‘Isn’t it just?’ said Laura with a shudder. ‘I wouldn’t sleep here alone for all the tea in China.’
‘I shall be fine,’ said Gabriel firmly. ‘If I get nervous I’ll ask Miss Prince to move in with me. Enough to scare any self-respecting ghost off the premises.’
‘Haywards isn’t haunted, pet,’ said her father, laughing.
Laura looked unconvinced. ‘Come on, Harry. Time we were on our way. I intend taking the journey in easy stages with frequent stops for cups of tea and lunch, and so on, in case my driving makes you nervous.’
‘It won’t—I shall probably fall asleep,’ Harry assured her, and made for the suitcases, but Laura shook her head.
‘No lifting, please.’
Adam collected the luggage and carried it out to the car while Gabriel hugged each parent in turn, then stood with him to wave them off down the lane and out of sight.
‘I just hope this is a good idea,’ she said uneasily.
‘If it isn’t your mother will simply bring him back,’ said Adam matter-of-factly, and strolled back with her to the house. ‘She’s a very attractive lady. And much younger than I expected.’
‘Marriage and motherhood before she was twenty. An example I was determined to avoid,’ said Gabriel, pulling a face, and looked at the clock. ‘I hate to be rude, but it’s time I made a start. Though I can work later tonight now there’s no hospital visit.’
‘No way—keep to your usual hours,’ Adam said promptly.
‘I don’t have anything else to do. By the way,’ she added, ‘Jeremy Blyth rang last night. He’s back from the States—’
‘And is winging his way to see you as we speak?’
‘Certainly not. I’m too busy for visitors. But he’ll be coming soon because I mentioned the auction. I hinted there might be some interest in it for him.’ Gabriel looked up at him. ‘I hope you don’t mind.’
‘One man’s money is as good as the next,’ Adam assured her. At the door he looked back at her, his eyes gleaming below lowered lids. ‘I came hotfoot to ask you out to dinner,’ he said, sighing theatrically. ‘But in the circumstances no doubt you’ll turn me down.’
‘What circumstances?’ she demanded.
‘The return of the lover.’
‘The word doesn’t apply to Jeremy,’ she retorted. ‘Nor does his return affect what I do with my social life—’
‘Then I’ll come for you at eight.’
‘Hey, just a minute—’
‘Eight sharp,’ said Adam, and gave her a smile which lit up the gloomy old kitchen before he went sprinting off to his car, leaving Gabriel annoyed, amused, but secretly deeply grateful for the alternative to a long evening alone at Haywards Farm.
‘I’ll work a little later tonight,’ she told Wayne, ‘now that I don’t have to dash off to the hospital. But you two can knock off at the usual time.’
He shook his head. ‘Eddie’s going out, but I’ll stay until you finish. I promised your father to help you lock up, and make sure you’re safe for the night. Unless Adam’s coming back to do it,’ he added woodenly.
‘No. He’s not.’ Gabriel frowned. ‘But if you stay Eddie won’t get a lift.’
‘No problem. Emma’s picking him up.’
Eddie duly took off to Pennington with his girlfriend, and an hour of intensive work later Gabriel let out such a screech of excitement Wayne rushed to her bench as she took the protective card away and revealed her find.
On the wall behind the sisters the artist had painted not another picture, as Gabriel had thought, but a mirror reflecting a rakishly handsome face.
‘Benjamin Wallis, the faithless lover,’ breathed Gabriel, taut with excitement.
Wayne whistled. ‘Will he add to the value?’
‘I should think so. Dad said Singleton’s known for special effects, remember. And coupled with the story behind the picture, the mirror effect is very special indeed.’ She remained gazing down at the picture, fascinated by the appearance of the third member of the love triangle.
‘Come on, Gabriel. Call it a day and let’s get everything put away. Not that I mind staying,’ added Wayne hastily, ‘but you look shattered.’
She shook her head. ‘Just a few more minutes. I must find the signature before I call it a day.’
After half an hour of intensive, delicate work Gabriel finally revealed three capital letters entwined in a monogram, followed by an illegible squiggle, just as Adam had told her. ‘There!’ she said with triumph.
Wayne hung over her shoulder, tense with excitement. ‘It’s a bit indistinct, Gabriel.’
