon be a patient for real, instead of simply acting the part.

‘You’ll be fine,’ Mike had said, in cheerful mood after he had persuaded her to take part. ‘You’re used to walking the fells in the Lake District, aren’t you? And I recall you said you had attempted to climb Scafell Pike and Helvellyn, so this should be no problem at all. We’re demonstrating a crag rescue here, and you know how that goes. Forget that this looks like a scaffolding structure. Just imagine that you’re stranded on Scafell Pike, and everything will drop into place.’

Jasmine winced at his choice of words. Right now, the notion of anything dropping anywhere was enough to make her stomach plunge all over again. Not that Mike had any qualms about this venture. He was a coordinator for the various mountain rescue teams in this part of the country, and of course he would have very few concerns about the exercise.

‘It’s not at all the same,’ she had protested. ‘I had time to prepare for those and they didn’t present me with a sheer, vertical face…not the bits I attempted, anyway.’ She had shuddered. ‘I can’t think why I let you talk me into it.’

Mike had chuckled. Determinedly optimistic, he had urged her towards the base of the tower and coaxed her up the ladder to begin the ascent, following close behind her.

Which was why she was stuck here now, alone on the topmost platform, pretending to be someone who was lying injured on a crag. Lying injured…The words struck a chord of memory, and she recalled what Mike had said. ‘Flail your arms around a bit and cry out for help. The crowd will love that. Then sink to your knees and pretend to topple over. After that, all you have to do is lie still and let the rescue team do the rest.’

So that’s what she would do…anything to get this over and done with. She would perform her heart out for the crowd of people who were watching the rescue demonstration from the safety of the fire station’s courtyard.

She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep warm. It was not the best of times to be carrying out this operation—a freezing cold December day, with a smattering of snow in the air and the wind buffeting her from all angles.

It was also the final day of her course, marking the end of her week-long stay at the luxurious nearby hotel, and maybe if she lay down and thought about the comforting lounge waiting back there, with its logburning fire, and the delicious cocktails or the aromatic pot of hot coffee that the waitress would bring, it would take away some of the stress of her present situation.

With that in mind, she went into her act with a bit more enthusiasm. ‘Help,’ she shouted, waving her arms and pretending to stumble. ‘Help me, someone, please, help me. My leg’s broken.’

Then she sank to the floor of the platform and waited for her rescuer to arrive.

It wasn’t long before she heard sounds of activity coming from the ground below, along with the clink of chains and pulleys, and then, finally, she felt the thud of movement as someone began climbing the tower.

The whole edifice seemed to judder as her rescuer approached, but perhaps it was her overwrought imagination playing tricks on her. The tower was solidly based, wasn’t it? It would not topple.

Even so, a faint film of perspiration broke out on her brow. The nausea began to return in full force and she muttered a few curses that should have had Mike squirming in his boots if he’d been anywhere near.

‘Whatever did Mike do to deserve all that vitriol?’ a deep, male voice enquired, the tone threaded with a hint of amusement. ‘Letting loose a plague on him is kind of overkill, don’t you think?’

‘You wouldn’t say so if you were in my shoes,’ she retorted, sucking in a sharp breath. ‘I could have been watching all this from a safe distance if it weren’t for him. I could even have slipped away out of the cold and gone back to the hotel to enjoy a glass of something laced with a warming dash of brandy.’

‘You can still do that.’ The man swung his legs over the metal rail and dropped down onto the platform beside her. He hauled a metal basket stretcher over the bar, and placed it down on the platform floor. Then he looked at her, taking in her pale features, and in an instant the smile on his face became transfixed, very much as though he had suddenly found himself locked in a time warp.

‘Jasmine?’ The word was a soft breath of sound. ‘Is it really you?’ His gaze was fastened on her, his eyes widening as though he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

She stared back at him. ‘Ben?’ All at once she couldn’t breathe. What was he doing here? What did he have to do with the rescue services, and how was it that she should run into him again after all this time?

‘How long has it been?’ he asked, echoing her thoughts. ‘Five years?’

‘Something like that.’ She frowned. Her jaw was locked in a spasm of disbelief and shock was beginning to set in. She had never imagined that she would ever see him again, but here he was, in the flesh, and even after all the years that had gone by, it was clear that he still had the ability to make her heart pound and cause the air in her lungs to be constricted.

He hadn’t changed at all. He was as ruggedly handsome as ever, his black hair neatly cropped to outline his sculpted features, those blue eyes ever watchful and his mouth beautifully expressive, just as she remembered.

‘You’re down here to take part in one of the courses being run at the Royal Pennant Hotel, I take it? I’ve been speaking to a few of the people who were attending the medical seminars.’ He had come out of his reverie and had snapped back into action in an instant, beginning to prepare the metal cradle to receive its patient.

It wasn’t so easy for Jasmine to get back into the swing of things, but she made an effort. ‘That’s right. “Critical Care and The Role of the First Responder”.’ This last day was taken up with the activities of the emergency services, and although it wasn’t an essential part of her course, she had stayed on to get a better idea of what was involved. It was already on the cards that one of these days her job with A and E might involve her going out on call. In fact, up until now the idea of doing that had been quite appealing.

‘We’d better slide you onto this stretcher and get you strapped in,’ Ben said, becoming businesslike. ‘People will be wondering what’s going on.’

How had he managed to return to his customary efficiency within a matter of minutes? She felt oddly disgruntled. It hadn’t taken him long to get over his astonishment at seeing her again, had it? But, then, why should she expect him to be affected in any way by meeting up with her? He had made his final break with the village five years ago, leaving without so much as a backward glance, and why should it matter to him that he had left her nursing a bruised and battered heart?

He frowned, glancing at her briefly. ‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes, I’m fine.’ She wasn’t going to let him in on any of her thoughts. Far better that he should remain in blissful ignorance. Ben Radcliffe had the power to unsettle her without even trying, and she had discovered long ago that her only defence against him was to keep her feelings locked away inside her.

She shivered a little as soft flakes of snow began to drift around her, settling here and there on her jacket. ‘Shouldn’t there be someone else up here with you, doing this work?’ she asked.

He shook his head. ‘The powers that be planned this as a one-man rescue…for places where there is restricted access. So I’m on my own. But, no matter…I’ll splint the broken leg and lift you into the cradle as gently as I can.’ He gave a half-smile. ‘It shouldn’t be too difficult. If I remember correctly, you were always a slip of a girl. It doesn’t look as if things have changed very much.’

