[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Think about something else. Work, think about work. How long will
it be before the roads are clear enough to get back to London? She
began devising ways and means of getting out of this cottage, getting
back to London. Instead of counting sheep, she counted ways and
means of escape, and began to yawn. She was very tired. It had been a
disturbed and disturbing night, and she was mentally and physically
exhausted. After a little while, she went to sleep, woke up as the room
thickened with twilight.
Almost at once, Juliet remembered everything; she sat up with a little
gasp and turned to look at the clock, taken aback to see that it was
nearly seven o'clock in the evening.
She slid off the bed to look out at the moor. It seemed much lighter
outside than it was in the house. The stars showed like the glittering
points of swords in the midnight-blue sky. It was cold again, but the
snow did not seem as deep. It had been as high as the garden wall, but
now it had sunk and she could see plants showing through it. She
peered out, frowning was it her imagination, or was the snow
melting?
She leant on the windowsill, staring out, for several minutes, but
couldn't say for sure whether or not the thaw had begun. Maybe in the
morning she would be able to drive back to London?
She seemed to have been here for days, so much had happened to
her yet it wasn't even twenty-four hours since she had arrived. She
would be glad to get back, she told herself. She had to be glad. It was
the only sensible view to take.
She sighed and drew her curtains together, then went over to switch
on her bedroom light, before walking into her bathroom to shower.
She felt hot and creased, for one thing, and for another she needed to
wash Simeon out of her hair.
The water cascaded down on her, deafening her to all other sounds.
When she had finished, she turned off the overhead jet, and slid into
her white towelling robe, lightly towelled her hair and dried her bare
legs and feet before going back into her bedroom.
She was padding across the carpet when she heard the sound of a car
engine.
Juliet stopped dead, her heart plunging sickeningly. For a second she
almost believed she was imagining the noise, and then she knew she
wasn't, and ran to the window. Headlights cut through the dusk and
illumined the lane, showing her the large black Land Rover slowly
drawing up outside.
Who on earth could it be? she wondered, staring at the vehicle as it
parked beside the wall. A local farmer, calling to enquire if she was
OK? One of her mother's friends who had noticed the lights?
Then, the driver's door opened and someone climbed out and turned
to stare up at the cottage, and Juliet drew a sharp breath, hardly
believing her eyes.
It was Adam.
CHAPTER SIX
FOR a second Juliet was too stunned to think, and then her mind
worked like crazy. Simeon was downstairs. He would open the door
when Adam knocked, and she hated to think what might happen then!
There was something aggressive in the set of Adam's shoulders as he
began to walk towards the house. He and Simeon were going to clash,
that was obvious, and she would love to watch Adam knock Simeon
off his perch, but she somehow didn't feel optimistic. The most likely
outcome of a fight between the two men was that Adam would get the
worst of it, and since she was the reason for his being there it would
be her fault if he got hurt, or humiliated any further, so she had to stop
it happening.
She didn't stop to put on any clothes; there wasn't time. She just ran
for the stairs and took them two at a time, but she was too late to stop
Simeon opening the front door and eying Adam with disfavour.
'If you're looking for Mrs Mendelli, she isn't here.'
'I know that.' Adam was equally brusque. He was staring at Simeon
coldly as Juliet reached them, and then his eyes moved to her and
flicked up and down from her damp hair to her bare legs and feet, not
missing the short white towelling robe which, more or less, covered
the rest of her. His mouth hardened. 'So there you are, Juliet,' he said
in a tone edged with ice.
Simeon gave her a sideways look, then did a double-take, his black
brows meeting harshly.
'Go back upstairs and get dressed!' he snapped.
She glared back at him. 'Will you please go back into the
sitting-room, and mind your own business? This is a friend of mine.'
'I've already guessed who he is,' Simeon drawled, giving Adam a
brief, disparaging glance. 'And you aren't talking to him while you're
half naked, so go and get some clothes on!'
'Stop giving her orders!' Adam intervened, scowling, and taking a
step forward with the obvious intention of using his wide shoulders to
barge Simeon out of his way.
Simeon laughed and Juliet's nerves leapt at the sound of that laughter,
because she knew what was going to happen, and it did. Simeon's
whole weight met Adam as he tried to push past into the cottage, and
Adam was thrown backwards.
