Foundation of Love: The Gypsy Blessing 2 (24 page)

“No, I’m at the old house... Yes, I know what time it is... I’m sorry, but
that’s
none of your business, Dan!” she snapped. “Would you
please
listen? The power lines went down near the house. All I need is Joe’s phone number, not a lecture...”

As William moved further down the hallway and into the main part of the house, the sound of her voice trailed off.

William knew that, although Dan actually had no reason to do so, and even though the storm was at its worst so far, Dan would insist on coming over. He’d probably rush over to make sure William wasn’t taking advantage of her. Was there going to be another scene between them?

I can’t blame him for caring about her, but Dan isn’t the one Elizabeth kissed... or was about to kiss, anyway.
He smiled.

~%~

As he was heading back upstairs to bring Elizabeth a flashlight, William’s cell phone made a strange noise.
That sounded very much like...
He pulled it out of his pocket and a chill passed down his spine when he saw the *
New Photo
* message on his home screen.

The gypsies sent one to
me
?

He opened the photo, and his mind reeled at the horror. Literally knocked off his feet, he fell back against the wall.

“Elizabeth!” he called out and rushed toward the back staircase.

~%~

With her cell phone app set to provide some light, Elizabeth hopped on her good leg as fast as she could down the stairs, barreling into William as he rounded the turn in the hallway at the bottom of the stairs. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her and didn’t let go.

“I already called the fire department, but they’ll never get here in time. I hope you have rubber boots and a few fire extinguishers!”

Will pulled a flashlight out of his pocket and handed it to her. “What? Why?”

“Not only did the tree house get smashed, but now it’s on fire, too. It’s raining heavily, but it’s been so dry lately. It won’t be long before the trees catch.”

Will said something under his breath. “I thought you said you knew better than to go outside?
Nobody
is stepping out of this house until the power’s turned off.”

“Nobody else has to risk it; I’ll go. If I had rubber boots—”

“No, Elizabeth... it’s not worth it. You’re more important than a bunch of trees.” He took her face in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. “Elizabeth, we’ll stand by with fire extinguishers,
inside
the house. There’s nothing more we can do. The yard is flooded and there are live wires in the water.”

William pulled her against his chest and held her tight. She brought her arms up around his waist and pulled herself closer. Smoothing her hair with one hand, he leaned his cheek down onto the top of her head. His heart pounded against the side of her face.

“They’ll turn off the power soon, and then they can put out the fire. We have to wait—inside
.
”

“Okay.” Elizabeth deeply inhaled his spicy scent. She wasn’t sure what was happening between them, but whatever it was, she greatly approved. She leaned back far enough to look at him. “We can keep a close eye on the fire from the bay window in the family room.”

He took her face in both hands and looked deeply in her eyes. “Promise me, Elizabeth! Promise you will not go outside.” His eyes were wild with concern, much more than was warranted right now.

“I promise, Will.”

He ground his teeth for a few seconds. “You need to know... I came looking for you because I just received a photo, and I will
not
allow it to happen.”

“From...
them
?”

He nodded.

“Can I see it?”

“Absolutely not!” He shook his head. “But even if I have to tie you up and lock you in a closet, you are not going outside.”

Her mouth formed into an
O,
but she didn’t make a sound.

He pulled her into his embrace again. “You are not leaving my side tonight, understand?”

“I’ll stay right next to you.” She nodded against his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s no reason to apologize for something you’re not going to do.”

“But I
am
sorry you had to see that photo.”

He squeezed her tighter to him. “I’m just glad they didn’t send it to you.” He released her and scooped her up in his arms. “Let’s go to the family room.”

~%~

The tree house was engulfed in flames by the time they joined the others in the family room. They were all standing silently near the bay window. As they watched it burn, Elizabeth kept her word—she hadn’t left his side, but any time he was not in physical contact with her, the picture from his cell phone would pop into his mind, and he felt as if he were drowning in panic and sorrow.

In fact, he had never been more frightened in his life. He felt guilty that even watching his parents’ car accident had not affected him quite this badly.

His instinct was to keep her wrapped in his arms, but he forced himself to be more discrete, either holding her hand or keeping a hand on her waist or shoulder. One time, she had held onto his arm, but he found that wasn’t enough, and he placed his own hand over hers. He had to have hold of her in case she decided to go outside. Logically, now that she knew what the outcome would be, he should trust that she wouldn’t go out there, but he had to be ready to grab her if she tried to bolt. He would not lose her!

