Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Luke
L uke left his cottage and headed to Edward Hall. The world champion rowing team had arrived at the hall the previous evening, and he had greeted them when they had dinner. Luke wanted to make sure they’d settled well and had everything they needed. Moving quickly across the lawns, he spotted Archer and Freya standing at the stone balustrade overlooking Edward Hall lawns that had been converted to an outdoor exercise area. He knew why Archer was there but not why Freya was there, especially when it was a school day.
He was disappointed they didn’t find anything in the cove, but there was all summer to look.
He could hear her chattering away in her breathy voice. As Luke neared, he saw what had her in a trance. All the rowing team were in gym trainers, gym shorts and nothing else, racing up and down in lines.
“I mean, Archer, if any of them need a medic— ”
Luke cut in. “I will be going to their rescue.”
Freya spun on the spot. She was in tailored black shorts cut off mid-thigh with an oversized grandad shirt, and a flimsy top underneath that showed off the curves of her breasts. She had black plimsolls with no socks.
Her cheeks were pinked beautifully.
“Hi, Luke,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“It’s my job to be here. I thought your job was at a school where kids are taught by teachers like you. You look gorgeously healthy, so you’re not sick. So tell me, Peaches, why are you here ogling the rowing team?”
“Inset day,” she mumbled.
“Come again?”
“It’s an inset day. Teacher training day.”
“And salivating over the rowing team is part of the curriculum?”
Luke didn’t know where his snippiness had come from. He could usually control it when Freya looked at other men, but then he was his own worst enemy. If he made a move to see how she felt, then he wouldn’t have to bite her head off every time hot men were running around Edward Hall.
“We start later on an inset day. I had an hour to spare before I needed to head into school.”
“Your school is a three-minute walk from where you live. Here,” he said, pointing to the lawns. “Is a buggy ride away.”
“I wanted to see Heidi?” she posed it as a question, making Archer laugh openly.
“I’m sure the rowing team don’t want women gazing at them half naked while they’re training.”
“I don’t mind,” one of the men shouted up from below them on the grass where one of the markers was sticking out of the ground.
“Oh, hi, Pete. How’s it going?” Freya called out .
“Pete,” Luke hissed through his teeth so Pete couldn’t hear. “You know his fucking name?”
“Yeah, they were in town last night to get a bite to eat. I bumped into them on my way home.”
“Are you still on for a drink tonight?” Pete shouted up.
“No,” Luke called out.
“Sure,” Freya replied, not looking at Pete but smirking at Luke with her arms folded under her breasts and her eyebrow raised. She moved from side to side, goading him to say more.
“I’ll be in the pub at eight. See you there,” Freya said, and Pete jogged away.
“He’s not going to pick you up? What kind of guy doesn’t pick up his girl for a date?”
“You know everyone can hear your yelling, don’t you?” Jason said, coming up onto the balcony. “I can practically hear you from the kitchens.”
Luke dropped his head back and looked at the cloudless sky. He might as well declare his love for Freya right there with his lack of subtlety.
“I know you’re protective of me, and I love you for it. But I am a grown-up and can drink with anyone I want. It’s just a drink,” Freya said.
“He wasn’t looking at you like he just wanted a drink, Peaches,” Luke bit out.
“So?” she said, shrugging a shoulder. “I gotta get to work. I’ll see you at Sunday lunch?”
“Yeah,” Luke said sullenly. “One o’clock.”
“All right then. Bye Luke, Jason, Archer.” Then she turned to the rowing team and bellowed out, “Bye, team.”
Luke stood fuming as the entire team stopped what they were doing and shouted back their goodbyes. Jesus fuck, she had hoards of men after her .
“When are you going to pull your head out of your arse?” Jason commented once Freya was out of hearing range.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luke said, failing to take the childish tone out of his words.
“Man, if you don’t make a move soon, there are twenty guys out there who will. And that is just this morning. She waltzed out here, and all of them, even the married ones, stopped their exercises and just stared. Their drill sergeant had to snap them out of their daze,” Archer said.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“Just kiss her,” Archer said.
