“I’m feeling as if I have no say in my life whatsoever,” Callie said. “Burke has completely taken over and issues orders right and left. And he expects me to jump at his command.”
“Are you going to the country?” Enid asked Callie, but cut her eyes toward Leland.
“I suppose if I don’t go, he’ll come after me.” Callie looked at Leland for confirmation. When he nodded, she sighed, resigned to her fate. “Seamus is napping, but as soon as he wakes, we’ll leave for Kent.”
Burke felt certain that he was doing the right thing—for all of them. He and Callie could find a way to build a marriage together, for Seamus’s sake. And where better to raise a boy than in the country? His estate in Kent belonged to him, unlike the house in Belgravia, the apartments in Paris and New York and the villa in Italy, which had been bought by and were maintained by SPEAR. But Oakwood Farm was his—lock, stock and barrel. The twelve-room Georgian farmhouse dated to the sixteenth-century. A two-acre garden, a swimming pool and a tennis court were part of the hundred acres of farmland, woods and orchards.
By giving Callie and Seamus a place in the country, he could allow Callie some privacy and freedom from his constant companionship. He could live in London during the week and come to the farm on weekends. And once Seamus and he became better acquainted and Callie accepted their marriage as a permanent arrangement, perhaps he would drive down several nights a week. After all, the trip took less than an hour from his office in the city.
When he’d thought of the future, he had occasionally imagined a wife and even children. And he’d usually thought of them living at Oakwood Farm. In an odd way, he was getting exactly what he’d wanted…and yet it was only a parody of the life he had hoped to have one day. He had a wife he didn’t trust. A woman capable of lying to him, of keeping his son a secret from him.
And then there was that long-ago night they had shared. Something else that should have united them, but instead created another barrier between them. What was there about Callie, about the night they had spent together, that was so disturbing his subconscious refused to allow him to remember? If he asked Callie the details of what had happened between them, would she tell him the truth or would she lie to him again?
If he couldn’t remember that night, couldn’t put Callie’s face to the voice, the scent, the feel of the woman, would he ever be able to combine the two women into one?
Perhaps their marriage was doomed to failure, but for Seamus’s sake he would do everything within his power to make it work. Given time, surely Callie and he could forge a bond of some sort. After all, it wasn’t as if they didn’t find each other attractive. The exact opposite was true. Whatever else might be lacking in their relationship, the sex was dynamite. But a marriage, even a sexual relationship, was based on trust, wasn’t it? And he suspected that Callie didn’t trust him any more than he trusted her.
She believed he was a criminal, an illegal arms dealer who used his import-export business as a front. But he hoped to soon remove that one obstacle standing in the way of the trust they needed to build between them. After his conversation with Jonah earlier today, he had every hope that he would be given permission to tell his wife the truth about his business dealings. Not only had he requested permission to be honest with Callie about being a SPEAR agent, he had told Jonah that he wanted to retire from the field. He was ready for a simpler, safer life in one of SPEAR’s legitimate businesses. Hell, he was more than ready.
He’d been promised a reply to his first request before day’s end, and the notification that he planned to retire had been taken under consideration.
“I believe they’re here, sir,” Mrs. Mayfield said as she scurried into the library. “Shall I go to the door or do you plan to meet them yourself?”
Burke glanced up from where he rested in the huge wing chair by the fireplace and smiled at his housekeeper, a short, stout woman with wispy silver hair and a pleasant smile. “I’ll go out to meet them, thank you, Mrs. M.”
“Very well, sir.” Mrs. Mayfield all but curtsied before she backed out of the room. “I’ll put on the kettle. Your Mrs. will no doubt want a cup of tea. And I’ll set out the biscuits for Master Seamus. Ah, how grand it will be to have a young one about the place.”
Yes, it would be grand to have a young one about, Burke thought. A rowdy, rambunctious lad who would enjoy romping through the woods and playing with the dogs and riding horses and—riding horses! He’d have to order Seamus a pony. Later today he’d ask Mr. Mayfield, who took care of the stables as well as the grounds, to see about the purchase of a gentle pony.
