Secret Reflection

14


Day Eighteen

‘All packed?’ Nancy asked, trying to put on a bold face but Kelly could see a suspicious-looking tear or two.

Jamming the case closed then sitting on it, she attempted to smile as she grappled with the complicated tumbler-style locks. One just didn’t want to snap into place and in the end Nancy had to add her weight as well.

‘Yep – just my hand luggage to worry about in the morning.’

‘I wish you’d stay longer.’

Kelly wrapped her arms around her friend. ‘I know, but if I want to come back in time for the birth of my goddaughter then I’m going to have to get back to work.’ She didn’t add that she needed to get away from the vividness of her memory of John. Tonight would have been his final night to be seen … if he’d survived.

She sighed as she looked around her. Being in this room only encouraged her to fixate and with each passing day the fixation got stronger.

‘How do you know it’ll be a girl?’ Nancy asked, returning Kelly’s hug with a squeeze of her own.

‘I just do,’ Kelly replied obliquely. ‘Actually, that’s a lie. Dora Lester, the little old lady I had lunch with today, says it’s a girl and she swears she has never been wrong.’

‘You two seemed thick as thieves all day, what was that about?’

Kelly laughed. ‘She came creeping into my room last night hoping to meet the ghost … we got to talking, and she turned out to be a nice old bird. Has had an interesting life. I might even write a story about her. She reminds me very much of my grandmother.’

‘Your grandmother was nuts!’

‘Precisely. Dora would make a great human interest story.’

Nancy’s brows puckered. ‘What’s this? Have you given up the political stuff?’

Plonking the heavy case beside the bed, Kelly couldn’t help but glance at the mirror. As usual, the little wisp of hope fled when all she saw reflected was the room itself. ‘I don’t know what I want to do, Nance. I’ve been thinking about it and all the politics and stuff feels like bullshit to me now. The plastic people with their hidden agendas. I can’t see myself going back to that. I’m going to speak to the editor and ask for a reassignment. I don’t know what … he mightn’t have anything, but I’m going to try. And if he can’t reassign me, I might use a little of Gran’s trust money and become a full-time playwright.’

‘I never knew you wanted to write.’

‘It’s always been my secret dream. Frank tried to spoil it for me but I think I might be ready to really give it a go.’

‘Well good for you! I don’t suppose your first play will be a ghost story would it?’ Nancy asked with a mischievous glint in her eye.

‘Well … I’m not saying – yet. But don’t be surprised.’

‘I’d better let you get some sleep.’ They embraced as if they wouldn’t see each other for a long time. ‘We’ll need to get an early start if you’re to be at Heathrow by ten. How about we share breakfast in the small salon at six?’

‘It’s a date. Sleep well.’

‘You too,’ Nancy replied. ‘Sweet dreams.’

You’d be shocked to know how sweet, Kelly thought, though she didn’t dare say the words out loud.

The storm had whipped up around eleven and twice Kelly had to get out of bed to tighten the locks on the windows to stop them rattling. The temperature dropped sharply, making it cosy to snuggle into the warmth of the covers. Lightning came in torrid bursts, illuminating the room brighter than day before a blackness so absolute momentarily blinded her. She’d grown to love storms since she’d been here. She had met John during a storm, and though she had been terrified at the time this one held no fear for her. She wriggled deeper under the covers and drifted off in the knowledge that in her dreams, at least, he would come to her.

A sudden jolt woke her. Sitting up she saw an echo of lightning reflected like a glowing jagged line down the mirror. She stared at it. Strangely, it didn’t disappear, but remained like a luminescent splatter of paint: a giant crack in the glass. The sound of glass shattering made goosebumps rise along her skin but as she watched, she realised the breaking glass must have occurred somewhere in the distance – her mirror was still intact.

Another bolt of lightning hit even closer than before. The room shuddered and light exploded before her eyes. Dots of silver danced in her vision and she blinked to try to clear them. The storm sounded so close now. As she pulled the covers tight about her neck she wondered whether the house was protected against lightning strikes.

The wind dropped and the rumble of thunder faded. Then suddenly all she heard was silence. She shivered. It felt like she sat in the eye of a hurricane, the quiet so eerie she could almost imagine she was alone in the universe. In the silence, almost as if in slow motion, the largest of the druid’s eggs rolled slowly off the mantle and broke in two with a loud snap on the stone hearth. The overwhelming stench of burnt hair filled the air.

