Baby Included. Mary Lyons
of us does for a living? I’m far more interested in the fact that I don’t even know your name.’
‘Yes, I suppose we ought to introduce ourselves. So...’
‘Just a minute.’ She winced, struggling to adjust the pillows behind her head. ‘I seem to be getting a real crick in my neck, staring up at you like this. How about taking the weight off your feet?’ she added, patting the bed beside her.
Maybe it had been a great mistake to pour them both a second drink. Because, when thinking about the episode, much later, Ace would totally fail to understand why he’d chosen to ignore the loud warning bells ringing so urgently in his head as he slowly lowered himself down onto the soft mattress.
‘That’s much better,’ she sighed, raising a hand to rub the back of her neck. ‘So, how about if I kick off by saying that, as far as Christian names are concerned, my parents chose to call me Eloise.’
‘Well, Eloise...’ he began, suddenly uncomfortably aware of the effect that the close proximity of this amazingly sexy girl was having on his body. ‘I...er...I regret to have to tell you that I am one of those very boring members of society—a lawyer. And, even worse, at my christening I was burdened with the truly awful names of Algernon Cedric Emerson!’
‘I’m not sure that “awful” is exactly the right word,’ she murmured, clearly trying not to laugh. ‘I’d be more inclined to call it downright cruel. Because I’m afraid that there is nothing in the least romantic about the name Algernon.’
‘You’re so right!’ he drawled, desperately fighting a totally crazy, insane urge to make mad, passionate love to this gorgeous creature who was smiling so enchantingly up at him. ‘Which is why, from my earliest years, I’ve insisted on being called by the name formed by my initials.’
‘Hmm...that’s a lot better,’ she agreed, the warm gleam in her wide blue eyes causing his pulse to begin racing out of control. ‘Yes, I think that Ace is just about the perfect name for a guy like you.’
There was a long silence as they gazed at one another, the smile slowly dying from her lips, her cheeks reddening slightly under his steady gaze.
‘I could be very wrong, of course,’ he said slowly, ‘but I have the distinct impression that there’s definitely something going on here, between the two of us?’
‘Well... er...maybe... yes. I think you could possibly be right,’ she agreed breathlessly. ‘It’s absolutely crazy, of course.’
‘Absolutely crazy,’ he agreed softly, his grey eyes darkening momentarily as she nervously moistened her dry lips with her tongue.
‘And... and we hardly know one another,’ she added with a helpless shrug, closing her eyes for a moment as a deep crimson flush spread over her face. ‘But... well, the truth is...um...I have to confess that I’m certainly feeling very... er... very peculiar!’
‘Believe me—you’re not the only one!’ he murmured huskily. Raising a hand, he brushed a stray tendril of hair from her brow before gently trailing his fingers over her cheeks and on down over the incredibly soft, velvety flesh of her neck to the creamy hollows at the base of her throat.
‘However, before I completely lose all control of my senses, I think you’d better tell me to go away,’ he added thickly, his heart pounding like a sledgehammer as she responded to his light caress with a low moan. ‘Quite frankly—we’re both likely to be in a whole lot of trouble if I remain here any longer.’
‘No...don’t go,’ she whispered softly, raising her arms and placing them about his dark head, before drawing him slowly down towards her. ‘I really don’t understand what’s happening to me. And...and I can promise you that I’ve never done anything like this before. But please...please don’t go.’
‘Wild horses wouldn’t be able to drag me away!’ he breathed huskily, before gathering the slim figure up into his arms, his mouth closing possessively over her soft, trembling lips.
CHAPTER TWO
ACE put down his pen, sighing heavily as he leaned back in his chair and gazed out through the window of his study at the trees and parkland surrounding Ratcliffe Hall.
It was now three months since he’d returned from abroad. A hard, frantically busy three months, dealing with the burdensome legacy of his inheritance: a dilapidated ‘stately home’ and an estate which had been badly neglected for many years.
With so much work to do—including many long, drawn-out meetings with the family trustees—he’d had no alternative but to resign from his position as senior partner of the large firm of lawyers in London. However, while he’d originally thought that he might miss the cut and thrust of City business, Ace had been surprised to discover that he’d gained a considerable bonus. Despite now being forced by circumstances to live in the country, he’d found himself actively enjoying the slower pace of quiet, rural life. But that was just about the only silver lining to the dark clouds which still loomed over his unexpected inheritance.
His young daughter, Emily, appeared to find the whole situation highly amusing—‘It’s really cool, Dad—totally far out!’ But Ace wasn’t particularly thrilled about the fact that, following so many close relatives’ deaths, he’d now inherited a title first granted to his family by Henry VIII.
As he had told one of his oldest friends the other day, ‘Quite frankly, to be now known and addressed as Lord Ratcliffe has to be a complete anachronism in this day and age. Of course, it’s quite useful if I want to book a table in a restaurant,’ he’d added with a wry smile. ‘But in all other respects it seems a bit pointless.’
Ace was, in fact, far more concerned with the many important, vital decisions he would have to take concerning the large estate, amounting to some ten thousand acres.
After calling in agricultural experts, he had learned that, while the land itself was in good heart, the various farmhouses, farm buildings, machinery and livestock had been badly neglected. Unlike his uncle Hector, who’d successfully managed to ignore the problem for so many years, Ace felt it was both his duty and responsibility to do everything he could on behalf of the people and the families living on his estate. Unfortunately, there was also the serious problem of exactly what he was going to do about Ratcliffe Hall.
Pushing back his chair and rising to his feet, he began to prowl restlessly around the large room.
Having made enquiries, he was now in no doubt that, as matters stood at present, it was useless to even think of trying to sell the huge old mansion. No one with any sense would dream of taking on such a massive house. Especially one which needed a great deal of money to be spent on its restoration.
And that was proving to be a real problem. It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to pay for the repairs—having worked so hard in the City for the last twenty years, he was now very wealthy in his own right—but, as his own financial advisers had pointed out, why would a divorced man, with no intention of remarrying in the foreseeable future, want to spend a fortune restoring such a huge building which was clearly designed for a large family?
In fact, the whole problem of what to do about Ratcliffe Hall had proved to be nothing but a major headache. Until he’d heard about the needs of film and television companies, who were continually searching for large old houses in which to film their various productions. Which was why, after he’d swiftly contacted several agencies, he’d been pleased to have a TV crew here last month, filming the exterior of the Hall for an Edwardian-style version of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors.
It wasn’t the complete answer, of course. Although the fee which he’d received for the use of the place was almost indecently large, it was a mere drop in the ocean as far as paying for any serious repairs was concerned. Still, it was a start. And with the arrival yesterday of an American-financed film company, prepared to take over and use the whole of the mansion for at least a month, it now looked as though he could stop worrying about the house. For the time being, at least.
He’d