His phone rang as soon as he sat down. ‘Hampton.’
‘Other Hampton.’
Seb’s dry voice sounded out of place as Ben sat staring across at the Welsh mountains. Seb was urban and urbane. He was the city, and the company, and the polished wood of his office.
He’d definitely never invited Seb up to the cottage. Maybe he should.
‘What can I do for you today, oh, fearless leader?’
‘Stop calling me that, for a start.’
On the other end of the line Ben heard his brother shuffling papers before he continued.
‘I just got through reading your report from Chester.’
‘And?’
A pause. Never good.
Then Seb said, ‘When are you back in London?’
‘Tomorrow night was the plan. Might make it Friday—snow dependent.’
‘Can you stop by and see me on Friday? I know it’s Christmas Eve, and you’re supposed to be off the rest of the week...’
‘I can,’ Ben said. ‘But if there’s a problem with my report I’d rather you just tell me now.’
Another pause.
‘It’s not a problem, exactly.’
Seb didn’t sound annoyed, or let down, which Ben was pretty sure their father would have done. That was something.
‘Just an idea I want to talk through with you.’
Now, that was new. For the last six months Seb had been making the decisions and Ben had been making them happen. That was how they operated, and it worked well. But if Seb was willing to let him in, loosen his grip on the reins... Maybe he won’t turn into Dad after all.
‘Okay. So, how’s London coping without me?’
‘Never mind London,’ Seb said. ‘Tell me about this brunette from Chester. Did you actually take her to your cottage? The forbidden inner sanctum?’
It felt wrong to hear Luce described that way, and Ben regretted ever mentioning her to Seb. He clamped down on the surge of anger filling his chest, reminding himself that Seb was only talking about her the way Ben himself had, last time they’d spoken.
‘It’s not... She’s an old friend,’ Ben said, repeating the line he’d used with Johnny and wondering why it felt like such a lie. Because they’d never really been friends, he supposed. ‘I was driving her back to Cardiff and we detoured to the cottage because of the snow.’
‘Wow. You did actually take her to your fabled cottage? I was kidding about that part. She must be pretty important.’
‘More that I didn’t want to die in a snowy crash,’ Ben assured him. ‘Her train was cancelled, I was headed this way anyway, so I drove her. That’s all.’
‘Hmm.’
Ben didn’t think Seb needed to sound quite so disbelieving. ‘Yeah, well, I should get back to my host duties,’ he said, draining his coffee. ‘I’ll see you on Friday.’
It didn’t matter what Seb thought about Luce, he reminded himself as he stood and put on his coat. Because after today she’d be out of his life again.
Which was a good thing. Right?
Except if he wasn’t going to see her again... The thought of not having her, just once, burned at his heart. He needed to touch her, to feel her—hell, even just to hold her. The memory of her swaying into his arms the night before wasn’t fading. How could he not experience more than that?
But after turning her down the night before...? Ben wasn’t stupid. She wasn’t going to ask again. He’d head back to the cottage, they’d pack up the car and drive to Cardiff, and that would be it. He’d blown the only chance he’d get with Luce Myles.
But as he left the Eight Bells a leaflet in the rack for tourists caught his eye, and Ben realised that maybe there was one more thing he could give Luce before they parted ways. Something for her to remember these strange, snowy few days by.
Pocketing the leaflet, he headed over to the village shop, his mood suddenly a whole lot lighter.
* * *
It hadn’t been Luce’s most productive morning ever.
She’d started well—up with the lark and at the desk with her computer cursor blinking at her. Outside, the snow looked as if it might be starting to clear, which gave her hope that they might make it to Cardiff today. She’d heard the front door slam after she’d been working a couple of hours, and reasoned that Ben had probably gone to check on the conditions. She’d have to wait until he got back to face him. Heat had flooded to her cheeks at the very thought. Really no hurry on that one. Then they’d be on their way and it would all be over. She’d be home again.
In the meantime, the book wouldn’t write itself.
The first couple of pages of the section dealing with Nest’s life at Cilgerran Castle, before her abduction, had come in an inspired burst, leaving her feeling buoyant and excited. And then...nothing.
After another half an hour of staring at the screen and adjusting punctuation, Luce had given up and indulged in a long soak in the bath instead. Hot water and bubbles were almost guaranteed to help inspiration strike, surely?
Except when she settled back down at the desk, fully dressed in a long knitted skirt and wine-red sweater, she still had nothing.
‘Going well?’
Luce spun round to see Ben leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest and his eyebrow raised. He betrayed no sign of his rejection the night before—which was a small point in his favour, Luce supposed.
‘I think I’m getting some really useful stuff,’ she lied, and hoped he hadn’t heard the bath water draining out.
Ben held up a bakery bag. ‘Well, brunch will help. I brought ham and cheese croissants.’
Luce’s stomach rumbled at the very mention.
As they sat down together at the small kitchen table Luce asked, ‘What are the roads like? Can we make Cardiff today?’
Ben nodded, already chewing. ‘More snow due tonight, but we should be able to beat it.’
She should be relieved. Thrilled that she was heading home. So what was with the strange, sad part of her that was already missing the cottage before they’d even left?
