Harshly he bit out, 'Yes, you're right to move away from me, because if I once lay my hands on you I won't answer for the consequences!' He glared across at her, fists clenched, only an iron will-power stopping him from catching hold of her and shaking her viciously. 'Do you know what your meddling has done?' he demanded savagely. 'My mother went to see a specialist without telling me, and now she's determined to go ahead with a course of treatment if it's at all possible. To go through all that pain, suffering, hope, and then despair again! And just because an interfering little fool put the idea into her head. And after you'd promised me that you wouldn't say anything to her!'
'Stop it!' Kirsty shouted at him. 'I didn't make any promises. You just ordered me not to and took it for granted that I'd obey you. But I bet you've never stopped to look at it from your mother's point of view. Do you know what it's like to be imprisoned in a wheelchair, to be entirely dependent on other people for your every need? All there is is hope. Hope that the next cure will be the right one, or the one after that. Your mother had given up hoping, that was why she was letting herself just fade away. And you were to blame, because you were the one who'd taken hope away from her, condemned her to stay in that wheel' chair for the rest of her life because you were too much of a coward to let her keep on trying. It was you who couldn't bear the pain and suffering, not her!’
His eyes murderous, Gyles took two steps towards her, unable to control himself any longer. Wrenching the spade from her he flung it contemptuously out of the way. Kirsty put up her hands in a futile attempt to defend herself, but he caught her wrists, twisting them cruelly so that she gave a cry of pain. His mouth curled in satisfaction.
'I could kill you for what you've done. You officious, do-gooding little bitch! If you were a man I'd beat, the hell out of you. Everything was planned for this
cottage, but you had to come along and buy it when I wasn't here to stop you.' His mouth twisted viciously. "I tried to get rid of you by every means I knew, but you wouldn't go, would you? And now you've deliberately defied me.' His eyes burned into hers and his grip on her wrists tightened as he slowly forced her down on to her knees, taking a sadistic kind of pleasure in his power over her.
Kirsty exerted all her strength to try to resist him, but she might as well have tried to break free from an iron vice. She knelt on the ground, gazing up into his furious face, too frightened even to scream, and more terrified than she had ever been in her life. She became very still, hardly daring to breathe. ' For a long moment he stared down at her, then he .suddenly straightened, letting go of her wrists abruptly. His face twisted as if with pain. "God, why the hell did you have to come here?' he groaned almost in a tone of desperation.‘
And then he turned and strode away, leaving her kneeling on the grass and gazing after him, the wood smoke still drifting lazily into the air.
CHAPTER EIGHT
When Penny came home-she found Kirsty sitting at the kitchen table, just staring blankly down at the surface, her face pale and wan.
'Why, Kirsty, what is it? Don't you feel well?'
'What?' Kirsty lifted her head abstractedly. 'Oh, No, it's just a headache, that's ail.'
She tried to pull herself together and help to prepares meal, but when they sat down to eat she made only a desultory attempt to pick at the food before pushing the plate away.
I'm sorry, Penny, I don't feel very hungry.' She put her elbows on the table and leant her head on her hands.
Her sister looked at her in concern. 'Perhaps you've caught a bug or something. Why don't you take couple of aspirins and have an 'early-night?'
'Yes, I—I think I will, if you don't mind.' , She went upstairs and Penny brought her a glass of water and the tablets.
'Kirsty, is something troubling you? It isn't Simon, is-it? I know you only came here to help me and that Simon wanted you to go back to London. You didn't break up because of me, did-you? Because you wouldn't leave me?' The younger girl frowned unhappily. 'I couldn't bear to think that you'd lost Simon for that reason, and I'm not going to let you do it. We'll put the cottage on the market straight away and with any luck we'll get our money back on it so that we can get another fiat in London. I'll go to an estate
agent first thing in the morning,' she added determinedly.
