First Class Rescue (First Class Novels)

by Harmon, AJ

  “Well it was a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for your kind hospitality,” he said.

  “You’re welcome,” she replied with just the tiniest hint of a smile.

  *****

  Mary showed Tim to his room. It was in the wing of guest rooms on the second floor. Beth’s room was on the third floor on the opposite side of the house. Apparently, they were not to mingle after dark. Tim tried not to smirk. Their mothers should get along famously.

  Mary left them alone in his suite. For Tim, it was like stepping back in time. The floors were wooden and probably had hundreds of stories to tell about the many guests that had stayed in the room. The walls were papered in a deep red with gold fleur de lis. The draperies, framing the massive window that looked below to the courtyard in the inner part of the ‘U’, were heavy velvet in the same deep red and the massive four poster bed was made of dark wood, matching the floor. The bedding was ivory and plush, and there were two wingback chairs in the corner. Chest of drawers and tables were scattered around the walls all in the same dark wood as the bed. A fireplace on the same wall as the door finished the décor.

  On the opposite wall of the bed, there was a door that led into his en suite bathroom. It had been modernized with indoor plumbing, but there wasn’t a shower, just a massive claw foot tub under another huge window, with a shower hose attached to the faucet.

  In some ways, Tim thought he’d stepped back in time a couple of hundred years and it only enriched the experience of being in England for the first time. Beth spoke of her home with fondness and a hint of sadness. She obviously missed it and after being there for only an hour Tim could understand why.

  He’d been born in Manhattan and had lived there all his life. He’d traveled extensively in the United States and loved the diversity of the people and the culture, as well as the landscape, but even with its billions of yards of concrete, the millions of people, the sweltering heat and the bitter cold winters, he loved New York and would always call it home. And Surrey, England couldn’t have been more different.

  They were both extremely tired. Neither of them had slept on the plane, so he and Beth snuggled together on the massive bed and closed their eyes for just a minute or two. When Tim opened his eyes, he discovered they’d fallen asleep and had taken a two-hour nap. He felt refreshed enough to slip gently from Beth’s arm and tiptoe across the room and sneak out without waking her. If he was going to get to know the family, there was no time like the present.

  Mary was the first person he saw as he ventured downstairs. He guessed her to be in her fifties or so and was a rather plump woman but very friendly and was eager to answer any questions he might have. After inquiring as to the whereabouts of the family, Mary informed him that Mr. Collins and Rupert were out in one of the fields looking at a piece of machinery and Mrs. Collins was in her private study dealing with her correspondence. Emma was in the family room. She pointed him in the right direction.

  He was adamant that no matter how Beth’s family treated him, he was determined to enjoy the trip. After all, he had Beth for his companion. How bad could it be?

  18.

  “I’ll drive,” said Tim as he and Beth walked down the driveway to the car.

  “Are you sure you want to do that?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Of course!” He was cocky. “I can drive a fire truck that’s like fourteen ton! I can handle your mom’s car.”

  “It’s not the vehicle I was referring to,” she said knowingly.

  Beth threw him the keys and as he caught them he grinned. He walked to the door of the Jaguar and paused. “Umm.”

  Beth laughed, took the keys from his hand, and walked around to the other side of the car.

  “Please don’t tell me you’re a big dumb yank who didn’t know the English drive on the left,” she chuckled.

  “I did!” he responded quickly. “But…well, I just wasn’t thinking.” He was mortified.

  “Tell you what, you drive when we’re in America, and I’ll drive when we’re here. Deal?”

  Tim knew when he was beaten. “Deal,” he grinned.

  They were going to the Pig and Pony, the pub in the village just a couple of miles down the picturesque country lane. They’d been at Beth’s family home for two days and Tim was just starting to see some progress with her family.

  The day before, he’d gone out with Rupert to take a look at some of the land they leased to local farmers and then they’d gone into the neighboring village where the offices were for the equipment rental business. The Collins family was obviously vital to the community. The leased thousands of acres to independent farmers and then used their rental company to outfit them, if they needed, with tractors, combines and harvesters and a myriad of other things to maintain the land and make a living. It was actually quite smart. The company had several employees and Mr. Collins only made an appearance at the office a couple of times a week. He was slowly, but surely, letting Rupert take over.

  Rupert was older than Beth by a couple of years and was unattached, romantically speaking. After eating dinner with the family for two nights, Tim could understand his hesitation. Mrs. Collins was sure that every girl Rupert dated was only after the family fortune and Rupert was clearly under his mother’s spell. He sought her approval in everything he said and did.

  Emma on the other hand, couldn’t care less what her parents said and did as she pleased. Her father indulged her and her mother pretty much ignored her. He now understood why Beth decided to leave and go to New York. Her family was completely dysfunctional.

  Driving through the country was something out of an E.M. Forster novel. Beth had convinced him to read ‘A Room with a View’. The lush green fields combined with the colorful wild flowers were a spectacular sight. But as they drove a round the bend and Beth honked the horn, Tim wondered if it would be the last thing he saw.

