A Promise of Tomorrow (13 page)

If this was going to be his last dream before the prosaic reality of his new life, then he was going to enjoy it as much as he could. Warren seemed to have forgiven him for his lapse in London, so as long as he was careful, there would be no more embarrassing episodes to mar his time here.

After taking care of his ablutions, Kyle dressed and headed for the stairs. Ellis had offered him the services of a valet, but Kyle had declined. Victor had insisted on a valet to make sure Kyle was the picture of perfection at all times in London, and he didn’t want to be reminded of Victor in this place. He had dressed himself for years at home, and he would be doingso againonce he started his new life.

Best to remember old habits,
he thought as he straightened his borrowed coat and headed for the stairs.

Warren was nowhere to be found when he reached the main floor, though Ellis found
him
before he’d gone more than a few steps into the hall. The man had preternatural abilities, Kyle was sure of it, and though they’d only exchanged a few words so far, Kyle had immediatelytakena likingto the man.

Ellis was a middle-aged, slightly bowlegged man of about Kyle’s height whose warmsmile and sparkling blue-gray eyes hinted at some secret delight that the man was always laughing at. Though impeccably dressed, he didn’t have the cold hauteur of many of the butlers Kyle had met in London, and, just like his lord, he’d seemed to go out of his way to make Kyle feel welcome from the very first moment.

Smiling, Kyle greeted the manand received a grininreturn.

“Good morning, Mr. Allen. Would you care for some breakfast?”Ellis asked.
“Yes, thank you, Ellis. That would be wonderful,” he replied. He was starving, and just the thought of breakfast made his dry mouth water. The food at dinner had been marvelous, and he couldn’t wait to taste what the Hall’s cook prepared for breakfast.

“Excellent. If you will follow me,” Ellis said, leading the way to a roomthey hadn’t reached on his tour last evening. “If you’ll wait in the drawingroom, I’llbringyoua trayas soonas it is ready.”

“Thank you, Ellis, that’s very kind of you,” Kyle replied, receivinganother ofthose wonderfulsmiles inreturn.

After Ellis left, Kyle took a moment to look around and was delighted to learn that the drawing roomdoubled as the music room, and a large corner of it was taken up by a gleaming pianoforte. Kyle’s fingers itched to try it out. It was a beautiful instrument, not as large as many he’d seen, but obviously of good quality and well maintained.

He went immediately to the shelf of music behind it and was leafing through a stack of sheets when Ellis returned with his breakfast. The smells coming from the tray were enough to distract him from his discovery, though he took the stack with him when he crossed to the smalltable where Ellis had placed the tray.

“Thank you, Ellis. This smells wonderful,” Kyle said with enthusiasm.

Ellis smiled, and the lines around his eyes deepened. “Thank you, sir. Mywife, Mrs. Ellis, is the cook and willbe glad to hear your praise.” He paused a moment, considering, then said, “Sir, I see your interest inthe music. IfI mayask, do youplay?”

Kyle smiled shyly and said, “Yes, I learned to play when I was a boy, and it has been a passion of mine ever since. Do you think Lord Warrenwould mind ifI made use ofthe pianoforte?”

“Oh no, sir, I think my lord would be most pleased to hear you play. He is quite fond of music, though he does not play himself, and the instrument is rarely used. Miss Ashton plays, but not often, when they’re here. We had it serviced in anticipation of her arrival, so it should be in excellent sound for you.” He paused again, then smiled and leaned in a little, saying quietly, “And, if you don’t mind me saying, the staffwouldn’t mind a bit ofmusic liveningup the old place, either.”

“Is there anything the staff would like to hear in particular, Ellis?”Kyle asked witha grinofhis own.

Kyle was flattered that the man felt comfortable enough around him already to speak so informally, and he wanted to encourage it if he could. The man and his lord seemed closer than master and servant, and Kyle had the feelingthe older manheld a specialplace in Warren’s affections.

Ellis put his hand to his chin and seemed to think about it for a moment. “Well, I don’t know much about fine music,” he said, “but a country dance would do a good turn at livening up the place a bit.” Then, seemingto remember himself, he straightened his shoulders and said, “Willthere be anythingelse, sir?”