When he stepped outside, his Irish setters, Romulus and Remus, came running, gathering about his ankles. Speaking softly to the animals, he scratched one and then the other behind the ears. He paused momentarily and watched while Leland rounded the hood of the Rolls and opened the car door. Callie handed Seamus to Leland, then emerged and looked all around her. He couldn’t help wondering what she thought of his home. Her home, now. And Seamus’s home, too.
Burke hurried down the steps, the dogs on his heels, and rushed forward to take Seamus from Leland. “Hello, there, my boy. Did you enjoy the ride down from London?”
“Hi, Dada,” Seamus said, a broad grin on his precious face.
“Hi, yourself,” Burke replied, then turned to Callie and motioned her forward. “Come on in the house. Mrs. Mayfield is preparing tea.”
“I hope there’s enough for me, too.” Enid got out of the Rolls and placed herself between Burke and Callie.
“Enid came with us,” Callie said shyly, but her gaze remained steadily locked with Burke’s.
“Enid is always welcome.” Burke smiled at his wife’s cousin, but a part of him resented her presence. So, Callie had brought along a chaperone, someone to act as a buffer between them.
“Doggie.” Seamus opened and closed his little hands in a grabbing gesture as he watched the playful animals flanking his father.
“Dogs. Yes, indeed,” Burke said. “Your dogs, my boy. Romulus and Remus.”
“Rom de rem,” Seamus said, and all the adults laughed. Realizing he’d amused the others, he repeated his sentence several times.
Enid laced her arm though Callie’s and together the two women followed Burke up the steps and into the foyer. Mr. Mayfield came from the stables and gave Leland a hand with the luggage.
The moment Callie entered the foyer of Oakwood Farm she felt an overwhelming sense of homecoming. It was as if she’d lived here once before, long ago, in another lifetime. Or perhaps the feeling of familiarity came from her dreams. This was the exact type of home she’d longed for all her life. Although the decor she saw through the open doors in the living room to the right and the library to the left was not unappealing, Callie suspected that Burke had done little if anything to remodel or redecorate after he’d purchased it from the previous owners.
Odd, she thought, how the anger she’d felt at Burke for having summoned her to Kent had vanished. Not that she wasn’t still upset with him. She was. But seeing him in this home—and she sensed that was exactly what Oakwood Farm was, a home—all the possibilities for their future formed into images in her mind. If Burke truly meant to give up the arms trade and become a legitimate businessman, then there was a chance for them, a real chance they could become a family. After all, he was not only Seamus’s father, he was the man she loved.
Callie was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she hadn’t moved from the foyer until Enid jabbed her in the ribs.
“What’s wrong with you?” Enid asked. “You act as if you’re in a trance of some sort.”
“Sorry. I was simply thinking about how much I like this house.” It was the type of home she’d always dreamed of as a child. Something big and old and in the country. This place could so easily become a real home, not just for Burke, but for her and Seamus, too.
By the time she and Enid entered the large farmhouse kitchen, Seamus sat perched in an old wooden high chair and
was nibbling on biscuits. Burke sat at the oak table, which looked as if it was as old as the house. Callie glanced around the room. The appliances were at least twenty years old, but the plaster walls had been recently painted a light beige and the wooden floor gleamed from a recent polishing. A brick fireplace, painted the same beige as the walls, held a roaring fire that warmed the room and created a coziness Callie found addictive. The smell of baking bread filled the air. Home. This house all but screamed the word.
“Callie, let me introduce you to Mrs. Mayfield,” Burke said. “She and her husband take care of Oakwood Farm for me. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
The round and rosy Mrs. M. wiped her meaty hands on her big white apron and with a wide smile bowed her head in a gesture of respect. “So pleased to meet you, ma’am. I can’t tell you how pleased we are for Mr. Burke, that he’s got himself a pretty young wife and a fine son.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Mayfield.” Callie returned the woman’s friendly smile.