  “These are one lane roads and you drive like a maniac!” he exclaimed, all but covering his eyes, unwilling to watch his own death, gripping the door. Beth laughed and called him a pansy. They made it to the pub in one piece.

  As they walked into the medieval style building, the bartender dashed from behind the bar and swooped Beth into his arms and kissed her on the cheek with a big ‘smack’. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was about seventy, bald and had three missing teeth, Tim might’ve been worried.

  Beth introduced Tim to those in the pub, everyone knew her and was thrilled to see her, and George, Tim’s new rival, poured them a pint on the house.

  When Tim had been with Rupert, people were polite to him but not friendly. With Beth he could tell they really loved and missed her. It made his heart swell just a little to know what these people thought of her. It was confirmed that he really was a good judge of character.

  He had a pastie, meat and potatoes enveloped in flaky pastry, and a salad for lunch. George continued supplying them with pints. So far, it was the most fun Tim had had on his visit.

  *****

  When Mrs. Collins smiled at him when they returned her keys to her later in the afternoon, Tim wondered if perhaps he was making some headway…that is until she announced that Gerald would be joining them for dinner.

  Beth had told Tim the story of the humane society benefit and her horrendous date with Gerald, whom she not so affectionately called ‘the wanker’. He couldn’t say the news thrilled him.

  “I thought you were going to make a play for Gerald,” Beth asked Emma as the three of them sat in the courtyard before dinner.

  “Well, he was very nice and attentive to me on the flight when we left New York, but he’s just no fun. When he asked me to dinner the week after we got home, I asked him if he would take me to this new club that just opened and he said no! I mean, he wouldn’t even entertain the idea!”

  “Well that’s just grand,” Beth sighed.

  “Do I need to challenge him to a duel?” Tim snickered.

  “Now that would be brilliant!” Emma clapped. “Please do!”

&nbs
p; Beth laughed. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. But just knowing you would take a bullet for me warms my heart.”

  “Why do you automatically assume I’d lose?” He pretended to be physically wounded by her words.

  “Sorry.” She tried to look contrite. She didn’t succeed.

  But it didn’t come to that. In fact, Gerald was quite cordial all evening and left a little after nine after the family had retired to the drawing room to spend the rest of the evening. He said he didn’t want to intrude any longer. Emma had whispered to Tim that he was obviously intimidated by the gorgeous American. He was certainly out of his league with Tim in the house.

  “Anybody up for a game of scrabble?” Rupert asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Mrs. Collins replied. “Our guest,” she whispered.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Beth snapped.

  “Well,” her mother began, “I wouldn’t want him to be uncomfortable since he is a fireman,” she sneered a little more than she probably should have.

  “Fire fighter!” Beth yelled. “And I’ll have you know that Tim graduated magna cum laude from NYU in fire science AND received one of the highest scores on the FDNY’s written exam. I think you are the one who should be afraid of playing him!” Her face was bright red, her teeth were gritted and she stood with her fists clenched at her sides. “Get the board Rupert!”

  As they gathered around the table, Emma refusing to play because it was boring, Beth leaned over and whispered into Tim’s ear.

  “You’re going to have to win you know.”

  Tim rolled his eyes. “No pressure,” he whispered back.

  “And you should probably know that my mother has never lost a game…that I know of.”

  Tim gave Beth a look of disgust. “Thanks for getting me into this.”

  “You’re welcome,” she grinned innocently. “Go get ‘em!” she said in her best American accent.

  Needless to say, Tim didn’t win. Mrs. Collins did, but only by twelve points which, according to Mr. Collins, was the closest anyone had come to beating her in a long time.

  “Well done Tim,” Mr. Collins patted him on the back.

  “Quizzes helped me a lot. I got that blank at just the right moment. And thank you for giving me the triple Mrs. Collins.”

  “Hmph. Yes well, good game. You surpassed my expectations.”

  Tim could see how difficult it was for her to admit that.

  She excused herself for the evening and Rupert followed shortly behind her. Mr. Collins said he had work to do in his study and said goodnight, leaving Beth and Tim alone with Emma.

  “So why are you here?” Emma asked.

  “We’re here for a visit,” Beth answered somewhat offended by the question. “I’m allowed to come home you know.”

  “I know, but it seems like there’s something else…something you’re not telling us.”

  Beth snorted. “When and if there is something to tell, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Sure I will,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she walked out of the room.

  Beth shook her head. “Finally alone,” she smiled.

  “Actually,” Tim said, “There’s something I need to take care of.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’ll be back.”

  “Tim? What are you doing?” she yelled at him as he closed the door behind him.

  *****

  Tim had encouraged Beth to take this trip. He wanted to meet his future in-laws and he wanted them to meet him and while he wasn’t old-fashioned, he knew Beth’s family was steeped up to their noses in family and cultural tradition and he wanted to do this right.

  The door to Mr. Collins study was open and Tim peeked inside. Beth’s father was sitting behind his desk, his glasses perched on his nose, working on a laptop.

  It’s now or never, he told himself and despite the butterflies in his stomach he lightly knocked on the door and walked in. He was never scared when he ran into a burning building. He respected the fire and was cautious, but never afraid. Walking into Mr. Collins study however, he was literally petrified.

