`So you don’t think I’m crazy then, Mr Kennedy, even though you’ve made your fortune?’ William asked earnestly. `Mum and Dad think I ought to study accountancy like Roseanne.’
`Whatever you decide, William, I think there’s a price to pay. In your case you may not earn as much money as you would like, but you’ll probably be satisfied with your work and happy with your life. In my case the constant travelling and demands pall after a while. There’s little time for real friendships when you're always on the move. I’m a hands on type but I shall not be able to keep up the pace for ever.’
Roseanne was amazed. She’d learned more about Euan in the few minutes he talked so frankly to William than she’d learned in a week.
`Thanks.’ William grinned suddenly. `Grandpa keeps telling Mum it’s not all gold that glitters.’ So can I pick your brains about my laptop, and computers in agriculture sometime?’
`Certainly, if you think I can help. We’ll talk again next week end.’
`We’re off for some lunch now but we might walk around the boundaries if Euan is not to exhausted,’ Roseanne said with a wink at William. `He’s not used to country living.’
`I still keep myself fit!’ Euan said indignantly, then saw her green eyes dancing and William’s grin.
Roseanne had taken a carton of Mrs Lennox’s cock-a-leekie soup from the freezer for their lunch and she had bought crusty rolls and cheese.
`There’s fruit and coffee to finish. Will that do?’ she asked.
`This is delicious soup,’ Euan said. `I doubt if I’ll have room for the fruit. Maybe we can take an apple in our pockets and find a pleasant spot to sit and eat it when we’re walking round the boundaries?’
`Good idea. You still feel up to it then? It’s quite a long walk all the way round. We could take the Land Rover if you prefer?’
`No, a walk will be good for us, especially if we’re to eat that steak pie and all those vegetables you bought when we return.’
`That was the idea,’ Roseanne said with a grin, enjoying his company more than she had thought possible. She believed in first impressions but now she wondered if she had allowed prejudice to cloud her judgement when they first met.
It was a pleasant afternoon for a leisurely walk and Roseanne was pleased at the interest Euan was taking in the countryside and the farm, as well as the general flora and fauna.
`I suppose I should have all sorts of questions if I visited Australia,’ she said.
`Am I asking too many questions?’ Euan asked seriously. `So many things are new to me and seeing everything so lusciously green is wonderful.’
`I’m pleased you’re interested. You were asking what the line of hills were to the west. They are the Galloway Hills and the highest one is Criffell. We use that as a guide to the weather. There’s no mist on the top today so we can be pretty sure there’ll be no rain before morning. Sometimes you can’t see it for mist then rain usually follows. When we get to the top of the rising ground that’s the highest point on Ashburn. On a clear day like today we should be able to get a glimpse of the Solway Firth.’
`Is that the sea? Maybe we could go there one day?’
`I suppose it is the sea in that it is salt water and tidal but the tide goes a long way out, then there’s a large stretch of sand. It’s not the same as the ocean. It can be quite dangerous for swimmers when the tide comes in. There was a lot of smuggling at one time.’
They walked in friendly silence until they came to a narrow wood.
`Ashburn boundary is this side of the trees,’ she said, `but if we go through the wood we can look down on Ferniebrae, the house where my grandparents lived.’
He had no difficulty loping over the fence with his long legs but the fence had been renewed since she last walked the boundary and she needed to climb up the squares of netting. She felt her heart beat quicken when he turned and scooped her up in his arms and set her down on the other side.
`Goodness, you’re stronger than you look!’ she gasped, wishing she was not so aware of his male attractions. He didn’t release her immediately, but stood smiling down at her pink cheeks.
`You’re light as a feather. Come on I’ll keep hold of your hand until we get through the wood. I assume you don’t come this way often when there’s so many brambles?’
`I haven’t been for a long while. It’s rougher than I remember. Would you rather turn back? I’d hate you to tear your clothes.’
`I can manage so long as you’re all right?’
`Yes, I’m fine.’ She liked the way he tried to trample down or hold back the brambles and nettles to make a safe passage for her. He swore fluently when a long bramble flew back and scratched his hand but he sucked it and continued to make a pathway.
`We’re nearly through the wood. Do we have to come back this way?’
`No. The owners will not mind if we go along the edge of the paddock on the other side of the fence. It’s a bit further but it will bring us out at an old track and there’s still a gate where we can get back into our own fields.’
There were two elderly ponies in the paddock. They waited until they had climbed over the fence then they ambled slowly towards them.
`They’re looking for titbits,’ Roseanne smiled. `They belonged to the children of the couple who bought the house but they will have outgrown them by now. In fact I think they will both be away at university. If we walk a bit further along the edge of the wood we shall get a good view.’
`There’s a house,’ Euan said a few minutes later. `It doesn’t look like an old farmhouse from here though.’
`They did a lot of alterations, building on a double garage with two bedrooms and a bathroom above and a large conservatory to the side. They asked me over to see but I wanted to remember it the way it was when Granny was alive. For me it’s the people who lived there who made it a home.’
`It would be a happy home again if it was yours, with your children around you.’
`I haven’t got any children.’
