Page 153 of Rough Around the Hedges

“I can’t. Where is she? What happened? I need to see her.”

“She told us you’ve signed the contract,” Susan said, stepping up next to him. “But your mother said…”

“Mum wasn’t lying.” I took a couple of steps back and sank my hand into my hair, running my fingers through it. “I don’t know what she heard, but it’s not what she thinks. She’s not answering my texts or my calls.”

“You’re not going to get anywhere all in a tizz like that, dear.” Susan patted my arm gently.

“Or if someone steals your car,” Luke said dryly, appearing with my keys dangling from his finger. “Is she here?”

I shook my head, looking around desperately as if she’d appear out of nowhere.

“Shit,” he said. “Do you think she misunderstood?”

“Misunderstood what?” George asked, looking between us. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing you need to worry about, dear,” Susan said, patting his arm.

Dear? ToGeorge?

I didn’t have the brainpower to delve any further into that right now.

All I cared about was Rose.

“Do you know where she went?” I asked them. “Please, I’m begging you.”

“She’s gone.” Isa strode across the hall and stopped right in front of us. “She wants to be alone.”

“Isa. Please.” I turned to her. “Did she go in Ramona? Tell me which direction she went. I’ll find her.”

She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. “She wants to be alone,Your Grace. I don’t even know where she’s going. And even if I did, you’re the last person on Earth I’d tell right now.”

Her method of addressing me sent a chill through me. Not only that—the cold look in her eyes was almost deadly, and I knew. Rose had misunderstood, and Isadora was telling me in no uncertain terms that she wouldn’t let me anywhere near her.

“Isadora—”

“You should leave before anyone else realises you’re here. You might not realise it, but nobody here wants to see you right now. You’d be best off going back to London as soon as you can.”

“Hang on.” Susan held up a hand. “If Eleanor was telling me the truth that time, then you haven’t signed the contract?”

“That’s what I want to tell Rose!” I threw my hands up in the air and balled my hands into fists, pressing them against my forehead so I could take a deep breath. “I haven’t sold the land. I cancelled that, what? Two weeks ago?”

Luke nodded. “Ten days-ish. We’ve been working around the clock on a stewardship contract ever since, but it’s taken time because of some complicated clauses this lovesick bastard insisted upon.”

“The final agreement came through this morning, and I just found out Rose may have heard us talking about it in my office,” I explained quickly. “If she’s told you we’ve sold the land, she’s absolutely misunderstood.”

“We never explicitly said what contract it was because it was just between us,” Luke continued. “If she only caught the tail end of the conversation, I can see how she thought it was the sale contract.” He glanced at me. “Especially if she heard me say you didn’t want her to know.”

“And Rose won’t jump to a conclusion if she can hop, skip,andjump to it,” Isadora added. “Damn it. I can’t believe I just helped her with her getaway.”

“Is she in Ramona?” I asked.

“Um, no.” She scratched the back of her neck and held up Rose’s keys. “She’s in my very normal, very boring, black Ford Focus, actually.”

In other words, I had no fucking chance of finding her.

“What’s going on?” Shaun asked, walking over. “Ooft, you’re brave,” he said to me.

I didn’t feel it right now. “Do you know where Rose is?”

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