Lucy stood in the kitchen dishing rashers of bacon into a heated tureen and tipping mountains of mushrooms into the biggest frying pan she had ever seen in her life. She turned them as they sizzled and a few moments later was scooping them into heat proof glassware and carrying them through to the dining room.
She avoided eye contact with the people giving her curious stares and she quickly returned to the kitchen to fetch the pots of tea and coffee.
An hour later they were all outside and down by the river again, this time wearing life jackets and waterproofs.
Joe gave her a small smile before he spoke to the group.
“We’re going canoeing this morning. Along the route you will be given various tasks to complete as a group. The river leads right into town and the Fol Anglais restaurant is expecting us for lunch. The amount of points your teams raise will amount to the menu on offer at the restaurant. It could be ‘a la carte” or ‘repas du jour’ depending on how your team gets on.” He looked over at the woman sniggering in the back of the group. “And would you mind explaining what’s so funny?” He asked her.
“I know a little French. The Mad Englishman’s restaurant. I was wondering who thought that title up.”
Joe smiled widely.
“Huh! Actually that’s Ellen’s idea of a joke. It’s Ellen’s and Patrick’s restaurant. They opened it three years ago when the chateau restaurant became so popular the quantity of bookings couldn’t be accommodated. The chef at the Fol is brilliant, more geared up to French cuisine but still on our wave length, so don’t worry, whatever meal you end up getting, none of you will starve.” He began steering the group towards the canoes that were stretched along the river bank.
Freeman tried to get himself paired with Lucy but Joe was helped by the ever attentive Jessica and he managed to get Lucy accompanied by another young and capable woman.
The morning went well with both of the teams doing their best. Everyone took part in all the various tasks and there was great excitement as the scores were added up.
Joe had to take a sneaky grin when Freeman’s group actually won the ‘A la carte’ menu. None of the group realized that the whole affair would be conducted entirely in French. The restaurant served very traditional French cuisine and there were lots of laughs when Jessica was faced with a plate of some pale, spongy delicacy. It was only as she gamely reached the halfway mark of her dinner that the waitress pointed out that she was actually eating jellied calves brains.
Freeman had ducked out of his squid when it turned up very lightly cooked in its own ink. He moved several inches away from the now gagging Jessica.
Lucy congratulated herself on coming in the losing group and for remembering from school lessons that dinde was turkey and she dug into her ‘meal of the day’ with gusto, but she also remembered to share her portion of delicious fries with those who made less fortunate choices.
The highlight of the meal was when the genuinely delighted chef brought out a huge, struggling lobster from the fish counter. He placed it on the table in front of the lucky recipient, speared it through the back of its head with a wicked looking knife, then immediately plunged it into the boiling wine and onions that had been brought out in a huge pot on its own gas ring. The horrified diner had nearly passed out in shock when the lobster was laid upon his plate three minutes later and dressed with a little of the cooking sauce, stir fried samphire and what appeared to be a pair of nut crackers.
The canoes were taken by truck back to their docking point and the teams spent the afternoon traversing the tree walk and attempting to erect and abseil down the block tower. They all made their way back to the chateau for a late afternoon seminar on team building and problem solving and then split up to enjoy the relaxing facilities at the chateau.
The evening hog roast came too soon for both Lucy and Joe. While they had managed a couple of smiles at each other during the day they hadn’t had a moment to talk privately. Lucy had no idea what she was going to say to him. She was desperate to tell him that she loved him but she knew that her personal problems would keep her silent. There was no way she could burden him with her past. She sat miserably in the long dining room trying to avoid his gaze but at the same time desperate to throw herself into his muscled arms.
It was no easier for Joe. His heart was screaming at him to do something, say anything to keep her here with him. She was leaving in the morning. He couldn’t bear the thought of her out of his sight and if he didn’t act now he knew he would lose his chance.
He sidled around the room making his way towards her but was constantly stopped by the members of the group wanting to shake his hand. They had all gained so much, had come out of their shells, found new friendships and vowed never to be downtrodden again. Joe wasn’t quite sure if that was the effect that Freeman was hoping for but the group felt strong and resilient and they all wanted to come back in the future. Not one of them backed away from him now. Not one of the shuddered as they took his scarred hand. There were laughs and promises of meeting in the future. If he hadn’t been so desperate to talk to Lucy he would have actually enjoyed the evening.
In the end, as the local band turned up, he gave up attempting to talk to her. He knew actions would speak louder than words and with only hours to make his feelings known there was no way he could afford to be shy. At near midnight he ducked out of the dancing and general celebrations and went for some air outside at the front of the hotel. He looked up to Lucy’s window and noticed that it was open. The drapes fluttered slightly in the breeze and a lump in his throat hitched as he saw a light come on and a shadow pass across the front of the window.
He was about to call up to her when he noticed that the shadow was unusually large for a woman. A second later the curtain swished back and Joe shifted back into the shadows as Carter Freeman stuck his head out of the window. He glanced around at the formal gardens and then his head disappeared back inside the room.