Only when the power company workers were on the scene and the sparks stopped flying did his muscles begin to relax, and he felt like he could take a full breath again. Embarrassed by the trembling that came as an after-effect of such a lengthy adrenaline rush, he tried to let go of her hand, but she wouldn’t let him. She must have understood, because she wrapped both of her arms around one of his, hugged it to her, and rested her cheek against him as they watched the fire department enter the backyard and douse the flames.

When the doorbell rang, William sighed deeply.

“That’s probably Dan,” Elizabeth said in a defeated tone, lifting her head away from his shoulder.

“I figured that. Do me a favor? Program Joe King’s number into your cell phone as soon as possible?”

Elizabeth nodded.

The doorbell rang three times in a row. Dan was obviously very impatient.

“I’ll answer it.” Elizabeth began to move toward the door.

William raised his eyebrows. “
I’ll
go.”

“You’d better take Lizzy along, Will...” Richard turned toward them. Looking at the way Elizabeth was holding onto William’s arm, his eyes twinkled with mirth. “...so that Dan can see for himself that she hasn’t been molested... or anything else.” He chuckled.

Elizabeth let go of William’s arm but didn’t move away from him. The doorbell rang several times in a row this time, and immediately after, someone started banging on the door. William grabbed a lantern and headed toward the front hall. Elizabeth limped after him.

The banging continued until William opened the door. Dan almost fell through the opening, but he recovered quickly. A gust of wind blew rain through the door, soaking them all. William moved to close it.

“Is everything all right?” Dan demanded from Elizabeth. “They wouldn’t let me near the house before now.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Thanks for getting in touch with Joe.”

William almost laughed when Mrs. Reynolds and Georgiana entered the hallway, obviously showing that Elizabeth wasn’t the only woman in the house. Mrs. Reynolds answered, “We’re watching the fire department through the family room window. Would you like to join us?”

Dan’s gaze traveled quickly from Elizabeth to William and back to Elizabeth. To William’s surprise, Dan nodded, stripped off his raincoat, and hung it on the coatrack by the door.

William said, “I’ll show you where it is.”

“I’ve spent half my life in this house, Darcy. I know my way around.”

Elizabeth crossed her arms over her waist and cocked an eyebrow at Dan. He huffed out a chuckle and passed through the hallway, entering the family room. Elizabeth held onto William’s arm to steady herself as they followed, and they could hear Dan greet Richard and Charles. When they arrived at the window, she let go and leaned against the wall next to Dan. William came up behind her.

“Aww, Lizzy. I can’t believe it’s gone,” Dan said.

“Me either.”

Dan gave her a significant look. “I have a lot of good memories of that tree house.”

At first, William wondered why Elizabeth blushed as she gave Dan a warning look, but after seeing the look of triumph on Dan’s face when he glanced back at him, William decided he didn’t really want to know.

~

As William let Dan out, Elizabeth stood staring out the window. She was very happy that Dan hadn’t stayed long after she had given him what her childhood friends affectionately called “Lizzy’s Look of Death.” There had been a lot of good times spent in that tree house with her friends, but she knew Dan was referring to her sixteenth birthday.

Although she now knew it was Dan’s fault, at that time, Elizabeth had assumed that she hadn’t been asked on a date because boys didn’t find her attractive. A couple of days before her sixteenth birthday, some of the girls at school had teased her about never having kissed a boy. Later, Dan had come across her in the tree house, where she would always go when she was upset.

As Dan was a couple of years older and already a sports superstar, he always had girls literally hanging off him. Since Dan had quite a bit of experience at kissing, he had offered to
sacrifice
himself, as he had put it, and they had shared her first kiss as an early birthday present. Now that she thought about it, it had been her only real kiss, ever. The two that came after that were in college... well, they hadn’t been mutual, and she chose not to think about those.

The shudder that ran through her had to be obvious to the others, so she rubbed her arms with her hands, feigning a chill.

She remembered that after Dan had kissed her, she couldn’t figure out what the fuss was all about—in fact, she had been a little freaked out about it. Dan was her friend, almost like a brother to her, and it just seemed plain weird to kiss him.

