the Thames? How intriguing.’
‘That’s certainly a novel way of putting it.’ Struggling hard not to display her pique at the comment, and wondering at the same time how she could convey without offending him that she really craved some quiet time to herself before reaching London, Natalie frowned.
‘I see I have offended you,’ her enigmatic fellow passenger murmured, low-voiced. ‘Forgive me. That was definitely not my intention.’
‘Not at all. I just—I just have a lot of thinking to do before my meeting.’
‘This meeting in London is work-related?’
Her lips briefly curved in a smile. ‘I told you that my dad sent me the train ticket? Well, I’m going to meet him. I haven’t seen him for about three months, and when we last spoke I sensed he was extremely worried about something … I just hope it’s not his health. He’s already suffered one heart attack as it is.’ She shivered at the memory.
‘I’m sorry. Does he live in the city?’
‘Yes … he does.’
‘But you live in Hampshire?’
‘Yes … in a small village called Stillwater with my mum. Do you know it?’
‘Indeed I do. I have a house that’s about five miles from there in a place called Winter Lake.’
‘Oh!’ Winter Lake was known to be one of the most exclusive little enclaves in Hampshire. The locals referred to it as ‘Billionaire’s Row’. Natalie’s initial assessment that Ludovic was a man of means had been spot-on, and she didn’t know why but it made her feel strangely uneasy.
Leaning forward a little, he rested his hand on the arm of his seat and she briefly noticed the thick gold ring with an onyx setting he wore on his little finger. It might be some kind of family heirloom. But she was quickly distracted from the observation by his stunning sapphire gaze.
‘I presume your parents must be divorced if you live with your mother?’ he deduced.
‘Yes, they are. In any case, tonight I’ll be staying at my dad’s place … we have a lot of catching up to do.’
‘You are close … you and your father?’
The unexpected question took her aback. Staring into the fathomless, long-lashed blue eyes, for a long moment Natalie didn’t know how to answer him. Or how much she might safely tell him.
‘We definitely were when I was younger. After my parents divorced it was … well, it was very difficult for a while. It’s got much better in the last couple of years, though. Anyway, he’s the only dad I have, and I do care about him—which is why I’m anxious to get to London and find out what’s been troubling him.’
‘I can tell that you are a devoted and kind daughter. Your father is a very fortunate man indeed to have you worry about him.’
‘I endeavour to be kind and devoted. Though, to be frank, there are times when it isn’t easy. He can be rather unpredictable and not always easy to understand.’ She couldn’t help reddening at the confession. What on earth was she doing, admitting such a personal thing to a total stranger? To divert her anxiety she asked, ‘Are you a father? I mean, do you have children?’
When she saw the wry quirk of his beautifully sculpted mouth she immediately regretted it, surmising that she’d transgressed some unspoken boundary.
‘No. It is my view that children need a steady and stable environment, and right now my life is far too demanding and busy to provide that.’
‘Presumably you’d have to be in a steady relationship too?’
Ludo’s magnetically blue eyes flashed a little, as though he was amused, but Natalie guessed he was in no hurry to enlighten her as to his romantic status. Why should he be? After all, she was just some nondescript girl he had spontaneously assisted because she’d stupidly left her train ticket in the ladies’ room before boarding the train.
‘Indeed.’
His short reply was intriguingly enigmatic. Feeling suddenly awkward at the thought of engaging in further conversation, Natalie stifled a helpless yawn and immediately seized on it as the escape route she was subconsciously searching for.
‘I think I’ll close my eyes for a while, if you don’t mind. I went out to dinner last night with a friend, to help celebrate her birthday, and didn’t get in until late. The lack of sleep has suddenly caught up with me.’
‘Go ahead. Try and get some rest. In any case I have some work to catch up on.’ Ludo gestured towards the slim silver laptop that was open on the table in front of him. ‘We will talk later.’
It sounded strangely like a promise.
With the memory of his smoky, arresting voice drifting tantalisingly through her mind like the most delicious warm breeze, Natalie leaned back in her luxurious seat, shut her eyes and promptly fell asleep …
In the generous landscaped garden of her childhood London home she squealed with excitement as her dad laughingly spun her round and round.
‘Stop, Daddy, stop! You’re making me dizzy!’ she cried.
As she spun, she glimpsed tantalising snatches of blue summer sky, and the sun on her face filled her with such a sense of well-being that she could have hugged herself. In the background the air was suffused with the lilting chorus of enchanting birdsong. The idyll was briefly interrupted by her mother calling out to them that tea was ready.
The poignant dream ended as abruptly as it had begun. Natalie felt distraught at not being able to summon it back immediately. When she was little, she’d truly believed that life was wonderful. She’d felt safe and secure and her parents had always seemed so happy together.
A short while after the memory of her dream started to fade, the muted sound of the doors opening stirred her awake just in time to see a uniformed member of staff enter the compartment with a refreshment trolley. She was a young, slim woman, with neatly tied back auburn hair and a cheery smile.
‘Would you like something to eat or drink, sir?’ She addressed Ludo.
With a gently amused lift of his eyebrows, he turned his head towards Natalie.
‘I see that you have returned to the land of the living. Are you ready for some coffee and a sandwich?’ he asked. ‘It’s almost lunchtime.’
‘Is it, really?’ Feeling a little groggy, she straightened in her seat and automatically checked her watch. She was stunned to realise that she’d been asleep for almost an hour. ‘A cup of coffee would be great,’ she said, digging into her purse for some change.
‘Put your money away,’ her companion ordered, frowning. ‘I will get this. How do you take your coffee? Black or white?’
‘White with one sugar, please.’
‘What about a sandwich?’ He turned to the uniformed assistant, ‘May I see a menu?’ he asked.
When the girl handed a copy of said menu over to him, he