She frowned. How could he tell? She was wearing a waterproof jacket over a warm woollen sweater and snug-fitting denim jeans. For extra warmth she had added an Angora scarf. She wished she could pull it up over her face so that she could hide away from him, very much like an infant who imagined that with her eyes covered she could not be seen. She didn’t want him reading her thoughts and dragging her vulnerabilities out into the open after all this time.

‘Are you still living at the cottage?’ he asked, deftly strapping splints into place. For extra security, he bound both of her legs together.

‘Yes, I am. I never left Woodsley Bridge. I suppose I was fortunate in that I was able to do most of my medical training at the local hospital.’ That had been the perfect option for her, but it hadn’t done for Ben, had it? He’d started his medical tuition at a prestigious teaching hospital in Carlisle, some eighty miles away from Woodsley, coming home whenever he’d had a few days off just to make sure that his grandmother was all right. Even after she’d died, he’d come back to Mill House once in a while to keep an eye on things, but in the end, when other opportunities had beckoned, he couldn’t wait to leave the village behind once and for all.

He glanced at her briefly. ‘You always did love being home and having your family close by, didn’t you?’ His mouth made a bleak downward turn, but it was there only for an instant, so fleeting that she might have imagined it. His good humour was restored almost at once. ‘Let’s get you onto the stretcher, shall we?’

‘All right.’

He knelt down beside her and leaned closer. ‘I’m going to put my arms around you and lift you onto it. You don’t need to do anything except keep very still. Let me do all the work, okay? We have to do this for real, just in case anyone down there has a long-range camera lens zoomed in on us.’

She made a face. That possibility was more than likely. The press were out in force, along with a team from the regional TV studios, keen to film the day’s activities. It wasn’t just the people on the course who were interested in what was going on—visitors from all around had come to see the events being staged by the rescue services. The hotel was doing a roaring trade.

He slid his arms around her, cradling her for a moment as he tested her weight, and that was almost her undoing. How many times had she wondered how it would feel to have him hold her this way, only to shy away from that thought? But now it was happening for real, so that she felt the strength of those arms closing around her and became aware of his innate gentleness, and above all she absorbed the warmth of his body next to hers.

‘Ready?’ His cheek brushed hers as he moved to get a better grip, sending a ripple of flame to run through her veins. In the next moment she was being lifted and very carefully placed on the stretcher. ‘Okay, now we need to swing your legs into position. Easy now…Let me take the weight…Remember you have a nasty fracture. As soon as we have you settled, I’ll fasten the harness.’

She was glad when the manoeuvre was finished. Every time his hands touched her, to position her or adjust a strap, her body went into meltdown. She wasn’t at all sure how much more of this she could handle before she ended up giving herself away. It wouldn’t do to have him know how her fickle, treacherous body responded to having him near.

He was the man who’d had the girls back home burning up in a fever of excitement. He’d only had to look in their direction and they had queued up, vying for his attention, and she had vowed she wouldn’t be one of them. Ben was never going to stay around long enough to have a long-lasting relationship with anyone, was he? He couldn’t even manage to make a go of things with his father.

‘Are you all set?’ He gave her a fleeting glance. ‘I’m going to climb back over the tower and give the signal to the men on the ground so that they can begin hauling on the ropes to lower you down.’

She nodded warily. ‘Are you quite sure they’re going to hold?’ The stretcher rocked from side to side as he tugged on the ropes and raised it up a fraction. Perhaps if she just closed her eyes and imagined she was swinging in a hammock in her mother’s garden, this whole nightmare would end.

Her unease must have shown in her expression, because he chuckled softly. ‘I’ll be with you all the way to steady the stretcher as you make the descent. My harness is attached to the line so that I’ll be alongside you. My feet will be on the base rail of the stretcher. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll take care of you. Trust me.’

She closed her eyes fleetingly. She had long ago given up on any idea that he would be there to take care of her, or that he would be by her side whenever she needed him. Those were dreams from fantasy-land, weren’t they? As her brother’s friend, he had always been around, coming to the house, teasing her playfully until warm colour had filled her cheeks…but that was where it had ended. She had always been stranded on the fringes of his circle, looking on from afar, watching him struggle with his own demons and being unable to do anything to help.

He gave the signal to the waiting rescue team and then supported the basket stretcher as it was lifted over the rail. Then he followed, true to his word, accompanying her every bit of the way, his feet resting on the base of the stretcher, his long body leaning over her, his hands guiding the rope that lowered them to the ground. It was strangely comforting having him watch over her that way.

It was all over in a matter of minutes. ‘You’re safe now,’ Ben said, giving her a reassuring look as they reached ground level. ‘Home and dry. No worries.’

The people assembled in the courtyard were clearly impressed with the smoothness of the operation, and there were smiles all around. Ben supervised Jasmine’s transfer into the waiting ambulance, and then Mike appeared with steaming mugs of coffee. Once she was out of range of the onlookers, the patient miraculously recovered.

Freed from the restraints of the harness, she sat up and looked around at the interior of the ambulance. The windows were darkened and with the doors closed they were spared from prying eyes.

‘That was a great show,’ Mike said, looking from one to the other. ‘A very smooth rescue mission…so you’ll be able to go home now and relax.’ He paused. ‘Until next time.’ He grinned at Jasmine’s pained expression.

‘I don’t think you should be having any ideas on that score,’ she told him, giving him a look from under her lashes and clasping her coffee mug with both hands so that the warmth seeped into her. ‘I’m not likely to be volunteering again any time soon.’

Mike feigned disappointment. ‘Are you quite sure about that? I had you pencilled in for at least ten more meetings.’

She frowned. There was no way.

Sitting across from her on the opposite stretcher bed, Ben gave a wry smile. ‘Jassie copes well enough on mountain slopes where she can fend for herself,’ he said, ‘but this is not quite the same. She’s never been one to rely on others, so putting herself in someone else’s hands must have been quite an ordeal. She’s always been an independent soul.’

Jasmine sipped her coffee. His comment startled her. He seemed very sure of himself, as though he knew these things for a fact, so could it be that in the past he had actually been aware of her presence when she had thought him oblivious? It was true they had belonged to a group that regularly climbed the fells, but she had always teamed up with a friend on those occasions, whilst he had been accompanied by his fellow medical students. She frowned. Had he really taken note of what she was doing back then?

‘Well, she did a great job today…you both did,’ Mike said. He stood up. ‘I’ll say goodbye, then. Drink up and get warm. I should go and see what the rest of the team are up to…so thanks for your help this afternoon, both of you. I’ll look forward to meeting up with you again.’

