“How come you know so much about all of this?” Katy asked her.
“Because she used to spend hours here with Jack in the early days, when he was still learning, didn’t you Mother?” Emlyn’s voice behind her made her jump.
Mrs. Brooks nodded enthusiastically. “I used to help him with his seedlings and…and other stuff too…” her voice trailed away as her memory failed her.
Katy squeezed her arm. “And he wants you to do it again if you have the time,” she told her.
“I do indeed,” Jack Corley joined them. Although he smiled at Katy, he spoke to Mrs. Brooks. “Will you Mrs. B? I know how busy you are with your own garden and greenhouse but if ever you have a couple of hours to spare I’d be really grateful if you would come and help us.”
For a moment Mrs. Brooks looked as she must have looked before dementia began to cloud her mind. Then, as if she had just consulted some sort of internal diary, she nodded. “I’m sure I could fit you in. You’ll have to send a car though because Emlyn has very stupidly sold mine.”
“Not a problem,” Jack told her, not bothering to correct the facts about the car. “Katy can phone Izzie whenever you’re free and she’ll send a car for both of you.”
“Oh I don’t think Katy will want to come. She has far too much to do at the house, haven’t you dear? And it’ll give her a break too. She’s much too pretty to want to spend all her time with an old woman like me, especially when she lets her hair down. She’s pretty with her hair down isn’t she Emlyn?”
Emlyn, who spent hours of every day trying not to imagine exactly how Katy would look with her hair down instead of twisted into it’s usual tortured style, scowled as Jack grinned at him.
As they set off again, with Jack leading the way, he deliberately slowed Katy down. “Sorry if mother embarrassed you,” he muttered.
Hoping she was no longer blushing, she shook her head. “Don’t let it worry you. And maybe it would be best if I did let her come on her own. When she’s working with flowers she doesn’t seem to need a minder.”
He pulled her to an abrupt halt. “Is that how you see yourself, as a minder, because if it is you couldn’t be more wrong. You’re a lifesaver Katy Gray, someone who’s achieved more in the past couple of months than the rest of us have in a year.”
She shook her head. “It’s what I’m trained to do Emlyn, nothing more, and as you already know how many other people with dementia I’ve let down in the past please don’t try to make me out to be something I’m not.”
He stared at her, wondering if he was ever going to persuade her that what had happened wasn’t her fault. Then, without thinking, he leaned forward and tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her ear. The effect his action had on both of them was instant and seismic. Katy’s mouth grew dry while her heart started fluttering against her ribs like a caged bird, and as her eyes met Emlyn’s she forgot to breath.
Emlyn, who’d had years of experience with women, and whose legal training had taught him to hide his feelings, tried for a long moment to deny what was happening to them both, and lost. With a groan he seized Katy’s hand in his and led her back the way they’d come.
“Don’t Katy. I need to talk to you and we’ve only got a few minutes before they catch up with us at the aviary,” he told her when she tried to resist him.
Not sure whether to be frightened or exhilarated by the sudden intensity of her feelings and the fact that Emlyn seemed to feel the same way, she gave in and let him lead her outside, and through a gate, to where a magnificent Victorian aviary was bathed by the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. He didn’t stop until it they were hidden from view behind it and then he bent and kissed her.
It was a gentle, questioning kiss that only deepened when Katy began to return it. Despite everything Izzie had just told her about him, despite the fact that he was probably at least ten years older than her, a lot more sophisticated, and her employer as well, she couldn’t stop herself. And as her lips softened and opened she knew she was lost.
Emlyn, when he finally pulled away from her, was unexpectedly contrite. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that, not here and not now. I should have waited until we were properly alone, it’s just so damned difficult to see you on your own.”
“Except when I’m in tears,” she reminded him with a sigh.
He chuckled. “It was the tears that nearly did for me in the first place. Have you any idea how long I’ve been fighting the urge to kiss you? How long I’ve been telling myself it wouldn’t be ethical, or fair, not when I’m paying your wages. How you any idea how totally and utterly captivating you are?”
