‘I’m sure it’s worth a lot more than mine,’ he replied at once. ‘I haven’t done too well so far where this matter is concerned—apart from the present incumbent,’ he added, smiling. ‘You seem to know exactly how to handle my kids, Lily—they’ve not been this happy, relaxed and contented since—’ He broke off before finishing the sentence.
Lily said slowly, ‘Maybe that’s because I, too, had a succession of different people trying to bring me up,’ she said. ‘I know how it feels.’
He shrugged. ‘Well, whatever the reason, I’m grateful for it. Even Freya seems to have lost that permanently injured expression on her face—except when she looks at me, that is,’ he added.
No more was said, and instead of going into the sitting room to have coffee with him, Lily excused herself, saying that she wanted to go to bed, and that she also wanted to make a call to her brother.
Upstairs, Lily went over to the window and stared out across the garden. She felt empty and dispirited—and she knew the reason why. The thought of helping to select another person to have charge of the Montague children was giving her actual physical pain, and she pressed her hands into her sides to try and quell the sensation. She knew the procedure had to be gone through, yet how could she bear it?
Then common sense took over. It had been wrong, all wrong, to let herself get this close to the family, because it was going to end in tears. She knew that the children would hate saying goodbye to her, and when the time came her own heart would be at breaking point, she thought. But her agreement with Theo had only been a very short-term one. She had never seen herself as a full-time carer for other people’s children—or any children, for that matter. Definitely none of her own, that was for sure. She shuddered at the thought of the physical obligations which must be endured in creating a new life.
She smiled suddenly as she spotted a tiny field mouse scampering through the grass in the garden. That little creature’s plans were far less complicated than her own, Lily thought. All it required was finding enough to eat and to stay alive. Simple, really. She turned away from the window. No, staying here was muddying the waters of her ambition…Surely there was something, somewhere, waiting for her, beckoning to her? Something she hadn’t even thought of yet to give her fulfilment? And if she was to discover what it was she needed to break away from this house—and its occupants.
Picking up her mobile, she rang Sam’s number. Almost straight away his lovely familiar voice answered.
‘Lily! Great to hear you! Tell me all. It’s nice and quiet here now, so fire away. How’s the job going?’
Lily had told him what she was doing until October.
‘The job’s fine,’ she replied.
There was a chuckle. ‘And how’s Mr Wonderful?’
‘Mr who?’
‘Come off it, Lily. We both know who I’m talking about…Mr Drop-Dead Gorgeous who you met on the plane…that is who you’re working for, isn’t it?’ Sam persisted.
‘Oh, yes, I’m looking after his children,’ she said airily. ‘But it’s work, Sam—work. And it’s all coming to an end in no time at all. He’s interviewing for my replacement tomorrow, as a matter of fact, and at the end of the summer I shall be footloose and fancy-free once again.’ Despite her best endeavours, a stifled sob left Lily’s lips as she spoke the words, and she swallowed hard to control herself.
There was a short silence.
‘Lily—are you OK? What’s the matter?’ Sam hesitated. ‘He’s not giving you grief, is he? Not trying it on…?’
‘No, of course not, silly!’ Lily blew her nose. ‘I was trying not to sneeze just then, that’s all,’ she lied.
‘Well, then, just so long as you take care of yourself, Lily…’
‘I’m used to doing that, Sam,’ she said. ‘I’ve been doing it all my life, remember?’
‘Well, don’t forget you’re welcome here any time,’ he said. ‘Come for an extended holiday while you work out your next step—you may even find something here that interests you.’
They chatted on for a while. Sam was still excited about his prosperity, and anxious to share it all with his sister.
Lily smiled briefly as she snapped her phone shut. She still found it hard to believe that she actually had a blood relation who cared about her. Even though they didn’t see very much of each other, it was lovely just knowing that he existed. That he was there.
The next morning at breakfast, Theo casually told the children that someone was arriving who might be coming to help look after them. All three looked up at him as he spoke.
