Page 28 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

A little later, over coffee with Chris in the big, open kitchen, Kate wondered again how disloyal those fantasies might be. And she smiled stiffly through her hangover and agreed to walk to a little deli café where Chris promised her breakfast and the best Eggs Benedict ever; from there, he would head into work. There’s this client from Canada, you see and . . .

She was more of a bacon sandwich girl, really. He should know that by now.

* * *

That walk the other week had set back her recovery like nothing else. Here she was, practically crippled again, pitching up at his cottage defiantly. He knew she’d been the one to instigate it, and Lady Amelia, God love her, had brought her.

Cat closed her eyes and parted her lips, and her face was inches from his. He just stared at her for a moment, marvelling at how this girl had come into his life like a whirlwind. Then he closed the gap between them.

He had just intended to kiss her gently, scared in case he frightened her. But once their lips met, it was as if their two souls became one. The chaste sentiment disappeared as their tongues met, seeking each other, as if it they were always meant to. And Will couldn’t have stopped kissing her if his life had depended on it. But eventually, he ran out of breath and had to.

Her arms were around his neck, stretching up from her sitting position, pulling him towards her. He leaned down, his hands gently on her waist, then buried his face in the sweet, sweet curve of her neck and drew her closely to him.

‘Oh, Cat. I’m sorry.’

‘Sorry? What for?’ She pulled away and stared up at him, confused.

‘I ask one thing from you. If I ever should leave here, will you keep me in your memory? No matter what happens?’

‘So you are leaving?’

‘I didn’t say that. But if there should come a time where I’m not here, will you do that for me?’

‘Will. I’ll never forget you. It would be like forgetting myself.’ She searched his face, her eyes puzzled. ‘I—’

‘Cat!’ A shout from the riverbank, and a slim, blue-clad figure hurtling towards them. ‘Cat! You have to leave, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Will, but she has to come back now. Right now!’

‘Lady Amelia!’ Will pulled away from Cat almost guiltily. It was madness; Lady Amelia had already seen them together. She knew exactly what was happening; she was pretty and giggly, but he knew that she was sharp as a tack and would have been standing sentry, lurking somewhere near the Faerie Bridge and watching the Hall whilst they spent this time together.

‘Charles has brought Edward Mountfort home. I’ve just seen the carriage pull up and I ran as fast as I could. Oh, my goodness.’ She bent double, clutching her side. ‘I have a terrible stitch! Please — Cat. You have to come home.’ The girl stood up and swept over to the Bath chair. She prised the brakes off and wheeled it hurriedly towards Cat. ‘Come on. Will, would you help her? Would you?’

‘Don’t talk about me as if I’m not here!’ Cat complained. ‘I’m perfectly capable of getting back into that thing. I — oh!’ Will didn’t give her time to say anything else.

He gathered her up in his arms and held her close as he placed her gently back into the chair. ‘Go now. It’s safest.’

‘But Will . . .’

‘But nothing.’

He kissed her again as he settled her in the chair. ‘I’ll see you soon. But you have to go now.’ He looked at Lady Amelia. ‘Do you want me to help? I can push her to the bridge.’

‘That would be wonderful. Thank you.’

‘Will . . .’ Cat protested again, but Will just took hold of the chair and headed towards the bridge. He hated doing it. He felt he was, in some way, handing her over to this Mountfort man like a parcel, all neatly packaged up in her fine gowns and ready to be unwrapped and put on display. A red-hot arrow shot through him at the thought. He recognised it as jealousy. He didn’t like himself for it, but he damned well couldn’t help it.

* * *

Theo had a couple of hours to spare between jobs, so he decided to waste some time — sorry, use it productively — and plan his next camping trip.

He had quite liked that field near Hartsford, and he wouldn’t be averse to going back there. It was a nice village — friendly, welcoming and lively enough if you wanted it that way. Or, apparently, you could avoid the wine bar and go to the country pub if you wanted to relax a little more.

He sat back at his desk and put his hands behind his head. The more he thought about it, the more appealing the idea seemed. He’d had a really odd dream about the place as well a few nights ago. He was living in the museum and talking to Cat in the back garden but it was all a bit vague. Cat? He’d woken up and corrected himself. He meant Kate, of course. It might have been because he’d had cheese on toast for his supper and it made him remember her.

Actually, to tell the truth, he hadn’t needed any reminders, because he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind in the first place. Images of her had been popping up whenever he least expected it and he knew this yearning to go back to Hartsford had nothing to do with the village itself. It was her, Kate, who drew him.

Theo’s mind drifted a little and he wondered if Hartsford was one of those places which were lovely from the outside, from a tourist perspective, but not so lovely if you lived there. He didn’t get that impression. He would really like to go back to the Folk Museum as well. Theo smiled to himself thinking again of red-headed Kate and her penchant for Worcestershire sauce. He wondered if she would even remember him if he went back? It had been a few weeks and he was sure she would have seen and forgotten plenty of faces by now.

It was the beginning of July, but as his job also depended a little on the tourist trade, he knew he would soon be even busier than usual. As he’d told Kate, he often worked for museums and animal shelters and they wanted everything in place by the time the summer holiday crowds started visiting. The horses had to have new shoes, and the carriage rides through the grounds of the stately homes all depended on the horses being prepared for the job.