The Playboy of Pengarroth Hall. Susanne James

his absence, Fleur thought as she glanced up at him briefly. He’d apparently spent Christmas Eve with friends in the area, not coming home until the small hours, but had joined them for the main Christmas Day meal and for supper again on Boxing Day. But he’d seemed to prefer leaving the eight of them to enjoy themselves without him—and Fleur couldn’t blame him. They were all just that few years younger than him, and she’d noticed that sometimes their chatter and alcohol-fuelled banter had appeared to bore him. Her eyes narrowed briefly. He was sort of…mysterious… in a way, she thought. Certainly not your normal run-of-the-mill handsome bachelor. The only woman he seemed to have eyes for was his sister—who he clearly adored. But Fleur couldn’t help wondering what he thought about her. She’d noticed him glance at her speculatively from time to time, but he didn’t seem to like—or dislike—her. She was, after all, just another of his sister’s friends, who he seemed to tolerate but, as Mia was entitled to invite whoever she wanted to, he’d have to put up with it.

      By now, it was late afternoon and already darkening outside, and Fleur suddenly felt a need to get out into the open air. Although they’d all gone for short walks once or twice during the holiday—keeping strictly to the paths which Sebastian had recommended—most of the time had been spent eating, drinking, dozing, watching films and telling ghost stories.

      ‘I’d love to go for a walk, Mia,’ she said, looking down at her friend, who was lounging back in her chair lazily. ‘Just for half an hour…can we?’

      ‘Oh, Fleur…count me out!’ Mia begged. ‘Tramping about in soggy undergrowth is the last thing on my mind. But—hey, Seb will go with you—he’ll protect you from all the wild animals out there. Won’t you, Seb?’

      Fleur felt a huge wave of embarrassment sweep over her. ‘No! There’s no need for that… It doesn’t matter, really,’ she said quickly. ‘It’s just me being silly. Forget it.’

      ‘No need to forget it,’ Sebastian said casually. ‘But we must go now while there’s still some light.’ He glanced at her. He’d already observed her obvious stylish dress sense, and on Christmas evening, as they’d all sat around the candle-lit table, her simple black low-necked dress and the fine gold chain around her neck had, in his opinion, set her apart from everyone else. ‘You’d better dress warmly—you brought some walking boots with you, I hope.’

      Well, that sounded a bit headmasterly, Fleur thought, but still—presumably he had her best interests at heart. ‘Oh, yes—Mia warned me that I’d need them,’ she said. She went towards the door. ‘I’ll get a thicker sweater and a waterproof. Shan’t be a minute.’

      As soon as she’d gone, Mia said, ‘Seb, I want you to do me a big, big favour—’ and he interrupted.

      ‘Not another one. What’s it this time?’

      ‘It’s not for me, personally,’ Mia replied. ‘It’s just that… well…Fleur is going to stay on for a bit—about ten days—after I’ve gone back. Pat has kindly agreed to look after her for me, so that’s no problem…’

      ‘It’ll be a pleasure,’ Pat said, as she finally emptied the dishwasher. ‘I like your friend, Mia—she was always the first to offer to help us out.’

      ‘What’s it got to do with me?’ Sebastian demanded.

      ‘I want you to kind of…well…take her under your wing while she’s here. You said you weren’t going back to London until the end of the month, and…’

      ‘What exactly does “taking her under my wing” involve?’ Sebastian said resignedly.

      ‘Oh, nothing much, you know…just be nice—be around to share the occasional meal with her, maybe show her the area, take her down to the pub…’ She paused. ‘I’m worried about her. She’s lost weight since I last saw her, and I know she doesn’t sleep too well. A bit of a holiday here will do her the world of good, but she will need some company now and again and you’re just the man.’

      ‘Now, look Mia…’ Sebastian began.

      She said at once, ‘Oh, don’t worry, Seb, it’s not what you’re thinking. I wouldn’t dream of trying my hand at the matchmaking game. Never again. Not with you or anyone else. I’ve learned my lesson in that department.’

      ‘I should think so too, and I’m very glad to hear it,’ he said flatly. It had been another “best friend” of his sister’s—she seemed to have so many—who, not so long ago, he’d become engaged to, which had turned out to be a total disaster. And since then he’d hardly looked at another woman, no longer seeming to need female company. Not in any serious sense. And that worried him slightly.

      ‘In any case,’ Mia went on, ‘Fleur is not on the market, so you can relax. She’s not interested in tying herself down to any man, so you’re quite safe. I guarantee it.’ She sighed. ‘I feel so sorry for her, that’s all. Despite all her outward success and although ostensibly she’s a free woman, she seems sort of…trapped…as if she can’t break free to be really happy. It must be dreadful to feel like that.’ Mia made a face as she thought about it.

      ‘Well, I don’t mind being civil, if that’s what you mean,’ Sebastian said shortly, ‘but don’t expect me to provide non-stop entertainment for her, will you? I’ve got four weeks to catch up on things here before I’m due back in London, and I’ve got appointments in Truro with the surveyor and the accountant…but…’ he paused ‘…yes, all right, I’ll arrange to be here for some of the time to hold your friend’s hand—if that’s what you want.’

      Mia smiled up at him. ‘You don’t need to go that far,’ she said demurely, ‘and Fleur won’t thank you for getting close enough to hold her hand, either. Just be your darling self and keep her company now and then, that’s all I’m asking. You’ll be just the tonic I think she needs.’

      Fleur, about to go back into the kitchen, had paused outside the door just long enough to overhear most of what had been said…and she froze, horrified. The last thing in the world she wanted was to be a burden to anyone—certainly not to the somewhat austere Sebastian! How could Mia put him—put them both—in such an awkward and embarrassing position? But what could be done about it now? She could hardly burst in and tell them she’d heard his reluctant reply to Mia’s request—or even say that she’d changed her mind and wasn’t going to stay after all. What excuse could she give? She’d already accepted the invitation, and Pat had been so touchingly pleased. Fleur bit her lip, feeling her cheeks flood with colour as she stood there. It was obvious that Sebastian saw her as an unwelcome intrusion into his busy life, and that was the last thing she’d envisaged when she’d accepted Mia’s suggestion. Then common sense prevailed, and she took a deep breath. There was a simple way out of this, she thought. She’d stay a day or two after Mia had gone before inventing a telephone call telling her to return early. It could be about something important in the lab that needed her input. That was it—no need to panic, after all, she told herself.

      She opened the door and went inside, and Sebastian clicked his fingers for the dog to get up from the floor.

      ‘We’ll take Benson with us,’ he said, ‘as we shan’t be going too far. A short walk won’t tire him too much.’

      Outside, it was much colder than Fleur had thought, and she turned up the collar of her jacket. Sebastian glanced down at her briefly.

      ‘We can always go back if you find you’re not enjoying this,’ he said casually.

      ‘No, it’s fine. I’d like to walk,’ Fleur said, not looking at him. ‘But…I’m perfectly all right by myself if you’ve things to do. I know this path because we all walked this way yesterday, and Benson will keep me company.’

      ‘Oh, Mia would kill me if I abandoned you,’ he said.

      They walked in silence for a few minutes and, although it was certainly wet and soggy—as Mia had predicted—there was something magical about their surroundings…the magic Fleur had