“Thank you.” I smile at him, at the fact that he didn’t just agree or say “of course.” Expressing that he’d like to feels like more than just duty, and a warmth blooms in my belly despite the clamminess of my skin. When I enter the hall I ask Jones to light a fire in my room. I have a couple of videos to record, but I need to warm up first.
CHAPTER 11
JASON
Ithrow off the bedclothes, suddenly too warm. Reaching for my phone, I check the time. There’s still half an hour until the alarm goes off, but there’s no chance of me getting back to sleep, so I rise and put the kettle on for a cup of tea. As I wait for it to boil, I think back to yesterday and finding Kai at the lake. He seemed pleased to see me, so maybe I didn’t actually mess it up the day before. When I have my tea, I check in with our footie chat group. I always read the messages, but I’m not so good at keeping up to date with replying to them. There’s the usual banter and also ribbing of Finn who missed a penalty in our last match. The latest messages are planning Kyle’s birthday at the weekend. He’s the first of our group to turn thirty. He’s also a family man and has decided on a high-ropes and tree-top adventure in Sherwood Forest. It sounds fun. Finn also has children. It’s only Damon and myself who are single, but that won’t matter. I add that I’ll be there, before getting ready for work.
Jordan meets me in the garden store when I arrive.
“Did you see the details about Saturday?” he asks, knowing that I don’t check my messages very often.
“Yeah, it looks fun.” I add, “I bet the boys are looking forward to it.”
“I think Toby’s talked of nothing else for a week, but then the way he climbs trees I swear he’s half monkey.”
“Haha, have you asked Kim if that’s true? Did she slip into the chimpanzee enclosure at Twycross Zoo?”
“I think she’d prefer the silver backed gorillas.” He grins, joining in.
“Give it a few more years and you’ll get there,” I laugh and receive a thump on my arm.
“I was going to offer you a lift with us,” he says, laughing as well.
“Well, if you change your mind, then yes please,” I reply and he gives me another grin. We’re trimming some of the hedges on the boundary today so we load up the ATV with the hedge trimmers and rakes. We work for the next few hours and return back to the house for our tea break.
Fortified with tea and some of Martha’s wonderful biscuits, Jordan and I stand to head out again when Bob comes rushing in.
“Jason, quickly, I need your help. It’s the earl.” He doesn’t wait for me to answer, he just turns and disappears again. I have no idea what he’s on about, but the thought that Kai might be in trouble has me following hot on his heels. He runs along a corridor and across the lobby to a staircase at the other end of the house. I’ve barely been into this part of the house. He takes the stairs two at a time as we climb up two floors. He doesn’texplain anything on the way, saving his breath for speed. I follow him along another corridor and then he opens a door. It’s a very opulent bedroom, but he doesn’t stop, walking straight to another door across the room. He stops and takes a deep breath.
“What’s happened?” I ask. I want to be prepared for what I’m walking into as my mind has been running through scenarios since we left the kitchen.
“He’s collapsed.”
“What?!” I exclaim, but I don’t wait for an answer and wrench open the door. I immediately see his form on the floor, he’s wearing a black robe. I rush over and feel for a pulse, but I can’t find it as all I’m aware of is my own blood pounding and the fear building that he’s not moving. I take a deep breath and try again. I can finally feel it. It’s weak, but relief floods through me so fast I feel nauseous. I swallow back bile and turn to Bob.
“Have you called the doctor?” I demand.
“Yes, of course, I did that straight away.”
“Good, do we know what happened?”
“All I know is he said he didn’t feel well yesterday. He couldn’t get warm and he didn’t want any breakfast this morning. Simone found him when she was cleaning these rooms.”
I feel his forehead. It’s clammy and he looks ashen grey instead of his usual creamy paleness. He was cold yesterday, so it could be a fever coupled with not eating properly. I hope it’s nothing more. We won’t know until the doctor’s seen him. They might decide he needs to go to hospital. “We need to move him off the floor, maybe just into the bed in the room next door.”
Bob moves to open the door and I scoop Kai up into my arms. He doesn’t weigh much, not enough really. His head lolls against my shoulder as I stand and I glance down at his face, his normally striking eyes covered with translucent lids. He looks fragile, and I hold him tighter to me as if I can transfer some of my life force into him, pleased when he stirs a little in my arms. As I turn, my eyes take in some of the features of the room. A part of me detaches itself as I take in the chair draped with a shawl and the tapestry-covered screen. A chaise longue with a discarded mask and a feather boa.
I walk through into the bedroom and lay Kai down on the bed. As soon as he’s comfortable, a high-pitched noise erupts in my head and my blood turns cold as I remember where I’ve seen those items before. He’s LegacyinLace. While my hands move automatically to tuck Kai in and make sure he’s warm, my head is turning inside out, appalled that I’ve spent nights jerking off to actual videos of my boss. I’m glad he’s still unconscious so he can’t see my shame. As soon as the doctor arrives I take my leave, feeling sick to my core. How can I ever look him in the face again?
CHAPTER 12
KAI
I’m lying down; it’s comfortable. I want to move but I can’t. My limbs feel like overcooked spaghetti, and my head feels like it’s full of cotton wool. I open my eyes, allowing them to focus. When they do I can see I’m in bed, but it’s not my own. It’s one of the two that lead to the room I’ve been filming the videos in. I see Jones standing by the window.
“What happened?” I croak, my throat feeling like sandpaper.
“Oh, thank god you’re awake.” He turns quickly and comes over. “The doctor said you’d wake up but we’ve been worried.”