“Have you heard of consent?” Luke asked.
“Erica did that to me,” Archer said.
“Oh yes, pot, you resisted kissing her for like ages.”
“Well, kettle, we kissed, and now we’re married. Just saying,” Archer said a little too smugly.
“All right, kids, play nicely. I need to get back and take the pastries out of the oven,” Jason said, patting them both on the back.
“Save me one,” Luke shouted out without turning.
Luke looked out across the lawn at the men working out, knowing full well any of them would jump at the chance of a drink with Freya, not just Pete and not just because of her heart-shaped bottom. She was everything a man could want.
“Why am I C&B manager?” Luke asked.
“That was the role divvied up for you. That’s what you went back to college to study,” Archer replied evenly.
“So it’s not because you don’t trust me?”
“What the hell are you talking about, brother? I’d trust you with my life.”
“Just not the client’s lives,” Luke replied quietly .
“What did she say?” Archer clipped out. “Cynthia. What did she say to you?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it fucking does. Jason, Daisy, and me. We all trust you. What happened that day was not your fault. When we had to divide this venture, it never occurred to offer endurance courses or space for athletes to come and train in privacy. We thought we would be doing weddings.”
“What happens if they need a medic?”
“You know they’ve got one with them. He’s sitting over there on a log. You met him, Luke.”
“I feel so useless, Archer. My role here just seems artificial.”
“You’ve only been back a month or so. It takes a while to assimilate into island life again. I struggled until I married Erica. You’ll find your groove. But get Cynthia out of your head. She is poison and is hell-bent on making everyone else as miserable as she is.”
“I’ll try.”
“If you’re in love with Freya, you should tell her. If she doesn’t love you back, then you can move on. But don’t make her wait, just in case she does love you. We know how life can end in a flash.”
“All right,” Luke said quietly.
“Luke,” Archer snapped in the only way a big brother could.
“I’ll tell her, kiss her, whatever, by the end of the weekend. I’ll make a move, and we’ll see.”
“Good. If she does love you, then get married, don’t fuck about. Let’s start making our own families up at the cottages and bring happiness back to these halls and fuck Cynthia Turner. Let her have the main house. The cottages and plenty big enough for us. ”
“Right. On that note, do you think I’d be allowed to get into the study? Or is it only the eldest allowed in there?”
Archer pulled a set of keys out of his pocket and twisted off a key.
“That will let you in. I’m sure Bailey won’t bar the way if you have a key. All I ask is that it’s only you that goes in there. Let it just be family for now. I haven’t had time to look around, and while I trust Freya, if there are deep dark secrets in there, I’d rather know first.”
“That’s a deal. I’m looking for old maps of the island. Bailey said our great-great-great-grandfather mapped the whole island, and Cynthia won’t hand them over to the museum.”
“Are you still looking for those florins?”
“Yep. If there are florins and the whereabouts are known, even if it’s a clue, I can’t imagine Cynthia would leave them in that study. When Dad died, we had to go back to the rigs after the funeral. She had all the time in the world to hide away anything of interest.”
“I’m hoping she doesn’t know what she’s looking for, seeing as she was stripped of her inheritance and only gained it when Dad died. Her father would have been too elderly to care.”
“She cares. If there is any chance something might allude to money, you can bet she had stuffed it under her mattress.”
Luke laughed at the picture Archer was painting.
“Seriously, Brother, if you’re miserable in the role of conference and banqueting manager, we’ll find another place for you where you are happy. I don’t want you to regret coming home.”
“Okay, thanks, Archer. I better get to the office before Stan has a fit if I’m not answering the phone. I do not want a spanner on my desk.”
“That is the truth. I think Jason will have words if he produces another spanner from his coat pocket.”
“That was so funny. Right, I’m off, see you later,” Luke said, strolling away with his hands in his pockets, wondering if he could go through with what he’d told Archer he would do.
Confessing to Freya how he felt was monumental, but he didn’t see a way forward unless he told her and found out how she felt about him.