Using the butt of the torch he tapped lightly on the glass. With a muffled scream she twisted her head to stare up at him through her window before quickly glancing behind her towards the back seat. Following her gaze, he saw two little figures strapped into car seats, their heads lolling in sleep. The window slid down, and she hissed at him. ‘You scared me half to death! What are you doing lurking out here in the bloody dark?’
Adopting the same hushed tones, Tristan bent down. ‘I was out taking my dog for a walk and wondering where on earth you’d got to. Is everything all right? Why did you stop here?’
She waved a hand towards the castle. ‘Look at it, for goodness sake.’
His eyes followed the direction of her hand. The rain had thinned to a drizzle, casting the illuminated front of the castle in a misty curtain. Looming out of the darkness, he supposed it cut an imposing sight, but for him it was simply his home. ‘What am I looking at?’
Her incredulous stare narrowed as she realised he was teasing her. ‘Not funny.’
‘Well, a bit funny,’ he argued, giving her a grin. ‘Come on, you must be knackered, let’s get you inside in the warm.’
She eyed him for a long moment before nodding. ‘It was a tough drive.’ As though admitting it brought the reality of what she’d been through rushing forward, her shoulders slumped, and he could make out the lines of strain bracketing her eyes.
‘The rain’s almost stopped. If you want to leave the car here and walk the rest of the way …?’ He or Arthur could come back and fetch it in a bit once Jess and the boys were sorted.
‘It’s so silly, it’s only a hundred yards.’ When she made no move, Tristan leaned in and turned the engine off before tugging open her door. ‘Come on, the fresh air will do you good.’
‘Yes, you’re probably right.’ She still seemed a bit dazed when she climbed out, so Tristan put his arm out to steady her. When she looked a bit more with it, he quickly unzipped his jacket and slung it around her shoulders.
‘Mine’s in the boot somewhere,’ she protested, vaguely.
‘And you can get it later.’ Tristan moved towards the passenger door and popped it open quietly. ‘This is Elijah?’ he asked Jess over his shoulder as he crouched down beside the sleeping boy.
‘Yes.’ Shrugging into his coat, she leaned across Tristan to shake Elijah’s shoulder. ‘Hey Eli, wake up, sweetheart, we’re here.’
A pair of thick sooty lashes blinked open to reveal a set of deep-set green eyes inherited from his mother. ‘Mummy?’
She tugged the complicated mechanism strapping him in then straightened up. ‘This is Tristan. Remember I told you about him? He’s going to help you out while I get your brother.’
Those big olive-green eyes blinked owlishly as they watched Jess disappear around the back of the car before turning to gaze at Tristan. ‘Hello, Elijah.’
‘’lo.’ The little boy made no move to get out, his expression a combination of suspicion and weary confusion.
Glancing behind him, Tristan clicked his fingers towards where Pippin was busy sniffing at the tyres of the trailer behind them. ‘Come here, Pippin. I’ve got a new friend for you to meet.’ The little terrier bounced over, his stub of a tail wagging a mile a minute as he put his front paws up on the side of the car and gave Elijah an inquisitive sniff. ‘This is Pippin,’ Tristan said. ‘We’ve got lots of lovely dogs here at the castle, but he’s my special friend. He can be your friend too, if you’d like?’
Still looking uncertain, Elijah held out a tentative hand towards the terrier, giving a little giggle when Pippin licked the tips of his fingers. ‘It tickles.’
‘Down now, Pip,’ Tristan tap his thigh and the obedient dog came to sit at his heel. Turning back to Elijah, Tristan held out his hand. ‘Ready now?’ The boy nodded and wiggled down from the car. When he left his hand resting in Tristan’s he kept hold of it as he rose, making sure to keep his grip loose so Elijah could slip free at any time.
‘Well now, who’s this?’ Jess asked as she returned with a very sleepy Isaac in her arms and Pippin came to sniff at her feet.
‘Pip!’ Elijah said, then glanced up at Tristan as though checking he’d got that right.
Smiling, Tristan nodded. ‘His name is Pippin, but he likes to be called Pip by his friends.’ Pippin wagged his tail in agreement.
‘Making friends, already? Aren’t you a lucky boy, Eli? Now where’s your coat?’ Jess bent forward, still clutching Isaac to her hip.