A sizzling sound drew her gaze back to the mirror. The jagged line seemed to be expanding, extending from top to bottom and gradually widening as she watched. Perhaps the house had been struck?

Kelly shoved the blankets aside and jumped out of bed, prepared to help rouse the guests but she was stopped in her tracks when a large shadow seemed to glide out of the crack of light that had formed in the centre of the mirror.

Her breath caught and her throat closed. Shoving her fist to her mouth to prevent a sob, she didn’t dare close her eyes for fear he’d disappear. She didn’t believe it.

Frozen – she waited to wake up. Or learn her intruder was just another ghost hunter.

‘Kelly?’

Her heart lurched … it couldn’t be!

‘Kelly?’ he said again.

‘John?’ His name came out as a mere whisper; her voice had deserted her.

Another bolt of lightning struck outside and in the bright light she saw his face. Everything inside her seemed to melt as the world tilted around her. She put out her hand to steady herself almost afraid that she still dreamed, but it met with a chest as solid and real as her own.

‘Oh, Kelly, I am here at last!’ He lifted his hands to her cheeks and she felt how much they trembled. ‘I have been trying so hard to find you,’ he whispered as he drew her to him, enveloping her in an embrace she never thought she would ever know.

She held on tight. His heart thumped frantically against her cheek and a gurgle of joy bubbled up her throat. She wanted to laugh and cry, but instead she stood still and breathed in the sandalwood scent of him, revelling in the way it teased her senses.

‘I thought you were gone. I thought I had killed you!’

‘I was lost … for a while. I do not know how long. When you and Richard fought, I tried so hard to get to you.’ He crushed her to him. ‘Then it was as if all the mirrors had disappeared, I was surrounded by darkness and cold. Did Richard …?’

‘No, thank God. He fell against the mirror and smashed it. His arm got badly cut.’

‘I am so sorry I could not stop him.’

She shook her head and reached up to cup his cheeks. In the dark she could barely see his face, but she knew his expression would hold that sad vulnerability she always saw when he believed he had failed the woman he loved. ‘It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now that you’re here.’

He lifted her so her face was level with his. ‘Madam, I feel like I have waited hundreds of years to ask this: do I have your permission to kiss you?’

‘That is one thing you need never ask,’ she replied as she stood on tiptoe and touched her lips gently to his.

The instant his mouth met hers, the heat began to flow. An involuntary shudder darted down her spine as he drew her closer. Moist and hot, his mouth seemed to consume her. She opened to him, sliding her tongue along his, her sole focus the sweet taste of him. Her entire body molded itself to his and she couldn’t fail to notice the strength of him, nor that of his arousal. She wriggled against him, wickedly making him throb against her.

He dragged his mouth away, his breath coming in quick pants. Reaching around her he turned on the lamp then gazed deeply into her eyes. Close-up, his irises were the deep blue of the North Sea flecked with tiny silver chips. His pupils were huge and as she stared into them, she felt herself falling headlong into a warm abyss.

‘We must stop this, Kelly,’ he pleaded breathlessly, ‘it has been so many years; you cannot expect me to remain a gentleman when you kiss me as you do.’

Tightening her arms about his neck, she couldn’t suppress a low moan at his unfair words. ‘John … you know I’m not a virgin. We might not have known each other long but I feel like I have waited a lifetime for you. If you don’t make love to me I think I will die.’

He clutched her to him and laughed with a joy she knew he hadn’t felt for so very long. Then, his face became serious.

‘Kelly, I know your world is very different from the one I knew. But I would not make you my mistress – I plan to make you my wife.’

She smiled shyly. ‘And I plan to accept your proposal, kind sir, but you cannot make me wait.’

Taking the initiative, she slowly let her fingers drift down his shirtfront. It amazed her how soft the fabric felt, but she didn’t let that distract her, what she really wanted was to feel the skin underneath. She undid the tie and pushed the shirt upward until she’d bared his chest. Then her lips wound a slow path through the silky swirls of hair until her mouth covered a nipple. It pebbled under her lips and he caught a quick breath. Like a cat she closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his chest. She almost purred; the smoothness of his skin and the aroused scent of him made her feel unsteady and intoxicated.

‘I believe, the term is “an eye for an eye”?’ he said as he reached for the hem of her t-shirt.

