Baby Included!, page 12
There was a long silence for some moments. But when Emily didn’t shrug off the gentle pressure of her fingers, merely remained huddled up in a foetal position, Lois took a deep breath.
‘Emily...?’ she murmured, pausing as she wondered what on earth she could say.
But the decision was taken from her hands as Emily quickly rolled back to face her, roughly brushing a hand across her damp eyelids.
‘I’m so sorry, Lois. I really didn’t mean...I don’t want you to think that I go around snooping on other people’s conversations,’ she muttered tearfully, avoiding Lois’ eyes as she stared fixedly down at her thin fingers, nervously picking at the raised design of her bed cover.
‘I never thought that. It’s just—’
‘I’m really not an eavesdropper!’ Emily told her. ‘In fact, I really, really hate people who hang around trying to listen into my own private conversations, and...’
‘Darling—please!’ Lois quickly put her arms around the girl’s thin shoulders in a warm, comfortable hug. ‘It would never have occurred to me that you’d deliberately been listening to a private conversation. Absolutely never!’ she repeated firmly. ‘I’m merely here because I didn’t want you to be upset in any way by what you’ve just accidentally overheard.’
The girl raised her tear-stained face, staring at Lois in surprise. ‘What...? Do you mean that bit about you expecting a baby?’
‘Yes. I...I just thought you might be rather shocked, and...’
‘But why should I be worried about it?’ Emily asked with a puzzled frown.
‘Well...’ Lois paused, relieved to note that the teenager didn’t seem unduly upset by the thought of her pregnancy. But she wasn’t at all sure how to proceed from here. ‘The thing is, kid, I’m not married. And there are many people who would think, probably quite rightly, that I ought to have a husband before giving birth to a child.’
‘Oh, nobody minds about that sort of thing nowadays,’ Emily told her with a shrug. ‘Lots of Joe’s friends in the pop world don’t believe in getting married, even though some of them have got children.’
Feeling rather shocked at the fourteen-year-old’s seemingly sophisticated almost blasé approach to marriage and motherhood, Lois felt constrained to point out that the way of life enjoyed by some of the mega-rich pop stars was definitely not ideal—as far as normal family life was concerned.
‘Unfortunately, as I know from talking to one or two of my friends, it’s a tough life being a single parent—even if you’ve got oodles of money,’ she told the girl firmly. ‘And for those who haven’t, and find themselves living on the breadline—it’s a desperately hard, lonely struggle trying to bring up a child on your own. In fact, as your mother said the other day, “Every child needs two parents”. And she was quite right,’ Lois added forcefully, anxious to make sure that the young girl got the message.
‘However, I didn’t come here to give you a lecture,’ Lois continued with a slightly rueful smile. ‘I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t make the same stupid mistake as I have, right?’
Emily nodded. ‘I do understand what you’re saying. But...’ She hesitated for a moment, and then went on, ‘Are you going to marry the father of your baby?’
‘No, I’m afraid this story doesn’t have a happy ending, Emily. But that’s my problem, right?’ she said, quickly deciding to turn the conversation onto quite a different tack.
‘Although I know that you are still very young, I feel you’re perfectly capable of understanding what I’m now going to say,’ Lois stated firmly, before explaining the likely difficulties and problems which would arise if the American backers of the film learned about her pregnancy.
‘So, I’m sure you can see why it’s so desperately important that you tell no one about the fact that I’m expecting a baby. It isn’t just my career which is on the line,’ Lois added with a rueful shrug of her shoulders. ‘It would affect everyone concerned with this production. And, after all—’ she gave a slight laugh ‘—I’d hate to think that you might lose your moment of stardom!’
Emily grinned. ‘Actually, I’ve now definitely decided that I don’t want to be a film star. And I’ve rather gone off the whole idea of being something big in the pop world, too. In fact...’ she glanced shyly up at Lois ‘...I rather think...well, in the last few days I’ve decided that what I really would like to do would be to learn to be a film director.’