‘Better that than obliterated. I daren’t remove any more varnish.’ She gazed at the signature with deep satisfaction, then stripped off her mask and headband. ‘Right. Thanks for hanging on, Wayne. But could you take the portrait up to the house for me? Adam’s coming round later and he’ll want to see my discoveries. He’ll help me lock it away.’
‘Whatever you say.’
Wayne was so silent as he tidied up Gabriel began to think Adam might be right about him, and stifled a sigh as she locked up. The last thing she needed during working hours was an assistant suffering from unrequited passion.
‘I’ll be off now, then,’ Wayne said, once he’d laid the painting down on the kitchen table. ‘Goodnight, Gabriel.’
‘Thanks, Wayne. See you in the morning.’
When Laura Brett rang to say she had settled Harry in at the cottage after an uneventful journey, Gabriel thanked her affectionately, then asked to speak to her father to report on the reflection in the mirror.
‘And I’ve uncovered the signature, so it’s confirmed as a Singleton anyway, Dad.’
‘I knew that the moment I set eyes on it, pet. Adam’s sleeper should do well. But don’t work too hard,’ he added sternly.
‘I won’t. In fact I’m off shortly. Adam’s taking me to dinner.’
Which should give the parents something to talk about over theirs, thought Gabriel, as she took more time over her appearance than usual. But long before Adam was due she was ready in a sleeveless pink shift and matching strappy sandals with high, impractical heels, her hair caught up in a careless knot with escaping strands allowed to brush her cheek. ‘Not as beautiful as you,’ she told the girl in the portrait, ‘but presentable enough when I make the effort.’
When Adam arrived it was flatteringly obvious that he agreed with her. ‘You look good enough to eat, Miss Brett.’
‘Thank you, but never mind me,’ she said, and pulled him towards the canvas on the table, pointing at the reflection she’d uncovered in the painted mirror in the background. ‘Not only have I found the signature, but take a look at that!’
Adam’s eyes blazed with excitement. ‘Holy Moses— Benjamin Wallis?’
‘The rotter himself,’ said Gabriel with passion. ‘Just look at that face. A card-carrying libertine, by the look of him, the quintessential Regency buck.’
‘And, talking of bucks, I’ll bet my bottom dollar Mr Wallis will up the ante for the portrait.’ Adam gazed down at the painting for some time, then turned to look at her with equal absorption, taking in every detail of her appearance from head to toe. ‘It’s not often that such skill comes in so beautiful a package, Gabriel Brett. I’m impressed on both counts. Let’s tuck Henrietta up for the night, then I’ll buy you dinner.’
Adam took Gabriel to an Italian restaurant where he was greeted like a long-lost son.
‘You come here a lot, obviously,’ said Gabriel, as she studied the three-page menu.
‘I bring all my women here,’ he agreed, laughing at the look she gave him. ‘My mother and sisters,’ he added virtuously.
‘Not Della?’
He shook his head. ‘Like your pavement-lover, Della prefers London. Perhaps I could introduce her to this Jeremy of yours. They should suit each other.’
‘He’s extremely erudite,’ warned Gabriel.
‘No use, then. Della’s bright enough, and streetwise, but her worst
enemy wouldn’t call her erudite. And that,’ said Adam, ‘is quite enough about other people. I’d much rather concentrate on you.’
She smiled demurely. ‘Because I’ve done so well with your sleeper?’
‘No.’ His eyes gleamed as they held hers. ‘Though I’m very grateful for that, of course. The reason’s very simple, Gabriel. I enjoy your company.’
She felt a rush of warmth nothing to do with the wine she was sipping. ‘I enjoy yours, too. Which is the last thing I expected,’ she added candidly. ‘In the past I hated the very sound of your name.’
There was a pause while steaming dishes of pasta were put in front of them, cheese added and pepper milled and instructions given to enjoy the meal.
‘Do you still feel the same?’ said Adam casually, when they were alone.
‘No.’ Gabriel looked him in the eye. ‘You know that. Otherwise I wouldn’t have spent the day with you last Sunday—or any time at all.’
Adam nodded briskly, as though they’d shaken hands on a business deal. ‘Good. I hoped that was the case. Unfortunately I’m about to make a request that may well set our relationship back in the Ice Age again.’
‘What is it?’ she demanded, bracing herself.
‘While Harry is away will you give me a key to Haywards?’
She stared at him blankly. ‘Why?’
‘Not,’ he assured her wryly, ‘to creep up on you in the night intent on rape and pillage.’
‘How disappointing! Why, then?’
