T P P Hl

by SJ

  They walked on in silence for a few moments, Fleur having difficulty in not bursting into tears. If she’d been given this opportunity by anyone else, at another time, she thought—the chance to do some real singing, to actually perform those famous arias that she knew so well with a proper orchestra—she’d have jumped at it! But this scenario was different—and it was cruel! If she agreed, it would mean being in close proximity with a man she detested—and also with the man whom she’d come to love, but who clearly didn’t love her. It was an impossible, hopeless proposition.

  ‘I’m not sure that I could find the time, Sebastian,’ she said slowly. ‘These things can’t be thrown together any old how. There would have to be countless rehearsals, total commitment. I do have my work to think about.’ She paused to pick up a small branch that had fallen across the path. ‘But it was kind of you to think of me,’ she added. ‘I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone else only too ready to step in.’

  Now he stopped her again, and this time his arms were around her waist so that she was forced to look up into his face. ‘I’m not being kind,’ he said gruffly. ‘I’m being practical.’ He paused. ‘And I think I know the real reason you won’t do it… It’s Rudy, isn’t it, Fleur? You’re afraid he’ll be a nuisance.’

  Fleur had difficulty restraining her impatience. He didn’t have a clue! she thought. But he’d given her the perfect excuse. Because she could hardly say, No, Sebastian, it’s you. You’re the problem. And I must not be near to you, ever again. Knowing you has put me in a dangerous situation—a situation that I don’t really know how to handle. Prolonging our association into the summer will only make things worse—much worse. How could I bear it, knowing that I mean nothing to you? I’m just someone who you enjoy kissing now and again.

  She sighed. ‘Yes, it is Rudy Malone,’ she lied. ‘I would not willingly spend even half an hour in his company—unless I had police protection.’ She tried to smile, and suddenly Sebastian could bear it no longer. What had made him use this cheap trick? he asked himself. Even though his ambition to stage a musical event on the estate was genuine enough. Why didn’t he ask the woman to marry him, and be done with it? Why did he feel the need to get round her like this?

  He was holding her close to him and the warmth of her body mingled with his own, filling him with a surging tide of emotion. ‘You wouldn’t need police protection, Fleur,’ he said softly. ‘My protection is all you’ll need. That’s a promise.’

  She frowned slightly, beginning to regain something of her composure now that her position was clear. He could say what he liked, but this would be the last time that she and Sebastian Conway would hold each other close, she thought. She would not see him again, whatever Mia said or did. This was it. And it was good to have come to that decision. Her other life—the life she’d led before she’d met him—was so simple. So uncomplicated. Just the way she wanted it.

  ‘But you couldn’t—wouldn’t—be there all the time,’ she said slowly. ‘How could you be? Your own life is as full as mine.’

  Unable to stop himself for another second, he bent his head and claimed her lips—and she made no effort to stop him. Her open eyes were wide and misty, and he pulled away slightly, raising his hand and tracing the tender curve of her cheek with his finger. Then he held her again in a close embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment. ‘If you will agree to another minor proposition of mine,’ he murmured, ‘I give you my word that you’ll have all the protection you’ll ever need.’

  Mystified, Fleur eased away from him and looked up. And, before she could respond, she heard the words she’d lost all hope of ever hearing.

  ‘Will you marry me, Fleur?’ His voice was husky, deep with meaning. ‘I’m asking you to be my wife. To come and live with me in Cornwall, for ever…’ He trailed off, not wanting to hear her refusal, and for the second time in the last half hour Fleur felt her knees tremble, felt her whole body go limp. Only now it wasn’t disillusionment that was the cause, but an overwhelming feeling that her heart was about to take flight and leave her body altogether! He did want her… He’d just said so! But…there was something he hadn’t said, something which she’d never heard her father once say to her mother, in all the years they’d been together. And if Sebastian didn’t say it, couldn’t say it, then she knew what her answer would be.

  ‘Why do you want me to marry you, Sebastian?’ she said coolly. ‘Is it because Mia would like it…or because it’s obvious that I do love Pengarroth Hall and all the people who work there, and would obviously fit in very well. Or perhaps you think I’d be a suitable person to provide an heir to take your place one day? Which is it, I wonder, Sebastian?’

  He’d listened without interrupting her and now his face appeared drawn, almost sculpted in the dim light as he listened to her thoughtfully.

  ‘It’s none of those things,’ he said. He paused, and Fleur waited breathlessly for what might—or might not—come. ‘It’s because I love you,’ and his tone of voice left her in no doubt that he meant it—really meant it. ‘I have loved you for as long as I’ve known you, Fleur. I can’t help it if you don’t believe me, but that’s the truth.’

  Oh but she did believe it! Fleur’s arms went around his neck and she pulled him towards her, nestling her face in his neck, loving that same manly fragrance that inflamed her every time he came near her. ‘Then…I will marry you,’ she whispered. ‘I will marry you, Sebastian.’

