Waking Elizabeth (21 page)

Ronan
blinked in surprise, “There’s no way to know when they come.”

I
looked at him, wondering if it was a statement or a question, “Every time I’ve
had one it’s been because I was standing at the site or near something of
hers.
 
I thought I had this figured out,
but now … I don’t know.”

“Maybe
it was the horse,” he answered.

I
stroked the horse’s neck and watched as his skin flinched beneath my fingers,
“Could be.”

With
the vision gone I concentrated on the abbey in front of me as Ronan led me
through the front door.
 
Grass grew
through what was left of the stone floor, the broken arches high in the air
above us.
 
As we stepped inside birds
clamored and flew from their nests out of the open ceiling.
 

“Is
anyone buried here?”

“I’m
sure there is, but not in the walls like at Westminster.
 
If they are here, they are in the ground.”

I
looked down and wondered how many monks or priests were buried beneath our
feet.
 

“You
weren’t scared coming here when you were little?”

“I
certainly didn’t come at night, but no, I wasn’t scared,” he squeezed my hand
and led me towards the front of the church where the stairs were still evident,
“The alter would have been here, at the top of the stairs.”

“What
did all this damage?” I asked him, looking up at the crumbling ceiling and
walls.

“War,
abandonment, age,” he shrugged, “A little of all of it.”

“When
was your house built?”

“Early
1700’s.
 
It’s had several additions as
some of it was destroyed by fire and then rebuilt.
 
My Grandfather had it restored along with my parents
who did a complete modern overhaul when they moved in.”

“And
you grew up there,” I said in awe.

Ronan
smiled, “I guess you tend to take it for granted when you see it every day, but
it’s not lost on me how magnificent it is.”

“All
of this is.
 
Your home, this property,
this abbey.
 
It’s amazing.”
 
I looked around and couldn’t help but wonder
what had transpired within these walls.
 
“I grew up in a small house with two bedrooms on a cul-de-sac in
Virginia.”

“How
far are you from your parents?”

“A
few hours, but I don’t see them very often.
 
They are both retired and they jet around a lot.
 
I’m glad they do, it keeps them young.”

“No
brothers or sisters?”

“No,
just me.
 
I guess I was enough,” I
grinned at him.

“You
and Jess seem very close,” he remarked, leaning casually against the stone
wall.

“We
are.
 
There’s not much we wouldn’t do for
one another.
 
She would bury a body for
me if she had to.”

“I’ll
watch my step,” he winked.

“She
likes you, I can tell.”

“Oh
yeah, why is that?”

“She
trusts me, she knows I don’t give myself away thoughtlessly.”

He
studied me quietly, “And have you given yourself away?”

I
sighed, not feeling the overwhelming need to be protective which was so out of
character for me, “I have.
 
I can’t
explain it, but … I feel safe with you.”

Ronan
pulled me towards him and lifted my face towards his, “You are … safe with me.”

“I
felt so venerable when I first told you … about her.
 
I didn’t know how you would react and I was
so scared.
 
I think you knowing, and
taking me to all these places and opening me up to all this has made it easier
somehow.
 
I know you have your own
visions you deal with so I appreciate you giving your time to help me sort
through mine.”

Ronan’s
eyes darkened, “About that …”

I
immediately wanted to put him at ease, “Listen.
 
I don’t care and I don’t want to pry.
 
I know how hard it was to tell you about my deal and I know that you
have kept that pretty guarded yourself.
 
I get it, I don’t want you to feel any pressure.
 
Frankly, I’m glad that you have this going on
with you.
 
It’s a lot easier to share
with someone who understands first hand.
 
I’m just glad that you don’t have someone in there that’s as pushy and
powerful as the woman
I’m
dealing
with.
 
It would probably be the death
blow to us if you did.
 
Can you imagine?
 
Dealing with two powerful people inside both
of us?
 
I’m glad you were a horse person
in the past, you should be too.”

Ronan
blinked in surprise and appeared wordless.

