‘Yes, Rafe,’ he said tiredly, waiting for further instructions as he watched Rafe with drooping, sleepy eyes. He liked their new friend and wanted to please him, but he was overtired and on the verge of a meltdown.
Rafe switched off the television and distracted the child by asking him, ‘Can you possibly take your mumma upstairs and try out the big four-poster bed? You’ll be in the blue room for me tonight and I have never slept in it myself, so I need someone to tell me if it’s comfortable enough. Can you do that for me?’
‘Yes. I’ll do that. Come on, Mumma.’ Hal took Sage’s hand, intent on his mission, and led her out to the staircase.
Sage caught Rafe’s eye and mouthed,Thank you.
Rafe shrugged his shoulders and raised his palms upwards. ‘You are more than welcome.’
As he walked to the back door and put on his coat, Sage realized, her fragile heart constricting with tenderness, that she was already in very real danger of falling in love with him.
The overnight bag that Maggie and Betsy had packed contained Hal’s bear, and toothbrushes and clean underwear for both of them, but there had not been much time for packing and there was little else in it. She managed to settle Hal relatively easily. Once again she sent up a prayer of thanks for her sweet-natured boy. She turned the main light off, leaving on a lamp beside the huge four-poster bed, which was swathed in pale blue curtains. It cast a golden light over the room. She looked down at her child as he lay in a mound of crisp white bed linen, clutching his bear. He looked so small and pale curled up there, already peacefully slumbering in the clasp of Morpheus, his little chest rhythmically rising and falling. She dropped a kiss onto his blonde mop of hair; he smelt of soap and honey. Softly, she left the room, quietly closing the door behind her. Rafe was waiting on the landing.
Sage smiled shyly at him. ‘Can I sleep in your room with you tonight?’
‘Yes, of course.’ Rafe noticed that she had purple shadows under her eyes; she looked wan and almost faint with exhaustion, and he felt a surge of overwhelming protectiveness. She seemed so fragile and almost childlike in the jeans and white T-shirt that hung off her slender frame. He had to fight the anger that swelled in his chest when he thought about Santiago Deverill and the despicable threat that he posed to Sage.
‘There is a pair of my pyjamas and a couple of shirts out on my bed for you. They’re probably far too big but you’ll find something that should be fine to sleep in. Go and get into bed. I’ll be up in a moment.’
Sage’s heart swelled. It was as if he knew exactly what she needed.
Rafe put a warm hand on Sage’s back as he moved past her to the top of the stairs and retraced his steps back down to the kitchen.
Sage went into the little bathroom attached to Rafe’s bedroom, which was a lot less opulent than the blue room; she could tell that he had chosen the smaller, simpler room because it looked out over the yard. The horses came first, and it made her think all the more of him. She wearily took off her clothes and folded them neatly before putting them on a little chair in the corner of the bathroom; it already had a pair of Rafe’s trousers and a jersey on it, and it filled her with contentment to see their belongings nestling together side by side.
Shaking her head at herself for being so foolish, she slipped into Rafe’s blue-and-white striped pyjamas. Despite being far too big, they were soft and comforting. She rolled up the sleeves and tightened the drawstring around the waist. The small brass double bed was simply made up with sheets and blankets. The white linen was worn and soft from age but clean and immaculately ironed; it was adorned with a subtle monogram of aDand the Dunbarton family emblem of the monkey. The blankets were Witney rugs, the same as the horses wore, yet Sage somehow doubted that these particular ones had been anywhere near a stable, for they were soft and spotless. She gratefully lay her head on the comfortable pillows, breathing in the clean, earthy scent of Rafe that was all around her in his bed. The blankets were so tightly tucked that she had had to crawl from the top to get in, but now that she had made it into the snug cocoon of bedding, it served as a sort of swaddle and like a newborn baby bound up in muslin, she felt herself being soothed and her frayed nerves calmed.
She closed her eyes and listened to the tread of Rafe’sfootsteps coming up the stairs and then going into the bathroom. A few moments later, he slid into bed beside her. Half-heartedly, she tried to turn around to talk to him but he held her softly where she was, her back curved into his hard stomach and his arms cradling her gently. They fitted perfectly, like two spoons resting in a drawer.
He kissed her hair and stroked her ribs, murmuring, ‘Get some rest. Hal is fast asleep. I am here. You’re safe,’ his voice low and sonorous.
Within seconds, Sage had relaxed entirely and they fell asleep side by side, any remaining angst or worry lessened by their closeness, their hearts and bodies now inextricably intertwined as though it had always been the preordained plan.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves.
Virginia Woolf,To the Lighthouse
Sage woke as Rafe put a cup of coffee on the bedside table next to her.
‘Good morning, sleepy head,’ he said cheerily, bending down to kiss her lightly.
‘What time is it?’ Sage stretched, her eyes blinking, bleary and unfocused, in the light from the lamp. She put her hand out to hold onto Rafe. ‘I slept all night?’ It was the first time she had slept, unbroken, through an entire night since Panama.
‘You did. I had the best night’s sleep too – I’ve only just got up. And you get a gold star for not snoring.’ Rafe laughed and then looked at his watch. ‘It’s half past five. I’m just going to leave my last-minute instructions with the lads and then we can set off. Hal is still out for the count, so there’s no rush. Get up in your own time. I’ll be back in about half an hour.’
Rafe was back by six o’clock, as promised, carrying a large holdall.
‘One of Dennis’s lads brought this to the yard for you. I think it contains everything you own! I sent him back with your grandfather’s car.’ He teased her by making a show of heaving the bag onto the kitchen table. There sat Hal, who was happily eatingCoco Pops without milk, picking them out individually with his fingers and placing them carefully on the spoon, only to then drop most of them on the pristine kitchen floor as they made the perilous journey from spoon to mouth.
‘Morning, little one. Are you enjoying my Coco Pops?’ Rafe tickled Hal in mock outrage, and the child promptly nodded vigorously, spilling even more cereal. ‘Is there any left for me, monkey? Or do I need to eat the ones that are on the floor?’
‘Yes, you have to eat the ones on the floor!’ Hal crowed in delight, waving his empty, upside-down spoon about in glee.
Sage opened the bag to find all the clothes that she and Hal would need for the next few days and an envelope containing a handwritten note and a thousand pounds in crisp notes.
Darling,
