by Anne Mather
‘Oh, no!’ Helen shook her head. ‘And Mrs Argyll’s going to be delighted. What with Angus being made redundant and all, they didn’t have much choice but to move down here when we invited them, but I know she misses her grandchildren, and she’ll just love having a baby about the place!’
‘Mmm.’ Rafe was thoughtful. ‘A built-in babysitter, no less.’
‘You really don’t mind?’
‘No, I really don’t mind,’ he told her huskily, and for the next few minutes there was a significant silence in the room.
But presently, the crackling of the letter came between them and, frowning, Rafe flicked it with his finger. ‘What’s that?’
‘I found it,’ said Helen, snuggling into the circle of his legs, loving the feel of his taut body at her back. ‘It was in the bureau. Sometimes these old bureaux have a secret drawer, and this one does.’
‘A secret drawer!’ Rafe was intrigued. Pushing her hair aside, he peered over her shoulder. ‘What is it? One of your grandfather’s love-letters?’
‘It’s not from my grandfather,’ said Helen, taking the letter out of the envelope. ‘It’s from yours. Do you want to read it?’
‘You read it to me,’ said Rafe, nuzzling her hair. ‘I don’t want to move. I like you just where you are.’
‘So do I,’ murmured Helen, a little breathily, turning to meet his mouth with her lips. ‘Oh, Rafe! Let me read it. If you do that again, I shan’t be able to.’
‘Is that a promise?’ he asked grinning, and nudging him in the ribs, she turned back to the letter.
‘Listen! It starts: My dear Liz—that must be Nan——
I am writing again because my father has forbidden me to see you. Ever since our last meeting, I have been praying we might see one another accidentally, but Papa is sending me to London, so that possibility is much less. I know I should not be telling you these things, I know I should not even be writing to you. You and Gerald are my dearest friends, and I am a cad of the first water to approach my own brother’s intended. But I knew from the beginning that we were meant to mean more to one another than brother and sister, and I wish with all my heart I could take you with me. I love you, dearest Liz. I know I always will. Please think of me sometimes, and with affection. Yours for ever, Gilbert.’
‘My God!’ Rafe uttered an astonished sound, and taking the letter from her, he lay back against the cushions and scanned it over her head. ‘So the old lady did have a reason to care what happened to Gilbert’s son.’
‘Yes.’ Helen sighed. ‘I suppose that’s why Gilbert didn’t care when his father ostracised him. Going to Australia was probably a means of escape.’
‘Hmm.’ Rafe finished reading the letter again, and then tossed it on to the rug. ‘Poor old girl! Poor old Gilbert!’
‘Well—at least she’d be happy now,’ said Helen, feeling the prick of tears behind her eyes. ‘The two branches of the family are finally united.’
‘United.’ Rafe’s arms closed around her, drawing her closely back against him. ‘Yes,’ he murmured softly. ‘I like that word.’
‘So do I,’ agreed Helen huskily, and turned to meet his kiss.
‘My love,’ said Rafe unsteadily. ‘My only love.’
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IMPRINT: Sexy
ISBN: 9781488743177
TITLE: THE LONGEST PLEASURE
First Australian Publication 2014
Copyright © 2014 Anne Mather
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Mills & Boon®, Level 4, 132 Arthur Street, North Sydney, N.S.W., Australia 2060.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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