Still it should be in the church directory. But it wasn’t. Only the landline was, and she wasn’t about to ring the house and leave a message.
The red car was still parked outside her house when she went to bed and when she got up in the morning. Going in to work early, she wasn’t surprised when it followed her. She parked in front of the CCTV cameras and, relieved to see Jonathan’s car already there, went to find him.
He looked up as she tapped on the door. “Hey, what’s up?”
“I’m being followed,” she said without preamble. “The same car was outside my house all night, and it followed me here too.”
“Are you sure you’re not imagining things?” he asked. “I mean, you’re famous now. Perhaps it’s a journalist wanting to work out who you are.”
“And what if it isn’t? If he’s hanging around outside the school, are the kids safe? Maybe I should ring the police.”
“There’s no need to bother the cops over what’s probably nothing. I’ll keep an eye out, OK?”
Dawn nodded. “Thanks.”
Just as her last class of the day finished, Jackie from the office knocked on her door. “There’s someone in reception to see you.”
“OK, thanks. I’ll be right down.” Dawn turned to the kids. “OK, dismissed. Don’t forget the homework is due on Thursday.”
She headed to the office, not sure who it could be. A parent perhaps, although surely Jackie would have told her that.
Gabe stood there, a bunch of roses in his hands, looking nervous and unsure of himself. “Hi. These are for you.”
She smiled and took the yellow and red flowers. “Thank you. I thought you were filming all week.”
“I couldn’t wait to see you,” he said sidestepping a gaggle of gawking teenagers.
“Come up to my classroom. I’m almost finished. I would have thanked you for the flowers yesterday, but I only have your landline number, and I knew you weren’t there.”
“I’ll give it to you.” He glanced around as they walked. “This place hasn’t really changed much at all.” He grinned as they entered her classroom. “I used to sit right over there in the corner.”
“You mean you didn’t go to a private school?”
Gabe shook his head. “Nope. I insisted on going to this one with my friends. Mother wasn’t happy, but the agreement was I went to Eton afterwards and got grades good enough for Oxford University.”
Dawn put the roses into a vase on her desk. “There.”
“Red and yellow mean happiness,” he told her. “Because since I met you that sums up how I’ve felt.”
“That’s nice of you to say so.”
He took her hand, moving closer. “I mean it.”
“Gabe…” She paused, losing herself in his gaze for a moment. “I spoke to a friend on Sunday and then checked it out on the Internet myself. There are photos of us everywhere.”
“I’m afraid that goes with what I do and who I am. I did warn you.”
“I know, but…”
He pushed a gentle hand through her hair. “Are you worried about your reputation and what the kids are going to say?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just…”
“It’ll die down, I promise. It’ll be some other Hollywood star next week. Would you like to go for a walk? We could try out the takeaway coffee from the Three-Sixteen if you like.”
“Sure.”
He took her hand and walked out of the school and down the road with her. Soft footsteps fell behind them, and she glanced over her shoulder more than once. Sometimes she thought she saw someone, other times it was merely kids following them and giggling.
Gabe bought two takeout coffees and led her over to a bench in the sunshine. “You look scared. Are you all right?”
Dawn sipped the coffee. “You’re going to think I’m stupid as well.”
“Well…unless you tell me, I can’t make that assumption. But it’d take something really random for me to think you’re stupid.”
“I’m being followed.” She studied the cup. One derisive look over this was enough for one day. “The same red car has been outside my house and the school for the past couple of days. Plus, I keep seeing the same bloke over and over. I suggested calling the police, but that went down like a lead balloon.”
“Hmmm, maybe we should get you a bodyguard.”
Dawn jerked her head up. Was he being serious here? “You don’t need to make fun of me as well.”
“I’m not.” He took a long drag on the coffee. “So what does this bloke look like?”
“Dark hair, creepy looking. Not sure if he’s the driver of the car or not, he’s too clever for that, and it’s never more than a glimpse at any one time.”
Gabe pulled out his phone and texted her. “Now you have my number. You see this bloke again and you let me know.”
“Thank you.” She sighed. “Oh, maybe Jonathan is right, and I am paranoid. Or there are just sixty-five red sports cars like yours in Headley Cross all of a sudden.”
