by Clare Revell
He couldn’t put her in a home, and the staff were great, but the time would come when she would be too much, and he’d need to get in a full-time carer.
When he raised his head, the potted palm tree on the other side of the checkered hallway mocked him. He glared at it.
“Sir?”
Gabe looked up into the poker face of Hardy the butler. “I thought I gave instructions for that monstrosity to be put outside on the terrace.”
“Lady Tyler insisted it came back inside, sir.”
Gabe harrumphed. “So put it upstairs in her ladyship’s room. If she’s that fond of it, she can live with it.”
Hardy’s eyes twinkled. “I’ll get right on it, sir.”
Gabe tried not to smile. “I have a three-thirty call tomorrow morning with the car coming at four. So, I won’t need breakfast.”
“Do you want a tray of coffee brought up at half past three?”
“Certainly not. Just because I have to be up at stupid o’clock, doesn’t mean I expect you or the kitchen staff to be up then as well. I’m perfectly capable of finding the kettle and putting it on myself.” He grinned. “Just don’t tell my mother I said that. She’d have a blue fit and go up in smoke.”
A brief smile crossed the butler’s face before he masked it. “Very good, sir.”
Gabe headed to the huge wooden staircase. Its central span divided into two half way up. His style of leadership being lord of the manor was vastly different to his parents and grandparents. But times changed. Servants were human beings, too. Yes, he expected the same level of service, loyalty, and respect as his father and grandfather, but not at the expense of their dignity and health.
His thoughts returned to the careers fayre and Miss Stannis.
What did she look like? Blonde, redhead, brunette? Tall, short, fat, thin? It was impossible to tell from her voice. He reached his room and threw the papers onto his bed. He pulled out his phone and speed-dialed his brother.
“Cherry Tree House, Blake Tyler speaking.”
Gabe gave a short laugh. “Did I ring the main house rather than your mobile, Blake?”
There was a pause. “Nope, I’m just in work mode.” Blake laughed. As the house father of the local children’s home, Blake was never off duty. “How are you?”
“Just shocked Mother. Told her I’m doing the careers fayre at the school next week. And I’m going as an actor.”
Blake gasped as if shocked. “No, surely the great Earl of Elton isn’t going to attend a local fayre as an actor? You’ll let down the family; in fact, the entire country will crumble, and the stock market will crash, and life as we know it will come to an end.”
“Oh, hush.” Gabe laughed harder. “So, will you be coming?”
“Yes—in my capacity as a parent. I will be sure to bring Eddie and Jason over to say ‘hi.’ And get a signed photo because you know they’ll want one.”
“Don’t you start.”
Blake chuckled. “Mother giving you grief on all subjects as usual then?”
“I think she despairs of us both. I was wondering if you’d met Miss Stannis. She’s organizing the fayre.”
“The name doesn’t ring a bell. What does she teach?”
“I have no idea.”
“That’s a great help. I’ll ask the kids.”
“Thank you. I’d better go. I have to be up at half three, and I have new lines to learn before I sleep. An actor’s life is not an easy one.”
He hung up, Dawn Stannis very much on his mind. He lay on the bed reading the script, only the voice in his head replying to his lines belonged to a certain teacher and not his co-star.
2
Gabe followed the footman who carried another box into the hall and watched him stack it by the first one. It would’ve been far quicker if he’d have done it himself, rather than wait for someone to turn up and then have to tell them what to do.
“You are not driving yourself,” Countess Florence barked continuing the argument from breakfast. “Hardy, have Peters bring the car around ready to drive His Lordship to the school.”
Before the butler could say anything, Gabe glared at her. “I’ll drive. I don’t need a limo for this trip. It’s not far, and I don’t want a fuss.”
“You’ll take the driver, and that’s the end of it.”
Gabe scowled. “Fine. Then I’ll need him and the car all day. You’ll have to find some other way of getting to your bridge club this afternoon. We’ll be home around nine-thirty, ten this evening. So I won’t need dinner.”
He headed towards the door taking one of the boxes with him. He bit his tongue as the footman took it from him. “Put it in the boot of my car, please.”
Hardy followed him with the other box. “Mrs. Jessop made you up a cut lunch, sir. I know you said you didn’t want anything, but…”
“I’ll take it.” Tired of his mother making a fuss, he simply wanted out of the house as soon as possible.
His red sports car sat on the drive, and he unlocked it. He turned to the footman who was struggling to fit the big box into the small boot. At this rate, he’d be late. “Let me take that.” Shoving his box into the boot, he stacked the second box next to it.
Easy when you know how.
He caught sight of his mother glaring at him from the doorway. Why couldn’t she just accept the fact that he wasn’t going to break if he did something for himself for once?
The chauffer, Peters, appeared beside him and opened the passenger door.
Gabe sighed. He handed over the keys and got into the car. “Take me to the end of the road then take the day off. I’ll meet you somewhere when I’m finished, and you can drive me back home.”
“Very good, sir.”
Gabe pushed back in his seat and fastened his belt. It really would be nice to get a different response to what he said sometimes.
