Chapter One

Max stared at the house then glanced back down at the sheet of paper in his hand. He couldn’t possibly be in the right place.
“The house itself is an architectural gem, offering the perfect family environment,’ he read the letter from Ginny, his former secretary out loud in disbelief and looked up once more at the facade in front of him. ‘This is never going to work.”
Stone gargoyles peered down from their ledges and nooks. Curved and curly fascia boards with peeling paint sat on top of the bright red bricks like melted icing on a particularly ugly cake.
Max shook his head. “All this place needs are some bats around the turret and a storm cloud on top!” Right on cue, the dark grey sky which had threatened rain all morning decided to oblige.
What on earth had Ginny been thinking of when she had suggested this place as a suitable home for his niece? Even if Thea Sinclair was the Mary Poppins-like paragon of virtue Ginny had kept boasting about, there was no way his sister would allow him to bring his little niece, Emily to live here.
Convinced he was wasting his time, he tugged impatiently on the large brass angel bell next to the front door. No one appeared from inside to answer the unmelodious clanking.
Stepping back a pace, he surveyed the blank windows. The house appeared empty; Ginny’s friend had obviously forgotten he was coming. Annoyed at having driven so far in vain he turned towards his car. The summer shower had rapidly developed into a fully-fledged downpour when a small boy in shorts and a tee-shirt raced round the corner of the building and cannoned into Max’s legs.
“Can you come and help Thea? Only she’s stuck!”
Bemused, Max followed his young guide around the corner to a sash window on the side of the house. A feminine pair of damp, denim-clad legs waved wildly in the air as their owner attempted to free herself from the weight of the frame. The sash had closed firmly on her bottom, trapping her half in and half out of the window.
“Are you trying to break in or get out?” Max addressed the rain soaked bottom; the rest of its owner was inside the house. A muffled reply and more agitated leg waving answered him.
“The wind blew the door shut and we got locked out. Thea thought she could squeeze in through the study window but the frame slid down and her bum is too big,” explained the small boy helpfully. “I’m Tom, I live next door.”
Max groaned, he hadn’t made a horrible mistake. He should have recognised Tom from the hundreds of photo’s Ginny had shown him when they had met at his office last week. This house was Stony Gables and presumably this must be the bottom half of his hostess.
Mentally cursing Tom’s mother and her bright ideas, Max seized the sash and managed to pull it upwards a little so the weight of the frame was off the woman’s back. Immediately, the legs disappeared inside the house with a crash and an agonized shriek.
“Are you alright?” He tried peering inside through the glass but couldn’t make anything out in the gloom. Rainwater dripped off his hair and the end of his nose. What had started out as a fine summer’s day had soon turned into a cold, wet one and he was soaked to the skin.
“I’m fine, come round. I’ll open the front door,” a disembodied female voice called.
Max couldn’t see where she had gone.
“You’re very wet,” Tom announced.
“So are you,” Max replied grimly and followed his little helper back around to the front of the house. The young woman waiting to greet them on the step was not the cardigan-wearing, middle-aged spinster he had pictured from his chat with Ginny.
Instead Theodora Sinclair appeared to be a slender young woman in her mid twenties, who in addition to possessing shapely denim-clad legs and a rather delectable bottom, also had a cloud of wild blonde curls and silver toe rings on her bare feet.

Thea surveyed the two dripping wet people in front of her with dismay. So much for her carefully planned welcome. She tugged her tee shirt down to cover the gap above the waistband of her jeans and thought ruefully about the sedate new summer dress she had hanging upstairs in her bedroom. The wet and cross looking man in front of her would never want to stay here or hire her to help him care for his niece now. It was typical of her luck to stuff things up, and her knees hurt from where she had crash-landed onto the study floor.
“Come in, I’ll find some towels. Tom, go through to the kitchen.” Biting her lip in despair, she ushered them both inside.
“I’m so sorry about this.” She bustled around the large old-fashioned kitchen, pulling towels from the wooden airer in the scullery. “Tom followed me outside and a gust of wind caught the door.” She peeped at the stern face of the sodden man in her kitchen. Perhaps he would see the funny side. “I forgot the sash weights in the study window weren’t balanced right. Every now and then it slides itself shut. I must have knocked it when I climbed through.” She blinked at her guest, looking hopefully for a glimmer of understanding.
“Silly sort of thing, could happen to anybody.” She laughed nervously. Shut up Thea, she told herself. Her guest wasn’t smiling.