Lifting her arms, she let him slide it over her head until all she wore was her lacy briefs. She whimpered when he proceeded to mimic her actions of a moment ago by placing his open mouth over her sensitised nipple. A low groan was torn from deep in her throat as he dropped slowly to his knees and with the lightest of touches, nuzzled in the valley between her breasts. She couldn’t help the quiver that ran through her. Heat travelled over her skin, warming her, as his tongue darted out to taste her. Every cell in her body caught fire.

Holding him close, she guided his mouth towards her other aching breast, silently begging him to suckle her. He looked up into her face as he latched on and drew her into his hot mouth, and in his eyes she saw all the naked emotions she thought were merely the stuff of fantasy. He sucked more deeply and she cried out, her legs buckling at the intensity of the sensation.

He caught her and lifted her to the bed where he laid her as if reverently placing her upon an altar – his personal altar, where he would be free to worship. Keeping her gaze trapped in his, he shrugged off his shirt then began peeling his black trousers and the white underwear beneath down his thighs. She didn’t know what happened to his shoes, nor did she care, her attention was consumed by his powerful body, primed and ready and oh, so aroused. His pale skin seemed to glow in the lamplight but the spattering of hair that trailed down his belly to surrounded his penis was as black as night. She smiled, and he seemed to grow before her eyes.

‘Please, my heart, do not stare so,’ he said gravely, ‘I fear I shall disgrace myself.’

Holding out her hands she beckoned him to join her.

‘I think we must remove your remaining garment first,’ he said with a glint in his eyes as he looped his fingers into the sides of her briefs and slowly dragged them down her legs. He tossed them nonchalantly over his shoulder and she had to fight the urge to laugh hysterically. Only a few hours ago she had been mourning him, and now she lay naked before him, quivering in anticipation.

To her disappointment, he sat down beside her.

‘Please,’ she begged. ‘Lie with me. I need you.’

The corner of his lips lifted and the look he gave her made her shiver all the way down to her toes.

‘Soon,’ he promised.

He splayed his hand on her belly and then ever so slowly, began circling her navel with his fingertips. Every tiny hair rose in expectation of his delicate touch and she found herself wanting to squeal in frustration. She pressed her thighs together trying to ease the tension that had her dripping with desire.

He took his time with her, playing with her breasts until they were so tight they ached, and all the while his eyes held hers captive, defying her to look away.

With agonising slowness his fingertips trailed downward. Her thighs parted in welcome. His smile widened as he taunted her by brushing close to the damp thatch of hair and then veering away to brush down her thighs. He was driving her crazy. She moved restlessly, desperate to feel him deep inside her, but she knew she had to let him make the pace. He had waited more than a hundred and forty years – she couldn’t force him to hurry now. But that didn’t stop the wail of frustration that burst from her when he again drew his fingers close to her centre.

‘Tell me where you wish to feel my touch, my love,’ he whispered with a devilish grin.

‘I want to feel you inside me. I want to be filled with you,’ she replied honestly.

He chuckled again then his fingers inched slowly down. This time, as her legs began to quiver, his fingertips slipped into her cleft, gently parting her and finding the throbbing nub that so needed his attention.

A primal growl erupted from his throat as his fingers slid inside her slick heat, deeper with every pass, until, like her dreams of recent days, her whole body spasmed upright in a release so strong she felt light-headed and weak. She gripped his shoulders, digging her nails into his flesh, wheezing great gulps of air as she fought to stay conscious. She held on as his finger continued to press rhythmically against her, wresting every drop of pleasure from her. In the end she had to push his hand away … the pleasure was so intense it became too much to bear.

Once she had stopped shuddering, he wrapped her in his arms and lay back against the pillows with her tucked in the crook of his shoulder. He swept the hair back from her sweat-slicked brow and smiled a brilliant smile ‘My beautiful, sweet love. You are magnificent.’

‘But we haven’t …’

‘Soon,’ he said again. ‘I would be an ogre if I did not allow you a moment to recover.’

Even as he spoke she could feel the moisture and heat again pooling in her groin. The fire hadn’t extinguished. She wanted him with a desperation she hadn’t known possible.

‘Now,’ she commanded in defiance. She extricated herself, rolled and straddled him, impaling herself in one smooth motion. He stretched her to capacity. Her entire body was afire and she groaned as if this feeling, this bliss was what she lived for.

John gripped her hips and threw his head back. ‘Please, do not move,’ he muttered from between clenched teeth. She could feel him pulsing inside her, throbbing hard but no matter what he said, she had to move; she couldn’t stop herself.