Peters started the car. “I’ve been meaning to visit my mother in Bramley. This would be the perfect opportunity to do so.”
“Sounds good.” Gabe looked at him. “Tell you what. Drive to the station and hop out. I’ll pick you up there about nine-thirty tonight. That will give you plenty of time for a decent visit.”
Peters smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
“And not a word to my mother.”
Fifteen minutes later, Gabe drove into the school car park. He locked the car and headed into reception.
“Gabriel Tyler to see Miss Stannis. I’m here for the careers fayre.”
“Take a seat, Mr. Tyler, and I’ll give her a call.”
“Thank you.”
Gabe turned his attention to the wall displays of the children’s work. Some of it was pretty good. Over on the far wall were cast pictures of past school plays. He didn’t need to go over to them to know which were his.
“Lord Tyler?”
He turned. Wow. The woman standing before him was nothing like he’d imagined or expected. Tight black plaits covered her head, perfect white teeth shone against her dark skin. Deep brown eyes sparkled as her hand extended towards him. He swallowed forcing his voice to work. “Miss Stannis, I presume?”
She nodded. “Thank you for coming. And please, call me Dawn.”
Gabe shook her hand. Her skin was cool against his, and his touch lingered a tad more than necessary. Her perfume was light and floral filling his senses as his gaze ran over her. Her plaid skirt and plain white shirt showed off her well-proportioned figure. A cross pendant hung around her neck, and her left hand was free of rings. “The pleasure is all mine. It’s nice to meet you. And it’s Gabe.”
And he wanted her to think of him as Gabe, not Gabriel, or Lord Tyler, or anything else. For once, he wanted to be a normal person.
“Thank you so much for doing this. The kids don’t think you’re coming. They reckon it’s a ruse on my part to force them to attend this afternoon.”
“Well, here I am.”
She smiled. “And your timing is impeccable. Assembly is just about to start. It’s a full scho
ol one, so there are a lot of kids in there, but this seemed fairer than you just seeing the year nines.”
“Then let’s do it.” His stomach knotted worse than it did before an audition. These were just kids, right? And all he had to do was talk about something he loved doing. How hard could it be?
He followed her down the hallway. “What did you want me to say?”
“That’s up to you. We could do a question and answer session if it’s easier. The kids might like that.”
“Sure.” He thought fast. “I’ll do a couple of minutes on a general theme and then take the questions.”
“Sounds great.” They reached the hall, and Miss Stannis—Dawn led him through a side door to the back of what he knew was the stage. “Just wait here a minute.”
“Sure.”
She vanished behind the curtain, and the chattering turned to silence. “Good morning, school.”
“Good morning, Miss Stannis. Good morning, staff. Good morning, everyone.”
Gabe grinned. They still did that? Memories of standing there chorusing the same thing for years assailed him. Aside from the fact that the school had been repainted, it looked the same and conjured up the same feelings within him. It even smelled the same as it had when he’d attended.
It was on this very stage that his love of acting had begun.
“As you know, today is the year nine careers fayre.” Dawn continued speaking, and Gabe forced himself to concentrate not wanting to miss his cue. “And this morning, we have a special guest come to talk to all of you about his job. He’s going to speak for a few minutes. Then, he’s agreed to answer any questions you may have. He’ll also be at the fayre today along with many other people of varying professions. We have someone from the fire service, police, military, the church, even someone from the houses of parliament if anyone wants to be a politician. So, if any of the year nines were thinking of not coming, this may be your incentive to attend. So, without further ado, let me introduce Gabriel Tyler.”
The kids screamed. They began to whistle and clap.
Gabe smiled and headed out onto the stage to find every single person in the hall on their feet. He still found this type of adulation embarrassing. As far as he was concerned, he was an ordinary bloke who went to work each day just like everyone else did. Once silence fell, he stepped up to the podium. “Thank you, Miss Stannis. Good morning, everyone.”
As if rehearsed, but he knew it wasn’t, the school chorused, “Good morning, Mr. Tyler.”
He grinned. “This is just like old times. You know my acting career began here, right on this very stage in a school production of ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ I was the scarecrow. From what I remember, it was the first time a year seven had been cast in a leading role. So, what’s it like being an actor?” He paused. “It’s fun. It is incredibly hard work redoing things over and over until the director says it’s right—especially when you’re in makeup at half three in the morning and still sitting there five hours later. It can be frustrating, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
~*~
An hour later, Dawn led Gabe to the staff room. “I wasn’t expecting the kids to ask so many questions.”
He pushed a hand through his brown hair, which he wore parted on the left. His blue eyes twinkled. “I know its par for the course, but it was nice to be asked something different.”
She moved to the side and grabbed a couple of mugs. “Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee with no milk and one sugar, please. Most interviews relate to a specific project and not much thought goes into them. Which is why by the end of interview seven, I have the answers down to a fine art. But those kids made me think.”
“Especially what would you do if you weren’t an actor.”
Gabe laughed and took the mug she offered. “Thank you. Well, yeah. At least being a bin man I could go back to bed after lunch.”
