The Duchess and the Dreamer Read online

The childcare manager, Evan’s friend Jessica, joined them. “Okay, kids, say thank you to Fox for coming to see us.”

  “Thanks, Fox,” they replied in chorus.

  “No problemo. I’ll be back soon. Have fun.” Fox got up, then ruffled Rocco’s ears and gave him a dog treat from her tweed suit jacket pocket. “You be good, big guy.”

  Jess walked her over to the door of the childcare centre, where she checked her appearance in the glass doors.

  “You’re not meant to feed the service dogs, Fox,” Jess said.

  Evan straightened her chequered tie and took her comb out of her top pocket and made sure her short dark brown hair was sitting perfectly.

  “It’s just one or two, or three. Rocco deserves a pat on the back for his good work with the kids.”

  Jess folded her arms and chuckled. “Only you would just happen to have dog treats in your pocket.”

  Evan turned around and brushed down her trousers. “You have to be prepared—you never know when you’re going to meet an animal friend.”

  Jess stepped towards her and straightened the fox head on her lapel. “You know, if you were born in the eighteenth century, you’d be called a dandy.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment. I like to express myself through my clothes,” Fox said.

  Jess rolled her eyes. “Oh, I know.”

  Fox had met Jess at university while studying business. Jess already had a childcare degree, but had gone on to study business with the hope of opening her own business. When Fox Toys wanted to extend and revamp their own childcare facility, it was natural to bring Jessica on board to run it. It was a safe, fun environment where the staff could leave their children, and a great perk of working for Fox Toys.

  Fox winked at Jess and said, “You look beautiful today, you know.”

  “Please, I’ve been crawling around with the toddlers next door. I’m a mess.”

  The nursery next door took care of babies and toddlers and had its own dedicated staff that Jess managed.

  Fox kissed her on the cheek and said, “You’ve never looked lovelier.”

  “You’re good for my ego, Fox,” Jess said.

  “Every woman should be appreciated for the wonderful person that they are.”

  Jess laughed softly. “Why you aren’t snapped up and married with five kids, I’ll never know.”

  Evan put her hands in her pockets and let out a breath. “You sound like my mother. I’m waiting for my grand love story—you know that.”

  Evan modelled her idea of a perfect relationship on her mum and dad. Her dad had told her the romantic story of how they’d met ever since she could remember, and Evan was a romantic soul at heart.

  She wanted her own story.

  In the meantime, while she’d had pleasant dates with women, none had felt right.

  Her dad, Donald Fox—or Donny, as he was known to family or friends—had always told her that when she met the right one, it would feel like she’d gotten smacked across the head with a banjo. Her father was a very descriptive, passionate man, and Evan believed him absolutely.

  Evan rarely got past the second date, but she loved women and enjoyed taking them out and making them feel special. One day, she was certain, her love story would come along, and a beautiful woman would knock her socks off.

  “Grand love stories don’t come around very often,” Jess cautioned.

  “All the more worth waiting on.”

  “Well, I can tell you one thing,” Jess said. “Mrs. Fox, whoever she is, will be a lucky woman.”

  Evan felt a heat come to her cheeks. “How’s things going with that woman you were seeing—the TV producer?”

  Jess sighed. “I’ve called time on her. Let’s just say, she didn’t believe in an exclusive relationship.”

  “I’m sorry, Jess.” Like Evan, Jess had never had much luck in love.

  “Don’t worry about me. I can deal with toads. There seem to be a lot out there.”

  Evan looked over the busy open-plan room full of kids. It was sectioned into age groups, each with its own staff, and Jess overseeing it all. “So how is everything going on down here? Any problems?”

  “Nothing since our last meeting. The service dogs are such a great help, especially with our special needs children,” Jess said.

  The company supported many charities, but given Evan’s love of animals, the service dog trust they had founded was close to her heart. She watched two other dogs sitting with other groups of kids, but one little boy, sitting by himself with a brown standard poodle, caught her eye.

  “How is Jamie?”

  “Doing great—now that he has Barney, they go everywhere together,” Jess said.

  Right on cue Jamie stood up, followed by Barney the poodle, and they walked together over to get another toy, Jamie with his hand on Barney’s back.

  “Animals are awesome, aren’t they?”

  Just then Evan’s watch beeped with a text message. “It’s the boss, reminding me I have a phone call to take. I better go.”

  Jess laughed. “You know Violet doesn’t like you calling her that.”

  “Well, it’s true. If it wasn’t for her keeping me on track, I’d be playing in here all day with the kids. I better go. See you later.”

  “Bye, Fox,” Jessica said.

  Evan went out the door into the large entrance hall of Fox Toys and Games. The building was in the centre of London’s business sector but was so different from the buildings around them.

  Fox Toys had moved to this newly designed building when Evan’s father had retired. Evan oversaw the plans personally. She wanted the indoors to feel like the outdoors, and she didn’t want a stuffy old building. The entrance and reception were full of natural light from the glass construction of the building. There were trees and plants everywhere, and you could hear the gush and gurgle of the large fountain in the reception area. Plus, on the roof there was a garden, where employees could take their breaks.

