Page 86 of The Allotment on Willow Tree Lane

Ceri’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe it. ‘You’veleft the band?’

‘Luke and I decided we didn’t want to carry on without Aiden.’

‘But what will you do?’

‘Stay here.’

‘Stay in Foxmore for good?’ No, he couldn’t do that. Music was his life. If he gave it up he would regret it. ‘You can’t. Youmustn’t.’

‘I’m not leaving, Ceri, not unless you want me to go. I’m done with being on stage and I’m done with touring.’

‘You’ll regret it. Music is in your blood – like gardening is in mine.’

‘I’m not going to give it up.’ He gazed into her eyes. The emotion in them took her breath away. ‘I always did prefer the composition side of things more than performing. I’m going to write songs. So you see, I won’t be giving up music at all.’

A small, tender flame of hope, easily extinguished, ignited in her heart. ‘Do you mean it?’

He nodded earnestly. ‘I do, and even if I don’t stay, I’m not going to perform again.’

The flame stuttered and dimmed. ‘I thought you said you weren’t leaving, that you were going to stay in Foxmore?’

‘I want to, but that depends on you. I couldn’t bear to live in Willow Tree House and for us not to be together. It would break me, Ceri. I love you. I think I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you dancing in the field under the stars.’

Oh, God, he meant it, he really did. Gulping back happy tears, she whispered, ‘I love you, too.’

His sigh was ragged, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were filled with so much love it made her heart ache with joy.

When he held out his hand, she took it gladly. And as they began to walk away from Hyacinth’s grave, Ceri trailed her fingers across the top of the smooth marble once more, and made a silent promise to his grandmother that she would love and cherish Damon with all her heart, forever.

Chapter 22

Ceri was peering out of Damon’s sitting room window. ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

He pulled a face. He didn’twantto do it, but hehadto, so he nodded. ‘If I give the… what did your sister-in-law call them? “Bloody parasites”? If I give them an interview now, they might bugger off and leave me alone. It’s the hounding I can’t take, so if I throw them a bone, they might go away.’ That was the plan he had hatched with Frank last night, and he hoped it would work. Even if it didn’t, he anticipated that they would soon be gone, hunting down the next story.

‘A car is parked across the drive, effectively blocking us in, and a couple of people are standing around in the lane,’ she reported.

‘I suppose the sooner we get this over with, the sooner they’ll leave. Ready?’

She nodded. He put an arm around her waist and opened the front door. There was an immediate flurry of interest as the news hounds lived up to their name, going on point like so many dogs.

He beckoned them closer, and as they hurried onto his drive, he saw them exchange glances as though they couldn’t believe their luck. There were five of them altogether and they began talking at once. Damon heard the snap and whir of cameras, and tried to maintain a pleasant expression.

‘Can I have your attention?’ he said, only speaking again when the journalists quietened down. ‘I’m going to make a statement and answer questions, but if you all shout at once, I’m going back inside.’ He glared at the nearest guy.

Ceri gave him a warning squeeze and for a moment Damon couldn’t work out why, until he looked beyond the journalists to see several villagers walking towards the house.

‘What are they doing here?’ he whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

‘No clue.’

‘You’re no help, are you?’ He raised his voice, directing his attention to the press. ‘I want to put some rumours to bed,’ he began. ‘Yes, I live in Foxmore and yes, this is my home. You’re on my property, so I expect you to respect it,’ he added in a stern voice, when a woman dropped an empty coffee cup on the ground.

She gave him a contrite look and bent down to pick it up.

He continued, ‘I’m no longer a member of Black Hyacinth, although there are several unfinished tracks which may or may not be released. You’ll have to talk to the production company or my agent if you want further details.’ He held up a hand as two of them started talking at once. ‘I will not be forming another band, nor will I be joining an existing one. I may, however, write songs in the future. For details, again you’ll need to speak to my agent. You’ve already worked out that this lovely lady is my girlfriend, so thank you for scaring her out of her wits yesterday.’ A couple of them looked sheepish, and it was his turn to give Ceri a squeeze as he felt her tense. ‘She doesn’t have anything to do with the music business, so I would be grateful if you left her alone.’

‘You’re a teacher, aren’t you?’ a bloke called out.

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