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Chapter Seven

Molly stumbled back down the path through the woods towards the lights of Nant Glyn House. She could hear Charles some distance behind her but she had absolutely no intention of letting him catch up with her. In spite of the pain in her lower back she kept up the pace. Her emotions were in turmoil. Damn Charles for stirring everything up again and damn him because he hadn't been wrong. There had been a second or two back there in which she had just wanted to say, "Yes" and go with him back to his room. He had read her completely right. She had wanted it too. But then she'd thought of the promise she'd made to herself after Rick had dropped her well and truly in the shit, that she wouldn't let anyone make a fool of her again and she just couldn't let him do that.

Anger carried her down through those woods, enabling her to ignore the pain but as she reached the lake and started to walk around to the house she began to remember the other side of Charles that she had seen during the last few days; the friendly, encouraging and supportive side of him. Surely it couldn't all be an act. He couldn't pretend to be something he wasn't. Other people seemed to like him too. She reasoned that there must be a nice person in him. That side of him was real and somehow that just made everything seem worse. She felt like slapping herself because she clearly was very stupid. Certainly stupid enough to give herself all the grief of falling for someone who might have been worth having if only everything had been different.

When Molly reached the house she found the lounge and hall to be deserted as all her colleagues had returned some time ago and gone to bed. She made her way upstairs, wincing at every step.

"God, what's the matter?" Kate cried as Molly burst through the door of their room and slammed it shut behind her. She was soaking wet and Kate could tell that she had been crying; in fact she was still sniffing.

"Are you hurt, Molly?"

Molly realised she was in danger of blurting everything out if she didn't pull herself together so she fell back on her accident as an excuse for her tears.

"Yes, I slipped over and I've banged my spine at top of my bum. It bloody well hurts." She couldn't contain herself any longer and burst into tears. Kate moved over to her and began to deal with her in a practical, motherly fashion that was in reality quite alien to her. She helped Molly get out of her wet clothes and into a hot shower before finding her nightclothes and saying she would go downstairs and get her a hot drink.

When Kate reached the hall, dressed in her pyjamas and dressing gown she found Ade and Charles standing there in discussion. Charles appeared to have just arrived as his coat was soaking wet. He turned his head, seeing Kate approaching.

"Have you seen, Molly?" he asked with concern written all over his face.

"Yes," Kate confirmed, "She's upstairs. I think she's hurt herself as she's quite upset."

"Do you think she needs a doctor?" Ade asked, taking a more pragmatic approach.

Kate shook her head, "I shouldn't think so. It's probably just bruises and stuff. Better see what it's like in the morning."

"Can I have a word with her?" Charles asked, knowing that he really should back off. Kate heard just the faintest note of emotion in his voice and combined with the concerned look on his face and Molly's obvious distress on her return, her suspicions were aroused.

She widened her eyes at Charles' question, "Molly's in the shower, so I don't think she'd be too keen on a chat right now."

Even in his agitated state, the fleeting mental image of Molly in the shower was still quite appealing to Charles.

"Right, well, perhaps you could tell her I'll catch up with her in the morning, if you wouldn't mind," Charles said trying to sound business-like.

Kate nodded, "Of course, I'll let her know." She disappeared off to the lounge to fetch a mug of tea for Molly from the vacuum jugs which had been placed there for the return of all the other delegates after the night exercise. The cogs in her brain were already turning and she set herself the task of finding out exactly what had been going on.

Ade turned to Charles. "Bing's on his way back from A and E in Bangor. It was just a nasty sprain it seems and everyone else is safely home now so I'm going to hit my pit. Goodnight Charles."

"Goodnight," he replied.

He saw Kate going back upstairs carrying the mug of tea and wished there was some way he could clear the air with Molly. He hated the idea of leaving this to fester overnight. The clock in the hall chimed two thirty and he realised that he should follow Ade's example. Perhaps when they'd all had a good night's sleep everything would seem better.

X-X-X-X

"Anyone at home?"