For a moment Joe wanted to be sick. She had invited her boss to her room. Geraldine had been wrong. Lucy did want the vile man.
His heart collapsed in his chest and he was about to turn away from the window and walk back to his cabin in the forest when he heard a stifled shriek. There was a short masculine chuckle and then silence. The light went off above him and he would have walked away if his super sensitive hearing hadn’t picked up the sound of flesh striking flesh. He’d seen and been involved in enough bar fights to know that sound when he heard it.
Every nerve in his body exploded. Ten seconds later he had climbed the outside wall of the chateau, grateful for the huge forsythia that grew against the stone, and was standing posed on the stone window frame. Ten seconds after that he was inside Lucy’s lounge, pressed against the wall, ears alert for any sound. He could hear voices coming from the bedroom. One low and graveled, the other higher and panicked.
He moved silently around the room, stepping carefully so as not to make a sound. He came up to the bedroom door and listened, breathing as shallowly as possible so as to keep his presence a secret.
He pressed his ear to the door panel and listened as Lucy spoke.
“You can’t do this Carter. I’m going to take legal advice as soon as I am home again.” Her voice was steely but still scared.
Freeman growled back at her.
“Slap me again woman and you’ll lose more than your precious virtue. You’re daft if you think any lawyer is going to take your case. No one is even going to look at it. I don’t even know why you are objecting so much. At least I am decent to look at. I can’t believe that you actually slept with that guy. He is hideous, needs to be put out of his misery. If he’d been a dog they would have put him down along with the rest of this patched up crew.”
There was another sudden slap of a hand on skin and Lucy hissed out some words.
“Each one of them is worth a thousand of you Carter. You disgust me and your inhumanity would disgust every person I know. Now get out of my room and don’t come back.”
Joe heard the slight hiss of silk robes and he sprang away from the door. He hid in the shadows by the window as Lucy threw the door open. Carter Freeman strutted out.
“You are going to regret this Lucy. I told you that you would be begging for me to have you. Well now I’m not so sure. Used goods and all that. Not sure I want to go where someone like him has been. Not sure any other man would.”
Lucy shoved Freeman towards the door.
“Shut up! You are the most vile person I have ever had the misfortune to cross. I’m handing in my notice as of now. Do you think I can’t find a man willing to take care of me if I wanted to! Ruin me Carter! I don’t care if you take everything I have, I’ll do what I have to do and find a way to survive.”
Freeman moved towards the door.
“Remember what I said Lucy. Think about it overnight. You don’t have to make any immediate decisions but just remember, I won’t care if you end up in the gutter. You crawled into it by yourself, I’m sure if you play your cards right you will be able to use your charms on one of these vulnerable men to climb back out.” He stalked out of the room and Lucy slammed the door behind him. She turned the key in the lock and stormed back across the room towards her bedroom. It was only as she was about to cross the threshold that she noticed a shadow by the window. She was about to scream in fright when Joe stepped forwards.
His face was a mask of pain. His breath was tight in his chest. He didn’t wait for any explanation from her.
“Is that what last night was about? You just need a man to save you from ruin?” The agony in his tone tore at her heart.
She shook her head and took a step towards him.
“No, last night was just about us Joe, but you knew that.”
Joe fisted his hands at his sides as the memory of Freeman’s words tore through his heart.
“I don’t believe you.” The bitterness in his voice was all too evident. “I should have seen it for what it was. No one as beautiful as you could ever want someone like me. What did you do it for? Because if it was because you pity me then I didn’t need it. I don’t need it.” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I was coming to you tonight to try and persuade you to stay, but it looks as though you have an agenda of your own that I can’t accept. You should have told me about it Lucy, even without last night I would have helped you, but you didn’t trust me, you’ve lied to me. I can’t accept that.” He pushed away from the wall and strode towards the door.
Lucy grabbed his arm as he passed. She stared up at his scarred face. It was the most beautiful face she had ever seen in her life, normally strong and sure, full of vigour and determination, but just at his moment it was etched with pain. Pain she couldn’t do anything to erase. If he had decided that she was a liar and a cheat then she wasn’t going to bother defending herself to someone who clearly didn’t want to listen. Though it broke her heart to do it, she had to let him discover that she had told him the truth.
“I never had any agenda Joe and my business is private. I didn’t want to share it with anyone because I was embarrassed about finding myself in such a situation. I’ll admit that my life is a mess, but it was all forced on me. Until Carter found out about it I was doing fine, sorting everything myself. No man is going to dictate that I sleep with him to resolve my problems, and I include you in that statement. If you couldn’t tell that I gave you everything last night then you don’t deserve me either. Get out of my room!” She pushed his arm away from her and shoved him towards the door
Joe took an involuntary step and then stood transfixed for a moment. He couldn’t believe what she was saying but then his brain caught up with his mouth. He had just told her that he considered her a liar. His heart plunged to his stomach as he suddenly realized what he was losing.
“Lucy…Don’t do this. I didn’t mean…I don’t know what I was saying.” The words tumbled from his mouth.
