‘Such a pity,’ Mrs Watson continued. ‘Born two months early, no doubt due to worry over you, and then to lose the poor wee thing.’
Dallas wondered what this good woman would think if she knew the truth.
His thoughts were beginning to take on some kind of order. ‘In the first place, Mrs Watson, my private life is nobody’s business but my own. In the second, is it so inconceivable that I would have had friends before coming to this land? Your tendency to reach ill-informed conclusions and think badly of me is tedious to say the least.’
Mrs Watson looked shocked by the outburst. ‘What was I supposed to think?’
‘Whatever you like, Mrs Watson. Thought is the operative word. Especially as you of all people know the circumstances of my marriage. That is, unless you are also hard of hearing.’
‘Well, really, Mr Granger!’ Mrs Watson was flushed but determined to make her point. ‘It takes a gentleman to make the best of things. Your callous disregard of a wife leaves me no option but to question whether such a description applies to you.’
Dallas rubbed two fingers across his eyes. On top of the argument he’d just had with his father-in-law, the cumulative effects of scotch whisky were not taking kindly to this confrontation. He made no further comment.
Mrs Watson looked disappointed. She turned and picked up a bundle of mail. ‘These came for you.’
Dallas took the envelopes and placed them in a coat pocket. ‘Thank you. I would like to see the marchioness, if you please.’
She hadn’t finished with him. ‘Under the circumstances, Mr Granger, I find that I am unable to store your possessions here any longer. I would also be obliged if you would refrain from using this address for further correspondence.’
Dallas stared her down. ‘The marchioness, if you please.’
Mrs Watson nodded stiffly. ‘Wait here. I’ll call her.’ With that she turned and shut the door in his face.
Dallas waited, mixed emotions strong in him. Lorna here! In one respect, it was a dream come true, but she had come too late. He was married. Their relationship could not continue, yet it was the only thing he craved. It had been the one constant in his life, despite all that conspired against it. Despair competed with the heady excitement of seeing her again. Oh God, if only he were free!
He heard footsteps clattering down the stairs. The front door swung open and there she was, just as he remembered her. With no thought of who might see them, Lorna flung herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. Dallas held her close, smelling the sweet scent he’d never forgotten, burying his face in her hair, feeling her warm, lithe body tight against his. ‘Oh, my darling, my darling,’ he murmured.
She moved back suddenly, her eyes scanning his. ‘You still love me,’ she said quietly. ‘I can see it.’
‘I never stopped.’ She was so beautiful. Motherhood had matured the soft innocence of the young girl he’d left behind, but her face remained fresh, yet to develop the angular planes which would turn youthful purity into classic beauty. His arms ached to hold her again but he kept the distance she’d put between them, horribly aware that space was not what kept them apart.
‘Dallas!’ she cried out. And in that one word was her pain.
Mrs Watson’s voice came from within the house, as did a sniff of disapproval. ‘The little boy is crying, your ladyship.’
Lorna dragged her eyes from his. ‘Thank you.’ She drew herself up and, in that instant, Dallas saw Alison, her mother, a woman for whom society’s rules had not been written. ‘If you don’t mind, Mrs Watson, Dallas and I would like to speak in private. My son is disturbed and I have no wish to trouble you further. We will go to my room.’
‘My lady, it really would not be seemly,’ Mrs Watson objected feebly.
Lorna smiled graciously. ‘Seemly! Are you suggesting impropriety, Mrs Watson?’
In the face of such regal disregard for convention, disapproval crumbled into uncertainty. ‘No, no, of course not, your ladyship. I’m sure it will be perfectly proper. After all, you are old friends. Er, would you care for some tea? I’ll have Mabel bring it upstairs.’
‘Thank you, but no,’ Lorna said firmly. ‘We do not wish to be disturbed. Have no fear, Mrs Watson, all will be above board.’
Dallas followed Lorna upstairs to the room that had once been his. He could feel the landlady’s eyes boring into his back. What was Lorna thinking? Her disregard for what was proper would be all over Durban inside of six hours. For his own sake he didn’t care, but Lorna’s reputation would be in danger. And it didn’t seem to bother her. She smiled and opened the door.
