‘Why are they doing a shoot so close to Christmas?’ Tania said.
‘Don’t ask me. Bloody ridiculous. But they didn’t bat an eyelid when I said I’d only do it if they chartered a flight. Plus, I said I wanted to visit the lodge, so they sorted the transport to get me here and back.’ Lifting his glass, he glanced at Madeleine again. ‘I haven’t been here for a couple of years, you see. I’ve missed the old heap.’
Tania snorted a laugh. ‘Yeah, right.’
Lysander frowned. ‘No, really. I have missed this place. You’re always so negative, Tits. Especially about me.’
His eyebrows knitted together. Or at least they would have done, Madeleine thought, if they weren’t shaped to perfection. And maybe he had a point. He’d gone out of his way, throughout the meal, to chat to Clara and although he hadn’t directly talked about her situation, Madeleine felt that there was a subtle positivity to his conversation that Clara seemed to appreciate. He certainly hadn’t been the self-absorbed, self-obsessed ‘look-at-me’ she’d been bracing herself for.
‘Anyway,’ he said, ‘I’m out of here tomorrow for a couple of nights. Then you can bitch about me all you like.’
‘Oh,’ Madeleine said. ‘Are you only staying one more night?’
‘That’s right. I’ll be back Christmas Eve.’
‘It’s just that I moved my stuff out of the ground-floor bedroom,’ she said. ‘So that you could have it if you wanted? After you said this morning that you didn’t sleep very well on the sofa, I thought …’
He turned towards her, bodily shifted in his seat until he faced her, the frown replaced by a smile different to any she’d seen in the magazine photos of him. A smile that went all the way up to his eyes. ‘You did that for me?’ He seemed genuinely surprised.
‘Yes.’ She flicked a glance at Rose, who was watching her carefully, then turned back to Lysander. ‘It’s no problem.’
‘See,’ he said to Tania. ‘Not everyone is as selfish as you are.’
‘Yeah, well, she doesn’t know you like I do, Donkey.’
He switched his attention back to Madeleine. ‘You are an angel, thank you.’ He grinned at her. ‘I owe you one.’ Then the grin slid from his face. ‘So, where are you going to sleep?’
‘I’m going to share with Rose. There’s a spare bed in her room.’ Although she wasn’t particularly adept at subterfuge, she felt she did a good job of keeping her voice level. It must have worked, because when she shot a look at Rose, she was rewarded with a grateful smile.
His brows furrowed together again. ‘Oh. Right.’ Standing abruptly, he grabbed his glass, and took himself across to the window. ‘Yes.’
Tom cleared the plates and slid a cheeseboard onto the table, taking orders for coffee, but Madeleine paid no attention. The window acted like a monochrome mirror, with the darkness outside and the brightness of the lights inside the room. She watched as Lysander’s expression flexed and changed, he finished his drink and put down the glass, he stood with his hands on his hips, then folded them across his chest, before he settled for one hand in the other, a thumb working on the opposite palm.
He turned back towards the table as abruptly as he’d left it, his gaze on Rose. But before he could speak, she was on her feet, heading for the staircase.
‘I’m going to get a bit of fresh air,’ she said, as she disappeared from view. ‘Have a wander outside on my own. See you all later.’
Chapter 15
Rose frowned at the length of time it took her to lace up her snow boots. She zipped up her coat and pulled on her gloves. Almost sprinting from the building, she was out of the pool of light spooling from the security light and crunching her way down the icy drive like there was a wolf on her tail.
Behind her, she heard the slam of the lodge’s door. Expecting it to be Madeleine, she sighed in frustration when Lysander’s long stride brought him into view. Exactly who she didn’t want to be alone with.
She might have wanted an opportunity to talk to him at some point, but not now. Not like this. She wasn’t prepared, hadn’t worked out what to say.
‘Rose. Wait up.’
She slowed, watching the ice crystals from her breath spiral away from her.
‘Have I done something to upset you?’
However much Rose wanted to tell him that in order for someone to upset you, you first had to care about them, she knew she wouldn’t get the words out straight. ‘No. Not recently, Lysander. Why?’
‘Why didn’t you reply to my text?’
‘I’ve been busy. I do have a life, you know.’ And the casual question he’d texted about Tania’s relationship status, coupled with what Rose knew about Rory Flannagan, had ensured her lack of response.
‘Yeah. Sure you do.’ He strode on down the drive. Did he expect her to follow, to comply with his wishes without any discussion? Rose thought she’d left all that behind.
