An Enigmatic Man. Carole Mortimer

his own company—possibly with the exception of Molly’s—that having a complete stranger foisted on him for a couple of days simply wasn’t on.

      Besides, though Molly had always talked about her older brother in glowing terms, there was something decidedly odd about a thirty-eight-year-old man living reclusively in the wilds of Yorkshire in a castle that was deliberately made to look derelict on the outside but was the height of luxury inside!

      Added to which, Crys didn’t feel in the least comfortable with him—would find it absolute purgatory to have to spend days alone here with him.

      ‘It really is very kind of you to make such an offer, Mr Barton—’

      ‘The name is Sam,’ he rasped. ‘And I’m sure, even on such brief acquaintance—’ his mouth twisted derisively ‘—that you are well aware that kindness is not a predominant part of my nature!’

      Oh, yes, she was aware, all right, had believed him earlier when he’d threatened to drop her if she screamed.

      She shook her head. ‘Nevertheless—’

      ‘Look, as you pointed out earlier, it’s getting late, and the light’s fading fast,’ he cut in briskly. ‘I need to go outside for a while and—and finish what I started. Why don’t you make yourself at home here for an hour or so and we’ll talk about this again when I come back?’

      Yes, he would have dropped her earlier, Crys had no doubt, but she reminded herself that he also had enough compassion in him to give a decent burial to a stray dog he had found dead this morning…

      ‘Pour yourself another coffee,’ he invited lightly, ‘warm yourself next to the Aga. And we’ll see how you feel about things later. Okay?’

      The cup of coffee and the Aga sounded inviting, but Crys was already sure how she would feel about things later; she simply couldn’t stay here with this man. He might be Molly’s brother, and Molly obviously adored him, but Crys wasn’t sure she even liked him!

      She looked up to find his green gaze still regarding her searchingly, although the blandness of his expression gave away none of what he was thinking.

      Crys looked at him now with the knowledge that he was Molly’s beloved brother, desperately trying to see the man her friend talked about with such love and pride. He was a writer, she knew that much about him, although she had no idea what sort of books he wrote. It did perhaps explain why he chose to live in this remote place—but not the reason for the deliberately deceptive dereliction outside!

      No, there was something not quite right about this situation—and with all the other upsets she had had in her life this last year she did not want to become a part of it.

      ‘Molly is going to be very disappointed if she rings back and I tell her you’ve chosen to stay at a hotel until she arrives,’ he said suddenly.

      Were her thoughts so transparent? Crys wondered with dismay—because that was exactly what she had been about to tell him!

      But he was right about Molly’s disappointment. Her friend simply wouldn’t understand if she went to a hotel instead of waiting for her here.

      Crys shook her head. ‘You can’t really want me to stay here.’ She grimaced, sure that company—her company especially!—was the last thing this man wanted. After all, he had made his opinion of her only too obvious earlier.

      ‘No,’ he confirmed bluntly. ‘But for Molly’s sake I’m willing to put up with it.’

      And, his unspoken words implied, so should you be!

      He was right, of course. Molly was one of the most kind-hearted people on earth—had invited Crys here because she wanted to help her come to terms with the last year. To choose not to stay here after all, simply because Molly had been delayed a few days, was ungrateful in the extreme. Not that Molly would ever say so, but she would be hurt, nonetheless.

      ‘As I said, think about it,’ Sam advised harshly, before striding forcefully from the room. The front door slammed a few seconds later as he left the house, instantly greeted by the sound of Merlin’s joyful barking.

      Crys’s breath left her in a sigh as soon as Sam was out of the room. She sank down gratefully onto one of the kitchen chairs as she tried to collect her thoughts.

      Think about Molly, Sam had meant by that last remark. He was right, of course. But, even so, Crys was loath to agree to stay here with Sam while she waited for Molly to arrive. What would the two of them talk about, for one thing? He certainly didn’t appear to be a man blessed with any of the social graces, so small talk was probably out!

      What a mess!

      Her first social venture out in a very long time, and she found herself cosily ensconced with the most unwelcoming man she had ever met in her life, miles from civilisation—or at least so it seemed—with the fog seeming to cocoon them in eerie solitude.

      The fog!

      A brief glance out of the kitchen window showed Crys that, instead of lifting, as she had hoped it might, the fog had in fact thickened. So much so that she could see absolutely nothing now except that silvery blanket.

      Great. Even the weather seemed to be conspiring against her!

      She was going to look more than a little churlish if she insisted on leaving in weather like this—she was going to look as if she were running away. From Sam Barton!

      But wasn’t she? Didn’t the man unnerve her to the point of giving her the jitters? He—

      She looked up as the front door opened and then once more closed with a resounding slam, her gaze apprehensive as Merlin preceded his master into the kitchen. The dog really was as enormous as he had appeared outside, filling half the doorway as he came to an abrupt halt, hackles once again rising at her presence there, looking at her with pale canine eyes.

      ‘She’s a friend, Merlin,’ Sam told the dog impatiently as he shifted the animal out of the way so that he could come into the kitchen as well, bringing a draught of cold air with him as he moved to warm his hands on the Aga. ‘I’m afraid that particular job is going to have to wait until the morning, when hopefully I’ll be able to see what I’m doing.’

      ‘The fog is worse, isn’t it?’ Crys said unnecessarily, hoping this gigantic dog understood the meaning of the word ‘friend’—although, in all truth, she hardly came into that category!

      Sam’s grin was as wolfish as his dog’s growl had been earlier. ‘I wouldn’t even send Merlin out on a night like this!’

      His meaning wasn’t lost on Crys and she shot him an impatient look. ‘In that case, I accept your kind offer of hospitality. For tonight, at least,’ she added quickly when Sam gave a grimace of satisfaction at her capitulation.

      He nodded abruptly as he straightened. ‘At least you’ve chosen not to add foolhardy to your other more obvious…character traits,’ he drawled mockingly.

      Faults, he meant, Crys easily realised. Maybe he should take a look at himself some time!

      She drew in a sharp breath. ‘Perhaps if you could tell me where I’m to sleep? Then I can go and get my case from the car and indulge myself with a hot bath.’ Her shoulders and neck ached from the hours of driving, and with her recent loss of weight the cold seemed to have penetrated to her bones. ‘If that’s convenient, of course,’ she added belatedly; after all, just because this room was cosily warm and modern did not mean that upstairs there was the luxury of a bathroom and hot running water.

      ‘Of course,’ Sam echoed dryly. ‘I forgot to ask earlier—can you cook?’

      Crys frowned. ‘I beg your pardon?’

      ‘I’m sure it hasn’t escaped your notice that I live alone here? I manage for myself the majority of the time—stews, things like that—but it can get slightly monotonous; Molly usually cooks for me when she comes to stay.’ He quirked expectant brows in Crys’s direction.