Элли Блейк – To Tame the Playboy: The Playboy of Pengarroth Hall / A Night with the Society Playboy / Playboy Boss, Pregnancy of Passion (страница 12)

‘Oh, she told you about our supernatural presence, did she?’ he asked good-humouredly. ‘Well, it’s kept many a guest entertained after dinner.’

‘But—there isn’t really a ghost, is there?’ Fleur said, keeping her voice totally expressionless, even though her pulse had quickened at the thought. ‘I thought she was pulling our legs.’

‘None of us have seen him, certainly,’ Sebastian replied easily. ‘But there are accounts of others having had the experience.’ He drank from his mug, then looked over at her. ‘Why, that sort of thing doesn’t bother you, does it? You don’t believe such nonsense?’

‘Of course not,’ Fleur said loftily. ‘I’m a scientist. I only believe what I can see or prove. And, to my knowledge, no one has yet proved the existence of such beings, have they? I mean, they may believe they’ve seen certain things, but that’s not the same thing as actually seeing or touching—with others there to corroborate, is it? It’s just all in the mind. Still,’ she added, ‘tell me more. Because Mia had hardly started telling us when Mandy nearly had hysterics at the thought, so she had to stop.’

Sebastian leaned back, his hands behind his head. ‘Well, our ghost is apparently a well-dressed middle-aged man who wears a top hat. He’s been seen walking along the upstairs landing, hangs around a bit as if he’s waiting for someone to join him, then walks straight out through the wall at the end.’

Fleur gave a slightly sardonic smile. ‘How bizarre.’ She paused. ‘Who’s supposed to have seen him, anyway?’

‘One of our forebears made a note of it a hundred years ago—it’s quoted briefly in the official documents,’ Sebastian replied. ‘Since then two others have declared they’ve witnessed it. One was a young lad, the tea boy, who was boiling a kettle upstairs to make some drinks for the decorators my parents had employed to do some work. Someone must have said something to him about our ghost and the lad swore he saw it do the disappearing trick through the wall. Anyway, he dropped the kettle and fled out of the house, refusing to come back in.’ Sebastian chortled at the thought. ‘But then there’s also…’

‘Who else has seen it?’ Fleur interrupted eagerly.

‘Beryl, Pat’s mother, swears she’s seen it too, twice—when she’s been upstairs cleaning.’

Fleur caught her breath. ‘Beryl’s seen it?’ she said. ‘Really?’ This was different. The woman was a practical no-nonsense character and, in Fleur’s opinion, not likely to make up things about seeing visions.

‘Yep. So she insists,’ Sebastian said cheerfully. ‘But she has no problem with it at all. Says that as long as the chap doesn’t give her any aggro or get under her feet, she’s quite happy to see him now and again.’ He chuckled. ‘Mind you, I have to say that Beryl’s private remedy for any ailment she might be suffering from is a rather good elderberry wine she makes. And I’m pretty certain that she enjoys a daily dose—which might explain things—not that I’ve ever seen her the worse for wear.’

‘Well, so Mia wasn’t having us on, then,’ Fleur said slowly. She sat back and feigned a yawn, feeling undeniably uncomfortable. What she had just said about not believing in the supernatural wasn’t entirely true because, in spite of her training, she knew there were still certain things which seemed to have no rational explanation. Phenomena whose secrets were yet to be revealed…Of course, it would all become clear one day, she was sure of that. There were so many more curtains to push back in order to find the truth behind the myriad unanswered questions.

‘My mother would find your ghost absolutely fascinating,’ she said, looking across at Sebastian. She paused. ‘She is what you would call a…spiritual person, with a very open mind. Though of course my father scoffs at anything which isn’t firmly rooted in proven fact.’

‘And you agree with him, obviously,’ Sebastian said.

After a second’s thought, she replied, ‘Yes. Of course.’

‘What about horoscopes—you don’t read them either?’ he persisted. ‘I know that Mia does—it’s the first page she turns to when I see her with a magazine. And she’s totally unashamed to admit it. She’ll say things like, “Oh, good, someone special is going to enter my life this week,” or “Hurrah—I’m coming into unexpected money!”’

Fleur smiled across at him. ‘And what about you—where do you stand on all this?’ she enquired.

‘I never read women’s mags, that’s for sure,’ he replied, ‘and I’ve never read my horoscope either, though Mia has often insisted on looking up my sign and telling me what’s in store for me in the imminent future.’

