by Rose, taylor
Brandon watched, why had he not thought of comforting Sophia? Sophia had had a huge scare and rather than reassure her he was playing detective with a key. Harold appeared at his side. “You know, men are put on this planet to protect. It’s been that way since we resided in caves. Leave the comforting to a woman, especially one so good at playing Mother Goose. We’ll give them a moment. Sophia will work out what you did here tonight. You haven’t let her down, not at all.”
It didn’t help that Harold felt he had done enough. He felt bad that he let it go as far as it did. He started to tell Harold but stopped. Nothing he said would make a difference. He should have stopped Alfred, busted the door down and not stood and watched to see how far Alfred would go. He was really disappointed in himself.
“Come on, we will give the ladies a moment” Harold said again as he started to walk down the stairs. Brandon looked into the rooms to see the two women sitting on the bed; he could hear their low voices but not what they were saying. He reluctantly followed Harold.
Some fifteen minutes later seated around the kitchen table with hot chocolates in hand, the internal kitchen door opened and Sophia and Agnes walked in. Sophia looked better, perhaps the hot chocolate that Harold took up to them had helped. She still had a very red mark on her face that must have been tender. Sophia came and sat beside Brandon. She didn’t look at him directly but asked “OK give me your version. What did you walk in on?”
Brandon took a deep breath and proceeded to tell his version of the events. He did leave out the part where he stood to see what Alfred would do next but finished with throwing him bodily out the door. At the conclusion, Sophia just nodded. She still didn’t look at him. Was she embarrassed or did she think he had let her down by not reacting fast enough? He didn’t know. Brandon just wanted to reach for her, reassure Sophia that all was well and that he would chase Alfred to the end of the world and off the edge in order to make his life miserable.
After a moments silence Sophia asked “How did you know about the secret entrance into my rooms?” Harold jumped in with “That was my doing, My Lady. I have known of that entrance for some years and I just had, as the Americans say “a hunch” that it may be needed.”
“Lucky that Harold told me or I would have wasted time trying to bust down your door” Brandon added, he didn’t want to get Harold into trouble.
Sophia sighed. “You know, I have lived in this house for half my life and I had no idea that it was there. I wonder what other secrets this house holds?”
The four of them sat around the kitchen table for some moments, each thinking their own private thoughts. Sophia took a deep breath and turned to Brandon “Thank you. I think the whole thing would have turned out very differently if you had not been here. I can’t thank you enough.”
“I’m just glad you are OK. Safe and not too hurt.”
“I must apologize but I am suddenly really tired. I think I’ll go back to bed……Alfred has gone hasn’t he?” The look of fear crossed Sophia’s face.
Harold was swift to answer “I don’t think he will be back. I think he received a very clear indication that his presence is no longer welcome at Glen Dorking. But I do think that Brandon should walk you upstairs and see you safely into your room again tonight.”
“Oh Harold that is not necessary, really. I’ll be fine”
Harold shook his head “No, My Lady, I insist. If it is not Brandon than it will have to be me and I might read you a bed time story.”
“OK, Harold I will let you boss me around, just this once. But tomorrow I am taking back control. I have noticed that you boss me around a lot lately, and I won’t stand for it.” This said as Sophia rose from the table, she knew that her hair was everywhere and that at nearly 3am she wasn’t looking her best. So she pointed a finger at Harold for effect. For his part he truly looked as though he was suitably chastised. Sophia just laughed. It felt good to find some humor this late in the night. Harold murmured “As my Lady wishes” and inclined his head. This made Sophia laugh again. Agnes mentioned that she would put the key in the key register which was a much better place for such a key. Brandon stood up. He was going to make sure that her door was locked and the secret passage would stay open so he could hear her. At the kitchen door he turned and bid Harold and Agnes a goodnight. They both looked exhausted too.
