Chapter 30: Back Home

It was not intentional, but the next day, once they were back home in Clovelly, they appeared together more but innocently. They carpooled daily to and from town. He kept her company at the bakery when she worked the night shift. They hung out together at the pub.

This did not escape the notice of the key few that made up their small world: Beatrice, Faye, or Jane. It did not take long before Jane made her feelings of disapproval to Rachel at the bakery.

“Miss. Miss. A word, please Miss.”

Rachel dreaded being summoned by Jane. It was never positive and always annoying.

“Yes ma’am.”

Jane pulled her to the side by grabbing onto Rachel’s sleeve at the elbow.

“Miss. I’ve already told you to stay away from Arthur. I don’t know what your intentions are toward him, but he doesn’t need to get tied up with some random American girl who is here for a fortnight and gone soon after, if you understand what I’m saying. He needs to settle down and marry a good British woman. You two have been seen everywhere together and people are noticing and talking. A word to the wise is sufficient, I hope.”

“It’s not what you think...you don’t need to be worried about it.”

“I don’t know you or what you’re hiding or even why you’re here, but you’d best stay away. I could make things very difficult for you. I work at one of the biggest and most influential law firms in London. One call from me and I could have you thoroughly investigated both here and stateside, making it very uncomfortable for you to be here.”

Rachel pretended she had nothing to fear and remained silent. But inside, she was quivering from fear of Jane finding out her billion dollar background.

“I think we understand each other. Good day, Miss. Good day.”

With that Jane pulled the bakery door shut hard and the bells jangled loudly.

The verbal exchange with Jane and the article in the tabloid about Kurt and Rachel’s upcoming marriage, and being just a short distance away from her father all shook her to her core. Faye noticed her slumped over body and her hands covering her face.

“Ya’ alright, Rachel?” Faye came over and asked with concern. “You’ve been so happy since you came back from London with Arthur. Don’t let that Jane get you down. Take 15 minutes and compose yourself. Go ahead. It’s been a long morning. Don’t let Jane get under your skin.”

Rachel took the break, but she knew that a few minutes to herself would probably make things worse, not better. She started processing the negatives that were weighing hard on her. Things were not seeming like a fairytale today.

Why wouldn’t people just leave her alone? She did not come to Clovelly to find a man, but to escape one. She craved a simple life and now things were turning out like a soap opera no matter where she went or what she did or whom she met. This was not her intention.

Thinking about her problems, she thought Arthur would probably be better off without her. The saddest part was that she had no one to turn to for support since her entire existence in Clovelly was based upon lies and omissions that she could not keep straight enough to remember whom she had told what.

She had two options: she could ignore everything; or confront her problems and fight for the peace she felt living in this small parish. She was more than willing to sacrifice the two men and one woman who were making her life h*ll, but not brave enough to do so. Did her late mom encounter anything similar, pushing her back to America and into her father’s money after feeling like there were no choices? Oh how she wished she could talk with her mom now, the only one she felt could understand her and her growing problems.

Her father was an international business man. Of course he could be in London, but she put nothing past him and some things could be more than mere coincidences. He and his associates could be hot on her trail and the incident in London could be a warning.

The jet setting world of the idle rich still regarded Kurt as a fiancé and someday soon bridegroom. Now that she had found a deeper connection with Arthur, she could not imagine a loveless, arranged, merger marriage without a profound distaste in her mouth and limit on the freedom she enjoyed in Clovelly.

Jane was another problem. All she cared about was getting Arthur and keeping him from anyone else. A true lawyer, she was willing to zealously fight for what she wanted and she wanted him. It was more than that, however. She actually saw him as hers; they had grown up together, gone to school together, and had the same profession. For her, on paper they were a perfect match and he was her due. She was not about to lose him to a fly by night woman without the background and pedigree that she had and she was willing to stop such a woman in her tracks.

Arthur came in just in time. He kissed her on the cheek and then she leaned into his chest, giving him a tight hug.

“There there. What’s wrong? Everything is okay. I had this feeling that I should pop over for a coffee break. You seem like you have the world’s problems on your shoulders.” He rubbed her back and patted her, unaware that his kindness and comfort-care was making her even sadder.

“Arthur...” Saying his name out loud and holding onto him was all she could do at that moment. Should she tell him about Jane, her dad, and her fiancé? She wondered if she cared enough about him to let him go for his sake and for hers.