Lucy took a deep breath and looked him square in the eye. She could see the desperation in his face but she had had enough. This man had been trained to protect people and he thought he could protect her too but no one could save her from Freeman but herself. Whatever she felt for Joe would have to be buried deep in her heart. She would sink or swim on her own.
“That man is trying to get me into his bed by blackmailing me Joe and while that could be flattering in some macabre sort of masochistic way, it is still disgusting. And you just accused me of sleeping with you out of pity for your situation or so that I could relieve myself of that problem.” Her eyes glinted fire at him as her tone brooked no argument. “I have never treated you any differently from any other man. Your scars mean nothing to me, to be honest after actually meeting you and falling in love with you they kind of pale into insignificance. If you want to know the truth, even if I could be bothered to notice them I would still actually think you are the most handsome man I ever met in my life. But you clearly don’t want to accept that. Well, that’s your problem Joe, not mine. I have enough to do keeping my head above the water. If you want to wallow in your own shit, then I’m afraid you can do it by yourself. Now get out!”
Joe’s mouth had fallen open at her obvious honesty. She loved him. His heart swelled as he saw the truth shining in her eyes but he knew it was too late. He took one more look at her furious expression, then he turned his head so that she wouldn’t see the tears glistening in his eyes, and left the room.
Chapter Eleven
Lucy packed her bags quickly. She was relieved that she had brought her own car and wouldn’t need to beg a lift from anyone. She was going to try and escape before everyone else from her company was up for breakfast.
But she was thwarted almost as soon as she walked into the corridor. Geraldine was passing with an armful of bed linen and caught hold of her arm.
“Ah! You are awake at last. Come and see. Ellen and Patrick are ‘ere with their daughter. They arrived with her early and are excited to show her off.”
Lucy walked down into the dining room and was delighted to see a beaming Patrick with his arms full of a bright red, screaming baby. Ellen looked tired but thrilled as she loaded scrambled eggs onto her plate. She smiled up at Lucy.
“Hey! Come and meet Rose. Only two days old and she’s being a little demon.”
Lucy dropped her bag by the door and walked up to Patrick and Ellen. She peered at the tiny baby and smiled as she held out a finger and brushed the child’s cheek.
“Congratulations. I thought you were stopping in the hospital another day or two.” Patrick rolled his eyes at Ellen as he lowered the screaming bundle towards Lucy and suddenly Rose was in her arms. He smiled indulgently as Lucy juggled with the bawling child.
“Ellen couldn’t stand it there. She was desperate to come home and as everything was fine with mother and child the doctors said she was okay to leave. I’m going to take them both to our cottage to rest as soon as we have had some breakfast. The hospital food was a bit grim.”
Lucy looked down at the tiny child in her arms. She had never held a baby before and was suddenly almost overcome with nerves as she bounced the baby gently in her arms.
“She’s so beautiful.” She whispered almost to herself as she held the precious bundle tightly to her chest. Rose suddenly stopped crying and looked up at her with curious blue eyes. She raised a tiny fist and waved it in the air. Lucy laughed and bent her head to kiss the little girl on the forehead. Her skin was so soft that Lucy wasn’t sure if she had actually touched her for a moment. She looked up at Ellen again. “So everything was fine in the end. You are both so lucky. I am so happy for the two of you. You will be fabulous parents.” Patrick took Rose back into his arms and raised his child to his own lips. He murmured quietly to Rose and curled his long finger under her chin. Ellen rolled her eyes and shook her head as she realized that she had a competitor for Patrick’s affections at last.
She left him to cope with Rose and waved her fork in the air as she motioned to Lucy.
“Come and have breakfast wi
th us. We can chat while it’s still relatively quiet. Well, that’s if Rose stays quiet too.” She looked at her daughter who appeared to have dropped to sleep in her father’s arms.
Lucy grabbed a plate and filled it with mushrooms and scrambled eggs. She took a slice of toast and went to sit with her hosts. She looked around the dining room. There were only three other early risers there.
“Is Joe coming in for breakfast?” She asked, wondering if she would prefer to see him or avoid him. Her heart was still torn and she wasn’t sure what to do for the best. She blinked hard as she remembered the look on his face as he had left her room the night before. She swallowed an errant tear and concentrated hard on her mushrooms.
She had spent a near sleepless night going over in her head what she had said to Joe. She knew that she had been harsh, but he had called her a liar and a fraud and she was still struggling to get past his accusations. She wanted to explain the whole ghastly affair to him, to let him know what she had to do to get her finances back on a steady footing, but then she worried that he might try to help her out of mere pity and she didn’t want that. She was still figuring out what to do but she didn’t want to leave things as they had last night. If he hadn’t surprised her so soon after getting rid of Freeman she might have tried to explain to him more fully, but the way he had just assumed that she was using him had been too much for her to bear. She had given herself to him, heart and soul and she thought that he would be able to see her true feelings. If he couldn’t trust her then she didn’t know how to put things right.
Geraldine spoke up as Ellen looked towards the door.
Forever Scarred (Scarred Series Book 3) Page 13