CHAPTER THREE
The hallway was empty, and no one was about. Elizabeth chewed her bottom lip, trying to decide whether it would be better remaining in her room and wait for someone to fetch her or look for the kitchen. As though answering her indecision, the door at the end of the hallway opened and James appeared, followed by a pyjama-clad Madeline. The little girl’s hair was dried into shining, golden strands of silk. Elizabeth noted with relief that her cheeks glowed with warmth and then how adorable she looked clutching a well-loved pink teddy bear to her chest.
When she saw Elizabeth, her little cherub’s face lit up. “Liz’beth!”
It was hard not to smile back. “Don’t you look pretty in your pink onesies!”
Madeline nodded. “My Daddy got them for me.”
Elizabeth looked up at James. His eyes burned with an inner light that drew her right into them. The insistent shiver that worked her spine began its magic again. She tried not to stare so hard at him, but her eyes weren’t listening to her intentions.
His hair, now clean of the salty air, shone as though it had been burnished by a craftsman. It randomly reflected the fall of light from the ceiling, accentuating its thick darkness. A lock of hair fell over his forehead, and he randomly brushed it back with his fingers, creating valleys in the strands. She liked the way it wasn’t brushed to perfection, but rather put together with a few strokes of a hurried brush.
His cheeks were darkened with a day's growth of stubble. He wore casual clothes. Cargo pants, navy jumper with a cream shirt beneath. Navy suited him. Accentuated the deep blue of his eyes.
As he approached her, his fresh, clean masculine smell enveloped her, doing funny things to her insides. They pulled as tight as a guitar string. The tension traveled up to her shoulders when she tried to block it out. The man was far too disturbing, or maybe that was just because of her heightened emotions; she wasn’t sure.
“Feel better?”
She tipped her head back to look up at him. She was used to being around about the same height as most men, as she was tall for a woman, so coming up against a man the height of James made her feel - feminine.
It took her a moment to answer. “Oh. Yes. Much better. Thank you. Nothing like a hot shower after a dip in the freezing ocean.” She grimaced. How stupid could she sound? But she wasn’t really concentrating on words, was she?
His mouth curved into a grin. He had nice, full, firm lips, with straight, masculine lines. A dimple appeared in his left cheek. Great. She loved dimples.
She moved her attention to Madeline. “And what have you here? How cute. She’s wearing a tutu.” Elizabeth indicated the teddy.
“Her name is Anna, after the ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. She’s famous, you know. Have you heard of her?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I have heard of her. She danced like a fairy.”
Madeline nodded solemnly. “That’s why they called a dessert after her, so when people eat it, they think of ballet dancers all over the world.”
Elizabeth smiled at the simple piece of information. “I’m sure they do.”
“What’s your favourite dessert?” Madeline asked.
Elizabeth blinked. She hadn’t eaten a lot of desserts. They were a rare treat where she came from. “I’ve heard lemon meringue pies are nice. What’s yours?”
“I like chocolate mousse. And strawberry pancakes. And jelly. And ice cream.”
Elizabeth laughed. “Is that all?”
“It’s all I can remember at the moment,” the little girl said, making Elizabeth chuckle again. “We try something new every week. Don’t we, Daddy?”
Elizabeth glanced at James. He was studying her, his brows cinched together. Madeline shook his hand, and he snapped out of whatever thought was going through his head.
“We do. Or we try to.” He glanced at Elizabeth, the smile warming his eyes. Hell, she liked eyes that smiled too.
“Mrs. D’llessio is a very good cook. We leave it up to her to plan the menu. And we’re very lucky she can cook so many desserts.”
“I’m hungry,” Madeline said.
“So are we all. Shall we see what Mrs. D’llessio has for us tonight?” James indicated the stairs, and the three of them descended.
When they reached the bottom, Elizabeth looked about, wondering where to go. To the left was a large sitting room. Adjoining the room was an enormous table that could seat at least twenty people. It was topped with a beautiful, huge bouquet of flowers in the largest vase Elizabeth had ever seen. She stopped short, hoping against hope she didn’t need to sit there. She didn’t think she’d have the guts to eat at a table so beautiful. James indicated a door down a hallway behind the stairs.
Madeline clambered through, but James held the door open for Elizabeth. For a moment she wondered what he was doing, then she realised he waited for her to go through first. She sent him a tentative smile and slipped past him.