Meanwhile, Will just has to look at me to get me all riled up!
She smiled to herself.

Although Dan had acted as if it meant nothing to him at the time, she wondered if he had entertained feelings for her even back then. If so, he’d hidden them well and had continued doing so ever since. Her lack of reaction to his kiss must have been painful to him.

Later, when no one asked her to the school prom, she just couldn’t go alone—a single among couples. Dan wouldn’t let her miss it and insisted he’d take her. When he had made a pass, and she told him she only thought of him as a friend, he had said he hadn’t really been serious... that he only wanted her to have the full prom experience.

William returned from the hallway and came to stand next to her. She shifted to stand a bit closer to him.

She wished that Dan had taken her at her word back then, because it would have prevented a great deal of embarrassment to them both today.

After she had gone to bed this evening, she had time to think over the past—in fact, the past was haunting her, which was why she got up and went back to work. As far as she could remember, she had never given Dan a reason to feel that she thought of him in that way. It seemed very strange that, after all these years, he thought he could claim her.

Was it simply because he had been her first kiss that Dan thought he owned her? Was winning her just a challenge because she had rejected him after the prom?
He
seemed to think he really did care about her, and though she doubted it, she didn’t like hurting anyone.

Her bad leg had been aching terribly for some time, so after the fire department had the blaze under control, Elizabeth said, “I have to sit down.”

“I’m sure the icepack is still frozen,” Mrs. Reynolds chimed in. “One of the boys can fetch the ottoman from my room, and we’ll prop up your foot on a pillow.”

Elizabeth lowered herself onto the couch. “That sounds like a good idea.”

“You’re exhausted, Lizzy,” Georgiana said. “Maybe you should go to bed instead?”

“It feels like this has been the longest day in my life, Georgie, or close to it.” Elizabeth shook her head. “But, it would be impossible to sleep. I’d just sit in the conference room watching them outside—I’d rather stay here with the rest of you.”

The men pulled the sofas to face the bay window so everyone could sit. Noticing everyone’s glances at the two of them, Elizabeth was glad that William didn’t hold her hand as he had done most of the night, but he did stretch out his arm protectively over the cushion behind her on the low-backed couch they shared.

Chapter
17

William did
not
want to awaken, but the sun was too bright to remain asleep, so he began the slow process of coming to full consciousness. As he did, he was amazed that the sensation of holding Elizabeth still felt real. He could even feel her breath on his neck, and her scent remained with him. He moved his head so his cheek rested against her forehead and sighed. This was a really good dream!

When something twitched against the right side of his neck, his eyes snapped open. It was not a dream—Elizabeth really
was
half wedged between him and the back of the couch and half lying across his chest.

He was suddenly conscious of where each part of her body pressed against him. Her hand cupped the right side of his neck, as if holding his head against hers. Their legs were tangled. With his left arm wrapped around her back, his hand at her waist, and his right arm resting on her shoulder, he was holding her tightly against him. Afraid to move again, unwilling to wake her, he only moved his eyes to look around the family room. It had stopped raining, the sun was out, and they were alone.

Thinking back to last night, he remembered that as Elizabeth had fallen asleep, her head nodded against his arm behind her. That position must have been uncomfortable because she soon moved to place her head on his shoulder. His arm had automatically moved around her. His heart had skipped a beat when, a moment later, Elizabeth sighed in her sleep.

When he had whispered that he should carry her to her room, he couldn’t believe it when Mrs. Reynolds had responded with a smile, “No, William, I’m afraid that would only wake her. Rest is the best medicine for her, and she looks quite comfortable right where she is. You might as well leave her be.” The kind lady winked at him.

The last thing he remembered was looking around to gauge everyone else’s reactions. Georgiana nodded her agreement with Mrs. Reynolds’s statement, and Richard and Charles just smiled at him.

Relieved that everyone seemed to approve, he had been more than happy to take Mrs. Reynolds’s advice. He had slid downward so he could lean his head on the back of the couch and had closed his eyes.
Only for a minute
, he remembered thinking. But he must have fallen asleep.

Obviously, everyone else had gone to bed, but someone had seen them in this position—he and Elizabeth had a blanket draped over them.

Sleeping on a couch had never been as comfortable as this. He decided to stay just a little longer.