Over her shoulder, Tristan surveyed the jumble of toys, pillows, colourful plastic lidded cups and other detritus spilling across the back seat and into the footwells beneath. ‘Do you want me to look?’
Jess straightened. ‘Thanks. It’s a navy puffa-type thing.’ At that moment, Isaac straightened in her arms and pulled the kind of face that portended nothing but trouble. As the first wail escaped his lips, Jess jiggled him. ‘Shh, it’s all right, bubba. We’re here now.’ Paying no heed to her assurances, the toddler continued to cry.
‘Take him in,’ Tristan nodded down the drive. ‘I’ll find Elijah’s jacket and we’ll be right behind you.’
‘Okay, sorry.’ Jess gave him an apologetic smile before heading towards the castle, crooning nonsense words to Isaac as she tried to console him.
Crouching once more, Tristan began to turn over everything in the back of the car, but the jacket remained stubbornly elusive. Giving Elijah a quick glance, he asked ‘Any idea where your coat is hiding?’ Elijah shook his head, his expression falling.
Fearing more tears, Tristan decided to abandon the hunt. The rain was nothing more than the odd spot now, and the boy’s sweatshirt looked warm enough for the couple of minutes it would take them to get inside. ‘Brave men like us don’t need coats, right?’
Clearly liking the sound of being a brave man, Elijah nodded. ‘Right!’
After closing the car door, Tristan held out a hand. ‘Come on then, let’s get inside. Betsy’s been working hard all afternoon to make you a very special welcome tea.’
Elijah linked fingers with him, eyes bright with curiosity. ‘Who’s Betsy?’
‘She’s our cook,’ Tristan said, starting towards the castle. He kept his stride short to make sure the boy could easily keep pace with him. ‘Our house is very big, so we need lots of people to help take care of it, and us.’ It suddenly occurred to him how overwhelming all this must be and paused to crouch so he was at eye-level with Elijah. ‘I’m sure this is all a bit scary for you, but I promise that everyone here at Bluebell Castle is very excited about you and Isaac and Mummy coming to stay with us. If anything upsets or bothers you, tell your mummy straightaway and we will sort it out.’ He squeezed Elijah’s hand very gently. ‘And you can always come and talk to me, okay?’
Elijah gave him a hesitant nod. ‘Okay.’
Pippin squeezed in between the two of them, not wanting to miss out on whatever was going on. Tristan scratched behind his ears. ‘And Pippin is a very good listener, too. I’ve told him my troubles lots of times, haven’t I, boy?’ The dog gave a little bark as though agreeing with him. Meeting Elijah’s gaze, Tristan asked. ‘Have you ever had a dog?’ When Elijah shook his head, Tristan took a moment to show him how to stroke him.
Ahead of them, Isaac’s wails had lessened into the odd sniffle. ‘Poor Isaac sounds very tired. Let’s get him inside and into bed.’ Tristan stood and this time Elijah took his hand without him offering it. Feeling like he’d made more progress than he could’ve hoped for to win the boy’s trust, Tristan stretched his legs a little faster so they could catch up with Jess who’d paused at the foot of the steps leading up to the imposing front door.
They made it up the first couple of steps when the clatter of claws on gravel heralded the return of Arthur, Lucie and the rest of the dogs. Acting on instinct, Tristan swept Elijah up onto his hip. ‘Brace yourself,’ he managed to warn Jess before they were surrounded by a wagging, panting sea of fur.
‘You weren’t kidding when you said you
had a lot of dogs!’ Jess didn’t sound in the least bit perturbed, thank goodness, and her laughter pealed out as she nudged Murphy, their rambunctious Jack Russell with a gentle foot. ‘Yes, yes, I’m very happy to meet you too,’ she crooned to the dog as he scrabbled at the leg of her jeans.
‘Get off the lady, you flea-bitten mutt.’ Arthur scooped the terrier up and held the wriggling bundle of tan and white firmly under his arm as he smiled up at Jess from the step below. ‘Hello! Glad to see you managed to find us in the end. What a filthy day for travelling, you must be exhausted.’ He turned all that easy charm to the little boy in her arms. ‘And you must be Isaac, hello!’ He touched a finger to the toddler’s chin.