Neither of them spoke for a few moments, then Fleur got up, stretching her arms above her head. ‘I really must go to bed now,’ she said. ‘ I think I had too much supper, and too much wine…’ She bent to pick up the tray. ‘I’ll just clear this up first.’ She glanced across at him. ‘When do you want me to be ready in the morning? I mean…you said you’ve appointments in Truro…’

He stifled a yawn too then, and got slowly to his feet. ‘We should leave at nine.’ He smiled. ‘Do you want an early morning call?’

‘That won’t be necessary,’ Fleur replied. ‘I always wake up with the birds.’ Though she had to admit that almost since her first day here she’d slept like a log, not rousing until much later than usual. The stress she’d been experiencing for the last few months, which had been the cause of disturbed nights and early waking, seemed to have vanished.

‘I’ll say goodnight, then, Sebastian,’ she said, turning to go.

‘Goodnight, Fleur—sleep well,’ he added.

Up in her room, Fleur undressed quickly and, after a quick wash and cleaning her teeth, she burrowed beneath her duvet. Glancing over to the other single bed, she wished that Mia was still there. It had been very comfortable, the two of them together, nattering away about everything—old times, new plans—until one or other had been the first to fall asleep. Now, the room seemed very still with only her own breathing to keep her company. She’d heard Sebastian come upstairs and pass her room, had listened to his firm tread receding for several moments. She didn’t know which bedroom he occupied, only that it seemed to be away at the far end of the wide landing.

Sighing briefly, she snuggled down.

And that night Fleur dreamed, her subconscious mind teeming with thoughts, events, voices, memories and feelings…For several hours, she tossed and turned restlessly. In her dreams, she and her mother were having one of their discussions about other-worldly things, about Helen’s inexplicable forebodings, which often turned out to have some verity, about the second sense which she seemed to possess, about the angels that she implicitly believed were all around…And then, without any warning, and with a huge wave of anxiety sweeping over her, Fleur sat bolt upright, her forehead spangled with perspiration. Because she was no longer alone! She could see him—he did exist! The ghost of Pengarroth Hall, his top hat firmly on his head, was right there in her room, and he was walking slowly towards her! Pulling the duvet right up around her shoulders, she opened her mouth to say something, to cry out, to tell it to go away and leave her alone! But no words would come! Her tongue had stuck fast to her dry mouth, rendering her impotent and helpless…She was his prisoner and she was trapped with no means of escape. With her shaking knees drawn up to her chin, her eyes huge with fright, she watched him come nearer and nearer all the time, and suddenly…suddenly…amazingly…she recognized him…It was her father—her father was here! But how…why? She could make out the familiar features, the determined expression, the permanently puckered brow, and at last Fleur did find her voice and she screamed, ‘No! Go away! You shouldn’t be here! Leave me alone—leave me alone!’ But the figure kept on walking and Fleur kept on screaming a high-pitched, frantic scream until, cowering now, she could almost feel him, he was so close…Suddenly the door burst open and Sebastian stood there, a look of shocked disbelief on his face.

‘Fleur…Fleur! What the hell is it?’ He strode right over to the bed and, without a second’s hesitation, she sprang up into a kneeling position and clutched him feverishly around his neck, almost bowling him over in her desperation to feel him near her. And with that human contact, feeling the comforting warmth of his bare chest against her flimsily clad form, she burst into tears. Helpless, hopeless tears. Tears partly of shock, partly of relief—and partly of release. She could not remember the last time she’d cried—it must have been years and years ago, and she sobbed unashamedly.

Sebastian let her cry, saying not another word, but now sitting down on the bed with her, his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on the top of her head.

‘I saw him…I did see him,’ she gasped tremulously between sobs, and he held her even closer to him.

‘Hush, Fleur…it’s OK…you’re OK. I’m here…’ he murmured.

Afterwards, she couldn’t recall how long they’d stayed like that, but eventually her tears began to lessen and she raised her eyes to look up at him. And then, as if it were the obvious, natural sequence of events, his mouth came down upon her lips—lips that were parted with the effort of trying to breathe normally after her anguished weeping. And the moist warmth of that brief union sent thrilling waves coursing down her spine…She didn’t pull away, she didn’t want to pull away because, in a kind of wonder, she found herself glowing in this intimate contact, Sebastian’s overt masculinity making her feel desired, wanted, protected…but not overpowered. Not threatened in any way. And, as her terror finally died, she stayed quite still in his arms, not wanting him to leave her. Amazingly, she felt no embarrassment that they had kissed like that, no shyness that she had felt his body harden against her, had felt the muscles of his broad shoulders tense against her fingers as she’d clutched him to her.