The loud, clear male voice, with just a hint of cockney, carried through the hallway. Bing opened the door of his office and peered out to see Kevin Jones, the Managing Director of CSF Management Consultants standing at the bottom of the stairs. Kevin looked every inch the successful, middle-aged business man that he was. He looked after himself, visited the gym on a daily basis, ate well and insisted on eight hours' sleep a night no matter how busy he was. Bing strode out towards him, smiling in welcome,

"Kevin, this is a pleasant surprise. Come to see what your employees have been up to?"

"Too right, Bing. I was expecting to find them all having breakfast seeing as its eight o'clock. Where are they?"

Bing told him about the night expedition and the fact that most of them hadn't got in until the early hours. Breakfast had been put back and there would be a later start time this morning. He took Kevin through to the office for a cup of tea and a chat about how things had gone.

When Charles strolled into the office thirty minutes later after having his customary morning coffee on the terrace he was surprised to see a stranger sitting opposite Bing. The man turned as Charles entered the room and Bing introduced him.

"Kevin, this is Charles James one of my course leaders. He's been working with the blue team this week."

Kevin stood and reached out to shake Charles by the hand. He was about six inches shorter than Charles, fair-haired, of striking appearance, well-groomed and well-dressed in smart-casuals. His handshake was firm and Charles felt his piercing blue eyes sizing him up.

"So you've had the pleasure of handling the likes of Peter Thornton, this week have you? He can be a bit of handful when he's in charge and quite a contrast to Maurice I'll bet." He laughed and added, "What about young Molly? Has she been behaving herself?"

Charles remembered Molly's comment about Kevin Jones being the one who had given her a chance and showed faith in her and wondered if he regarded her as some kind of protégée. He'd heard the story of Kevin's rise from unqualified school leaver to successful business man and could understand his interest in Molly given the similarity of their backgrounds. However, he had expected Kevin to seem older and more fatherly. Instead he was looking at a successful, dynamic man in the prime of his life.

"Well, Molly's quite a character, isn't she," Charles said, thinking to himself that Kevin didn't know the half of it.

Kevin laughed heartily, "Sounds like she's been giving you a hard time, Charles."

Charles smiled and hoped he wouldn't be struck down for lying when he replied, "Not at all."

When the CSF employees came down to breakfast to find their Managing Director in the Dining Room tucking into grapefruit and low fat yoghurt they were surprised but those who knew him well quickly reasoned it was typical of him to show such a practical interest in their activities. He never forgot where he had started out and believed that attention to detail was the key to success even if that meant driving two hundred miles to get first hand feedback from his management team. Molly walked gingerly into the room. She had bruises at the base of her spine from the fall last night and each step was painful. Kevin spotted her discomfort in an instant and called out

"What on earth have you been up to Molly?"

She grimaced and wandered at a snail's pace over to him.

"Bit of a mishap, last night, Kevin."

He stared at her, "For goodness sake, take the weight off your feet and sit down. What d'you want from the buffet. I'll get it for you."

When Charles popped his head around the door five minutes later wondering if he could catch a word with Molly, he saw her sitting opposite Kevin the pair of them apparently deep in conversation. Kate walked past him.

"Wanting a word with Molly?" she raised her eyebrows.

Charles hesitated, "I can see she's busy."

Kate looked in the same direction as Charles. Kevin was smiling and chatting and Molly appeared to be concentrating on his words.

"Yes, Kevin's a great supporter of our Molly." She glanced up at Charles, "I did tell her you'd catch up with her today."

He nodded, "Thanks."

Kate didn't add that Molly had pulled a face and muttered under her breath, "Not if I can help it."

X-X-X-X

The final round-up session had taken place, Kevin had publicly given his thanks to the three instructors and everyone was milling around with their bags in the hall ready to leave. Charles had been struggling all day to get within a few feet of Molly. It was as if she had a sixth sense and always managed to either start talking to someone else or disappear in the opposite direction as soon as he approached. At the start of the week he would have been grateful but now, watching the time tick by, he was becoming increasingly anxious that she would leave before they could exchange a single word that day. At one point he had even considered asking Kate to pass her another message but realised how strange that might look when she was a member of his own team.

