Carmichael's Return

Cover Page

Excerpt

About the Author

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Copyright

“Love?“

Brett cut in mercilessly. “You, a modern woman, want love with the sexual act?”

He released Lauren so suddenly that the room spun. This was a side to him she had never seen, never guessed at.

“I—I hate you like this. What happened while you were away that you’ve lost your human warmth? I wouldn’t make love with you if—if—”

“If I paid you?” Brett added insultingly.

“The man who arrived on the doorstep that night wouldn’t have said that. You’ve changed from the man I knew, the man I liked.”

“Oh, no, Lauren. You never knew me.”

LILIAN PEAKE grew up in Essex. Her first job was working for a writer of mystery stories. Subsequently, she became a journalist on a provincial newspaper, then moved to a trade magazine and reported on fashion. Later, she took on an advice column on a women’s magazine. She began writing romances because she loves happy endings! She lives near Oxford, England, with her husband, a retired college principal. They have two sons and a daughter. Her hobbies are walking, reading and listening to classical music.

Carmichael’s Return

Lilian Peake

www.millsandboon.co.uk

CHAPTER ONE

LAUREN made herself more comfortable in the chair next to the telephone. Her friend Marie’s calls were always long—especially this one as they hadn’t met since Marie had moved house.

‘Please,’ Marie coaxed into Lauren’s ear, ‘think about it. For Reggie’s sake as well as mine. If you loved your boyfriend as much as I love Reggie…OK,’ she added hurriedly, ‘so yours ditched you—’

‘Other way round,’ Lauren supplied without rancour.

‘Oops, sorry. You ditched Mitch. I’d ditch Reggie too if he played around with other girls. Anyway, I can’t let Reggie go and work in France without me just because I took on the job my uncle offered me before Reggie knew about being transferred to the Continent. He’s starting his job next week,’ she added on a note of anguish.

‘But Marie, you haven’t been there long. How can you move out so soon after agreeing to live there? Anyway, I’ve never house-sat, or whatever you call it.’

‘Lauren—’ Marie’s voice came pleadingly ‘—Uncle Redmund doesn’t want the place left empty, that’s all. He doesn’t want to sell it, he wants someone occupying it. By the way, he’s not my real uncle. He’s a very old friend of my parents. I’ve called him Uncle since I was a kid. Oh, and I did mention, didn’t I, that he’s currently living in the South of France? And as for moving away from here so quickly—well, it’s how things happen, isn’t it?’

‘Maybe, but—’

‘There’s a salary attached to it—a substantial one. You’ll agree to house-sit, then?’ Marie pleaded.

‘I didn’t say so.’

‘But you’ll need to look for another place to live; you told me so,’ Marie countered. ‘Your landlord’s decided to sell the house and—’

‘OK, that’s true, but I’ll still need to think about what you’ve suggested. I’m on an art agency’s books for work—’

‘So withdraw your name,’ Mane urged. ‘A job’s being offered you right now. Look,’ she went on, as her friend still seemed to be hesitating, ‘I’m giving a party Saturday evening at Uncle Redmund’s house to celebrate Reggie’s promotion—because that’s what it is. Come to it, Lauren.’

‘Well, I—’

‘You could come Friday and stay overnight,’ Marie suggested. ‘That way you could really get the feel of the place. I’ll show you round and you can give me your answer then. Oh—and this is not blackmail or anything—but there’s a job vacancy for me over there in Reggie’s office. Won’t that be just great? That is, if I’m able to join him.’

‘If that’s not blackmail then my name’s not Lauren Halstead,’ Lauren protested, making a face at her friend’s laughter.

‘Maybe kind of, then,’ Marie conceded. ‘See you Friday, yes? And don’t worry about help in bringing your things here. Reggie can hire a van to bring any heavy furniture over.’

‘There’s only lightweight stuff,’ Lauren answered. Then she realised she was already m the process of committing herself. ‘But, Marie,’ she added hastily, ‘I haven’t said yes, have I?’

‘Do you think I’d let a little thing like that stand in my way?’ was her friend’s laughing riposte.

Marie called for Lauren m the small car her ‘uncle’ Redmund had provided for her while she looked after his property.