They nodded and murmured their goodbyes, and Mike left the ambulance, closing the door behind him to keep out the cold wind.

‘What will you be doing now?’ Ben asked, looking at Jasmine. ‘I’m guessing this is your last day, isn’t it? Are you planning on going straight back to the hotel?’

She nodded. ‘I need to pack up my things and start heading back to the Lake District. It’s been a good week, but I’m looking forward to going home. I’m supposed to be helping my mother put up Christmas decorations this weekend, and once that’s done I’ll make a start on my own place.’

‘Are you sure that it’s wise to travel that distance in this weather? It’s over sixty miles away, isn’t it?’ Ben was frowning. ‘The snow doesn’t seem to be clearing up, and if it thickens and starts to settle, the roads could soon be covered. Wouldn’t you do better to stay overnight at the hotel?’

‘And risk being stranded here?’ She shook her head. ‘The main roads should stay fairly clear, I imagine, if the gritters have been at work. My room is booked for the night, but I think I’d prefer to set off as soon as possible and take my chances.’

‘Hmm.’ He studied her thoughtfully. ‘So you won’t be staying to have dinner at the hotel before you leave? It had occurred to me that perhaps we might have a meal together and talk over old times.’

She hesitated a moment before answering. From the way he was talking, he must believe that everything that had gone before was simply water under the bridge. The fact that his thoughtless actions had ruined her brother’s life hadn’t made so much as a dent in his confidence, had it? Or perhaps he felt that enough time had passed, the situation had changed, and they could all go on as if nothing had happened. For her own part, she couldn’t make up her mind whether he was entirely to blame for what had gone on. She was fiercely loyal to her brother, but sometimes life didn’t turn out quite the way people wanted.

‘That would have been something to look forward to,’ she answered softly, ‘but I daren’t risk any delay. I just have to stop by the hotel to pick up a suitcase and some packages—I managed to do quite a bit of Christmas shopping while I’ve been staying here. It seemed like too good an opportunity to miss, looking around the shops in a different town.’

Still, the thought of sitting down to eat a hot meal before she set off was very tempting right now—she wasn’t even going to think about how it would be to stay with Ben for a little while longer.

As an afterthought, she added, ‘But perhaps I could ask room service to send up a light meal and we could talk while I do my packing? After all, it probably wouldn’t be wise to start the journey on an empty stomach, would it?’

As soon as the words slipped out, she was regretting them. What had possessed her to suggest such a thing? Was she mad? He was her brother’s sworn enemy, a heartbreaker with no conscience, and here she was, actively encouraging him to spend time with her…and in her hotel room, at that. Had she taken leave of her senses?

‘I’d like that,’ Ben said, a look of satisfaction settling on his features. ‘I’ll follow you back there, just as soon as you’re ready to leave.’

‘I’m ready now.’ She’d already burnt her boats, so she may as well go where the tide led her. ‘As you say, the weather’s not good, so it would be as well not to delay too long.’ She stood up, taking time to adjust her scarf before picking up her empty cup and heading towards the door of the vehicle. Ben responded swiftly, unfurling his long body from the seat and going after her.

They went to the car park, and from there they started the journey to the Royal Pennant Hotel. Ben followed her for some two miles along the Yorkshire roads until at last they turned into the hotel’s wide forecourt. He drove carefully, she noticed, all the time mindful of the road conditions. The snow had turned to sleet, making the lanes slippery and treacherous.

She wasn’t looking forward to the long drive home. Her small car was reliable, but it wasn’t built for good manoeuvrability in snow and ice. His car, on the other hand, was an executive-style, midnight-blue saloon, built for power and road-holding capability.

It was a relief to arrive at the hotel, and the grand entrance hall was more than welcoming. It positively enveloped Jasmine with its warmth, reflected in the glow of polished mahogany timber, the sweep of luxurious carpet, and the orange and gold flames of the fire that crackled in the huge fireplace.

‘My room’s up on the first floor,’ she told Ben. ‘I’m lucky in that I have a small sitting room set apart from the sleeping area, so we’ll be able to eat in comfort.’

‘That sounds ideal.’

Once they were in the room, Jasmine waved him to a seat by the table, and then took off her scarf and jacket and laid them over the back of a chair to dry.

‘This is a lovely room,’ he commented, looking around. ‘It’s all very tastefully decorated.’

She nodded. The curtains and upholstery gave it an elegant but homely feel, and everything was pleasing on the eye.

Ben glanced beyond the sitting room to where part of the large double bed was visible, its counterpane matching the fabric of the curtains. ‘It’s good that they’ve separated the sleeping area from the living area with a narrow wall partition—it tends to give a notion that they are individual rooms and yet keeps the general feeling of spaciousness.’

‘Yes, it does. I was really pleased when I first saw the room. I wouldn’t have chosen to be away from home, but I’ve been comfortable here, and I have everything I might need, like a phone, desk and writing materials. I also brought my laptop with me so I’ve been able to sit here of an evening and type up my notes from the course.’

She ran a hand through her long, burnished chestnut hair, tossing her head slightly, allowing the waves to ripple freely. It was good to be uncluttered by her outer garments, and for the first time that day she took a deep, satisfying breath, content to be back in the cosy confines of her room.

‘Perhaps you’d like to order room service for both of us,’ she suggested, ‘while I start on my packing?’ She glanced at Ben as she went to place her suitcase on the bed, but something in his gaze made her stop what she was doing.

He was watching her closely, a glimmer of pure, male interest in his blue glance as it trailed over her, taking in the silky sweep of her hair and wandering down to trace a path over the gentle curve of her hips.

‘I’d almost forgotten how beautiful you are,’ he murmured, his gaze returning to settle on the soft curve of her mouth. ‘Whenever I thought about you, I’d remember your smile, the way you had of looking at me with that guarded expression, as though you weren’t quite sure what trouble I’d land myself in next. But it was always your hair that fascinated me. It’s so glorious that I’d long to run my fingers through it, very much as you did just then.’ He smiled. ‘Only I would have lingered a while longer, I think.’

His gently seductive manner unsettled her, causing her to falter as she set the suitcase down on the bed. Had he really been thinking about her from time to time? She hadn’t expected that. How was she to deal with this man from her past now that he had turned up, out of the blue, the one man she had kept at a distance all this time for fear of being hurt? He’d been a charmer, a man who’d known exactly how to wind women around his little finger, and it didn’t seem as though much had changed.