‘It struck me last night that if you did ring me in an emergency you’d have to come downstairs to let me in, and I’d much prefer you stayed safely locked in your bedroom.’
She raised an eyebrow. ‘Is it my safety that worries you, or Henrietta’s?’
His mouth twisted. ‘I suppose I expected that.’
‘All right,’ said Gabriel, changing tack. ‘Tell me. Is this just about me, or were you equally worried when my father was alone at night at Haywards?’
‘No.’ Adam reached a hand across the table and took hers. ‘I’m fond enough of Harry. With you it’s different. But if I tell you exactly how different you won’t let me have a key.’
Gabriel felt colour flood her face, then recede as she tried to drag her eyes away from Adam’s. At last he released her hand and began on his meal.
‘Don’t you like the linguini?’ he asked after a while.
Gabriel pulled herself together hurriedly and began to eat.
‘You haven’t answered my question,’ he said, after a while.
‘It was a statement, not a question,’ she shot back at him.
‘I meant the key.’
‘You’re not serious?’
‘I am. I never say a word I don’t mean,’ he assured her, and leaned forward to top up her glass. ‘Including the bit about rape and pillage. Or lack of same.’
Gabriel looked at him levelly, and decided he meant it. ‘Then I’ll give you the key,’ she said at last, hoping she wasn’t agreeing to far more than she should.
‘Thank you,’ said Adam. ‘When your father comes home you can have it back. In the meantime I’ll sleep easier if I know I can come charging to your rescue if required.’
‘So shall I,’ she admitted frankly, and relaxed, prepared to enjoy the rest of the evening. ‘Right, then, Adam Dysart. You know most of what there is to know about my family, so tell me about yours.’
Tom and Frances, his parents, he told her, would be home soon for the auction, but at present they were on holiday in Tuscany at the country home of Jessamy and Lorenzo Forli.
‘Jess is sister mark two,’ he explained, ‘mother of Carlo and Francesca. Leonie, the sister who lives in Hampstead, is married to Jonah Savage and mother to Richard and the twins, Helen and Rachel. Kate is still single, and shows no sign of being otherwise at present. And Fenny has so many boyfriends my mother needs constant reassurance about safety in numbers.’
‘It must be fun to be part of a large family like yours,’ said Gabriel, her eyes wistful.
‘I’ll take you to meet the parents when they get back next week. You’ll like them,’ Adam promised. ‘So tell me about your life in London.’
‘I work hard, swim, work out a bit, go to the cinema, clubbing sometimes—’
‘With the art dealer?’
‘No. With friends.’
‘So where does Jeremy take you?’
‘Exhibitions, theatres, especially first nights, but most often just out for a meal in whichever restaurant is in fashion.’
Adam eyed her curiously over the coffee they were served. ‘Don’t you ever stay in together with pizza and a video like us common folk?’
Gabriel laughed outright. ‘No. I do that on my own. Frequently. But I doubt that Jeremy’s ever tasted pizza in his life.’
‘And you actually like this man?’ demanded Adam in mock surprise. ‘We have a theatre here in Pennington,’ he added casually. ‘Cinemas, too. And a couple of smart nightspots.’
‘Why are you pitching the delights of Pennington to me?’
‘To tempt you to stay working for your father. He would like that. So,’ he added, leaning forward to take her hand, ‘would I.’
Carried unanimously, thought Gabriel.
Adam got up to hold her chair for her. ‘Time I took you home.’ He looked up with a smile as Mario Conti, the proprietor, came to bid them goodbye, and send his good wishes to Adam’s parents.
‘I suppose you know everyone in Pennington,’ said Gabriel, when they were on their way back.
‘Not quite. But because of the family business most people know me.’
‘I know one or two people here myself.’
‘I thought you spent all your time in your father’s workshop!’
‘You forget I lived here until I was thirteen. I still keep in touch with a schoolfriend from that time, but she’s away on holiday with her husband at the moment.’
‘So it would be no real hardship to move back here.’
Gabriel smiled ruefully. ‘In most ways, no. But if my parents come back from the cottage ready to kill each other it could be awkward. If I stayed here to work with Dad, this time round I’d be deserting my mother.’
‘Pennington isn’t exactly the other side of the globe from London.’
‘I know.’ Gabriel sighed deeply. ‘Anyway, for the time being I refuse to think about it. All I want is for Dad to recover. And in the meantime I shall do such a fantastic job on your sleeper your piggy bank will overflow.’