They walked up the stairs in silence. Brandon couldn’t think of anything to say. So when they reached to top of the landing and when Sophia grabbed his hand he was a little surprised. Instantly the sparks began to fly between them. “I’m a bit frightened. Actually I’m a lot frightened. I can’t believe that all this has happened.” Sophia said whilst looking at the floor “In fact nothing much happened at all and yet it has given me a real fright. How would I ever cope in a real crisis? Not well, I imagine.” She glanced up at Brandon’s face embarrassed.
“Sophia, it gave me a hell of a fright. Especially when I heard Alfred’s voice coming from the other side of the door. I froze.”
“Thank you, again.”
“Sophia……I would do anything for you.”
“Anything?”
“Hell, yeah” his reply was instantaneous.
“I know that I am being silly but I don’t want to be alone. Not in my room. This sounds like a come on but it’s not. My rooms are so big and I’m really not going to get any sleep…..”
“You want me to stay with you….”
“Would you mind?”
“Not at all, I’ll get a blanket and a pillow from next door and sleep on that lounge thing you have.”
With that they entered Sophia rooms. Brandon went into his room through the picture and grabbed a blanket and pillow. He conceded that with his tall frame he was in for an uncomfortable night but he consoled himself that he could have several hours to just look at Sophia whilst she slept.
When he entered her room again he approached the” lounge thing”. “It’s called a settee” Sophia said. It may be long enough to sleep on if he didn’t stretch out too much. Sophia was standing beside her bed about to climb in. She watched him make himself a bed on the settee. Even with all that had happened tonight she just wished he felt the same about her as she did him. At that moment Brandon looked up at her……
He was by her side in seconds. He collected her up in his arms and kissed the top of her head. With that Sophia burst into tears, again. Some moments passed before she separated herself from his body. “I am so very sorry, all I seem to do is cry all over you. You must think me a fool.”
He pulled her back into his chest and she became acutely aware of his sheer size and his muscled chest. With her ear she also became aware that his heart beat was strong and accelerated. His voice rumbled through his chest when he said “Sophia you have had a very……… unexpected evening. You have my permission to cry all over me anytime you want. I may have to bring extra clothing next time but I’ll make allowances for that.”
She looked up and smiled at him. He looked down at her face and noticed the unshed tears still on her eyelashes. Now, he couldn’t resist. He bent down and kissed her. It was a tentative kiss, not forceful, not urgent, just a loving, slow, asking for nothing, kind of kiss. When they draw apart Brandon tried to think if he had ever kissed any women like that before. No memories sprang to mind. He really had been missing out. He could kiss Sophia like that for the rest of his life and be a happy man. He drew away and was moving back to the couch when Sophia grabbed his arm. “I really cannot expect you to try and get any rest on my settee, you’re too tall. Why don’t you sleep in the bed and I’ll sleep on that instead.”
“That is not going to happen. Besides if Harold finds out he’d have my hide.”
“If Harold finds out you’re in here, he will have us walking down to the Estate’s church.” Sophia said with a chuckle.
“I am not sleeping in your bed whilst you put up with the couch.”
“Well I guess we have locked horns on this…..”
“Tell you what why don’t we both s
leep in the bed, I promise to keep my hands to myself.”
“OK, we have to be up early in the morning the breakfast for the hunt is at 7.30am and it’s 3.30am now.” They both climbed into the bed. Sophia turned off the bedside lamp and said “Besides I am starting to get too confused with the whole lounge/couch/settee thing. Don’t you yanks speak English?” that earned her a gentle tap on the shoulder with Brandon’s pillow. She burst into laughter and seconds later feel asleep.
Brandon watched her in the semi darkness just lying there. God she was beautiful……God he wanted her. God, she was lucky she fell asleep because the blood was rushing to parts of his body that would have embarrassed her if she saw. Brandon had no idea what to do and this was difficult to understand. He always, always, always knew how to handle any situation put before him. He was known for his skill in getting what he wanted both in business and in women. Yet here he was lying in a huge old four posted bed with the most beautiful women he had ever known and didn’t have a clue what to do next.