Any outrage Isaac might have been considering at all the noise around him was negated by the arrival of Lucie. ‘Oh, aren’t you the most gorgeous thing?’ She held out her arms to the bemused toddler who much to Tristan’s surprise leaned away from his mother’s hold and went straight to Lucie without so much as a peep. ‘Hello, Jess,’ she continued, brushing a quick kiss on Jess’s cheek. ‘We’re delighted to have you all here. Come in, come in,’ she ushered them all up the steps to where Arthur had managed to wedge open one half of the door and still keep his grip on Murphy.
‘Is it always like this?’ Jess murmured as she walked beside him up the steps.
‘Noisy? Chaotic? Slightly bonkers? Oh, absolutely.’ Tristan caught Jess’s startled expression and gave her a grin. ‘Welcome to Bluebell Castle.’
Chapter 5
It was impossible not to feel cheered by the charm offensive laid on by the Ludworths. They seemed genuinely delighted to welcome her and the boys to their home, even at the horrendously short notice she’d given. It hadn’t been her intention to foist herself on them so quickly, but the row she’d had with her mother over the late change of plans had been so awful as to have made it impossible for her to go and stay there even for a couple of nights whilst she tried to put some plans in place. Steve had already delayed travelling to university until the very last minute, and though he’d offered to further delay heading off she hated the idea of him missing the start of his course.
When she’d spoken to Tristan that morning, she’d tried to sound casual as she’d asked him about local accommodation she could rent until they’d had time to properly agree terms, but he’d told her not to be so silly, that there was more than enough space at the castle to accommodate her and the boys several times over and just to get in the car and drive. Already beyond the point of feeling capable of making alternative arrangements, she’d done as he’d said. The storm had hit not long after they’d reached the M1, turning a four-hour journey into over seven as they crawled along in the inside lane – the combination of the awful weather and her unfamiliarity with towing the trailer making her too anxious to attempt to overtake.
Isaac burst into another flurry of tears, but before she could attempt to retrieve him from Lucie, he was swept up by Tristan’s uncle – the outrageously named Lancelot – and the pair disappeared from the room without so much as a glance in her direction. Before she could worry about where they’d gone to, or the disruption she was bringing to what seemed like a thoroughly nice group of people Lancelot returned with a content-looking Isaac guzzling a bottle of warm milk in his arms. Having successfully dealt with one boy, he then settled down on one of a pair of leather sofas next to where Tristan sat cross-legged on the floor with Elijah and joined in their conversation about all the different dogs and what their names were.
She’d been worried about how Elijah might cope having not been raised with any pets besides a short-lived hamster whose loss had caused such devastation both she and Steve had sworn off any future pets. As she watched Tristan’s scruffy little terrier settle himself between Elijah’s legs, his head propped on her son’s thigh in a distinctly claiming gesture, she realised there was nothing to worry about.
There was no more time to contemplate the wisdom – or otherwise – of their unexpected arrival because Jess found herself taken in hand by Lucie and her mother, who she introduced as Constance. ‘Mum lives with Lancelot above the stables,’ Lucie offered without preamble as she urged Jess to take a seat on the opposite sofa.
Constance laughed as she sat on her opposite side. ‘I only came for a quick visit, but that rogue swept me quite off my feet.’ Leaning in, she whispered conspiratorially. ‘You have to watch these Ludworth men, they can charm the birds from the trees.’ Her face fell almost instantly. ‘Oh, but that was crass of me! Tristan told us a little of your circumstances, I shouldn’t have been so thoughtless.’
Not sure she was too keen on being the subject of family gossip, but relieved nonetheless that there would be no awkward questions about where the boys’ father was, Jess found a tired smile for the woman. ‘No harm done. It’s been over for a while; it’s just taken some time to untangle ourselves domestically.’ Not wanting to say any more than that, she turned the conversation back towards Constance. ‘So, tell me more about how you and Lucie came to be part of the family.’
As she listened to a story involving an old family diary and a hidden masterpiece, Jess forgot about being tired, or about the million and one things she would have to tackle in the morning and just let the warmth of the room, and the people within it, soak into her bones. It sounded like the Ludworths had a knack of absorbing people into their family. She could see already how easy it would be to get swept along with them and knew she would have to remind herself she was only there on a temporary basis.
