Finding Bella Blue (When Paths Meet Book 2) Read online

  Against his better judgment the controlled desperation in her voice made him grudgingly reconsider. “Okay. You can come on two conditions. One that you do exactly as I tell you so we don’t spook the mother, and two, that you are here promptly at five o’clock tomorrow morning. If you’re late I’m not waiting because I want to get to her before the rest of the estate begins to stir.”

  She nodded eagerly. “I’ll be here.”

  “Make sure you are.” He turned away without a farewell, calling Cora to heel as he strode across the grass.

  Izzie, watching him go, wondered if he lived on the estate or in a cottage in the village she’d glimpsed from the car window as they approached Corley Hall. Letting her imagination run wild she pictured a wife, probably pretty and pregnant, listening for the click of the gate so she could run to the door to welcome him home. The thought produced a curious constriction in her throat. With a hollow laugh she turned towards the Dower House. How ridiculous to feel like that just because he’d loaned her his dog for the afternoon. She was feeling lonely was all. It was time she went to find her hostess.

  Chapter Three

  “Cam was furious,” Amelia said, handing Izzie a glass of wine.

  “Who with, you or me?”

  “Both of us. He said you aren’t taking the shoot seriously enough and that I need to concentrate on what I’m being paid to do instead of disrupting things by inviting you to stay here. He said you should be at the hotel where he can keep an eye on you…make sure you’re safe.”

  “Safer in the hotel than here behind a high brick wall…I don’t think so. Don’t let him get to you, he’ll be over it by morning.” Izzie gave an irritable shrug. Cameron Watt had taken over her business affairs when her previous manager had had a heart attack two years previously and as far as she was concerned, it was two years too long.

  “I really hope you’re right because from the amount of shouting he did I thought he was going to cancel the entire photo shoot.”

  “No chance! He and your editor have been planning it for months. Besides, there’s a deadline on this. The studio needs the pictures by the end of next week and so does your magazine, so he can’t pull out now.”

  Amelia let out a long sigh of relief. “It’s so good to hear you say that because I really can’t afford to mess up and Corley Hall can’t afford to lose the fee either.”

  Izzie chuckled when, realizing what she’d just said, Amelia blushed to the roots of her hair. She wouldn’t let her apologize either.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re just being honest. You need the money and you need to impress your editor, and I need the publicity, or rather Bella Blue needs it. So let’s call it quits and talk about something else. Tell me what it was like to grow up here.”

  Reminding herself that she really should try to remember that Izzie was a client and not a friend and guard her tongue a little better, Amelia did her best. “It was sort of magical I suppose, or at least that’s how I remember it. Although I was away at boarding school during term time, I had a lot of freedom when I was at home. In the summer I roamed the estate from dawn to dusk, and in the winter I spent hours dressing up in the old clothes that are stored in the attics. At Christmas I’d even put on a fashion show and make everyone watch.”

  “That explains why your editor has put you in charge of the photo shoot…your reputation has gone before you,” Izzie teased.

  Amelia smiled as she shook her head. “I wish I could believe it but I’m not that naïve. I’m only here because her budget is in the red, so when she realized my brother owned the estate, which means I can stay for free at the Dower House and eat there too, she decided to give me a chance to prove myself.”

  Izzie gave a peal of laughter. “Well that certainly puts things in perspective…but don’t tell Cam we’re a balance sheet exercise or he really might carry out his threat to cancel. For him, not even the best is good enough.”

  “Oh god, I shouldn’t have told you that,” Amelia was mortified that she’d blurted out her innermost thoughts yet again. Maybe inviting Izzie to stay at the Dower House wasn’t such a good idea after all. Now she’d have to explain before she blew her one big chance.

  “What I meant was…I don’t care why my editor put me in charge…I’d sleep in a tent if that’s what it took to be able to direct you in a fashion shoot. Doing this is a dream come true for me because up until now I’ve just been a lowly assistant, always at her beck and call, and I don’t want to go back to that…which is why I really can’t afford to mess up.”

