‘Over there, through a gap in the trees, you can just catch a glimpse of the lights of Farrington Hall. The O’Connells, who live there, are our nearest neighbours.’
The name O’Connell seemed oddly familiar, but it was a moment or two before Tina recalled that it had been a Helen O’Connell who had been trying to phone Richard the previous day.
It was a lovely evening and above the western horizon, where a pinky-gold afterglow was fading into greeny-blue, a single bright star shone.
Half under her breath, she murmured the jingle she remembered from childhood, ‘Starlight, star bright, first star I’ve seen tonight…’
‘The evening star,’ Richard said. ‘Are you going to wish on it?’
‘Why not?’ she agreed lightly. ‘Though I fear my wish might be unattainable.’
‘So might mine. But nothing ventured nothing gained, so let’s give it a try.’
Folding his arms around her, he drew her back against his hard, muscular body and held her there. Then, bending his head so that his cheek touched hers, he urged, ‘Wish away.’
Knees turned to water by his nearness, and only too aware that she might as well wish for the moon, she looked up at the glittering star and silently wished that one day Richard might come to care for her.
After a little while when, rooted to the spot by the feel of his slightly roughened cheek against hers, she continued to stand quite still, he debated whether to make his move now.
Deciding the time wasn’t right, he straightened and said prosaically, ‘We’d better get on with the tour, otherwise we’ll be late for dinner.’
Like someone in a dream, she turned to walk back the way they had come.
‘Careful on the stairs,’ he warned and, an arm at her waist, guided her somewhat uncertain steps back down the stone stairway and thence to the passageway, to begin their tour proper.
Her first impression on seeing Anders had been that it was a gem of a place and that was amply confirmed as he showed her over it.
A picturesque castle with towers and turrets, secret passages and deep cellars, its own serenely beautiful little chapel with a resident priest, it was something very special. The fact that it was also a home made it rare indeed.
As they returned to the hall, glancing at his watch, Richard suggested, ‘If you’d like to freshen up before dinner…?’
‘Oh, yes, please.’
Having escorted her up the main staircase and past the minstrels’ gallery, he opened a door on the right and ushered her inside a spacious suite, with a bedroom and bathroom either side of a central sitting-room.
‘This suite was used by my parents when my father was alive,’ he told her. ‘My mother had this room as a den, to “sit and cogitate” as she put it, and deal with her correspondence.
‘That’s her escritoire.’He pointed to a small, exquisitely proportioned writing desk. ‘It was made in the reign of QueenAnne.’
‘It’s absolutely beautiful,’ Tina said, coming to take a closer look.
‘My mother loved it. Apparently as a child she was fascinated by the fact that it has a secret drawer.
‘When she came of age, her grandmother gave it to her as a twenty-first birthday present and she used it for the rest of her life.
‘After my father died, and Mother remarried, these rooms were kept for my use when I visited the castle. Though Mother continued to use the sitting-room…
‘This is the master bedroom…’
The master bedroom—simple yet grand, with its panelled walls and polished oak floorboards—had fine furniture and a handsomely carved four-poster bed with a scarlet and gold canopy.
‘And this is the guest room…’
The guest room was equally spacious and beautiful, with period furniture and a four-poster bed with a dark blue tester.
One of the first things Tina noticed was that her coat and case had been brought up and placed on a low blanket chest.
Though Richard must have noticed it too, he made no comment. He merely went on, ‘At one time this room was used as a dressing room. It was Mother’s idea to make it into a guest bedroom, in case I wanted to bring a friend. Though I never did,’ he added wryly.
Indicating the guest bathroom, he asked, ‘How long do you need? Will fifteen minutes be enough?’
‘Ample, thank you.’
‘Then I’ll have a quick shower and shave and wait for you in the hall.’ He turned away.
Remembering the intimacy of that morning, she felt a queer sense of loss and disappointment. But she recognised that it was her attitude that was responsible for the change in him. She had altered things by her refusal to get involved any further.
Biting her lip, she went into an ivory and peach tiled bathroom which was not only well-equipped but sumptuous in the extreme, with a shelf full of luxurious toiletries, a couple of towelling robes and a pile of big soft towels.
It was in marked contrast to the bathroom in Ruth’s bedsit, which was small and dingy, with a rusty boiler, a cracked sink and a shower stall that leaked.
When Tina had finished showering and dried herself, she wondered whether or not to change. Perhaps Richard wouldn’t bother as they were going straight back to London after they’d eaten?
But a suit and flat-heeled shoes seemed all wrong for dining in a castle, and as her case was handy…
After a quick sort through what few clothes she had brought, she decided on a silky dress the purply-blue of heliotrope and, her ankle having so far stood the strain, a pair of high-heeled court shoes.
As she stood in front of an elegant cheval-glass to brush and re-coil her hair, she saw the four-poster reflected in it and imagined her friend’s reaction to a bedroom like this.
Thinking about Ruth, it struck Tina what a lot she would have to tell her on Monday.
Only there were some things she couldn’t even tell Ruth. Things that were far too intimate, far too precious, to talk about to anyone.
Sighing, she gazed into the mirror. Her eyes looked big and dark with secrets, her cheeks and lips a little pale.
With eyebrows and lashes that were naturally several shades darker than her hair, she didn’t need mascara, but some blusher and a touch of lip gloss would improve things enormously.
Her small cosmetic case was in her bag and she toyed with the idea of slipping downstairs to fetch it, before deciding there wasn’t really time.
Ready to go down, she debated whether or not to take her coat and case with her. But in the end she put her coat over her arm and left her case where it was. No doubt Richard would ask whoever had taken it up to fetch it down again.
Though