A lace-lined cot stood in one corner, the baby in it red-faced and wailing. His tears stopped immediately Lorna entered the room and his face lit up with smiles. ‘Mama.’ Chubby arms lifted towards her.
‘Mama is here, my precious.’ Lorna moved swiftly across the room, plucked her son from the cot and turned to Dallas, her eyes sparkling. ‘He’s quite precocious for nine months. I swear, he’ll be walking soon.’ She kissed the child’s downy head, before saying, ‘May I present your son, the Marquis of Dumfries, Cameron Keith Adair Dallas Kingholm. I call him Cam. Nanny will be back soon. She’ll take Cam for a walk. Then we can talk. There is much to be said between us. You have deceived me, Dallas, yet again. Frankly, I am furious with you.’
‘Lorna –’
Her eyes glittered with anger. ‘We will wait for Nanny.’
There was Alison again. The steely resolve. Do it my way. Fly in the face of convention. It was not arrogance, although, Lord knows, that’s how it sounded. But Dallas had known Lorna all her life and he sensed her uncertainty. He felt apprehension stir. She was here but, despite her welcome downstairs, forgiveness was a long way off – perhaps even impossible. He didn’t blame her for that but it scared him. She could be so stubborn that no amount of reasoning would sway her. Then again, he’d seen her forgive her brother when he insisted on putting her beloved pony at a jump Lorna said was too high. The horse gamely tried, stumbled and broke a leg, necessitating that it be destroyed. Lorna had been heartbroken but Charles was forgiven ‘because she loved him’.
Unsure of himself, Dallas moved towards her, fascinated by the baby who smiled, revealing two perfectly formed teeth. Dallas felt his stomach flip over. Cam had blond curls and blue eyes, and was the image of his mother. Something in those baby-blue depths drew him closer and he felt a bonding of blood so powerful it took his breath away. It transcended emotion, a fiercely protective instinct, deep within his gut. Dallas knew he would commit murder to keep this child safe.
‘My son,’ he whispered, holding out his arms.
Lorna handed him the baby.
‘My son,’ Dallas whispered again, smelling the aching innocence of babies, a combination of sleep, powder and a wet napkin – the scent of trust and dependence. ‘Hello, Cam.’ He looked over the child’s head to Lorna. ‘He’s beautiful.’
She smiled, briefly dropping her guard. ‘And ours. How could he be anything else?’
As if sensing that the man who held him had nothing but good intentions, Cam snuggled into Dallas’s shoulder, babbling baby talk, one hand grabbing a fistful of his father’s hair.
Dallas laughed as his son tugged. ‘He’s strong.’
Lorna extricated the baby’s fingers. ‘Come, my darling. Dry clothes for you.’
Cam gurgled and blew bubbles.
‘He’s a fine wee laddie,’ Dallas commented as Lorna drew off the soaked napkin. ‘And has the makings of quite a man,’ he added, grinning.
She frowned up at him. ‘If memory serves, he takes after his father.’
A lock of hair had fallen over her eyes and she blew upwards, trying to move it. Dallas reached out and smoothed back the curl, desire flooding through him. ‘Lorna –’ His voice was deep, eyes dark with longing.
She tossed her head, shaking his hand away. ‘Wait, I said.’
A knock on the door announced the nanny’s arrival. To Dallas’s s
urprise, she was Lorna’s old nanny.
‘Lord Acheson,’ the woman said, face expressionless but disapproval evident in her stiff voice.
‘Nanny Beth,’ he replied, unconsciously using the name she’d allowed when he was a child. ‘How lovely to see you again.’
Nanny Beth did not respond.
‘Cam needs a hat,’ Lorna said briskly. ‘Then a walk, I think. The fresh air will be good for him. Don’t go far and have him back here in fifteen minutes.’
‘Yes, my lady.’
By the look on Lorna’s face, Dallas guessed that she too was, in some way, out of favour with the straitlaced woman.
As soon as the door shut behind Nanny Beth and Cam, Lorna wasted no time. ‘Married, Dallas? I take it this was what you could not bear to explain in your letter?’ She gave a bitter smile. ‘It was my belief you were referring to past indiscretions. Silly me. If you’d made it plainer I would never have embarrassed us both by turning up here.’