Kirsty put down the glass' and Caught her hand. 'Hey, hold your horses! Simon and I broke up for the simple reason that I realised I didn't care for him any more. Even if we went back to London I wouldn't want to date-him again. It's over completely.' She managed a wan smile. 'So don't let's have any more talk about leaving Notley. And anyway, I've an idea that Dave just might have something to say about that.'
Penny blushed and laughingly agreed, then, reassured, drew the curtains and left her alone.
The aspirins didn't seem to do any good at all; the pain in Kirsty's head gradually grew worse as she lay awake, her mind full of regrets and unhappiness. If only She could have met Gyles under different circumstances, if only they hadn't quarrelled from the beginning. But 'if only' was the most useless phrase in the English language. She'd just got to face the fact, that the whole thing was hopeless and had been from the start. Even if they had met under more favourable circumstances, Gyles wouldn't have been interested in her. He was rich and well-born. What would he want with an ordinary girl more than ten years his junior? He would probably end up by marrying some rich girl from his own circle who would know how to run his home and behave correctly as the Squire's wife, Kirsty thought dismally.
But even though he would never be interested in her as a wife, the way he had kissed her at the ruined castle had certainly shown that he was fully aware of her sexually. The memory of those kisses came back to torment her now, sending a fierce surge of sexuality through her and making her body ache with longing, so that she turned and dug her fingers hard into the pillow to try to still her emotions. Surely he must have felt something for her to have kissed her like that? But then she remembered that he had done so only after he had seen Simon in her bedroom. He must have thought then that she was cheap, and decided to take advantage of her himself. And instead of resisting him as she should have done she had only added to his bad impression of her by responding to his kisses. Miserably she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. But the hurt wouldn't go away, it was like a sharp pain that was always there and only time would turn it into a numb ache that would make life bearable again.
She was still awake when she heard Penny go to bed, and later still when she heard footsteps in the lane outside. Her ears pricked and she lay tense, wondering if it was Gyles taking a late night stroll. The footsteps came nearer, slow, unhurried. They paused alongside the house and Kirsty could almost see Gyles in her mind. Was he looking up at her window? Wondering about her? Or was he just wishing that she would get the hell out of his life? After, a couple of minutes the footsteps could be heard going back up the Jane, moving more briskly now. Kirsty turned her face into the pillow and quietly cried herself to sleep.
She was in a fog, a dense dry fog that threatened to envelop her. And she was hot, so hot. She tried to struggle through the fog, fighting against it because she knew it was vitally urgent that she got through it. But it was so thick that it wrapped itself round her and began to strangle her.
Then, suddenly, she was awake, coughing and gasping for breath. Her eyes were sore and smarting, but she was able to see that the room was full of smoke. Dragging herself out of bed, Kirsty managed to stagger to the window and lean out, her choking lungs grabbing
gratefully at the pure air, her eyes watering painfully. Above her head she could hear a crackling sound, and when she looked up she saw to her horror that the thatch above her room was on fire, the flames feeding greedily on the dry straw. Her immediate thought was for Penny and she picked up the first thing that came to hand to cover tier mouth and nose and made a dash back across the room to the door. The smoke was so thick that at first she couldn't find it and had to grope along the wall, banging herself against the furn
iture, and taking the cloth away from her face she tried desperately with both hands to find the door handle. Immediately she started to inhale the smoke again and she was almost on her knees when her panic-stricken fingers found the handle at last.
Thankfully she crawled out of the room and managed to pull the door to behind her. For a few agonised moments she lay on the floor, taking in great gasps of breath, but then her fear for her sister brought her to her feet and she managed to get to Penny's room, But there was hardly any smoke here, it all seemed to be at her end of the house.
'Penny! Wake up!' She tried to speak loudly, urgently, but her voice only came out as a gasping croak and she had to shake the younger girl awake. 'Fire. Got to get out,' she managed as soon as Penny opened her eyes.
