Estates of the Heart

By Catherine Carson

Jack Sommerville the new Manager of Hillcrest Estate in the north of England arrives to find his PA Helen Braithwaite occupying his chair and making facetious remarks about him to the computer screen on his desk.
After a shaky start their working relationship settles into an amicable partnership until Helen accompanies him south to visit his family and help him untangle himself from a manipulative woman who is trying to trap him into marriage.
Helen has to remind herself that they are only pretending to be romantically involved and the weekend ends in disaster when Jack loses his temper threatening to find a replacement for her as his PA. Will they settle their differences and return to an easy working relationship or will emotions take over…….?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291913224

Book preview

Estates of the Heart

Estates of the Heart

By Catherine Carson

Standard copyright © Catherine Carson 2014

ISBN 978-1-291-91318-7 (Printed book

ISBN 978-1-291-91322-4 (eBook)

About the author

Born in Scotland I now live with my husband in the North West of England.  We have three children who, between them have given us six wonderful grandchildren.

I studied commercial subjects at school and college and spent most of my working life in the offices of various companies, starting as a junior in a local garage typing invoices for car repairs.   I left Scotland and crossed the border to England to marry the man I met whilst on a holiday with my extended family and eventually became a secretary with a beer bottling company leaving six years later when the first of our three children came on the scene. 

Returning to the workforce when our children were young adults I finally untied the apron strings to join the offices of a large wholesale book supplier and embraced the advancement in technology since I had first learned to type on a manual typewriter and take notes in shorthand.

During the years I became something of a letter writer as friends and family lived in many parts of the country and indeed the world.  Often friends and family would tell me…..‘You could write a book’ to which I always replied…..‘But would anyone read it’. 

When my granddaughter asked if I would write a book especially for her I confided in my good friend Lisa Schmidt and she told me to go for it.  That book became the first of many stories which had been lurking in my imagination for a good number of years.

Once started I found the stories simply kept coming and often an overheard conversation or a glimpse from the passenger seat of the car would trigger a likely scenario which my imagination would then elaborate and weave into a story.

My hope is that my writing brings a little pleasure into the life of my readers and allows them to leave the mundane world behind for a few hours as they meet the characters I adore creating.

www.catherinerenacarson.jimdo.com

Dedication

This story is dedicated to Julie who provided the                 beautiful picture of a sunset for the front cover.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same names or names.  They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all the incidents are pure invention.

Other Books by this Author

Stand AloneSeries

The Mouse in the LibraryTapestry of Love-Bk 1

Family TiesTwins Exchanged-Bk 2

Overall ConstructionHighland Feud-Bk 3

Wounded Wolf

Coffee and CakesSoil, Seed & Betrayal-Bk 1

Memories RekindledDesert Prince, Exiled Princess-Bk 2

Wholesale Love

Hope’s ConflictAn Open Book-Bk 1

Estates of the HeartAfraid to Love-Bk 2

Sibling Rivalry

Fighting for CustodyA Second Chance-Bk 1

White Knight Black KnightTaming the Playboy-Bk 2

Through the Garden Gate…

Love Lost and FoundEstranged Husband & Father-Bk 1

Alphabet BachelorsIdentical Mistake-Bk 2

A Dreamer’s Tale

A Precious JewelSigh of the Claymore-Bk 1

Footbridge of SolaceBeyond Claymore-Bk 2

Demolition of the Heart

When Life Gives You Lemons

Return to the Past

Pretence & Reality

Opening a Can of Worms

Chapter 1

Dreading the arrival of yet another ‘Hooray Henry’ to disrupt the running of the Estate Office and bring in his innovative ideas of how to improve the running of an Estate which needed no improvement Helen was not in the best of moods and the heavy April rain clouds which threatened to burst at any moment did nothing to appease her feeling of foreboding.

Helen Braithwaite was twenty three years old having been born and brought up on Home Farm. After leaving college with certificates in office management, she had joined the Estate Office as general factotum to the Manager, but in actual fact she more or less ran the office leaving him free to work outdoors overseeing the gamekeepers and grounds men, but on reaching retirement age the Estate Manager said he did not think he could cope with the changes that were to come and he and his wife left to join their family in New Zealand.

Hillcrest Estate had been owned by the Borrowfield family for centuries but the last incumbent Sir Cedric had died leaving no surviving heirs and had bequeathed the entire Estate to be held in trust by his Solicitors, provided it was used to give practical experience to new graduate students from agricultural colleges. It was to this end that a new Estate Manager had been appointed.

The original Georgian house had been stripped of the Borrowfield family portraits and other paintings and objects d’art and sent to the local museums throughout the district.  Most of the period furniture had been incorporated in large houses open to the public and run by the National Trust.  The house was now used as a conference centre and the reception rooms on the ground floor were fitted with large screens and computer terminals to aid the visiting groups in displaying the charts and other relevant details of their seminars.

The ballroom being the largest of these rooms was used as an auditorium for large meetings and it was in this room that Helen had arranged the staff meeting with the new Estate Manager for the following morning.

The bedrooms on the upper floors were allocated to candidates of the seminars organised by the various companies who hired the facilities.  At present the servant’s quarters were unused but it had been proposed to turn them into accommodation for residential graduate students.

The last Estate Manager had been more interested in house parties for his friends and having been served his notice to leave had organised a group of male and female friends to come to the Estate and enjoy a week of shooting and fishing during the day and partying into the small hours as a result the Manager’s House had needed a complete refurbishment before the new manager could take possession.