`Not yet, but I’m seeing a different side to the efficient Miss Fairfax I see at Kershaw’s. I can imagine you being happy with a brood of children now I’ve seen you here. Do you like children Roseanne?’
`Oh yes, but even if I had any I couldn’t afford to buy the house back now. I - I’ve invested the money in other things.’
`Like half a farm which doesn’t pay as well as it should but makes an elderly man happy?’ He quirked an eyebrow and gave her a whimsical smile but he noticed she didn’t answer his question.
`We’ll walk as far as the end of the wood then we’ll sit down and eat our apples, shall we?’
`Suits me. Is that an orchard we can see at the side of the house. The trees are coming into blossom.’
`Yes. Granny had apples and pears and a couple of plum trees. She made lovely raspberry jam.` Euan found it hard to reconcile the wild and happy child he was picturing with the immaculate and efficient Miss Fairfax who confidently took charge of Kershaw and Co. She really was like two different people in the same skin and he wanted to know all of her. He had never felt so deeply interested in any of the women he had known before.
`I’m glad you have happy memories, Roseanne. No wonder you dream of returning to this area one day. I never knew my grandparents.’
`That’s a shame. I treasure the memories of the time I spent with mine but I never knew my maternal grandparents.’
At the edge of the wood they came to a grassy bank where there were still a few late primroses.
`Shall we sit here a while?’ Euan asked.
`Mmm, this will do fine.’ Roseanne realised he was still holding her hand. She released it and flung herself face down on the cool grass. `It’s beautifully warm for the time of year,’ she said, cradling her head on her arms and turning her face towards him. Euan wondered if she had any idea how tempting the curve of her neat little bottom was in the close fitting jeans. `The bluebells should be out by now but there’s never been any in this wood. I think I’d plant some i
f it still belonged to me.’
Euan pulled two apples out of the pockets of his wind cheater and handed her one. She sat up and turned to face him, biting into the crisp flesh with small strong teeth.
`I’m glad we brought them,’ Euan said `I’m quite peckish now.’
`I thought we might be ready for them,’ Roseanne murmured. `It’s further than you think to walk right round now that the land from both farms is joined. I’ve brought a bar of chocolate in case you were a good boy and deserved a treat.’
`I have been very good. I’m sure you agree?’
`Mmm.’ she gave him a considering look, her eyes twinkling. `You did get wounded protecting me from the brambles so I suppose that has earned you one square. It’s a pity the ponies didn’t follow us we could have fed them our apple cores,’ she said, throwing hers with considerable force down the field before she pulled out a large bar of chocolate.
`Only one square?’ Euan asked with a chuckle, his eyes widening. He was amazed how much Roseanne enjoyed her food. He hated women who picked and grimaced over every mouthful, mentally counting calories, yet Roseanne had a figure many women would die for. `I’ll wrestle you for the rest of the bar,’ he challenged, his grey eyes dancing.
`Oh no you won’t, you’re bigger than me.’ She broke off a row of small squares. She looked at him, her eyes sparkling. She seemed about to feed it to him; he opened his mouth but with a laugh she popped it into her own instead.
`Oh, oh, so that’s the way you play your games, Roseanne Fairfax! We’ll see about that.` Before she realised what he was about he had rolled over, holding her down with one long muscular leg while he tried to pin her arms above her head.
`Surrender, surrender…’ she laughed. `Here’s yours.’ She stuffed a chunk of chocolate into his mouth. As he chewed it he seized her other hand and wrested the remainder of the bar from her grasp.
`I’m boss now.’ He grinned down at her. `You can only have another piece if you pay a forfeit.’
`Oh no!’ She tried to sit up. `I’m not paying any more of your forfeits.’
`Why not?’ he asked guilelessly. ‘You enjoyed…’
`No I did not! I…’
`Enjoyed the last piece of chocolate, I was going to say.’ He feigned a look of innocence,’ but if you didn’t enjoy it I’ll eat it myself.` He popped a generous piece into his mouth and then broke off another small square and placed it between her lips. As she sucked it in he placed his mouth gently over hers in a feather light kiss. Seconds later he raised his head. `I’ve heard of candy kisses but I’ve never had a chocolate kiss before.’ He grinned as he watched the colour rise in her cheeks. `You blush so beautifully Roseanne.’ He stroked her cheek with a gentle finger. `Exactly the colour of wild roses. I think your mother made an excellent job of choosing your name.’ He broke the remaining chocolate in half and cradled her head in his arm while he fed some to her and some to himself, stealing a playful kiss between each morsel until it was finished.
`That was delicious,’ he said.
`Yes, but the chocolate is all done so you can release me now.’ Roseanne said, starting to sit up but Euan didn’t move. He simply looked down at her, studying her face. His eyes moved to her breasts straining against the thin cotton of her blouse as he held her arms. Her breath came faster. She knew he had noticed.
`Euan? Please, let me go…’ Her voice was no more than a whisper. She knew he was going to kiss her and she hadn't the will to resist.