  Evan had commissioned a study that found staff employment satisfaction rose with the changes she’d made, and general well-being had improved. And as a company dedicated to ecology, the natural setting fit their corporate mission.

  Evan arrived at the lifts and pressed for the doors to open. Three women from accounts walked out and gave her big smiles.

  “Ladies, you’re looking wonderful this morning,” Evan said enthusiastically.

  “Thanks, Fox.”

  She stepped into the lift and heard the giggles of the women as they walked away. She chuckled to herself. Wasn’t life wonderful when you spread positivity?

  Her mum and dad had brought her up to believe in positivity and always to spread that positivity, especially to women who—her mother, who was heavily involved in the women’s rights movement and various feminist groups, reminded her—were bombarded with negative body images. It was no hardship. Evan thought women were wonderful, every kind of woman. Although her enthusiasm did get her into trouble sometimes, when a couple of women took her positive words for a romantic interest.

  The door opened on Evan’s executive floor and she immediately saw Violet on her feet tapping her watch.

  “You’re late.”

  Violet headed a team of four, three women and one man, who looked after her diary and administration.

  Evan held her hands up in surrender, then sat on the edge of her desk. “I was caught up with an important security issue at reception.”

  Violet sighed and shook her head. “I may have to report your truthfulness to your mother, Evan. You were in the nursery.”

  Evan clasped her chest dramatically and said, “Please, anything but that.”

  Alissa, Ericka, and Rupert—Violet’s team—laughed.

  “You’re all looking good today, team. Rupert, you look particularly handsome.” Evan winked at him.

  A blush came to the young man’s cheeks. “If only you were a guy,” Rupert said.

  Evan moved close to Violet. “If I was a man, I’d be head over heels f
or Violet. Sorry, Rupert.”

  She gave Violet a kiss on the cheek.

  “You are impossible.” Violet pointed to her office door. “Conference call—now.”

  Evan saluted. “Yes, ma’am. See you later, guys.”

  As Evan walked to her office, Violet called after her, “Oh, Steff Archer is looking for you.”

  “Tell her to come up when she’s free.”

  Evan entered her office and felt calm. There were plants, mini trees in pots, and other nods to her love of the environment. Everything Fox Toys did since she took over from her father was driven by environmental conservation. To the extent possible, all the supplies the company used in the head office were recycled. And Evan’s greatest achievement since taking over was to bring an end to plastic packaging, the only toy company in the world to do so.

  Evan took off her jacket and hung it over the back of her chair. Her office was also her fun bolthole away from the boring corporate world. She had a massive TV screen on one wall where she played all her games consoles, and train tracks that followed the shape of the room until they reached the station on her desk. On another wall was the motto that she lived by, in huge letters: Dream Big and Never Give Up.

  Evan took a handful of sweets from the huge bowls on her desk. There were jelly sweets, Skittles, and Love Hearts—all vegan, as was her diet. She selected a Love Heart and read the words printed on the front: Marry me.

  Her phone buzzed and Violet’s voice said, “Putting your call through in one minute, Fox.”

  Evan picked up a plush stuffed fox toy that was sitting on the coffee table and walked over to the windows of her high-rise office. Mr. Fox, with his top hat, tails, and cane, was the emblem of Fox Toys, and she’d had this particular one since she was born. She’d named him Foxy and told him all of her secrets and worries as a child, and sometimes she still needed to. Evan held him and looked out over the city.

  “I know Mrs. Fox is out there, Foxy. I’ll find her.”

  “Fox?” A male voice from her speakerphone interrupted her thoughts. “It’s Bill from marketing. We have a problem with our new movie licensing agreement.”

  “There are no problems, Bill, only opportunities. Tell me, and I’ll run it through the old brain box.”

  Chapter Two

  Clementine parked her car outside the care home and got out quickly. Panic, guilt, and pressure gripped her. She had to get to her mother. It had taken her too long to get here because of her stupid car.

  She hurried up to the door and pressed the security intercom. A tinny voice greeted, “Hello, how can I help?”

  “It’s Clementine.”

  “Please come in, Your Grace.”

  She sighed at the use of her title, but in a traditional, private facility like this, it was useless to fight against.

  She was met at the reception by Sister Fellows, who looked quite flustered.

  “Your Grace, I’m sorry about this. We can’t calm her down to attend to her ankle.”

  “Take me to her. I’ll talk to her,” Clementine said.

  Sister Fellows escorted her to her mother’s room, and she could hear her before she saw her.

  “No, I want to go home!” her mother shouted.

  Clementine ran the last few steps and burst into the room. Three nurses were trying to stop her mother from thrashing and further hurting herself. The tears running down her mother’s face broke her heart.

  “Leave her—I’ll calm her down.”

  The nurses stepped back and said, “Yes, Your Grace.”

  Clementine knelt by the side of the bed and took her mother’s hands. “Mummy? It’s me. It’s Clemy.”

  Her mother looked at her and said, “Clemy? It’s really you?”