‘What’s she called?’ Freya asked flatly.
‘Mrs Evershot,’ Theo said.
‘Is she coming to shoot us, then?’ Alex asked.
‘I don’t like her,’ Tom piped up. ‘I don’t like her name.’ He looked across at Lily. ‘You won’t let her shoot us, will you, Lily?’
Lily had her back to the children while she was making their milk drinks, and she said, without turning around, ‘Of course she’s not going to shoot you—or anyone else,’ she added. ‘And anyway, she’s only coming for a visit today.’
There was an uncomfortable silence after that, while the children finished their toast, and Theo threw a quick glance at Lily, raising his eyebrows briefly.
She sat down at her place at the table. ‘I’ve organised a very difficult set of tasks for you three today,’ she said brightly. She sipped from her mug of tea. ‘First of all, you have to search for some of your toys that I’ve hidden in the garden. There are twelve out there altogether. And then when you’ve found them you must colour the pictures I’ve chosen for you to do…If they’re good enough, we’ll mount them on some sugar paper and hang them up here in the kitchen. And then,’ she said, her eyes twinkling across at them, ‘there’s a very, very, very difficult quiz you’ve got to do.’
‘I love quizzes,’ Freya said eagerly, drinking in every word that Lily was saying. ‘And I’ll help Tom-Tom with the answers, because he’s only little.’
‘That’s kind of you, Freya,’ Lily said, ‘but I’ve made Tom’s a bit easier than yours—and Alex’s a bit harder than Tom’s. So it’s all going to be fair.’
All this information had completely taken over from the thought of Mrs Evershot’s arrival, and Theo looked across at Lily as she nibbled at her slice of toast. Her opinion of herself as being rubbish at looking after children was completely unjustified, he thought. She knew exactly how to deal with them—seemed to understand what made them tick, how they were feeling. And she’d obviously spent some time devising the morning’s activities in order to take their minds off having to meet another stranger. His expression darkened, and he breathed a long sigh of regret that Lily was going to leave them—that her weeks here were numbered. But he knew that it just had to be…She wanted to spread her wings and fly to some unknown destination, and he would never try to stand in her way.
He knew with painful certainty that it was right she should go…soon. Because he readily admitted to himself that his feelings for her were developing rapidly, with every moment she was around. And that disturbed and even shocked him. The mere thought that anyone should so soon take Elspeth’s place in his heart was unacceptable. He had closed his mind to that part of his life—not only because he had made that silent promise to his wife as she died, but also because he would never, ever expect his children to have to try to accept and love a stepmother. Too much had been spoken and written about the enormous emotional difficulties of such a situation—even though there were many happy exceptions to the rule. His children would never have to witness their father loving another woman, sleeping with another woman, speaking in the affectionate terms which had been purely the privilege and right of their mother to another woman. They had suffered enough already.
He shook his head as his thoughts tossed and tumbled in his mind…Why had he ever met Lily? What fateful hand had touched his shoulder and made him ask her to look after his family, to move in with them so that he was
forced to be near her, admire her, smell her delightful presence, even seated as she was now, a foot or two away from him? The faint drift of her now familiar perfume tormented him, and he was filled with such a longing to drag her into his arms that he had to stand up quickly, pushing his chair back.
‘I’ll be up in my study until…for an hour or so,’ he said, and Lily nodded.
‘As soon as we’ve cleared up here the children have a lot to do!’ She looked down at them. ‘I’ll give you half an hour to find those toys that I’ve hidden—and they’re not in easy places,’ she warned them. ‘If something’s too easy, it’s no fun.’
At precisely ten a.m. Mrs Evershot arrived, and as she opened the door Lily’s heart sank. Could this be her replacement? Was this the person who was going to be looking after her charges? The woman was middle-aged, with a straight, no-nonsense kind of face, her grey hair was swept up in a bun at the back of her head, and she was neatly dressed in a suitable grey straight skirt, mid-calf-length, with a matching jacket over a plain blouse.