Jack Sommerville was thirty two years old and the fourth such Manager since the changeover fifteen months ago and looking at the computer screen Helen saw that he had attained a degree at Oxford University before attending an agricultural college in the south of England. Since his graduation he had worked as gamekeeper on a well-known Royal Estate moving from there to take up a post as a gillie on another Estate before going to Scotland to gain experience in the management of river trout and salmon fishing.  He was an accomplished shot and according to his CV had been riding horses since childhood.

Sitting back and looking at the screen Helen could not help commenting. ‘Well jolly good show Jack Sommerville, I bet Mummy and Daddy was ever so proud of you!’ So engrossed in what she had been reading she had not heard the outer door open and it was not until she heard a clearing of a throat that she swung round and saw a tall, well-dressed man leaning on the door jamb with a scowl on his face.

‘Can I help you? I am afraid the Manager has not yet arrived but if I can be of assistance my name is Helen Braithwaite and I am his PA.’ Observing the man’s brows remained drawn and his jaw muscle seemed to be pulsing, Helen closed the programme and turned her full attention on the visitor.

‘The Manager has arrived Miss Braithwaite and in future I would appreciate if you kept to your own station and refrained from making yourself comfortable in my office. Oh and incidentally my parents were extremely proud when I took my first rosette.’  Jack didn’t know when he had felt so angry, how this slip of a girl dare pass comment in such a derogatory manner did not bode well for their future dealings.

Realising her faux pas Helen thought it pointless to apologise and simply stood up and bowed her head slightly before walking round the desk.  ‘I think you will find all the files are up to date Mr Sommerville. I have called a meeting in the Auditorium for nine tomorrow morning, but if that is inconvenient for you perhaps you could send me an email.’ Again bowing her head she left the office and closed the door.

Jack sat down behind his desk and immediately pulled up the staff details thinking two could play at her game.  By the time he had read through the various personnel and management files he had to admit that Miss Helen Braithwaite had indeed kept everything up to date, but it did nothing to change his opinion that he would have to look for a less abrasive PA but quite how he could do that without being accused of unfair dismissal was another question.

Helen was about to close down her computer and leave the office when her email alarm pinged and checking she saw it was from her new boss.

From:    Jack Sommerville Estate Manager

To:Miss H. Braithwaite

Subject:  9.00 am meeting

Please inform the staff that this meeting has been cancelled and will now take place at 2.00 pm.

J. Sommerville

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Helen could not believe that he had sat in the office for three hours before deciding he wanted to change the time of the meeting.  She felt that he was being deliberately awkward with her but would not give him the satisfaction of letting him know how annoyed she was.

Knowing it was company policy that all foremen and gamekeepers would automatically check there computer terminals before starting their day’s duties in the event of overnight changes in schedules, she felt confident that everyone would receive her message and act accordingly.

Opening the company messaging programme Helen proceeded to inform the Estate staff of the change of plan for the proposed meeting with their new Manager and after pressing the send button she closed down her computer and left the office.

From:       Helen Braithwaite

To:           Home Farm, Estate Foremen &

Gamekeepers

Cc:         Estate Manager

Subject:   Staff Meeting with J. Sommerville

Hi,

I am sure you will all understand that our new Manager needs time to bring himself up to date with the running of the Estate and therefore the 9.00 am meeting for tomorrow morning has been rearranged for 2.00 pm.  Mr. Sommerville sends his apologies and looks forward to meeting everyone tomorrow afternoon.

Kindest regards.

Helen.

Hoping to escape before Mr High and Mighty Sommerville could issue any further orders Helen crossed the yard and took her bicycle from the outbuilding used as a garage and rode home.

Jack read the email his PA had sent and had to admire her fortitude and conceded that round one went to her.

Chapter 2

‘What’s he like then sis, I mean is he tall, short, fat, thin, old or young?’ Laney was fifteen and at present deep in awe of the romantic literature of Jane Austin and other classical authors she saw all men as possible suitors for her older sister.

‘He is tall, broad shouldered has dark brown hair and if he ever stopped scowling he could probably pass as a fairly good looking man, but don’t go letting your over active imagination weave any silly nonsense about him and me; because I have the distinct feeling he will be looking for the opportunity to replace me as soon as possible.  He is just another lah-di-dah southerner who thinks we are all a century behind everyone else.’ Sitting down in the parlour Helen gave her sister a stern look.

Home Farm had been in the Braithwaite family for four generations with her Great, Great Grandfather Quinn bringing his young bride to take up the tenancy back in the eighteen sixties.  Each generation had produced a Quinn to take over the tenancy and her Father was the present Quinn with her twenty five year old brother Quinn waiting in the wings to succeed him but to save confusion he was known by his middle name of Todd.  Todd had attended the local agricultural college before joining his Father on the farm.

‘He can’t fire you Hel, you run that office and he would start a riot among the staff if he even suggested bringing someone in to take your place.’  Todd had always been her champion being three years her senior; her small stature had brought out his protective instincts.  Laney and he took their build from the Braithwaite side of the family but Helen favoured the slight build of the Todd’s her mother’s side and when her sister reached puberty and overtook her she became resigned to everyone thinking she was younger than her twenty three years.

‘Why don’t we all give this chap a fair go perhaps you are prejudging him and it’s hardly his fault that he was born in the south. He might come from a very ordinary family like ours and has had to fight the same prejudices as you are accusing him of.’  Hilda agreed with her husband and called for them all to leave work for the evening and enjoy their evening meal.

*****

‘Everyone is assembled Mr Sommerville and waiting for you in the Auditorium.’  Helen was relieved that everyone had read their emails and no-one had turned up at nine this morning.  She