‘No doubt about the quality of your work.’ Adam gave her a sidelong glance as he drove down the narrow, winding lane leading to Haywards. ‘But for my part, Gabriel, can you believe that it isn’t just about money?’
‘Easily. It’s the excitement,’ she said, nodding. ‘The thrill and triumph of recognising something wonderful that the others missed.’
‘Exactly,’ he said with satisfaction. ‘Not everyone understands that.’ He got out to help her from the car in the glare from the security lights.
‘Thanks. These shoes were not designed for farmyards.’
‘Sexy, though—’ Adam stopped. ‘After which remark I suppose there’s no hope of your asking me in for coffee.’
‘Do you want more coffee?’
‘No. But I want to come in.’ He looked down at her searchingly. ‘Or did the mention of rape and pillage make you wary about letting me across your threshold again?’
‘Not a bit. And for a very good reason.’ She threw a sparkling glance over her shoulder as she fitted the key into the solid door. ‘I know perfectly well you won’t risk upsetting me in any way, Adam Dysart, in case I refuse to finish the restoration.’
‘You’re a hard woman, Gabriel Brett! I see you switched on all the lights before we went out,’ he added as he followed her inside.
‘I stick to the same routine every evening. But apart from the time spent with you I haven’t ventured out since I came, other than to the hospital.’ She tossed her bag on the table.
‘I’m for a long glass of sparkling Welsh water myself, but I can give you a beer if you prefer.’
Adam accepted it with thanks, then, instead of installing himself at the table as usual, he asked permission to take off his jacket and let himself down into one of the battered leather chairs drawn up to the empty stone fireplace.
Gabriel smiled down on him in amusement as she took the other chair. ‘How domesticated we look!’
‘I’ve had a busy day. So have you. Let’s relax, Miss Brett.’ He raised his glass to her in a toast. ‘To a very clever lady.’
She raised her own glass in acknowledgement. ‘Getting the varnish off is a very long drawn-out process. I’ve nearly finished the easy bit, but soon I get to work on all the bits I missed. The trick is to use a scalpel rather than scrub harder at the stubborn streaks.’
Adam slid lower in the chair, stretching out his long legs. ‘Don’t you ever get bored with such a repetitive job?’
‘A little, sometimes,’ she admitted. ‘But only when it seems unlikely that the finished work will come up to the owner’s expectations. Due to the media coverage about antiques and works of art these days, too many people think they’ve found a priceless gem in the attic or a car boot sale, when it’s usually just a nice little picture not worth more than the pleasure of looking at it.’ She smiled across at him. ‘But with the Singleton portrait it’s different. There’s no tedium in revealing something so ravishingly beautiful. Especially when I know that mine are the first eyes to see it for the best part of two centuries.’
‘I know exactly how you feel.’ Adam glanced across at her. ‘By the way, if your art dealer does come to the auction I’ll be interested to hear his opinion.’
She nodded. ‘Jeremy’s pretty knowledgeable. His opinion’s worth having.’
‘Did you mention me?’
‘Only your first name. When he rang I thought it was you.’
‘Did he mind?’ said Adam casually.
‘Why should he mind?’
‘If you belonged to me I would.’
‘I don’t belong to Jeremy,’ said Gabriel with emphasis. ‘Nor to anyone else.’
Adam put down his glass, got to his feet and pulled her up from her chair. ‘In that case—’ His kiss put an abrupt end to the conversation. Her lips parted in surprised response and he breathed in sharply, picked her up and sat down with her in his lap. He took the pins from her hair and ran his fingers through it until it stood out like a shining aureole round her head. He looked deep into her eyes then pulled her against him so that Gabriel felt his thudding heartbeat against her breasts. She wriggled closer involuntarily, tensing as she felt him stir, hard and immediate beneath her thighs. He drew her zip down and she shivered as his hands found her bare back, his fingers sliding down her spine in an erotic glissando as her dress slid from her shoulders. Adam eased it to her waist to caress the breasts which hardened in such instant response through their thin layer of silk he pushed it aside to caress warm, satiny skin with cool, tormenting fingertips, then with lips hot enough to sear. But when his teeth grazed the sensitised nipples at last Gabriel stifled a moan, on fire from head to toe, and Adam returned his mouth to hers in demand which added fuel to the flames.
Restless Nights Page 9