Katy, who had no idea at all, shook her head. Then, surprised by her own boldness, she gave him a sly look. “What did you want to talk about?”
His chuckled turned to laughter. “Haven’t you ever heard of euphemisms Katy Gray?”
“Maybe,” she dimpled up at him, suddenly more confident than she’d felt in a long time. If Emlyn could look at her like that and say words she’d never expected to hear, then perhaps life wasn’t so bad after all. A much blacker thought swiftly followed. If she let this feeling between them grow how long would it be before she blurted out her other secret, and when she did, how would he react?
Sensing her withdrawal, Emlyn tightened his grip on her shoulders. “Don’t look like that. I promise I’m serious about this…I’m not…”
The sound of voices approaching interrupted him. With a wry smile he dropped his arm and moved away. Although Katy knew it was because he wanted to save her from embarrassment, the physical gap between them felt like a chasm as they turned to look at the birds in the nearest cage.
By the time the others joined them Emlyn was explaining the history behind the aviary and how it was a replica of the one Jack’s great-grandfather had built in the late nineteenth century. Jack, joining them, smiled down at her.
“That was in the days before places like Corley Hall were opened up to the public. He would turn in his grave if he could see it now.”
Then, before she could answer, he turned to someone standing behind him. “And this is the man who made it all happen. Luke, meet Katy. Katy, this is Luke. He knows more about birds than anyone else I’ve ever met.”
Katy held out her hand. After a moment the tall, impossibly handsome man standing in front of her took it and gave it a brief shake. Then he turned away without a word. Confused by his behavior, she wondered if she’d done something to offend him. Then she remembered what Izzie had said when she mentioned him and realized that his extraordinary good looks hid a communication problem. Without stopping to think she went and stood in front of him.
“My father used to breed budgerigars when I was a little girl and I loved helping him feed them. Do you have budgerigars in your aviary?”
She could feel his reluctance as he forced himself to look at her and nod. Refusing to be put off she persisted, asking him how many and what he fed them on, and by the time Izzie, William and Mrs. Brooks joined them he was in full flow, reeling off facts and statistics at a speed that made her head whirl.
Izzie, taking pity on her, interrupted. “Don’t give away everything you know at once, Luke. Katy will visit again soon, and when she does she can come down to the aviary at feeding time to see how it’s done.”
“Okay. You can see my pictures too if you like,” he told Katy. “They’re very good. You’ll probably want to buy one.”
Izzie grinned as he produced a large bunch of keys and let himself into the aviary. “As you can see, he doesn’t suffer from false modesty. He’s right though, they are good, very good."
Chapter Ten
By the time Emlyn drove Katy and Mrs. Brooks back to Oak Lodge that night her mind was in a whirl. Somehow, in one day, she’d been persuaded to abandon her self-inflicted, semi-reclusive state, forget her problems and embrace the idea of making new friends. Emlyn had changed too. Abandoning the frown that so frequently darkened his face he’d been lighthearted and relaxed
, and then he’d kissed her, and to her surprise she’d kissed him right back with an abandon that made her blush when she thought about it. Against her will, the hard little carapace that cocooned her heart had started to crack, and as she let her gaze roam across Emlyn’s broad shoulders and the thick mane of hair that curled impatiently against his collar, it begin to fall away. He glanced at her in the driving mirror but because it was dark she couldn’t read his expression. She could see the half smile on his lips though and its promise made her stomach flip.
