Sommersgate House (29 page)

But it was her
battle. And Julia had, after a valiant struggle, handled it quite
splendidly. If she had turned to Douglas and told him to get rid of
her father, he would have done so, without hesitation. But she
didn’t and that too, he thought, was not only her prerogative and
it was also honourable.

However, when
Monique finally moved away to refresh her drink, Douglas was
finished with allowing Julia to have her honourable way.

He strode over
to Trevor and said under his breath in a tone that could not be
ignored nor misunderstood, “I think, Dr. Fairfax, it’s time for you
to leave.”

Trevor turned
astonished eyes to Douglas, clearly having been lulled into
relaxing in his very plush surroundings. Even though Julia said
barely a dozen words to him since dinner, Monique had been
expending a great deal of energy making him feel welcome.

The older man
read Douglas’s face and was smart enough to nod.

Douglas wasted
no time in announcing his guest’s imminent departure. Farewells
were quickly and not-so-cordially exchanged (Charlotte, Oliver and
Sam had correctly surmised Julia and Douglas’s mood and behaved
accordingly).

Douglas and
Julia, joined by Monique, walked Trevor to the front door where
Carter (at Douglas’s behest) had been waiting with the Bentley for
the last half an hour. When Douglas ordered Carter to the front,
Carter informed him that Trevor arrived in a taxi. Where Trevor now
was going, Douglas neither knew nor cared.

Monique gave
him a fond good-bye, pleased that it seemed she’d gotten away with
her spitefulness. Julia just stood with her arms crossed on her
chest and didn’t say a word.

Douglas, tone
and manner civil, shook the man’s hand and then said in a cordial
voice, “Just so we understand about this evening, Dr. Fairfax, you
are not to return to this house or approach Julia, the children or
Patricia unless one of them expresses the desire to communicate
with you.”

Unnerved by
Douglas’s belying manner and words, Trevor blinked and stammered,
“I… I –”

Douglas
released his hand.

Monique,
of course, was
not
at a loss
for words. “Douglas! How could you? Trevor and I have, these past
weeks, formed a lovely friendship.” She turned to Trevor.
“If
I
wish to see you, you are always
welcome at Sommers –”

Douglas didn’t
allow her to finish.

“If you invite
him into my house without Julia’s consent, you will find yourself
no longer living in it,” he stated inflexibly.

It was
Monique’s turn to stammer, this time not in astonishment but in
outrage and Douglas heard Julia’s surprised gasp.

Douglas
ignored his mother and Julia and turned back to Trevor. “Did I make
myself understood?”

Douglas didn’t
wait for his answer and began to walk away, offering his arm to
Julia who walked forward woodenly, her face partially in shadows,
her breath shallow. She placed her hand in the crook his elbow and
he tucked it firmly in his side.

Julia didn’t
offer her father a good-bye.

“Sir,” Carter
called, “I thought you’d like to know, a somewhat urgent call came
about five minutes ago. I explained you’d ring him back.”

Douglas
felt his irritation escalate.
Now
was
exactly not the time for this. He needed to talk to Julia, he
wished to see if she was all right. He certainly didn’t need to
leave her alone with his mother, and then, of course, there were
the children to consider

His eyes met
Carter’s.

Fucking hell.
He would have to have a word with Mrs. Kilpatrick.

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.

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.

“Anything
exciting happen today?” Julia asked as the kettle burbled.

Mrs. K wanted
to tell her that everything exciting had happened that day because
nothing had happened without Lady Ashton to please. Mrs. K felt a
sense of such deep relief, she didn’t exactly know how to handle
it. She did not keep an eye out for every speck of dust, every
slight smudge on window, mirror or the sheen on the banisters or
tables. She didn’t have a pile of laundry to inspect to make
certain they were fresh smelling and stain and wrinkle free. She
didn’t have to mentally calculate every calorie in every dish she
was making. And she didn’t have to calm Veronika’s nerves every
time she saw the girl, who was also adjusting to this new feeling
at Sommersgate with rapid ease.

All they had
to look forward to was Miss Julia’s smiling face coming in the
backdoor, a quick gossip over a fresh cuppa, the children’s rushing
about when they got home and the rest of the time nothing but
peace.

Even the house
seemed to be settling into this new regime. The days were getting
shorter but at Sommersgate the evening shadows were receding. The
weather was becoming chill but in the house the draughts and cold
were disappearing. In the evening, when it always seemed so dark,
in the house, the edge was off the night. Shadows lost their
menace. Rather than seeming alive and frightful, as they always had
done, they just became shadows of this piece of furniture or that
shape of a tree hit by the moonlight.

Even The
Master and The Mistress had been silent. Not even Ruby saw or felt
them anymore, Mrs. K knew because she’d asked the girl.

“No, nothing
exciting,” she answered and Carter walked in just then with a nod
and grabbed the grocery list and one of Mrs. K’s homemade scones.
“Make it quick, I want to get that crumble ready for tea.”

“Aye, aye,
captain,” Carter grumbled but he did it genially while Mrs. K
poured the water into the freshly ground coffee in the
cafetière.

“I was reading
about The Master and Mistress last night,” Julia told her as she
got up to grab mugs, sugar bowl, teaspoons and the jug of milk out
of the fridge. “There are a couple books about the Barony in the
library and in one, there’s quite a bit about them.”

Mrs. K pressed
down the cafetière.

“Learn
anything?” she asked as she sat down at the bench across the table
from Julia, something she’d done every day this week so far,
something she’d never have done, ever, with Douglas or Monique
Ashton. But then, both of them rarely came into the kitchen.

“Their names,
Archibald or ‘Archie’ as he was known and get this…” she paused for
effect, “Ruby! I bet that’s why Tamsin named Ruby-girl that.”

Mrs. K nodded,
looking fondly at the other woman’s glowing face. “It’s likely.
Miss Tamsin was taken with that story, always was from the first
moment she saw The Master and felt his lady.”

Julia took a
sip of her coffee. “Did you know there are portraits of the two of
them amongst the others in the stairwell?”

Mrs. K
leaned forward in a small rush of excitement because she
didn’t
know. In all her years there,
she’d never had the time to go sorting through the Sommersgate
library (nor did she wish to get caught) to find information about
the ghosts.