  Clementine could see her mother trying her hardest to look through the prism of her clouded mind.

  “It’s me, Mummy.”

  “Have you just finished school?”

  Her mother’s mind seemed to be always stuck in Clementine’s school years. “I’m here. I need you to calm down, so the nurses can look at your injured ankle.”

  Her mother grasped her hair, and with sheer despair in her voice said, “They’re keeping me prisoner here. I want to go back to Rosebrook. I want to go home, Clemy.”

  Clementine closed her eyes briefly. Her mother always wanted to go home. In her mind and heart, they still lived at Rosebrook House. She silently cursed her grandmother, who’d selfishly lost their entire fortune and land. This was the evidence of that selfishness, and she hoped Isadora could see, wherever she was, what effect her actions had.

  “Mummy, listen, listen to my words. Concentrate on them.”

  Clementine stroked her mother’s brow and recited the Bible verses that usually calmed her. Her mother had always had a strong belief in God, and even when her mind was at its most cloudy, she remembered the words of her faith.

  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want—say it with me, Mummy.”

  As Clementine started the verse again, Marianne began to relax and mumble the words with her.

  “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”

  Her mother was now calm, and while Clementine continued reciting the psalm, she nodded to the nursing staff to take care of her mum’s ankle.

  * * *

  A few hours later, Clementine wandered aimlessly around the supermarket near her mother’s care home. After she’d calmed her, the nursing staff attended to her injury and gave her something to help her sleep. Clementine hated to leave her but she had to—her work project was essential, and they desperately needed the money.

  She needed something to eat for dinner, but there was nothing in the house, and it needed to be something fast to eat at her desk. Clementine picked up a pizza, crisps, and a new jar of coffee—that would see her through. She passed the wine and spirits area, and thought how nice it would be to have a bottle of wine to keep her company while she worked. But did she have enough money?

  Clementine wasn’t brave enough to hope she had enough on her credit card to pay for these items. Her card was too near the limit, and she’d been embarrassed at the checkout before. She got out her purse and saw she had twenty pounds, maybe enough for the cheapest bottle of wine. Clementine was waiting on a few payments coming through from her clients any day now, but that would go straight to her credit card bill, as usual.

  She picked up a bottle of cheap wine and made her way to the checkout. Her phone beeped with a text. She took her phone from her bag—a text from her friend in the village, Kay Dayton.

  If you’re near a shop can you get the twins a few things? Agatha just phoned me, they’re out of bread, milk, and teabags.

  Clementine sighed and walked back to the drinks aisle to put her wine back. The twins were two old ladies who lived in the village, and she and Kay always made sure they were looked after, especially since the local shop closed years ago.

  She looked in her basket and realized she’d probably have to put the crisps and pizza back too. She might not have her ancestral land or home any more, but as duchess she still felt the responsibility to look after those people still left in the village.

  Not that she had the means, but she did all she could. The elderly twins had looked after her all through her childhood, especially when her mother was suffering with depression. The illness had dogged her her whole life, but got worse after they lost their home.

  Clementine texted Kay back, then gathered up all the twins needed and kept only the pizza and coffee for herself. As she walked out to her car, the stress and tension started to spill over. She got into the car and wiped the tears that had just started to flow. She was interrupted by a beep, alerting her to an email—a response to her email
earlier today asking for more time on her project. Her heart sank. They couldn’t wait any longer and had given the project to someone else.

  “No, please.”

  Clementine covered her face with her hands as anger and frustration overtook her.

  Nobody who passed the car and saw her visibly upset and in a ramshackle car with a temporary wheel would have a clue that she was Duchess of Rosebrook, the third highest dukedom in Britain. Her title was meaningless now. She couldn’t do anything to take care of the village and the few people who were left.

  Clementine wiped her eyes and thought, as she had many times before: If only I could abdicate the dukedom. But unfortunately the only way to get rid of the stupid title was to commit a felony or die—there was no abdicating being a duke or duchess—so here she was, trapped in a role with no meaning and no land or money to take care of her people.

  Clementine looked up at the sky and spat, “I hope you’re happy, Isadora.”

  * * *

  Evan was bouncing on the trampoline that she kept in the office while throwing a mini basketball through a hoop on the wall, while her latest audiobook played in the background. She loved reading but didn’t always have the time, so audiobooks were ideal. Her phone beeped and Violet’s voice said, “Steff Archer here to see you, Fox.”

  “Send her in.” She then said to her iPhone, “Pause.”

  There was a knock and Steff Archer walked in. Archie, as she was known to her friends, was Fox Toys’ environmental consultant, a post Evan created when she took over the business. After finishing her business degree, Evan went on to study environmental conservation at night school. Archie was a guest lecturer, and they struck up a close friendship, both being lesbians who were driven by the same purpose, to help save the planet.

  “I’ve been looking all over for you, Fox,” Archie said.

  “Well, here I am.” Evan threw the basketball to her and she caught it with one hand, since she was carrying an iPad in the other.

  “Good catch.” Evan bounced off the trampoline and landed on the floor. She adjusted her tie and smoothed her hand over her hair.