She fumbled with the zip of the suitcase, encountering resistance, and within a second or two Ben was beside her, his hand resting briefly on hers. The fleeting contact caused a tide of heat to surge through her veins and brought a soft flush of colour to her cheeks.

‘There you are,’ he said. ‘It’s free now.’

‘Thank you.’ She tried breathing slowly and deeply for a while in an effort to calm herself down. She studied him, letting her gaze run over his features and trying to assess what really lay behind that calm, unruffled exterior. ‘It’s been a while since we last ran into one another,’ she murmured, struggling to find her voice. ‘I’m surprised that you thought about me at all.’

‘It would be hard not to think about you,’ he responded with a faint smile. ‘After all, we both lived in the same village, and I watched you grow from a lively tomboy who landed in almost as many scrapes as I did into a lovely, serene and accomplished woman. It would have been very strange if I had forgotten you after that, just because we were separated by a few miles.’

She gave him a long, thoughtful look. Was he teasing her, trying to lead her along the same route that all those unsuspecting young women had travelled back home…like Anna, her brother’s girlfriend? She had to be wary of him. He simply wasn’t to be trusted.

‘Like I said, maybe you should order some food for us…the menu is on the desk. I’ll have a jacket potato with cheese, please. And a pot of coffee would be good. I’ve a feeling I’ll need something to sustain me on the journey.’

He nodded, accepting her change of subject without comment. Glancing through the menu, he said, ‘I think I’ll go with the ham and cheese melt. Leave it with me.’

She nodded and turned back to her packing. Some fifteen minutes later, she had managed to cram most of her belongings into her case, and Ben lent a hand with zipping it up.

‘All this for one week?’ he murmured, lifting a questioning brow. ‘How can any woman need so many changes of clothes in such a short space of time—unless, of course, you’ve been throwing yourself wholeheartedly into the night life? A few boisterous nights in the bar with the people on your course?’ He was looking at her quizzically, and she shook her head, giving off an air of innocence. He lifted a dark brow.

‘Well, maybe a couple,’ she amended with a laugh. ‘Though they weren’t what you’d call boisterous…more of a lively and animated type of evening, I’d say, especially as the night wore on.’

His eyes took on a contemplative expression. ‘No intimate dinners for two, then? Does that mean you’re not involved in any serious relationship at the moment? Or maybe you’ve a boyfriend waiting for you back home?’

She frowned. Why did he want to know that? There was no way she was going to let him wheedle his way into her affections, was there, given his past history? Enough was enough, and she decided to sidestep his questions. Why should he learn every detail of her private life when she knew nothing of his? Simply guessing what he might have been up to was bad enough.

‘It means,’ she said, looking down at her overstuffed case, ‘that I’ve packed my suitcase full of the Christmas presents I’ve bought for friends and family while I’ve been up here. Like I said, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore the shops in a new town…and with Christmas just three weeks away, there was no time to lose, was there?’

His mouth curved. ‘I guess not,’ he said, accepting her avoidance tactics with good enough grace. Then he moved away from her as a waiter arrived with the food, setting it out on the table.

‘I ordered a couple of desserts, too,’ Ben told her when the man had gone. ‘All this is my treat,’ he said. ‘I told the receptionist I would be paying for it.’

‘Thank you…but you didn’t need to do that.’ She eyed up the mouth-watering fruit crumble topped with creamy custard and felt all her good intentions fade away. How had he known that was her favourite? ‘That’s my diet blown for the week,’ she added mournfully.

He laughed. ‘I don’t believe that you’ve ever needed to diet in your life,’ he said, looking her over. ‘You’ve a perfect hourglass figure…’

She steeled herself not to rise to his bait. ‘Perhaps you should sit down and eat before the food gets cold,’ she suggested, doing her best to bat his comments to one side. ‘And tell me how it is that you came to be working with the rescue services this afternoon. I thought you were working in A and E, the same as me.’

She pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him at the table. Glancing out of the window she could see that in the grey light of the afternoon the snow was beginning to thicken, fat white flakes coming down in a steady flow.

‘I wanted to try something different,’ he said, taking a bite out of his toasted sandwich. ‘I used to enjoy climbing in the Lake District and thought I might volunteer my services for the mountain rescue team. Then one of the team members here fell sick, so Mike asked me to come and do today’s stint. I suppose that’s why you didn’t see my name on the advertising bumph.’

She nodded. ‘I wondered if it was something like that.’ She scooped up a mound of potato. ‘I expect you know most of your local team already, don’t you? That will probably make things easier for you, won’t it?’

He shook his head. ‘I won’t be working with my local team because I’m preparing to go back to Woodsley. I’ve served out my notice at the hospital where I’ve been these last few years.’

Jasmine put down her fork and stared at him. ‘You’re going home? After all this time?’

‘That’s right. I might not be too welcome back there, but five years has perhaps been long enough for me to stay away. There are things I need to deal with, and I think it’s probably high time I started to put my life in order.’

She pressed her lips together. The news had come as a huge shock. How was she going to cope if Ben came back to the village? Woodsley Bridge was a relatively small place, and the chances of seeing him around and about were pretty great. There would be no escape.

Even so, she couldn’t prevent the thrill of nervous excitement that shimmied along her spine at the thought of him coming home. But that was the unruly, wanton side of her body betraying her, wasn’t it? Common sense told her that there would be nothing but trouble if Ben went back to the Lake District. How would his father react?

Worse still, how would her brother Callum deal with the wanderer’s return? Once, he and Ben had been best friends, but all that had changed. He blamed Ben for taking Anna away from him, and that anger had not dissipated. It had continued to simmer throughout all those long years.

How was she going to deal with this? Was she destined to stand on the sidelines and watch the process of bitter condemnation start all over again?

Chapter Two

JASMINE frowned, gripping the steering-wheel firmly and making a determined effort to concentrate on her driving. Starting out on the long journey home, she was still reeling from the bombshell that Ben had dropped just a short time ago.

Her mind was caught up in a fog of confusion. One minute she had been secure in her own sheltered world, and now, in an instant, everything had changed. Somehow, she couldn’t come to terms with the fact that from now on he would be staying around. For her, life in her home village of Woodsley Bridge would never be quite the same again.

It was early evening now, already dark, and snow was falling in a gentle curtain, lending a picture-postcard atmosphere to the landscape. The branches of the trees were topped with thick ribbons of snow, the rooftops of isolated farmhouses had become a pristine white and all around snow spread like a glistening carpet over the fields. It was lovely to look at, but not so good when she had to drive in it.