She could taste the chocolate on his tongue as it toyed with hers. `Lovely,’ he breathed as though he had read her mind. His lips trailed a line of little kisses down the line of her jaw and back until he nibbled her ear. Later she admitted she hadn’t even tried to resist when his mouth claimed hers again, more demanding, deepening the kiss until her legs felt week and she grew hot with desire. No one had ever aroused her like this before. She hadn’t known it was possible. He released her hands and she felt his fingers on the bare skin where her shirt had escaped from her jeans. His hand moved slowly in ever widening circles until his fingers found the swell of her breasts. He felt her nipple peaking, firm and hard against his thumb and he lowered his head in a long exploring kiss.
`No,’ she murmured softly as his fingers slipped beneath her bra and she became aware of his own increasing desire as his passion increased. `Please Euan, not here. Not now. N-not yet…’ He was breathing hard and she could feel the hardness of him against her stomach where his leg still lay across her. He sighed.
`You’re right,’ he breathed softly and raised his head to stare down at her swollen lips and flushed face. `This is not the place to make love to you the way I want to love you, Roseanne.` He rolled away from her and she knew she should be relieved, and she was, but somehow she felt deprived, missing something she might never have the chance to feel again. Euan drew his knees up and pushed his fingers through his thick brown hair while he strove to regain control. Roseanne smoothed her own hair as best she could and then rose to her feet. She looked down at him.
`Th-thank you,’ she said.
`For what?’ He looked up at her in surprise.
`F-for stopping when I a-asked,’ she stammered in confusion. He looked back at her with a strange, almost puzzled expression.
`I’ve never taken a woman against her will, Roseanne.’ He frowned thoughtfully. `Was it against your will? Or was it just the place?’ She blushed but she didn't reply. She didn't really know the answer.
`It will be better tonight. We have the house to ourselves,’ he said softly, `and I know where your rooms are.’
`How do you know that?’
`I thought I ought to know in case I was frightened of the dark,’ he murmured, putting on a little boy lost look.
`Och you!’ Roseanne spluttered, relieved he was making light of it, but he stood up and clasped her arm.
`I’m serious. It will be better to have privacy. I should have realised you’re not the sort of girl for a quick roll in the grass.’
`No Euan, I am not! You don’t understand. I’m not that sort of girl at all. Not anywhere. We scarcely know each other.’ He stared at her. She was serious
`You can’t mean that. I could swear you were as aroused as I was just now. I feel we’ve know each other for ever…’
`After one week? Is that the sort of line you use with all the women you meet on your travels when you're feeling bored?’
`No it is not. I rarely have time for women in that way if you must know. You’re a very attractive woman, Roseanne. I can’t be the first man to tell you that. And when the housekeeper is away and there’s only the two of us…’
`You’ve got it all wrong,’ Roseanne said desperately, but in her heart she knew he hadn’t.
`Old Jock guessed this morning that I was attracted to you. You're a challenge to any red blooded male. Now I'm more than attracted by the Roseanne I’m discovering here at Ashburn.’
`Jock doesn’t know anything of the kind!’
`He guessed I’d kissed you by the way you blushed.’
`I didn’t…’ She scowled because she had seen the twinkle in Jock’s eyes too.
`Mm, it surprised me too after my first impressions of the prim and proper Miss Fairfax I’ve seen all week. Perhaps I should try it again to make sure I’ve not been dreaming.’
`No you should not!’ Roseanne declared and tried to free herself but his grip on her arm tightened. His grey eyes travelled over her face, coming to rest on her mouth. She saw the desire in them and trembled. She was not afraid of him, she was afraid of herself and her own response. She sought refuge in the ice image she could do so well.
`Are you telling me the reason you wanted me to come down here with you was because you fancied a bit of a fling while you’re in Scotland?’ she demanded coldly.
`It had never entered my head, but now you mention it I confess that cool, touch-me-not, image you present at the office intrigues me. It is a challenge to any normal man.’
`It is not meant
to be.’
`I assure you it is but thank goodness I discovered this morning it is only a façade to hide the passionate woman within.’
`Are you telling me you wanted me to bring you down here because you were all prepared for a night of passionate sex?` Roseanne’s eyes blazed angrily now. He quirked one dark eyebrow.
`No, it didn’t occur to me. Even if that had been my purpose in wanting you to come I wouldn't have been prepared. Most women seem to take the pill these days so they’re already prepared.’
`You mean most women who are ready to fall into bed with you whenever you beckon? Well, let me tell you Euan Kennedy I’m not one of those women. I’m not on the pill and if I was I’m not about to fall into bed with you.’ He was silent for a few moments, digesting what she had said.
`I see...’ he said slowly. Suddenly he smiled - not the mocking, angry smile she had expected. His expression was almost tender. True he seemed surprised but she thought there was a glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. To her amazement he hugged her close and then released her.
`We know where we stand now. You need have no fear about being in the house alone with me. I promise to observe the boundaries you have set.’ Roseanne stared up at him. He looked so sincere she didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry. He smiled down at her, a sort of whimsical smile and she couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Then he said, `but it’s only fair to warn you I shall try to break down your boundaries. I don’t know what kind of man your Rob is but I do know you don’t wear an engagement ring and you’re no more immune to me than I am to you so I mean to win you fair and square.’
A Question of Love Page 6