Cash cut her off. “That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Abby blinked at him, confused. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about walking into the hall earlier and seeing you looking like your whole world had come to an end.”
Abby felt her heart start racing and she kicked herself for being, yet again, so very, annoyingly, transparent.
She searched her brain for a plausible story.
Luckily she didn’t have to search far. “Cash, someone made an attempt on your life today but I got in the way. Tonight we’re at war with a ghost. You’ve just thrown your uncle out of his home. This is all going to wear on me.”
He pushed in at the same time his arm tightened around her shoulders bringing her even closer.
When they were front-to-front, his hand lifted to her neck and he accused quietly, “You’re lying again.”
“I am not.”
“You are.”
“Am not!”
“When I came back to the hall, you weren’t where I left you. You were standing with Jenny in an out-of-the-way place. The kind of place you’d engage in a private conversation,” Cash informed her and Abby wished he wasn’t so damned clever because at times it was pretty annoying. Then he pressed, “What did she say?”
“We were getting ready for the toast,” Abby lied again.
Cash’s mouth grew tight before he demanded, “Stop lying.”
“Cash.”
“Abby.”
They held a brief staring contest before Abby looked away and muttered, “I’m not talking about this now.”
Cash’s arm gave her a shake and as he intended, her gaze went back to his.
His hand at her neck moved to cup her jaw. “I hope to God whatever she told you, you’re smart enough to come to me before you jump to any ridiculous conclusions.”
“Cash –” Abby began but he cut her off.
His brogue was rough and dangerous when he finished. “Because, darling, if you don’t and you go off half-cocked, it’s going to piss me right, the fuck, off.”
All right then.
Abby scratched a chat with Cash on her mental to-do list.
After she helped take down a centuries old spirit from beyond the grave that was.
She decided to give up. “Can we just focus on the matter at hand?”
“We can, after you promise you’ll be in bed with me at the night’s end,” Cash returned and Abby’s body gave a small jerk.
“Of course,” she whispered and watched as the intensity faded from his eyes before she went on, “if I’m not in a hospital bed wearing a full body cast, that is.” And she watched as the intensity shot right back.
“This isn’t funny,” he clipped.
“I wasn’t joking,” she replied.
His eyes rolled to the ceiling, his hand dropped from her jaw and he muttered, “Fucking hell.”
Abby got up on tiptoes, put her hand on his shoulder, his gaze came back to her and she advised softly, “You really shouldn’t say the f-word so much.”
“Darling,” he retorted, “you really should learn not to be cute when I’m annoyed.”
She dropped back on her heels saying, “I’ll make a note of that.”
His other arm slid around her. “I think that’s smart.”
“Um, sorry to interrupt your, um, whatever,” Cash and Abby’s heads turned to see Fenella at their side, “but, Abby, don’t you think you should do something?”
Cash released his firm hold on her, not entirely but enough for her to move a modest distance away but his arm along her shoulders kept her at his side.
“Pardon?” she asked Fenella.
“You know, something,” she urged, “to upset Vivianna.”
Cash tensed and Abby queried, “Like what?”
“I don’t know,” Fenella answered. “Last time, you nearly touched Anthony Beaumaris’s portrait. I don’t think she wanted you to do that. Maybe –”
“Snog Cash,” Suzanne all of a sudden was there.
Abby’s eyes moved to Suzanne and she breathed, “What?”
Suzanne looked at Cash then to Abby and repeated, “Snog Cash.” When they just stared at her Suzanne went on. “Listen, she thinks of the Beaumaris heirs as hers and she thinks, in some twisted way, she’s looking after them. Even so she doesn’t appear before them unless they’re in harm’s way, which isn’t often.” Her gaze went back to Cash and she commented, “You’re a healthy lot, don’t put up with much either, never did.”
“How do you know this?” Honor asked. Abby hadn’t noticed her getting close but she saw now that Honor was studying her sister, unable to hide her curiosity.
Suzanne looked at Honor and shrugged. “She talks to me.”
“Talks to you?” Fenella squeaked.
“Yes,” Suzanne answered, “ever since I was eight years old. We’d moved in, we were here a few months, Alistair said something nasty, it was the first time he did. I remember it like yesterday. I was crying in my room. She came and talked to me.”
Abby, Cash, Fenella and Honor were all staring at her.
Finally Honor spoke. “You think you might have wanted to mention this to us? You know, sometime in the last twenty-five years,” she ended on a near shout.
“At first I thought you all would think I was crazy,” Suzanne returned, blithely ignoring her sister’s raised voice. “Then, even when I knew you saw her too, I kept it to myself.”
“Why?” Fenella asked.
Something shifted across her face, something that looked like pain, before she hid it.
“I just did,” she answered and her eyes went back to Abby. “She’s exposed herself now in front of Cash so I’d guess she won’t hesitate to do it again. She probably knows you’ve set a trap. She also probably figures she’ll win. She always has. You aren’t the first one to try to get rid of her, you know.” Abby didn’t know but didn’t say anything as Suzanne kept talking. “I don’t know what Anthony is up to but if she’s given him the slip, to draw her out you’ll have to make a claim to what she considers hers.”
“She’s been holding my hand or in my arms all night,” Cash reminded her.
“Obviously, that isn’t enough.” She grinned wickedly but it wasn’t her usual unpleasant wickedness, this grin was actually kind of endearing and, Abby thought distractedly, she should do it more often. “You’ll have to go for the gusto.”
“It’s my understanding she can be anywhere, hear anything,” Cash replied. “She’s probably listening to you right now.”
Suzanne shook her head. “No. Over the years I’ve learned to sense her. She’s not here.”
“So how is she going to know Abby’s kissing me?” Cash enquired.
“You, if you’re in this house, she’s tuned into. Completely,” Suzanne replied softly, her words freaking Abby out but not as much as her next words would do. “Not what you’re saying, not what you’re doing, what you’re feeling.”
“Oh my,” Fenella breathed.
Before her mind kicked in, Abby turned to Cash in embarrassed horror and muttered, “Oh my Lord, Cash, if that’s true, we shouldn’t have had sex on the desk in the study. She probably watched or at least she felt. Bloody hell, I hadn’t thought of that.”
Slowly, Cash’s head turned to the side, his chin dipped down, his eyes locked with Abby’s and for the first time since he left to talk to James, his mouth formed a delicious grin.
“Oh my,” Fenella breathed again.
“You had sex on Alistair’s desk!” Honor hooted loudly and everyone in the room turned to look at them as Abby felt the heat come up in her cheeks and she mentally kicked herself for being stupid, stupid, stupid. “That’s hilarious!” Honor shouted.