‘Oh, really?’ Lois murmured, trying not to smile as she remembered herself at Emily’s age, changing her mind practically every week as she picked and discarded the ideas of different professions.
‘I think it’s a really cool job. And being a director means that you’re in charge of absolutely everything, doesn’t it? I’ve been watching how Mr Danvers makes everyone do what he wants,’ she added enthusiastically. ‘I mean...he’s obviously got a sort of idea, in his head, of how he wants to tell the story. And I think that’s really interesting.’
Well! Lois thought with surprise. It was clear that the young girl had certainly been doing her homework. And she’d quickly assimilated the importance of a director’s role in film-making. Maybe it might be the profession for her, after all. However, that would all lie very much in the future. The important thing at present was to ensure Emily’s total silence.
‘I know that I can rely on you to keep silent as the grave about this baby of mine.’ Lois said, rising slowly to her feet. ‘And when I asked you not to tell anyone— do please remember that that includes your father and mother, right?’
Emily nodded as Lois walked towards the door. ‘I promise not to tell anyone—anyone at all.’
It was going to be yet another hot sunny day, Lois thought, walking slowly through the fragrant rose garden lying beside Ace’s wing of the large, stately house.
The dew was still thick on the ground as she crossed a wide green lawn before, shivering slightly in the fresh morning air, she decided to make her way towards a large clump of trees on the other side of the park.
On reaching the woodland glade, she sank down onto a small wooden bench, leaning back to absorb the magnificent view of rolling countryside laid out before her.
It was, quite frankly, a considerable relief to have left behind the house, her work on the film—and all the worry about Emily’s discovery of her pregnancy two days ago. Although, to be fair, she was feeling a lot better in herself. As Nora had forecast, feeling dizzy and lapsing into such a stupid faint had undoubtedly been due to overwork and lack of food. And now that Ace’s old nanny was making her eat sensibly—standing grimly over her while she consumed a large English breakfast in the privacy of her bedroom—there was no doubt that she was feeling a whole lot better.
Not that she’d seen very much of Nora over the past two days. Other than the older woman’s bustling arrival, early every morning, the housekeeper seemed totally absorbed with organising a surprise party for Ace’s fortieth birthday. It apparently had to be a deep secret.
‘If his nibs got wind of what I’m up to he’d have a blue fit!’ Nora had told her with a chuckle, explaining how she was not only inviting his immediate family but all the film crew as well, from the director right down to the lowliest make-up assistant.
‘It’s going to be a right good do! So, not a word to anyone, mind?’ she’d added, before bustling off with the breakfast tray to concentrate on icing the huge cake which she’d made some days ago.
And that made two secrets floating around the huge house, Lois grimly reminded herself. While knowing that she could, of course, count on the silence of both Nora and Peggy, she’d been very nervous of having to ask Emily to keep her lips firmly buttoned up. But, other than a cheeky wink every now and then, the young girl seemed to have kept her word.
So far so good. Luckily, with only seven days to go before the end of filming, there was a good chance that she could get out of this mess totally unscathed. And, since there was so much of the film already in the can, it was likely that if and when the news did leak out about her expecting a baby—which it was almost certain to do, since she certainly wasn’t getting any thinner!—it wouldn’t make any financial sense for Sol Weiser to kill off the production.
So, it looked as if her only real major problem was Ace himself. But, since she’d be leaving here in a week’s time, and would soon be back in America, there was no reason why he should ever find out about her pregnancy. Particularly since he knew nothing about show business and hardly ever went to the cinema—two statements which she recalled him making at their first meeting—and was therefore extremely unlikely to read or hear any gossip about the film world.
So, why wasn’t she feeling happier about the situation? Everything was working out just fine, right? So, why was she sitting here feeling so depressed, and stupidly wishing that everything could be so very different?
With a deep, unhappy sigh she leaned back on the bench, shutting her eyes against the early-morning sun. There were times when she reckoned ‘life’ was definitely a four-letter word!