Hugs and goodbyes were being exchanged and in the distance Charles caught sight of Mike helping Molly take her bag out into the courtyard. He was about to follow when Alex and Maurice came over to him to shake his hand and thank him. He exchanged a few pleasantries with them but was ever conscious of Molly having already gone outside. Then Sue also hobbled over to thank him for his help last night and he saw his opportunity.

"Please, let me give you a hand with your bag." She smiled her thanks and he lifted the holdall and followed her out to Dave Cairn's car.

As he turned around after placing the bag in the boot, he saw Molly standing by herself, her bag at her feet and seized his chance. He walked over to her in a firm deliberate manner. She saw him coming but realised there was nowhere to go. He could see that she looked nervous. His voice when he addressed her was neutral.

"Molly, please could we have a word in private."

She took a deep breath and refusing to look at him said, "There's nothing to talk about."

He pressed his point still trying to sound quiet and reasonable, "I disagree. I apologise for what I said yesterday. It was presumptuous of me."

Her eyes flashed in annoyance and she looked him directly in the eye.

"Presumptuous? Is that what you think I'm upset about?"

He sighed beginning to lose his cool and his way in the conversation, "Well aren't you? I assumed you were upset by my suggestion."

She scoffed, "Not the suggestion. Just who it's from."

He felt as lost as ever and a degree of desperation had crept into his voice, "So it's me, then. Forgive me, but I got the impression for a little while last night that you did like me." He saw her trying to avoid his gaze and possibly the hint of a blush on her cheeks. He lowered his voice, "Molly, just tell me, please, what I've done wrong?"

She inched closer to him and lowered her voice so that no one else nearby could hear.

"Do you really not understand that there's something wrong about kissing me and trying to lure me back to your room when you're already married?"

She didn't wait for an answer and turned from him so quickly that she didn't see the stunned look on his face. He watched her go, completely confused. Why on earth would she think he was married? Who could have told her that? He'd not discussed his private life once with the delegates during the week he was sure of it and no one else at Nant Glyn House would tell her something that wasn't true. He wanted to call out to her but there were people standing all around and then he saw Kevin Jones leaving the house, striding across the car park towards Molly, smiling and taking her bag to place in the boot of his Jaguar before politely opening the passenger door for her. She didn't even glance in his direction and within twenty seconds Kevin had started up the car and it was purring away down the drive.

He ran his fingers through his hair, watching the car disappear from sight totally perplexed by events. Until that moment last night when she'd confessed to the fictional fiancé, he had tried to keep his distance but knowing she was free had changed everything in his mind. He'd been shocked by her reaction last night but assumed it had been surprise at his behaviour, shock at him acting so quickly the minute he realised there wasn't another man on the scene or even outrage at his ill-judged, heat of the moment suggestion of which he wasn't entirely proud, but now he could see everything differently. She must have believed right from the start that he was married and all her animosity towards him had been driven by that belief. He realised now how staggered she must have been by his apparent jealousy of a fiancé and the way he had acted over the ring. In her eyes he had been in the wrong all the time and her behaviour made perfect sense. There was only one glimmer of hope in all of this. He knew she hadn't been pretending last night. However angry she was, he was sure she felt something for him.

X-X-X-X

"You're quiet, Molly. Tired out after last night?"

Kevin's enquiry disturbed Molly. She had been watching the road ahead of her lulled into some kind of stupor in which she didn't really need to think about anything except putting as much distance between herself and Nant Glyn House as possible. When he'd offered to give her a lift home to save Mike making a long detour across London to drop her off, she hadn't really considered that it would mean spending hours in close proximity to him making small talk. Thankfully, he'd been quiet for the last half an hour, so his question momentarily startled her.

"The night exercise you mean?"

"Well, I didn't think you'd been out clubbing, love." He was smiling as he spoke.

"I suppose it's catching up with me, now," she replied.

"Well, it's Saturday tomorrow you can have a lie-in. Got any plans for the weekend?"

She shook her head. Nights out on a very limited budget were few and far between. The last three months had been about scrimping and saving and trying to make every penny go as far as possible in order to make the rent. It was fortunate it was summer and she didn't need to heat the flat or she may have had to make the stark choice between heat and food. If she was honest it had been a relief to spend a week away on the course and be properly fed at someone else's expense.