Gabe frowned.
Dawn caught sight of someone standing across the road watching them. Was it the same man? He looked familiar but not enough to bother Gabe with. She angled herself so she couldn’t see him. “Anyway, how’s the filming going?”
“Almost done. I have to be back tomorrow until Friday.”
“Part-timer,” she teased. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, a mix of coffee and Gabe’s scent filling her senses.
Gabe chuckled. “How would you like to come back to the house and have dinner?”
“Dinner?”
“It’s the last meal of the day. And it’s only fair to return the favor. Unless you’re busy tonight?”
She shook her head. “No, not busy. I’d love to see your place.”
“I hoped you’d say that.” Gabe rose and took her hand. “I already told Mother we were coming and warned the cook it’d be one more for dinner.”
“That’s a little presumptuous.” She tilted her head. “What if I’d said no?”
“Then I get seconds,” he laughed. “We’ll take my car if that’s all right, and I’ll drive you back for yours later. If you don’t mind going in the limo again.”
~*~
Dawn’s jaw dropped as they drove up to the huge house and parked on the gravel. “Wow.”
“I did tell you I was an earl.”
She looked in wonder at the enormous, winged house, a mix of Tudor and modern, that filled her vision. “Yes, but you neglected to say you lived in a mansion set on acres of land.”
“You didn’t ask.” He sat still. “When Dad died, I inherited his title, the house, the land, and the headache.”
“Headache?”
“You’ll see.”
The front door opened and a balding man in livery stood there.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“The butler, Hardy.” Gabe opened his door.
“You have a butler.” She struggled to get her head around how the other half lived.
“You spoke to him on the phone. We also have footmen, maids, a cook, and unfortunately, I have a valet who dresses me.”
She snorted with laughter. “Someone to dress you? Does he do your tie up as well?”
“And jacket.” Gabe rolled his eyes. “He chooses my clothes too, which is a little much at times.”
Dawn followed him up the steps into the house. His manner changed with each step he took. He grew taller, his shoulders straighter, and if it was possible to look posher, he did.
The entrance hall took her breath away. Its huge ceiling, checkered floor, and enormous wooden staircase would probably hold her entire house.
“Good evening, sir.” The butler’s clipped voice was the one she remembered from the brief phone encounter.
“Good evening, Hardy. Where’s Lady Tyler?”
“In the drawing room.”
Dawn walked with Gabe to a room to the left of the main hall. She couldn’t help but notice the way the butler assessed her. She’d come up lacking no doubt.
Gabe pushed open the door to a huge dark-wood paneled room. It smelled old and faintly musty. “Mother, how are you?”
The old, grey haired lady lifted her head. She was dressed in a full-length black satin gown with glasses perched on the end of her nose. Her hair was piled high on her head in a way that must have taken someone ages to do.
“Gabriel…” Her face and voice froze as her gaze fell on Dawn.
Gabriel looked at her. “Mother, may I present Dawn Stannis. Dawn, this is my mother, Dowager Countess of Elton, Lady Florence Tyler.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Dawn wasn’t sure if she should curtsey or offer a hand.
“Gabriel?” Countess Florence’s tone was as icy as her face.
“I told you I was here for dinner tonight, and that I was bringing a guest. She’s from the school. She organized the careers fayre I went along to the other week.”
“A
teacher?
”
Dawn took a step backwards, bile rising in her throat. She shouldn’t have come.
“It’s totally inappropriate,” Countess Florence continued. “You are an Earl, Gabriel. If you must bring a woman home, it must be a
lady,
someone fit for the task of becoming your wife and the mother of your child. Not some riffraff, lower caste person from the local council estate who is best suited to servitude.”
“Excuse me
?” Dawn gasped. Had she heard right?
“Mother, your manners are deplorable. Dawn, I apologize.” Gabe took Dawn’s hand in his. “We’ll find a restaurant.”
Although they turned to leave, his mother continued her tirade.
“Your name and hers are already linked in the papers. The press is all over this so-called relationship of yours like a rash. I even found one journalist in the grounds this morning. It’s bad enough your tawdry career is keeping you in the public eye, without you picking a most unsuitable woman as well.”
