There had been a buzz about town for the last couple of days. Spending more time at the manor now than ever before, she got to see preparations start to formulate over their engagement party first hand. Imagining this must be how every event at the house started off and a little in awe of how much went on behind the scenes to the grand events.
A huge workforce of staff was called in to clean the large halls and downstairs’ rooms adjoining thoroughly; every detail was meticulously seen too, even the corners. Large chandeliers were lowered, dusted and cleaned to sparkle for the approaching day. Curtains removed and professionally freshened up. Floors buffed and polished. A crew of ten or fifteen people, bustling around for hours on end attending to every small aspect of making the place sparkle.
Cases of glasses, crates of alcohol and endless boxes were carried in over a few days and disappeared under Alice’s watchful eye to some secret storage place. Boxes of linens and place settings and beautiful table décor and candles. The stream of people who came and went with swatches and floral samples, cake samples, food samples, seemed overwhelmingly never ending and Rob, Abby and Alice, just took it all in their stride.
The event coordinator Deborah, Rob’s very efficient assistant, appeared only once, talking to everyone as though commander and chief before sweeping off with Hamish Munro’s folder of details and setting things in place. Hamish had set the party in motion, but he left the minute details to the normally invisible employee, who was used to this responsibility, judging by the speed in which tasks were dealt with, and vans were arriving.
Rose couldn’t help but feel the anticipation and excitement every time she walked into the big hall. The room being set out far in advance, so preparations could be made, table decor calculated, and buffet food chosen, generally how it would all look with one corner being completely set up to trial the finishing touches.
Abby was old hat at this kind of thing, wandering behind the stream of people with checklists and ‘umming’ and ‘ahhing’. Nodding and signing sheets of paper, seemingly disinterested in most of it. Rose was overwhelmed with the vastness of it all and shuddered with fear every time Abby told her she would soon be wearing the crown as ‘Hostess with the mostest’, soon enough; Laird’s wife took over all of this kind of thing apparently. Along with a ring came the title and upkeep of this house, overseeing the social aspect and generally becoming the master of the party bar, just as Rob’s mother had been.
Rob, although still attentive to her, had withdrawn somewhat over the last couple of days. He was still dealing with work issues and she knew he was still on edge about the way things had ended with Morag. He was more aware of not shutting her out this time, really trying not to, and it was endearing to see him trying to get used to the new behaviour of sharing and letting her in. It couldn’t be easy for him, having to be the one, who after so long of looking after this fragile woman was now the cause of her pain and distance.
He disappeared briefly when he had too, but mostly he had been working from his home office. He liked having Rose close by, easy to find her and strip her naked when the longing overtook him, or he needed to relieve stress, and he had grown a huge attachment to Muffin, who sometimes stole the space between them in bed. Currently Muffin was in his office with him, using Rob’s lap as a nap cushion. It wasn’t the first time she had woken to find both gone in the early hours of the morning, seeing them in the distance outside. Rob jogging along the wood line with her little fur ball bouncing along beside him, tongue flapping free as he joyously kept pace with his new master.
Alice had taken a huge soft touch to Muffin, plying him with a never-ending trail of treats, homemade dog food and always a bone for him by the fire in the cosy room. Tommy had even made him an enclosure in the side garden, so he could be let out from the kitchen door to run wild, a new shiny kennel at the far end and of course lots of Tommy attention when he was out there too. He had become everyone’s stand in child, to adore and spoil mercilessly. Today he was sporting a woolly jumper, made by one of the knitting group ladies as the weather was cooling and had another ten packed in a box in Rob’s room from other equally generous needlers.
Her parents were arriving hours before the party and staying at her cottage. She had popped down from time to time to keep the place clean, light the odd fire and make sure it felt lived in. She missed it sometimes, but the lure of Rob was more than the lure of the cottage and he needed to be there right now, near his office so he could working later into the night. Near family, while they expected him to get involved in the preparations and everything going on.
Rose was starting to feel more at home in the manor anyway, enjoying her time lounging with him in the cosy or sharing tasks in the kitchen when they were hungry. She had set up her art supplies in a small unused study downstairs; borrowing an old desk from one of the disused bedrooms and shelves from another. This house had so many rooms and halls littered about, she wondered if she would ever see them all and learn to navigate her way around. It seemed every time she went wandering she found another door she had never been behind before, a labyrinth of canvas covered rooms and nooks galore.