“It happens to you a lot, Thea,” Tom added. “Like when you fell off the veranda roof rescuing Action Man’s parachute and when Mum’s geese got out and chased you.”
Thea enveloped Tom’s head in a towel and began to rub vigorously at his short spiky hair. “I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself properly - I’m Theodora Sinclair, I presume you must be..?”
The formidable man paused in his drying. “Max Richardson.” He began to unbutton his wet shirt, which clung to his broad shoulder blades. Oh sugar, it was him. Her last wild hope that he might have been a passing double glazing salesman died.
“I take it you were expecting me today?” He didn’t sound as if he were very sympathetic about her mishap with the door and the window.
“Yes, Ginny said you’d be here about eleven. Everything’s all ready.”
He lifted one dark eyebrow as if he questioned this assurance and, peeling off the wet shirt, he draped it over the back of one of the scrubbed pine kitchen chairs.
Thea knew she was staring at the well-developed muscles of his chest, but her power of speech seemed to have deserted her. Ginny had said her former boss was good-looking but she hadn’t said how good. Only when his hands moved to the waistband of his trousers did Thea manage to utter a squeak of protest. He wouldn’t, he wasn’t. He couldn’t!
Frowning, Max fumbled in his pocket and pulling out a set of car keys he tossed them over to her. “Would you mind getting my holdall from the boot of the car? I’m freezing cold.”
Flustered, Thea watched, horrified, as he unzipped. He was!
“Are you going to take your pants off too?” Tom enquired innocently from his cosy cocoon of towels. Thea grabbed the keys and fled crimson-faced into the rain towards Max’s gleaming silver Mercedes.

Tom watched with avid interest as Max dropped the saturated trousers onto the tabletop and wrapped a large towel around his waist over his shorts.
“Thea’s face was all pink. Did you know you could ask your mummy to buy you pants with pictures on them?”
Max sighed; his former secretary, Ginny, whilst more tactful, was just as plain speaking and Tom clearly took after his mother.
“Would you like a biscuit?” Tom pointed at a tea tray on the dresser, which was all set out ready with cups and a plate of cookies. “Thea bought chocolate ones specially. Mummy told her you liked them.”
“Mummy seems to have said a lot of things,” Max observed. Where was that Sinclair woman? He began to feel uncomfortable standing in a strange kitchen wearing just his boxer shorts and a towel.
Tom helped himself to the cookies. “Thea’s not very good with cars. She only drives a bike. Do you like bikes?”
Thea panted back into the kitchen. “I had a bit of trouble with the key.” She proffered him the large navy holdall.
Tom looked at him meaningfully and popped another biscuit in his mouth.
“No biscuits, not before lunch!” She dived to recover the half-empty plate and glared at the unrepentant Tom.
“Would you like a cup of tea or coffee?” she asked a flustered expression still on her face.
“If you could show me to my room I’d like to get some clothes on first.” Once he had some dry clothes on he would be able to make his excuses and escape from this mad house.
“Oh yes, of course. I’ll take you upstairs.” Thea Sinclair’s face was now as pink as the skimpy tee shirt she wore and she scuttled into the hall and up the carved wooden staircase like a startled rabbit.
The house was as eccentric on the inside as it was on the outside. A great stuffed grizzly bear wearing a tie and a panama hat stood next to the grandfather clock in the tiled hallway, and at the top of the landing a wall painting gave the impression you were entering through a stone archway into open countryside.
“I thought you might like the Blue Room, and then your niece could have the little bedroom in the tower. It’s the next door down; it was my room when I was small. It’s perfect for a little girl.” She opened the white panelled door. Max stared; he could see why it was called the Blue Room. The walls, the ceiling, the curtains, the carpet and even the hangings on the carved oak four poster bed, which dominated the room, were all blue.
“There’s a nice view of the garden.” Thea had crossed over to the large sash window, which had a window seat in the deep bay. “And there’s a door through here into the bathroom.” She led the way over to another door and flung it open.
Max peered inside to discover an enormous claw-footed cast iron bath amidst the rest of the Victorian plumbing. He thought longingly of the power shower and streamlined minimalism of his warehouse conversion flat.
“It all looks lovely, thank you.” He struggled to be polite; his hostess had clearly tried hard to make the room look inviting with fresh towels and a posy of flowers.
Thea looked relieved, her face lighting up at his praise.
“I’ll leave you to get changed and I’ll go and put the kettle on.” The door clicked shut behind her and Max sank down on the edge of the bed.