She stepped into a kitchen that could kindly be called dishevelled. Steam rose from pots on a massive stainless steel stove, dishes sat on a marked pine table and a delicious aroma wrapped around her. Her mouth instantly watered. She was so hungry, her stomach felt as though it was touching her spine.
“That smells wonderful, Maria.”
Mrs. D’llessio turned from the sink, cheeks red, a ready smile on her mouth. She held a strainer full of steaming spaghetti and brought it to the bench. “You are staying to eat with us all tonight, Mr. Rhyder?”
Elizabeth wondered where else people would eat dinner. All the jackaroos sat around the communal table in the kitchen back at the homestead.
“Yes. I thought it would be nice to share tonight’s meal together, given the circumstances. What have you cooked?”
“My mama’s speciality.”
“Yay. Sgetti Bolonasia!” Madeline cheered.
Mrs. D’llessio chuckled. “Si, bambina. Always a favourite, yes?”
Madeline swung herself into a seat and picked up her fork, ready to eat. James pulled a chair out. Again, Elizabeth blinked in confusion, then realised with a start that he held the chair for her.
Cheeks heating at his show of thoughtfulness, Elizabeth slipped into the chair. She really wasn’t used to such consideration. The skin at her neck prickled as he leaned close and pushed her chair in. His hand brushed her shoulder, sending warmth tingling through her skin.
Elizabeth looked around the kitchen. It was all she imagined a kitchen would be in a mansion this size. Ultra-modern stainless steel appliances lined a bench, the huge double sink gleamed, a stylish goose-necked tap stood overlooking a pile of dishes. The bench tops were a sleek, black marble with flecks of silver that sparkled in the lights. Long chrome handles marked numerous draws, so many she wondered how they all could be filled, although she hinted at a guess they probably were. Everything would probably be catered for her in a house like this.
Mrs. D’llessio placed a large bowl of Spaghetti Bolognaise on the table. Madeline was already tucking into her own meal, smears of red sauce smudging her cheeks. She slurped a strand through her lips with such gusto that a drip of sauce flipped off the end and onto her chin.
Mrs. D’llessio cleaned Madeline’s chin with a ready napkin, chuckling. “That is the only way to eat spaghetti, is it not?”
The little girl smiled, clearly in her element. Loved and loving the grandmotherly attention the older woman gave her.
“Eat! Eat!” Mrs. D’llessio cut into Elizabeth’s musings and gestured to the as yet untouched bowl.
“You’d better do as she says. She can get mean if you don’t.” James winked at her.
Elizabeth was surprised to find he’d eaten quite a bit already while she’d been gawking at the kitchen. Elizabeth filled her plate, picked up her fork and tasted the food. It melted in her mouth and was nothing like she’d eaten before. Moments later, after she’d eaten five more mouthfuls, she realised they were watching her. She hadn’t realised just how hungry she’d been.
She pointed at the bowl as she chewed. “Delicious,” she said around a bite of food.
James watched her with a mix of amusement and confusion, and she was inexplicably caught in it once more. She hoped she’d remembered some modicum of manners. She was used to the jackaroos. If you didn’t get in quick, you missed out. It probably wouldn’t translate to this house.
Elizabeth rested her fork against the side of the bowl and forced her hands into her lap. “You’re a lovely cook, Mrs. D’llessio.”
Mrs. D’llessio sat on the spare seat with a large helping of food. “I learned from my mama. All the old recipes of Tuscany. The trick is in the pasta. Always hand-made. There is no comparison.”
Elizabeth nodded. She’d only ever eaten dried paste with bottled sauce. “This is the best I’ve ever tasted.”
“We’ve been spoilt with Mrs. D’llessio,” James said.
“I like Ravloli, too,” Madeline chimed in. “When I’m older, Mrs. D’llessio said she’s going to teach me how to cook.”
“That sounds wonderful. I’m a master of tinned soup and toast,” Elizabeth said.
“We would be too, if it wasn’t for Mrs. D’llessio.” James opened a bottle of wine and poured a glass for the two of them. He offered Maria one, but she declined with a shake of her head. Madeline was busy drinking her orange juice. “So, tell me, Elizabeth, where did you come from before you ended up in this secluded location and rescued my Madeline?”
Elizabeth scooped the last of the sauce from the bowl, feeling the satisfaction of a full stomach as she’d not felt in a long time. Tentatively, she took a sip of the wine. It tasted like wooded oak and slid over her tongue like silk.
“I worked on a cattle station in outback South Australia, up near the Northern Territory border.”
Madeline’s head lifted in interest. “Did you ride a horse?”