She discovered the manor had a cellar purely by accident, when Muffin managed to get himself down there and had been crying relentlessly. Hearing him, but not finding him, in a surge of panic before Alice appeared rosy-cheeked from washing floors elsewhere in the big house. She had listened for a second, before leading Rose down a small hall, concealed behind the kitchen via a door that looked like a wall panel and into a creaky stairway down to a floored and musty wine cellar. Stacks and stacks of wooden racks, mostly full of dusty bottles and a whole sectioned off area where the party supplies were being kept. Crates and barrels of various alcohol and of course a huge corner dedicated to the whiskies that the Munro named graced in its familiar packaging. Muffin was hiding behind a stack of sacks, shaking in fear and shivering from the cool temperature down here. Relieved to be rescued and pampers and cuddled by his heroin’s.
There was only one more full day left before their party, and Rose knew he still had not heard from Morag. The town was buzzing; elegant invites were sent near and far, and RSVPs were received with barely any decline. Yet from her, complete radio silence.
Munro family. Turner family. A gazillion locals and those further afield that had connection with the Munros had all RSVP’d to accept. Local news reporters for small town papers and magazines had shamelessly asked for open invites and she knew a couple of photographers for the latter were to appear when the festivities began. Rob hadn’t been kidding when he said this news would interest more than the local gossips. It seemed the entire north of Scotland and outer islands were buzzing about this event and many were travelling far to come. The Munro’s were a known family and as lots of them lived further afield, then this was becoming the party everyone wanted to attend.
Rob had been quiet all day, coming and going, always stuck to his phone or closed in his office with a serious expression on his handsome face. Or walking in and out with his nose in papers and oblivious to the chaos around him as he passed from office to kitchen for coffee and back again.
She had barely seen much of him since breakfast this morning, she knew he had managed to salvage some sort of resolution to his construction issues and business seemed to be returning to normal. She had to get used to this side of life with him, knowing the house and all the expensive perks were all possible because he worked hard and long hours. Because he was a huge deal in the Munro Empire and over seen far more than she even knew about so his father could stay in retirement. Not that any of it really mattered; she would have followed him anywhere, even if he had been penniless and living in a shack. Rob was enough, and all this just added to how much she loved him.
She opened the door to his office quietly, placing the tray of food and coffee on the side table and turned to leave him in peace. His focus was on his laptop and the landline fixed to his ear in mid conversation. He held up his hand to catch her attention and motioned for her to wait with a half-smile; Rose stood patiently, watching him type something while propping the phone to his ear, he said his goodbyes and dropped it back down, catching it easily and replacing it on the cradle.
‘Come here baby.’ He smiled lazily and stood up from his chair as she approached, guiding her to sit in the warm leather instead and planting a kiss on her as she slid past him obediently. He reached out across the smooth table in front of her, pulled over a pile of papers and a shiny dark folder, depositing them in view and sitting down on the edge of the table so he could look over her them too.
‘We’re moving!’ He declared huskily, a smile still stuck on his face and a knowing look in his eye. Rose looked up in alarm, immediate protest forming on her lips as she caught the humour in his smile and glanced back down questioningly as he tapped the papers. Looking down she realised the first few were paint charts and furniture brochures and a layout of the manor plans.
‘I’m confused.’ She looked back and forth from him to the pile of papers. Rob slid out the dark glossy folder from the base of the stack, an architect’s name and logo emblazoned in gold foil on one corner and flipped it open to reveal a spread of technical drawings and symbols, notes and details that she didn’t understand.
‘It’s a floor plan! Plans to turn three rooms into one master bedroom; one en-suite, one room a la Rose, and a new office for me.’ He leaned further over her, so he could flick to an exact page.
‘Where?’ She laughed quizzically, sure this was some abstract joke and already finding a million reasons she never wanted to leave this village or even this house.
‘Upstairs. This end of the house. Somewhere I doubt you have ever ventured.’ He shrugged, flicking over to another page of drawings and leaning in to plant a kiss on top of her head. Rose sighed a little with relief, knowing they weren’t about to up sticks and move anywhere.
‘And this is for us? Why?’ She queried, still a little unsure.
‘Because, my beautiful bride to be, as happy and cosy as we are down here every night, it wasn’t really ever planned as a love nest. It was a bedroom of convenience, so I could work and sleep without wandering far and disturbing Abby or my father, when he still lived in the house.’ He was back looking at the plans and shuffling papers around to find her the designers view.
‘And? What’s wrong with it?’ Rose smiled softly, a warmth flooding through her when she saw the hints of images with soft feminine decor and a blazing fireplace in among the sheets.
‘Something you once said got me thinking.’
She laughed, confused, and trying to think back to tit bits of conversation in her mind from the past several months.
‘I said I wanted to move into a bigger room?’ Rose couldn’t ever remember any conversations regarding the living or sleeping situations, as long as he was with her and snuggled close, she would live anywhere.
‘Not exactly...You said you didn’t really like being here without me. I figured that’s partly because you don’t feel like this could be your home. Is your home.’ He was gazing at her now, watching as she slowly moved papers around on the desk, trying to take it all in and decipher what half of it meant.