She had already been on the road for half an hour, and there were still many miles left to go. She was keeping her fingers crossed that the steady downfall would ease off at some point and that at least the roads would stay clear.

Ben was following her on this first lap of the journey. ‘My route follows yours for the first fifteen miles or so,’ he had told her before they’d set off, and she had looked at him in surprise.

‘But I thought you were living in St Helens, down in Cheshire,’ she responded with a frown. Surely that was in the opposite direction?

Driving along, she recalled their conversation. ‘I didn’t realise you knew where I was living,’ he had said, raising a brow.

She’d given a faint shrug. ‘Information filters through from time to time about what you’ve been doing or where you are. People might have caught a glimpse of you, here and there, or maybe their friends and relatives have been further afield to a hospital for treatment…it really doesn’t take much for word to get around.’

He’d smiled crookedly. ‘Tongues will always wag, won’t they? I expect rumours are rife about all my transgressions. The village folk could never quite get over my youthful misdemeanours, could they? That Radcliffe boy’s up to his tricks again is about all I ever heard from them. Even when I was doing my medical training they were convinced I’d be thrown out for something or other.’

He wasn’t far off the mark there, Jasmine acknowledged inwardly. His father had made it clear from the first that he wasn’t expecting him to finish the course, and perhaps that was because his son had such a wide range of interests that he found it hard to stick to one in particular. Ben was a wild spirit, always game for anything, and even at medical school he had managed to raise brows. News of his exploits quickly found its way back home.

‘Well, you did get into trouble for almost setting fire to the kitchen in your student residence,’ she murmured. ‘And then there was that time when you and your friends stayed out all night and turned up at your lecture next morning looking the worse for wear.’

He made a face. ‘Almost being the operative word about the fire,’ he said. ‘I only left the omelette cooking on the hob for a minute or two while I went to help a fellow student who had cut her hand…and the fact that the smoke alarm didn’t go off was down to someone else removing the battery and forgetting to put it back. I think he was fed up with it going off every time he made toast.’

His brows drew together. ‘And as to the night out, why should that have turned out to be a disciplinary offence? At least we turned up for the lecture on time next day. Some of these people on the boards of universities seem to have no recollection of what it’s like to be a student. Yet I’ll bet they had their moments, if the truth was known.’

‘You make it sound as though it was all unfair,’ she said with a wry smile. ‘Anyway, I’m sure that’s all in the past. I heard you’d done well for yourself in the last few years. There was a piece in the paper about you setting up a new emergency paediatric unit at the hospital in Cheshire…’ She frowned. ‘But that brings me back to what I was saying—if you’re following the same route home as me, I’m guessing you must be living and working somewhere else at the moment.’

He nodded. ‘I’ve been doing some locum work up in Lancashire, so it made sense to stay there for the last couple of months. And, of course, it meant I was able to come and do the stint with the rescue services today, since I’m based not too far away.’

It made sense to Jasmine. He had always been a restless soul, and from what he had just described of his travel arrangements, things didn’t seem to have changed very much.

Now, though, she glanced in the rear-view mirror and saw that he was still following behind her, his beautiful car eating up the miles without the slightest hint of difficulty. She wasn’t so lucky. Her own car had been throwing up problems along the way.

The outside temperature had dropped to below freezing, and it seemed that her tyres were not up to the job of gripping the slippery surface. She had to take extra care on the bends in the road, and as if that wasn’t enough, the snow was still coming down thick and fast so that her windscreen wipers were struggling to clear it away.

The roads were becoming increasingly clogged with snow as drifts began to pile up along the hedgerows, and now she was worried that she might not be able to go on much further. Perhaps Ben had been right when he’d suggested she should stay overnight at the hotel.

Still, she wasn’t the only one who had decided to venture out. A few drivers were following the same route, doggedly determined to get home.

She looked at the road ahead. The car in front of her was negotiating a bend, and as the road sloped downwards the driver seemed to have trouble maintaining a straight course. He swerved as the car in front of him suddenly drifted in an arc across the road, the unexpected action causing him to veer wildly. A second or two later, he rammed his vehicle sideways into a large oak tree. Still in a skid, the other car swivelled around, hitting his front end and coming to a halt halfway across the road.

Jasmine’s stomach clenched and her pulse began to quicken. Her mouth went dry and she was uneasily aware of the thud of her heartbeat as it rose up into her throat. How was she going to avoid being part of the pile-up ahead? Both cars were taking up a good half of the road directly in front of her, and she wouldn’t be able to stop in time to avoid them. She couldn’t brake or she would go into a skid, too. She had no choice but to go on.

Her mind was racing. She was all too conscious of Ben not far behind her, and she didn’t want to risk him being caught up in any collision. Her only hope was that, with any luck, he would have seen what was going on, and would be able to find some way of avoiding trouble.

She wasn’t going fast, but now she changed to a lower gear, slowing the car and carefully steering through the only gap available between the cars and the hedgerow. Thankfully, no one was coming in the opposite direction. Then, as she tried to steer a course away from trouble, the camber of the road changed, throwing the car out of kilter in the bad conditions, and a moment later her vehicle slewed violently around, slamming her headlong into a snowdrift.

The car shuddered to a halt, tipping over at an angle, and she stared at the windscreen, seeing nothing in front of her but a blanket of white. Apprehension clutched at her insides. It seemed very much as though she had plunged part way into a ditch, and maybe the hedgerow had stopped her going any further. Her heart plummeted. Now it looked as though she was going to be stranded here, miles away from anywhere, in a dark, frozen void.

The engine had cut off. There was silence all around, and it seemed as though she was enclosed in a capsule, shut away from the outside world. It was eerie and scary at the same time, being trapped in this pale wasteland.

‘Are you okay?’ A moment or two later, Ben was pulling at the door of her car while she was still trying to take stock of everything that had happened.

Relief washed over her. Ben was safe and she wasn’t alone. ‘Yes,’ she answered, struggling to keep her voice level. ‘I’m okay.’

‘You’re quite sure that you’re not hurt in any way?’

‘I’m sure. I’m not hurt.’ She blinked, looking around at the overwhelming mass of snow that covered three sides of her vehicle like a half-built tunnel. She tried to gather her thoughts. ‘Did you manage to keep your car on the road?’

‘It’s fine. I’ve parked just along the road from you.’ He hesitated. ‘If you’re positive that you’re all right, I need to go and check on the other drivers. If we don’t clear the road fast, there could be another accident before too long. We have two people keeping watch, so that they can try to alert people to the danger, but it isn’t safe and I need to hurry.’