She hadn’t expected to stay to supper at Corley Hall, nor, if she had, would she have expected it to be so informal and so much fun. For Katy’s benefit, and because they all knew how much it helped Mrs. Brooks, whose long term memory was still quite good, the others had spent the evening reminiscing. Consequently she had learned a great deal more about the history of Corley Hall and the family who had lived in it for more than five hundred years. She’d learned, too, about how Izzie had thought Jack was one of the gardeners when she’d first met him, although the look they exchanged as they regaled the story told Katy far more than their words ever could. Seeing them together made her remember the good times her own parents had shared before her mother became ill, and for a moment she wondered whether she would ever experience that sort of love. The thought pulled her gaze towards Emlyn but when he returned it she turned away and began to talk to Mrs. Brooks because she wasn’t ready to let him see the longing in her eyes.
Emlyn, who was in the middle of an amusing anecdote about his childhood when she looked at him, didn’t falter as he stored away the memory of the expression on her face. He would unpack it later when he was alone. Now he’d made his feelings for Katy plain he was trying very hard not to resent his mother and the fact that her illness meant they’d rarely find time to be alone. He knew it wasn’t her fault the same as he knew that she was the reason Katy had come into his life. It didn’t make the situation any better though. He couldn’t make love to her at Oak Lodge because to do that would be to compromise her, especially if his mother walked in on them. If he couldn’t do that though, then when could he see her? He’d employed her to give him the freedom he badly needed if his career wasn’t to go belly up, and he also needed time to track down his father so he could talk some sense into him, because until he could do that, he couldn’t sell Oak Lodge and begin to make better plans for his mother’s future. A swift glance across the table gave him the answer. If it was a choice between being with Katy or of making the most of that freedom, then Katy was going to win every time.
He told her so when he took her home. Waiting until his mother had bade them both goodnight and disappeared into her bedroom, he took Katy in his arms and held her tight. “We’ll find a way through this, I promise. I’m not going to let my mother or anyone else get in the way.”
When she didn’t answer, he pulled away and tilted her chin with his finger until she looked at him. “Do you believe me?”
She nodded, but her face was forlorn as the reality of their situation reasserted itself. “I believe you now, while you’re living in Corley, but it won’t always be like this will it? One day you’ll go back to your life in the city and all your fancy friends, and when that happens you’ll leave me behind.”
He felt like shaking her. “That’s nonsense and you know it.”
“It’s not and I don’t, because I don’t really know anything about you Emlyn. I didn’t even know you were a famous barrister until this evening. You’ve told me a lot about your family, about your parents and your brother and sister, but you haven’t told me anything about you.”
He grimaced. “Hardly famous, I just happened to win a couple of high profile court cases a few years ago before I gave it all up to come back here, and we can unravel the mystery that is Emlyn Brooks straight away. Let me stay for a while and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”
She ignored his attempt at humor and frowned. “Do you remember what you said at my interview?”
Thrown by the sudden change of subject, he shook his head. His memory of the first time they’d met was hazy, mainly because he’d been stressed and tired. He did know that he’d been unforgivably rude, however, thanks to Dorothy’s frequent and well-aimed sarcastic reminders.
“You said this isn’t a relationship Miss Gray. It’s a job.”
Wincing at such crassness, he took both her hands in his and pulled her close again. “How wrong I was. I’m sorry Katy…sorry for being rude, sorry for putting you through such a dreadful interview, and most of all, sorry for not explaining exactly what you were getting into when you agreed to take on my mother.”
He felt her shoulders lift in a shrug. “I should have been more honest with you as well but I was frightened you wouldn’t employ me if you knew about my past. Besides, by the time I applied for the job I was running out of options.”
He sighed. “You and me both.”
They stood in silence for several minutes after that, taking comfort from being physically close even though their thoughts were scattered. Soon, however, an aching need for mutual consolation began to filter into their senses, and when Emlyn bent down to claim her lips she was waiting for him. How long they might have stood there, and what would have happened eventually, they never knew, because at the exact moment that Emlyn began to trail kisses down the slender column of Katy’s neck, Mrs. Brooks opened her bedroom door.
The sound of her voice doused the flames of desire that were beginning to consume them and they drew apart as the grandfather clock struck midnight. Seeing the frustration on Emlyn’s face Katy reached up and smoothed the frown between his eyes.