Glumly, he surveyed his surroundings; Stony Gables had sounded like such a good idea when Ginny had suggested it. His former secretary could normally be relied upon to show good judgment and finding a suitable family home for rent owned by a nursery teacher in need of a temporary job was a miracle indeed. For his niece’s sake, he had to make the arrangement with Thea work somehow and he was out of time and options.
He hauled his bag towards him and took out a pair of jeans. His trousers were almost certainly ruined thanks to the drenching he had received outside. Pulling on his dry clothes, his mind ran back over the last conversation he’d had with his younger sister.
“She can’t stay with you! It’s ridiculous, Max. I know you love Emily and she’d be happy but you have no idea how to care for a child her age twenty four hours a day.” He had heard the sob in Julia’s voice and knew how desperate his sister was.
“But Julia, you’ve admitted she’d be happier staying with me rather than with Great Aunt Nettie while you’re away.” He had tried to reason with her; Julia and Paul’s marriage had degenerated into a war zone and Emily was caught up in the no man’s land in the middle.
“Where would she sleep? Who would care for her while you’re at work?” His sister had rounded on him fiercely. “You can’t have a little girl sleeping in that one bed-roomed museum of a flat of yours - and don’t tell me that my child is going to be cared for by a stream of your girlfriends. It would be different if you were settled or had a house.”
Max was forced to concede some of her argument. “What if I rent a house? A nice family home? I’ll work partly from there and take time off. I can engage a proper nanny for Emily so she’ll be well cared for. She’d love it Julia, it would be like a real holiday.” He had waited with baited breath for his sister’s response.
Julia’s husband had been transferred abroad with his job for the next eight weeks and Julia intended to use the time travelling with him to resolve their marriage problems.
“I don’t know, Max, it’s expecting a lot of you. I mean, you’re hardly Mr Commitment.” He knew she was wavering and pressed ahead with his case.
“At least let me find somewhere and you can have a look. You aren’t due to leave for a few weeks. It’s got to be better than Emily staying with Aunt Nettie.”
Eventually after much persuasion she had agreed, which was why he was now here at Stony Gables. He zipped the holdall back up and sighed. Seeing Emily suffer while her parents bickered in front of her like two dogs with a bone reminded him of his own childhood only too well.
He was ten years older than Julia and remembered vividly the nights he had spent sitting on the stairs with his arm around his baby sister, comforting her while their parents fought. He couldn’t bear to see little Emily go through the same thing alone.

Thea could hear Tom’s clear voice as she walked back downstairs and she automatically speeded up. If he had answered the door after everything she had told him about talking to strangers...
“I’ll strangle the little monkey,” she muttered.
To her relief, it was Tom’s mother’s light laughter she heard as she drew nearer the kitchen door. Ginny smiled at Thea as she entered the room.
“Tom told me you’d gone upstairs with a man who was only wearing his pants!”
Tom gave Thea an innocent grin from his chair by the Aga, a ring of chocolate round his mouth. Thea explained what had happened while she made a pot of tea. Ginny smiled ruefully and shook her head.
“Oh, Thea! I thought we had it all planned out so beautifully. Trust you to muck it up!”
“I can’t help it. Things just seem to happen to me.” She leaned her bottom on the rail fronting the Aga and took a sip of her tea.
“I see you didn’t change your clothes, either.” Ginny frowned at Thea’s tatty jeans and skimpy midriff-revealing tee shirt.
“I was going to! I just hadn’t anticipated getting wedged in a window.” Despite everything, Thea caught Ginny’s eye and burst out laughing. Her friend tried to look cross but failed miserably and joined in with Thea’s giggles.
“You are hopeless, Thea. You need this job, remember? Your new post at the day nursery doesn’t start till September and you have to get the repairs done to this place if you want to stay here.”
Thea sobered up in an instant. “I know - and I am grateful for everything you’ve done for me, Ginny.” Her friend would never know how much she appreciated the help and support Ginny had given her during Thea’s father’s long illness.
The kitchen door squeaked open and Ginny turned her head to smile a welcome. “Max! How lovely to see you. Thea was just telling me what happened to her.”
Max bent to kiss his former secretary on the cheek. “I gathered that from the laughter I heard on the stairs,” he remarked dryly. He still didn’t appear to have found the situation funny.
Thea busied herself with the teapot, her hands trembling. “I made you a cup of tea; help yourself to sugar and cookie...” Her voice trailed off as she noticed the empty plate and the wide-eyed expression on Tom’s face.