  “Well we’d better make sure you don’t then, hadn’t we? Have you managed to persuade Cam to use the backdrops you want yet?”

  With a sigh of relief Amelia realized that, far from being annoyed, her celebrity guest was amused at her faux pas and she allowed herself to relax as they began to talk about the decisions she and Izzie’s manager had made earlier that day.

  “We’re agreed on most of the stuff we want to do inside the Hall so once I’ve talked him through the few outdoor shots we need, we can get started. I thought a picture with some deer in the background might be good…and one with you in front of the main entrance too. There are umpteen other fantastic possibilities but so far he has refused to walk far enough to see any of them.”

  “I can’t say I’m surprised because he’s the ultimate urbanite. Fresh air is a complete anathema to him.”

  “Not to you though?” Amelia’s question was tentative as the conversation veered back into the personal.

  “Not to me,” Izzie agreed. “I grew up surrounded by woods and fields and if I’m away for too long I miss them.”

  “Me too. In the summer my brothers and I even slept outdoors…well my brothers did, a lot. I was only allowed to when they agreed to take me with them, something they avoided whenever they could by hiding from me for days at a time.”

  She laughed at Izzie’s quizzical expression. “As well as being much older than me they knew how to stalk deer without being seen, so I had no chance. I never found them unless they wanted me to, which wasn’t very often.”

  “It still sounds idyllic. Who lived in the Dower House when you were small?”

  “Grandmamma: my father’s mother. She was terribly fierce with everyone but me. Papa said it was because she was very old by the time I was born, so she’d mellowed. I used to visit her almost every day when I was at home and when I was at school she used to send me a parcel once a month. It was always full of chocolate and cake and she’d put pressed flowers and lavender sachets in too. She even put shiny horse chestnuts in once. I think she thought the things she sent would stop me feeling homesick but they just made me feel worse, although I never told her that.”

  “She sounds lovely. I never knew my grandparents. They died long before I was born. Then both my parents died, so my sister brought me up.”

  “The one who owns the horse therapy center?”

  Izzie smiled at her. “You remembered!”

  “Difficult not to. It’s an unusual sort of job. Is that where you lived as a child?”

  “No. I did live with horses though. Jodie managed a riding school when I was small and we lived in a cottage on the premises. She was much nicer to me than I deserved too because I was the reason she had to give up the dressage riding she loved. So she could look after me she abandoned her dreams and found a job that would support us both.”

  “So you owe her a lot.”

  “Everything really. She put her life on hold while I was growing up.”

  “Is she a lot older than you?”

  “Ten years. Although we only had each other the authorities still refused to let her be my guardian until she was eighteen, so at first I was in foster care. She used to visit me every week though and tell me about the life we were going to have together.”

  Amelia stared at her. “I wonder if Edward would have done that for me. He was my oldest brother…well half-brother actually because my mother is the second Countess. He would be Earl now
if he hadn’t died suddenly at the end of last year.”

  Izzie’s reply was gentle. “I’m so sorry…I didn’t realize. I knew your father had died but I didn’t know about your brother.”

  “Goodness this conversation is getting maudlin,” Amelia dashed away the tears that had filled her eyes at the mention of her brother. “Let’s talk about something else. I know your sister is married to Marcus Lewis. How did she meet him and is he as dishy as he looks in his photos?”

  Izzie grinned at her, equally glad to move on. “More so, but he’s totally devoted to my sister much to the irritation of his countless fans.”

  They were still discussing Marcus when Lady Corley swept into room followed by an elderly woman laden with a tray of hors d’oeuvres and a fresh bottle of wine. When Izzie jumped up to help, her hostess’s response was gracious but firm.

  “Please sit down my dear. You are our guest. Tomlins will deal with the drinks and Amelia will help.”

  Amelia complied by handing Izzie a small plate and a selection of appetizers.

