Blood, Sweat and Tiers by Nancy Warren

Author:Nancy Warren [Warren, Nancy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ambleside Publishing
Published: 2021-01-20T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11

“What do you think, Poppy? Good idea?”

I came to and realized that Florence was waiting for an answer. To what? I’d been miles away, my thoughts caught up in Marlene’s story about the old gamekeeper. I couldn’t stop myself from wondering if he’d recognize me like the old woman had in the pub the very first evening I came to Broomewode.

“You’ve no idea what I just asked, do you?” Florence laughed and shook out her curls. “Do you want to split the garlic baked camembert with me, or are you going to force me to be a greedy guts and gobble up the whole thing myself?”

The bird-watchers had left the pub shortly after Arthur and his crew, and Hamish had secured our usual table for dinner. Everyone was poring over the evening’s menu, ravenous after a long day. Florence was the only one in good spirits, as well she might be after her double win. The rest of us were more subdued. We’d each faced our own difficulties during filming, and there was a palpable feeling of tension in the air, rather than the usual relief at the end of the first day.

I looked at each of the contestants’ faces and wondered what it really meant to them deep down to win. Was it a matter of pride, or did they have their own set of personal reasons for being here like I did? It struck me that I knew very little about their motivations. A flash of shame came over me. I’d been so busy pursuing my own path. It was time to be more present. And then I realized Gaurav was missing. I was about to ask where he was when Florence waved her hand in front of my face.

“I’ll split it, I’ll split it,” I said, laughing. “Sounds delicious.”

“Honestly, Poppy, if only I had a pound for each time you got this dreamy look on your face and tuned out,” Hamish said. “I could pay off my farm.”

I laughed and promised to give my full attention to the cheese appetizer coming our way. I scanned the menu and decided to splurge on a steak. “Medium-rare, please,” I said to Eve, who’d come over to take our order. She smiled at me and nodded.

“Where’s Gaurav?” I asked.

Florence shook her head at me like I was being spectacularly dense. “Take a look over there.” She swiveled in her seat and pointed to the pub’s coziest corner, where Gaurav was sitting with Katie, the bridesmaid he’d met last weekend. They were sitting so close, their knees were touching, and Gaurav looked attentive as Katie talked. Watching them, I was filled with a warm feeling.

I turned back to Florence. “How lovely.”

“I’m glad someone is finding romance,” Florence said. “I shan’t feel sorry for myself, dateless, on a Saturday night.”

“You’re not on a date; that’s true,” Hamish said, “but you did win today’s competition hands down. So no complaining. Anyway, if you want a date, no doubt Darius is about. Or the new security man will be only too happy to show you a good time.

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