The Lady of the Manor

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

At eleven in the morning I had officially been up for five hours. Working to get Periwinkle House ready for paying guests was starting to take its toll on me. Every morning I woke up and started on my to-do list that only ever got longer. It seemed like I crossed one item off and then five more appeared. Ben was continuing to be a massive help, I didn't know where I would be without him, despite the previous kisses and my desire to jump his bones every time I saw him.

I was assembling bed frames on the first floor, some of the rooms would be turned into family rooms, some I would keep as doubles. I wanted to encourage families to stay here, children had a way of filling places with happiness and joy. The disassembled frames had been delivered last week and while Ben was happy to put them together, I reassured him it was something I could handle.

A car screeched to a halt on the gravel outside. That couldn't be another delivery van, they usually came with better care for my property and their packages. I glanced out of the window and saw the flashy BMW I had hoped to never see again. Vincent got out of the driver's side, holding an expensive briefcase. I sighed. This wasn't going to be good.

I went downstairs and bumped into Vincent in the main entrance way.

"Vincent, I told you before, you can't just walk in here. This isn't your house." I crossed my arms over my chest, standing in front of my horrible cousin, blocking him from going further into the house.

"Ella, my dear, I've come to make you a very generous offer. I am prepared to buy you out, buy Periwinkle House from you. I shouldn't have to as it is rightfully mine but I am just a very generous sort of person."

I kept my face expressionless but inside my mind was going into overdrive. I could sell the house, I still had Rose Cottage so I could live there and Periwinkle House was proving to be a lot of work. I looked around the grand foyer and smiled to myself. No, Grandma wanted me to have this house and she trusted me enough to run it, no matter how much work it took. I couldn't piss on my grandmother's memory like that.

"No Vincent, I am not selling. I will never sell this house, especially not to you! Now please get the hell out of my house."

"You haven't even heard the offer yet. I can tell you now that if you sold to anyone else, you wouldn't get this much."

"What are you not getting? I am not selling Periwinkle."

Before either of us could say anything else, Ben came storming out of the servant's stairs under the main stair case.

"You heard Ella. She doesn't want to sell." Ben grabbed Vincent by the collar of his shirt and yanked him over to the main doors which were still open from Vincent coming in. He threw my cousin out, making him land on his arse, the briefcase spilling open and papers scattering in the wind. "Get out and stay out. If you come here again, the police will be involved."

Ben slammed the door behind him, making sure to lock it. He turned to me, his chest still heaving with left over adrenaline.

"I'm sorry. That was inappropriate of me. I shouldn't talk to anyone like that in your home, especially your cousin."

"Ben, thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't of come charging in like that. Vincent wasn't taking no for an answer."

"Are you okay though?"

"A little shaken up but nothing else. Let's go to the kitchen and have a nice cuppa. I think we could both do with one."

Ben nodded and followed me into the kitchen. I put the kettle on and Ben reached into my secret biscuit stash. I watched him open the packet and then put a whole biscuit in his mouth at once. So Ben was too chatty, was always eating my biscuits and generally making a lot of noise, but if he hadn't of been here today, I would have been screwed. He stuffed another biscuit in his mouth and I came to the conclusion that maybe Ben wasn't quite so bad after all. He was going to make someone very happy one day. It was a shame that it wasn't going to be me.

I turned back to the hob just as the kettle whistled, hiding my sudden tears from Ben. It was silly to think that I was jealous of Ben being with another girl when I had a boyfriend myself. I subtly wiped my eyes and poured the tea, handing a mug to Ben.

"Thank you again for getting rid of Vincent but I don't think that's the last we will see of him just yet."

Ben nodded in agreement and we sipped our tea in silence, both trying to come up with ideas to stop him.