“That is enough!” Gabe’s voice shook with anger. “It’s one thing to behave as you do with your family, but you will not insult my guest in my house.”
Dawn’s stomach roiled with a mixture of anger, embarrassment, and shock. She looked over at Gabe and let go of his hand. “Thanks for the flowers and the invitation to dinner, Gabe. I’m afraid I can’t stay, I have a pile of marking to do at home.”
“His name is Lord Tyler.”
She bit back her automatic reaction. “I’ll walk to the main road and call a taxi. I don’t want to put you out any more than I already have.”
“I’ll drive you,” Gabe said. His tortured gaze rested on her for a moment. “Just give me one moment.”
Dawn’s eyes burned with the tears she stubbornly refused to let fall. She felt sick. She backed out of the room as Gabe continued to speak with his mother. This was a family situation and didn’t involve her. She ran from the house, not giving the butler chance to open the door.
She pulled out her phone as she ran down the drive to the main road. Gabe’s text sat on the home screen, and she deleted it without reading it. She called the taxi firm and asked for a cab to pick her up in five minutes. Dawn stood by the lamp post waiting. The same bloke stood across the road watching her. She shivered.
After ten minutes, the taxi still hadn’t arrived. Dawn called again and cancelled it. She started to walk to the school, her steps getting faster as she heard footsteps behind her. Then she began running.
A red sports car pulled up beside her, and she ran faster.
The car followed, eventually pulling into the road in front of her as she was about to cross it, blocking her path. She swung around, running in the opposite direction. A huge limo pulled up next to her.
The back window wound down. “Dawn, get in.” Gabe opened the door.
Her breath came in huge gasps, terror flooding her. Tempted to refuse, her fear got the better of her, and she climbed in the car. She shook from head to toe as she sat there struggling to fasten her seatbelt. “Drive…please.”
Gabe’s cool fingers covered hers. “Dawn?”
“Just go.”
He nodded and hit the intercom. “Peters, go.” The car pulled away, and Gabe twisted to face her. “Why did you hang up?”
“What?” she asked, looking at him, her breathing gradually returning to normal.
“You rang the house phone, but when I took the call, you’d hung up.”
“No…” She frowned in confusion. “I deleted your number.”
Gabe frowned as the car pulled away from the junction. “Hardy said it was you. You sounded terrified. That’s the other reason I came.”
“I rang a taxi. Only this bloke was watching me once I got to the main road. The cab didn’t arrive so I started to walk. Only he was following me—”
“Good job I came to find you,” Gabe said calmly. “Besides I did say I’d take you home.”
“Yeah.”
But I didn’t mean to call you. And I wouldn’t, not after the way your mother behaved.
She sat silently as the car drove her back to the school. Gabe’s hand was next to hers, but he made no attempt to take it. As they parked, he pulled out his phone. He typed quickly. “There, don’t delete it this time.”
“OK,” she whispered. “But your mother…”
“I apologize for her behavior and mine. I should have warned you. My mother is ill. She has Alzheimer’s. The disease has changed her, but she always was a self-opinionated cow at times I’m afraid,” he said bluntly. “But I don’t share her feelings. Once she gets to know you, she’ll feel differently.”
“Perhaps. Thank you for the lift.” She got out of the car.
“I’ll follow you home,” he said. “Stave off any would be stalkers.”
“OK.” Dawn went into the school car park to retrieve her vehicle. She didn’t remember calling him. However, he had appeared from nowhere when she needed him, and she had to admit, she did feel calmer knowing he was going to follow her safely to her door.
10
The flowers continued to arrive daily as the week progressed. Always roses to the school and cornflowers to her home. Dawn looked up the roses on line to find out what the colors stood for. The yellow with red tips meant friendship and falling in love. The peach stood for sincerity while the coral indicated desire.
All seemed to show that Gabe liked her; maybe even more than liked her.
But she simply could not figure the man out and decided to stop trying. His Hollywood image seemed to fill every aspect of his life when he wasn’t being an earl or under his mother’s thumb. However, his mother was ill, and she knew from her coworkers how horribly Alzheimer’s affected not just the person with the disease but the family as well.
So the fact that she liked him a lot was irrelevant.