Without Saying a Word by Amanda Ward Read Free Book Online Page B

insulated bag.
    “Here you go Master Rhean,” she said in a broad Cumbrian dialect.
    “I thought you might like to take dinner back with you. There’s lasagna, garlic bread and a salad.”
    “How thoughtful,” Laura said, and impulsively bent and kissed Mrs. Stevens cheek.
    The housekeeper blushed.
    “Bless you, I don’t like seeing good food go to waste,” Mrs. Stevens smiled at Laura and then bustled  back to the kitchen.
    Laura thought for a minute. “Do you ever wonder if, when there is no one around, Graham slides around here in his socks, underpants, open shirt and sunglasses?”
    Rhean stared at Laura in amazement.
    “You mean like Tom Cruise in ‘Risky Business’?” His deep voice rumbled with laughter
    Laura nodded, and they burst out laughing.
    “Sir?” A cold wind encompassed the couple making them shiver, as Graham strode in through the front door.
    “The troops have been rallied and are in the car.”
    “Thank you Graham. I’ll ring next week and let you know when we are back.” They walked out to the car.
    “Oh Master Rhean,” Graham called as they walked past him.
    “I wear slippers as well,” he said with a deadpan expression on his face. “The floors are dreadfully cold on the feet during the winter.”
    Laura  looked at Rhean, and saw him burst into laughter at the same time she did.

Chapter Three

    Laura’s nerves were at the breaking point. The telephone calls came more frequently and while her children were at school, Laura screened them.  Her stomach in knots, and her appetite all over the place, she would immerse herself in mundane chores while her mind played vicious scenarios over and over again. Eventually reaching the point where she desperately needed to talk to someone about the calls, she picked up the telephone to ring her parents or Rhean, but had second thoughts, not wanting to burden them with her problems. Instead, she kept herself busy with preparations for the fayre and ball. She felt like a clown most days. Smiling on the outside, when inside her heart tore apart with worry.
    “Rhean, does it bother you about the rumors flying around?” Laura asked Tuesday evening. The children had gone to their bedrooms, leaving the couple alone. Rhean had his head buried in his laptop, and his fingers flew on the keyboard.
    “And?” He sounded totally unconcerned and more than a little distracted.
    “What about your reputation?” At that comment, he looked up and laughed a deep booming sound.
    Laura really couldn’t figure out why he found it funny.
    “My reputation? What reputation?” he asked. “You aren’t worried about everyone thinking that you are seducing a younger man, are you? Pillar of society, heir to a considerable fortune?” His eyebrows waggled at her mischievously.
    He’s teasing me , the rat, Laura thought to herself.
    “You aren’t that much younger than me. It’s not as though you are still in nappies Rhean, or is there something you aren’t telling me? But you really don’t care, or do you?” Laura asked, and chuckled at her own joke, while she rolled her eyes at his pathetic dramatics.
    “Not at all, they’ll have to get used to us being together. The same as you will,” he stated, and then before she had a chance to respond, he kissed her thoroughly into silence. After Laura got her breath back, she asked him what had been on her mind for a while.
    “Why now Rhean? Why start something with me that may not work out?” As usual her brain decided not to engage before she opened her mouth. Laura looked at Rhean, totally at home in her cottage. He put his arms to the back of his head and leaned back.
    “Why not?” Rhean countered smoothly. “And who’s to say it may not work out?” He closed his eyes.
    “You’ve not answered the question at all. You’ve just turned it ʼround.” God, the man could be frustrating at times. She moved to get up, but Rhean pulled her down on his lap and into his arms. He kissed her softly, sipping