Here she was, aching and trembling for a guy who wasn’t just the father of her forthcoming child but with whom she now realised she was deeply in love. And she couldn’t do a damn thing about it! Not when there was a good chance that he could be pressured into getting back together with Martina.
Ace obviously took his role as a father very seriously. And if his ex-wife managed to convince him that it was in Emily’s best interests for them to resume their married life—he would have to be ultra-stony-hearted and uncaring about his young daughter’s welfare not to give it very serious consideration. And, because she loved him, Lois knew that she could do nothing but stand silently by while he made his decision.
Come on—pull yourself together, she told herself roughly. Sitting here and mooning over Ace wasn’t going to achieve anything, was it? Time was supposed to be a great healer. So, she’d just have to grit her teeth and concentrate on being the best possible mother for their child.
Knowing that she was going to be severely crossquestioned by Nora about whether she’d taken a proper amount of exercise this morning, Lois rose to her feet. She wasn’t needed on set until this afternoon, and therefore it seemed a good idea to explore the perimeter of the park.
However, she hadn’t gone very far when the peace and quiet was disturbed by the sound of an engine. Turning around, she saw a large car careering over the grass towards her.
‘Hop in,’ Ace called out, leaning across to open the passenger door of a large Range Rover.
‘No...well, I mean, I was just going for a walk around the park,’ she said hesitantly, feeling an idiot to find herself flushing beneath the gleam in his heavily lidded eyes as they swept over her nervous figure.
‘You can do that any time,’ he told her brusquely.
‘I’ve got to make a quick trip into Lewes. It’s the county town of East Sussex, and I thought you might be interested to see a typically old English town, plus the remains of an old castle. And before you bother to try and think of a good excuse not to join me,’ he added with a grim laugh, impatiently beating his fingers on the steering wheel, ‘I’ve already checked the film schedule, and I know that you aren’t needed until this afternoon.’
Hesitating, and well aware of the voice at the back of her head telling her that this was a very, very bad idea, Lois couldn’t seem to decide what to do. On one hand...
‘For God’s sake, woman! Stop dithering and get in the car,’ Ace barked irritably.
‘Oh, all right.’ She shrugged. He clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer. And she couldn’t deny that it would be a welcome change to escape, for a short time at least, from the hustle and bustle of Ratcliffe Hall.
Sitting beside Ace in the Range Rover, which he clearly used for travelling about his large estate, she glanced sideways through her eyelashes at his hawk-like profile. Beneath its tan, his face looked pale and strained. Oh, dear, maybe the few days he’d spent on a course concerning management of estates hadn’t been a success, she thought, suddenly feeling guilty of having been so immersed in her own problems that she’d given very little thought to any he might have regarding his new inheritance.
Lewes certainly looked an interesting place, and Lois found herself excited at the idea of exploring the town while Ace visited a local farm machinery dealer, agreeing to meet up with him in an hour’s time at the White Hart Hotel.
Having purchased a local guidebook, she wandered around the streets, wishing she had enough time to explore the castle, whose foundations apparently dated from the time of William the Conqueror. However, she did manage to find Anne of Cleves’ house, without getting lost too many times, and was delighted to view the many elegant Georgian houses in the high street. Unfortunately, she barely had time to read about Thomas Paine, who’d been a customs man in the town before writing The Rights of Man, before having to join Ace and return to Ratcliffe Hall.
‘Thanks for the trip into town,’ she murmured, leaning back in her seat. In fact, Lois was just thinking what a pleasant morning it had been when it gradually began to occur to her that they didn’t seem to be returning by the same route they’d taken when driving to the town.
‘Are you going back a different way?’ she muttered, frowning as she peered out of the window of the Range Rover. ‘This doesn’t look at all like the same road...’
‘You’re quite right—it isn’t. I’ve decided that we’re going to have an early lunch at a small country restaurant which I discovered soon after coming down to live here.’
‘But...I can’t possibly...I have to get back...’