‘This car will be yours to use while you’re staying here,’ Marie declared, silencing any protest Lauren might have made about not yet having come to a decision by swinging across the road and pulling up in the drive.

The outside of the house had an unmistakable charm. It was stone-built, with bay windows below and sash windows to the bedrooms on the upper floor. It had more length than height, and something in it reached out to the artist in Lauren.

‘It’s been added to over the centuries,’ Marie explained as she joined Lauren on the gravelled driveway. ‘It’s nearly three hundred years old. Come on in.’

The living area was so large it almost took Lauren’s breath away. Oak beams had been left in place, inset into the ceiling, while the stone fireplace, which had been cleverly restored, occupied a large area of wall, with alcoves left for ornaments and even books.

‘Three rooms were knocked into one,’ Marie explained, arms swinging wide. ‘And this is the kitchen—’ she led the way ‘—all mod cons. Everything a girl could ever want. Yes?’ She looked coaxingly into Lauren’s face.

Lauren could only nod, but quickly qualified the action with a noncommittal, ‘Maybe.’

‘And upstairs,’ Marie went on, and the staircase creaked as they went up, ‘there are so many bedrooms you could almost sleep in a different one every night. All with en suite facilities, as they say in hotel brochures. How’s that for modernity? And here—’ she flung a door wide ‘—you could paint and draw to your heart’s content. It used to be Uncle Redmund’s study. Yes?’ she repeated, smiling winningly.

‘Mmm,’ was all Lauren was prepared to say at that moment, but the sound prolonged itself into an appreciative affirmative.

Inside, she could feel all opposition to the whole idea melting. In that room, in which there was virtually no furniture, the light from the huge floor-to-ceiling windows—plus the two skylights that had been inserted into the sloping roof—was so good that she knew at once how easily she could work there.

On their way down Lauren commented on the oil paintings which adorned the staircase walls and hallway.

‘Paintings acquired by Uncle Redmund. They’re quite valuable, by the way.’ She paused, pointing to three empty picture hooks. ‘Here hung Mrs Redmund Gard the first, and here Mrs Redmund Gard the second.’

‘This one?’ Lauren asked.

‘And on this one, Uncle Redmund’s son The bad boy of the family, or so the story goes.’

They had reached the hallway. ‘So what happened?’ Lauren prompted.

‘Well.. ’ Counting on her fingers, Marie told her. ‘Mrs Gard the first left him. Mrs Gard the second likewise, and—’

‘Don’t tell me, the bad son left him too?’

‘He did. Uncle Redmund—or so my parents told me—accused his son of having an affair with his stepmother and driving her away from him. Said son had a furious row with his father, denying the accusation, but his father didn’t believe him.’

‘Threw him out?’

‘Either that or the probably guilty son fled the nest. In other words, he upped and left, never to be heard of or from again’

‘What a strange story,’ Lauren commented sadly.

Marie nodded. ‘The Press got hold of it, so paternal parent took full advantage of the publicity and told the world of his son’s many other amorous exploits. Thus clearing himself of the suggestion of having falsely accused his son of stealing his second wife’s affections, as Uncle Redmund so dramatically put it.’

‘Hence the three empty picture hooks,’ Lauren supplied.

‘Yep. Did I tell you,’ Marie asked as they entered the living room, ‘that tomorrow night’s get-together is going to be a kind of farewell party? Reggie and I are leaving the next morning.’

‘Which means I’d be in charge from then on?’

Mane nodded, frowning. ‘Do you mind, Lauren? I mean, if you do…’

‘You’d have to stay here,’ Lauren took her up with a wry smile, ‘losing your chance of that job in Reggie’s firm and crying your heart out while he gets on with his life across the Channel without you?’

‘I was going to say I’d have to find someone else to live here,’ Marie responded pleadingly, but with the light of hope in her eyes. ‘Although there’s nobody around I could possibly trust like I trust you.’

Lauren smiled. ‘Flattery will get you everywhere. Oh, Marie—’ she hugged her friend ‘—you know I’ll do it, don’t you?’

At which, Marie laughed, gave her friend a hug in return, then dashed off to call the caterers.

Glancing through the living room window, Lauren felt the pull of the gardens, and, pushing open the glass-paned doors, she took a deep breath of country air and went to explore.