Somehow they got down the stairs and out of the back door before Kirsty's legs gave under her and she collapsed on to the grass while Penny went running to Mrs Anderson's to phone for the fire brigade, but when she came back she said someone had already called them and they were on their 'way- Everything seemed to happen at once then. Other neighbours came rushing along in various stages of dress, some in dressing-gowns, others with trousers and jackets pulled over their pyjamas. Dave was one of the first to arrive and, after making sure that, they were all right, dashed into the house and with several other people started to bring out their furniture and stack it in the garden, while two men with pitchforks tried to pull the burn’ ing thatch from the roof.
Kirsty just stood under a tree and Watched numbly, unconscious of the chill night air that crept through her thin cotton nightdress and bare feet. The fire was all on the side of the house nearest her bedroom, where the thatch dipped down almost to the hedge. There was a lot of noise and shouting going on around her and several people came up to ask if she was all right, but Kirsty didn't answer them, she didn't even hear them, she could only stare at the fire, her breath still rasping and painful in her throat. And then suddenly Gyles was there. He was dressed but looked as if he had thrown his clothes on in a hurry, his shirt open to the waist, his hair dishevelled. He looked wildly round and then caught hold of the arm of a man who was hurrying past' carrying a chair and spoke to him urgently. The man turned to point in her direction, but he'd hardly finished speaking before Gyles was beside her.
'You're safe! Thank God you're safe!' And then she was in his arms and being held so tightly that he hurt her.
But she didn't mind. She had seen the look of overwhelming relief on his face when he'd known that she was safe and nothing else mattered but that. She clung to him unashamedly, oblivious of the people around them, and when he sought her lips she returned his kiss with love and thankfulness, holding nothing back. After he'd raised his head he still held her dose, letting her feel the warmth and reassurance of his arms. And it felt so safe, so right. A great surge of love and longing ran through her and she trembled with emotion, her face pressed against his shoulder.
Gyles loosened his hold and went to move away, but she immediately pressed close to him again. 'No, don't leave me. Please don't leave me.'
His hand moved to stroke her hair gently as he said softly, 'Only to find you a coat. You're shivering with cold.'
Clutching at his sleeve, Kirsty looked up at him, her eyes misty in her pale face. 'No, I'm not cold. It wasn't that.'
' His hands dropped to her shoulders and gripped hard. 'Kirsty.' As he said her name a look of mingled wonder and triumph came into his eyes, and then he said rather ruefully, 'This is a hell of a time to…' But his words were drowned in the wail of the fire engine as it screeched to a stop in the road.
'I'll get you something to put on.' He grinned at her. 'If the firemen see you in just that nightdress they might forget they came to put the fire!'
He went away and for the first time Kirsty realised just how little she had on, and felt herself blushing when she remembered how close he had held her. But when Gyles came back with her yellow raincoat he helped her into it and belted it up quite matter-of-factly, then produced a pair of Penny's sandals for her to wear.
'They're all I could find, I'm afraid, but at least they'll keep you a little warmer,' he said as he knelt to put them on her.
She put a hand lightly on his shoulder to balance herself and he raised his head to look at her. He didn't speak, but a current of something far more powerful than electricity flowed between them and the look in his eyes told her everything she had longed to hear.
Slowly Gyles got to his feet, his eyes never leaving hers, and it was only when somebody called her name that she reluctantly dragged her eyes away from his face. Turning, she found that Penny was talking to one of the firemen and beckoning her to join them. Gyles took her hand and led her across. Only then did she notice that the fire was out and that the fire crew were making sure that there were no lingering embers.
The fire chief greeted her. 'Miss Naylor, your sister here tells me that you discovered the fire?'
Her voice still rather- hoarse, she said, 'Yes, that's right. I woke up and found my room full of smoke.' Involuntarily she shuddered at the memory and Gyles' hand tightened on hers.
' 'That's the room on the right, nearest the lane?'
'Yes.'
'Have you any idea what caused it, miss?'
Kirsty shook her head." 'No, I wasn't feeling very well and went to bed early.' It seemed so long. ago. Then she had been bitterly unhappy because of their quarrel, whereas now—she glanced fleetingly up at Gyles and was immediately reassured—now everything was going to be all right, of ,that there could be no doubt.