Lily ushered her into the sitting room, and for the next half an hour or so Lily sat quietly listening to the conversation between Theo and the woman. He was polite and businesslike as he asked her about her previous experience and what she expected if she came to work here. Mrs Evershot didn’t leave him in any doubt about that.
‘I take it that I shall be living in?’ she said flatly. ‘But I expect my days to end at eight, after the children are in bed, and to have a day and a half off each week.’ She paused. ‘I am prepared to organise light meals, but no spectacular cooking. I’m afraid that’s not my line. But they won’t starve while I’m here.’ She flicked at something invisible on her skirt and sat back. ‘Also, if I’m required to be with the children during the evenings—say if you have a late function to attend, Mr Montague—then that would be an additional extra to my agreed salary.’ She gave him a tight little smile. ‘I find it’s much better to get all these little details sorted at the outset.’
Lily stared blankly ahead of her, not wanting to catch Theo’s eye. This was obviously just a job to Mrs Evershot, she thought. Vocation didn’t come into it. She was undoubtedly a supremely efficient woman—but with something other than blood running through her veins. Old memories piled into Lily’s consciousness, making her throat dry and her palms clammy. The woman had barely mentioned the children, other than to confirm their names and ages.
Theo stood up—and to Lily’s perceptive gaze he looked weary. ‘I’m sure you’d like to meet my offspring,’ he said casually. ‘They’re in the kitchen.’
He brought the children in, and with a painful stab to her heart Lily saw that Freya was holding both the boys’ hands protectively. They looked so small and de-fenceless standing there, with not a smile on their faces. Lily wanted to rush and gather them all to her and run out of the room, run away with them…
After the introductions were made—with Mrs Evershot taking a long, hard look at them all, saying that she was sure they would get on well together once certain rules were established—she stood up decisively.
‘Well, there we are, then.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘I must go—I’ve two more of these to get through this morning.’ She turned to Theo. ‘If you consider me suitable, Mr Montague,’ she said primly, ‘I’ll have a tour of the house to see where everything is at that point. The agency informed me that I won’t be needed for some time?’
‘Yes, that’s right,’ Theo replied shortly. ‘Well into October…’
‘Wonderful! That gives me some time to relax before battle commences!’ the woman said, with an awkward attempt at jocularity.
As soon as she’d gone, the children flung themselves at Lily.
‘I don’t like her,’ Freya said, without preamble. ‘You didn’t like her, either, did you, Lily? I could see by your face.’
‘And she is going to shoot us,’ Alex said. ‘She said there would be a battle!’
Theo put his arms around his sons, glancing at Freya, who had climbed onto Lily’s lap. ‘Don’t worry,’ he said, ‘that’s the last we’ll be seeing of Mrs Evershot.’
Lily eased Freya from her lap and stood up. Theo glanced down at her, a rueful half-smile on his lips.
‘Well?’ he asked quietly.
‘Thanks—but no, thanks, I should think,’ Lily said briefly, and suddenly, without stopping to think what he was doing, Theo wrapped his arms around them all—including Lily—in one big circle, so that they formed a close family unit, clutching at each other for support. And being pulled this close to him, feeling his firm muscles tensing against her body, Lily experienced an almost overwhelming need to touch him…to be touched by him.
Just as suddenly he released them all, and walked briskly towards the door to go to his afternoon clinic.
Lily, followed by the children, went into the kitchen to inspect the colouring.
‘These are all going to be fantastic!’ she exclaimed. ‘This afternoon we’ll get the paddling pool out, if you like.’
Getting ready for bed that night, Lily could hardly bear the thought of seeing tomorrow’s candidate. Trying to be objective about deciding who was to be taking care of the children was almost impossible, she thought. No one would ever be good enough. No one would ever be worthy of the care of Freya and Alex and Tom-Tom. They needed a mother, not a job-seeker—someone who’d be here today and gone tomorrow…They needed consistency and stability—something Lily herself had felt deprived of all the time she was growing up. And while she admitted that she’d often been difficult—had often perversely not wanted the latest family to succeed where everyone else had failed—the children living here were blameless. They had done nothing to deserve their present situation.