"I thought you'd be going out and having a good time at your age. I know I was." Kevin glanced over at Molly. He could tell something was wrong.

"What's up?"

She toyed for a brief moment with telling him something about her problems but it was all too complicated and messy. She liked Kevin and he'd always been supportive and interested in her but he wasn't her father and she didn't feel it was right to unburden herself and tell him all her personal problems. He was, after all, only her employer.

"It's nothing Kevin. Well nothing that a good night's sleep won't sort out. You're probably right. I do just need a good lie-in."

He let the matter drop, but he wasn't fooled.

Two hours later after a few hold-ups on the motorway, inevitable on a Friday afternoon, he pulled up outside Molly's flat, a modest one bedroom apartment in an unremarkable modern block. It was close to a tube station, although it had been chosen more for its convenience for Rick's job than Molly's as it was a good thirty minute journey involving two changes. As they got out of the car Kevin looked up at the building and pulled a face.

"What made you choose this place?"

Molly shrugged, "I dunno, it seemed OK, I suppose."

"Did you get a good deal on the rent?" He was trying to fathom out why she would have chosen to move here when it wasn't ideal for her work commute and assumed there must be some material benefit to account for the choice.

"It's alright," she lied.

She reached out to take her bag from him but after the hours of sitting in his car, despite its manifold comforts, she was stiff and her back was aching She winced as she took the weight of the bag. Kevin grabbed it straight back from her.

"Don't be stupid. Come on, I'll take it up for you."

The last thing Molly wanted was Kevin looking inside her flat but he had already marched ahead carrying her bag and she had no option but to follow. When they reached the second floor and she opened the front door he followed her in and walked through to the small rather bare lounge which contained only one small two-seater sofa, a table and two chairs given to her by Kate and a small TV. Kevin glanced around him at the place, devoid of soft furnishings, rugs, pictures, personal possessions in fact everything that women used to make a place a home.

"How long have you been here?" he asked. The curiosity in his voice was evident to Molly.

"Three months," she mumbled.

She saw Kevin start a little and raise his eyebrows at the news, "You like the minimalist look, do you?"

He saw Molly's face fall at the joke and said, "Look, Molly. I know something's up. Why don't I make us a cup of tea and you tell me exactly what's going on."

He moved around to the kitchen area, filled the kettle with water and then started opening cupboards looking for some teabags. It became obvious to him within a few seconds that there was very little of anything to be found in the cupboards. He turned to her and could see the embarrassment written all over her face.

"You might as well know, I don't have any teabags or any milk, come to that," she admitted.

He gave her a long, searching look. He was a shrewd man, it was one of the reasons he'd been so successful in business. He was adept at sizing up situations and determining the best course of action and right now the Spartan nature of this flat with its lack of any home comforts combined with Molly's obvious low spirits told him something was very much amiss. He looked at his watch.

"You've got twenty minutes to get your glad rags on, Molly. I'm taking you out for dinner and we'll have a proper chat about a few things."

X-X-X-X

Charles drove south through the countryside of mid Wales watching the sun starting to sink to his right. He liked this route through places such as Newtown, Builth Wells, Brecon and Abergavenny in preference to the sat nav suggested route using the faster main roads. It was winding and twisty, taking him through all the principal towns and villages of this part of the world and undoubtedly took longer but it ran through beautiful countryside and he found the journey soothing, far more than snarled up A roads and motorways on a Friday evening in summer. Tonight there was no doubt that his spirits needed soothing. After the delegates had left on a Friday afternoon he usually enjoyed the peace and quiet and the feeling that for a few days the house and its grounds were at his disposal. Tonight, however, was different. He'd felt restless and dissatisfied and had struggled to keep his mind on the job as he and Ade went through the post course de-brief with Bing which was particularly necessary in the light of the problems that had occurred last night. It had taken some time to go through the events and determine whether they needed to take any action or change anything next time around. He listened and tried to keep his mind on the job but he was impatient to be gone and have a chance to get his own thoughts together.

