Minding Amy (26 page)

"Do I look okay?"

"You look terrific, you always look terrific, but you especially suit the bed tousled look."

Her eyes widened, her hands quickly attempting to pull her clothes into some sort of order.

"I'm serious, you look fine. It has been a bit of a chaotic morning, hasn't it?" He smiled at her, somehow knowing she would love that. This is what she'd wanted all along, the results, action, the chase. He gave her an encouraging push on the rump, nodding at the door.

She straightened her t-shirt for the third time and walked back up the path.

He watched as she ducked her head under the ivy-covered awning over the door. He heard her rap and moments later the creak of the door opening.

"Hello, I'm sorry to disturb you."

"I bet you've got lost on the road, haven't you?"

He couldn't see the person who spoke, but the voice was soft and feminine.

"Almost. I'm actually looking for Quentin Edwards, are we in the right place?" She glanced over her shoulder to include Sebastian.

He stepped forward on cue and caught sight of the petite blonde from the photo of the TV crew he'd seen in Quentin Edwards' apartment, a few days before. She looked different, dressed in a flowered dress, but it was her all right.

"You surely are. I'll call him for you."

That was hopeful. At least she hadn't reacted as if they were in hiding, otherwise she might not have admitted to his presence. The blonde woman called out his name then invited them in to the cottage.

"He's doing battle with the wood stove in the kitchen," she added, apologetically, as they stepped into a room with a low ceiling, beamed and dominated by two armchairs that were far too big for the space. "Please, take a seat." She flitted away through a door as she gestured at the chairs.

Amy sat on the edge of one chair, her eyes bright, smiling expectantly. Sebastian left the spare armchair and headed toward a plumply cushioned window seat he'd spied as he walked in. He gave her a squeeze on the shoulder as he passed and her hand fleetingly touched his, returning the encouragement.

A moment later the petite hostess came back into the room followed by Mr. Quentin Edwards himself. His appearance in real life was quite different to his TV persona, Sebastian noticed. When he dominated the Ghost Hunter set with his larger-than-life personality he had the look of a wise-sage or academic type. He wore tweed jackets complete with leather patches on the elbows and heavily corded trousers. Mismatched check shirts and ties were his trademark. It was the mad professor TV personality image and Quentin Edwards had it down to a T. And yet here he was wearing a pair of Bermuda shorts, open-toed sandals and a bright yellow t-shirt, all of which were partly covered over by a blue and white striped butcher's apron. His neatly trimmed beard was somewhat bushier in real life, and the studio hairdresser had definitely not teased his hair recently.

Amy stood up and put out her hand. Quentin, who looked as confused as a little lamb taking its first steps, came over to take her hand.

"Hello, Mr. Edwards, you don't know me, my name is Amy Norton and I work for The City News. This is Sebastian Armitage…my partner." She looked back at him and smiled as she said it.

The remark had a quirky effect on Sebastian. He knew how she meant it though. She meant they were out on the road and having a wacky adventure together, and that tickled him. He felt proud and pleased, but he still hankered for more. Deep down he wished they were destined to be partners for much longer than the duration of this job, a whole heap longer.

Amy turned back to her confused host. "I do hope you don't mind us calling in to see you. We were in your local shop and the shopkeeper overheard us mention your name. I don't know if you are aware of it but there is a lot of concern as to your missing person status, back in London?"

"Missing person?" Quentin blurted, incredulously. He and his companion looked at each other, both of them obviously shocked to the rafters by Amy's remark. "Please take a seat. You're going to have to explain." He started to undo his apron, pulling it over his head and scrunching it into a ball before he threw it off.

"Yes, of course."

Sebastian could tell she was holding back her excitement. She was being professional, and it was holding her nicely in check.

"Natasha, have we got any tea bags left?"

The blonde woman, Natasha, bit her lip, looking sheepish. "I'm afraid we're not very well set up for receiving guests," she said to Amy. "We're up here on holiday and we're not coping at all well with the back-to-nature thing." She laughed. It was a delighted bubble of sound.

Sebastian took his opportunity and lifted the carrier bag he held in his hand. "We took the liberty of bringing some supplies, a bottle or two and some sandwiches from the shop."

Natasha and Quentin both broke into smiles.

"That was very good of you," Quentin replied. "You must stay for lunch in that case, and you can tell us what's been going on in London."

"Yes, why don't you all come into the kitchen," Natasha added, as she took the bag from Sebastian. "There's a big table in there and we can sit and have a proper chat. I must say, it's nice to see some folks from the big smoke. We've been like fish out of water up here in the wilds."

Amy winked at Sebastian, beaming. She looked so happy and that made him feel good, really good, and he knew why. It was because he loved her. He was desperately in love with her. He loved everything about her, her impetuosity, her conviction, her hotheadedness and above all her spirit. Life would never be dull with Ms. Amy Norton around.

As he followed her into the kitchen, though, Sebastian's smile slowly faded. What would happen now? He thought they had at least another few days together, but she'd got her scoop and the job would soon be over. Where did that leave him?

* * * *

Between the food they'd brought and the provisions Natasha had been given by a neighboring farmer's wife who'd taken pity on them, they had quite the farmhouse lunch. Natasha arranged the selection of sandwiches Sebastian had brought from the fisherman's shop on a large platter, while Quentin uncorked a couple of bottles of wine out of a crate he'd brought with them from London. The neighbor's contribution, a huge chunk of homemade fruit loaf and a crumbly white cheese, stood on a chopping board looking mouth-wateringly tempting. Amy's stomach rumbled. Although they had eaten supper late the night before, skipping breakfast really was beginning to take its toll.

