She felt tears prick her eyes. How foolish of her to let herself fall for a guy who didn’t feel the same way. How could he when he’d not called her once during that whole day.
Barbara looked up and caught Prudence watching her with a look of concern. Prudence excused herself from a group of people and came over to her.
She sat beside her and said, “Barbie, I’m sure Wills will return soon. He’s generally a man of his word. If he wasn’t coming he would have called.”
That was when Barbara knew that her friend was aware of her feelings for William. Suddenly, she felt as though everyone in the room knew that she was sulking over a man who did not return her feelings.
She excused herself, saying that she had a headache and would retire for the evening. Once there, buried in the comfort of the soft bed, the dam broke and she bawled. After her tears slowed she was so drained that she drifted off to sleep.
~*~*~*~
Barbara didn’t know how long she had been sleeping when the sound woke her. She wasn’t sure where it was coming from so she shifted her head on the pillow and listened. Then she heard it again. It was a soft knock on the bedroom door.
Thinking that it was Prudence she said, “Come in.” Her voice sounded husky from all the crying.
She cleared her throat, sat up in bed, and called out more clearly, “Come in.”
The door opened. William stood there in the glow of the illuminated hallway.
“They told me you weren’t well. I didn’t want to disturb you but I didn’t want to go to bed without seeing you either.” He held on to the door, seeming to debate whether he should come further into the room.
It was sheer control, and possibly pride, that kept Barbara rooted to the bed and prevented her from launching herself at him and kissing him.
“Wills, you made it back. What time is it?”
He glanced at his watch. “Eleven thirty.”
He hesitated, then asked, “May I come in? I feel strange peering at you through the darkness.”
“Yes,” she replied and turned on the bedside lamp.
He came in and reached behind him to close the bedroom door. He took one look at her tear-stained face and immediately rushed over and sat on the bed beside her. His hands reached out and gently held her head as he scrutinized her with a look of concern.
“Were you crying? Does your head ache that badly?”
Barbara gave a short, embarrassed laugh and tried to look away. “No, it’s not that.”
“What is it then? I can see you were crying. Why? What’s happened?”
His earnest expression of concern caused her eyes to fill with pools of tears again. She met his gaze and said honestly, “I just missed you so much today and when you didn’t call…well…I thought that you weren’t going to come back or that you didn’t care about me and I…”
“Oh, Barbara,” he muttered and with a low growl pulled her roughly towards him and covered her mouth with his.
That was all it took to unleash the flood gates of pent up passion that had all but consumed them both for those last few weeks. Every touch, every heated look they had shared now seemed to reach a climax. Barbara melted in William’s arms and moaned as she returned his kiss with absolute fervor. Her response spurred him on and the kiss deepened.
Several minutes had passed when William pushed her back on to the bed. She went willingly, pulling him towards her as she did so. He followed her, then, just before his chest reached hers, he halted his downward descent by planting his palms flat on the bed on either side of her. He resisted the hands that pulled on his shirt.
Barbara, her chest heaving, looked at him questioningly and realized that he appeared to be trying to gain control, to reign in his emotions.
She ran her hands through his hair and asked breathlessly, “What’s wrong? Why’d you stop?”
“Because if we don’t stop we may end up doing something my grandmother strongly disapproves of happening under her roof.”
Barbara bit her lip.
“That’s not going to happen. We just met, what kind of girl do you think I am?”
William shook his head. “Nonetheless, I should leave,” he said in a low husky voice.
Instead of leaving, William leaned down and kissed her passionately for a few more minutes.
Barbara began to unbutton his shirt. Shirt unbuttoned, she ran her hand over his muscular chest. William moaned. All Barbara could think about was getting as close to him as possible.
The shirt was off and her hands roamed freely over his back as his hands began to lift the edge of the flimsy tank top she wore.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside in the corridor.
William and Barbara froze.
The sound of voices could be heard. The voices came nearer to the bedroom door. They were heard just outside. Then, they retreated down the hallway.
William and Barbara, still locked in each other’s arms like garden statues, exhaled relieved breaths in unison.
A few moments later he prized himself away from her and abruptly stood.
He rubbed a hand over his face and took several deep breaths. He retrieved his shirt from the floor and as he dressed his breathing gradually grew steady.
When he was finished he turned to her and said, “Barbara, I think it’s best that I leave. Before I go, I just want to clarify one thing.”
She was all eyes and ears as she watched him.
“My dad called late last night and asked me to return to London this morning. We’re setting up a subsidiary of Lamport Financials in Japan by merging with another company there. I’m overseeing that merger. Dad wanted me to meet with the CEO, Mr. Ichiro, to finalize some things. I had to leave quite early this morning to get to London in time. Before I left I came to your room and peeped in but you were still sound asleep.”
He smiled at the memory.
