He’d forgotten that too.
There was something quite unusually… pleasant about being responsible for that kind of laughter.
What was unpleasant was noticing that she did look exhausted. As her face lit up, the exhaustion was replaced by a light that he was far more familiar with when it came to Julia. And, as soon as the laughter died, the exhaustion settled back on her features. This was not evidenced in haggard lines, in fact, she hid it well. He hadn’t noticed it until she laughed. But she was pale and, once the laughter died away, there was none of the usual brightness to her eyes.
She lifted her glass to return the salute and downed the contents after which she grimaced.
“I’m sorry,” she said when she’d wiped the grimace from her face. “You get home late and have some crazy female running around your house like an idiot. You’re probably wondering what you’ve gotten yourself into. I promise, this is not an indication of the years to come.” And with that, she gave him a small smile that did nothing to transform her face and most certainly did not reach her eyes.
He had no reply and she didn’t seem to expect one. She stood and gathered the glasses.
“I’ll just take these to the kitchen and leave you in peace.” She turned toward the door finishing with, “Goodnight, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Julia,” he stopped her and she turned back. “Just leave the glasses. Veronika will see to them.”
She hesitated, looked at the glasses, at him then put the glasses on the table seeming somewhat confused.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” he finished, done with the episode, done with her.
She hesitated again and he wondered, in a detached way as his mind was already moving forward to when she would be gone, what she planned to do next.
Then she walked up to him, put her hand on his arm, leaned into him and kissed his cheek.
She smelled of tangerines and jasmine.
“Goodnight,” she said softly. “See you tomorrow.”
He stood leaning against his desk, his arms crossed on his chest and he watched her walk out of the study and into the dark hallway until she disappeared out of sight.
Yes, he had a problem and that problem was Julia Fairfax.
Then the phone rang and she went completely out of his mind.
Chapter Four
Ruby’s Friend
The next morning, Julia sat down to her sugarless porridge and stared at it with distaste.
After leaving Douglas last night, she’d tossed and turned in the big, soft bed with its even softer sheets. She couldn’t get her strange behaviour out of her head. Behaviour which, if it ever came down to a nasty custody battle, could and would no doubt be brought up to prove she was a raving lunatic incapable of raising three children.
What had come over her last night?
It was the house, the damned house. It was creepy.
She hadn’t heard any scream or felt any spooky arctic draught.
She was disoriented and over-emotional, exhausted, jetlagged and homesick.
At least that’s what she told herself but the entire night she couldn’t get it out of her head that something, not someone but something, was in the room with her.
She’d managed to drag herself out of bed at an ungodly hour feeling as if she’d only had moments of sleep, which, in reality, was all she had. She was determined to help Mrs. K get the kids ready for school. Mrs. Kilpatrick had taken enough on and it was now time to alleviate her burden.
It was chaos, but quiet and controlled as Douglas was in the house and it was clear the children had long since learned that Douglas was not to be disturbed (although, she soon learned from Mrs. K that Douglas was not in the house but out taking his morning run).
Lizzie and Willie were now bolting down their food, no matter that it tasted like cardboard, or maybe because of it.
Julia had made sure they were up, washed, dressed and their rucksacks were filled. After all this, Julia appeared in the kitchen to help with breakfast but Mrs. K had shooed her out and ordered her to sit in the dining room to await the meal. Julia was surprised they sat in the huge, formal dining room for breakfast. Dinner her first night there as a celebration but breakfast?
She’d made an effort when dressing for the sake of the kids and Mrs. K. She didn’t need anyone worrying about her and she knew she looked terrible. She tried to hide the dark circles under her eyes behind a mask of light makeup. She’d put on a pair of charcoal grey, boot-leg, corduroy trousers, the belt loops threaded with a heavily embossed, wide leather belt that ended in a huge, silver, Western-style buckle. She wore high-heeled black boots and a fitted black t-shirt that had a scooped neck and long sleeves that fit snugly down the arms but flared out slightly from the elbows to hang gracefully passed her wrists. She’d thrown on a necklace made of a strip of black leather from which dangled a hammered disc of matte silver and she’d completed the outfit with big, wide, silver-hooped earrings.
“You dress like a rock star’s wife,” Gavin used to tease her.
“She does not!” Tamsin would defend.
“Okay, you dress like a rock star’s somewhat-classy wife,” Gavin allowed.
Pushing the once happy, now devastating memory and the porridge, aside, she reached for her coffee and took a sip just as Douglas strolled into the dining room.
At his arrival, Julia nearly choked. He was supposed to be out running, she never imagined he’d join them for breakfast. In fact, she had hoped to avoid him completely this morning after her behaviour last night.
Her eyes surreptitiously slid over him and she noted he wore a superbly-cut navy suit with wide-set pinstripes, a crisp, wrinkle-free white shirt and a subtly-patterned, obviously-expensive, navy tie. His thick, dark brown hair was still slightly wet from a shower and curling, overlong, at his collar. His jaw was smoothly shaven and the scar on his upper lip stood out making him look both menacing and sexy.
He sauntered into the room the way only a man who owned such a room could saunter into it, with sheer arrogance.
“Morning Unka Douglas!” Ruby called loudly, her mouth full.
“Good morning, Ruby,” Douglas replied evenly, walking behind Lizzie’s chair as she sat beside Julia, touching the girl lightly on the shoulder as he did so. Julia watched as Lizzie lifted her shoulder, as if seeking to deepen the gesture, but it was soon gone and, just as quickly, both the girl’s shoulders drooped.
“Will… Elizabeth,” Douglas said as he sat down at the head of the table to Julia’s right and put his napkin in his lap.
“Mornin’,” Willie said, also with mouth full.
Lizzie just made an indistinct noise.
Douglas turned his indigo eyes to Julia, she noticed (again, as she had many times over the years) that they were thickly lashed, somehow making the vivid blue seem darker.
“Are you recovered this morning?” he asked.
Of course he wouldn’t just let it go. He had to bring it up.
“Absolutely,” Julia lied with a bright, false smile making a show of pulling her porridge back towards her as if it was a delicious bowl of ice cream which she couldn’t wait a moment longer to devour. “Fit as a fiddle,” she added for good measure.
There was the briefest hesitation and then he drawled (actually drawled), eyes still on her, “I can see that.”
There was something in that drawl and in his eyes that made Julia’s stomach lurch in a not altogether unpleasant way.
“Recovered from what?” Willie butted in, thankfully interrupting the moment and reaching for a piece of toast that carried the barest hint of butter.
“Nothing, I didn’t get settled in last night, but I’m okay now,” Julia fibbed again, eating a mouthful and then making the Herculean effort to stop herself from gagging. Douglas was still regarding her rather closely and she really wished he wouldn’t.