His heart was beating so forcefully, he was surprised she hadn’t already awakened. Elizabeth snuggled closer, moving her hand from his neck to his chest, which rose and fell rapidly with his increasing respiration. He closed his eyes again, memorizing how every inch of her body conformed perfectly to his, and concluded that he was born to hold Elizabeth.

The rhythm of her breathing changed. Eventually, he felt her stir and lift her head. Only then did he open his eyes.

How does she become more beautiful every time I look at her?
He couldn’t stop from smiling. “Good morning, Elizabeth.”

She blushed thoroughly, and a pang of guilt swept through him. He should have forced himself to slip out from under her before she woke up.

“I fell asleep.” He cursed himself silently for stating the obvious.

William felt a little better when she blinked a couple of times before saying, “Me, too.”

His heart rate picked up again when Elizabeth searched his eyes for several seconds. Disappointment stung as she clumsily tried to lift herself from the couch without touching him. Her left hand slipped off the half inch of cushion that was to his right. She fell back to his chest.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

He shook his head. His eyes wandered to her lips that were so very close to his own.
I need to get off the couch, now, or else this isn’t going to be just sleeping anymore.

“I didn’t realize my arm was...” She paused. “It’s under...” Her blush deepened. “I think it’s numb.”

Realization hit him—he had been so mesmerized by the feel of certain
other
body parts pressed against him that he hadn’t realized her right arm was underneath his body.

“You’re going to have to, uh...” her voice trailed off.

“Oh!” He tried to get up, but their legs were still entwined with the blanket wrapped around them both, and he ended up on the floor instead.

Without his form in the way, she sat up quickly, rubbing her right arm and clenching her fist repeatedly to get the blood flowing again. “Are you okay?”

William thought about her question. Other than a slight ache in his head from banging it on a table as he had fallen, he was more than okay. After waking up with her in his arms—a dream come true—how could he be anything else?
Although, I’ve never dreamt about sleeping with her on a couch...
He quickly put a stop to that train of thought and pushed himself into a seated position with his back against the couch.

Elizabeth looked toward the window and sorrow overtook her expression. “For a minute, I forgot. It looks a lot worse in the daylight.”

She was right; the backyard was a mess. The huge oak that had held her tree house was in pieces, half in the muddy water of the pool. The fire had burned many of the trees that lined that side of the yard, but with the exception of the one that had been hit by lightning, they all still stood tall.

“If the fire didn’t get too deep into the trunks, they’ll probably come back strong next spring.” He hoped to console her, even a little.

She moved to stand.

“How’re you feeling?”

She shifted her weight to her injured limb and nodded with a surprised look on her face. “A lot better, thanks.”

She walked closer to the window and wrapped her arms around herself. He grabbed the blanket and placed it over her shoulders, his hands lingering. “The weather changed with the storm. It’s chilly in here this morning,” he whispered near her ear. She shivered.

They both jumped at the sound of Mrs. Reynolds’s bedroom door opening, and he stepped away from her.

“Oh, good morning, William, Elizabeth.” She walked over to the window. “William, do you think the barbeque is alright? I’d like to heat some water for coffee and tea. The stove is electric.”

“Why don’t you all come to my house for breakfast? Everyone can shower there, too. They’ll get your power working as soon as they can, but I’m sure it won’t be until later today, at the earliest. They’ll have to run new lines up to the house.” Elizabeth smiled. “After staying with us before, at least you all know where everything is.”

“You’re sure it won’t be an imposition, dear? Your family has already been so kind,” Mrs. Reynolds replied.

“I’m sure it’s fine, but I’ll call the house now and ask anyway. Who knows, maybe we don’t have power, either.”

Knowing all the hot spots in the house, she walked toward the kitchen to place her call. Mrs. Reynolds turned to William and asked with a smile in her eyes, “Did you sleep well, Will?”

William cleared his throat. “I hope you know nothing
happened
last night.”

“Of course.” Mrs. Reynolds smiled up at him. “You’re a good man, William. If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t have left you two alone.” She patted his cheek and followed Elizabeth into the kitchen.

~%~

Elizabeth examined herself in the bathroom mirror. The way William looked at her this morning when she first opened her eyes had made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world, but she had to have been mistaken. Her hair resembled a rat’s nest. After all the crying she had done yesterday, she was surprised there was any mascara left, but there it was, smeared under her eyes. She closed her eyes and blew out a long breath. She couldn’t believe she had appeared this way in front of William!

