She was sad to see her go, and life went on peacefully after that. That year seemed to fly by, as it always did. And then suddenly, it was summer, and they were all coming to visit for her birthday. She was going to be sixty-five, and for some reason she dreaded it, but they had all insisted on coming to the château, and helping her to celebrate it, which was her only consolation.
“I can’t bear thinking I’m so old,” she admitted to Isabelle when they arrived. Lorenzo had come, too, this time, which seemed too bad. Isabelle was always more tense when he was around, but they had a lot to talk about, about the store, which kept her distracted.
Phillip and Cecily came, too, of course. She was in high spirits, and talked endlessly about her new horse. She was involved with the English Olympic equestrian team, and she and Princess Anne had just gone hunting together in Scotland. They were old friends from school, and Cecily seemed not to even notice the fact that Phillip neither listened nor spoke to her. She just went on talking. Their children had come too. Alexander and Christina. They were fourteen and twelve, and Xavier was a good sport about keeping them amused, although he was older. He took them swimming in the pool, played tennis with them, and teased them by making them call him “Uncle” Xavier, which amused them.
And then finally, Julian and Yvonne arrived, in his brand-new Jaguar. She was looking prettier than ever, and rather languid, and Sarah couldn’t decide if it was due to the heat, or boredom. It wasn’t likely to be an exciting weekend for any of them, she mused, and she felt guilty for bringing them there. At least she could tell them about her trip to Botswana with Xavier. It had been fascinating, and she’d even visited relatives of William in Cape Town. She’d brought home small presents for everyone, but Xavier had brought home some extraordinary fossils and rocks, some rare but rough-cut gems, and a collection of black diamonds. He had a real passion for stones, and an eye for them, an immediate instinct for their value, in the roughest state, and how they would have to be cut to preserve them. He had particularly loved the diamond mines they’d visited in Johannesburg, and had tried to talk his mother into bringing home a tanzanite the size of a grapefruit.
“I had no idea what to do with it,” she explained, after telling them the story.
“They’re very popular in London now,” Phillip said, but he was not in the best mood. Nigel had been ill recently, and was talking about retiring at the end of the year, which was bad news for him. He told his mother that he would be impossible to replace after all these years, and she didn’t remind him of how much he’d hated him at first. They would all miss him, if he left, and she still hoped he wouldn’t.
They went on talking about the trip to Africa for a while, over lunch on their first day there, and then she apologized for boring them. Enzo was staring at the sky, and she could see that Yvonne was restless.
Cecily said she wanted to see the stables after lunch, and Sarah informed her that there was nothing new there, just the same old tired horses, but Cecily went anyway. Lorenzo went to take a nap, Isabelle wanted to show her mother some sketches she’d designed, and Julian had promised to take Xavier and Phillip’s children for a ride in his new car, which left Phillip and Yvonne on their own, feeling somewhat awkward. He had only met her once before since they’d been married, but he had to admit she was a smashing-looking girl. Her blond hair was so pale, it looked almost white in the midday sun, as he offered her a tour of the gardens. And as they strolled, she referred to him as “Your Grace,” which he didn’t seem to mind or find inappropriate, but then again, she loved being Lady Whitfield. She told him about her one brief experience in Hollywood, and he seemed fascinated, and as they walked and talked, she seemed to move closer to him. He could smell the shampoo in her hair, and as he looked down at her, he could see right down the front of her dress. It was almost all he could do to control himself suddenly as he stood next to her, she was an incredibly sensuous young woman.
“You’re very beautiful,” he said suddenly, as she looked up at him almost shyly. They were at the very back of the rose garden by then, and the air was so hot and still, she wished they could take their clothes off.
“Thank you.” She lowered her eyelids then, her long lashes brushing her cheek, and unable to stop himself, he suddenly reached out and touched her. It was almost more powerful than he, a desire so great that he couldn’t control it. He slipped a hand into her dress, and she moaned, moving closer to him until she leaned against him. “Oh, Phillip …” she said softly, as though she wanted him to do it again, and he did. He took both her breasts in his hands, and fondled the nipples.
“My God, you’re so lovely,” he whispered, and then slowly he pulled her down on the grass next to him, and they lay there, feeling each other’s passion mount until they were both frenzied.
“No … we can’t …” she said softly, as he pulled her thin silk underwear down past her knees. “We shouldn’t here …” It was the location she was objecting to, but not the act, or the person. But he couldn’t stop himself by then. He had to have her. He was exploding with desire for her, and at that exact moment, as they lay there in the brilliant sun, nothing could have stopped him. And as he entered her slowly, achingly, and then with overwhelming force, she pressed hard against him, urging him on, enticing him, torturing him with desire and then teasing him until he shouted in the still air, and then it was over.
They lay panting side by side afterwards, and he looked at her, unable to believe what they’d done, or how extraordinary it had been. He had never known anyone like her. And he knew he’d have to have her again … and again… As he looked at her he wanted her yet again, and he felt himself harden, and plunged into her without a word. The only sound he heard was her delicious moaning, until they came again, and he held her.
“My God, you’ve incredible,” he whispered to her, wondering finally if anyone had heard them, but no longer caring. He was impervious to everything except this woman who drove him to near madness.
“So are you,” she breathed at him, still feeling him throb inside her. “It’s never been like this for me,” she said, and he believed her, and then something occurred to him, and he pulled himself slowly away to see her better.
“Not even with Julian?” She shook her head, and something in her eyes told him that there was something she wasn’t saying. “Is something wrong there?” He looked hopeful and she shrugged and clung adoringly to his older brother. She had figured out long since that a lord was not a duke, and a second son was not his older brother. And she liked the idea of being a duchess, and not merely a lady.
“It’s … it’s not the same thing …” she said sadly. “I don’t know.” She shrugged, looking distressed. “Maybe there’s something wrong with him … we have no sex life …” she whispered. Phillip looked at her in astonishment, with a happy smile.
“Is that right?” He looked so pleased. Julian was a sham His reputation meant nothing. All these years of hating him. For nothing. “How amazing.”
“I used to think that … maybe he was gay.” She looked ashamed, and her extreme youth touched him. “But I don’t think he is. I think he’s just nothing.” Several thousand women would have screamed with laughter at what she had just said, but she was a better actress than any of them thought, particularly Phillip.
“I’m so sorry.” But he wasn’t sorry at all. He was thrilled. And he hated to pull away from her, and put their clothes on. He had merely unzipped his own, but they had to look for a moment in the rose bushes for her silk panties, and as they did, they laughed, wondering what his mother would think if she ever found them. “I daresay she’d think the gardener was having some fun.” He grinned, and Yvonne laughed so hard at what he said that she fell on the ground again, and rolled in the soft grass, her long lean thighs beckoning him, and he took her again without hesitation. “I daresay we should go back,” he said eventually, with regret. But his whole life had just changed, in the past two hours. “Do you suppose you could get away from him tonight for a while?” he asked, wondering where they would go. Maybe a local hotel. And then he had a better idea. The old barracks in the stables. There were still dozens of mattresses there, and blankets they used for the horses. But he couldn’t bear the thought of spending a night without her, and the forbiddenness of it made it even more enticing.