‘I’m quite aware of your schedule. Which is precisely why I booked an early table,’ he told her blandly, not taking a blind bit of notice of her protests as the Range Rover sped through the country lanes. ‘I’ll have you back at Ratcliffe Hall in plenty of time for your afternoon filming session, right?’
‘Of course, it’s not “right”,’ she snapped. ‘If there’s one thing I really hate, it’s guys doing their macho bit—and ordering me around.’
‘Well, it’s up to you,’ he drawled, and her irritation increased as she noticed his lips twitching with laughter as he brought the vehicle to a halt outside a pretty, half timbered building. ‘I’m going to have lunch anyway. So, if you want to stay here in the Range Rover for the next hour—that’s entirely up to you,’ he added, switching off the engine and turning to her with an amused smile on his face.
‘Don’t you patronise me, you...you foul man!’ she retorted angrily, swearing under her breath as she wrestled with the catch on her seat belt. ‘You go and have your lunch. Just leave the keys in the ignition and I’ll drive myself back to Ratcliffe Hall, thank you very much!’
‘What on earth’s wrong with you?’ he demanded, the amusement dying on his face.
‘There’s nothing wrong with me,’ she shouted furiously, aware with one part of her mind that she was behaving badly, but somehow quite unable to combat the almost overpowering urge to hit out at the man sitting beside her. And why she was feeling this way, she had absolutely no idea.
‘I’ve had quite enough of this nonsense!’ he grated angrily, swiftly releasing both their seat belts, before gripping hold of her shoulders and pulling her towards him. Holding her imprisoned against his hard figure, he waited for a few moments, but when she continued to struggle and protest strongly against his treatment he simply lowered his dark head, firmly possessing her mouth with his own and effectively silencing all further protests.
His lips were hard and unyielding, but even as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to cry out she only succeeded in making his kiss even more intimate. Gradually, a soft weakness invaded her body, replacing the sharp surge of aggression, and she found herself meekly surrendering to the dynamically masculine strength of his embrace.
And, then of course, she knew. She knew that this was what she had wanted so badly: to be once again clasped tightly in his arms, and to have his lips pressed so firmly to her own.
‘Well...?’ Ace murmured, raising his dark head and gazing down into her dazed eyes. ‘Do you think we could now go inside the restaurant and have a quiet lunch?’ he drawled wryly. ‘I hate having any arguments with you, Lois. And God knows what got into you just now. But I’m damned if I’m going to put up with any more of that sort of nonsense. Got the message?’ he demanded, as she struggled to pull herself together.
‘Yes... I...’
‘I’ve already said that I’ll get you back to the Hall in plenty of time for the afternoon film session,’ he said firmly, before his harsh expression gave way to an infectious grin. ‘Quite frankly, darling, you might take pity on me. I somehow missed breakfast this morning—and I’m absolutely starving!’
‘Oh, well...in that case it doesn’t sound as if I’ve got any choice, does it?’ she muttered, as he came around to help her down from the vehicle.
‘Not a lot!’ he agreed cheerfully, taking no notice of the quick scowl she threw in his direction as he propelled her firmly in front of him into the restaurant.
‘There—that wasn’t so bad, was it?’ He grinned as they sat sipping their coffee at the end of the meal. ‘Come on, Lois—why don’t you confess that it was a good idea to have a break from filming?’
She gave him a sheepish grin. ‘Yes, you’re quite right,’ she admitted. Because it had been a really delicious meal. And, as always, she’d found herself responding to the warm, relaxed charm of the man sitting opposite her. But she was also perfectly well aware that she was playing with fire. Her first, instinctive feeling that she should not get into his Range Rover had been quite correct.
Meetings such as this—and especially that brief but intense embrace in the vehicle outside this restaurant—merely reinforced the deep feelings she had for Ace. And, since they had no future together, she must...she really must force herself to stay well away from this highly disturbing and also highly dangerous man.
‘I... I really do think that we ought to be getting back now,’ she murmured, glancing down at her wristwatch.
