The Darkest of Shadows (41 page)

Lawrence reached over and grabbed my hand, which I grudgingly let him have. “Will doesn’t know anything about you,” he said. “He knows that I have a friend, and he would very much like to meet you, but I haven’t told him anything about you. I swear.”

That made it a little easier. “What do you want from me?” I wasn’t sure.

“Nothing,” he responded. “I would like for you to meet Will, because you are important to me and Will is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He understands me on a similar level that you do, and I hope that you could both be friends. I’m not asking you to tell him anything about yourself, no more than you would meeting any other of my friends.”

“And…?” It seemed like there should be more than that.

“And, if Will has the same impact on you that he does on me, then, and only if you are comfortable, you might like to talk to him a little about how you feel.”

“He’s not a shrink?”

“William thinks that shrinks are a waste of space,” he told me. “He doesn’t believe that anyone has the right to tell someone how they should feel or act. Everyone is an individual and reacts to situations differently, exactly as each person thinks differently and feels differently.”

“Maybe he and I have more in common than I thought.”

He squeezed my fingers in his hand. “I really do think you will like him, Lilly,” he said. “I would never push you toward anything that you aren’t comfortable with, but I honestly believe that William might be able to help you. Even if only to be a friend, or someone who will tell you stories about my most embarrassing moments—and trust me he has a few of those stories. William is a good man, and I hope that you will like him as much as I do.”

“OK.” I could manage that; as long as there were no preconceived ideas on William’s behalf about me telling him all my secrets, then I could probably manage to spend a week in his company. At least it meant that I had Lawrence for that whole week, too. A week of no interruptions, not having to get out of bed in the morning, long quiet evenings. “OK,” I said again, this time with more conviction.

It took a long six hours to reach Parkgrove, which, if I was paying attention, was somewhere north, possibly in Scotland. We had certainly traveled long enough for it to feel like we should have been in Scotland. When Lawrence mentioned that the estate had adequate security, he didn’t do it enough credit. There were uniformed guards at the huge gates of the property, and a brick fence that was easily four meters high stretched off in either direction and disappeared out of sight. Cameras stood stationery on the top of the wall, and I had no doubt that there was probably a lot more that wasn’t quite so visible.

It was dark by the time we arrived, so it was difficult to see much of the estate, but the main areas were heavily lit by bright lights. This included the main drive between the gates and the actual house, which was some distance away. I could only imagine the size of the actual property. And when I say “house,” I use that word loosely. It was really a palace, or close enough to that for most people’s worth. It was huge and very old English. Probably heritage listed, and if it wasn’t, it should have been. It was styled in the more traditional baroque fashion, with pillars and grand windows gracing the front and two wings jutting forward on both sides to form a huge U shape.

The grounds were spectacular, what I could see of them, and incorporated so many smaller buildings that the place actually resembled a small village more than a single residence—that is, if you could overlook the giant of a house that overshadowed everything else.

“He actually lives here?” I asked with a raised brow.

“It is a bit ostentatious, huh?” he agreed.

“Just a little bit.”
Good lord
.

“He doesn’t actually use most of the house,” Lawrence told me, as he drove around the back of the main house toward some of the smaller buildings. “He has a few key rooms that he uses regularly, but most of the main section of the house is maintained out of a love for the estate and to keep the heritage of the house whole. It’s stunning. Wait till you see it.”

Stunning. Of that I had no doubt. It must cost an absolute fortune to maintain. “Does William have family?” I asked.

“He had a wife. But Elizabeth died nearly ten years ago, and they had no children, so William lives here alone now.”

I was instantly saddened by that news, because although I didn’t know exactly how old William was, I had a feeling that he was an older gentleman; and without having met him, he already reminded me of my own dad who lived a similar lonely existence without his wife.

The garage was remarkably functional and modern and already housed an impressive array of cars that probably cost more than most people make in a lifetime.

