Читать книгу Christmas At Pemberley - Katie Oliver - Страница 37
ОглавлениеWren couldn’t help it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
‘You’re looking very happy today, darling,’ Tarquin observed as he joined her in the morning room and kissed her. ‘Any particular reason?’
She wanted to tell him about the possibility of adopting Caitlin’s baby, but she’d promised not to breathe a word of the pregnancy to anyone, particularly not to Tarquin. ‘I’m just happy to see the sun back out, I suppose. All this snow we’ve had of late, and the dreary grey skies...’
He went to the windows and observed the softening blanket of snow with satisfaction. ‘A few more days of this, and we might even see the ground again.’
‘Just think how fun it’ll be, once we have a child of our own, Tark,’ she said as she joined him and slipped her arm around his waist. ‘We can go sledding, and we’ll build a snowman; and in the summer we’ll go on walks, and pick wild berries, and go sailing on the loch, and...oh, I can hardly wait.’
He glanced at her in surprise. ‘You make it sound as if we’ll have a child very soon. Do you know something I don’t?’
She smiled at him, longing to tell him. But, ‘Of course not,’ she said lightly. ‘Wishful thinking, that’s all. Now – would you like a cup of tea with your toast this morning, or would you prefer coffee?’
Colm let himself outside and paused to study his surroundings in satisfaction. The sky was a clean-swept, clear blue, with nary a cloud – or a flake of snow – to be seen. A few more sunny days like this, and within a week or so, all of the snow would be a distant, melted memory.
He was just about to head down the hill to the gatehouse when the growl of an engine reached his ears. A low-slung sports car crested the drive and proceeded cautiously towards the castle, then slowed to a stop.
Colm frowned. Who in the world?
He watched as a tall, well-dressed man emerged from behind the wheel and stood, resting one arm on the roof. Although his dark hair was peppered at the temples with grey, it did nothing to lessen his attractiveness. He fixed Colm with a pleasant yet quizzical expression.
‘Can you tell me, please,’ he called out, ‘if this is Draemar Castle?’
‘Aye, it is,’ Colm answered. ‘Are you looking for someone in particular?’
‘Yes.’ He glanced at the castle in interest, then returned his attention to Colm. ‘My name is Niall, Niall MacDougal. I’m looking for Miss Caitlin Campbell.’
‘I can’t believe you came here,’ Caitlin hissed ten minutes later, ‘to my parents’ home!’ She glanced back over her shoulder at the face of the castle. ‘Thank God it was only Colm you spoke to ‒ what if my father should see you, what if he or my mother find out you’re here?’
‘They won’t. I’m not planning to stay. Does anyone else besides your grandmother know about us?’ he added.
‘No – but they all will, if they see you out here! And it’s bad enough that grandmamma knows. She’ll have you arrested if she sees you here and finds out who you are…’
‘I had to see you.’ He stepped closer, and his dark eyes searched hers. ‘I came all this way, braved a lot of messy roads in a car that really isn’t made for snowy conditions, to tell you I miss you, Cait. Come back. Come back to Edinburgh. I’ll get you reinstated.’
She shook her head firmly. ‘I can’t come back. It’s impossible.’
‘I’ve started divorce proceedings. I told you I would.’ He lowered his voice. ‘You’re all I’ve thought about.’
‘What about Jeremy?’ she snapped. ‘He’s my friend, Niall, and he’s your son! He’ll be devastated to find out that you and I...’
‘I’m sure he already knows.’ He shrugged. ‘Besides, my son is a grown man. Even if he feels something for you – which you’ve assured me yourself that he doesn’t – he’ll have to come to terms with the situation.’
She turned away. ‘I’m sorry, Niall, but I told you, I can’t do this any more.’
‘Caitlin, wait.’ He caught hold of her arm. ‘Our relationship has nothing to do with Jeremy. He won’t care about you and I.’
‘I think he will. He won’t fancy being the butt of his friends’ jokes, once they find out he’s spending the Christmas holidays in Scotland with his father’s mistress—’
‘Caitlin?
She whirled around, guilt written on her face. ‘Jeremy! What are you doing out here?’
