Chapter Eighteen
Jane was having a difficult time. Trevor was making her anxious and she had no idea why. When they entered the house and she showed him into the small security room, he stood nerve-rackingly close to her. She could smell the subtle scent of his spicy aftershave, and his arms looked even more muscled than they had at the gate.
“I can see how you switch from room to room, that’s pretty standard,” he remarked, “but what about the grounds?”
“Oh, here,” she replied, reaching past him to move the mouse. “This is so annoying. Why does it always do this?” she grumbled as the screen suddenly went blurry. “We pay enough. You’d think it would work.”
“It’s not the equipment,” Trevor replied patiently. “The camera is outside. You just need to adjust the picture by—”
“Why isn’t it automatic?”
“I can’t say. I’m not a technician, but I’ve seen this with other—”
“I’m going to talk to daddy,” she exclaimed, cutting him off. “It needs to be upgraded so we don’t have to mess with it all the time.”
“Jane,” Trevor began, crossing his arms and frowning down at her, “has anyone ever told you it’s rude to interrupt?”
As she stared up at him she wasn’t sure if he was scolding her or if he was just angry, then it occurred to her it might be both. But it didn’t matter. A bevy of butterflies had fluttered to life in her stomach, and there was something about him that was vaguely familiar.
“The thing is,” he continued, “if I’m going to be your bodyguard there are rules you’ll have to follow.”
“Rules?” she repeated, wishing she could understand what was happening to her. “What kind of rules?”
“When I speak you need to listen and you need to let me finish. I can’t do my job effectively if you don’t pay attention.”
“Okay, fine. There’s no need to get your knickers in a twist. I think you need a cup of tea. I’ll ring the kitchen,” she said briskly, picking up the phone and wondering why she’d made the cheeky remark. “Hello, Mary? Bring tea and scones for two into the conservatory. There, done,” she declared, hanging up the receiver. “Follow me. You’ll be able to sit back and catch your breath for five minutes.”
“I know where the conservatory is, Jane.”
“You do? How?”
“You really don’t remember me?”
“Uh…there is something about you that rings a bell, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“You knew me as John, not Trevor. I’m John Martin.”
“But John’s hair was light brown. Yours is blonde.”
“That’s from the sun. I was training in Spain for a few months.”
“And you were skinny!”
“So were you, but other than that, you haven’t changed. You were rude and impatient back then too.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, not then and not now.”
“Jane, you’ve been testy since I met you at the gate, and a minute ago you implied I was the one with the problem.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake. I did no such thing.”
“Your exact words were, I thinkyou need a cup of tea. Though it wasn’t so much what you said, but how you said it. Please, Jane, don’t take me for a fool.”
“I just thought after your long drive you could use a break,” she exclaimed, hating that her face was suddenly turning beet red.
“I need to find your father. Do you know where he might be?”
“Why?”
“I’m going to thank him for the opportunity and tell him this isn’t the right situation for me.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You used to be a brat, and you’re still a brat, but mostly because you just lied to me. I’m sorry this didn’t work out, and I wish you only the best. Goodbye, Jane.”
As he marched out the door she was momentary flooded with conflicting emotions, but none of them were as strong as the need to stop him.
“Wait!” she called, running after him. To her great relief he paused his step and slowly turned, but he wasn’t smiling. “I can’t help myself. I just get…I don’t know what the word is. Flustered, then I feel annoyed and defensive. I’m sorry, honestly.”
“Thank you for apologizing, but it doesn’t change anything. You are how you are, and I’m simply not prepared to put up with it.”
“I’ll try not to interrupt,” she blurted out, still trying to understand why she was so determined not to let him leave. “If I’m being rude just tell me. I know I sometimes get impatient.”
“What does the man in your life say about all that?”
“Man? What makes you think I have a man?”
“You’re very attractive and you’re Lord Hawthorne’s daughter. You must have any number of admirers.”
“Well…there are a couple, but they’re frightfully boring. I can’t be around them for more than ten minutes, much to daddy’s dismay.”
“I’m sure.”
“John, don’t go.”
As he tilted his head to the side, the strange sensation she’d felt when they first met at the gate rippled through her body.
“I didn’t hear a please.”
“Oh, sorry, please don’t go.”
He took a deep breath, then stepped closer.
“Very well, Jane, I’ll stay, but you must understand I’m not your servant. I’m here to make sure nothing happens to you, and I take my job very seriously. If I sense a problem and tell you to leave, you leave, if I tell you to run, you don’t walk. You’ll do exactly as I say, when I say. That’s rule number one. Is that clear?”
“Yes, John. I’ll listen, I promise.”
“It’s probably best to stick with Trevor. That’s my middle name and the one everyone knows. But back to the rules. Number two. I will be with you or watching you most of the time, but if for some reason I’m not, don’t do anything impulsive.”
“Like what?”
“Like…decide to drive into the village, or walk up to the gate if someone arrives. If strangers are here, stay away. In other words, use your common sense. Can you do that?”
“I can, I promise.”
“Rule number three. I’ve been told all about Jimmy Pike and—”
“Oh, he was nothing but a mistake.”
“You just interrupted me again. Break that habit and break it now or I’ll help you!”
“What does that mean?”
“Keep doing it and you’ll find out.”
“What about Jimmy?” she asked, suddenly wanting to change the subject though she wasn’t sure why.
“If he contacts you, tell him you need to call him back and let me know immediately.”
“Okay. Anything else?”
“Yes, let’s go to the conservatory,” he said, softening his voice and smiling at her. “I’m dying for a cup of tea and a scone.”