Page 19 of Best Mistake Ever
I hold up a hand, alarm making my shoulders twang with tension. ‘Whoa there. I’m not intending to get involved with the event, just be discreetly on hand to protect the interest of the property and the business.’
I think I see a flash of disappointment in her eyes. ‘Okay, no problem,’ she says, with what sounds like forced conviction.
‘I don’t perform to the public any more,’ I tell her, feeling a bit churlish now about refusing to play. But I made the decision for a good reason and I’m intending to stick to it.
‘That’s a shame, but I totally understand,’ she says with a kindly smile.
I open my mouth to defend myself, then close it again. I don’t owe anyone an explanation about why I decided to stop being a musician.
‘Anything else?’ I ask instead.
She blinks at my abruptness. ‘No. That’s everything. Thanks.’
Once again, I feel like a dick for being so short with her. But it seems it’s best to be completely straightforward with Dee, so there’s no room for misinterpretation.
Like that misunderstanding about the kiss she thought I might be interested in the other day. Admittedly, I’d been in ananarchic mood after seeing something online about Tessa and her new partner and so had been more receptive to Dee’s flirting than usual. Perhaps I’d even flirted back a bit. It had felt good to feel wanted. But as soon as she made her move, I knew it was a bad idea.
It was the right decision to reject her advances. I’m sure of that now.
Pretty sure.
7
BEATRICE
Wandering around the beautiful grounds of the hotel, checking that we’ve got everything in place for the upcoming long weekend’s event, I feel a swell of appreciation at the magnificence of the setting.
It’s a real oasis of calm here.
Which is a balm after the tension of the last couple of days.
A change of venue at the last second has been an incredibly stressful thing to navigate, both for me and for Jay. He’s had to make sure he’s contacted everyone who bought a ticket and offer additional transport to anyone who’s been put out from the change in location. Luckily, it seems that most people won’t be affected, so it’s not cost him much in monetary terms. But the mental load has been quite considerable. Hopefully, this means he’ll be interested in holding the festival with us in the future again, as we’ll be a known quantity from this point on.
Something Dee will have in her arsenal for when she comes back to take over.
I take a deep, calming breath, pushing away the strange new tension that’s invaded my chest at the thought of handing this back to my sister.
I should be pleased with what I’ve achieved in the last few days – and I am. But there’s an unsettling feeling of having to let go of something I’m not quite prepared to give up yet.
The buzz I’ve felt from problem solving in the last couple of days is something I wasn’t expecting.
And I’m loving working here at Gladbrooke House. It’s such a beautiful place – something I’m going to really miss once I’m back in my basement office.
The setting here is something else.
The land surrounding the house is bordered by mature, evergreen trees on all sides, so any hint of the sights and sounds of the world outside are shielded from view.
Behind me, the Bath-stone-fronted house glows in the fading, late-winter sun and I realise I’m actually envious of Jonah for his family owning this magical place.
To the right of the house, the hot tubs, which are shielded by a dense hedge, are being heated ready for chilly guests to warm themselves through. Jay assures me that all the decorations that are being strung about the place are eco-friendly and made with repurposed materials. He has a team of artists and prop makers who take care of dressing the venues for the festivals and it’s been a marvel to watch them transform the place into a winter wonderland.
To stretch my legs, I wander through a small thicket of trees a few hundred metres to the left of the house and find myself at a large lake. This is also surrounded by trees, making it completely private from the rest of the estate.
I sit on a fallen tree trunk and watch a group of ducks glide gracefully across the rippling surface. There’s a sweet, musty smell in the air given off by a combination of the water and the floating lily pads and reeds dotted across the lake, which I breathe in deeply. I’ve always loved the scent of water, especiallythe mustiness of it. I can’t quite explain why. It just does something provocative to my taste buds.
Relaxing back onto the rough bark of the log, I stare up at the sky and watch the birds wheeling above me, feeling for the first time in a long time a sense of being properly connected to the earth and nature. I’ve been working so hard in the last few years – all through my schooling, university degree, then straight into the business with Jem – that I’ve barely taken any time out to just be.
Completely forsaking the instruction of my own name. Bea.Be.