‘No! – please … love … no!’ he cried. But it was already too late. As she ground her hips down on him, he bucked under her, lifting her high and she felt it – his hot seed spurting inside her, flooding her with warmth. She hung on and rode with him as wave after wave made his body arch beneath her.

Within seconds, as soon as he began to quiet, the orgasm shot through her again and her whole body pulsed in time with his. She collapsed on his chest unable to breathe from the suddenness of it.

Joy bubbled within her chest, but she had neither the energy nor the inclination to move. In that silent moment she also realised that for the first time in her life she felt utterly complete.

‘I am sorry, my love.’

Startled, she pushed herself upright and furrowed her brow in confusion. ‘Why would you be sorry?’

He let out a long low sigh. ‘As a gentleman, I should have withdrawn before my climax. We now run the risk that you will be with child.’

It had never entered her head but now she thought about it, the idea of bearing John’s child seemed very right. Yet she knew it wouldn’t happen. Not tonight, anyway. She’d finished her period only yesterday and her fertile time would be two weeks or more away. ‘While I’d love to have your child, it’s unlikely,’ – she searched her mind for a way to explain without offending his Victorian sensibilities – ‘umm, it isn’t the correct time.’

With mock seriousness, he nodded. ‘That is very pleasing to know as I intend to ravage you many times this night.’

‘Do you now? And do I have any say in this?’

‘Again I must apologise, you have made me insatiable,’ and to press home his point, he flexed himself inside her. ‘It seems once is not nearly enough.’

‘I suppose after a hundred and forty years—’

He cut her off. ‘Time has little bearing. It is simply that when I look at you my whole being is overcome by desire.’

‘You say all the right things,’ she leaned down and pressed her lips to his.

As he opened his mouth to let her explore, he gently rolled them until he’d reversed their positions. Sinking deep into her heat, he stilled and revelled in the way she surrounded him, clutching him inside her sheath that fit him so perfectly. His breath shuddered into his lungs as he began a slow rhythm. He heard her sigh and in his mind he wondered whether they could simply stay like this for all eternity. After all this time, after all the heartache he had known, he couldn’t quite believe his Maker had allowed him to experience such unbridled pleasure. But thinking would have to come later; his beautiful Kelly wrapped her legs around him, fitting him tighter and urging him higher and he couldn’t deny her call.

The storm outside had rekindled in fury but he didn’t see or hear it, he was cocooned in a tender embrace that he had never believed possible.

The night crept into dawn and when he wasn’t making love to her, he held her close and drank in everything about her. She made him laugh, she made him want to weep with joy, but above all she made him feel and as the night wore on he began to understand his cousin’s madness. If Edward had loved Elizabeth as deeply as he loved Kelly, then the madness of losing her would be inevitable. While he would never have condoned his cousin’s actions, he did understand what motivated him.

The first fingers of dawn crawled into the room and as he looked down at her fragile profile, he said a quiet prayer of thanks to whatever heavenly power had granted him this second chance. Unlike Elizabeth and Anne, he vowed that this time he would protect the woman he loved.

‘Oops!’ Nancy’s head ducked back behind the open door.

‘It’s all right, Nance, you can come in!’ Kelly called.

The door slowly edged wider and Nancy’s astonished face appeared again.

‘Are you—?’ She pointed at John.

‘Yes, Nance, this is John.’

‘When you said sexy as hell, you weren’t wrong!’ she exclaimed, fanning herself, to John’s absolute dismay. His face went redder than she thought possible but as she looked at their reflection in the mirror she realised that the picture they made, entwined in each other and the tangle of bedclothes, would easily be classed as x-rated.

Kelly patted his arm and gave him a peck on the cheek. ‘It’s okay, Nancy’s the soul of discretion,’ she flashed a warning glance at her friend, ‘aren’t you, Nance?’

Nancy stifled a giggle. ‘Of course!’

‘Before you ask … he just appeared as if by magic in the middle of the storm. We can’t explain it.’

Shaking her head in disbelief, Nancy held up her hands in a motion to stop. ‘I don’t want to know. So long as you’re happy – that’s fine with me.

‘I came up to tell you something weird, but it doesn’t seem so strange now.’

Kelly raised a brow in question.