“Anyway, I spent the entire day in meetings but you were never far from my thoughts, believe me. Just when I thought I’d get away and be back in time for the cocktail party, Mr. Ichiro asked us to have dinner with him and his team. I wanted to decline but Dad said it would be an insult to him if I did, so I stayed on for dinner.”
He stuck his hands in his pockets and appeared to debate whether he should say more. Then, looking into her eyes, he added, “When we got through dinner it was 9:30 p.m. I could have spent the night in London but I didn’t think I could go a whole day without seeing you.”
Barbara’s breath caught at his words.
He hesitated then came forward and sat beside her on the bed again. He reached out a hand and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He stared deep into her eyes. “Don’t even think for one second that I didn’t miss you, sweetheart, because I absolutely did.”
Barbara sighed and reached out to caress William’s cheek with the back of her hand.
“See you in the morning,” he said. He caught her hand and kissed it, got up and left the room.
Chapter 11
When Barbara awoke the next morning, a smile of joy spread across her face as she immediately recalled the events of the previous night. She rubbed her eyes and stretched as she thought of the implications of William’s confession. William Lamport had feelings for her! All was well with the world again.
As she took her bath, Barbara tried not to think beyond that. She did not dare to dream that there might be a future for a British aristocrat and a mixed-race American with a lower class background.
She pondered her closet choices and selected a decidedly summer dress to match her bright mood as thoughts continued to run amok through her head.
She knew that she would soon be going to Hollywood to start her next film and that William would return to work at Lamport Holdings.
She slipped on the yellow strapless paisley print full length dress with its tight bodice and flowing skirt and resolved that she would take one step at a time and enjoy these precious moments with William. She would climb those mountains when she got to them
.
Barbara carefully applied makeup to simultaneously highlight her eyes and conceal the puffiness under them – a result of last night’s waterworks. She used the curling iron to style her hair in a flip reminiscent of Farrah Fawcett.
She surveyed herself in the mirror as she clasped the gold Venetian box chain necklace around her neck and was immensely satisfied with her appearance. She had kept it pretty natural for the last few weeks, wearing very little makeup. Today, though, she had ramped up the movie star glamour.
When she went down to breakfast she was not disappointed by William’s reaction.
He had been reading the newspaper and sipping tea when she walked in. He looked up at her and did a double take. He stood slowly, placing the paper absently on the table, and mouthed “wow!” as he looked her up and down.
When she reached him he took her in his arms and gave her a prolonged hug and a kiss on the cheek, conscious that they had an audience.
The twins were watching her in awe. “You look amazing,” Doris said.
“Yes. So pretty!” Delys agreed.
As he pulled out Barbara’s chair for her, William said, “Yes, girls, she does, doesn’t she?”
He looked at Barbara and asked, “You don’t have plans for today, do you?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Good,” he said. “Because we’ve decided that since you are actually a tourist we are all going to do touristy things with you today.”
The touristy things began with a day trip of Sussex attractions. William and Barbara traveled together in his Porsche, while Peter, Sue and Penelope rode in Peter’s Jaguar, and Richard drove Prudence and the twins in his Volkswagen Beetle.
Who knew there was so much to do in Sussex? They visited elegant stately homes, not unlike Rother Hill Manor, ending with 1066 Battle of Hastings Abbey and Battlefield. They not only explored the field but also explored the atmospheric abbey ruins and stood on the very spot where King Harold was said to have died.
There were several persons who came up to them and asked Barbara for her autograph, some asked to take a photograph with her. William tried not to get annoyed at the intrusion. After all, Barbara was a celebrity. This was a part of her life.
As William and Barbara walked hand in hand, exchanging long, loving looks and secret smiles, it was obvious to all and sundry that they were a couple.
“Penny for your thoughts,” William whispered.
“I was just thinking how apt it is that we’re in the place William the Conqueror fought and won a battle.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because you, William, are conquering my heart.”
William laughed. “You make it sound as though there is a battle involved.”
Barbara sighed. “There is. It’s between my heart and mind. My mind tells me that I’m getting in too deep, that there’s no future for us and I’ll only get hurt. My heart says to just enjoy the here and now.”
William didn’t reply.
They walked on for a few more minutes. He suddenly grabbed her hand and pulled her behind one of the ruins.
Barbara backed up against a wall and he stood in front of her. “What’re you doing?” she asked breathlessly.
He placed his hands on the wall behind her, on either side of her head, then he leaned in and kissed her. Barbara grabbed the front of his shirt and drew him closer.
When they finally parted he said, “Tell your mind that I’m in this for the long haul.”
He kissed her again. “…and tell you heart that it can enjoy the now as well as the future.”
He kissed her once more. “…because I’m not going anywhere.”
They ate lunch at the Battle of Hastings Abbey café. Barbara and William shared a plate of fish and chips, playfully feeding the food to each other.
Richard groaned at this display of puppy love. “Good grief! Would the two of you get a room already?”
After lunch they drove to the Goodwood Motor Circuit. During the ride Barbara and William chatted about many things including William’s love of sports cars.