‘Emily...?’ she murmured, pausing as she wondered what on earth she could say.
But the decision was taken from her hands as Emily quickly rolled back to face her, roughly brushing a hand across her damp eyelids.
‘I’m so sorry, Lois. I really didn’t mean...I don’t want you to think that I go around snooping on other people’s conversations,’ she muttered tearfully, avoiding Lois’ eyes as she stared fixedly down at her thin fingers, nervously picking at the raised design of her bed cover.
‘I never thought that. It’s just—’
‘I’m really not an eavesdropper!’ Emily told her. ‘In fact, I really, really hate people who hang around trying to listen into my own private conversations, and...’
‘Darling—please!’ Lois quickly put her arms around the girl’s thin shoulders in a warm, comfortable hug. ‘It would never have occurred to me that you’d deliberately been listening to a private conversation. Absolutely never!’ she repeated firmly. ‘I’m merely here because I didn’t want you to be upset in any way by what you’ve just accidentally overheard.’
The girl raised her tear-stained face, staring at Lois in surprise. ‘What...? Do you mean that bit about you expecting a baby?’
‘Yes. I...I just thought you might be rather shocked, and...’
‘But why should I be worried about it?’ Emily asked with a puzzled frown.
‘Well...’ Lois paused, relieved to note that the teenager didn’t seem unduly upset by the thought of her pregnancy. But she wasn’t at all sure how to proceed from here. ‘The thing is, kid, I’m not married. And there are many people who would think, probably quite rightly, that I ought to have a husband before giving birth to a child.’
‘Oh, nobody minds about that sort of thing nowadays,’ Emily told her with a shrug. ‘Lots of Joe’s friends in the pop world don’t believe in getting married, even though some of them have got children.’
Feeling rather shocked at the fourteen-year-old’s seemingly sophisticated almost blasé approach to marriage and motherhood, Lois felt constrained to point out that the way of life enjoyed by some of the mega-rich pop stars was definitely not ideal—as far as normal family life was concerned.
‘Unfortunately, as I know from talking to one or two of my friends, it’s a tough life being a single parent—even if you’ve got oodles of money,’ she told the girl firmly. ‘And for those who haven’t, and find themselves living on the breadline—it’s a desperately hard, lonely struggle trying to bring up a child on your own. In fact, as your mother said the other day, “Every child needs two parents”. And she was quite right,’ Lois added forcefully, anxious to make sure that the young girl got the message.
‘However, I didn’t come here to give you a lecture,’ Lois continued with a slightly rueful smile. ‘I just wanted to make sure that you didn’t make the same stupid mistake as I have, right?’
Emily nodded. ‘I do understand what you’re saying. But...’ She hesitated for a moment, and then went on, ‘Are you going to marry the father of your baby?’
‘No, I’m afraid this story doesn’t have a happy ending, Emily. But that’s my problem, right?’ she said, quickly deciding to turn the conversation onto quite a different tack.
‘Although I know that you are still very young, I feel you’re perfectly capable of understanding what I’m now going to say,’ Lois stated firmly, before explaining the likely difficulties and problems which would arise if the American backers of the film learned about her pregnancy.
‘So, I’m sure you can see why it’s so desperately important that you tell no one about the fact that I’m expecting a baby. It isn’t just my career which is on the line,’ Lois added with a rueful shrug of her shoulders. ‘It would affect everyone concerned with this production. And, after all—’ she gave a slight laugh ‘—I’d hate to think that you might lose your moment of stardom!’
Emily grinned. ‘Actually, I’ve now definitely decided that I don’t want to be a film star. And I’ve rather gone off the whole idea of being something big in the pop world, too. In fact...’ she glanced shyly up at Lois ‘...I rather think...well, in the last few days I’ve decided that what I really would like to do would be to learn to be a film director.’
‘Oh, really?’ Lois murmured, trying not to smile as she remembered herself at Emily’s age, changing her mind practically every week as she picked and discarded the ideas of different professions.