There were paved paths winding round, bordered by beds planted with sweet-smelling flowers and varied shrubs. In the centre of the main lawn stood a cedar tree, its branches wide-spreading, throwing shadows over the stone-walled residence.

In various places throughout the extensive gardens there were terracotta heads poised on short columns. Lauren ran her hand over them, appreciating the skill of the artist. Studying them more closely, she began to wonder who the people were that they represented.

Her artist’s eye picked up details that were common to them all—the delicacy of the features, the strong nose, the jaw-line, the well-shaped lips. In all of them, however, the eyes were blank, telling her nothing.

Back inside, Lauren paused in the doorway to the living area, admiring the view once more. The sun had moved round and the flowers’ colours glowed just as brilliantly but from a different angle.

The great cedar tree placed centrally in the lawn now flung its huge shadow right across her body. She had the strangest feeling of being both pushed away by its far-reaching branches and yet drawn in, as if they were great arms pulling her towards them.

Although there was no hint of a breeze in the still air, a shiver coursed through her.

Late on the day before, after explaining the whereabouts of the various keys to the property, and all the other details a house-sitter needed to know, Marie had shown Lauren to the guest room.

It was a low-ceilinged, chintz-curtained hideaway, with dark wooden furniture and a worn carpet half hidden by rugs.

And now, minutes before joining the party, Lauren studied her reflection in the long mirror as she combed her deep brown hair, draping it to curl each side of her oval-shaped face. A curiously excited, pre-party mood enveloped her, even though her only friend amongst the partygoers would be Marie—plus, of course, Reggie, Marie’s fiancé. She placed a light layer of lipstick on her full lips, but her eyes, grey and winsome, she did not touch.

‘They’re so dreamy,’ Mitch had told her after a few dates. ‘A guy could lose himself in those eyes of yours. Plus they make a guy wonder just where he stands with you.’

‘“Stand” is the right word,’ Lauren had smilingly retorted.

‘Is that a challenge?’ Mitch had asked, and had not believed her when she had nodded.

He had grown angry and told her that if she didn’t let her barriers down soon he’d make her…At which she had told him coolly that rape was a criminal offence and that as she wasn’t victim material she didn’t want to date him any more At that point he had stormed from her digs and she had never heard from him again.

What can I do, she asked her reflection now, to give those eyes a down-to-earth look? Making a few faces at herself, she laughed and gave up trying. Fixing a choker of hand-turned polished wooden beads to follow the neckline of her black and white striped cotton top, she smoothed the well-fitting fabric into the waistband of her black velvet trousers, then ran the comb once more through her long hair.

That morning Reggie, Marie’s fiancé, had called for Lauren, and helped load her belongings into the hired van.

‘My promotion’s going to put some extra cash into my bank account,’ he had confided as he drove. ‘Which means a better car when I take up my job. Better everything, in fact.’ His head had turned towards Lauren, then quickly back again. ‘I can’t say how pleased I am, Lauren, that you’ve agreed to take over from Marie. I—’ He had laughed, a little embarrassed. ‘It would have broken my heart to leave her behind.’

Lauren sighed inwardly. Lucky them, she thought, to have fallen equally hard for each other, to be so sure of each other’s love.

Leaning out of the wondow, Lauren watched Marie welcoming her guests, who were now arriving in droves.

Descending the stairs a little later, she noted that Marie and Reggie were busy mingling. Marie turned and saw her friend. ‘Feel free,’ she mouthed, ‘to wander and inspect again.’

The increasing volume of sound faded as Lauren took Marie at her word. At the end of her journey of discovery Lauren came to the conclusion that it would be a delightful place to live. But alone? She wasn’t so sure.

‘This place just goes on and on,’ she commented to Marie as she inspected the buffet-type meal which the caterers had set out in the farmhouse-style kitchen.

‘Once it was three separate cottages,’ Marie explained. ‘Through the years they’ve been joined together, and Old Cedar Grange is the result.’

Lauren frowned. ‘I don’t know how I’ll feel, Marie, living here alone.’

‘But, Lauren,’ Marie responded, ‘I’ve been on my own in this place for nearly two months now. That is—’ she coloured just a little ‘—when Reggie hasn’t been with me.’

