Adira’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Then as quickly as it flared up, it faded. She was suddenly very aware of her position at The Laurels. In fact, in Lilacwell full stop. What was she now? A local, or still a traveller waiting to move on? Jasper and Fletcher had been at pains to make her welcome at The Laurels, almost one of the family, but she wasn’t family, was she? Whilst Jasper insisted she stay with him, something inside Adira prohibited her from doing so; and it wasn’t just the small bed they’d been snuggled into.I don’t want to outstay my welcome, she thought, or even worse, have people think she was taking advantage.
Jasper saw the expression on her face and paused. What was going through her mind? Alarmed, he thought she might be having second thoughts about staying in Lilacwell. Had she changed her mind about travelling? Then he reminded himself of his vow on the plane home –open communication.
‘What is it, Adira?’ His eyes searched her face.
She gulped at the sincerity in his voice and the way he was looking at her. ‘It’s just that… I’m not sure where I fit in… I mean, all this talk about the future for the estate, your ideas…’ Her voice cracked.
‘Hey.’ He reached out and held her face in his hands. ‘You belong here, with me. That’s if you want to.’ He stared into her eyes, searching for a hint of what she might be thinking.
‘Yes, of course I do,’ she replied in a small voice.
‘Then why do you insist on returning to Sheila most evenings?’ he asked, a smile hovering round his lips. He suspected she still felt a touch embarrassed in front of Fletcher.
Taking the initiative, she held his gaze. ‘Because it’s your childhood bedroom we’re sleeping in. I don’t feel I belong.’
Right, that’s it, thought Jasper.
‘OK. It’s time it was renovated into an adult space,’ he stated firmly. ‘And with a bloody king-size bed,’ he added, making Adira laugh. Then he took hold of her. ‘Listen, we’ll do it together, make it our room.’ He was looking earnestly at her. ‘I want you to feel at home in The Laurels, do you understand?’
‘Yes.’ She gave a shaky smile, emotion suddenly filling her.
Deciding to seize the moment, Jasper told Fletcher of his plans later that day when Adira had gone to work.
‘The thing is, it’s too small. I want space, enough room to share it with Adira.’
‘I bet you do,’ chuckled Fletcher. Then he eyed him. ‘I take it Adira is going to be a permanent fixture at The Laurels?’
‘I dearly hope so… That’s providing she wants to be.’ He was ever mindful that Adira hadn’t actually completed her year of freedom that she had so yearned for originally. After all, that’s what had put them together in the first place, wasn’t it? If it hadn’t been for her wanderlust, they would never have met. This whole sequence of events wouldn’t have happened. The very thought gave him goosebumps. It would have been a travesty. Now he wondered, did she want to follow through with her plan and continue travelling? He didn’t want to hold her back or get in her way, but he longed to have Adira by his side. For him, she was his future – his home, as much as The Laurels was.
There was a moment’s silence before Fletcher quietly replied.
‘Perhaps you’d better ask her then.’ He looked directly at him.
Jasper’s mouth twitched, his uncle just couldn’t help himself.
‘I’m on the case,’ he returned, looking straight back at him.
‘Good. Good,’ nodded Fletcher.
Fletcher swilled his whisky round the tumbler, then knocked it back. Tonight he needed the courage and, more importantly, the reassurance of alcohol. All this talk of changes at The Laurels had quite resonated with him. It brought into sharper focus how significant the future was, not the past. He’d come to realise just how much his memories had played a part in his life, and not always in a positive way. He now understood how he had let history control him and how he had sacrificed too much, for the sake of one revered night. Yes, it had been the most cherished, sacred memory, but he had allowed it to determine his very being. He could have made himself a life, carved out a more promising, brighter future when Alice had refused to join him.
He now knew, with extreme bitterness, he had played it wrong. Fletcher strongly suspected his brother was infertile – why else had Rufus and Alice not had any other children? He was bloody certain he’d sired her only child, and as Jasper’s potential father, he should have laid down the law, demanded she tell Rufus. At least that way Jasper would have known the truth. And now what of his future grandchildren? Would he be denied them too?
No way.Enough was enough, it was time to take matters into his own hands.
He poured himself another drink, slung it back and went into the kitchen to fetch the key. Jasper was just making a coffee.
‘Hi, do you want—’
‘Follow me please,’ he cut in, sounding the most serious Jasper had ever heard him and instinctively he made his way up the stairs behind Fletcher. He watched his uncle open the bedroom door – the one he had snapped at Adira to leave alone – and flick the light on before calling him in. Jasper had never been in this room, just assuming it was used for storage. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, taking in the picture of his mother on the bedside table. Frowning, he turned to see a silk dress hanging from the wardrobe door. He recognised it as his mother’s, from seeing photographs of the last summer ball The Laurels had had. Then he looked at Fletcher, knowing something monumental was going to happen.
Fletcher was shaking slightly, but he was steadfast. Swallowing, he cleared his throat. ‘Jasper, I believe you were conceived in this room…’ He paused. ‘By me.’
Time stood still as the revelation of his words hit Jasper.
‘You mean… you and Mum…’
Fletcher slowly nodded his head.