‘I think it’s a really cool job. And being a director means that you’re in charge of absolutely everything, doesn’t it? I’ve been watching how Mr Danvers makes everyone do what he wants,’ she added enthusiastically. ‘I mean...he’s obviously got a sort of idea, in his head, of how he wants to tell the story. And I think that’s really interesting.’
Well! Lois thought with surprise. It was clear that the young girl had certainly been doing her homework. And she’d quickly assimilated the importance of a director’s role in film-making. Maybe it might be the profession for her, after all. However, that would all lie very much in the future. The important thing at present was to ensure Emily’s total silence.
‘I know that I can rely on you to keep silent as the grave about this baby of mine.’ Lois said, rising slowly to her feet. ‘And when I asked you not to tell anyone— do please remember that that includes your father and mother, right?’
Emily nodded as Lois walked towards the door. ‘I promise not to tell anyone—anyone at all.’
It was going to be yet another hot sunny day, Lois thought, walking slowly through the fragrant rose garden lying beside Ace’s wing of the large, stately house.
The dew was still thick on the ground as she crossed a wide green lawn before, shivering slightly in the fresh morning air, she decided to make her way towards a large clump of trees on the other side of the park.
On reaching the woodland glade, she sank down onto a small wooden bench, leaning back to absorb the magnificent view of rolling countryside laid out before her.
It was, quite frankly, a considerable relief to have left behind the house, her work on the film—and all the worry about Emily’s discovery of her pregnancy two days ago. Although, to be fair, she was feeling a lot better in herself. As Nora had forecast, feeling dizzy and lapsing into such a stupid faint had undoubtedly been due to overwork and lack of food. And now that Ace’s old nanny was making her eat sensibly—standing grimly over her while she consumed a large English breakfast in the privacy of her bedroom—there was no doubt that she was feeling a whole lot better.
Not that she’d seen very much of Nora over the past two days. Other than the older woman’s bustling arrival, early every morning, the housekeeper seemed totally absorbed with organising a surprise party for Ace’s fortieth birthday. It apparently had to be a deep secret.
‘If his nibs got wind of what I’m up to he’d have a blue fit!’ Nora had told her with a chuckle, explaining how she was not only inviting his immediate family but all the film crew as well, from the director right down to the lowliest make-up assistant.
‘It’s going to be a right good do! So, not a word to anyone, mind?’ she’d added, before bustling off with the breakfast tray to concentrate on icing the huge cake which she’d made some days ago.
And that made two secrets floating around the huge house, Lois grimly reminded herself. While knowing that she could, of course, count on the silence of both Nora and Peggy, she’d been very nervous of having to ask Emily to keep her lips firmly buttoned up. But, other than a cheeky wink every now and then, the young girl seemed to have kept her word.
So far so good. Luckily, with only seven days to go before the end of filming, there was a good chance that she could get out of this mess totally unscathed. And, since there was so much of the film already in the can, it was likely that if and when the news did leak out about her expecting a baby—which it was almost certain to do, since she certainly wasn’t getting any thinner!—it wouldn’t make any financial sense for Sol Weiser to kill off the production.
So, it looked as if her only real major problem was Ace himself. But, since she’d be leaving here in a week’s time, and would soon be back in America, there was no reason why he should ever find out about her pregnancy. Particularly since he knew nothing about show business and hardly ever went to the cinema—two statements which she recalled him making at their first meeting—and was therefore extremely unlikely to read or hear any gossip about the film world.
So, why wasn’t she feeling happier about the situation? Everything was working out just fine, right? So, why was she sitting here feeling so depressed, and stupidly wishing that everything could be so very different?
With a deep, unhappy sigh she leaned back on the bench, shutting her eyes against the early-morning sun. There were times when she reckoned ‘life’ was definitely a four-letter word!