He was still thinking about Molly and running his mind through all the events that had taken place this week, the looks she had given him, the things she had said and his own responses. He had replayed it all, trying without success, to find the answer to why it had ended so abruptly that way this afternoon. Something had been bothering him. Last night she said she had almost let him convince her again. Again? What had she meant? Was she talking about that night at the hotel? It stood to reason that something had happened that night to persuade her to take him back to her room. With his lack of memory he'd assumed that it must have been at her instigation but she was suggesting otherwise.

He searched his mind and the memory of her unhappiness returned, that moment they'd been sitting on the bed or had it been before that? He'd seen her wearing the ring and he knew it was an engagement ring. He'd remembered that so why hadn't he walked away like she'd intended. The long banished, hazy conversations of three months ago started to play out in his mind. He had walked into the bar, ordered drinks, felt annoyed with Rebecca and if he was honest bitter. Seeing Molly sitting alone he had wandered over and joined her, bought more drinks, talked about nothing in particular that he could recall, certainly nothing personal but then he had noticed the ring on her finger….

There was a layby up ahead. It turned out to be more than that; a viewpoint for a local beauty spot. He pulled into the car park, the wheels of the car crunching on the gravel as he came to a halt. He got out. The sun was setting and casting a golden glow across the valley spread out below him and the mountains of mid-Wales in the distance. He took a deep breath and finally opened his mind to that moment in the bar three months ago, willing himself to remember.

He had noticed the ring on her finger.

"That's unusual." He had touched the ring lightly with his forefinger noticing the hand and finger on which she wore it. "Is that significant?"

She had returned his gaze, clearly understanding his meaning and said in a quiet voice, "It might be."

He'd gone to the bar and bought a bottle of wine. When he got back to the table he'd been fumbling with the bottle and two glasses and dropped his wallet on the floor. She'd picked it up. He hadn't fastened the clasp and a photograph of Sam had fallen out. She stooped to pick it up and handed it back to him without a word.

They had drunk most of the wine. Well, he realised now that he had drunk most of it whilst she had sipped hers and said very little. He remembered talking about being in the army and she'd asked about Afghanistan, showing more interest in the subject than he had expected, but all the time he had been irresistibly drawn to her. Her beautiful green eyes had been fixed upon him, watching intently, casting a spell upon him and when he'd dared to take her hand she hadn't resisted him but allowed him to caress her fingers and in that moment he had experienced the sudden and most profound sense of wanting someone. It had been more than that; he had needed her but was afraid that she wouldn't accept him. He had looked into her eyes and said,

"Do you think it's wrong for two people to spend the night together because it's what they want, if they both agree that it's just between them and no one else will ever find out."

She had stared at him weighing up his words for a full ten seconds and swallowed hard before answering, "No."

He shut his eyes and berated himself. It had been his own doing. He had been the one to give her the impression he was married. He hadn't said it outright, but he had nevertheless implied it. She'd seen the photograph of his son and it was what she had assumed. No wonder she'd been so angry with him especially last night. The memory of what he had said was making his own ears burn in embarrassment. It certainly sounded like the sort of crap a married man might use to get a girl into bed for some quick, meaningless liaison. When he'd said that to her he realised that he had been thinking of her situation but she thought he had been talking about both of them.

He had left that hotel room in the morning, still half-drunk, his senses and memory dulled and felt ashamed of himself for getting drunk and picking up a stranger in a bar, something he'd never done before but without recalling half of what had been said. He knew that he had deliberately tried to erase it from his mind and had done a pretty good job. Now he experienced the shame anew and magnified because Molly wasn't a stranger to him anymore.

The biggest irony that struck him almost immediately was that both of them had been mistaken in each other. When they had met in that hotel bar they had been free agents, wounded and hurt by other people but free to do whatever they wanted with a clear conscience. However, consciously or unconsciously they had both hidden behind the mantle of unavailability as an excuse to take one night's comfort and never see each other again.

He wasn't proud of himself or his actions that night and he realised now that Molly had similar feelings about herself. One thing however, was staring him in the face; Molly was important to him. Three months ago when they had met as strangers there had been a connection. Meeting her again this week despite all its awkwardness and complications had simply confirmed it. All of this was just one big misunderstanding, entirely of their own making, but he was determined now to do everything within his power to put things right.