“So I’m guessing that William is fairly well off,” I commented as we walked the short distance to the back of the house.

“He does all right,” Lawrence replied, grinning. I was surprised to see genuine excitement and joy in his gaze.

“You really do like this man don’t you?” I said.

Lawrence nodded. “I haven’t seen him in over two years,” he told me. He led the way through the house with a familiarity that said more than words how close these two men were.

We finally located the man himself in a room at the front of the grand house, in what looked to be a drawing room, or something similar. The walls were covered in beautiful, intricate wallpaper, and the furniture was pure old English aristocrat. It was stunningly beautiful, as was the part of the house I had seen as we passed through on our way to this room.

“William!” Lawrence’s voice boomed out into the room. The man who rose from a desk near the window was nothing like what I was expecting.

William Edward Bates, III, was probably only about sixty years old, and he looked as strong and virulent as someone who was totally grey could look. He moved with a confidence and assurance that spoke volumes. There was nothing old and frail about this man.

“Lawrence, my friend.” William crossed the room in long strides, and I watched in astonishment as he and Lawrence embraced as only old, trusted friends could. “It has been far too long.”

“It has, Will, it certainly has.” Lawrence kept a grip on the other man’s arm as they smiled at each other. Renewing acquaintances and reaffirming familiarity with each other. Lawrence and William had the kind of friendship where time and distance had no impact on their relationship.

“Will.” Lawrence stepped back a pace and reached out to grip my hand, drawing me closer to them. “Allow me to introduce you to Lillianna Owen. Lilly, this is my friend William Bates.”

I shook his hand in greeting, a slight smile drawing the edges of my lips up. “Please call me Lilly,” I told him.

His answering smile was warm but held an edge of surprise. “It is indeed a pleasure, Lilly.”

“You have a beautiful home, William,” I told him truthfully. “It’s quite impressive.”

“I’d be honored to give you a guided tour of it over the next few days. There are some very special places in this old girl, places that deserve to be shared.”

“That sounds wonderful.” And I meant it.

“Come. Sit.” He indicated a set of lounges near the front of the room, overlooking the dark gardens. “How have you been?” Will enquired. “It’s been, what, two years since I saw you last.”

“Something like that.” Lawrence smiled. “Don’t try and tell me that you haven’t been following the activities of Monterey Enterprises.”

“I would never attempt to lie to you in that manner, my boy. And besides, you know perfectly well that I monitor the movements of all the big players in the business world. It’s just an added bonus that you happen to be one of them.”

Lawrence laughed. “At least it makes it easier to catch up. There’s not much to tell, in that case.”

“There is always much to tell, my friend—but that usually doesn’t come out until we have both indulged in a bit too much of my favorite old whiskey.”

“That is true.” Lawrence was totally relaxed in this man’s company, something that was so rare for him that I instantly warmed toward William. I would give him a chance, if only because he gave so much to Lawrence just by being his friend.

Lawrence and William caught up over dinner, a meal that was served in a surprisingly small dining room, which I was sure wasn’t the only dining room in the old house. But it was sufficient for a more intimate dinner, which this was.

I tried to stay out of the general conversation, not only because it allowed William and Lawrence the time to catch up, but because I found it was fascinating to listen to them converse with each other. They were so similar, so familiar, and so easy in each other’s company that I couldn’t help smiling as I listened. Here was someone who knew Lawrence, someone else who wasn’t scared of him.

When dinner was over, I excused myself from their company. Not only was I genuinely tired, but I could see that they wanted to continue their talk, probably into the early hours of the morning, and they deserved privacy for that. Besides, I was sure that I would be spending a great deal of time in company with William over the next week. I would allow them this time without my presence.

“Are you sure?” Lawrence led me into our room, one that he found with a familiarity that assured me this was the room that he used every time that he stayed with William.

“Go,” I encouraged him. “I can see how much he means to you. Go and have tonight with him.”