Here she was, aching and trembling for a guy who wasn’t just the father of her forthcoming child but with whom she now realised she was deeply in love. And she couldn’t do a damn thing about it! Not when there was a good chance that he could be pressured into getting back together with Martina.
Ace obviously took his role as a father very seriously. And if his ex-wife managed to convince him that it was in Emily’s best interests for them to resume their married life—he would have to be ultra-stony-hearted and uncaring about his young daughter’s welfare not to give it very serious consideration. And, because she loved him, Lois knew that she could do nothing but stand silently by while he made his decision.
Come on—pull yourself together, she told herself roughly. Sitting here and mooning over Ace wasn’t going to achieve anything, was it? Time was supposed to be a great healer. So, she’d just have to grit her teeth and concentrate on being the best possible mother for their child.
Knowing that she was going to be severely crossquestioned by Nora about whether she’d taken a proper amount of exercise this morning, Lois rose to her feet. She wasn’t needed on set until this afternoon, and therefore it seemed a good idea to explore the perimeter of the park.
However, she hadn’t gone very far when the peace and quiet was disturbed by the sound of an engine. Turning around, she saw a large car careering over the grass towards her.
‘Hop in,’ Ace called out, leaning across to open the passenger door of a large Range Rover.
‘No...well, I mean, I was just going for a walk around the park,’ she said hesitantly, feeling an idiot to find herself flushing beneath the gleam in his heavily lidded eyes as they swept over her nervous figure.
‘You can do that any time,’ he told her brusquely.
‘I’ve got to make a quick trip into Lewes. It’s the county town of East Sussex, and I thought you might be interested to see a typically old English town, plus the remains of an old castle. And before you bother to try and think of a good excuse not to join me,’ he added with a grim laugh, impatiently beating his fingers on the steering wheel, ‘I’ve already checked the film schedule, and I know that you aren’t needed until this afternoon.’
Hesitating, and well aware of the voice at the back of her head telling her that this was a very, very bad idea, Lois couldn’t seem to decide what to do. On one hand...
‘For God’s sake, woman! Stop dithering and get in the car,’ Ace barked irritably.
‘Oh, all right.’ She shrugged. He clearly wasn’t going to take no for an answer. And she couldn’t deny that it would be a welcome change to escape, for a short time at least, from the hustle and bustle of Ratcliffe Hall.
Sitting beside Ace in the Range Rover, which he clearly used for travelling about his large estate, she glanced sideways through her eyelashes at his hawk-like profile. Beneath its tan, his face looked pale and strained. Oh, dear, maybe the few days he’d spent on a course concerning management of estates hadn’t been a success, she thought, suddenly feeling guilty of having been so immersed in her own problems that she’d given very little thought to any he might have regarding his new inheritance.
Lewes certainly looked an interesting place, and Lois found herself excited at the idea of exploring the town while Ace visited a local farm machinery dealer, agreeing to meet up with him in an hour’s time at the White Hart Hotel.
Having purchased a local guidebook, she wandered around the streets, wishing she had enough time to explore the castle, whose foundations apparently dated from the time of William the Conqueror. However, she did manage to find Anne of Cleves’ house, without getting lost too many times, and was delighted to view the many elegant Georgian houses in the high street. Unfortunately, she barely had time to read about Thomas Paine, who’d been a customs man in the town before writing The Rights of Man, before having to join Ace and return to Ratcliffe Hall.
‘Thanks for the trip into town,’ she murmured, leaning back in her seat. In fact, Lois was just thinking what a pleasant morning it had been when it gradually began to occur to her that they didn’t seem to be returning by the same route they’d taken when driving to the town.
‘Are you going back a different way?’ she muttered, frowning as she peered out of the window of the Range Rover. ‘This doesn’t look at all like the same road...’
‘You’re quite right—it isn’t. I’ve decided that we’re going to have an early lunch at a small country restaurant which I discovered soon after coming down to live here.’
‘But...I can’t possibly...I have to get back...’