“Cars are my one extravagance,” he admitted matter-of-factly. With a boyish grin, he shared how he had begun collecting vintage sports cars since he was sixteen and now had seven cars which he kept at his parents’ country residence in Berkshire.
Ultimately, their day out was extended to two days because they were back out again the next day to watch a play at the Chichester Festival Theatre.
After the play ended, the Foster clan split up. Prudence went shopping with Doris and Delys while Peter, Sue and Richard returned to the estate.
William took Barbara to lunch at an Italian restaurant, located just a few minutes away from the theatre. While there, she asked him a question that had been on her mind for some time.
“Wills?”
He was digging into his antipasto and didn’t look up when he responded, “Hmm?”
She hesitated for a moment and then blurted out, “Tell me about Victoria Compton.”
William looked up at her in surprise. He finished chewing his food, dabbed at the corners of his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. He searched her face and with a slight shrug reached for his bottled water.
“What do you want to know?” He asked.
“Why did you two break up?”
“She’s the one who broke it off.”
“Oh.” Barbara was thinking hard. What did that mean? Did it mean that he hadn’t wanted to break up but she had? That wasn’t good news.
Maybe he heard the disappointment in her voice because he leaned forward and reached for her hand, his blue eyes searching her brown ones.
“It’s okay. I was relieved that she did because I’d been planning to do it. I wasn’t in love with her anymore. Honestly, I don’t think I ever was. I was attracted to her and she seemed like a good match for me.”
“What do you mean ‘seemed like a good match for you?’ Do you mean personality wise?” she asked, puzzled.
“I was referring to us having similar family backgrounds. Victoria’s father, Andrew Compton, is the Earl Compton and he and my dad have been best buds since their Eton days. She’s got three older brothers and we spent time playing together during mutual visits to our parents’ homes.”
“So you’ve known her for a long time. You must have been good friends then.”
He took a sip of his water and shook his head. “Not really. I played mainly with her brothers. She was a rather prissy sort of girl and she seemed to hate the outdoors. Then she went to boarding school and I lost track of her for many years. She had a coming out ball about three years ago and that’s how we became reacquainted.”
“Coming out ball? What’s that?”
“It’s a kind of old fashioned ritual where a girl is presented to fashionable society at the age of 18. I’m sure you’ve heard the word debutante.” When Barbara nodded he continued. “Right. So this young woman makes her debut on society and can now participate in many of the festivities and parties of the season. Anyway, at this ball I discovered that Victoria had really blossomed. We danced at the ball and she confessed that she’d had a crush on me when we were growing up. That got my attention and we started dating soon after that.”
“How long did you date before you decided to get married?”
William took another sip of his water. “Let me see. I returned to Cambridge after the summer ended and we kept up our relationship long distance. Then I went off to Oxford to do my Masters. So we’re talking roughly two years apart. Then when I returned home I went to work for Lamport Holdings for a few months before we decided to get married. So in all about two and a half years.”
“So, you knew her pretty well by the time you decided to marry her?”
“You can’t get to really know a person when you’re living miles apart from them. So, no, I didn’t really know Victoria. All I knew was that she was very pretty, she had all the right social graces and that she’d probably make a suitable
wife.”
“What changed? Why did you decide to end things?”
“I was now spending more time with Victoria and I began to see her for who she really was. I realized that I didn’t like her very much. I found her to be incredibly self-centered and selfish. The thought of being joined to her for the rest of my life became rather unappealing, to say the least.”
“Why didn’t you tell her?”
“I guess there was such a heavy expectation within both our families that we’d marry, I felt like I would be disappointing many people if I broke the engagement. When I finally decided to, however, she beat me to it. She’d asked me to join her and some friends for a vacation in Mustique. I told her that I was working on a business venture and that if I could get away I would be visiting my grandparents – alone. She got furious, told me that she was sick of how I was treating her and threw the engagement ring at me. Then she stormed out. I haven’t heard from her since.”
He looked out into the distance. “My one regret is that I didn’t end things months ago instead of stringing her along. That was cruel of me.”
Barbara reached out and squeezed his hand. “You can’t change the past, Wills. All you can do is to learn from it and vow never to repeat the same mistake. Maybe you should contact her and apologize for how you treated her. Put closure to the relationship.”
He nodded. “Perhaps.”
Suddenly he smiled, drew her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Most women would never have suggested that I make amends with my ex. You are amazing, has anyone ever told you that?”
“Maybe, but it feels so good hearing it from you. So what’s on the agenda for the rest of today?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “It looks like I’ve created a monster. Do you expect to be entertained every moment of every day, Miss Dickson?”
“Well, you’re the one who set yourself up as activities director, Mr. Lamport!” she teased. “So you need to keep me in the life to which I’ve become accustomed.” She placed her elbows on the table, rested her chin on her intertwined fingers and smiled at him happily.
The Royal Couple: A Christian Romance (Royals Book 1) Page 11