‘There you are, then,’ Lauren took her up. ‘You weren’t alone, were you?’

‘So get yourself a boyfriend,’ Reggie joined in the discussion from the kitchen door, ‘and invite him to stay here too.’

‘She ditched Mitch,’ Marie pointed out, at which they all laughed.

By now the volume of sound had risen considerably, with the arrival of the friends with the hi-fi equipment.

It was a good thing, Lauren thought a few hours later, her ears tiring of the music, her muscles weary from the dancing, that Marie’s uncle’s house stood surrounded by its own grounds, well away from its neighbours. Otherwise, she reflected, complaints would have arrived by the dozen via the telephone, and maybe even in the form of remonstrating policemen on the doorstep.

The living room windows had been flung wide, the doors to the garden likewise. The long, undrawn brown velvet curtains billowed in the breeze, while the spotlights on the patio illuminated the surrounding shrubbery.

‘Want to share?’ A young man who had introduced himself as Casey Talbert offered his overflowing plate to Lauren.

She shook her head and wondered how soon she could slip upstairs to her room. She wondered also how she could put a distance between herself and this persistent guest called Casey. For most of the evening he had followed her about.

The music had grown louder, the beat more insistent. Casey, seemingly unable to resist its call, put aside his plate and pulled Lauren into the midst of the twisting, whirling crowd.

She looked around for Marie, hoping to be able to break free of Casey and explain to her that she was tired and was going to bed, but there was no sign of her. Nor could she see Reggie anywhere.

‘If you’re looking for our host and hostess,’ Casey shouted over the din, inventing his own arms-and-legs mode of dancing, ‘I saw them get into Reggie’s car.’

‘Gone for more supplies, probably,’ a girl beside him hazarded.

The telephone shrilled demandingly over the music and the laughter.

‘Hi, Lauren.’ Marie’s voice came brightly through the receiver. ‘Find a chair. This might come as a shock. We’re on our way to the coast.’

‘Wh-why?’ Lauren stuttered. ‘I mean…supplies—you were going to get more s-supplies, or so I heard.’

‘Just a red herring, Lauren.’ Marie sounded apologetic now. ‘We thought we’d make our getaway while the party was in full swing, without waiting for the morning. Say goodbye to everyone, will you? And barrowloads of thanks for their prezzies.’

‘But all your things—’ was all Lauren could get out.

‘Packed them secretly this afternoon in the hired van, after Reggie unloaded yours. Sorry it was so sudden, Lauren, but, as I said, we thought we’d make a dash before—’

‘Before I changed my mind?’ Lauren retorted, but with a smile in her voice.

‘We—ell, maybe. We’re crossing in the morning to house-hunt. Giving ourselves a day or two free before Reggie’s job starts.’

‘So this is it,’ Lauren said. ‘From now on I take responsibility for your Uncle Redmund’s house?’

‘Until we get back, yep,’ Marie replied brightly.

‘Which is-?’

‘Can’t really say—’ Marie began, then Reggie took over.

‘Sorry, Lauren, to drop you m it like this, but I— we—were desperate. If you’d decided in the end to say no—’

Lauren sighed loudly. ‘OK, so I was set up. But as it was by my best friend, and my best friend’s fiancé, I guess I’ll have to count my blessings. I’ve got a job. I’ve got a roof—and what a roof!—over my head. I can’t really grumble, can I?’

She smiled at the prolonged sigh of relief from the other end.

‘By the way, before I go,’ Marie added, ‘a word of warning about Casey Talbert. He might have been playing the complete idiot this evening, but he’s no fool. He can’t be, otherwise he couldn’t hold down his job as a reporter on the local paper. He graduated from his journalists’ course a few months ago, and as you can probably imagine he’s panting to make his mark as an ace reporter His nose is very firmly to the ground, Lauren, whether it’s clean down there, or not—if you get my meaning?’

‘I get it,’ Lauren answered.

‘Good. Thought I’d better warn you. Cheers. We’ll be in touch,’ Marie declared, just before the phone went dead.

A high-pitched scream came from the direction of one of the windows. Hand shaking a little, Lauren went to pick up the phone again, then realised she had no number on which to call Marie back.