Sitting late at his desk in his private office at the hospital, Theo stared at the bundle of files in front of him—stared at the computer waiting to receive yet more information about his little patients. All these children had problems—physical problems, some worse than others—which he was doing his best to sort out. He never failed to be thankful that his three were so healthy, only suffering from the normal childish things from time to time. But their pain was a different pain. Their life was not straightforward, either, he thought. Their problem was one which he didn’t seem able to relieve. There was no remedy for sadness and acute loss, however hard he tried to think of one.
He’d failed utterly…until he’d met Lily, that was, who seemed to have stepped into the children’s hearts as if it had been pre-ordained. If only he could feel, deep inside himself, that it was the right thing to do, he’d beg her to stay with them. For ever. He’d triple her salary—anything to persuade her to have the long-term care of his children until they were old enough to function alone, as young adults. But although she clearly adored them, he was certain she wouldn’t agree. Despite her transparently sweet nature, there was a band of steel running through Lily, which he’d detected from the outset, and she wasn’t likely to change her mind about anything important—anything she’d set her heart on.
But what about his own needs? he mused, opening the next folder and smoothing the pages down carefully. He knew his children’s needs, and he thought he knew Lily’s, but what of his own? What about those? He stared blankly at the typewritten information in front of him, only just beginning to accept the undeniable truth that he needed her—not just any woman, but the woman living in his house, nurturing his family. He needed to hold her in his arms, to cover her mouth with his, to actually feel her heart beating in tandem with his own.
This self-revelation made him exultant and despairing at the same time. Exultant because he had admitted, at last, that he was not dead inside after all…and despairing because he knew that this unexpectedly passionate masculine desire would never be satisfied. Not with the woman who seldom left his thoughts.
The following day—ten minutes late for the appointment—Miss Green arrived. She was dressed in a sexy, thigh-skimming multi-coloured sundress, with her long, auburn hair h
anging loosely around her bare shoulders, her slender legs tanned, and her feet, with toenails varnished bright red, encased in sparkling strappy sandals.
Lily was faintly amazed at the girl’s appearance, which didn’t seem quite right for an interview, she thought.
But as if she knew what Lily was thinking, Miss Green said, ‘It’s such a super day—I decided to come in mufti! After all, I’m not on duty yet, am I?’ She giggled as she followed Lily into the sitting room.
Theo was already there, and as he’d taken the day off he, too, was dressed casually in light cotton trousers and an open-neck sports shirt. He stood up immediately to greet the visitor, taking her outstretched hand and looking down at her with what Lily saw as typical male admiration. And Miss Green was clearly bowled over by the sight of her prospective employer, who towered above her, his dark eyes glinting, the cut of his jaw pronouncing his total strength and masculinity.
Lily stood well back by the window and watched Theo conduct his second interview.
For the next few minutes she hardly heard a word of what the two were saying to each other. She was transfixed by Miss Green’s uninhibited attitude towards Theo. Refusing the seat opposite, she sat down next to him on the sofa, her bare leg resting lightly against his thigh, looking up at him with a longing expression on her face, letting her eyes and her long lashes speak volumes. Theo’s richly dark voice resonated dominantly, mingling with the high-pitched little giggle emerging regularly from Miss Green’s fulsome lips. He stared down, seeming to take in everything about her, considering her answers to his questions, and as his elegant head bent slightly to the side, Lily suddenly felt anonymous—and pointless.
She wasn’t needed here at all, she thought. Theo Montague was quite capable of sizing people up without any input from her! And sizing her up he certainly was! He couldn’t take his eyes off her! Surely he wasn’t being taken in by the girl’s unashamed flirting?
The British Billionaire's Innocent Bride Page 9