Without a brush, the best thing she could manage was to finger comb her hair and put it up in the ponytail holder she always kept stashed in her pocket. The ice-cold water on her face did her some good as she washed it. They were leaving soon to regroup at her house—she might as well leave on the clothes she had used as pajamas since her own clothes had blood all over them.

She took a deep breath. After spending the night in William’s arms, Elizabeth could still smell his cologne mixed with something that was uniquely William, and it was driving her to distraction. Although she could ask Georgiana for another shirt, part of her didn’t want to rid herself of his scent.

Why had he been looking at her that way as she lay in his arms? She often thought she saw something more than friendship in his eyes but had always dismissed it as wishful thinking.

For years she had thought men found her unattractive, but after discovering that Dan had chased the other boys away as she was growing up, it had occurred to her that maybe, just maybe, whenever William looked at her in a way that sent her heart racing... maybe she had reason to hope, to dream. She looked into her own eyes in the mirror’s reflection. Could William and she ever be more than friends?

Three times within the past twenty-four hours, she had thought so: when they danced, when he met her at the bottom of the stairs after he had just received the photo, and when she woke up in his arms. Even from across the football field yesterday, after Dan had proposed, hadn’t she thought she saw something like heartbreak in his expression? Didn’t he seem more than a little relieved after she joined
his
team, trying to prove to everyone that she wasn’t going to accept Dan? Hadn’t the way he treated her after she was injured made her feel loved?

Loved? I’m reading too much into this!

She shook her head at her foolishness. A man like William could never care about her.

She jumped when her phone made
that
tone. She opened the photo, and her mouth dropped open. Almost as if in answer to her thoughts, she stood staring at a picture of William and her, kissing. She tried to make out what was in the background but couldn’t recall ever being in a place like that. It almost looked as if they were in a tropical jungle.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts away. There wasn’t time to think this through now. They all had to get over to her house, shower, and get to work.

She opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hall near the garage, almost directly into William.

“Did you receive another photo?”

“Why?” Her eyes opened wide. “Did you?”

He shook his head. “I thought I heard that tone.” When Elizabeth made a gesture that was completely non-committal, he continued. “I’ve only received the one, as far as I know. I shut it off last night after that one.” He shuddered. “I don’t ever want to look at
that
picture again.”

“The phone being off wouldn’t make a difference—it powers on when one of those pictures comes in.”

His eyebrows rose. “Really?”

“It’s probably the same as when the drawings followed Elizabeth Darcy no matter where she went. She felt she was meant to see them at certain times, and somehow they were forwarded to her, even when she was half-way across England. You aren’t permitted not to look at them, Will—believe me, I’ve tried! If you refuse to look when they are received, the new photos are displayed on the phone instead of anything else, like the menu options or caller ID when you get a call,
and
it continues to make that loud noise intermittently.”

He chuckled. “I guess it makes as much sense as the rest of it does, but my phone hasn’t made any more sounds like that. The one I heard a minute ago wasn’t loud enough to be mine.” He looked at her seriously. “Are you sure you didn’t get one?”

She blushed. “Well, I
did
, but...” She certainly didn’t want to show him
that
picture.

Georgiana came down the stairs, and Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief that their conversation had ended. Maybe he’d forget.

“Are you able to drive, Lizzy?”

“Yes, I think so, Georgie. Mrs. Reynolds’s ice packs really helped last night.”

Elizabeth felt herself blush again when he looked at her over Georgiana’s head with a curious expression. “Are you sure? Mrs. Reynolds can drive my car again...”

“She’ll need her own to come back later, Will, and you’ll need yours. I’m feeling a lot better—I have to go to work later, too.”

He gestured toward the garage, indicating Georgiana should precede him. Elizabeth could see him steel himself as he pulled out his phone and looked, she assumed to make sure he hadn’t received any more pictures predicting something might happen to her if she drove. She was surprised to see him smile.

“Thank God, it changed.”

“To what?”

He just smiled in response.

~%~

~Later that day

Trying not to limp, Elizabeth made her way across the floor of the showroom toward the office. She really
needed to elevate her foot for a while. As she passed through the plumbing department, Elizabeth saw Dan walking toward her. She had to concentrate to avoid taking off in the opposite direction.