‘There’s a man in the garden,’ a young woman shrieked. ‘No, he’s not one of us,’ she shouted, contradicting someone’s suggestion. ‘He’s acting strange. Oh, no, he’s coming this way.’ She screamed again. ‘He might have a gun!’

‘She’s been watching too many films,’ Casey said, then joined the general lurch towards the patio doors, pulling Lauren with him. ‘Can’t miss this.’

They were pushed by the crush through the doors, white garden table and chairs being overturned on the way, and Lauren emerged dishevelled and breathless to see the dark shape of a man standing, hands on hips, at the edge of the paving stones.

‘Everyone take cover!’ someone shouted, screams following his command. ‘For Pete’s sake, where’s Marie? Where’s Reggie? Can’t they get rid of the guy?’

‘They’ve gone!’ Lauren cried. ‘To France.’

‘You must be joking,’ was the strangled answer from the depths of the crowd.

Lauren had been pulled into a crouching position beside Casey, who in turn was crouching behind the toppled table, but, like a soldier in a war zone, he kept his eager eyes just above the parapet

It came to her with some force that as she had now become the official house-sitter it was for her to take the lead and remonstrate with the interloper, persuade him to go on his way.

She tugged her hand from Casey’s.

‘Where are you going?’ he croaked.

‘To get rid of the gatecrasher.’ She stood up and picked her way through cowering bodies. A gasp went up at her audacity, her foolhardy bravery.

‘He might have a gun!’ Casey repeated the warning, having plainly cast aside his mockery of the girl who had first uttered it.

‘So what?’ Lauren threw over her shoulder, sounding far more confident than she really felt. Because of the darkness no one could see how her hands were shaking. Nor could they hear her racing heartbeats, nor know how dry her mouth had become.

The others made a gangway, gazing up at her with admiration mixed with fear for her safety. She needed to walk some distance—to her inflamed imagination it seemed a safari trek—to confront the interloper.

He stood beneath the tree—that tree which the day before had stretched out its arms towards her. She knew now that it had not been repelling her, but drawing her nearer and nearer. And nearer still to the darkly threatening figure of the stranger who lurked in its shadows. Then she was in front of him, wishing she could stop her heartbeats from shaking her whole being.

He was so tall she had to tilt her head to search his face, but his features were in shadow, the lights from the house only illuminating his body from the chest down.

His arms were folded, his shoulder supported by the trunk of the tree. His long legs were crossed indolently at the ankles and a heavy backpack, which had plainly just been shrugged off, was lying beside him.

Lauren’s eyes dropped involuntarily to his hips, looking at his pockets.

‘I have no gun.’

So he’d heard the warning shouts. His statement had come tonelessly and Lauren found herself believing him, although why, she did not know.

His hands came out and her heart nearly jumped into her throat. ‘I have these.’ The words came softly from the semi-darkness. ‘But I use them to caress a woman, not to harm her.’

‘Will you please go?’ Her voice sounded hoarse, and she clasped her hands in front of her to hide their trembling. ‘This is a private party on private property.’

Eyes staring, she watched as his hand went again to a pocket, but she relaxed as he drew out a handkerchief. Her gaze followed its path to his forehead from which, to her puzzlement and surprise, he seemed to mop perspiration. The night-time air was cool, so his action could surely only mean that he, too, was afraid. Of her?

As he replaced the handkerchief his hand seemed to shake, yet to Lauren, staring at him in the semidarkness, his whole demeanour seemed to be one of self-assurance verging on arrogance.

There was a long silence while he sized her up, taking in her striped, close-fitting top, the velvet trousers over her shapeliness, up and up, to take in her face, her hair, her lips. Cheeks burning, she almost felt his piercing regard.

She wished she could see him, read his expression, judge his character by the look in his eyes, but the shadows still swallowed him from his shoulders upwards.

‘I belong…’

It was almost as though he couldn’t finish the sentence. His tone had changed. The words had come in a hoarse whisper.

There was a shuffling sound from behind her, and she wondered whether the others were moving nearer to protect her or withdrawing into the interior. Music from the living room told her that the guests had decided the stranger was either an acquaintance or harmless. She had half turned to see how many were left outside when another sound had her turning back.