"The thing I miss most about London," Quentin said, "is the fact you can get food and drink 24/7." He shook his head. "That's a bit of a sad thing to admit about oneself, but I am afraid in my case it's true." He ruffed up his beard with his fingers.

"We missed out on breakfast ourselves," Amy said. "This is greatly appreciated. Thank you for inviting us to join you."

"Our pleasure, my dear. Now, do tell us what we've been missing in the city."

"Did you come away on holiday?" Amy asked, tentatively, as she took a sip of the wine Quentin had poured for her.

"Yes, yes. We decided to get away for some quality time together. It was proving difficult in the city, with work and one thing and another." He looked across at Natasha who smiled and took his hand across the tablecloth. Amy was in no doubt these two were very much in love. She'd sensed it immediately when she saw them together and they were making no effort to hide it now.

"No wonder it came as a surprise to you, to find out there were some concerns about you." Amy was wondering where to begin. She was also well aware she needed to broach the subject of an actual interview for her feature, preferably an exclusive, before things went too far in the discussion. "Apparently, security at the studios reported you were missing, because you usually pop in and out during the summer closure."

"That's true," Quentin replied, frowning, "but this was a planned break, albeit last minute."

The couple seemed shocked by this news, and they'd obviously been looking for privacy. Amy wanted to mention her angle and soon, but it had to be done in an appropriate and appealing way. Her mind hunted through various ways in which she might bring it up. It had to be touted in the right terms or she and Sebastian might find themselves out on their ear without the hint of an exclusive.

"You've got a strong fan base and people have been worried about you," Amy offered. "It would be good for all those people to know that you're safe and well."

Quentin gave a sheepish smile. Natasha beamed proudly.

"Would you be interested in doing a little bit of an interview with me? Something to put the fans minds at rest?" She held her breath.

"Well," Quentin said. "What do you think, love?"

Natasha shrugged, looking thoughtful. "Why not? It would be welcome publicity with the start of the new season close at hand."

Amy breathed out. This was looking good.

"Yes, I agree. Our producer will approve. Can't turn down a gift horse of free publicity, can we. I'm not clever about such things, you know. Natasha is a make up artist and she's been in the industry much longer than me. She knows much more about that side of it all. I started out in history documentaries, did the Ghost Hunter thing when funds were low. Never thought it would take off the way it has." He chuckled. "But I wouldn't be without it now, long may it run. It's become my livelihood and we have a lot of fun with the show."

"That's wonderful, and hopefully we can have some fun with the feature too. Would you mind if I made a few notes as we went along?"

"Not at all, scribble away."

Amy grabbed her bag from under the table and pulled out her small notepad, setting it to one side of the plate to make it as unobtrusive as possible. She made a mental note that she had her small digital camera with her too, and if all went well she could get a few shots of the couple in front of their ivy covered retreat.

"I'm pleased to oblige, especially if you can help us unravel this business. Missing indeed. Are you with The City News too?" Quentin directed his question at Sebastian.

"Temporarily," he replied. Amy noticed him frown as he said it. "I'm helping Amy out for a little while."

She caught his eye and he had a troubled look about him that made her heart leap, but he turned away and picked up a sandwich as soon as their eyes met. Amy felt something like hope kindle inside her. He didn't want it to be over yet either. Her secret fears about him not wanting a serious involvement after his last relationship had begun to subside. Would they be able to build something after the affair, after all? She tried to keep her mind on the job, but a kernel of hope had bedded inside her. "Sebastian's been a real star, he knows the locality and he was instrumental in locating you."

"Local man, are you?" Quentin asked, as he helped himself to another hunk of cheese to augment his wine.

Sebastian nodded. "I work in London, but most of my family still live over on the east coast."

"Oh, we had a beautiful day over that way, last week," Natasha chipped in. "Drove right along the coast and had a fish supper on the harbor at Whitby. You'll have to take Amy and show her, if she's not been."

Sebastian watched her closely as he awaited her reply.

"That would be lovely." She returned his gaze. The smile he gave her was tentative, unsure, but the kernel of hope inside her had begun to unfurl.

"Right…first of all let's try to answer this question about the missing man who isn't missing shall we. Why do you think the TV studios think you are missing, if this was a planned vacation?"

Quentin shook his head.

Natasha looked thoughtful, then she sat forward in her seat. "Darling, who did you tell?" She stared at Quentin, eyes wide.

Quentin's expression was pensive.

"We left in a bit of a rush, you see," Natasha explained. "I'd seen this cottage to rent when we were up here on a shoot, and when we took the urge to get out of the city it was available. It was kind of a spur of the moment thing." She turned back to Quentin. "You didn't trust you-know-who with the job did you?" Her face was growing increasingly pale.

Quentin pursed his mouth, shifting his feet restlessly under the table.

"I thought surely he would be over it by now."

"You wouldn't be talking about one Jake Brent, would you?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh dear," Natasha whispered, her hand going to her throat. "This is terrible." She shook her head. "He's my ex, you see." She blushed uncomfortably as she explained to Amy and Sebastian. "He's been finding it a bit hard to accept that I'm with Quentin now." She frowned. "Oh, I do wish I hadn't chosen right now to give up smoking."