“I
do wonder, what time period were you in?”

He
seemed to stammer for a reply, “16
^th
century.”

“Wow,
coincidence, huh?” I leaned into him and allowed his arms to encircle me, “Your
visions of your time there, are they as vivid as mine?”

I
felt him take a deep breath, “Fairly vivid, yes.”

I
pulled away from him and grinned, “Any sex dreams?”

He
smiled wickedly in return, “Occasionally.”

“You’ll
have to tell me about those, it’s only fair.”

“Perhaps,”
he grinned and pulled me toward the door.

Chapter
22

O
nce we returned to the
house, I followed Ronan up the expansive stairs to the second floor which in
reality, given the height of the ceilings in the house, were equal to four
flights of stairs.
 
Once at the top in
the center of the upper floors, he pointed to the west end, “My parent’s rooms
are that way.
 
There’s also a small
kitchen and another living room down there,” he turned toward the east wing,
“We’re down here.”
 

The
massive hallway was lined with the same dark walnut paneling I had seen at
Hatfield House.
 
Paintings and other
artwork hung on the walls, along with rich tapestries and glass cabinets of
artifacts.
 
The upstairs definitely had
an older feel than the downstairs did.
 
Almost as if when they remolded, they wanted it to look just as it had
in the 18
^th
century.
 
We
passed several closed doors of what I assumed was other rooms.
 

“My
mother and father chose to decorate all the guest rooms based on period
themes.
 
When my sister and I left home,
they remodeled our rooms as well,” he grinned, “I guess it happens everywhere.”

I
smiled, “Oh yeah, my childhood room is now a gym with exercise equipment that
gathers more dust than the basement of the Smithsonian.”

“My
sister and I had adjoining rooms.
 
That
way when we were scared at night when we were younger, we could open the door
and talk to each other and not be afraid.”

He
led me through a large oak door into a room with stone walls and gold hued rugs
scattered on the floor.
 
Against the wall
on the far side was an enormous four poster bed with a full wood canopy and
gold velvet curtains.
 
The bed itself was
raised on a platform with stairs on one side.
 
It was seriously the biggest bed I had ever seen.
 

“Wow.
 
That is a serious bed.”

Ronan
smiled, “Mother was very adamant about the historical aspect of these rooms,
down to every detail.
 
Although, you
won’t be sleeping on hay,” he set my luggage down on an oak hall tree, “I’m
pretty sure it’s a Tempur-Pedic.”

“Well,
I’m thankful for that,” I laughed, walking towards the bed, “Seriously, five
people could sleep in this thing.”

“It
looks big because of the wood, it’s a king size.
 
She entertains a lot so she likes to impress
the visitors.
 
When she heard I was
brining a guest, she insisted that you take this room.
 
It’s her favorite,” he came up behind me and
swept my hair off my shoulder, “and there is a great view from these windows of
the abbey.”
 
He pointed out the window
towards the ruins and I smiled.
 
I felt
his lips on my bare neck and it sent shivers along my neck.
 
“I’m right through here,” he pointed to a door
on the far wall of my room. I followed him through it to an adjoining
room.
 
His room was spacious with a dark
wood paneling.
 
His bed was large and
decorated very similarly except the focal color was red.
 
While his bed was impressive, it wasn’t near
as large and decorated as mine.

“This
is your old room?”

“It
is, but it didn’t look like this when I lived here.
 
But she does keep my things in here in the
closet and my books on the shelves,” he pointed to a book case on the far
wall.
 
“Is this okay?”

“My
room?
 
It’s more than okay,” I answered.

“No,
our rooms adjoining.
 
Is
that
okay?”

Oh.
 
That’s what he meant.
 
“Yes.
 
We’re alone in this huge house, I don’t think I’d want to be anywhere
else,” I answered honestly.

“Good,”
he looked relieved, “There are a few guest rooms on the main floor but they are
entirely modern and very far away.
 
I
didn’t think you’d like either.”

