The Lady of the Manor

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Honey, I'm home." Ben came waltzing into the kitchen, grabbing me round the waist and pulling me into his embrace. I giggled, kissing him briefly.

"How was it in town? Did you get everything you needed?"

He nodded. "Yes I did. In fact, I have something for you. Can I borrow your laptop?"

"Sure." I logged on to my laptop, it now lives in the kitchen most of the time, this being the warmest room to work in plus I get the benefit of running into Ben more.

Ben took my laptop away from me and quickly typed something. "So I have a friend, from school and he was an amazing hacker, used to hack into the school database all the time. Just for fun, as well! Anyway, I was talking to him a few weeks ago about you taking over Periwinkle House and your plans for it and he said he could knock up a website for you."

He spun the computer around and a photo of Periwinkle filled the screen. I scrolled down, clicking on various buttons and links.

"Wow, this is amazing. Can the public see this?"

"No not yet. Gary wanted to make sure you liked it and then he will make it live."

I wiped a stray tear away from the corner of my eye. This was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

Misinterpreting my tears, Ben said, "Oh, you don't like it. You think I'm interfering. It's just I could see you struggling with it every time you attempted it and I knew a guy."

"Ben, I love it. It's perfect. Thank you." I threw my arms around him, hugging him. "What do I owe your friend?"

"Nothing. He likes tinkering around with different things. He says it keeps him out of trouble."

"Nonsense. He is getting a free night here when we open. Could you let him know? And tell him that the website is perfect and that he can make it public."

"Sure." Ben kissed me at that point. I was just responding when I felt him pull away. "What is that?"

I glanced behind me to see what had caught Ben's eye and groaned. "It's an engagement ring. Oliver popped round this morning and asked me to marry him."

Ben pulled his arms away from me, leaving me cold despite the warm spring air coming in through the boot room.

"And I suppose you are going to marry the prick. Why wouldn't you, he has a well-paid job in the city. Compared to me he must be a king." Ben turned to go put I stopped him by catching his arm.

"Ben, he could have all the money in the world but I still wouldn't pick him. He left the ring with me so I could have time to decide but he couldn't see the big, fat no I was about to say. In fact, the no I did say!"

I looped my arms round his neck, his arms still limp at his side. "He wasn't right for me. And I know that we have only just started whatever this is between us, but I know that you are so much better than he is."

I kissed him, letting my lips linger against his until he returned my kiss. I didn't have to wait long. His arms also came around my waist, hugging me close.

"There's something you should know."

"If you are going to tell me about a secret wife or that you have a weird fetish, I really don't want to hear about it."

He laughed. "No it's not about me. Although, just to clarify, no wife and no weird fetishes. When I was in town, I saw Oliver. With another girl. His arm was wrapped round her and she had hers wrapped round his waist, her finger hooked into the belt loop of his jeans. It looked like the kind of thing you do with someone who you've been seeing for a while. I'm so sorry Ella."