Chapter Seventeen
Lost in his thoughts Brandon missed the knock on the door, but he heard it the second time. He got out of bed. Thank God he thought that blood found other places to go throughout his body. Walking to the door it occurred to Brandon that it might be Alfred. Opening the door he found Harold standing there with a tray and a book tucked under his arm. “Brandon, I thought you might like another hot drink. I am guessing correctly that Sophia fell into a sudden and deep sleep?”
“Yes she has” said Brandon.
“I thought as much. Please sit down with me. I would like a chat.” Harold held out the tray offering the drink then sat at the top of the stairs.
Brandon followed. They sat on the top of the stairs in silence for a moment or two. Then Harold turned to Brandon and said “You know I love Sophia. No, not like that, I mean that I watched her marry a man very much her senior and then watched the life being drawn out of her. She was a breath of fresh air on a very dusty old Estate. She loved riding and was very, very good with horses. A complete natural, they say. But she hasn’t sat on a horse in years.”
“Why not?” asked Brandon.
“Because Archibald had it in his mind that it was Sophia at fault for not producing children and he had himself convinced that her riding horses was the problem. So she gave it up. No complaints or comment. When Archibald died Sophia not only had a baby that was only weeks old but an Estate that was about to implode and collapse at any moment.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well Archie refused to spend a cent on any of the houses he owned and yet he felt that he could charge fairly sizable rents. When Sophia took over there were homes with parts of roofs missing, no hot water in some, many heating systems were nonexistence. And because the tenants had had enough of trying to get Archibald to rectify the problems the authorities had been called in.” Harold turned to look at Brandon who was listening intently. He continued on. “The government was more than happy to start legal proceedings against the Estate. Sophia was still recovering from the loss of a man who I know she was fond of. Not in a romantic or love way but she had been very loyal to him right to the end. She was a new mother finding her feet with a new born baby. And dealing with the mess left behind by a very immature self-centered man.”
Brandon took a moment to take this in. Some of which he had heard from Sophia herself but she had left out some of the details. “How did she turn the situation around? It seems that the folks around here respect Sophia immensely.”
“Oh, their grievances were not with Sophia, but she has done an amazing job. This may surprise you but she trades on the stock market.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me? Not that I don’t think she could but she doesn’t strike me as a stock trader.”
“Oh yes. With some measure of success. She has managed to turn the Estate around and has repaired all the outstanding problems for the tenants all within 6 years. This garden project that you are working on is her reward to herself. You see, she left herself until last to give something to.”
“Why are you telling me all this? Not that I don’t appreciate the heads up but why?”
“You Americans with your sayings” Harold said with a rueful smile. “I’m telling you because I am neither blind nor stupid. I see the chemistry between the two of you. I may be old but that should make me wise. My advice to you is if you want to win her over and I think that you do, even if you don’t know it yet. Then fix something for Sophia.”
“Why are you being so nice to me, Harold?”
“Oh I know all about you, Agnes has devoured articles about you for years. But the man I have seen over the past few days is nothing like the public persona. Sophia deserves some happiness and I think you are the man to provide it. Oh, here I felt that you might appreciate this piece of literature.” And with that Harold handed him a very old book. “I don’t think anyone has looked at this in a very long time. All I ask is that you be gentle with it. It is a very old book, which for me to say could be an understatement.” With a nod of his head Harold stood and started to slowly descend down the stairs.
“Harold, do you ever sleep? It’s past 4am.”
Harold turned around and looked up “I’m a Butler I don’t need sleep”.
Brandon called out “Thank you” to a departing black jacket and silver tray. He muttered to himself “I’ve got to get me one of those” but then conceded that his butler was a woman in her mid-fifties and went under the title of PA. With a jolt it occurred to Brandon that he had not even thought about anything to do with his company or work or his supposed friends for days. Reaching for the book he went back into Sophia room. Strange that Harold had not battered an eyelid at Brandon being in her room.
