He held her close until he felt her sobs subside. ‘You are completely sensational,’ he said, breathing warmth into her hair.
Dee wasn’t sure she agreed. A middle-aged mess of wasted opportunity and squandered time seemed closer to the mark. She sniffed her internal description away, brightening her expression as she focused on him instead.
‘As are you,’ she said. ‘If only I’d known, I would have considered going full-on Connie Chatterley years ago.’
‘Who?’
‘She’s a lead character inLady Chatterley’s Lover. It’s a novel about …’
‘About the lady of the house and her employee, I’m guessing,’ he said.
‘It was groundbreaking at the time. Was banned for a while in all sorts of places because it outraged the gentle folk. Such wanton debauchery.’
‘Now that’s a phrase,’ he said, his tone teasing, his focus still on her. ‘Wanton debauchery.’
Hearing the words from his lips had Dee breathing out a soft moan. ‘Never thought I’d hear you saying something like that,’ she said.
‘And yet, here we are,’ he said, smiling as he reached out to kiss her.
Yes, here they were.
In a way, Dee was glad Robbie didn’t recognise the character, or the novel, to which she was referring, and was pleased it hadn’t been something he’d read in his formative years. There was no way she wanted to think that the kernel of the idea might have lodged somewhere deep within his psyche, that his feelings for her might be nothing more than a repressed fantasy playing itself out in real time. Instead, she allowed herself to savour the moment, to relax into his kiss, to force everything else out of her mind and try to exist as nothing more than feelings and sensations, suspend time for a tiny while longer and instead remain inside this cocoon of joy. And when, sometime later, Dee finally gave in to a desperate need for proper sleep, it was the softest descent into quietness she could ever remember.
Chapter 22
Sebastian was all fingers and thumbs when he woke to the brand-new week. Never mind worrying about Jess breaking the castle’s crockery, within minutes of waking he’d cut himself shaving, broken a knob clean off his chest of drawers and then managed to knock over the planter at the bottom of the staircase, spreading the soil and sansevieria contained within all over the floor.
Time was counting down to the arrival of Edward Ellingham later that morning, and the thought was turning the palms of his hands slick with nervous sweat. Once he’d tidied up the mess, Sebastian went in search of Jess to check she’d be around to provide refreshments. She was in the kitchen and looked far happier than she had in the aftermath of the shoot. Perhaps she’d managed to put the events in the woods out of her mind. He supposed sharing a prolonged hug with someone you cared about was one of the best fixes there was – and she and Robbie had certainly looked as though their hug wasn’t fleeting.
He knocked lightly on the door frame, wishing he’d done so on the evening of the shoot and spared himself the confirmation that Jess and Robbie were more than friends. He supposed there was nothing like a bit of life-endangerment to sharpen the emotions, but after the fear of what could have happened to her in that wood, something had shifted in the way Sebastian viewed Jess. Long gone was the desire to get her out of the house, and instead it was dawning on him just how much he appreciated being around her. He found he wanted to be where she was, to borrow from her natural good spirits and allow her to make him want to smile.
Typical, then, that she should be involved with another man. It was no more than he deserved, Sebastian decided, especially after he’d been so cavalier with her at the start.
She looked up at his knock.
‘Hi Jess. Just wanted you to know the guy from the development company I called is visiting today, he’s due in a while. I’ll need to show him around, and then I plan to discuss details with him in the library. Would you mind bringing us some coffee then?’
Jess looked confused. ‘Why would I mind?’
‘No. OK. I just wanted to check.’ Sebastian shook his head. Treating her as an employee was becoming awkward, for him at least. Jess seemed mystified by him, and he supposed the shift in his attitude was confusing. ‘I’ll let you know when he gets here.’
‘Perfect. Thanks.’ A frown flickered across her face. ‘Had I better go and get rid of the buckets from the attic – so the place doesn’t look too decrepit?’
‘Don’t bother. If he’s interested, he might as well see it warts and all today.’
‘Fair enough,’ Jess said. ‘Will he want to see the village, too? Are you thinking of selling the entire estate?’
‘I don’t know. I suppose so. Why?’
‘I could always pop down and let Mrs Keel know, if that helps. And the Macwarrens.’
‘Were you planning on visiting Vivi?’
‘Only if there’s time.’
Jess bit at her bottom lip, an action which Sebastian was noticing more and more as he got to know her. Taking a deep breath, he did his best to ignore it. ‘Go and see her. I’ll phone you once I have an ETA. How about that?’
‘Perfect.’ Then she frowned all over again. ‘I have a question.’
