A Roll in the Hay, стр. 26

“Audrey?” Finn asked, more in hope than certainty.

“Katharine,” Susannah corrected with a huff.

The projector screen fired up with the press of a button, and Susannah sank into the huge leather sofa that dominated the space, set at a perfect viewing distance. The lighting was low and warm, and there was a small fridge stocked with white wine and a selection of beers. It was what less enlightened people would call a man cave, even though there were no men in evidence. She pulled a bag of popcorn from the cabinet beside the couch.

“Is this the one where she’s a hot journalist? Or the one with the tiger?” Finn took their preferred spot, tucked into the opposite corner of the large couch.

“You mean leopard, and yes she’s a hot journalist. Her husband can’t handle her workaholic ways, and they sort of accidentally adopt a kid and—”

Finn groaned into a cushion. “Okay yeah, I know which one this is. Mercy, please. Let’s just watch it instead of you giving me the bullet points.”

Susannah was lost to the world as soon as the opening credits rolled. She sighed in contentment and reached for the popcorn every so often as those signature Hepburn pantsuits dominated the screen.

Finn might have protested, but they were equally enthralled as they sipped at a bottle of beer. The surround sound brought all the detail to life beautifully, chasing away Susannah’s remaining headache and the nagging thoughts about Robin and her schemes, or of Tess and how a flannel shirt really suited her.

Wait, what?

No, it was just because the Katharine Hepburn character shared a name with her. That had to be it. Damn that Tess Harding, bringing unbidden thoughts of Tess the vet right along with her.

“Distracted?” Finn asked, startling Susannah from her internal argument. “That’s the first time you haven’t said the lines right along with her.”

“I could do just as well without you, you know.” Susannah could say that because they both knew it wasn’t true.

Before long, Finn’s phone rang, and Susannah knew the fun part of her evening was officially over. She grabbed Finn’s phone and answered for them. “I’m sending Finn home now, Dave! Sorry for working them so late.” She hung up. “Go on, you. Get home to your lovely partner. I’ve got dinner waiting for me upstairs.”

“You’d better get up there and eat something,” Finn said, not for the first time. “Don’t just stay down here all night telling yourself popcorn and wine is enough of a dinner.”

“I’ll be fine. There are plates made up in the fridge. I haven’t starved yet.” Susannah led Finn up to the front door.

“Maybe you could invite some friends up from the village sometimes. Host some movie nights,” Finn suggested. “Shut up some of the gossip, and then I wouldn’t break out into a cold sweat at the thought of watching Bette Davis in Dark Victory for the twentieth time.”

“It’s always going to be this way, Finn. As long as I’m in a mansion and people are worrying about having enough money for their winter fuel, they’d rather stay away and gossip about me. That’s okay, it’s part of the job. A few movie screenings won’t do much to change that. Nor will going to yoga classes at the village rec centre, before you start nudging me about that again.”

“It couldn’t hurt. Oh, don’t forget to fill out the retainer forms for the vet that I left on your desk. He was quite keen to get you all signed up so they can assign someone to cover the horses.”

“Right. The man from the other day.”

“Exactly. Unless you’ve changed your mind?”

“Night, Finn. Drive safe.” Susannah closed the door and leaned back against it. She heaved out a sigh of something like relief, or maybe just frustration, and made her way to the kitchen. It wasn’t worth the telling-off from Finn in the morning not to fish something out of the fridge now, before getting back to the film.

Her footsteps echoed a little despite the soft slippers, just quiet thuds that reminded Susannah how alone she was in this old pile of stone. Maybe it was time she looked for a dog of her own, not just ones she’d home in the sanctuary. A friendly fellow like Waffles could be just the trick.

Which was absolutely no excuse for Tess’s face to swim unbidden across her thoughts again. Picking out some cold cuts and cheese, Susannah made an impromptu picnic to take back downstairs. She’d finish the movie and then go back to work, despite telling Finn she wouldn’t. It all had to get done sometime.

She was woken by a gentle shake at her shoulder, opening her eyes to see grey light filtering in through half-opened curtains. Susannah was face down on her desk, some form or other stuck to her cheek, thanks to the charming fact of her having drooled a little in her sleep.

“Ow! Jesus!” Sitting up was her first mistake. Her bones and muscles had settled into the reality of her sleeping at a ninety-degree angle in her desk chair, and realigning them to a more human posture was painful indeed.

The hand on her shoulder was swiftly removed as Susannah stretched out her aches and pains, yawning heavily throughout. “You fell asleep at your desk,” Finn said as though it wasn’t obvious. “So much for it being wise for me to leave you alone.”

Their voice was soothing, as always, the Scottish burr tempered by a faint rasp. There was just a slight tone of talking the crazy person down from the ledge that Susannah didn’t entirely appreciate.

“You go and freshen up,” Finn continued, urging Susannah with a light touch at her elbow. “You have one of the solicitors coming over this morning to talk about your defamation options, and you should probably look a little better than this.”

Susannah looked down at her crumpled blouse, and swept a hand across her cheek only to find smudged mascara and what appeared to be cracker crumbs