‘Rob. I’m still getting used to this place, it’s like the never-ending story, always expanding everywhere I go. Labyrinth in the north!’ She laughed as she again flipped a page, seeing more samples and colour schemes that mirrored her homely cottage perfectly.
‘You’re going to be living here as my wife. I don’t want to bring my bride back from our honeymoon to try and fit into my life. I want this house and this life to be as much yours as mine.’ He was staring at her now, watching her every move and waiting.
‘So, a new bedroom, and what is room a la Rose?’ She blinked up at him, catching his eye on her and the way he was smiling, sending shivers and warmth flooding through her once more with the sheer look of adoration.
‘That would be Abby’s title for it. You need room to work, paint and draw.’ He shifted from the desk, pulling her hand and beckoning her to follow as he got up and hauled her with him possessively. Turning at the door to stroke her cheek with his thumb and trace a gentle kiss across her mouth teasingly. As always Rose’s body reacted greedily and felt disappointed when he turned, taking her hand once more and leading her further into the house.
Leading her up the familiar stair, they turned left along the darker end of the house towards the less used rooms, which were mostly full of sheet-covered furniture and drawn drapes. He pulled open double doors at the very end of the long shadowy hall into a vast wide space of light and airiness, which had her blinking her eyes to adjust.
Two matching huge windows were facing them and letting a huge amount of sunlight glare in at them, dazzling her vision with the sheer power of light. A huge stone fireplace was nestled against one wall to the right and someone had cleared and cleaned this space, so it was completely bare of all furniture, coverings and dust. And of course, clear of any window coverings to protect her eyes.
‘This would be the bedroom.’ He walked in, turning her around in an arc, letting her see the huge size and space and giving her a moment to let it sink in, it really was a huge space with a ton of potential. ‘Over there some fitted wardrobes and units. Maybe room for a sitting area; you know, our own living room to cosy up in. Whatever you want!’ He led her back out to the small hallway, to a door directly to the left of the space and effortlessly opened it. Another large room with equally large windows, again bright and spacious and completely blank, a cream canvas ready for a new purpose. This one was slightly less vast than the first and minus a fireplace. Rob let her go as he moved into the middle of the space, extending his arms and gesturing around him. ‘This would be split into two. A large en-suite with a huge bath for two. Spacious shower, twin sinks and vanities... His and hers! Plenty room for some water sports.’ He winked naughtily, leaning out to catch her hand, pulling her towards the center of the room with a suggestive twinkle in his eye. As soon as he had her close he pulled her body to mould his and butted his groin into her with a wink, Rose sighed and shoved him off playfully. With another grin, he turned back to showing off the room to her.
‘Would take in this space and one huge window here. The other window would be in your space with an inner hall running over there, where the current entryway is, leading to your own little haven. Can only get to it from our bedroom that way, so no unwanted guests. Your secret hideaway to work in peace and would keep noise to a minimum even when the house was full of people.’ He looked thoughtful for a moment. ‘Unless you wanted a bigger room? Then we have one across the hall. It’s not as big as this one, but still pretty huge if it was only for you and no bathroom.’ Rob regarded her as though waiting for an answer and extended his hand to her when she moved towards him. She shook her head, kissing him gently when she was back in his embrace.
‘It sounds amazing.’ her eyes were filling up with emotion, completely touched that he wanted to do this for them, for her.
‘There’s more.’ He pulled her towards the far window, the one earmarked for her private studio, with a grin that was beaming as though he was about to share the most wonderful secret. ‘Look out over there.’ Rob positioned her at the window in front of him and pointed out in front of her into the wilderness, her gaze following. The view across the fields was beautiful and amazing, the hills in the distance and the large forest to the right vaguely familiar.
‘Once they sort out the north forest. Cut back some of the foliage and remove a couple of trees, then you will have an uninterrupted view of the back side of the cottage right there, baby.’ He pointed more directly at a tiny hint of her cottage peeking from behind a tree. Her hand drew to her throat, taking an emotional gasp and turning into him to throw her arms around him.
Such a thoughtful tiny detail. It meant so much more than he realised. Seeing that quaint, dainty house even when she was not physically there would make life here perfect.
‘Thank you, Rob, it’s perfect.’ Her voice was soft with gratitude and happy tears as she nuzzled into him, looking around again to catch another glimpse of her tiny haven. It really would be the perfect view.
‘You will always have that place, Rose. I’ll even sign a prenup making sure that no matter what, it stays yours and yours alone.’ His deep voice and serious tone made her squeeze him tighter, her heart ready to burst with emotion. She shook her head, knowing that he would never take it from her even if they parted. Her haven. Her heart. Rob knew how much she loved it.