‘Oh God, Jen,’ said Deano. ‘I was going to tell you.’
‘It’s fine,’ said Jenna with a tense smile. ‘None of my business.’
‘Jenna, we weren’t keeping secrets from you,’ said Kayley. ‘It’s just that we didn’t really know ourselves … till now …’
Jenna’s smile broadened and became more genuine.
‘I couldn’t be happier for you,’ she said, and she meant it. ‘But I’m afraid I have to break up the love-in. They’re getting impatient out there. We have to make our speech.’
Up on the stage was the local school choir, having exhausted its repertoire twice over while the audience waited for the big speech of the day. Jason was waiting at the back, checking his watch every few seconds. It hadn’t crossed his mind to pair up Deano and Kayley, but now the thought had been put in his head, he strongly hoped it was true. At last, Deano would be off the scene and the mild insecurity that had plagued him since the rock star’s reappearance could be put to bed. Along with Jenna.
He smirked at the idea, then his smile widened at the sight of her, hurrying up the steps with Deano and Kayley in her wake. Was he imagining that dishevelled look on the pair of them? He thought not. Something very interesting had been going on in the bushes …
‘Sorry, sorry,’ she said briskly to the various media representatives clustering around the stage. ‘Thank you for waiting.’
An expectant hush fell across the grounds as Jenna picked up a microphone from its stand, grimaced at the whistle of feedback and waited for the sound engineer to deal with it.
At last, the conditions were right, and she could speak.
‘I want to start by thanking you all,’ she said. ‘The Bledburn Miners’ Gala was a highlight of my childhood, and seeing it back again has been really special. Like this place and, especially, the people who live here.’
There was applause and shouts of approval from the crowd. It had been a good way to open the speech.
‘We deserve our day of celebration,’ she continued. ‘We work hard, and we know that sometimes the hardest work comes when there isn’t any to be had. Here in Bledburn, we’ve had to graft just to keep going. But we’ve kept going. We’re still here, when some – who shall remain nameless – are long gone.’
‘Harville bastards!’ shouted somebody in the crowd and there was more cheering and laughter.
‘Funny you should mention that name,’ said Jenna with a grin. ‘We’re standing here behind what remains of Harville Hall. The person who sold it to me did his best to destroy it, but I’m here to tell you today that the Hall, like Bledburn, will not be beaten. And here, to tell you about its future, is the real lord of the manor, together with the man who intends to take it over – Jason Watson and Deano Diamond.’
She gloated at the sight of all the confused faces in the crowd. They stared, or turned to each other, frowning, or whispering questions. The line about the ‘real lord of the manor’ had raised a lot of curiosity.
She handed the microphone to Jason, who blinked at it for a minute.
‘Do I have to do this?’ he muttered to Jenna.
‘It’s your house, morally. Yours to take and yours to give away. I might have paid Harville for it, but it’s you whose name should have been on the deeds. And the decision as to what to do with it is yours.’
She saw Jason take a deep breath at that, and nod.
‘Right,’ he said, then he raised his voice and spoke to the crowd.
‘You’re probably wondering what the f … sorry, the hell … I’m doing up here, right? I mean, you know I’m with Jenna, but what she just said has got you all thinking, by the looks of things. By the way, I’m not used to public speaking. Just as a warning. I’ll try not to swear.’
There was laughter, and Jenna was pleased to see that the crowd seemed to be behind Jason, willing him on.
‘A few weeks ago, Jenna was looking into some old family history stuff in Nottingham records office,’ he resumed, ‘and she found out something pretty f … er, pretty weird. See, it turns out that my mum is directly descended from one of the Lord Harvilles, a Victorian bloke. It was kept quiet because … well, it’s a long story, but that’s the gist of it. I’m actually the heir to this place, although it’ll never be legally proved because it was all too long ago, but Jenna reckons it ought to be up to me what happens to it anyway. And please don’t anyone call me “Harville” or anything like that. I don’t think of myself like that and I never will. It’s just one of those things.’
He turned to Jenna, shrugging, clearly uncomfortable with his public speaking role. The pitch of the crowd’s astonished chattering had risen to drown out anything else he might say anyway.
She took the microphone he offered and gave his arm a quick squeeze.
‘Yes, it’s true,’ she said to the crowd. ‘Jason’s great-great-great grandfather was a Lord Harville – and his great-great grandfather was his firstborn son. Only, father and son never knew each other, never met, and so the Hall was passed down to another owner instead. If only that Lord Harville’s wife hadn’t run away to Nottingham, Jason would have grown up here, gone to the best schools in the country, and had a life of privilege and comfort. But, I have to say, I kind of like him the way he is. Anyway, now it’s time for Deano Diamond to say his piece.’
She retreated to the back of the stage with Jason, taking his hand and
standing close to him, ready to relish the moment of revelation.
Deano skipped forward, acknowledging the usual few minutes of whistles and cheers and snatches of song.