  With a huge shudder he tightened his grasp of her until the breath nearly left her body. ‘I can’t believe it,’ he murmured, burying his face in her hair. ‘I didn’t dare think you’d agree…especially when I knew how you felt about the male sex.’ He lifted her face and kissed her again gently. ‘And I don’t know what you feel about nuptial agreements, but this is my side of the bargain. I give you my solemn promise that your life will always be under your own control. Anyway, I’m going to have enough to think about without butting in on your hopes and dreams…’

  Fleur looked up at him, at the sensuous mouth, the firm chin, the wide forehead with those faint worry lines between his dark, mesmerizing eyes. ‘I’ve got the strangest feeling that my hopes and dreams are going to be exactly the same as yours,’ she said.

  With their arms around each other’s waists like two children, they walked along the deserted paths, not wanting these magical moments to pass. But Fleur knew that she must know something…that, if she didn’t, it would be between them for the rest of their lives. But how would he take it? She glanced up at him.

  ‘Sebastian…’ She paused. ‘Tell me about Davina…’

  ‘Ah, yes, Davina,’ he said without hesitation. ‘You’ve obviously been told about her.’

  ‘All I’ve heard—from Mia, and from Pat—is that you were nearly married to her and then suddenly it was all off. Why, Sebastian? What happened?’ If he was offended at her curiosity, then it was too bad. This was something she had to know about because it had obviously been an overwhelmingly upsetting occurrence at the time—upsetting for others beside himself.

  ‘When I met Davina,’ he said, ‘I was impressed with her vitality, her enthusiasm for the business she ran—and, of course, she was also very…attractive.’ He paused. ‘She had made something of herself despite having had no special advantages—no family background or support. And I admired that.’ He waited before going on. ‘But she was always very evasive about what she actually did. She told me at first that she ran a dress agency, and I believed her. Supposedly selling second-hand designer clothes. I’m not into ladies’ fashions so it was unknown territory to me. Well, we were weeks away from the wedding when one of my colleagues—who I introduced Davina to—informed me that he had…availed…himself of her services a few months earlier. Said he thought I really ought to know about it. It turned out that she was running a very successful escort agency—and her fees for her own personal services were exorbitant.’ Sebastian cleared his throat, obviously hating having to recall that time. ‘My
colleague was able to give me plenty of details…’

  Fleur didn’t look at him as he spoke. What an unbelievable discovery for him to have made—about a woman whom he had loved.

  As if reading her thoughts, he went on, ‘But, luckily for me, I was able to recover from the blow almost immediately—which rather suggests that my feelings for Davina must have been somewhat superficial. I admit that I was taken in by her, but her dishonesty about it all was harder to bear than knowing that she was happy to sell herself to any man who was prepared to pay.’ He waited before going on, then looked down at Fleur solemnly. ‘I want a wife who is prepared to be mine, and mine alone,’ he said. ‘It’s one area where I do not believe in sharing.’

  ‘I’ve no idea what my parents are going to think,’ Fleur said as they drew up outside the family home in Sebastian’s car.

  ‘I rather hope they’ll be pleased for us,’ Sebastian said mildly. ‘Surely they didn’t expect that their beautiful daughter would stay single for ever?’

  Fleur thought—never mind what they might have expected—her present situation had come as a surprise—a very happy and exciting surprise—to her! She could still hardly believe that Sebastian had asked her to be his wife—or that she had accepted. But when they’d rung Mia to tell her, the phone had almost exploded with her reaction.

  ‘I knew it, I just knew it!’ she’d cried. ‘We’d all hoped for it—Pat and Beryl and Gran—we’ve been sending hopeful messages to the stars! When’s the wedding—and what am I going to wear?’

  In spite of Fleur’s misgivings, Philip and Helen received the news with obvious pleasure, although Philip was slightly more guarded in his enthusiasm.

  ‘Well, no doubt you can come to some arrangement with the hospital, to continue your research on a part-time basis,’ he said. ‘That sort of thing is done a lot nowadays, so as not to waste valuable people and their education. It should be simple enough.’

  Fleur and Sebastian exchanged glances, and Sebastian said at once, ‘I think Fleur will know exactly what’s best, Philip. We can trust her to do the right thing.’

  Helen’s eyes had not stopped shining since she’d heard the news, and she held her daughter’s hands tightly. ‘I’m so pleased for you, darling,’ she said softly. ‘I can only hope that you will be as happy as Daddy and I have been.’

  Fleur stared at her mother for a moment and thought that perhaps she’d been wrong all the time. Perhaps her mother had been happy after all. Happy to love and care for the man she’d married, whatever his failings. She shrugged inwardly. It was wrong to judge other people’s lives when you didn’t really know all the facts, she thought.

  It was as they were driving back to her flat that Fleur’s hand suddenly went to her throat anxiously, and she looked across at Sebastian.

  ‘Sebastian—there’s just one thing… It’s something I really cannot agree to, so we’d better sort it out now, straight away…’ she began.

  Sebastian nearly swerved off the road at her words, but he recovered quickly. ‘What…what the hell is that?’ he demanded. ‘You…you’re not changing your mind…?’

  ‘No, no of course not!’ Fleur smiled across at him reassuringly. ‘It’s about the wedding…’

  ‘What about the wedding?’