“Would you and Enid care for some tea?” Burke asked.
“I’d love some,” Enid said.
Callie watched while Burke stood, pulled out a chair and assisted her cousin. Enid made a funny face at Seamus, who giggled and sent moist biscuit fragments drooling down his chin. Before Callie did more than take a step forward, Burke picked up his linen napkin and wiped his son’s face. Such an attentive father. And so gentle, she thought. Somehow her mind couldn’t reconcile the fact that this man made millions from selling illegal weapons to criminals with the fact that he seemed to be a doting father and was, without a doubt, a tender, considerate lover.
“How long do you plan for us to stay here in Kent?” Callie asked.
Burke glanced at her, his face void of emotion. “Perhaps you and I should discuss our future plans when we’re alone. I realize I rushed you into coming here, but I thought it best if we begin our life together in a new setting.”
“Begin our life together?” Was he still insisting that they remain married for Seamus’s sake?
“Why don’t I have Mrs. Mayfield give you a tour of the house while I take Seamus outside,” Burke said. “I want to show him the stables and I think he’d like to play with the dogs a bit.”
“Dogs and horses?” Another part of her lifelong dream of a perfect life in the country, she thought.
“I’ll keep a close watch on Seamus,” Burke assured her. “And I’ll bring him upstairs to you in time for his nap.”
“I doubt he’ll be taking a nap today,” Callie said. “He slept in the car all the way down from Belgravia.”
“Good, then I can keep him with me longer. By the way, will he need his nappie changed before we go exploring?”
“Yes. I’m sure he’s soaked to the skin.” Callie came forward to get Seamus, but before she reached her child, Burke lifted him from the high chair.
“There isn’t a nursery upstairs, but you must choose any room you’d like and convert it into one. In the meantime, I’ve had Mr. Mayfield set up a crib for him in your bedroom.”
Callie gave Enid a helpless shrug, and her cousin lifted her eyebrows in a sympathetic gesture as she smiled at her. When Burke headed out of the kitchen, Callie raced to catch up with him. She followed him up the stairs. The upper level of the house lacked the warmth of the ground level, and she immediately noticed that unlike the kitchen, no fresh paint had touched these walls in many years.
Burke took Seamus into a rather austere room with thick dark curtains and a massive Empire mahogany tester bed. A crib had been placed alongside the imposing antique bed. Her overnight bag and Seamus’s little red, white and yellow suitcase rested side-by-side on the floor by the enormous armoire.
When Burke started to lay Seamus on the bed atop the white spread, Callie gasped. “No, wait! If his nappie is dirty…” She glanced meaningfully at the pristine coverlet. “Let me get a plastic pad and a disposable nappie out of his case.”
“Daddy has a lot to learn about taking care of little boys, doesn’t he?” Burke leaned down and rubbed noses with his son.
Callie’s heart caught in her throat. She had to be strong and not allow these sweet scenes between Burke and Seamus to sway her resolve. She would not let Burke claim Seamus as long as he continued with his illegal activities.
After retrieving the items she needed from the case, Callie laid the pad on the bed, then nodded to Burke. He laid a wriggling Seamus flat on his back and held him in place with a gentle hand across his belly.
“May I change his nappie?” Burke asked.
“What?”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the slightest idea how to care for a small child, but I want to learn. Show me how to change his nappie.”
“All right. If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure that I want to start immediately learning how to be a father.”
Burke watched carefully as she removed the nappy, which was only wet and not soiled.
“The dirty nappies are more difficult.” When Burke smiled, her heart did an erratic rat-a-tat and her stomach fluttered wildly. Oh, she was such a fool. How would she ever be able to walk away from this man and take his child with her?
“Perhaps I shall leave the dirty ones to you,” Burke replied, a sly grin on his face.
She handed him the new nappie and gave him simple instructions, which he followed to the letter. “Good work, Daddy,” she told him as he finished snapping together the legs of Seamus’s corduroy pants.