And not just the cottage. The company.
Luce stared down at her plate. Definitely time to go.
‘I should go and get packed up, then,’ she said, even though the only things she’d really unpacked were her laptop and notes.
‘Actually...’
Ben paused and she looked up at him. Was he going to ask her to stay? No. That was ridiculous.
‘There’s somewhere I’d like to take you. Before you go. It’s not exactly on our way, but I think it’ll be worth it.’
Luce frowned. ‘How out of our way? Where is it?’
‘It’s a surprise.’ Ben’s smile was slow and teasing. ‘But I promise you you’ll like it.’
The problem with that, Luce reflected, was that what she liked and wanted wasn’t always good for her. But if this was her last ever day with Ben, how could she turn down the chance to spend a few more hours with him?
‘Finish your croissant first,’ he said, and she obeyed.
Twenty minutes later they were all packed up. Pulling on her thick coat and boots, Luce followed Ben out to the car, her eyes drawn to the way his upper body filled out his coat. He really had grown into his size over the last eight years. How was she supposed to forget how good it had felt to be held against that chest the night before when he was just there, looking gorgeous?
Of course after today he wouldn’t be.
Sighing, she got into the car, fastening her seatbelt without looking at him again. Instead, she looked back at the cottage as they drove away, and wondered if there was any chance she’d ever see it again.
‘You okay?’ Ben asked as they reached the main road out of the village.
‘Fine.’ She flashed him a quick smile, then glanced away. So much pretty countryside to look at, all white and sparkling. Why should she look at him anyway? ‘Are you really not going to tell me where we’re going?’
‘I told you. It’s a surprise.’
>
Luce didn’t know the area well enough to be able to guess where they were headed, and by the time they hit the bigger roads she was too absorbed in her own thoughts and the snow-capped hills and frosted trees around her to pay attention to road signs. What would this countryside have looked like in Nest’s time? Would she have ridden through these hills? How had it felt when she’d had to leave this landscape behind and move to England?
What would Ben do if she kissed him?
Luce closed her eyes. No. Back to what mattered. Nest. Her book. Not her sex drive.
Although Nest had obviously had enough of one, given the number of men she’d been connected to and the number of children she’d borne.
Not the point. Okay. Enough about Nest the woman. Focus on the book itself. The structure. Should she break Chapter Seven into two parts? Should she ask Ben in for dinner when they got to Cardiff? Or more...
Oh, God, this was hopeless.
‘We’re here,’ Ben said, his voice amused, and Luce realised belatedly that the car had stopped moving.
Fumbling with the handle, Luce threw the door open and stepped out into the snow. She smoothed down her skirt with one hand, aware that Ben was walking around the car towards her.
‘Figured out where we are yet?’ he asked.
He was standing too close for her to think straight. She could feel the warmth of his breath on her neck, a wonderful contrast to the wintry chill.
She stepped away quickly and looked up. ‘Oh!’
The twin round towers of Cilgerran Castle loomed overhead, grey and dark against the sky, snow capping them, and Luce’s breath caught in her throat. She’d have known where she was in an instant, even without the information board at the edge of the car park. This place mattered. This was history made real, right before her. ‘This is it. This is—’
‘Cilgerran Castle. Where they say Nest was abducted from.’
Ben moved behind her and she could feel his warmth through her coat.
‘Good idea?’
She nodded, her head jerking up and down hard to show him just what a fantastic idea she thought it was. This was what she needed. To get close to Nest physically as well as intellectually. She needed to stand where she had stood, needed to feel the stone walls around her. Needed to understand how Nest had felt so many years ago.
Why hadn’t she come here before? Oh, she had, she supposed, back when she was studying for her Masters and Nest had been just a passing interest in half a module of her course. But never since. After all, she’d done it already. Why waste the day getting there and back to Cardiff again when there was so much else she needed to do?
But she’d never felt then what she felt now. The feeling that all of history was coming together in one place, just to help her understand.
‘I hadn’t realised it was so close,’ she murmured, and felt Ben shrug behind her. He was so close, too.
‘A couple of hours. You were daydreaming on the way here.’
Had it really been that long? They could have got to Cardiff and back already. ‘I was thinking about Nest.’ Mostly.
‘I saw a leaflet for it in the Eight Bells rack earlier. Thought it looked like your sort of thing. And when I remembered how you told me Nest had lived here, was taken from here, I had to bring you.’
Luce spun round, finding herself nose to chest with him. How had she forgotten he was so close? His hand settled on her waist to steady her when she stumbled on the uneven ground and heat radiated through Luce’s body. Raising her gaze to meet his, she said, ‘Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
The words were simple, but the emotions they evoked were anything but. His lips were just inches away. If she went up on tiptoes she could kiss him so easily. It would be a thank-you kiss, nothing more, but she’d get to feel his mouth against hers. And, oh, how she wanted to...
She bit down on her own lip to try to curb the temptation. But Ben’s fingers still pressed against her waist. Then he glanced away, hands dropping from her body, and she saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
‘Shall we go in?’ he asked.
Luce stepped back and nodded again. Nest—that was why she was here. And then she was leaving. She really had to try to remember that.