She nodded. ‘I’ll come with you.’

‘There’s no need.’ As she tried to slide out of her seat, he laid his hands on her shoulders, lightly pressuring her to stay. ‘You look as though you’re in shock,’ he said. ‘You’re trembling. Stay there and I’ll be back as soon as I can.’

He was right, she realised after he had gone. Her body was still mourning the loss of his reassuring touch, but that was only because she was in a state of shock, as he’d said…wasn’t it? She tried to move, but her legs let her down and her hands were shaking. Her car was slanted at an odd angle to the ground and she wasn’t at all certain how she was going to get it back on the road.

For a minute or two, she sat very still, concentrating on breathing deeply in an effort to compose herself. No matter what he said, Ben most likely needed help. If they didn’t move the other car to the side of the road, it would be a danger to oncoming drivers. It was also quite possible that one or both of the people involved in the accident might be injured. Sitting here wasn’t an option, and somehow or other she had to pull herself together and try to help out. Bracing herself, she drew another shuddery breath of air into her lungs, and a moment later she slid out of her seat and went to find him.

He and another man were trying to steer the crumpled car to the side of the road, but the vehicle that had rammed into the tree was still in the same position as before. The driver was at the wheel, and she guessed that Ben must have already spoken to him. The man wasn’t moving, but perhaps that was because he was traumatised by what had happened.

She went over to car and opened up the passenger door. ‘Is there anything I can do to help you?’ she asked. The man was in his fifties, she guessed, with a weathered complexion and streaks of grey in his hair. His expression was tense, as though he was hurt and was steeling himself against the pain. ‘I can see that you’re holding your arm,’ she murmured. ‘Is it giving you some problems?’

He nodded, his lips compressed. ‘I wrenched it when I went into the tree. Help’s on its way, though. The man from the BMW told me he’s a doctor…he came to take a look at me and said I’d probably dislocated my shoulder. He had to go and shift the car out of the way, but he’s coming back.’

‘I’m sure he’ll be able to help you.’ She quickly tried to assess his condition. He was wearing a cotton shirt with a sleeveless fleece jacket over the top, and even in the darkness she could see that the shoulder was strangely distorted. ‘He and I know one another, as it happens—we’re both doctors.’

He managed a weak smile. ‘I suppose I’m lucky, then, that this happened while you were around.’

‘You could say that.’ She hesitated. ‘Is it all right if I switch on the interior light? Perhaps I could take a look at you and see what we’re dealing with?’

He gave a slight nod, and once the light was on she examined his arm and his hand. ‘Can you feel your fingers?’

‘I don’t think so. They’re a funny colour, aren’t they?’ He frowned. ‘That’s not good, is it?’

‘Well, it means we probably need to put the shoulder back in its socket sooner rather than later. Your circulation is being stopped or slowed down, and we have to sort it out fairly quickly.’

She glanced around and saw that there was a cushion on the rear seat. ‘If we put the cushion between your arm and your chest it may help to make you feel more comfortable in the meantime.’

He nodded again, and she went to get the cushion, coming back to gently place it in position. A faint look of relief crossed his features.

‘That feels a bit better,’ he said, breathing hard and gritting his teeth. ‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome.’ She glanced at him. ‘Are you hurting anywhere else? I noticed the driver’s door is buckled…has that hurt you in any way?’

‘I don’t think it’s done anything too bad. It feels as though I’ll be bruised for a while, but basically I’m okay. It’s just the shoulder. It hurts like the devil.’

‘I can imagine it does.’ She hesitated momentarily. ‘Will you be all right for a minute or two while I go and get my medical bag from the car? We should be able to put your shoulder back in position for you—and we can at least give you something to relieve the pain.’

‘That would be good.’ He seized at the chance. ‘Whatever you can do…’

‘Okay.’ She slid out of the car once more and trudged through the snow to her own vehicle, thankful that she was wearing strong leather boots.

‘What are you doing?’ Ben asked, coming over to her, his brows drawing together in a dark line as she retrieved her bag from the car. ‘I thought I told you to stay where you were. At least you would have been warmer in there, and you know you shouldn’t be wandering around when you’ve just been involved in an accident. You could be injured and not realise it.’

‘I’m a doctor,’ she said in a succinct tone, her green eyes homing in on him. ‘I think I’d know if there was something wrong with me.’

‘Not necessarily.’ His gaze lanced into her. ‘You should let me check you over.’

She raised both brows. ‘We both know that’s not going to happen.’ Just the thought of him laying hands on her was enough to make colour sweep along her cheekbones. She just hoped he couldn’t see her reaction, and to avert disaster she went on, ‘It looks as though only one man was injured. Apparently, you said you’d go and help him.’

‘That’s right.’ He studied her briefly, and clearly he must have decided not to pursue the point about her staying in the car.

‘Well, it looks as though his circulation’s compromised, so I think it would be best to try to put the shoulder back in place here and now, rather than wait.’

‘Yes, that’s pretty much the conclusion I came to.’

Jasmine was thinking out a plan of action. ‘In that case, he’ll need a sedative and a painkilling injection,’ she added. ‘I have the medication we need in my medical bag.’

‘Good. You’re right, it will probably be best to inject the joint, rather than set up an intravenous line and anaesthetise him. That way, he would be knocked out completely, but his recovery would take longer, and these aren’t exactly the best of circumstances for him to be undergoing that kind of treatment.’ His gaze ran over her once more. ‘We could do it together, if you think you’re up to it…?’

‘I am. I’ll be fine. I’ll support him while you do the reduction.’

‘Okay, then. Let’s go and see how he’s doing.’

The injured man, they discovered, was becoming paler by the minute, and his lips were beginning to take on a pinched appearance.

‘Ian,’ Ben said, slipping into the passenger seat beside him, ‘we’re going to give you something that will help you to stay calm and relaxed throughout the procedure, and then I’ll inject a painkiller directly into the joint. The drugs will help to relax your muscles at the same time. All that means you shouldn’t feel too much discomfort when I put the bone back into place. You should feel immediate relief from pain when that’s done.’

Ian’s lips moved in what they took for agreement. ‘Anything,’ he said. ‘Please, just put it back so that I can start to think straight again.’

They worked together to give him the medication and prepare him for the manipulation. Then they manoeuvred him from the driver’s seat to where they could work more comfortably. Jasmine positioned herself to one side, getting ready to stop any sudden, untoward movement as Ben popped the shoulder back into its socket.

As soon as it was over, Ian slumped back in his seat. ‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘That was really painful until you two set to work.’