“No, Ellis, thank you. I’ll see what I can find in here, “ Kyle said, laying his palmon the stack of music. “I’ll have to warmmyself up withsome slower tunes first, though, as it’s beena little while since I last played.”

“Very good, sir. Thank you, sir,” he said, bowing himselfout of the room.

By the time Kyle had finished his meal, he had selected several sheets of music fromthe stack, some he knew and some he’d like to learn. He sat down to the pianoforte and began playing “The Pricklie Bush,” a song he’d learned long ago that was familiar enough that he wouldn’t necessarily need the sheet music. It was a simple tune and perfect to warm up his hands. Relaxing into the familiar feel of the keys beneathhis fingers, he lost himselfinthe music.

J
AMES
was enchanted the moment the first notes began echoing through the Hall. He’d spent the morning catching up on estate business and correspondence, avoiding his guest. Another day like the one they had had yesterday and he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from pouncing on the man and ravishing him. He had had no idea of the effect having Kyle in his home would have on him. If he had, he never would have suggested he bringhimhere alone.

He was territorial about his home, he knew that, but he had no idea that that would extend to anyone within his home, and the feeling was hard to ignore. Seeing Kyle in
his
library, at
his
table, and walking
his
grounds had the word “mine” echoing in his head. Throughout the day, he was tortured with vivid images of throwing the young man over the nearest piece of furniture and claiming him, marking him in any way he could. The almost savage compulsion unsettled himno little amount, as he’d never thought himself that kind ofman.

You’ve never brought a beautiful, sweet, and charming young man home with you before, either
.

It seemed peace of mind would not be his again until Kyle left for his aunt’s, so he’d hidden himself in his study, hoping the day would pass quickly and his niece and nephew would arrive, putting some muchneeded distance betweenthe two ofthem.

But now, with music drifting through his halls, he found himself irresistibly drawn to the sound and made his way out of his office toward the drawing room. James watched for a time from the doorwayso as not to break the spellKyle seemed to have wovenfor himself. The young man’s head was bowed over the keyboard, black curls falling across his forehead and his lower lip clasped between his teethas his elegant fingers glided across the keys. James thought Kyle had never looked more beautiful, and he was content for the moment to just leanagainst the linteland watch.

Besides, if I get any closer, he won’t be able to continue playing, as I’ll have him bent over the side of the damn thing
.

Closing his eyes, James forced himself to stand still and just enjoy the music. Kyle seemed to be moving randomly through songs. Slow, mournfulballads were followed by lively dances and back with no obvious pattern, but all were played with remarkable skill and those bursts ofemotionthe youngmanso rarelyshowed.

Only when the music stopped did he open his eyes to find Kyle staring at himwith an unreadable expression. While James wondered what was passing behind those amazing eyes of his, the silence stretched, and he decided he needed to break it, and soon.

He cleared his throat and said, “That was excellent, Kyle. If I had known you played so well, I would have brought you here
first
onour tour last evening.”

Kyle blushed at the compliment, and James nearly groaned aloud as other ways to bring a flush to that face played across his mind. It was going to be another very long day. The more he found out about this young man, the more he liked him, and the harder it was to remember all the reasons he shouldn’t do what he
really
wanted to do withhim.

Taking another breath, he reminded himself his family would be arriving soon. He just hoped it would be soon enough to save his sanity.

“Thank you, my lord; it is a beautiful instrument. I don’t know that I’ve ever played on one finer,” Kyle said, bringing himout of his thoughts.

“It’s good to see it in the hands of someone who truly appreciates it. I purchased it for my niece, but I don’t believe she has the passion for playing that you seem to,” James replied, not moving any closer. “Please don’t let me interrupt you if you’d like to continue. I had thought we might go riding after I finished my business this morning. It appears to be a glorious day. But it canwait untillater ifyouwould prefer.”

Now, why on earth did I just say that
?

He could have simply left word with Ellis that he’d gone riding, and he would have had a painless gallop across the fields to clear his head. Instead, he’d allowed his desires to overcome his reason, and now the ride would most definitely
not
be painless.

“Oh no, my lord, I’d love to go riding,” Kyle answered. “The music can always wait for this evening. Perhaps, if Miss Ashton isn’t too tired after her journey, we canplaya duet after dinner.”