‘Let me explain now.’
‘Indeed you shall, Dallas, for I find it impossible to believe you should twice treat me so shabbily.’ Lorna stood ramrod straight, eyes on his. ‘I came here in good faith. Your apparent deceit weighs heavily on my heart. Explain, if you can. No lies. You owe me that much.’
‘Not a day has passed –’
Lorna turned her back and stared out of the window. Eventually she spoke quietly. ‘Do not treat me as a fool.’
‘I’m not.’
She spun back. ‘Then for God’s sake, do not dare expect me to believe you could not forget me. You are married, Dallas. Another woman bears your name. I could have forgiven you my mother, but this . . .’ She broke off, tears threatening.
Dallas went to her and drew her to the bed. ‘Sit down and I will tell you. Please listen, Lorna, for nothing is as it seems. May I sit next to you?’
She nodded and the two of them sat side-by-side, Lorna making sure there was some distance between them.
Dallas began to speak. Lorna’s eyes never left his. He did not embellish the tale, telling her only the facts. ‘When your letter arrived, it was too late. Wilcox was threatening to reveal my whereabouts to the police. I was filled with despair when I wrote to you.’ He stopped, jaw working with emotion. ‘I love you, Lorna,’ he said finally in a husky voice. ‘I never ceased to love you. I didn’t mean to deceive you.’
Lorna sighed deeply. ‘And now you have a wife.’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘She has my name.’
‘And the child?’
‘His father took him.’
Lorna looked surprised. ‘What kind of a mother is that?’
‘Sarah is a very confused girl. It was for the best. For what it’s worth, I came here today to try and get my old room back. I had no idea you were here. I simply cannot bear to live with Sarah.’
Dallas held his breath. Lorna was chewing her bottom lip. A sure sign she was coming to a decision. ‘Divorce?’ she asked finally.
‘Unlikely.’
She nodded, still chewing. ‘You’ve left her?’
‘Yes.’
‘For good?’
‘Yes.’
‘Swear to me, Dallas, that you are telling the truth.’
He placed a hand over his heart. ‘I swear.’
Lorna stopped worrying her lip. ‘I left Scotland against my father’s express wishes. Family and friends find my actions unfathomable and slightly shocking, though they would be far more horrified if they knew the real reason for my travels. In other words, Dallas, I have already, to some extent, tarnished my reputation.’ She sighed. ‘I don’t completely trust you any more. You have caused me a great deal of pain. Yet I remember the Dallas I thought I knew. I love that man. Is he still there?’
Acting purely on instinct, for this was a Lorna who had matured greatly and he was less certain of her now, Dallas knew she wanted reassurance but that it had to come from the sincerity of his words, rather than loving gestures. ‘Yes, he is,’ he said quietly, his eyes not leaving hers. ‘And he loves only you.’
Tears filled her eyes suddenly. ‘He’d better,’ she burst out. ‘Because my heart cannot take any more.’
He reached for her, a hard lump of emotion in his throat. ‘I love you, my darling. So very, very much. Forgive me, I beg you. I will never cause you pain again.’ He held her while she sobbed, stroking her hair, his hands gentle and caring. ‘I’m so sorry,’ he whispered again and again.
She quietened eventually and pulled back. Even hiccupping and sniffing, her eyes swollen and red, she was beautiful. ‘What will we do?’ she asked.
‘We have two choices, my darling.’
Lorna nodded. ‘I cannot bring myself to consider one of them. Despite all that has happened, we belong together.’
A release of tension, in the form of a shuddering breath, came from Dallas. ‘Be very sure.’
Lorna leaned into him. ‘If you are by my side I can be strong.’
Dallas felt his heart soar. He drew her closer and kissed her, a long and yearning kiss of promise and love. ‘With you by my side I need nothing else,’ he told her when they drew apart.
Her smile was watery. ‘It will take a while before –’
He placed a finger over her lips. ‘I will spend the rest of my life proving my love, if needs be.’
‘When I learned you were wed I nearly took the next boat home.’
‘I’m glad you didn’t. What stopped you?’
‘The tone of Mrs Watson’s voice. She said nothing of the circumstances but I sensed there was more . . . something left unsaid. That decided me to stay.’
