Page 101 of Breaking the Dark

This Year

Barton Wallop, Essex, UK

Sebastian Randall is in love with Becky. He hasn’t said it, but Polly knows it. He’s beguiled and besotted by her. It’s only a matter of time before he announces his feelings. Polly hasn’t decided how she’ll react when he does, but for now she’s enjoying the attentions of a trust fund millionaire with a seven-bedroom house and a performance sports car on his driveway.

He’s waiting in his doorway when Polly arrives that morning. It’s a crisp January day, white clouds scudding across an acid-blue sky. His face lights up at the sight of her and he greets her with kisses to both of her cheeks.

She lets him hold her a little longer than is strictly just friendly and can feel him surreptitiously sniffing her hair.

“How are you?” he says warmly.

“Oh, I’m good. I’m fine. How was your Christmas?”

“Oh, you know. It was okay. Spent a couple of days in New York with the kids. A few days in Spain with the old folk. Nice to be back here.” He gestures towards the manor house. “How was yours?”

“It was great! Thank you.”

“Where did you go?”

“Oh, just stayed at home.”

“Alone?”

“Yes, just me and the dogs.”

Sebastian gives her that sad look that he always gives her when she mentions her tragic singleton existence.

“Oh, Becky. A girl like you shouldn’t be spending Christmas Day alone. It’s not right.”

She gives him a wide-eyed smile. “I’m used to it, Seb. Please don’t feel sorry for me. And I enjoy my own company.”

Of course, it’s not true that she spent Christmas Day alone with her dogs. She spent Christmas Day with the dogs and Arthur at the flat in Lincoln. They had turkey and Christmas crackers and expensive chocolates and champagne.

“You know,” says Sebastian, leading her into the house, “I could have sworn I saw you going into the house up the lane the other day.”

“Oh, which house?”

“The Old Farmhouse? The one with the big rusty gates?”

“Oh! Yes, you might well have. I’m doing some designs for the lady who lives there, Debra.”

“Oh.” His face brightens. “Good for you! Another client! That’s fantastic news.”

In the house he makes her a cup of tea and she shows him the mood boards she’s put together for his children’s bedrooms. They’re visiting for the summer and Sebastian wants their rooms to be perfect. Polly, who has never designed a room in her life, has had fun over the Christmas break researching interior design on the internet and putting together mood boards that look pretty professional in her opinion.

She flicks to pages that show her ideas for their en suite bathroom and after Sebastian has made all the right noises about how wonderful it looks and how much the twins will love it, Polly says, “We’ll need to check the water pressure. There’s no point putting in an amazing rainfall shower if there’s not enough pressure to get it up there. I have a plumber I use all the time. I saw him on the way over. He’s actually in the village right now, working on another job. He could pop over now if that’s okay?”

“Oh, of course. I mean, I do have my own plumber, but he always seems to be very difficult to get hold of. So yes, by all means. Give him a call.”

Polly beams at Sebastian and makes the call. “Hi, it’s Becky. I’m here with Sebastian Randall at Barton Manor now if you’re free? Great! See you in a minute!”

Polly has to resist the temptation to laugh when Arthur appears on the doorstep a few minutes later looking very cute in work overalls and a baseball cap. He avoids her gaze and keeps a straight face as Sebastian walks him through the house. Arthur knows very little about plumbing, but then, Polly suspects, so does Sebastian.

Sebastian shows Arthur where the boilers live, in a room just behind the back door, and another one in the attic to serve the top floor.

“I’m going to need to access the cellar,” says Arthur, on cue. “I think some of your pipes feed through there, I’ll need to take some readings.”

“Sure, yes absolutely, be my guest.” Sebastian shows him to the staircase.