‘Gosh!’ Constance exclaimed a few minutes later. ‘Listen to me rattling on and we haven’t even offered you so much as drink. What can we get you?’
‘Oh, Mum, you’re right, where are our manners? Poor Jess, you must be parched.’ Lucie said. Her expression all contrition, she stood. ‘A cup of tea, perhaps?’
‘Pfshh.’ The indelicate noise came from the very proper-looking older lady sitting upright in the armchair closest to the fire. ‘It’s past teatime and I for one am ready for something stronger.’ Turning a gimlet gaze to Jess she gave her a thoroughly appraising look which left Jess with the impression this jury of one would be out for a while before passing verdict on her. ‘You’ll forgive me for saying so, child, but you look in urgent need of something to revive your spirits. I normally take a sweet sherry at this hour, but that’s likely not to your taste.’
Definitely not to her taste. ‘I wouldn’t say no to a glass of white wine,’ she ventured.
‘Ah, drinks, my specialist subject.’ Arthur stood with a laugh and made his way over to a large drinks cabinet, pulling open the bottom doors to reveal a well-stocked fridge.
He was halfway through serving everyone when a very dapper older man dressed in charcoal grey pinstriped trousers with a matching waistcoat over a crisp white shirt swept in through a discreet swing door. Stopping dead with a frown, the man surveyed the room with clear disapproval. ‘Really, Sir Arthur, you had only to ring if you required a drink,’ he admonished, sweeping the open bottle of wine from Arthur’s grasp.
‘Sorry, Maxwell.’ Arthur’s breezy tone said quite clearly he was anything but, though he conceded his spot by the drinks cabinet without protest and resumed his seat.
The man poured a glass of white wine then approached Jess. ‘Miss Jessica, you must forgive me for not being there to greet your arrival. My name is Maxwell and I am entirely at your disposal. Should you require anything at all, either myself or Mrs Walters, the housekeeper, will be only too happy to assist. On consultation with Sir Arthur, we’ve arranged for you and the children to be accommodated in the nursery rooms on the upper level. Once you’ve had time to refresh yourself, perhaps I can escort you upstairs to ensure you have everything you need.’
Trying to absorb the torrent of helpful information, Jess accepted the glass. ‘Umm, that’s very kind, thank you.’ Apparently that was sufficient for he gave her a brief nod then left her to serve the others. The ice cold wine hit exactly the right spot. Jess closed her eyes fo
r a moment, savouring the taste on the back of her tongue.
‘All right?’ She flashed open her lashes to find Tristan standing over her, that funny, familiar smile on his lips.
‘I think so.’ She glanced past him, ‘How are the boys?’ Isaac had stopped crying, but she was conscious of how long a day it had been for them and it would be prudent to get them fed and tucked in before the novelty of all these new people wore off.
Tristan shrugged, unconcerned. ‘Oh, they’re fine. Lancelot had years of practice juggling the three of us, so two is a doddle.’ He held out his hand. ‘If you give me your keys, I’ll bring the car up.’
‘I can do it.’ She would’ve stood, but he made no move to give her space to do so.
‘No, you won’t. You’ll sit there and enjoy your wine. Give me your keys and tell me what you need tonight. We can sort the rest out in the morning.’
The command in his voice was something new, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it or not, but she was too bloody tired to argue. Raising one hip, she fished her keys out from the pocket of her jeans. ‘There’s a small black case in the boot, that’s got our overnight stuff in it. Maxwell said something about us sleeping in the nursery?’
Tristan nodded. ‘In keeping with old-fashioned tradition there’s a section of the second floor which was set aside as the nursery. We thought you might appreciate a space to call your own as this is going to be home for the three of you for the next few months. It’s an ideal set-up with a playroom for the boys, and a sitting room which was originally designed for when the family had a nanny. There’s also a little kitchen if you’d rather make use of it although the three of you are more than welcome to dine with us, of course.’
It sounded ideal, though she wondered if beneath the altruism there was a bit of ruthless practicality. From what she could work out, there hadn’t been any children in the castle since Tristan and his brother and sister and she couldn’t blame a household full of adults for wanting to tuck her and the boys out of the way. ‘Did you use it when you were little?’
Starlight Over Bluebell Castle (Bluebell Castle, Book 3) Page 6