CHAPTER TEN
BEN WATCHED LUCE’S rear move enticingly under that touchable flowing skirt as she gripped the handrail of the bridge over the moat, struggling to keep her footing on the icy wood as she made her way into the castle. It had seemed like such a good, obvious idea to bring her when he’d seen the leaflet. Killing two birds with one big hunk of tumbledown rock. Lots of Brownie points for him for thinking of it, meaning she’d be thinking kindly of him again as they drove to Cardiff. Maybe even enough to say yes if he asked her to dinner again. He could spend the night in Cardiff, head straight to London in the morning. Because this wasn’t over yet. It couldn’t be.
Memories of his twenty-first birthday flashed through his mind again. He’d wanted to seduce this woman eight years ago, before he’d even really known her. And now that feeling was a thousand times stronger.
He was pretty sure she’d go along with it this time, if he did. Last night’s awkward resolution notwithstanding, he’d seen the signs. The way her body swayed into his whenever he got close, the way her eyes widened when her gaze caught his. And the way her teeth had pressed down into her lip, displaying just how plump and kissable it was. Her resistance was definitely crumbling.
He had to stop thinking about this. He had to wait. Otherwise he’d be seducing her up against a very cold stone castle keep.
Inside the castle walls Ben found a bench near an information board, brushed off the snow as best he could and sat down to watch the show. Cilgerran was a nice enough castle, he supposed, but not exactly his main area of interest. That, right now, would be Luce.
The castle had free entry until the end of March, but no one else was taking advantage of it. Clearly the weather had scared them off, but they were missing out, Ben thought. Luce flitted from wall to wall, from snow-covered step to window, from arch to arrow-hole, the breeze keeping her skirt plastered against her curves under her short jacket, her colour high and eyes bright. From time to time she’d call out to him, telling him about what she was looking at, what had happened here. The wind whisked away every other word, but it didn’t matter. Ben didn’t care about the castle. He was too entranced by her.
She was beautiful.
It wasn’t as if he hadn’t noticed before, of course. But it had always been a pale, reserved beauty. The sort you could look at but not touch. Hell, she’d practically had ‘Keep Out’ signs plastered all over her. But here...here she was radiant. She was real. And how he wanted to touch her.
He couldn’t have said how long it was before she jumped down from the low remains of an interior wall, sending a puff of snow flying up. Time seemed to pass differently when he was absorbed in watching her.
Her cheeks were pink and flushed as she flung herself onto the patch of bench he’d cleared beside him. ‘This place is fantastic,’ she said, sounding slightly out of breath from hopping around the castle walls.
‘I’m glad you like it.’ The urge to lean back against the bench, stretch an arm around her shoulders and pull her into him was almost overpowering. In an attempt to resist, Ben leant forward instead, resting his forearms along his thighs. ‘It must have been pretty impressive back in the day.’
‘It’s impressive now.’
Luce’s voice held a tone of reverence, and he knew she saw something here that he never could—something beyond his world. It didn’t matter. He was content to enjoy it through her, to see her eyes light up at the history she saw here. He’d bring her back every week if he could. Just to see that sparkle, that life in her face.
Except maybe it would wear off over time. Maybe they’d have to tour all the castles in Wales. And the rest of Britain. And overseas. I wonder how she feels about French châteaux?
Or maybe he’d take
her back to Cardiff and never see her again, as planned.
That thought made the winter air colder, the clouds overhead more threatening. Ben squinted up at the sky. The reports said no more snow until that night, but those skies just screamed bad weather. They should get going or they might not make it to Cardiff. Again.
But he didn’t want to leave. Not yet. He wanted a little more time with this Luce first. Excited, vibrant, castle Luce. Was that so much to ask?
‘So, where do you think Nest was taken from?’ Ben got to his feet as he spoke, reaching a hand out to pull Luce up again.
She rolled her eyes as she stood. ‘The castle would have looked completely different then. Most of what you see today was probably built in the thirteenth century—a hundred years or more after Owain took Nest.’
‘Okay, so tell me what it would have looked like then.’
‘Earth and timber building, probably. We can’t really be sure.’ Luce gazed around her again and Ben realised he was staring at her the same way she looked at the castle. He didn’t stop.
Luce carried on talking, almost as if to herself. ‘It doesn’t matter that it looks different now. The landscape’s the same. The feeling. She was here, and now I am. And I feel... It’s ridiculous.’ She dropped her head.
‘Go on,’ Ben said, trying to resist the desperate temptation to move closer to her.
Luce reached out to place a hand against the stone of the castle wall, palm flat, as if she were connecting herself to the site. ‘I feel like I can understand her better here. Make more sense of her life and what happened to her. There’s so few facts that we can be sure about. But here they come together better.’
‘So it’s helped?’
She looked up, her eyes wide and shining, and smiled at him. Ben felt the moment he lost himself as a dull ache in his chest.
‘It’s helped a lot,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’
It was too late, now, he realised. He’d been hers since the moment he saw her again in Chester. Maybe longer. Maybe since that night in the library. It didn’t matter. None of it mattered any more. He just had to have her.
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