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Chapter 08
Amelia-Rose recovered some composure.
"You've caught me at a bad time. I was just having a bath..." Her voice trailed off, indecisively. His foot was wedged very firmly in the door.
"I hope you are not going to send me away without even a coffee." He frowned. "Whatever happened to the bountiful lady of the house that I so long admired? I can't believe you've changed so much now you are living here in the depths of these muddy fields that you want to turn an old friend back onto the motorway without even a 'hello'.
Amelia-Rose looked at him. His face wore an engaging smile. She'd known him for years as a friend of her husband's. They'd eaten together on many occasions and he and his wife, Debra, had spent many joint holidays abroad. Sighing, she stood aside clutching the bathrobe in place and gestured for him to go into the front room.
"I'm not doing that little Lady bit any more," she said briefly. "But you can come in as long as you behave yourself."
He walked past and stood by the fireplace admiring one of the few pictures that had survived the bitter legal separation battle she'd had with her husband.
"Don't worry about me," he said. "It's nice to stretch my legs and spend a few minutes away from the driving wheel."
He continued inspecting the picture. It had always been Amelia-Rose 's favorite. She loved the profusion of colors, the way the dawn rose over the hills and the subtleties of shading of the sea and the sand.
"Worth quite a few quid, if I remember correctly," said John, completely missing the point.
"If that's all you have to say about that picture," said Amelia-Rose, "it won't entertain you long."
He realized she was chiding him, smiled good-naturedly and turned to look at the picture some more.
Amelia-Rose went back upstairs but took much longer to get ready than she expected. It was almost as if she was on autopilot. The blue dress she eventually wore was the third one she'd tried on.
The make up she applied was artfully designed to be unobtrusively perfect. She dried her hair and then brushed it until it had the sheen of ravens feathers.
Part of her insisted that she was making the annoying man in her lounge wait - but another part begrudgingly knew that she was dressing to impress. It had been a long time since she'd had any company at the cottage. She was also cautiously aware that John had all the physical and mental attributes that had long ago drawn her disastrously to Gerard and that John's marriage too had recently failed.
Eventually, she reappeared in the door to the lounge and couldn't resist pausing there knowing it would enhance the effect. John put aside the newspaper and rose to his feet.
"You look absolutely ravishing," he complimented her enthusiastically. "Gerard must have been mad to let you go."
She smiled, nervously.
"Thank you, kind sir ... It's always nice to be appreciated." In an instant, she realized that involuntarily her voice had slowed and was caressing the air between them. "Would you like a coffee or a proper drink?"
"I'll settle for a proper drink - just one perhaps, if you show me where it is, I'll serve you."
The grin that accompanied that remark made it clear that it was an intended double entendre and it was not lost on Amelia-Rose. She tossed her long black hair and crossed to a built-in cupboard by the old fireplace with its dark oak panels.
"All yours," she said as she opened the cupboard door, and stood back elegantly on her high heels, wondering whether it was the double entendre or the drinks she was referring to.
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