Jasmine was pleased to see that his fingers had started to regain their normal colour, which meant his circulation had been successfully restored. ‘You need to keep the shoulder very still,’ she told him. ‘Any movement will cause more damage.’

Ben had been searching through his own medical bag and now he brought out a shoulder sling. ‘This should help to immobilise the joint while it heals,’ he said. ‘The tissues around the shoulder will probably be inflamed and swollen for a few weeks, so I’ll prescribe some anti-inflammatory tablets for you. I can give you some to be going on with, but you should get the shoulder checked out at a hospital as soon as possible. They’ll probably do an X-ray to make sure that everything’s okay…and they’ll want to make sure that you have no other injuries.’

Ian nodded. ‘Thanks. Though I don’t know how I’m going to get to a hospital in this weather. I don’t even know how I’m going to drive…or even if the car is capable of getting me anywhere.’

‘Same here,’ Jasmine said. ‘Mine’s halfway down a ditch. It seems we’re both in the same boat.’

‘Wretched weather.’ Ian grimaced. ‘I suppose I could call for a taxi…we could share, if you like. That’s if anyone will come out in this weather, of course.’

‘There’s no need for that,’ Ben put in. ‘I can help out. My car’s not damaged in any way, so I can drive both of you. Actually, there’s a cottage hospital with a minor injuries unit not too far away from here. They have X-ray facilities, so they should be able to sort you out.’ He looked at Ian. ‘I’ll drop you off there, if you like, and maybe you could call a relative to come and pick you up later?’

Ian thought things through. ‘I expect my son will come once he finishes work. He’s on the late shift, but he has a four-wheel drive, so I don’t suppose he’ll have too many problems with the road conditions.’

‘What about you, Jasmine?’ Ben’s gaze rested on her. ‘You’re not going to be able to make it to Woodsley Bridge tonight, are you? I can put you up at my place overnight, if you want. At least you’ll be warm and safe there, and we can make arrangements to have your car towed to a garage in the morning.’

A surge of relief flowed through her. ‘Thanks,’ she said, giving him a quick smile. ‘I’d appreciate that, if you’re sure you don’t mind? It’s getting late, and it’s a weight off my mind, knowing that I won’t have to start making all sorts of arrangements at this time of night.’

‘Good. That’s settled, then.’ Once he had everyone’s agreement, Ben was ready for action. ‘We’ll load your luggage into the boot of my car and get under way.’

He helped Ian into the BMW, making sure that he was secure and comfortable in the back seat. ‘The hospital’s a couple of miles down the road,’ he said. ‘We’ll have you there in just a few minutes.’

Jasmine sat in the front passenger seat, absorbing the sheer luxury of Ben’s car. Everything about it spelled comfort and opulence. The temperature was perfect, the seats were heated, and the upholstery gave off a rich scent of supple, new leather. There was even soft music playing in the background.

It all lulled her into a false sense of security, making her feel as though everything was right in her world and that it was perfectly normal for her to be sitting here next to Ben. She tried not to notice how his strong fingers closed around the wheel, or the fact that his long legs were just an inch or so away from her own. The material of his trousers pulled across his powerful thighs, drawing her attention, and she quickly looked away.

When they arrived at the hospital, they went with Ian into the casualty department and waited while a triage nurse took details of the accident and organised an immediate appointment for him in the X-ray department. Then Ian rang his son, and once they were confident that arrangements were in place for him to be picked up later that evening, they said goodbye to him and set off for Ben’s house.

‘It isn’t too far away,’ Ben said, as he turned the car into a country lane. ‘We’ve had to make a bit of a detour, but we should be there soon. I’ll rustle us up something to eat—it seems like an age since we had that snack back at the hotel.’

She gave a crooked smile. ‘I know what you’re thinking…I should have stayed there and agreed to have dinner with you. It would have saved all this trouble.’

He sent her a sideways glance. ‘I wasn’t going to say that…far be it from me to say I told you so.’ He grinned. ‘But sitting down to a relaxing dinner with you and taking time to catch up with all your news would have been good.’

She sighed. ‘I know. But I did so want to get home.’ He didn’t need to know how wary she was of being in close proximity with him for any length of time. ‘It’s just that my mother will be putting up the Christmas tree tomorrow evening, and it’s sort of a tradition that I help her with the baubles and decorations. I love this time of year. We always have Christmas carols playing in the background while we dress the tree, and my dad brings us hot liqueur coffees and warm mince pies, so that we really get into the festive spirit.’

She smiled. ‘Of course, he complains that he’s not really ready to celebrate three weeks early while he’s still working, but as a GP he could be tending patients on Christmas morning, so we tend to ignore that and get on with it.’

Ben grinned. ‘Your father has always been a solid, easygoing man, though, hasn’t he? Nothing ever really fazes him. I suppose that comes from taking care of all the folk in the village for years on end and dealing with their quirks and foibles.’

‘That’s true.’ She sent him an oblique glance. ‘What about you? Will you be going back to the manor house to stay with your father?’

He shook his head and his expression became sombre. ‘I don’t think so. That wouldn’t go down too well. My father and I have never seen eye to eye over anything very much.’

‘But you’ll be spending Christmas with him, won’t you?’ She frowned. ‘Now that you’re going home, surely he’ll be glad of the chance to see you again after all this time? Perhaps you’ll be able to forget what went on in the past and try to start over again.’

‘It sounds good in theory,’ Ben said. His mouth flattened. ‘But, truthfully, I don’t suppose he’ll welcome me with open arms. He can be stubborn at the best of times.’

‘I’m sorry. That’s so sad.’ Her green eyes clouded. ‘It’s such a shame to see a family torn apart at the seams when maybe a word or two could put matters right.’

His expression was cynical. ‘Do you really imagine that I haven’t tried?’ He shook his head. ‘I know you mean well, Jassie, but you should give up on trying to reconcile my father and me. I’ve come to the conclusion that it isn’t going to work. I’ve written to him, tried to talk to him on the phone, but he’s brusque and uncooperative, and I have the feeling that I’m wasting my time. It’s not even as if I’m the one in the wrong…well, not totally, anyway…But it doesn’t seem to make any difference to how he thinks and feels.’

His mouth made a flat line. ‘Things were said, on both sides, that should have been left unsaid, and the damage has been done. The wounds they leave behind never truly heal.’

‘I don’t believe in giving up,’ she murmured. ‘Not where family is concerned, anyway. I’d always be looking for an opportunity to put things right.’