  Her duties temporarily over, Margaret, Dowager Countess of Faversham, sank into a faded velvet armchair with a relieved sigh. She was a handsome woman in her early fifties with smooth iron-gray hair, an upright carriage, and deep-set dark eyes. She looked very tired.

  “It was so kind of Amelia to invite me to stay with you Lady Corley. I hope my being here won’t inconvenience you…I mean…well you must be so busy…” Izzie’s voice trailed away when it became apparent that her hostess had fallen asleep.

  When Amelia leaned forward to poke her awake, she caught hold of her arm. “Please don’t disturb her on my account. If she’s that tired perhaps it would be better if I stayed at the hotel after all.”

  “No. Please don’t go. It’ll do her good to have something new to think about, someone else to talk to. When she wakes up she’ll be fine, and we’ll pretend we didn’t notice…that is, I hope you won’t mind if we do that.”

  “No, of course I won’t, but why is she so tired?”

  “Well she’s still grieving for my father of course, and I know she misses Edward a great deal too. She always said he was the son she never had, so the shock of his sudden death, so soon after Papa’s, knocked her sideways. Then the double death duties nearly bankrupted the estate so she had to get used to frugality in a hurry too, something that doesn’t suit her anymore than having to think of ways to raise money suits her."

  “Such as hosting a photo shoot I suppose?” Izzie’s expression was rueful.

  “Yes. And now she’s talking about moving into conferences and weddings even though she knows she’s not being realistic. Nobody would hire the Hall in its present state and my one remaining brother, who lives in the few rooms that have been modernized, doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to do anything about it.”

  Hearing the bitterness in her voice, Izzie raised a questioning eyebrow. Amelia shook her head. “Don’t mind me. I should know better than to wash our dirty linen in public and if my mother was awake she would tell me so…but if you really want to know why she’s so tired, it’s because my dear brother refuses to discuss the finances of the estate at all, which means Mama spends every night lying awake worrying.”

  “Is he the brother who hates celebrities?”

  Amelia gave a humorless laugh. “Yes…and right now he appears to hate most other people too. Mama says it’s because he’s upset that he had to come back from France to take over the estate when Edward died, but sometimes it feels as if he blames us personally.”

  Izzie was rescued from having to answer her by a small snore, which was followed by a yawn as Lady Corley opened her eyes. Picking up her glass of wine she spoke as if nothing had happened.

  “Now tell me all about yourself my dear. I want to know all about your career. I also want to know why on earth you have allowed Amelia persuade you to stay here when, much as I’m delighted to see you, it’s only fair to tell you that you’d be much more comfortable in the hotel in the village?”

  * * *

  When she woke early the following morning Izzie had to concede that Lady Corley was right. The bed was lumpy, the carpet was threadbare, there was no shower, and she had only managed to persuade a trickle of water into the claw- footed bath after a great deal of coaxing. Nevertheless, she was glad she had accepted Amelia’s spontaneous invitation to stay at the Dower House because she hadn’t enjoyed an evening so much in a long time.

  After her initial somnolent lapse Lady Corley had proved to be a charming and attentive hostess, plying Izzie with food until she couldn’t eat another thing, and all the while entertaining her with stories about the estate. She had learned that the Gunnerson-Corley family had lived at Corley Hall since the early years of the fifteenth century, and that the whole estate was a living history of the five hundred years since it was built. She heard about the gardens too, and how the present Earl was intent on bringing them back to their glory days.

  “Which is why we never see him because he’s always out and about planting things,” Amelia said, and then flushed at her mother’s reproving look.

  “I’m sure Isabella doesn’t want to hear about our family squabbles my dear,” Lady Corley’s voice had been sharp as she adroitly changed the subject. Then, steering all conversation very firmly away from the travails of Corley Hall and the Gunnerson-Corley family, she’d asked Izzie questions instead.