'No! Don't...' Juliet broke out tensely, then sighed with relief as she
watched Adam land, not on the stone path, but more comfortably in a
thick laurel bush which cushioned his fall.
Simeon began to shut the door on him, but Juliet grabbed the handle
too, struggling with him, her flushed face turned up towards his in an
angry stare.
'Will you stop acting as though you own everything? You don't own
this house and you don't own me and you don't have any right to
throw my friends out!'
Adam had got back on his feet. Very red and absolutely furious, he
lurched back towards them both, snarling, 'You wait till I get you, you
lunatic!'
'Oh, I'm scared,' mocked Simeon, his lean body poised for action, but
Juliet moved swiftly in front of him and faced Adam, her eyes dark
with apology.
'Adam, I'm so sorry about that, but you shouldn't have tried to force
your way past him. He has a filthy temper.'
'I have nothing of the kind!' Simeon denied, his hands closing on her
waist as he tried to lift her out of the way.
She slapped his hands down. 'Don't manhandle me, Simeon! Go
away.' She gave Adam a pleading look. 'Adam, you shouldn't have
come down here what on earth made you do it?'
'Who's he?' Adam grated, staring past her at Simeon. 'That's what I
came here to find out. Who is he? It was him on the phone this
morning, wasn't it? What did he mean, he was your husband? He isn't
your husband, is he, Julie?'
'Yes,' Simeon said.
At the same time Juliet said, 'No!' then Simeon laughed and she gave
a cross little sigh and said, 'Well, yes and no, actually, Adam. It is a
long story, and this isn't the time to explain.'
'Oh, I've got all night,' he said in a clipped voice. 'I'm certainly not
driving back to London until I know the whole truth, and, anyway,
I'm tired I'm not doing that return journey until tomorrow, and it is
far too late to get a hotel room somewhere, even if I knew a hotel, so
I'd be grateful if you would let me stay here tonight. Anything would
do a couch, if there's nothing else.'
'Not on your life!' Simeon said, but Juliet had had time to think and
she realised that Adam's arrival was the miracle she had been praying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl rafalstec.xlx.pl
Think about something else. Work, think about work. How long will
it be before the roads are clear enough to get back to London? She
began devising ways and means of getting out of this cottage, getting
back to London. Instead of counting sheep, she counted ways and
means of escape, and began to yawn. She was very tired. It had been a
disturbed and disturbing night, and she was mentally and physically
exhausted. After a little while, she went to sleep, woke up as the room
thickened with twilight.
Almost at once, Juliet remembered everything; she sat up with a little
gasp and turned to look at the clock, taken aback to see that it was
nearly seven o'clock in the evening.
She slid off the bed to look out at the moor. It seemed much lighter
outside than it was in the house. The stars showed like the glittering
points of swords in the midnight-blue sky. It was cold again, but the
snow did not seem as deep. It had been as high as the garden wall, but
now it had sunk and she could see plants showing through it. She
peered out, frowning was it her imagination, or was the snow
melting?
She leant on the windowsill, staring out, for several minutes, but
couldn't say for sure whether or not the thaw had begun. Maybe in the
morning she would be able to drive back to London?
She seemed to have been here for days, so much had happened to
her yet it wasn't even twenty-four hours since she had arrived. She
would be glad to get back, she told herself. She had to be glad. It was
the only sensible view to take.
She sighed and drew her curtains together, then went over to switch
on her bedroom light, before walking into her bathroom to shower.
She felt hot and creased, for one thing, and for another she needed to
wash Simeon out of her hair.
The water cascaded down on her, deafening her to all other sounds.
When she had finished, she turned off the overhead jet, and slid into
her white towelling robe, lightly towelled her hair and dried her bare
legs and feet before going back into her bedroom.
She was padding across the carpet when she heard the sound of a car
engine.
Juliet stopped dead, her heart plunging sickeningly. For a second she
almost believed she was imagining the noise, and then she knew she
wasn't, and ran to the window. Headlights cut through the dusk and
illumined the lane, showing her the large black Land Rover slowly
drawing up outside.
Who on earth could it be? she wondered, staring at the vehicle as it
parked beside the wall. A local farmer, calling to enquire if she was
OK? One of her mother's friends who had noticed the lights?