  ‘Well, I know that… I know your family expects grand affairs and big celebrations and everything but…but I honestly could not bear it. Can we…can we just have a small ceremony, Sebastian—and maybe a party later? When it’s all gone quiet? I don’t want a fuss. I really couldn’t stand it.’

  Sebastian blew through his teeth in relief. ‘I was wondering what on earth you were going to say,’ he replied. ‘And I agree with you entirely, Fleur.’ He put his hand on her knee and held it there. ‘The only people at our wedding are going to be you and me, of course, your parents, and Mia and Rose. And can Pat and Beryl—and Frank—come too? Would you agree to them all being there? I’d hate to leave any of them out—they’d be so hurt.’

  Fleur felt a rush of pleasure at his words. He was such a softie, she thought. ‘I’d want them there too,’ she said. ‘All of them. That would be just perfect.’

  Two weeks later they drove back to Cornwall and were met at the door by Pat, who immediately burst into tears and threw her arms around Fleur.

  ‘Since you rang with the news we’ve hardly slept a wink!’ she exclaimed. ‘We’re so happy, Fleur.’ She looked up at Sebastian. ‘And you’re a lucky chap, Sebastian.’

  He grinned down at her. ‘Don’t you think I know that, Pat?’

  Later that evening, hand in hand, Fleur and Sebastian walked slowly along the well-loved wooded paths of Pengarroth Hall. And it was raining.

  ‘I’m beginning to smell spring in the air,’ Fleur said happily. ‘It’ll be wonderful to be here when it’s warm and sunny—just as wonderful as it is when it’s cold and dismal!’

  Sebastian put his arm around her waist. ‘There’s something I want you to see,’ he said quietly, and in a few moments they came to a spot which Fleur immediately recognized. ‘Oh, this is where…’ she began, for this was where Benson had lain down and refused to obey her. The tree trunk she had sat down on as she’d waited for the dog to get up was still in the same place…

  And there, on a small mound in the turf, stood a neatly carved wooden cross with one word burned into it. ‘Benson’ was all it said, and Fleur stopped in her tracks as if she’d been struck by lightning, her hand going to her mouth.

  ‘Young Martin—Frank’s son—made this for Benson,’ Sebastian said. ‘He’s going to be a fine carpenter one day.’ He paused. ‘And he’s made a good job of this, hasn’t he?’

  Fleur had difficulty in speaking, but after a moment she said, ‘It’s beautiful, really beautiful, Sebastian. Just like the beautiful dog who’s resting here.’

  The quiet family wedding was held on the first day of spring, and exactly nine months later Alexander Sebastian Philip Conway was born at Pengarroth Hall, with Pat happily assisting the doctor while Sebastian held his wife’s hand tightly. And although Sebastian had been undeniably proud to hold his baby in his arms for a few moments, his main focus had been on Fleur as she lay on the huge bed, her hair spread out in soft damp waves on the pillows, her eyes moist and glistening.

  ‘I didn’t know what real happiness was until I met you,’ he whispered in her ear. ‘Or what it could mean, until I saw our baby being born.’

  Fleur squeezed his hand. ‘Do you think he’ll like us?’ she said.

  ‘I know he’ll like you,’ Sebastian replied. ‘How could he help himself?’

  A few days later, Philip and Helen came to see their first grandchild and, with Mia there as well, they all sat downstairs in silent admiration as the baby was passed from one to the other. And the bouquets of flowers kept coming and coming until the house was filled with colour and perfume.

  ‘Who’s that one from?’ Fleur asked as Sebastian took yet another bouquet from Pat as she brought it into the sitting room. He examined the label and smiled, looking across at his wife.

  ‘It’s from Rudy, Fleur. He says, “Many congrats and I’ve booked the last week of August next year for our first production.”’ He passed the flowers back to Pat. ‘I told you there’d be no stopping him,’ he added.

  ‘This is one of the very best days of my entire life,’ Helen said softly. It was her turn to hold the baby. ‘An unforgettable day. All my dreams have come true.’

  But it was Philip’s reaction which astonished Fleur. He seemed besotted with his first grandchild, couldn’t stop gazing down at the sleeping child and saying things like ‘What a grand little chap,’ and ‘Do you think he looks a bit like me, Helen…his nose, I mean?’

  At which point Mia had interrupted firmly, ‘I think his nose is exactly like mine…’

  But then Philip said, ‘I wonder if Alexander is going to conquer the world some day, to help push scientific knowledge forward a step or two…or maybe he’ll become a famous lawyer whose servic
es everyone wants.’ He glanced across at Sebastian for a second, before adding, ‘I wonder what life has in store for you, Alexander.’

  Sebastian went over to sit next to Fleur, slipping his arm around her shoulders for a second. ‘Whatever it is, Philip, he’ll make the best of it, like we all must do. But it’ll be up to him, and it’ll be his choice—with, I hope, a little guidance from his parents,’ he added.

  And Fleur, snuggling into Sebastian and looking around the room at all the people she loved best in the world, thought that wherever paradise eventually turned out to be, at this moment it was very definitely right here, on earth.

  All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author, and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all the incidents are pure invention.

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