Dallas traced her jaw and chin with a finger. ‘Thank God,’ he said quietly.
They heard Cam and Nanny Beth returning. ‘She will be even more disapproving,’ Lorna said, mischief flaring briefly.
The middle-aged Scotswoman was more than that. Clucking her tongue, she made an ostentatious display of smoothing the bed. ‘Will ye be needing my services again today, my lady?’
Lorna went to her and placed an arm around the thick waist. ‘Nanny Beth.’ Her voice was gentle. ‘You have known us since we were born. Can you find it in your heart to understand?’
‘You will do what pleases you both, as usual, I’m sure. Any appeal for common decency will fall on deaf ears.’ She pulled away from Lorna.
‘Would you prefer to return home?’ Lorna asked.
‘If you please, my lady.’
‘Very well. I can see that we cause you much distress. I would not prolong your displeasure. You may stay on at Mrs Watson’s until I secure a berth for your return. I shall, of course, honour our contract. You will be paid for the full six months.’
‘Thank you, my lady.’ With no other word, and no look towards Dallas, or even Cam, Nanny Beth left the room.
‘Ouch!’ Lorna commented. She went to remove Cam from his carriage.
‘Let me do that.’ Dallas unstrapped the boy and swung him into the air. Cam laughed with delight.
Lorna giggled, for the first time sounding like her old self. ‘There’s something I wish to show you.’
‘What is it?’
‘You’ll see. It’s not far.’
She would say no more and Dallas was content for her to keep it a secret.
Mrs Watson stood by the front door, pretending to be polishing a brass knocker already kept sparkling bright by Mabel. ‘Your carriage has arrived, my lady. Will you be back for dinner?’
‘I think not. In fact, we’ll be moving out tomorrow. Nanny Beth will stay here for a while.’
Ann Watson’s face fell. Having such nobility staying in her home, irrespective of the most recent turn of events, which she could hardly wait to pass on, had been quite a coup for her. ‘As you wish, your ladyship.’
A pony and trap waited outside, the driver standing ready to assist Lorna and Cam. ‘Can you speak Zulu?’ Lorna asked.
‘Some.’
‘Then kindly tell Thomas to hop in the back. You can drive.’
Thomas’s face fell when Dallas related the instruction. ‘The madam likes to drive,’ he commented, jumping lightly into the back. Then, as Dallas hitched Tosca behind, he added, ‘It is the man who should drive.’
‘I will do it today,’ Dallas told him.
Ego restored, Thomas settled back for the ride. Dallas helped Lorna and Cam onto the seat next to him and took the reins. Lorna tucked an arm through his. With Cam on her lap, they were a picture of carefree happiness.
‘Where to?’ Dallas asked, conscious of the effect it would have three doors down if they were to drive past his house in this manner.
‘That way.’ Thankfully Lorna pointed in the opposite direction.
He turned the horses and they set off. It was not far. ‘Slow down,’ Lorna told him ten minutes later. ‘See that driveway. Go in there.’
Dallas had noticed the house before and often wondered to whom it belonged. Set well off the road, behind a low stone wall, mature trees lined a curved driveway. The two-storeyed Regency-style house, so popular in England in the early part of the century, would have looked out of place but for the fact that its stucco rendering had been painted a sand colour and the iron balconies white, giving the building an almost tropical appearance. ‘Who owns this place?’
‘I do.’
‘You!’
Lorna grinned, delighted at his surprise. ‘I bought it a few days after my arrival.’
‘Whew! It must be the most expensive house in the whole of Durban.’
‘It is, my dear. What else would you expect from such a grand lady?’
They laughed and, for a moment, Dallas was transported back to the carefree days of his youth, to a time where responsibility was up to the adults and life a succession of pleasant interludes. It was so like Lorna that once the drama, whatever it happened to be, was over and she’d spoken her mind, she reverted to normal. She could never hold a grudge. He had let her down badly, and yet, difficult as it must have been, she was able to put the hurt aside so their problem could be faced with as little emotional interference as possible. Dallas’s respect and love for Lorna had never been as great as it was at this moment.
Shadows in the Grass Page 34