“Oh boy, it’s time we went. Come on Tom, you’ve annoyed Thea long enough today. Thanks for looking after him, Thea. I’ll leave you two to talk and make all the arrangements for Emily’s stay.” As she spoke, Ginny hauled her son out of his comfy chair, shoved his freshly dried clothes back on him and marched him out of the door.
“So.” Thea indicated one of the scrubbed pine chairs, which stood around the circular table in the corner of the kitchen. “Ginny said you were interested in renting the house for a short time and in employing me as housekeeper and nanny for your little niece.” She sat herself down on the chair opposite him and took a sip of her tea.
It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He didn’t look any less intimidating in jeans and a casual top than he had when she had opened the front door to see him standing there in a designer shirt and trousers.
Guiltily, she hoped nothing bad would happen to them while they dried out on the top of the Aga. She had melted all the buttons on a brand new top a few weeks ago when she had inadvertently put it on the hot plate by mistake.
“I’m not sure how much Ginny has told you about the circumstances, Miss Sinclair, but my niece has been having a difficult time lately and I’m looking for a home with a nice family atmosphere while her parents are away.” He seemed to be picking his words with care.
“Stony Gables would be perfect then,” Thea jumped in eagerly. “This is a lovely family home and I’m sure you’d both be really comfortable here. There’s a neighbour’s pony in the field at the bottom of the garden and lots of room to play. I have a study off the lounge, which you can use to work from, as well.”
“I’m sure you love your home very much, Miss Sinclair, but I’m just not sure it’s quite…” He tailed off, looking a little uncomfortable.
“Oh please, call me Thea. I’ll show you round and you’ll soon see. I’m a very good cook too - and I’m a trained nursery teacher, so your niece would be in good hands while you were at work.” In her eagerness to convince him she wiggled forward to the edge of her chair, accidentally slopping a little of her tea onto the tabletop as she leaned forward to expound her case. She willed him on mentally to say yes and agree to employ her while she tried to hide the puddle of tea with her mug.
“Miss Sinclair - Thea, I’m sure you have glowing references and Ginny has sounded your praises to the rafters -”
“But?” There had to be a but, she could tell. Perhaps her house was too old and shabby for him. Judging by his clothes and the very fancy car outside, she knew he must be used to the best of everything. Her heart sank; she had been counting on the income his stay would bring.
He paused and appeared to be weighing his words with care. “You have a seven foot tall stuffed grizzly bear wearing a tie and a hat in your hall.”
She stared at him. What kind of a criticism was that?
“My sister is being very particular about the arrangements she makes for Emily. She leaves for the Far East in less than two weeks, so I haven’t much time left to find a suitable home. I’d already been looking for quite a while when Ginny suggested here.”
Thea frowned. What was he trying to say? He didn’t like her house but didn’t have much choice left was what it sounded like.
“My home may be old, Mr Richardson, but you’ll see it’s very clean and comfortable. I’m sure your sister will be quite happy to leave Emily here when she goes away with her husband.”
“Please, call me Max. It’s very important to me that Julia does decide to trust me with Emily’s care. The only other viable arrangement is that she stays with her father’s elderly great aunt, who is very kind and well meaning but is also extremely deaf and has a large moustache. Emily is terrified of her.”
Thea sighed and rested her elbows on the table. “Ginny said your home was unsuitable for Emily to stay there.”
He nodded and took a sip of his tea. “It’s a one-bedroom apartment in a warehouse conversion in the centre of the city.”
“And there’s no Mrs Richardson or future Mrs Richardson to help you take care of Emily?” Thea met his gaze square on. She hadn’t noticed a ring.
“No, and nor is there likely to be,” he declared vehemently.
Thea flushed and opened her mouth to speak, as his dark brown eyes scorched into her skin.
“I’m not gay either, before you ask,” he added, pre-empting her next question. “I just don’t believe in marriage.”
Thea wondered what had happened in his life to make him so cynical, unless he had thought she was asking out of personal interest. He had a big opinion of himself if that was the case. She barely knew him!
“Well, I’d better show you around so you can think about things.” Feeling decidedly nettled; she rose from the table and carried her empty mug over to the sink, glad of an opportunity to allow her hot cheeks to cool. Rinsing her mug and standing it on the draining board, she noticed the peeling paint on the window frame as if through fresh eyes. Critical eyes.
She had to convince Max that Stony Gables would be a good home for Emily. She needed the money his rent and her wages would bring. It would mean she could get the house painted and the heating fixed, the plumbing redone and the roof repaired. She allowed herself a blissful little daydream of all the things she could do with the cash, before squashing her little fantasy flat. There was no point in thinking about all her plans if it looked like he was about to say “Thanks, but no thanks” and go on his way.