“No,
this is perfect.”

“So,
the only downside is we share a bathroom.
 
It’s a large bathroom and as long as you are here I’ll use the one
across the hall.
 
It’s not a problem,” he
ushered me to another door that adjoined our two rooms and into an expansive
bathroom that held a claw foot tub and a shower big enough for four people.
 
“You can use this one, there is a door into
your room,” he pointed, “and I’ll use the one across the hall.”

“That’s
crazy.
 
We can work around it, just
knock.
 
Or I’ll lock your door when I’m
in here and vice versa.
 
No need for you
to walk all the way across the hall.”

“I’m
trying to be a gentleman,” he said.

“And
your mother would be proud, but I’m a little more practical than that.
 
I live with a man, remember?”

He
paused thoughtfully and nodded, “I
do
remember that.”

I
could tell what was fleeting in his mind and I quickly wanted to squash the
idea, “Geoff and I have been friends for a long time and he’s absolutely
perfect.
 
If I was a man, I’d be just his
type.
 
That’s how it works.”

Ronan
nodded, “I was wondering.”

“I
knew you were,” I patted him on the shoulder, “Come on, Mr. Sutton, I’m going
to cook you dinner in your gorgeous kitchen.”

With
Ronan’s help I managed to rummage through the kitchen and found enough
ingredients that I recognized in order to make us a semi decent meal.
 
I cooked some chicken and some saffron rice
and to my surprise there was a garden out back where I found some fresh beans
which I washed and steamed.
 
I found
myself grateful that we had our time together in his family home alone without
the distractions of London and the nervousness involved with meeting his
family.
 
Hours later we were curled up on
the sofa as I rested my head against his chest watching television when I asked
him out of the blue, “Why haven’t you brought anyone here before?”

He
stroked my hair gently, “Nobody seemed important enough.”

“That
can’t be true, surely you’ve seriously dated?”

“I
have.
 
But like I said, no one I felt
like I wanted to bring here to my family,” I felt him chuckle under me,
“Nervous?”

“A
little,” I admitted, “It certainly adds pressure.”
 
I was silent for several seconds before
venturing on, “The woman from the bar the other night, is she an ex?”

“She
is.
 
We dated briefly in college.
 
She met my parents when they were visiting me
during a break.
 
She’s never been here,
like I said, no one but you.”

I
silently mulled over his news.

“You
didn’t like Tania that night, I could tell.
 
You are very easy to read, which is good for me I guess.
 
I’ll always know when I’m in trouble.”

“I
apologize for that.
 
Jealousy is not in
my nature, to be honest.
 
I surprised
myself and Jess,” I was hiding my face against his chest, still embarrassed at
how I had acted and even more so now that I knew for sure that he noticed it.

He
lifted my face towards his, “It’s her.
 
She’s coming out in you.
 
She was
insanely jealous, like a petulant child.
 
She would throw things, scream, yell, have tantrums.”

“She
sounds lovely,” I said sarcastically, “no wonder Robert was in love with her.”

“He
was, with all of her beautifully tortured faults, he loved her.
 
It was more difficult for him than for
anyone.
 
Her advisors and staff could
handle her outburst, but she and Robert would have disastrous fights.
 
Their love was intense and blinding and she
had nowhere to hide except with him.
 
He
knew her better than anyone and she knew she could be herself with him.
 
But it was a blessing and a curse for him.”

“Well,
given that she’s lurking somewhere inside of me, I’ll attempt to be on my best
behavior when I meet your parents,” I joked.

“Believe
me, there is no pressure with my family.
 
They’ll be shocked that I have someone here, but they already know so
they’ve had a few days to mull it over before getting here.”

I
smiled, “Good.”

“Now,
my sister on the other hand, she would give you the 10
^th
degree.”

“As
she should.
 
I would expect nothing
less.
 
I’m sure she’s protective of you.”

“She
is.
 
More so than my parents.”

I
couldn’t help but wonder what it all meant.
 