‘I’m quite aware of your schedule. Which is precisely why I booked an early table,’ he told her blandly, not taking a blind bit of notice of her protests as the Range Rover sped through the country lanes. ‘I’ll have you back at Ratcliffe Hall in plenty of time for your afternoon filming session, right?’
‘Of course, it’s not “right”,’ she snapped. ‘If there’s one thing I really hate, it’s guys doing their macho bit—and ordering me around.’
‘Well, it’s up to you,’ he drawled, and her irritation increased as she noticed his lips twitching with laughter as he brought the vehicle to a halt outside a pretty, half timbered building. ‘I’m going to have lunch anyway. So, if you want to stay here in the Range Rover for the next hour—that’s entirely up to you,’ he added, switching off the engine and turning to her with an amused smile on his face.
‘Don’t you patronise me, you...you foul man!’ she retorted angrily, swearing under her breath as she wrestled with the catch on her seat belt. ‘You go and have your lunch. Just leave the keys in the ignition and I’ll drive myself back to Ratcliffe Hall, thank you very much!’
‘What on earth’s wrong with you?’ he demanded, the amusement dying on his face.
‘There’s nothing wrong with me,’ she shouted furiously, aware with one part of her mind that she was behaving badly, but somehow quite unable to combat the almost overpowering urge to hit out at the man sitting beside her. And why she was feeling this way, she had absolutely no idea.
‘I’ve had quite enough of this nonsense!’ he grated angrily, swiftly releasing both their seat belts, before gripping hold of her shoulders and pulling her towards him. Holding her imprisoned against his hard figure, he waited for a few moments, but when she continued to struggle and protest strongly against his treatment he simply lowered his dark head, firmly possessing her mouth with his own and effectively silencing all further protests.
His lips were hard and unyielding, but even as she took a deep breath and opened her mouth to cry out she only succeeded in making his kiss even more intimate. Gradually, a soft weakness invaded her body, replacing the sharp surge of aggression, and she found herself meekly surrendering to the dynamically masculine strength of his embrace.
And, then of course, she knew. She knew that this was what she had wanted so badly: to be once again clasped tightly in his arms, and to have his lips pressed so firmly to her own.
‘Well...?’ Ace murmured, raising his dark head and gazing down into her dazed eyes. ‘Do you think we could now go inside the restaurant and have a quiet lunch?’ he drawled wryly. ‘I hate having any arguments with you, Lois. And God knows what got into you just now. But I’m damned if I’m going to put up with any more of that sort of nonsense. Got the message?’ he demanded, as she struggled to pull herself together.
‘Yes... I...’
‘I’ve already said that I’ll get you back to the Hall in plenty of time for the afternoon film session,’ he said firmly, before his harsh expression gave way to an infectious grin. ‘Quite frankly, darling, you might take pity on me. I somehow missed breakfast this morning—and I’m absolutely starving!’
‘Oh, well...in that case it doesn’t sound as if I’ve got any choice, does it?’ she muttered, as he came around to help her down from the vehicle.
‘Not a lot!’ he agreed cheerfully, taking no notice of the quick scowl she threw in his direction as he propelled her firmly in front of him into the restaurant.
‘There—that wasn’t so bad, was it?’ He grinned as they sat sipping their coffee at the end of the meal. ‘Come on, Lois—why don’t you confess that it was a good idea to have a break from filming?’
She gave him a sheepish grin. ‘Yes, you’re quite right,’ she admitted. Because it had been a really delicious meal. And, as always, she’d found herself responding to the warm, relaxed charm of the man sitting opposite her. But she was also perfectly well aware that she was playing with fire. Her first, instinctive feeling that she should not get into his Range Rover had been quite correct.
Meetings such as this—and especially that brief but intense embrace in the vehicle outside this restaurant—merely reinforced the deep feelings she had for Ace. And, since they had no future together, she must...she really must force herself to stay well away from this highly disturbing and also highly dangerous man.
‘I... I really do think that we ought to be getting back now,’ she murmured, glancing down at her wristwatch.