  She’d been genuinely interested too, and had proved to be surprisingly knowledgeable about music. When Izzie had asked her if she played an instrument, however, she hadn’t answered. Instead she’d declared it was time to show her where she was sleeping and led the way from the room.

  Now, pulling on her clothes in the gray light of dawn, Izzie gave a wry smile. What would Lady Corley say if she knew her guest was meeting up with one of the Earl’s employees? Would she consider it a breech of etiquette or had social equality finally caught up with the English nobility? She had absolutely no idea.

  * * *

  Although she let herself out of the house much earlier than she needed to, Jack was already waiting for her under the horse chestnut tree.

  “You made it then.”

  She grinned at him. “I told you I would.”

  “I didn’t hear a car.”

  “No…I…” she started to tell him she was staying at the Dower House as a guest of the Countess and then had second thoughts. Better to let him think she was so keen that she’d slogged over from the hotel than embarrass him. If he discovered she was staying with the Corley family he might feel compromised and she wanted him to take her to see the fawn on his own terms, not because he felt he had to.

  He stared at her. ‘You’re certainly keen. It’s a long walk from the hotel.”

  She gave a non-committal shrug as she changed the subject. “Where’s Cora?”

  “Shut up indoors. Although she’s usually good around the deer, a newborn fawn might be one step too far.” He started walking as he spoke and soon she was too breathless trying to keep up with him to say another word.

  * * *

  It took them almost fifteen minutes to reach the copse where he had last seen the pregnant deer, and another five to walk around it while Jack explained his actions.

  “We need to approach from the windward side so the mother doesn’t pick up our scent. The last thing I want to do is frighten her into abandoning her fawn.”

  “Would she do that?” Izzie tried, without success, to hide the fact that she was breathing hard.

  He gave her the glimmer of a smile: his first of the morning. “If she hears you panting like a steam engine you won’t see her for dust.”

  Scowling at him, she protested. “It’s alright for you. You’re used to striding round the estate every day. The least you could have done was slow down.”

  To her surprise he nodded. “You’re right. I should have made allowances but I’m afraid I’m not used to sharing my early morning walk with anyone.”

  “Not even with the
Earl? I thought…that is someone told me that he spends all his time outdoors.”

  He stared at her. Then he smiled, properly, and for the first time. “The Earl is the only person who can keep up with me and even he sometimes wishes he didn’t have to.”

  Unexpectedly stunned by the effect of his smile and what it was doing to her pulse rate, Izzie stopped listening. Instead she slowed down a little until she was walking behind him, and when he turned and gave her a questioning look she shook her head. “Just giving myself a chance to breath normally.”

  “In that case I’ll go on ahead and see if I can find the fawn. If I do, I’ll come back for you.”

  She nodded as she watched him walk away and then she sank onto an upturned log and wondered what had just happened to her.

  * * *

  Jack slid silently between the trees until he came to the thicket where he’d seen the deer in labor, and then he dropped to the ground and inched his way forward on his stomach. As he’d hoped, a newborn fawn was lying motionless in the undergrowth. He stayed only long enough to check it was alone before retreating back to where Izzie was waiting for him.

  “We’re in luck. There’s no sign of the mother which means she’s probably foraging,” he told her.

  “You mean she’s left her baby on its own already?” Izzie’s huge blue-green eyes in their fringe of long lashes were wide with concern.

  He nodded. “Don’t confuse deer with humans. Their babies are programmed to lie quietly in the undergrowth until they’re strong enough to join the herd. It only takes a few days but during that time they only move when their mothers return to suckle them. Come and see for yourself, but remember, no talking, and do exactly as I tell you.”

  Nodding, Izzie stood up ready to follow him. He drew his brows together in a frown as he looked at her. Up until now he hadn’t considered what she was wearing, but up close and personal even he could see her clothes were expensive. Admittedly they were suitable for outdoors but he was certain that everything she was wearing carried a designer label. If what he had learned from his sister’s career in fashion was anything to go by, she was probably dressed in several thousand pounds worth of clothes.