He didn’t answer, but regarded her and his father without expression. ‘I think the better question,’ he said to Caitlin even as his eyes remained on Niall’s, ‘is to ask what he’s doing here?’
The three of them got into the Jaguar at Niall’s suggestion and sped off to the village to find a pub, and lunch.
‘So tell me ‒ why did you come here?’ Jeremy asked his father bluntly after the barmaid had deposited their ploughman’s lunches and a trio of pints.
‘I came,’ Niall said as he picked up his pint, ‘to see Caitlin. And to see you.’
‘Mum says you’ve filed for divorce.’
‘Yes, it’s true. I wanted to tell you the news in person but, as usual, your mother beat me to it.’
‘You didn’t come here to tell me in person,’ Jeremy scoffed. ‘You came to tell Caitlin about the divorce. You couldn’t wait to tell her the happy news.’
Caitlin stared at him. ‘Jeremy, that’s not true.’
‘Of course it’s true. Oh, I heard the rumours at uni,’ he added, ‘but I didn’t believe them. Not until Mum called this morning to tell me herself, that is.’ He threw his napkin down. ‘How could you do it, Caitlin? How could you carry on with my father all this time, and never say a word to me about it, and completely trash my parents’ marriage into the bargain?’
She reached out and laid a hand on his arm. ‘It wasn’t like that, Jeremy, it wasn’t—’
He shook her off. ‘Don’t waste your breath. You two deserve each other.’ He stood up with a loud scrape of his chair.
‘Jeremy,’ Niall commanded in a low but determined voice, ‘sit down.’
‘No, Dad, I won’t, thank you very much. I’ll get a taxi back to the castle; then I’m going home, to Edinburgh. To Mum.’
‘You needn’t leave,’ Caitlin objected.
‘I won’t stay.’ He turned to fix his father with a sardonic smile. ‘I wager I know something you don’t, Dad. Something that even Caitlin doesn’t know that I know about. I overheard her talking with her mum behind closed doors earlier this afternoon.’
Her heart accelerated. ‘What are you talking about?’
His eyes met hers, and he smiled. ‘Will you tell him, or shall I?’
‘Tell me what?’ Niall demanded, glancing at each of them in turn. ‘Will one of you please tell me what’s going on, this instant!’
‘It seems Caitlin’s pregnant, Dad. And you’re the father. Congratulations.’
And with a last, contemptuous glare at the both of them, Jeremy left.
When they returned to Draemar late that afternoon, Jeremy and his Land Rover were gone.
‘When did you plan to tell me, Caitlin?’ Niall asked as he switched off the ignition in front of the castle and turned to look at her. ‘Did you plan to tell me?’
She fiddled with the latch of her seat belt. ‘No, I didn’t. I’m having the baby, but I’m giving it up for adoption.’
‘The hell you are.’
Startled by the resolve in his words, Caitlin lifted her face to his. ‘How can you say that? You have no right to tell me what to do. This is my child—’
‘Our child.’
‘‒and I can’t possibly have this baby! I have my education still to finish. And you’re a bit old to start another family—’
‘Well, thanks for that.’ He leant back against the seat and stared, unseeing, through the windscreen. ‘Is that how you see me? A man who’s past it?’ Anger – and hurt – darkened his eyes as he turned to face her. ‘Shouldn’t the decision to have another family ‒ or not ‒ be mine to make, as well as yours? Who the hell do you think you are?’
‘No – I think the real question is, who do you think you are?’ she snapped. ‘You slept with me, which got me kicked out of uni, and now you’ve gotten me pregnant to boot, and all you’re worried about is your...your male pride? Is that how you see me? As proof of your virility?’
‘No, of course not.’ He let out a short breath. ‘I love you, Caitlin, whether you believe it or not. This isn’t just some passing fling for me. Oh, I’ll admit it – it may have started out that way. But you...you made me fall in love with you. I’ve thrown away my marriage, and I’ve possibly ruined my relationship with my son – but I won’t let you throw us away.’
He reached out and took her hands, and his eyes searched hers. ‘I love you. I love this baby. I want you – both of you. Only say that you’ll marry me, Caitlin Campbell, and come back to Edinburgh, and be my wife.’