“I’m back to being Cinderella,” she said, aiming for levity but only achieving a very shaky laugh.
He looked down at her. “Don’t joke about it because I’ve never been more serious in my life. One day you won’t have to leave the ball at midnight Katy, I promise you that.”
Closing the door behind him she leant against it for a moment with her eyes closed. Then, squaring her shoulders, she climbed the stairs to find out what Mrs. Brooks wanted, and by the time she finally settled her into bed her own eyes were drooping.
* * *
Emlyn wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t have anything to distract him from the image of Katy with her hair beginning to tumble about her ears, or the memory of her mouth moving beneath his. With a groan he walked back to his car and started up the engine. Midnight or not, he was going to have to change into his jogging gear again. Unless he pushed himself into a long, sweat-inducing run, he wouldn’t sleep at all.
* * *
Izzie, returning to the bedroom after soothing a fractious William out of a bad dream, climbed into bed and rolled onto her side so that her mouth was only inches away from Jack’s. “What do you think?” she asked.
His eyes were closed. “What do I think about what?”
She shifted closer. “Katy and Emlyn, idiot.”
He frowned. “Careful Izzie. The last thing Emlyn needs is a further complication in his life.”
She wriggled even closer until he could feel her breath fanning his cheek. “So when did you decide that complication is a dangerous thing Lord Corley? Was it before or after we met? Perhaps it was when you discovered that I was Bella Blue and came with minders and paparazzi, or maybe it was when you took on Corley Hall with no obvious means of financial support, or was it when…”
In one swift movement he rolled her onto her back, pinned her down, and proceeded to kiss her very slowly and thoroughly. When he eventually lifted his head her eyes were dark with a familiar desire and her breath was coming in short gasps. His smile was wicked as he held her arms above her head with one hand and slowly removed her nightdress with the other.
“There’s nothing complicated about you my love. Not if you know how to unlock the puzzle that is Bella Blue…and…I…do.”
With a gasp of surrender she locked her legs around him and for a long time after that their only communication was with l
ips and hands and the whisper of skin on skin. Later though, sprawled across his chest, Izzie resumed the conversation.
“Seriously Jack, you must have seen how they looked at one another this evening. Didn’t you notice that it was all Emlyn could do not to put his arm around Katy when they walked out to the car.”
“Mmm, maybe you’ve just got a better imagination than me.”
She lifted her head indignantly. “I have not…well okay, I have, but not about that. They really like one another. I know they do. And she’d be good for him wouldn’t she? Someone like Katy Gray is just what he needs.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong. She might be what he thinks he needs at the moment but she isn’t. Don’t you remember how colorful his love life used to be? How we used to wonder how long his latest girlfriend would last? That’s the real Emlyn. Compared to the women he used to date, Katy is a little girl. She’d be out of her depth the first time she had to attend an official function with him, or meet one of his fellow barristers, because she doesn’t flirt, and she’s so unsophisticated that she wouldn’t have anything to add to those interminable conversations they have about what they’ve seen and where they’ve been. If he is interested in her it’s because of proximity, not because of anything else. He’s exhausted and worried, and probably bored out of his mind as well. Trying to keep his father’s law practice afloat is very different from the work he did in the city. He’s exchanged a formidable list of complicated cases for the humdrum of local mortgages, wills and the odd bit of land registry, all stuff he can do with his eyes closed. No, Katy isn’t what he needs even if he thinks she is. He needs his life back.”
Sliding away from him, Izzie turned on her side. Glad that the conversation was at an end, Jack spooned himself around her in the position they adopted most nights and kissed the back of her neck. He was just drifting off to sleep when she spoke again.
“You’re wrong Jack Corley, and I’m right. I know I am, so just you wait and see.”
Saving Katy Gray (When Paths Meet Book 3) Page 8