His expression softened. ‘That’s because you’re a sweet, generous-natured woman who only ever looks for the good in people. I’m just afraid that before too long you’ll find yourself disillusioned, and that would be a terrible shame.’

She absorbed that, subsiding back into her seat without comment. The only way she had ever been disillusioned had been in her dealings with Ben. Over the years, she’d watched him, wincing as he’d made his mistakes, biting her tongue when she’d wanted to speak out about his various entanglements, wondering if there would ever be a time when he would look at her with the light of love in his eyes.

But that had been asking for the impossible—how would he ever have done that when she’d constantly shielded herself from him for her own protection? Besides, she had long ago given up on that dream world. Life had thrown a spanner in the works when Ben had gone away with Anna.

She could never keep up with Ben. He had been like quicksilver, constantly on the move, rising to challenges as and when they’d arisen. All his youthful energies had been fuelled by rebellion against the hand life had dealt him…losing his mother at a very young age had been a raw deal, the worst, and who could blame him for his confusion and disenchantment with life? No wonder he’d run amok through the village in his tender years and stirred up a storm.

Knowing all that, maybe it was the reason why Jasmine had always looked beyond the vigorous, determined exterior to what lay beneath.

Her feelings for him had never changed. They just became more impossible to manage as time went on.

Chapter Three

‘THIS is it,’ Ben announced after a while, turning the car into a snow-filled drive. ‘My house—I usually think of it as my summer place, since I mostly use it for holiday breaks or those times when I need to get away from it all…but the title doesn’t exactly fit at the moment. Still, I hope you’ll like it.’ He cut the engine and turned to face Jasmine. ‘Let’s get you inside and into the warm.’

‘Your summer place—does that mean you’re not renting short term, that this is actually your own house?’ She was puzzled. ‘After all, you must have a house in Cheshire as well, if that’s where you’ve been living for the last few years.’

‘That’s right. I bought this as a run-down property some time ago and spent a year or so doing it up.’

‘So renovating properties is one of those interests that you kept up? Working on Mill House back in Woodsley Bridge was just a start?’

‘That’s true. I’ve always been enthusiastic about restoring houses…ones that particularly interest me, that is.’

She frowned. ‘I wasn’t sure whether your father would have put you off. He didn’t go along with any of it, did he?’

He made a wry face. ‘Unfortunately, my father and I don’t see eye to eye on a number of matters. With Mill House he was convinced I was wasting my time…and money…and he did everything he could to put me off starting the work. Even though it was a successful restoration in the end, he maintained it was money that could have been spent on more solid investments.’

She nodded. ‘He couldn’t understand why you went to all that effort, could he?’

‘No. But, then, sentiment never came into his calculations.’

Jasmine understood Ben’s difficulty. Stuart Radcliffe never had time for such creative projects. He was an old-fashioned man, putting his faith in good bookkeeping and heavily involved with upper-crust institutions. Ben’s ideas were very different, stemming from the heart, and Stuart could not go along with that. To him they were risky, pointless ventures, whereas he was all about safety and security.

Ben held open the door for her and she slid out of the car, looking around at the broad sweep of the drive and the sprawling white-painted house. It was set in open countryside, and as the moon cast its light over the snow-laden fields, she caught a glimpse of hills and dales and gently forested slopes all around.

She looked closely at the house. She could see why Ben would want to work on this lovely old property. Clearly, it had stood the test of time, and now, with a fresh coat of paint and what she guessed were renovated windows and roofing, this was a splendid example of what could be achieved.

‘Of course, you’re not seeing it at its best in this weather,’ he commented as he went to retrieve her case from the boot. ‘If you were to come here in the summer you would see it in its full glory.’

‘I think it’s lovely.’ She dragged her gaze back from the scenery to the front of the house. A lantern glowed in the wide porch, welcoming them with its golden light, and to either side there were hanging baskets, filled to the brim with winter flowers. There were pansies, big, bright blooms of deep violet, azure blue, burgundy and stunning orange. Mixed in with those were purpleleaved sage and long stems of trailing ivy. It was a glorious explosion of colour that said no matter that it was winter, plant life was exuberant and thriving.

He put his key in the lock and opened the front door, ushering her inside and placing her case on the floor by a decorative plant stand. Ferns filled the shelves, their vibrant green a charming contrast to the mellow wood. The hallway was large and inviting, with a deep-piled carpet and walls that were covered with delicately textured paper that was pleasing on the eye. To one side there was a Georgian satinwood table, beautifully inlaid and elegant with delicately curved legs. A bowl of vivid red cyclamen provided a splash of rich colour that was reflected in a large, gilt-framed mirror that hung on the wall.

‘I’ll show you to the living room,’ Ben said. ‘I’ve laid a fire in the hearth, so once I light it the place will be much more welcoming. The central heating’s on, so we’ll be warm enough.’

‘I’m toasty already,’ she said. ‘The heat enveloped me as soon as I walked through the door.’ She was still looking around, trying to take everything in. ‘This house must be…what…seventeenth century?’ There were exposed oak beams all around, and an oak staircase led to a mezzanine floor that could be seen from the hallway. Even from where she was standing, she could see through the wooden rails of the elevated balustrade that the upper level had been tastefully furnished with comfortable chairs and an antique desk. All around, the lighting was subdued but warm, throwing out soft pools of light here and there.

He nodded. ‘It is…late seventeenth.’ He showed her into the living room, where the centrepiece was a huge fireplace, made of beautifully polished wood topped with an intricately carved cornice. ‘I tried to restore it carefully, keeping the original features intact wherever possible.’ He bent to light the log fire and stood back after a minute or two, waiting as the flames took hold. The logs began to crackle and throw up orange and gold sparks, sending a pool of light into the room. ‘That should soon make things more cheerful,’ he said.

‘This is so wonderful,’ she told him, looking around in awe. There was a richly upholstered sofa close by the hearth, along with matching armchairs, and it was easy to see that Ben’s flawless taste in furnishings was innate and impeccable. There was an elegant bookcase to one side of the room, complemented by a glazed Georgian display cabinet and a small occasional table.

‘It’s such a treat to see a place like this,’ she said, full of admiration for what he had achieved. ‘You must have worked so hard to make it look this good.’

‘It took a fair bit of time and effort,’ he agreed, smiling. ‘Let me take your jacket and then you should make yourself comfortable on the sofa while I start supper. I’ll show you around after we’ve eaten, if you like.’

‘I would love that, thanks…but perhaps I could help with the food? There must be some way I can make myself useful.’

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