When Burke lifted Seamus in his arms and headed for the door, Callie called, “Be sure to put his coat and cap on…and his mittens, too. And don’t keep him out for long. In this cold weather his little cheeks tend to chap.”
“So do mine.” Burke patted his beard-stubbled cheek and then ran his hand over Seamus’s smooth little cheek. “I’ll take good care of my son.”
“I’m sure you will.”
Glancing over his shoulder at her, Burke said, “After dinner tonight, I’d like some time alone with you. There’s a great deal we need to discuss.”
At the thought of spending time alone with her husband, anticipation bubbled inside Callie like the effervescence from an uncorked bottle of champagne.
During the course of the afternoon and evening, Callie learned that Burke had purchased Oakwood Farm five years ago and that Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield had been his employees since that time. They lived in a house on the property and together took care of the manor house and grounds. After dinner, Enid had dutifully taken Seamus upstairs and Leland had disappeared outside with Mr. Mayfield, leaving Mrs. Mayfield in the kitchen.
Callie twined her fingers together as she sat on the sofa in the parlor while Burke stood by the fireplace. The mantel clock struck once, noting the half-hour. She sensed that Burke was nervous. Not as nervous as she, but certainly not his usual calm, confident self.
“I’ve been expecting a phone call,” he told her. “I had hoped that by now… Well, some of the things I’d planned to discuss tonight will have to wait. But we can come to an agreement about living arrangements.”
“If it will make things easier for you, I’m willing to stay married for a few months, just as we’d planned.” Callie glanced at Burke, who looked so utterly wonderful in the old faded jeans and heavy flannel shirt he’d changed into before dinner. From his appearance one might mistake him for a farmer. “And once you can prove to me that you’ve ended your illegal dealings, I’ll be more than willing to allow you all the rights of being Seamus’s father.”
“I’m working on disengaging myself from the arms trade,” Burke said. “But in the meantime, I’d like for us to begin our lives as a family here at Oakwood Farm.”
“You’re still insisting that we don’t get a divorce?”
“I’m asking that you give our marriage a chance. A year’s trial. For Seamus’s sake. And then if you find the situation intolerable, we’ll discuss divorce.”
“Six months,” Callie said.
“Pardon?”
; “I’ll agree to a six-month trial period.”
“I suppose if that’s all you’re offering, I have no choice but to accept. Regardless of what has happened between us, I do want us to remain friends, whether or not we stay married.”
“I agree. But do you honestly think that you and I can be only friends?”
Burke’s jaw tightened. “I think perhaps we won’t find it easy to be friends and nothing more. And since you brought up the subject…while we’re married, I don’t see any reason we shouldn’t enjoy the sexual pleasure of being man and wife.”
Callie closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to continue looking at him, couldn’t bear to see that unemotional expression on his face. For him it would be easy enough to have a physical relationship without the emotional bonding. But it would be impossible for her. She was already in love with Burke, and if she spent six months as his wife, she’d never be able to walk away from him without taking a broken heart with her.
Burke crossed the room and sat in a chair to the right of the sofa. “I believe Oakwood Farm is an ideal place to raise a child. The fresh country air, the woods, the animals. I realize the old house needs a bit of refurbishing and I have no objections to your doing some redecorating, if you’d like. As a matter of fact, it would give you something to do while I’m in London during the week, so—”
“What do you mean, while you’re in London during the week?”
“I thought it best, at least until we’ve settled into this marriage and Seamus has become accustomed to me, that I live in London during the week and come here to see you both on the weekends.”
“You’re going to live in London? And Seamus and I are going to live here? What about my position as your PA? Or have you already hired someone new?”
How dare he! How dare he ship her and Seamus off to the country while he continued his life in London? Did he want her to play the dutiful wife and mother while he had no intention of giving up his playboy ways? Did he expect her to be faithful to him, to be his wife in every sense of the word, while he enjoyed discreet affairs in London?
Her Secret Weapon Page 17