Dawn grinned. “That would be nice.” She led him to the chairs under the window and sat down. She had to admit, albeit only to herself, her curiosity had been piqued by some of his answers. “You sidestepped the girlfriend one quite nicely.”
He chuckled. “I’ve been doing that for years with my mother. She’d prefer me to be married and have ten kids by now, but it’ll happen in God’s own time, when the right woman comes along. I don’t see the point in starting a relationship purely to satisfy the press or my mother.” He sipped his coffee. “What about you? Why did you become a teacher?”
“I studied geography at university and had such great plans. This was my back up career.”
“What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?” His intense blue eyes gazed at her over the rim of his cup, and Dawn found herself being pulled into them.
What must it be like to act opposite him? To have him wrap his arms around you? Have those full, masculine lips press against your cheek…
She shook herself hard. Enough of the fan girl malarkey. “My first choice was to be a volcanologist or find a way to predict earthquakes, but that didn’t work out, so I’m the geography teacher. I teach about places, rocks, and weather. Try and enthuse the next generation instead, and I get to throw in a volcano now and then.”
He tilted his head. “Sounds like an intriguing story there.”
She shrugged. “Not really.” And it wasn’t something she intended to talk about either. “Teaching is safer.”
The door opened. “Sorry to interrupt, Dawn, but I can’t find the presentation for your class.”
Dawn glanced at the head teacher. He was covering her lessons for the day. “That’s because it’s in my pocket.” Her cheeks warmed a little as she handed over the flash drive. “Here. Sorry.”
He took it. “Thanks.” He held out his other hand. “Nigel Wilder, head teacher.”
“Gabriel Tyler.” Gabe shook his hand.
“Pleasure to meet you. The wife is a huge fan of yours and will be incredibly jealous when I tell her I’ve met you. I’m not sure I could do your job having heard you speak this morning.”
“I definitely couldn’t do yours,” Gabe said.
The head teacher grinned. “You’re welcome to try. You did a good job in Warwick High.”
“Warwick High is as close to teaching as I want to get.”
“Well, if you change your mind… Better go before Dawn’s class riots.”
Gabe sat down again. “I don’t suppose for a minute that Warwick High is anything close to the real thing.”
“Probably not—and he’s kidding about my class rioting. They only do that in history.” She took a long drink of coffee, guessing from his smile that he’d gotten her pun without her having to explain it. Which made a nice change. “Unlike our fictional counterparts, we have hours of marking and lesson prep which eat into the day and the long holidays.”
“Can’t you reuse lessons from one year to the next?”
“Sometimes, but the syllabus changes so much that most of it is useless.” She drained her coffee and set the cup down.
“Do you ever do practical work with them?”
“A fair bit.” She grinned. “We make volcanoes, rain gauges, and study wave motion using a slinky. And then there are the field trips.”
“I remember those.” He settled back in the chair finally seeming to relax a little. “We went on one trip in the rain to an open air museum that had all these really old houses from medieval days.”
“Singleton. Yeah, we still do that one. I expect it’s changed a lot since you went.”
Gabe grinned. “The most exciting part, other than seeing the Tudor house, was sneaking up on the teachers and taking photos of them eating lunch.”
Dawn laughed. “The kids still do that, too.”
He studied her, yet she didn’t mind. “Am I keeping you from a class?”
“No. I’m meant to be organizing the fayre, but this hour is my designated PPA session for the week. I’m supposed to be doing paperwork.”
He set his cup down. “My least favorite subject.�
�
“Mine too.”
The door opened again, and the head of drama came in. Dawn could tell from the way he walked he was a man with a mission. He crossed over to them. “Ray Patterson. I was wondering if you were free to pop into the year eleven drama class and do some work with them, Mr. Tyler.”
Gabe nodded. “I’d love to if Miss Stannis can spare me.”
“Sure. I’ll need you from lunchtime though.” Dawn shoved aside the shaft of disappointment as Gabe stood and followed Ray from the room.
Gabe was nothing like she’d expected. And was his title really ‘Lord’? Because he didn’t behave the way she’d expected a lord to, and he hadn’t mentioned his title once.
3
Gabe found that the children lapped up what he told them eager to learn the technical aspects of stage fighting and stage presence. He showed them how to adjust their height to change persona, alter the mood of the characters, as well as how to use their voices. As the bell for lunch rang, he made his way back to the staff room.
He found a quiet corner to sit and eat although he wasn’t particularly hungry. Dawn entered and pulled something from the fridge. He studied her. Dawn Stannis combined beauty with intelligence. He knew there was a story behind her becoming a teacher rather than a volcanologist and wondered if he’d ever find out. Would she ever trust him enough to tell him? She came over to him with two cups in her hand. She held one out to him. “Black coffee, one sugar.”
“You remembered. Thank you.”
She sat beside him. “You’re welcome.”
Gabe swallowed a mouthful of coffee as Dawn took a seat with him. “Did you get any of your paperwork done?”
She laughed. “No. Unless you count doing table arrangements as paperwork. I’ve been trying not to sit the Labor MP next to the Conservative town councilor in case they start another fight—even if it is a verbal one.”
“Is that likely to happen?”
