Page 117 of An Unholy Affair
‘Angel?’
She shook her head.
He frowned. ‘I don’t understand. I thought this was a done deal. What happened?’
‘It seems the opposition from the locals is greater than I thought.’
‘In what way? Were they standing outside the church with pitchforks?’
Eveline shook her head, not wanting to throw Simon under the bus, even though that was exactly what he’d done to her.
‘But the meeting was just the woman from English Heritage, you, and…’ She saw the penny drop. ‘What did he do?’
Jack was staring at her with such intensity, and she didn’t want to lie. ‘Simon changed his mind about my ideas and has spent the last week creating a petition against it. There were almost a hundred signatures. Far more than on the one your fath—on the other one.’
His hands tensed on her arms. ‘Why did he do that?’
Eveline didn’t want to tell him about Simon’s marriage proposal. She’d hurt him with her refusal and didn’t want Jack turning up at his door, rubbing salt into the wound.
‘It’s because of me, isn’t it?’
‘No, Jack, it’s me that’s caused this, not you.’
He shook his head. ‘Simon was your friend before I showed up.’ He ran his hands through his hair. ‘Fuck!’
She reached for him. ‘Jack, please. It’s not your fault.’
His gaze fell to her arm. ‘What happened?’
She glanced at the bandage. ‘Oh, nothing much, just a scratch mending the pig pen.’
He raised his eyebrows. ‘What about the electric fence?’
‘Battery ran flat.’
‘Shit! Sorry, Eveline.’
‘It’s not your responsibility.’
‘I should have remembered. How bad is the cut? Do you need stitches? Tetanus shot?’
Ithadbeen deep, but she didn’t have time to go into Bath and wait in A&E. Steristrips were holding the wound closed perfectly well. ‘Honestly, it’s fine. I promise.’
24
The next day, Jack hurried to Foxbrooke Haven, wanting to get at least an hour’s work in on the mural before returning to the Manor to work on the decorations for the Winter Ball taking place that Saturday. But no matter how positive the two projects were, they didn’t outweigh the damage that he’d inflicted on Eveline’s life.
No matter what she said, he knew to his bones he was the reason for Simon’s about-face. The man was as petty as Jack’s father had been and clearly saw Eveline as somehow belonging to him and him alone. But why? He wasn’t in a relationship with her. It made no sense.
Outside the entrance to the main building at Foxbrooke Haven, he inputted the code for the door.
It didn’t work.
After the third try failed, he rang the intercom.
‘Hello?’
‘Hey, Erica, it’s Jack. The code for the door doesn’t work.’