Elizabeth chuckled. “Sometimes. Usually, we rode motorbikes to round up the cattle. The dogs did a lot of the work.”
“Can you teach me to ride a horse?” The little girl’s eyes grew wide and round.
Elizabeth shuffled on her seat, knowing she’d never see Madeline again. There was no way she’d be back here. She didn’t fit, that was for sure.
“Maybe one day.”
“How long were you working there?”
Her attention carried back to James. He lounged back in his chair, swirling the stem of the wine glass between long, blunt-nailed fingers. His gaze was riveted on her.
It was far too intense. As though he was looking right into her soul. She sipped more wine. It was altogether too good. She already felt the effects. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, arranging her thoughts. She’d tell him the truth. It couldn’t hurt. Just not all the truth.
“About six months. I liked it there. It’s peaceful. Being in the open land with nothing between you and the next person but a few bushes and lots of cattle.”
“You were a jackaroo?”
She nodded. “And a wood chopper, clothes washer and sheep wrangler.” The list of chores had been never ending, but she’d lost herself in that. It had brought her peace until she’d had to move on. If she had a choice, she’d still be there. She wondered if she’d ever find a place she loved as much as the Wanderers Homestead.
“What did you do before then?”
She sipped her wine, noticing she’d drunk half the glass already. She hadn’t had any alcohol for a long time, and the resulting kick was quick. Her mind was getting cloudy.
“I worked in Queensland. At a resort in Noosa. Gardening. Cleaning. Sort of a handy man...woman.”
Madeline was watching her in awe. “What about before then?”
Elizabeth shrugged. Her numerous jobs blurred. “Lots of things. Waitress. Administrator. Shop assistant.” She waved her hand through the air. “You name it, I’ve done it.” Putting her jobs in a list like that made it sound as though she didn’t last at anything. Pretty much the truth. She picked up the glass, but it was empty. When had she drunk a whole glass?
She pointed the rim at James, feeling suddenly bold. He’d questioned her; now it was her turn to question him. Anyway, what did it matter? She wouldn’t see him after tonight, and it didn’t matter how drunk she’d allowed herself to get or how loose she’d let her tongue unravel.
“What about you? I mean, this house…it’s a mansion. What do people do to afford something like this? Kill unicorns in the land of Fae?”
James’s lips twitched, and amusement lit his face. “I’m a builder and have been for many years. Nothing as interesting as you, I’m afraid.”
Mrs. D’llessio removed Elizabeth’s bowl. She went to thank her and hiccupped. She put her hand to her mouth, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. She really shouldn’t have drunk the entire glass of wine. It was muddling her thoughts and loosening her tongue. She resolutely pushed the empty glass away.
“Daddy makes really big buildings. Lots of people help him, and they build it all together. It’s called Rhyder Scurties," Madeline said.
“Rhyder Securities,” James deciphered.
“I don’t think I’ve heard of it.” That sounded awkward. And naïve.
James smiled. Fine lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes, and she detected a hint of interest about her ignorance, or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe she was reading into things because she was a little drunk. After all, why would someone like him possibly be interested in someone like her? Under normal circumstances, she’d never be in the same realm as him.
She really needed to get a grip on her romantic heart. To be loved. Cherished. Wanted. What rubbish– and why was she even thinking about it? On the other hand, it was a really nice fantasy to indulge in for a few hours.
“I don’t think the outback has a lot of need for a builder like me. I specialise in larger buildings. More for cities.”
“Mansions like this?”
“Larger.”
“Daddy builds hotels and buildings that touch the clouds round A’stalia,” Madeline said.
James chuckled, the sound flowing through her like a bubbling brook. “Not that high, but high enough. And I don’t build them myself. I just manage the people who build them.”
Whatever he did must involve lots of people and lots of money. It’d certainly paid off for him if he had a house like this to live in. She didn’t just suspect. She knew for sure. He was totally out of her league. Her little fantasy was laughable.
“Can you teach me to rope a cow?” Madeline asked. The fork in her hand was wilting as much as her eyes were. She struggled to keep them open.
“I think you’ve done quite a bit for today and it’s just about bedtime for little girls,” James said.
“But what about the cows?” Madeline protested.
“We’ll talk about cows in the morning.” James scooped up the child, and with a happy squeal she tucked her body into his chest.
Madeline held her hand out to Elizabeth. “Can you come up and say goodnight?”
With that simple action, another piece of the wall around her heart melted. She couldn’t let that happen anymore than it was though. She needed all the protection she could get.