Then, the driver's door opened and someone climbed out and turned
to stare up at the cottage, and Juliet drew a sharp breath, hardly
believing her eyes.
It was Adam.
CHAPTER SIX
FOR a second Juliet was too stunned to think, and then her mind
worked like crazy. Simeon was downstairs. He would open the door
when Adam knocked, and she hated to think what might happen then!
There was something aggressive in the set of Adam's shoulders as he
began to walk towards the house. He and Simeon were going to clash,
that was obvious, and she would love to watch Adam knock Simeon
off his perch, but she somehow didn't feel optimistic. The most likely
outcome of a fight between the two men was that Adam would get the
worst of it, and since she was the reason for his being there it would
be her fault if he got hurt, or humiliated any further, so she had to stop
it happening.
She didn't stop to put on any clothes; there wasn't time. She just ran
for the stairs and took them two at a time, but she was too late to stop
Simeon opening the front door and eying Adam with disfavour.
'If you're looking for Mrs Mendelli, she isn't here.'
'I know that.' Adam was equally brusque. He was staring at Simeon
coldly as Juliet reached them, and then his eyes moved to her and
flicked up and down from her damp hair to her bare legs and feet, not
missing the short white towelling robe which, more or less, covered
the rest of her. His mouth hardened. 'So there you are, Juliet,' he said
in a tone edged with ice.
Simeon gave her a sideways look, then did a double-take, his black
brows meeting harshly.
'Go back upstairs and get dressed!' he snapped.
She glared back at him. 'Will you please go back into the
sitting-room, and mind your own business? This is a friend of mine.'
'I've already guessed who he is,' Simeon drawled, giving Adam a
brief, disparaging glance. 'And you aren't talking to him while you're
half naked, so go and get some clothes on!'
'Stop giving her orders!' Adam intervened, scowling, and taking a
step forward with the obvious intention of using his wide shoulders to
barge Simeon out of his way.
Simeon laughed and Juliet's nerves leapt at the sound of that laughter,
because she knew what was going to happen, and it did. Simeon's
whole weight met Adam as he tried to push past into the cottage, and
Adam was thrown backwards.
'No! Don't...' Juliet broke out tensely, then sighed with relief as she
watched Adam land, not on the stone path, but more comfortably in a
thick laurel bush which cushioned his fall.
Simeon began to shut the door on him, but Juliet grabbed the handle
too, struggling with him, her flushed face turned up towards his in an
angry stare.
'Will you stop acting as though you own everything? You don't own
this house and you don't own me and you don't have any right to
throw my friends out!'
Adam had got back on his feet. Very red and absolutely furious, he
lurched back towards them both, snarling, 'You wait till I get you, you
lunatic!'
'Oh, I'm scared,' mocked Simeon, his lean body poised for action, but
Juliet moved swiftly in front of him and faced Adam, her eyes dark
with apology.
'Adam, I'm so sorry about that, but you shouldn't have tried to force
your way past him. He has a filthy temper.'
'I have nothing of the kind!' Simeon denied, his hands closing on her
waist as he tried to lift her out of the way.
She slapped his hands down. 'Don't manhandle me, Simeon! Go
away.' She gave Adam a pleading look. 'Adam, you shouldn't have
come down here what on earth made you do it?'
'Who's he?' Adam grated, staring past her at Simeon. 'That's what I
came here to find out. Who is he? It was him on the phone this
morning, wasn't it? What did he mean, he was your husband? He isn't
your husband, is he, Julie?'
'Yes,' Simeon said.
At the same time Juliet said, 'No!' then Simeon laughed and she gave
a cross little sigh and said, 'Well, yes and no, actually, Adam. It is a
long story, and this isn't the time to explain.'
'Oh, I've got all night,' he said in a clipped voice. 'I'm certainly not
driving back to London until I know the whole truth, and, anyway,
I'm tired I'm not doing that return journey until tomorrow, and it is
far too late to get a hotel room somewhere, even if I knew a hotel, so
I'd be grateful if you would let me stay here tonight. Anything would
do a couch, if there's nothing else.'
'Not on your life!' Simeon said, but Juliet had had time to think and
she realised that Adam's arrival was the miracle she had been praying [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]