  Mr. Collins looked up as Tim approached the desk. “Yes?”

  “I was hoping, sir, to have a few minutes of your time.”

  Mr. Collins motioned him to sit in one of the leather chairs in front of the desk and he closed the lid of his laptop. “Just boring email anyway. What can I do for you?”

  Tim looked around the room. There was a wall of shelves behind the desk that housed books and books and more books. There were also several framed photographs of the family. Mr. Collins followed Tim’s gaze to a small frame off to the side. He leaned back and grabbed it.

  “This was Beth at her first fox hunt,” he smiled. “No, don’t worry,” he added after seeing Tim’s horrified expression. “We don’t hurt the foxes, but it’s still good fun to take the dogs and go for a ride.”

  “Beth’s talked about Esmeralda,” Tim nodded. “She loves that horse.”

  “Have you been to see her?”

  Tim nodded. “We went riding yesterday, although I held her back. It was my first time on a horse.”

  “Really?”

  “New York isn’t a horse friendly place,” he smiled.

  “No, I guess not. So what is it that you want to talk to me about?”

  “Well, sir, you have probably guessed that I have feelings for your daughter, well, I’m in love with her.”

  “Hmmm.”

  “I want to marry her so I would like to ask you for her hand.”

  There was a long pause. Tim didn’t know if he should say something. Beth’s father just stared at him so Tim started to ramble.

  “I know that you are concerned about her future and security, but I assure you that I have a good job that pays a decent living and I can provide for her financially.”

  Mr. Collins still just stared giving Tim no idea what he was thinking.

  “You may consider my profession as dangerous,” he continued, “but I assure you that I do not take unnecessary risks and I am well insured, so, God forbid something did happen, she and our children would be well taken care of. Plus, I’m working my way up and I hope to be Captain in just a few years and that will definitely be a safer job and a lot more money.” Tim decided he should probably just be quiet now.

  It took an eternity for him to speak, but finally Mr. Collins blinked… and then sighed. “Tim, I can see that my daughter obviously loves you and you seem like a nice enough chap but let’s be honest here. You and I both know that me giving you my blessing is irrelevant. You need Beth’s mother’s blessing. And if you can get that in the next three days before you leave, then you have mine.”

  Bloody hell!

  19.

  Tim had three days to make Mrs. Collins fall in love with him as a prospective son-in-law. Mr. Collins had offered to help, if possible, but Tim’s plan was to just be as pleasant and helpful as possible, and, he’d decided that even though Beth didn’t want to, he’d play the ‘Lathem’ card if it came to that. They were not leaving England without both of her parents happy for their upcoming marriage, or at the very least resigned to the fact.

  Mary already loved him. He’d carried in the sacks of shopping and had swept off the courtyard, but Mrs. Collins was proving more difficult. He offered to help her cut flowers in the garden but she declined his help. He suggested they play a game of Scrabble after lunch but again she refused. By the time dinner was served, he’d figured he was out of luck.

  But a strange thing happened over roasted chicken and baked potatoes. She told Tim he should call her Ann. He almost choked on his peas. And then after dinner, she laughed at one of his jokes. Hope swelled as he watched her smile…at him!

  With only two days left at her home, Tim wanted to do something special for Beth, so he caught Ann in the kitchen having her tea while Beth was still upstairs.

  “I w
as hoping you could help me,” he asked, sitting down next to her.

  “What do you need Tim?”

  “When Beth was a child, did she have a favorite place to go? Like a tree house? Or, I don’t know, the attic?”

  Ann smiled. “Actually, whenever we couldn’t find her she’d always be at the stables.” Ann chuckled as the flood of memories came back. “She would go straight from church and her shoes would always need a complete cleaning, and sometimes her frocks too. Yes, I would definitely say the stables.”

  “Do you think you could help me make tonight a very special evening then? I was thinking…”

  Tim shared his plan with Beth’s mother and to his surprise, she happily agreed to help.

  *****

  As requested, Beth was ready for dinner at seven o’clock. She had worn a forest green taffeta dress she found in her closet from years before. She was grateful it still fit.

  Tim had asked her to dress formally and as she met him at the bottom of the staircase she understood why. He was in a tuxedo and looked ridiculously handsome. Her parents were also there, although they weren’t dressed up. This was apparently an evening just for the two of them.

  “You are breathtakingly beautiful,” he smiled and kissed her hand.

  “You clean up nicely too,” she grinned.

  “You are a handsome couple,” Mr. Collins said.

  “Yes,” Ann smiled. “You both look lovely.”

  “Where are we going?” Beth asked.

  “You’ll see,” he replied coyly.

  “Tim?” Ann interrupted. “May I have a quick word?”

  He left Beth’s side and the two of them walked to the other side of the foyer.

  “I don’t know exactly what you have planned for this evening, but Rupert told me about your conversation the other night.”

  Tim gulped.

  “But I want you to know,” she continued, “that even though you aren’t what I had in mind for Beth’s husband, I do see that you love her very much and really, that’s all a mother wants…for her daughter to be loved completely. So, if you would like to marry her, you have our blessing.”