Why me?
 
Certainly they would
wonder the same thing.
 
And an American
no less.
 
I thought about my flight back
home in a week and I immediately forced it from my mind.
 
I wouldn’t think about it now.
 
I didn’t want to think about it at all when I
was with him.
 

“You’re
over thinking it, I can feel it,” he whispered, his lips grazing my forehead.

I
sighed.
 
How was it that he knew me so
well so quickly?
 
“When will they be
here?”

“Their
train is scheduled to arrive just before noon.
 
Allister will pick them up at the station so they should arrive in time
for lunch.”

“Should
we go get them?” I looked up at him, “I mean, if you would normally go, then
don’t not go because I’m here.”

“It
would be a bit crowded in the car with the five of us,” he grinned, “Allister
can bring them,” he lifted my chin and gazed down at me, “Stop worrying.”

“Should
I cook something?”

“No,
Penelope will be back in the morning.
 
She can take care of everything.
 
Although I’m still reeling from the meal you whipped up for us tonight.
 
Very impressive,” he flashed a brilliant
smile.

At
some point I drifted off while the television hummed low in the
background.
 
I heard Ronan whispering my
name, rousing me from sleep, “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Ronan
shut off the lights on the lower floor before we adjourned upstairs.
 
He politely offered me our joined bathroom
first which I accepted and quickly washed my face and combed through my
hair.
 
I knocked on the door that led
into his bedroom and told him the bathroom was free before returning to my room
and changing into a black tank top and loose fitting cotton pajama
bottoms.
 
I could hear the shower running
in the bathroom and I couldn’t stop myself from imagining him in there.
 
I went to the window and pulled back the
heavy velvet curtains to look outside towards the abbey.
 
The moonlight spilled over the countryside
illuminating everything with an alabaster glow.
 
The dilapidated stone abbey looked haunting on the hillside in the
distance.
 
I shivered at the sight.
 
I turned towards my marvelously medieval room
and silently wished there was a fire burning in the old stone fireplace.
 
I reached for my phone to text Jess that we
were settled in for the night and asked about her day.
 
She replied that all was well and for me to
have fun … in whatever way I could.
 
I
smiled, loving her for being so completely non judgmental.
 
Exhausted I crawled into the enormous wood
canopied bed.
 
I listened, noticing the
water was off, wondering if Ronan was in his room.
 

After
a few minutes I heard the door that joined our room creak open.
 
Seconds of silence passed without a word
before I called out softly, “I’m still awake.”

Through
the darkness he approached the bed wearing a thin blue t-shirt with a deep v
and a pair of draw string flannel pants, “I just wanted to say goodnight.”

I
smiled at him, curled on my side in bed facing him, the covers tucked under my
arms, “Thank you for bringing me here.”

He
reached out and smoothed the hair from my forehead, “Thank you for coming.”

We
stared intensely at each other in the darkness, neither one looking away.
 
My heart hammered in my chest.
 
I opened my mouth slightly, feeling as if I
wasn’t getting a deep enough breath.
 
He
blinked hard, as if forcing himself to break the spell, “I’ll leave the door
open.
 
Call to me if you need me.”
 
He looked towards the table by the bed where
my phone rested on the nightstand, “Or text me,” he winked.
 
Leaning down he kissed me on the lips and
lingered there, his lips barely opening and if he were going to speak.
 
I waited, patiently, but he pulled away
slowly.
 
Involuntarily my tongue darted
out and ran across my lips where his had just been.
 
This didn’t go unnoticed, his dark eyes
watching my every move.
 
He stood and
reached for the bed draperies.
 
Not the
heavy velvet ones but the sheer panels hidden beneath, “It gets drafty in these
rooms, the windows are old.
 
I’ll pull these
so you don’t get cold.
 
Believe it or
not, they really help.”
 
Distracted by
his distance I nodded wordlessly.
 
I
watched as he made his way around the bed and untied the sheer curtains until
they fell in a protective wall around me.