They swallowed his suggestion with alacrity and the tension in the room dissipated. Anjuli looked around, scanning each face for signs of protest. Was that it? Were no other concerns going to be raised now that the Common Riding was secured? Rob exchanged a satisfied look with Councillor Hamish, increasing her ire. She took a few steps through the opening gap and cleared her throat.
Only Rob seemed to notice. His face lost its smile and he turned his back. Eyes narrowed, Anjuli watched him schmooze with the panel. His deliberate dismissal fuelled her determination to be heard. What was between them had nothing to do with the wind farm and he had no right to ignore her. Thoughts of apologising for her past misdeeds, of needing to be humble and ask for his help, fled from her mind.
“I have something to say, Mr. Douglas, and I would appreciate it if you would turn around and listen.”
Anjuli scrambled onto the platform, careful of the broken glass still in her hand. As she straightened she could hear her name flying around the room in stage whispers. From behind the bar, Ash grinned and mouthed the word “tomorrow.”
Great, keeping a low profile had lasted less than a week and now she owed Ash a shift without pay. Anjuli lifted her chin and cloaked herself in the glamour of her performing days, giving the crowd her concert smile. She pitched her voice to a clear and steady middle C.
“Some of you may remember me. I’m Anjuli Carver, and at the weekend I moved back to Heaverlock, permanently. I’ve bought Castle Manor and I plan to open it as a B&B in the summer.”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Rob stiffen. If she didn’t know better she would have thought him a statue. Except a statue couldn’t look at her with such thinly veiled contempt, it couldn’t make her feel bereft or fill her with pain.
For three months she’d told herself that her reaction to seeing Rob in London had been a case of blast-from-the-past blues. She’d had sex with him because she was depressed and half-drunk, confusing what she used to feel for him with reality. Yet here she was, wanting to take a chisel and close the distance between them. Chip off the cast around his body and reveal the passionate man who had made love to her.
She was a basket case, just like Ash said.
Anjuli looked at the villagers. “A wind farm would be disastrous for our tourist industry. People flock here for the Common Riding Festival and they come to see Heaverlock Castle. They want to experience the uniqueness of Scottish Borders life, to hunt in grouse season and come back for pheasant in the winter. To trek and cycle in the summer. But nobody will visit us, stay in our B&Bs or buy from our shops if they have to share the experience with a wind farm.”
Anjuli was pleased to see curiosity turning to alarm. She scanned the councillors at the trestle table, trying not to notice Rob. He regarded her coolly but his posture was angry. What the hell was his problem? Did he have a vested interest in settling a wind farm so close to the village? Had his support for the village been only pretence? He’d changed so much, maybe he was now an opportunist who cared nothing about Heaverlock.
Indignation drowned the last of her awkwardness and twisted it into anger. If Rob thought to put his own interests above people’s livelihoods he was in for a fight.
“Why are you pushing a wind farm on our moors, Mr. Douglas?” she asked heatedly. “What possible reason could you have for condoning the destruction of our tourist industry?”
The crowd drew in a collective gasp and the room went eerily silent. The only sign of Rob’s fury was the muscle twitching above his mouth. Slowly, painfully, Anjuli became aware of the seriousness of her very public, very serious accusation. People stared at her in disbelief, waiting for her next insult. Why didn’t she say something? Apologise or try to ameliorate what she’d said? She needed to find the right words but her throat was as dry as her brain.
Rob waited for the crowd’s murmurs to cease. “My motivation is simple, Ms. Carver,” he said levelly. “Protecting our environment. It’s time to take responsibility for the problems we’ve created, no’ run away from them.”
Run away?
Was he referring to their wedding day or was she paranoid as well as crazy? The adrenaline that had spurred her to the platform trickled away, leaving her feeling exposed and vulnerable. She was the last person who should accuse Rob of anything, so what was she doing making wild claims in public? People were gawping, enjoying the show and remembering that Anjuli Carver and Robert Douglas shared “a past.”
“A wind farm will benefit Heaverlock,” Rob said, ignoring her silence. “We’ll be able to generate our own supply of sustainable energy at a much lower cost. Do you dispute that cheaper energy rates will be beneficial for homes and businesses, including those involved in the tourist industry?”