Lawrence smiled, a beautiful and intimate gesture just for me. “Thank you, Lilly,” he said, his arms wrapping around me.

I smiled back and kissed him, a long, satisfying kiss. “Wake me when you come up,” I reminded him, and moments later I was alone in one of the most beautiful rooms I had ever seen, in possibly one of the most expensive and grand houses in the world.

Hadn’t I come a long way in life!

.

Seventeen

Lawrence slept late the following morning, and considering he hadn’t crawled into bed until close to dawn, I wasn’t holding it against him. He rarely got to sleep in; our usual lifestyle was far too busy for this type of activity. But I still wasn’t venturing out of this room without him. Even though I thought he might be right, that it was possible that I would actually like William, I wasn’t about to chance running into him on the first day without Lawrence as a buffer.

So I dozed beside him for most of the morning, his gentle snoring a comforting, familiar sound in the strangeness of the huge room. It was every inch a regency bedroom; the bed itself was massive and had a canopy that stretched over the bed with dark blue drapes falling softly around the head board. The furniture was old and had a slightly fragile quality to it that I knew to be false. For it to have survived as long as it had assured me that it would survive for a while yet.

I was thankful it had been renovated to fit with the twenty-first century, and the bathroom had every convenience imaginable—something I had discovered to my delight the night before. This morning, I was waiting for Lawrence before I made use of its facilities. The shower was made for two, and I had plans for such a large accommodating space.

By the time Lawrence finally woke, with a bit of encouragement from me, and after we made spectacular use of the twin showers, it was lunchtime before we found ourselves making our way back through the house.

“So what exactly are the plans for this weeklong stay?” I asked. Neither of us was in a hurry; in fact, it was strange, but from the moment that we got in the car to drive here, it seemed that Lawrence was a different person. If I wasn’t mistaken, I would have sworn that he was in holiday mode. Calm, relaxed, and at peace.

“I have no plans,” he admitted with a grin. “Absolutely nothing, and I find the novelty of it amusing.”

“I just bet you do,” I joked. Then a thought occurred to me. “When was the last time that you had a real holiday?” I asked. “One where you turned the phone off and did absolutely nothing.”

“I don’t understand the question.” He gave me a sly grin, and I understood that he was telling me that he had never done that before, had never turned off his world to that extent. This was indeed a novelty for him. On the drive up to William’s estate, Lawrence had made arrangements with Allan to have all calls go through him; it was only for something of the utmost urgency, such as someone dying, that Allan would call Lawrence. Both of our phones were off; the only contact anyone had with us was a landline in William’s office, and only Allan had that number. I wondered how much the world would change in the week that we weren’t part of it.

“Good morning, Will,” Lawrence greeted him, when we walked quietly into the same room where we had met him the night before. I was pretty certain that this would be where we spent most of our time.

“You’re alive?” William responded from where he sat at his desk. “I was about to send out a search party to see if you got lost somewhere.”

“Hardly.” Lawrence laughed. “I knew exactly where I was, thank you.”

“Well, now that you’ve finally decided to grace me with your presence, you must be starving.” He rose from behind the desk and crossed to where we stood. “Come. Let’s have lunch, and then I’d like to take this lovely young lady on a tour of my house.”

Lunch was easy, easier than I expected. William and Lawrence seemed to have had enough time alone last night to catch up personally, which mean that today, they were all interested in me.

What did I think of the house, the estate, the weather, the economy? What was working for Lawrence like? Where did we meet? How long had we been together? Where was I from?

The list of questions was endless, and most of them I answered honestly, all except the personal questions; those I avoided, and I was thankful that Lawrence didn’t push me in that regard. He actually helped to steer the conversation around the areas he knew I wouldn’t want to talk about.

After lunch, William took me on a tour, with Lawrence following casually in our wake. William loved the house. He knew everything about it, every nook and cranny, and he told me stories that had me reassessing any desire to go wandering the halls at night by myself. It was stunning, intriguing, and intimidating all at the same time.