But the fireman was speaking again. 'Were there any flames in your room?" v
'No, just smoke. It wasn't until I leaned out of the window to get some air that I saw the flames on the roof.'
'Is there anything else you need to know tonight?" Gyles broke in. 'I really think Miss Naylor ought to see a doctor.'
Kirsty started to protest, but the fire chief said immediately, I was going to suggest it myself Mr Grantham.
I expect we'll be able to Have a better look in the morning to see what caused the fire.'
He went to turn away, but Gyles gave a sudden exclamation and he turned back and looked at him enquiringly.
'Of course, that must be it! Kirsty,,you had a bonfire in the garden earlier. A spark must have carried to the thatch.'
'But I watched it carefully,' she protested. 'And besides, there wasn't any breeze and it was hours ago.'
'Oh, it often doesn't take more than a breath of wind, and the spark could have smouldered in the thatch for some time before it actually took fire,' the fireman told her. 'No, that'll be the cause of it, I reckon. We don't have to look any further.'
Kirsty would have like to argue with him, but talking had irritated her throat and she burst into a fit of coughing.
Gyles looked at her grimly and said to Penny, "I'm taking you both back to the Manor for the rest of the night. Kirsty must see a doctor at once. Come along, my car's outside.'
He spoke so authoritatively that neither of them thought to disobey him, not that Kirsty wanted to, she was more than happy to place herself in his hands and have him take care of her. But first Penny ran across to tell Dave and he followed them to the car, saying, 'Don't worry about your things. I'll make sure everything's all right here.'
Arriving at the Manor, the girls were taken in hand by an efficient woman who introduced herself as Mrs Grantham's nurse and who led them to a guest suite where she ran baths for them and found dean night-clothes. A doctor arrived soon afterwards and pronounced Penny perfectly all right, but warned Kirsty that her lungs and throat would probably feel sore for a few days. .
'But otherwise you're fine, young lady. You had a narrow escape. If you'd swallowed much more smoke you'd have been asphyxiated.'
But even that thought couldn't sober Kirsty's spirits for very long; she was too thankful to be alive—to be alive and in love. She lay quietly in the single bed alongside Penny's and longed for morning- to come. Because in the m
orning she would see Gyles, and she knew that he would make an opportunity for them to be alone together so that he could put into words all the things that his eyes had told her tonight. Her mind filled with the most wonderful thoughts about the future, a dream she still hardly dared to believe might become reality, and she fell asleep with a smile on her lips, still dreaming about tomorrow.
Gyles bad given strict orders that they weren't to be disturbed and they slept late; it was after ten before Penny's voice calling her name finally woke her. Kirsty turned lazily, but one look at the unfamiliar surroundings brought her fully awake.
'Look, someone's brought us some clothes,' Penny remarked as she pointed to two of their own suitcases placed just inside the door. 'Dave must have brought them for us.'
'Or Gyles,' Kirsty put in.
Her sister turned to her with a frown as she knelt to undo the cases. 'Come to think of it; you were getting pretty thick with him last night, not to mention letting him bring us back here. You're not falling for him, are you?'
Kirsty gave the ghost of a smile; falling was hardly the word she would have used to describe the almost unbearable feeling of exhilaration and longing that
filled her heart. 'Yes, I'm rather afraid I am,' she admitted.
Penny stared at her in horror. 'But Kirsty, you can't! Think of all the things he's done to us.'
Kirsty jumped out of bed and sorted out some clothes to wear. Impatiently she said, 'That Wasn't Gyles. I've never really believed that it was and now I'm sure. He just wouldn't do anything like that.' She found some underclothes, and chose a pale lavender shirt blouse and a pleated skirt in a darker shade. Thank goodness they'd been in the wardrobe and, hadn't been soiled by smoke.
Penny started to argue with her, but Kirsty said earnestly, 'I know I'm right about this.' Then more gently, 'Please, Penny, don't spoil today for me.' And her sister fell silent, although the frown between her brows had deepened.
Sally Wentworth - Garden of Thorns Page 14
