His mind moving swiftly through the problems this new turn of events caused, he strode by Carter but said over his shoulder, “I’ll phone him immediately.”
Julia seemed oblivious to the entire exchange.
When they arrived inside the hall, leaving Monique to make her apologies or explanations to Trevor, Douglas closed the heavy door behind them.
When he finally caught sight of Julia’s face in the lights of the hall, he felt his breath catch. Her eyes were shining with gratitude. Gratitude he would have liked very much to have the time to translate into something else.
She licked her lips and came forward, placing her hand on his chest, she leaned close to him.
“Thank you,” she whispered for the second time that day and the strength of feeling underlying her tone was his undoing.
He pulled her roughly in his arms and pressed a hard kiss on her lips, catching her gasp against his mouth. His body immediately responded, beginning to tense, his hands on the soft material of her dress itching for more of her, the smell of her scent (she’d worn the one he preferred that day) surrounding him.
For his own sanity, he let her go just as abruptly as he grabbed hold of her.
She stood swaying gently, her eyes blinking at him and he settled his hands on either side of her jaw and moved in as close as he dared in an effort to retain control.
“I have to go, something important, I don’t know when I’ll be back,” he told her.
She blinked again. “Okay,” she muttered, drawing out the “O” dazedly.
He felt a smile come to his face at the bedazzled look in her eye, inordinately pleased that he could do that with one kiss.
As a reward and against his better judgement, he gave her another one, pulling her forward using gentle pressure on her face. Their bodies didn’t touch, just their lips and their tongues. He spent longer on her, used more care, teasing her, tasting her, feeling his blood stir, his already tense body tightening hungrily.
The moment he heard the sexy little moan he was getting used to, the one that came from the back of her throat that heralded the moment she would give in and move to deepen the kiss, he forced himself to let her go.
And without looking back, he walked away.
Chapter Thirteen
The Incident
Mrs. K put the finishing touches on the grocery list that included the ingredients for a bakewell tart, an apple crumble and a variety of other bits and pieces that she would have made for her own children if she and Roddy had ever decided to have any. Sommersgate House had always been their child, hers the house and her husband’s the grounds. As it turned out, there wouldn’t have been time for anyone else.
She heard her before she saw Julia come in the back split farm door to the kitchen, a way that Tamsin had sometimes used, Douglas never used and Julia nearly always used. She was wearing a pair of slate grey pants, a pale, dusky-blue blouse with feminine tucks down the front and a winter-white tailored blazer. The finishing touch was a pair of navy pumps with a big silver oval affixed to the toe and a heel that was dangerous in two ways, it was way too high and it was way too thin. Miss Julia strode in like she was wearing slippers.
“Hey Mrs. K,” she greeted with a small wave of her slim black briefcase and a bright smile.
“How was work?” Mrs. K asked and Miss Julia threw herself at a bench at the table while Mrs. K flipped the switch on the kettle.
“That place is a mess!” Julia answered with contradictory delight in her tone. “But the staff is great and dedicated and I think we can turn it around. Where’s Ruby-girl?”
“Veronika’s taken her to the petting zoo. Coffee?”
“I’d kill for some coffee,” Julia replied, a grateful smile on her face.
Mrs. K returned her smile. Mrs. K hadn’t smiled so much in a very long time, in fact, never, and she knew exactly why.
Before he left after what Miss Julia cheekily described as “The Thanksgiving Fiasco”, Lord Ashton had given the edict to all the staff that orders were now to be taken from Miss Julia. Miss Julia, he stated firmly, had the running of the house. This not only came from Lord Ashton’s lips, he’d even scrawled a note to confirm his wishes in writing. Upon seeing it, Lady Ashton’s face had turned white as a sheet, her lips thinning to invisibility. She said not a word, left the room and shortly after, left the house to go to Kensington.
For her part, Miss Julia looked rather stunned and, fighting for composure, simply said, “I figure, Mrs. K, you know what you’re doing so you probably should just get on with doing it.”
And with that, everything had changed. Mrs. K never had the full run of the house and she was having the time of her life.
Mrs. K almost felt like finding the awful woman she’d worked for most of her life and thanking her for bringing Julia’s dreadful father (Julia had, of course, confided the whole story to Mrs. K and Ronnie over coffee) back on the scene. Her actions had triggered a great deal of change, or, Mrs. K had to admit, had solidified the changes that were already taking place. Also, with Monique gone, to Mrs. K’s way of thinking, things could finally progress a lot more smoothly in another quarter if Lord Ashton would just come home.
She was a little surprised at the turn of events. Mrs. K thought that it would be Julia who had to win over Douglas but it appeared that it was happening the other way around. This made Mrs. K’s hope blossom as she knew Douglas Ashton always won, no matter what he attempted.
After Thanksgiving, Lady Ashton left first thing in the morning, Carter stuffing her and the seven Louis Vuitton cases (that Veronika methodically packed) in the Bentley. Even after all these years, Mrs. Kilpatrick didn’t mind seeing her go. That woman had never been very nice to her staff or to her children. To Mrs. K’s way of thinking, she deserved everything she got, especially for orchestrating that nasty turn with Miss Julia and Gavin’s father.
Charlotte, Sam and Julia went out shopping with Ruby, Oliver went out on the rounds with Roddy and Lizzie and Willie went back to school and nary a word was said about Lady Ashton or Dr. Fairfax. Though everyone was far more relaxed and at ease. Sam, Charlotte and Oliver finally left on Sunday morning after spending a lovely weekend at Sommersgate.
Monday arrived and Miss Julia went in to Bristol to start her new job. She was supposed to work Monday through Thursday from ten o’clock until two. But she didn’t arrive home until well after three even though it was only a fifteen minute drive to Bristol. Mrs. K glanced at the clock, it was nearly four and the children would soon be home.