‘Well,’ Nancy said, ‘about midnight, at the height of the thunderstorm, a number of mirrors about the place shattered. I was going to say that you’d never guess which ones, but looking at the two of you snuggled in there together, I’m betting you just might.’

‘The other mirrors John used?’

‘Yup! You should see the mess on the first floor landing. That was one enormous mirror.’ She tapped her finger on her chin. ‘I suppose it stands to reason, though … it was midnight, the witching hour.’

A rap on the door heralded Tom. To say he looked astounded to see Kelly in bed with a man, was an understatement.

‘Kel?’

‘Tom, meet John Tarrant,’ she said, trying not to laugh at Tom’s ridiculous expression.

Ever the gentleman Tom crossed the room and held out his hand. John shook it but she could tell he felt very uncomfortable in his current state of undress. That gave her an idea. Though a little taller and broader, Tom was of a similar build to John.

‘Tom, can you possibly lend John a few items of clothing until we can get to the store? Somehow I don’t think his 1860s attire would blend in terribly well, and though I’d like to keep him here as my sex slave … I reckon maybe we ought to get some breakfast.

‘And I’ve been thinking about it. I don’t know how we’re going to explain him to the authorities. They’re certainly not going to believe that he’s been magically trapped in the mirror for a hundred and forty years.’

A gleam flashed in Tom’s eyes and he grinned mischievously. ‘Leave it with me. I have a few friends in high places who just might be able to help us. I’ll make some calls and meet you in the small salon in about an hour.’

Nancy and Kelly exchanged a surprised look, before Nancy swatted the air. ‘Don’t ask. I’ll grab some clothes … just give me a minute.’

She disappeared and John let out a deep sigh.

‘I do not know if I will cope in your world, my love. I am already halfway to madness.’

She kissed him. Hard. ‘You’ll do fine. We’ll take it slow. Just give yourself a little time. Oh crap!’ she exclaimed and slid out of bed. Donning her wrap she picked up her mobile phone and dialled the airline. ‘I’d better cancel my plane ticket … I won’t be going back to the States today.’

‘These trousers are remarkably comfortable,’ John said for the third time as he and Kelly made their way down the stairs to the small salon. Tom had found an old pair of jeans in the back of his closet, which had become too small for him but fitted John like a second skin. Coupled with a navy polo shirt and sneakers, John looked like any other guest of the hotel. He did admit to feeling somewhat dubious about wearing Tom’s boxers with their tiny red devils print, but once dressed he seemed inordinately pleased with the effect.

When she’d emerged from her shower she’d found him standing before the mirror studying his reflection, turning this way and that.

‘You look sexy enough to eat,’ she remarked with a suggestive wriggle of her eyebrows.

He turned to her with a glowing grin that sent her heartbeat soaring.

‘Later,’ she said. ‘Any more and I won’t be able to walk.’

‘In that case, Madam, I would suggest you refrain from making such provocative comments.’

‘I promise … for now.’ She held out her hand to him. ‘C’mon, let’s go see what mischief Tom has cooked up.’

At breakfast John ate like a starved man. Tasting from every dish, and going back for second helpings of scrambled eggs and hash browns, he groaned with every bite. ‘These are delicious. I shall eat them every day!’ he announced, making both Kelly and Nancy laugh.

Tom arrived when they’d just about finished the meal, his expression one of pure delight.

‘So? What’s doing?’ his wife asked.

‘Let me get my coffee, woman. Have a little patience.’

‘I have found this is a quality that Kelly lacks also,’ John stated sagely.

‘Hey!’ she complained, giving him a playful thump on the shoulder. ‘I can be patient.’ She turned to Tom. ‘C’mon, Tom, don’t keep us in suspense.’

Going to the door he closed it and turned the key to ensure they wouldn’t be disturbed. When he sat down his face was serious. ‘This is, and will always have to remain, highly confidential. I have a friend in the military … special forces, high up.’

John blinked and Kelly could tell he didn’t comprehend. ‘I’ll explain later,’ she whispered.

‘Trevor owes me a favour. We had a long chat and he thinks he can issue you with an identity, you might even get to keep your own name if there is no other John Tarrant about the place. He’s checking that now.

‘He wants me to drive you down to London next Monday so we can sort it all out. He says he can have a passport and birth certificate ready and lodged within a week. After that, you’ll be free to go wherever you want. And if you two plan to get married …?’

‘Indeed we do,’ John stated in no uncertain terms.

‘Then you’ll be able to do that too.’