One or two of them might have stayed, given the chance, but my father didn’t think any of them were good enough to mind his children. He was always finding fault with them for some reason or other. The truth is—courtesy of my beautiful, faithless mother, I think—he started to believe that women on the whole were fickle and not to be depended on. As soon as Sam and myself were old enough, he packed us off to boarding school.’
Taking another sip of coffee, he realised it was now practically cold. ‘Ugh.’ Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, he returned the mug to the table, his avid gaze alighting on Kit. ‘We could be close...me and my father, I mean. But he couldn’t see why I wanted to leave and branch out on my own in a career when I was going to one day inherit the estate and title from him. He still doesn’t understand my reasons for wanting to be completely independent and neither does he see—in his words—why I “recklessly” risk my life in pursuing extreme sports.’
Kit’s smooth brow puckered in a frown. ‘Is that why he didn’t come and visit you in the hospital after your accident? You said that he’d e-mailed you saying “pride comes before a fall”.’
With any other woman he would have been surprised she should remember such a detail, but not with Kit. Hal heaved a sigh. To be honest, he wanted to shake off that painful illustration of the chasm that had grown between him and his father but he just couldn’t.
‘Trouble is he was right, you know? The only reason I agreed to that stupid bet with Rigden was because I had to prove I was better than him. Sometimes I am proud...too proud to see reason and let common sense rule.’
Ruefully he tapped his knuckles against his cast. ‘This injury being a case in point. But my dad’s proud as well—too proud to admit that sometimes he might be wrong. He should have come to see me in the hospital!’
With a tender smile, Kit nodded her agreement. ‘Yes, he should have. But perhaps he was unsure how his visit would be received by you—whether it would be welcome or not if there had been previous disagreement and tension between you? When you spend too much time apart from someone it’s very easy to believe that you know them so well you can predict how they’re going to react when you see them again. You don’t consider that they might have moved on from their old behaviour or changed for the better. When was the last time you actually spent any time with your dad, Hal?’
He sensed the heat rise in his face even before he started to speak. Kit’s words had definitely given him pause. ‘I don’t know...a few months, I suppose. I know that sounds bad, but I’ve always been too busy to organise anything. Besides...’ he shrugged a shoulder ‘...I got fed up with listening to his criticisms every time we happened to speak.’
Leaning towards him, Kit gently laid her hand over his. Her blue eyes were so captivating that Hal temporarily forgot that he was aggrieved with his dad. It was like gazing back into the most serene and calm lake.
‘Would you like to go and see him? If he won’t come to you, maybe you should go to him?’
Ever since he’d had his accident in Aspen it had been eating away at him that his father hadn’t shown any evidence that he cared. Resentment was a bitter companion, and it was only apt to grow worse if not dealt with, he knew. Kit’s suggestion that he make a conciliatory move and go and visit his father was so obvious, so eminently sensible, that he knew he couldn’t resist it. Reliving some of the tensions of his past with her just now had made him suddenly yearn to make amends. Losing one parent was bad enough—never mind allowing your relationship with the remaining one to deteriorate so much that you barely spoke to each other.
‘Once again your astute insight has floored me, Kit,’ he told her. ‘You’re right...I should go and see my dad. It’s crazy that I’ve put it off for so long. Will you drive me?’
Immediately she withdrew her hand from his and frowned. ‘Of course I will, but...where does he live?’
‘Hertfordshire.’
‘And when would you like to make the trip?’
‘I want to go today. We should strike while the iron’s hot—before I have the chance to think about it too much and talk myself out of it.’
‘Shouldn’t you ring your dad first and check that he’ll be home?’
An irresistibly boyish grin split his lips wide. ‘I probably should, but I won’t. I’d rather just turn up and surprise him. Even if he’s out, his housekeeper will let us in. He’ll come back sooner or later. By the way—we ought to pack an overnight bag. It’s too late to travel there and back today.’
Slowly, Kit nodded. ‘Well, if you think that’s all right, then of course we can go today. But first of all I’d like to ice that knee for you, and then you should rest for a while. We can go after that.’
‘I can rest in the car. After all, I don’t have to worry about driving.’
Zipping up his jacket, Hal was surprised at how enthused he suddenly felt about the idea of making amends with his father. It would also be good to see his childhood home again, despite his fractured upbringing. Falteringham House, the Treverne estate, was breathlessly stunning, and he’d honestly missed it. Any man would be proud to have connections with such beauty, grandeur and history. But most of all Hal realised he was looking forward to introducing it to Kit.
‘Come on, Nurse Blessington,’ he urged with a smile. ‘Let’s get going, shall we?’
* * *
Kit had honed a helpful ability to get packing down to a fine art. She’d had to when she was so often moving from place to place for work. But when she stepped out of her bedroom to find Hal patiently leaning against the wall on his crutches, a classy leather tote down by his feet, she couldn’t help smiling.
‘That was quick. I see you’re all packed and ready. I was just about to come and find you to help.’
‘No need. I’m nothing if not prepared,’ he quipped, an irresistible twinkle in his chameleon hazel eyes. ‘I often have to jet off somewhere at the drop of a hat, so it pays to at least have one well-equipped bag ready. I see you’ve changed your hairstyle... I have to say I approve. The schoolgirl plaits were definitely cute, but I much prefer it when you look like one of Millais’s models.’
After swapping her jeans and shirt for a smart pair of black trousers and a dove-grey Arran sweater Kit had quickly dismantled her plaits and shaken her hair loose. Once again the fiery copper waves tumbled freely over her shoulders, and they helped give her a sense of confidence she found herself suddenly in dire need of. If her one claim to beauty couldn’t help her to that end, then what could?
The prospect of meeting Hal’s upper-crust father, as well as visiting his ancestral family home, was seriously daunting. Although she was all but certain that it would—at last—dash any pointless hope she might be secretly nurturing that she could have a future with him. Best she just keep on reminding herself that if she continued to work hard then one day soon she would have the precious home of her own that she longed for. And she wouldn’t have to depend on any man—even if she was head over heels in love with him—to provide it for her.
* * *
It was close to dusk by the time they reached the end of a long tree-lined drive and pulled up outside the esteemed manor house where Hal had grown up. Surrounded by lush parkland, the building was frighteningly imposing, Kit saw, even in the gloomy half-light of the day. Its Elizabethan windows and stone turrets made