Some forty minutes later, having toured the house from attics to cellar, Max found himself standing rather dazedly back in the kitchen where they had started. Thea had talked non-stop on her tour and that, combined with the fact this was the oddest house he had ever been in, made him feel more than a little disorientated.
She smiled at him, her long silver earrings swinging as she awaited a response to the question she had apparently just asked. Max suspected he knew how Alice must have felt when she fell down the rabbit hole.
He had to admit that despite his misgivings about the strange contents of the house, it had a quirky kind of charm. In many ways it was much better than any of the other properties he had already seen. He had scrutinized Thea’s references before leaving London, so he knew there was no problem there, plus Ginny had recommended her very highly.
“I’m sorry, I was thinking.”
She smiled. “I asked if you would like some lunch.”
“Yes, thank you.” He sat down at the table while Thea buzzed about the kitchen, humming softly to herself. While she busied herself preparing the meal, he tried to pin down why he was so reluctant to admit to himself that this house would make a good home for him and Emily.
Thea was a pretty young woman, but definitely not his type. So why did he find her long slim legs and wild hair so attractive? His tastes ran more to elegant brunettes like Gabby, his last girlfriend.
But would Julia be happy to entrust Emily’s care to someone as scatterbrained as Thea appeared to be? She might be a highly qualified teacher with lots of experience - Ginny trusted Thea with her beloved Tom - but from her dress sense and rambling conversation, she seemed to be as eccentric as her home.
“Here you go.” She slid a large plate of salad and quiche in front of him. “Would you like a glass of wine?”
“Yes, thanks. This looks very nice. Did you make the quiche yourself?”
She poured him a large glass of white wine. “Yes and I grew the salad stuffs and made the bread. I grow a lot of my own things here, it’s healthier.”
It certainly tasted good. She sat down opposite him and began to eat, her silver-blonde curls luminous around her small face.
“So how long have you been renting out rooms here? Ginny said you normally did bed and breakfast for business travelers.”
She nodded, her long earrings twinkling in the light from the window. “I moved back here twelve months ago to care for my father while he was ill. I needed to be with him twenty-four hours a day, so I gave up my job and my flat to move back home.” A shadow passed over her face. “After he died, I inherited Stony Gables and a heap of debt. I used my savings to pay off as much as I could and I got a few repairs done on the house. I’ve a new job lined up in the autumn at the local nursery school, but in the meantime the B-and-B business helps pay the bills.”
He sipped his wine and regarded her thoughtfully. There was much more to Thea then he had originally thought. He wondered if she had given up some man as well as her home and career. Irritated by the direction his thoughts had taken, he forced himself back on track.
“It must be quite difficult living in a house this size on your own. You’ve never thought of selling it and buying something smaller?” It seemed to Max to be the logical thing to do. A house this size plainly needed far more upkeep than a young, single nursery teacher could provide.
She laughed, her blue eyes sparkling. “Sell Stony Gables? Never! Although the estate agent in the village keeps trying his best to persuade me.”
“This house means a lot to you then?” He smiled; he couldn’t imagine anyone being sentimental about a piece of property. His youth had taught him that nothing was forever, so there was no point in becoming attached to anything or anyone.
“Of course.” Thea stared at him; her eyes as round with astonishment as Tom’s had been earlier when she had confiscated the cookies. “This is my home. My great-grandfather had this house built to his own design.” Sipping her wine, she added, “I had such a happy childhood here, I know Emily is going to love it.”
“I hope so. Right now Emily could do with a nice period of uncomplicated childhood.” A pang of envy shot through him, if only his and Julia’s childhood had been as idyllic.
Thea’s expressive blue eyes warmed with concern. “When do you expect her to come and visit?”
“I’ll ask Julia and Emily to come down tomorrow. Paul’s already left for Singapore so it’s all up to Julia to finalize the arrangements for Emily. I just have to phone her and confirm the arrangements. If she approves then we’ll go ahead with the rental agreement.” Unexpectedly he felt reassured by Thea’s ready sympathy for Emily’s situation.
Thea stood up and began to clear the plates. “In that case, I’ll prepare a room later for your sister to stay in while she’s here.”
Watching her stack the crockery, Max hoped he had done the right thing. He had to persuade Julia that he was more than capable of caring for Emily. He just had to pray that Thea and Stony Gables would manage to work their quirky charm on his stubborn and single-minded sister.