Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
I’m home for maybe fifteen minutes before Eejit scratches on the door, and I sit with him on the rug in front of the now-roaring fire as I call June.
When she answers, I see that she is sitting on a bench in Central Park, and feel a pang of homesickness. She says hello, and moves the phone around so I can see the familiar landscape.
‘It snowed!’ she says, sounding excited. She’s wearing pink ear muffs, and looks about ten years old.
‘I see that!’
‘I picked up a veggie gyro?—’
‘With extra hot sauce?’
‘Of course with extra hot sauce! Just thought it’d be nice to sit here and enjoy it all while it’s still pretty. Before it turns to urban slush. I’m meeting Neil for drinks in the East Village – it’s all feeling real Christmassy right now. How about you? Any news? I loved the pictures you sent! I can’t believe you went to the other side of the world just to work…’
‘I know. But it’s been good for me. Today, I went to see some stone circles.’
‘Oooh! Were you caught up in their pagan magic? Are you now pregnant with druid triplets?’
‘I hope not! And then I went to Oxford. It was even better than you can imagine.’
‘Oh my God! Was it just like Oxford Blues ? Did you see Rob Lowe?’
I laugh at her excitement. We used to love that movie, even if it was old. She had it on an ancient VHS cassette in her basement, and we used to watch it and do terrible English accents. Now I come to think of it, it’s probably as much Rob’s fault as Hugh’s that I got so obsessed with coming here. Colin Firth doesn’t come out of it blameless either.
‘No, I didn’t see Rob Lowe – but gosh, June, it was so beautiful! Charles took me.’
She finishes a quick bite of gyro, and her eyes narrow.
‘Did I detect a little sigh there, Cassie? Something about the way you said Charles , like you were out of breath… has something happened? Has he kissed you punishingly in the stables?’
‘No, because he’s not actually the hero of a Regency romance novel. But… yeah, I guess something happened. He told me he has feelings for me – though he didn’t specify exactly what, because, you know, English. There was talk of a spark.’
‘A-ha!’ she says, like she’s Sherlock Holmes figuring out a mystery. ‘Spark is surely code for wanting to ravage you? What else did he say?’
I scratch Eejit’s furry ears, and feel the warmth of both the fire and the memory.
‘He said he wanted me to stay. That I could have Whimsy Cottage, or live at the manor. That he couldn’t imagine life here without me now.’
Even as I rehash the conversation, I am poking and picking at it – looking for ways I might have misinterpreted it.
‘I’m not really sure what he meant though. I might have got it wrong.’
June laughs, and wraps up the remains of her gyro.
‘Cassie, only you could do this.’
‘Do what?’
‘Take what sounds like an actual real-life declaration of intent, of goddamn spark , and try to convince yourself you made it up. Why wouldn’t he feel like that about you?’
I think about what she’s said, and reply: ‘Yeah. You’re right. I really need to stop doing that. But it was kind of a surprise, and now I’m wondering if I was just swept away in some kind of Oxford-inspired hallucination. Or if he was just caught up in the moment, and right now he’s lying in bed thinking, shit, what did I just do…’
‘Right, yeah. Can I ask you something?’
‘No.’
‘Tough. Is Charles a rash man? Is he impulsive? Does he strike you as reckless?’
‘Ummm… well, no. Totally the opposite in fact.’
‘Well then, Captain Jackass, stop questioning it all – accept the fact that he’s into you! Did he kiss you?’
‘No. Not really. He, ah, he kissed the palm of my hand, very, very softly.’
I feel a blush developing as I tell her, as my body remembers the way his lips felt against my skin.
Her eyes go wide, and she sighs out loud.
‘My God,’ she says dreamily. ‘That’s even better. That’s so… sneakily hot!’
I nod, and she continues: ‘So, what are you feeling about all of this? Is it something you’re interested in – staying there?’
‘I don’t know, June! I’m all over the place. I hate the thought of leaving, and Charles is… well, he’s sparky, what can I say? But I’m also aware that this is just a vacation. That my real life is back home. Just seeing you sitting there in the park makes me want to get the next flight to JFK.’
‘Yeah, I can imagine. And I’d be devastated if you didn’t come back, you know that – I’ve felt like my right arm’s been chopped off ever since you left! But honey, maybe this is something you need to consider – maybe it’s something you owe yourself?’
‘You think I should stay?’
‘I’m not saying that, no. I’m just saying think about it. Let it settle. Maybe see where things lead. You’ve got another week, right?’
‘Right.’
‘And you’ve got your trip to Ireland as well. I know you won’t admit this, but I have a sneaky feeling your hunky handyman might still be in the mix as well.’
‘No, no, Ryan is just a friend…’
Even as I say it, spluttering the words out with such fervour that Eejit raises his eyebrows at me, I know I might be protesting too much.
‘Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that! Look, there’s a lot going on. Just don’t reject anything out of hand, okay? And bear in mind that if you do end up as Lady Bancroft, I’ll be expecting tiaras and ballgowns even when you’re in McDonald’s!’