Sommersgate House (Ghosts and Reincarnation #2)(19)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“I thought I’d take the kids to a movie tonight, if you don’t mind,” Sam said, interrupting Julia’s thoughts.

“Wicked!” Willie shouted what Julia was coming to learn was his favourite word.

“In Leicester Square, Lizzie, where they have all the big premieres, like Harry Potter.” Sam went on when Lizzie didn’t act as thrilled as Willie.

“Okay,” Lizzie muttered, too well-mannered to ignore someone speaking directly to her but also not willing to show any excitement.

“Is that okay?” Sam asked Julia and Julia nodded and smiled. The kids would love it and they certainly had enough of being holed up in austere, posh houses.

She saw Veronika standing away from the group, her face carefully blank and Julia had an idea.

“Could you take Veronika as well? I’m sure she’d like to see Leicester Square and she’d help you out with the kids,” Julia asked Sam quietly, looking at the young girl across the room and giving her a wink.

“Sure thing. Ronnie you’re coming with us!” Sam announced and Julia watched with satisfaction as Veronika’s studiously controlled face positively lit up.

The Russian girl had been a godsend that day. She carefully looked after the children, was immensely gentle with them, occasionally cautiously affectionate and she obviously took her job very seriously. She’d also noticed that, several times, Veronika lost herself in wonder at the sights they’d seen and Julia was pleased that she’d brought her along instead of leaving her with Carter while just she and the kids enjoyed their activities.

“But we must go, on the double, or we’ll miss our showing. Come on! Chop chop!” And Sam clapped her hands as the kids and Veronika trooped into the hall to get their coats.

Julia was carrying her evening bag and walking beside Sam and she pulled it open to take out some money for the kids and Veronika.

“You have a car big enough for all of them?” she asked, sorting out two fifty pound notes because she had no idea how much an evening out to the movies in London would cost. Considering the exorbitant cost of everything else that day, a hundred pounds might not even cover it.

“No worries. We’ll take a taxi. Haven’t experienced London unless you’ve had a ride in a London taxi. I have one waiting outside with your frocks. We’ll swing by my house, drop off the dresses and off we go,” Sam assured her as they stopped several feet from the front door.

“Can you come directly back after? Ruby shouldn’t be out late,” Julia requested.

Sam laughed. “I’ve got five nieces and two nephews. Don’t worry about us, I know the drill. We’ll be fine.”

Julia started to hand her the money when a deep voice came from behind them.

“What’s happening here?” Douglas asked.

Julia whirled around and saw Douglas was standing in the open doorway looking sophisticated wearing another superbly-tailored navy suit, this one without pinstripes. It was accompanied by a deep burgundy shirt and monochromatic tie.

She hadn’t seen him since Wednesday, hadn’t even spoken to him on the phone. She’d just managed to force him, and the disturbing and confusing rush of feelings she was having, out of her mind. At the sight of him standing there managing to look both dashing and unapproachable, those feelings crowded in on her uninvited and she felt her breath momentarily quicken.

Ruby dashed to him and threw her arms around his legs. He touched her head lightly, this she accurately took as a signal to disengage and Douglas nodded to Willie’s, “’Lo, Uncle Douglas,” and briefly and distractedly touched Lizzie cheek as he walked by the girl.

“Sam is taking the kids to the movies. I was just giving her some money,” Julia explained.

Ignoring the proffered notes, Sam ordered, “I’ll put it on my expense account. Right boss?” she said with a cheeky grin at Douglas and, not waiting for an answer, she addressed the crowd. “We’ll be late if we don’t go and you two will be late if you don’t go… children! Onward!” she ordered and trooped the kids to the door leaving Julia standing there, still holding the notes in her hand.

“Hang on!” Julia called. “Kids… kisses!” And they all came back, briefly pressing kisses to her cheek and rushed, followed by a quiet Veronika who appeared to be trying to make herself invisible, out the door.

When Julia turned around, Douglas was gone. A light was now on in what she knew was his study and she stuffed the notes in her purse as she walked to the doorway. He’d laid his briefcase on his desk and had the phone in his hand.

“Carter,” he said into the receiver, “we’ll meet you at the front door.” He turned his head to look at her as he replaced the receiver. “Are you ready?”

In response, Julia put her arms out slightly at the sides, looking down at herself.

“I see you are,” he said, his tone no longer businesslike but vastly different. He was looking at her, his eyes moving down her body in a lazy way.

From the look in his eyes, she felt that familiar tremor slide up her spine and her stomach lurched, then clenched and she felt pleasantly warm, unwelcomely so.

What was he playing at? He hadn’t even said, Hello, how were the last three days of your new life? Now he was eyeing her like she was dinner.

She didn’t have the time, or the energy, to think about it.

Instead, she said, “I’ll just run upstairs for my wrap.”

Then she turned and escaped, ascending the stairs to her room. She grabbed her pink pashmina from the bed and wrapped it around her, throwing a free end over her left shoulder. She took a deep breath and thought, I can do this, just a few hours, I can manage not to fall face forward in my soup and then it will be over and I can come back and sleep. Once she told herself this (and almost believed it), she headed back down the stairs.

At the curb, Carter opened the door to the Bentley for them, closed it behind them and they were whisked into the London night.

Julia stared out the window feeling strangely shy and decided to put it down to tiredness and Douglas’s earlier look. She had always been outgoing and found talking to anyone from any background easy. You just found out what their interests were and then asked questions. Nearly everyone loved to talk about themselves. Simple.

But she was so exhausted, she couldn’t think how to make small talk with Douglas and then she realised belatedly that Douglas wasn’t speaking either. She turned to look at him and saw he was staring at her legs which were crossed. It was too dark to see his expression but she sensed something in the car and that something made her cheeks warm.