Sandra Marton - Mistresses - Bound with Gold / Bought with Emeralds

‘You are not thinking of staying here…are you?’

The shocked incredulity in his voice made Caitlin hesitate; she didn’t honestly know what she was going to do. The plans she had made back in England now seemed absurd. She had dreamed of turning this place into a small guest-house. A vision she had unwisely shared with a few colleagues and friends who had all delightedly assured her they wanted to be the first to book themselves in.

Caitlin cringed as she imagined the expression on their faces if they could see this property. And when word travelled around the circle of their friends and David heard…he would probably laugh. The thought of David laughing at her was almost the last straw.

He had accused her of being too impulsive when she had finished with him and his tone had been patronising. He had honestly believed that she wouldn’t call the wedding off. He’d thought that she would make a token visit to her mother down in London and then return to him, her common sense restored.

And then she had inherited this house and it had been like a lifeline…

Another flash of lightning lit the room and for a second Ray had a clear view of Caitlin, dark hair bedraggled around a face that looked far too pale and eyes that shimmered intensely green.

‘I’ll decide what I’m going to do once I can look at the place properly in the daylight.’ She angled her chin up stubbornly; she wasn’t going to give up on her dream that easily.

‘But you can’t stay here tonight,’ he continued softly.

The sudden gentleness of his tone took her aback.

‘Well, I suppose I’ll go down to the village and book into a hotel.’

‘I don’t think so.’ He turned away and glanced out of the door. ‘The roads further down the mountain will be flooded now. Plus I think you’ll find it hard to go anywhere in your car.’

‘What do you mean?’ She crossed to stand beside him at the door. The sky was a forbidding shade of deep indigo lit every now and then with several jagged streaks of fork lightning that illuminated the trees on the hills with unnatural brilliance. Almost immediately the light was followed by a fierce crash of thunder that reverberated and echoed through the mountains like cannon fire.

‘Flash floods come out of nowhere when the weather is like this,’ Ray said matter-of-factly.

Caitlin could see for herself that water was now flowing like a river down the narrow winding road she had driven up.

‘Plus you’ve parked your car off the road; the tyres will be stuck in the mud by now.’

Following his gaze towards her old estate car, she could see that he was right.

‘I’ll just have to stay here then.’ She tried to sound undaunted, but truthfully the thought of staying in this house, in this storm was making her panic levels rise.

‘Don’t be absurd.’

The scornful remark chafed on raw nerves. ‘Well, have you got a better suggestion?’ She turned and looked up at him.

He didn’t answer immediately and in the pause a brutal roar of thunder tore through the air again.

Then he shrugged. ‘Well, I suppose you’ll have to come home with me, won’t you?’

It wasn’t the most gracious of invitations and there was a part of Caitlin that instantly wanted to refuse out of pride and say, No, thanks, I’ll be fine here. But she was too tired to pretend, so instead she inclined her head. ’Thanks, I’d appreciate that,’ she said.

‘And anyway, I suppose it will give us a chance to talk.’

‘Talk about what?’ She frowned.

For a second his features were illuminated by the lightning, the dark eyes were cool, and there was something about the rugged set of his square jaw that was unyielding.

‘About Murdo leaving you this place, what else? Now let’s get out of here before the roads are completely impassable and we’re both stuck here for the night.’

That thought galvanised Caitlin into following him back out into the rain. Carefully she locked the door behind her and hurried down the steps.

Why did Ray want to talk about Murdo’s will? she wondered as she trailed behind him. But no explanation came to mind and she pushed the question away under more pressing immediate problems. The rain was cold against her face and she realised she hadn’t zipped her coat up again or put her hood up. She felt water striking straight through to her skin and dripping down her back. ‘I’ll just get some belongings out of my car,’ she called after Ray, but he didn’t seem to hear her.

As she struggled to find her overnight case in the dark amidst the chaos of her other belongings Caitlin suddenly thought about the warmth and security of her old life. The apartment she had rented with David had been in a trendy area of Manchester and they had put a lot of time and effort into the furnishings and the decoration. It had been a lovely home. Then she thought about her wedding dress, which still hung in the spare wardrobe. It had been her dream dress, yards of exquisite cream silk with tiny rosebuds around the neckline. In another couple of weeks’ time she would have been Mrs Caitlin Cramer. A sudden knot formed in her throat.

Caitlin found her bag and tugged it out with some impatience. Marrying David would have been a huge mistake, she told herself fiercely. Their relationship was over and she had no regrets because he wasn’t the man she had thought he was.

As she swung around she was surprised to find Ray standing behind her. He reached to take the bag from her. ‘Be careful around here—it’s treacherous underfoot.’

‘Thanks.’ She smiled at him hesitantly. She was glad he’d taken the bag from her but she wasn’t going to take the hand he held out to help her. ‘I’ll manage…’ The words were no sooner out of her mouth than she lost her balance in the mud and stumbled. Only for Ray’s quick reflex action, his arm catching her around the waist, she would have been on the ground. She found herself held close against him, her body pressed against the powerful contours of his. The enforced intimacy was the strangest sensation. For a moment the cold rain beating down over them was forgotten and all she was aware of was his arm holding her securely and the warm, almost electric feeling that his closeness generated.

She extricated herself from him with a feeling of awkwardness. ’Sorry about that.’ She felt breathless as she met his eyes, as if the air was knocked out of her body.

He smiled. ‘I told you the ground was slippery.’

Caitlin looked away from the amused glint in his eyes. She hated it when people said I told you so. And why had she imagined it pleasurable to be close to him? He was the most irritating type of man you could wish to meet.

She walked ahead of him towards his car, picking her way with care, determined not to need any further assistance. The water on the road flooded over her shoes, penetrating inside to her feet, making them squelch as she stepped up onto the running board of his silver fourwheel drive.

‘Is this really the sunny south of France?’ she muttered once they were safely inside the car.

Ray smiled. ‘When it rains here it usually does the job properly. That’s why it’s lush and beautiful.’

‘Is it?’ Caitlin stared out of the windscreen at the dark watery surroundings. ‘I’ll have to take your word for it.’

There was a certain feeling of security being inside this car, it was higher off the ground than Caitlin’s and the leather interior was warm and comfortable. She watched as Ray engaged the gears before negotiating a steep turn in the road. Then as the narrow track widened their way was barred by a gate.

‘This marks the boundary between your land and mine,’ he said, stopping the vehicle.

‘So to get to your property you have to drive through mine?’ she asked frowning. ‘Isn’t that a bit unusual?’