Chapter Eighteen
Saturday
At 5:11am Sophia sat bolt upright in bed with an anguished noise escaping from her throat. She immediately looked around the bedroom and then her eyes were drawn to Brandon sitting propped up with pillows reading what looked like a very old publication. He sat very still looking at her. She couldn’t remember feeling so embarrassed. “I think I was having a bad dream…….I think someone was after me. I’m sorry.”
Brandon put the book down on the bedside table very tentatively and turned to look at her. “Don’t be sorry. Here, come over here.” And he pulled her into his arms and lay beside her with his full body touching hers. He began stroking her hair. Then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. He could feel himself heading towards arousal but tried to stifle the thought. The last thing Sophia needed was to have a man making moves on her the morning after last night. But for some reason he couldn’t stop. The very last and final straw to break the camels’ back was when she groaned. That completely undid him. He kissed her on the neck and when she turned her face towards him, he kissed her with everything he possessed. Her lips were so soft. He deepened the kiss until he remembered that the human body needed oxygen in order to operate and he was feeling light headed. When he drew back to catch his breath he realized he was in trouble.
“Sophia I want to make love to you, now. Here, now. But only if you want to.” She just looked at him with dreamy eyes. He thought she might be about to fall asleep on him again. If he kept talking, he thought, she may stay awake to listen to what he was saying. “I don’t want to pressure you in any way, it’s not my thing, but I can’t lay this close to you and not want to rip off your clothes and explore every inch of you…….Sophia, please, an answer…..one way or another.”
“You American’s talk a lot don’t you?”
“What is it pick on Amerc…….”
The rest was lost as Sophia put both hands on either side of his face and pulled him down for another kiss. This time there was an underlying purpose. Sophia couldn’t believe that a man with the most perfect face and as she had suspected before but now it was being confirmed, as it was lying against her, one of the best bodies she had ever seen was desperate to make love with her. She couldn’t belie
ve her ears.
If kissing was any indication she was way out of her league here. She was terrified. Brandon moved without breaking the kiss suddenly he was lying on top of her. This brought with it new sensations. Sophia had never been so turned on with just the weight of a man on top of her. She felt herself surrender to the dominance of the act. She could feel her breasts tingle and a flutter in her stomach. Brandon stopped kissing her and drew away. “I think I have a yes but I would really like for you to confirm it.”
It came out as a whisper “Yes.”
“Do you trust me? I mean, I know what I am doing. So can you trust me to do this right?”
Again a whispered “Yes….”
With that he sat up and removed his shirt and then proceeded to remove Sophia’s shirt. She could feel his eyes looking at her and had to suppress the urge to cover herself up with the sheets. The look on his face was a little unreadable and he wasn’t moving. Sophia started to think that he was not that interested. How humiliating she thought. She made the slightest movement. Suddenly his hands reached out and grabbed both her hands and put them both above her head and held them there with one hand whilst he kissed her on the neck and across the shoulder. Using his other hand he trailed down to her breast which was tingling with anticipation. Brandon found her lips again and this time explored her mouth with his tongue. Not in an intrusive way but Sophia’s insides turned to mush. She realized that she was groaning in response but she couldn’t help it. It was as though her body had a mind of its own. Her legs moved and spread apart placing Brandon at her center. She could feel his erection against her, this caused her hips to start moving in an attempt to rub his penis against her most sensitive zones. Brandon didn’t want to rush things but if Sophia kept moving like that he would be over in seconds. He moved back a little and this brought him face to face with Sophia breasts, they were erect and full. Still holding onto her hands he used his free hand to bring one nipple erect whilst using his mouth to suck on the other. Sophia’s chest lifted to his mouth and he sucked harder. Then took his mouth off and ever so softly blew air on the nipple. To this Sophia let another groan loose. Brandon stopped and said “Don’t move your hands from there OK?” Sophia just nodded. Brandon moved down the bed and removed her pants and underwear. Again he just looked at her. His deep penetrating stare was bringing Sophia back from a place she had never been before.