Kyle stood and straightened the sheets of music before moving toward him and the door, smiling in a manner James was certain would be the death of him. He turned before Kyle got too close and led the waytoward the front hall.

Rather than wait for the horses to be brought ’round, he decided it would be a better idea to keep moving, so he continued out the maindoors into the courtyard.

As he crossed the main bridge over the moat and walked along the drive toward the stables, he said over his shoulder, “As your clothes haven’t arrived yet, we’ll both just make do with what we have on, ifthat’s allright withyou?”

“Yes, thank you, mylord,”Kyle answered as he caught up.

When the grooms brought out their horses, he introduced Kyle to his mount for the day, Guinevere, or Gwinny, and gave them a moment to get acquainted, trying very hard not to watch too closely as Kyle mounted.

“Myniece and nephew name the foals, so we never know what we’llend up with any given year,” he said, as much to distract himself as to entertain his guest, then mounted his own gelding, Percival, or Percy, and led the way out of the stable yard toward the open fields to the west ofthe mainhouse.

When they’d cleared the lawn and reached the fields, he quickened their pace, and when Kyle seemed to have no trouble keeping up, he let Percy have his head. They galloped across the open fields, and James surrendered to the visceral pleasure of it for a time. All too soon, however, they approached his reserve, and he was forced to slow themto a trot.

When they reached the trees, they slowed again to a walk, and he led the way along a deer track he knew well, enjoying the shade and allowing the horses to cool off a bit. The heat wasn’t as oppressive as it had been in London, but the sun was still quite strong, and the shade was a welcome relief.

As the track widened to a more heavily used path, James took the opportunity to drop back next to Kyle and let the horses walk abreast for a while. Kyle’s cheeks were flushed fromthe ride, and his eyes were dancing in a way that James found irresistible. He’d never seen Kyle like this, so open and unguarded, and though he knew it was a bad idea to staythis close, he couldn’t seemto help himself.

“Thank you, mylord,”Kyle said, a little breathless. “It has been a verylongtime since I had the pleasure ofa ride onso fine a horse.”

“My pleasure, Kyle. You may take her out anytime you wish. The twins will probably want to go out first thing tomorrow after they’ve rested from their journey, so you will not lack for company whenever youwishto ride,”he replied.

“I look forward to it. Your park is beautiful.” Kyle smiled, and James caught his breath. His smile was wide and bright, untainted by worry or shame, reaching allthe way to his eyes, and in that moment, James realized it was the first genuinely happy smile he’d ever seen onKyle’s face. It was dazzling.

“I’m glad you like it,” he managed, shifting in his saddle and forcinghimselfto watchthe sceneryrather thanhis companion.

They continued on in silence for a time, the wood hushed and peacefularound them, and James let the serenity ofthe moment wash over him. With the only sounds the muffled clop of the horses’ hooves and the occasionalbird or insect, it felt like they’d left the rest ofthe world behind.

“Do Mr. and Miss Ashton visit you often?” Kyle asked, his almost-whisper breakingquietlyinto James’s reverie.

“Not as often as I might wish,” he replied just as quietly, surprising himself with the wistful tone in his voice. It seemed they were bothaffected bythe spellthe wood had wovenaround them.

What was it about Kyle that unsettled him so, that made him want to pour out feelings so long buried he didn’t even remember theywere there?

He understood his body’s reactions. Kyle was beautiful, there was no escaping that, but he barely knew the young man. They’d spent little more than a few days in each other’s company, yet he felt drawnto himso stronglyhe could barelycontainhimself.

“Do you have any other family?” Kyle asked him, and there was a certainwistfulness inhis voice as well.

“No, none close, at any rate,” he replied. “We have cousins across the lengthand breadthofEngland, ofcourse, but mysister and her family are the only close relations I have left since our parents’ deaths manyyears ago.”

“Is it lonely for you here, when they’re gone?” Kyle asked, and James had to close his eyes on the wash of emotion that moved throughhim.

Kyle was so close that all he had to do was reach out and he could touch that cheek. He felt sure if he looked into Kyle’s eyes right then, he’d see an answering loneliness mirrored there, for he could hear it inhis voice.